"Let me go, you imbecile!" Mr. Winston shouted loudly as the soldiers brought him, Mr. Smith, Ivan, and Matthew, all bound in chains, down a flight of steep stairs to the underground prison in the templeKālē Tārā Rakta. It was made entirely of stone—stone walls and floors with iron gates intersecting what would be large, wide doorways. In each cell, the floor was covered in straw, and in several of them, wild animals were kept. Two orange and black striped tigers growled and roared at the men, causing them to be further apprehended by their surroundings.

"Why is it that we have been taken? Have done something wrong?" Ivan asked.

"The raja will see you soon. Do not say a word," a soldier said sternly, pushing them into the empty cell and locking them up shortly before walking away. Mr. Winston ran to the bars keeping them away from the outside world and reached out in vain, pleading for release.

"Let me out! I'm warning you! You think you can just lock us up for no apparent reason!" he shouted roughly. "YOU CAN'T!"

"Please, Lewbert! Stop pleading! It is futile!" Mr. Smith said, patting his back to make him cease his action. With his breath heavy and full of anger, Mr. Winston sat down on the straw with the other men until a strangely-clad man came with his soldiers. Matthew and Ivan were the first to notice that it was Raja Kumar Chatur when the door unlocked.

"Why have you taken us?" Ivan asked nervously. "Have we done something wrong?"

"Not yet," the raja said cruelly. "It seems my men have captured only two of the young men. None of you are Alfred."

"Why do you want Alfred?" Matthew asked, scared by what the raja was wearing.

At an instant, the raja's attention was caught by the shy, blond young man. He walked over slowly, looking down at him before rapping him in the mouth with a thick strip of leather. The impact was so hard that Matthew's face jerked to one side, but because he was in iron cuffs linked with chains, he could only rub his face to notice that a small bit of blood had smeared on his palm.

"What was that for?" he questioned.

"You are all in here so you are not tempted to tell the authorities!" the raja shouted relentlessly, ignoring Matthew's question.

"You are so lucky the Maharaja doesn't see any faults with you," Mr. Winston said with fury. "You'd be put down like a mad dog at the pound!"

"Watch your tongue, sir," the raja sneered slowly.

"Watch yours! You have no right to lock us up! What is your purpose?" Mr. Winston snarled.

"I already stated it. As for you entering our temple, I welcome you," the raja said, bowing his head. "Please feel welcome."

"We don't feel welcome in here," Ivan contradicted. "We feel like prisoners."

"Exactly," the raja said. "Welcome to temple Kālē Tārā Rakta." Mr. Smith looked at him upon hearing him say the familiar name he had heard before.

"Temple? We're in a temple?" he questioned empathically. "Black Tara's Blood? The temple of Black Tara's Blood?"

"Yes, it's a wonder you understand Hindi, sir," Raja Kumar Chatur said snobbily. "The blood of Black Tara has already been acquired—we just need to release it from it host."

"We researched and thought you wanted a jewel!" Mr. Smith asked. The raja started laughing, sparked by his inner insanity as he became more frantic with his dark, wry humor.

"We already have it, you idiot!" he shouted, delighted by his accomplishment. "The Rajkumari Amisha Mani has been the holder of the jewel since she was a baby! It was predicted by the temple's founder, my grandfather! Her heart is the jewel! It contains the sacred blood of Black Tara! It is the source of youth, and he who drinks it will become immortal!"

"EEWW!" the men exclaimed with extreme disgust and repulsion.

"You mean…you are…going to…EW!" Matthew exclaimed, gagging excessively to the point where he nearly vomited all over the straw-covered floor.

The raja continued laughing insanely as he left the cell, ordering one of his men to lock the gate shortly before walking away. Ivan looked through the bars as they walked up the steep stairs, and sighed.

"What are we going to do?" he wondered. "They have the key."

"Of course, you wanker!" Mr. Winston said with his fiery temper still burning hot inside of him.

"I hope Alfred and the other two are coming soon," Matthew said. "I hope they don't take too long to get here."

In fact, it did take a long time for Alfred, Arthur and Francis to trace the tire marks, but once it got really dark outside, they decided to set up camp in a forest nearby. They set up the campfire close to the road, and they all discussed what their plan was for the following day.

"I say we continue to follow the tire marks until we reach our destination!" Alfred said with enthusiasm.

"Alfred, we don't even know where we are going. I bet trying to find where the princess and our new friends are being held is like trying to find a needle in a haystack," the Brit said, gazing into the fire.

"It's true," Francis added. "For once, I am agreeing with Arthur."

"That's good to hear, boys," Alfred said with apprehension in his smile of approval.

Alfred gazed into the fire, thinking of Princess Amisha. She was his ideal woman, and though she was royalty and he was not permitted to marry her, the two still loved each other dearly. It had been a few days, and even still, their love was like a fortress—not even an insane raja she was arranged to marry would break them apart. He sighed, looking up at the dark, star-studded sky to see a shooting star ride over him, Francis and Arthur. He closed his eyes, secretly wishing that his one love be safe, unharmed, and secure.

It cheered Alfred up whenever he pictured the beautiful princess; her white skin, her long, raven-black curling hair, and her beautiful, intense blue eyes along with her slender hourglass frame. Remembering the night they had shared together, he smiled and sighed, catching the attention of Arthur and Francis.

"What?" the Brit asked.

"He's thinking of his lady love," Francis said, touching Alfred's cheek with his finger. He rolled his eyes and looked up at the sky, starting to sing a song entirely out of tune, but it was conveyed to be a love song:

"Have I told you lately that I love you
Have I told you there's no one else above you
Fill my heart with gladness
Take away all my sadness
Ease my troubles that's what you do
There's a love that's divine
And it's yours and it's mine like the sun
And at the end of the day
We should give thanks and pray
To the one, to the one"

"I love that song," Francis said with an enamored sigh. "Trés magnifique!"

"You love the princess, don't you, Alfred? I hope you realize that she is unattainable," Arthur said, wondering about his feelings. Alfred sighed, looking down at his hands before looking at the Brit and the Frenchman.

"Yeah, I won't lie. She and I are in love with each other," he admitted.

"Have you made l'amour?" Francis asked, cooing with a smile just before laughing. "Hon-hon-hon!"

"I'm not answering," Alfred said.

"Aw, you did! You are going to be in so much trouble!" Francis said.

"Hush up, you!" Arthur exclaimed to the Frenchman.

"No, you shut up!" the Frenchman retorted.

"Will you two stop it? I thought we agreed on you two keeping the peace!" Alfred wondered demandingly. The two men looked at each other and scoffed, lying down on the ground near the fire.

"Anyways, I'm beat," Alfred said. "Good night, guys!"

"Bonsoir!" Francis said, blowing the usual kiss at him as he rested his head down.

"Sweet dreams," Arthur said. As the men began sleeping, the worries seemed to take form again within them—what if something happened during their sleep? After all, it wasn't safe out in the dark like this…