Tanisi started shivering in the cold. Samudra noticed that her uttareeya hardly provided any protection. He carefully removed his uttareeya. It was warmer and made of fine fabric. He spread the cloth around his back and pulled Tanisi into an embrace and covered her in his uttareeya as well. His body heat and the warmer cloth made Tanisi slowly fall asleep.Samudra loved the proximity. He let her sleep in his arms. He couldn't see her as it was dark but her regular breathing felt nice and he found his passion getting kindled. He smiled and suppressed his urge and fell asleep.The night was uneventful and Samudra woke up to the chirping of the birds. He saw Tanisi still sleeping with her head rested on his shoulders. He slightly brushed his cheeks against hers. Her skin was very soft. He kissed her cheek. And slowly lowered his head to kiss her neck. He could feel himself getting aroused. He stopped and looked up.He wanted to wake her up. Before he could think of

The next morning Samudra woke up earlier than Tanisi. He quietly removed his embrace and his uttareeya and sat up. He kept staring at her as a hungry wolf. He remembered her naked self and then closed his eyes and murmered "Lord Mrityunjaya, help me control myself around her. I am losing my self to her. Or give her to me as my wife so that I don't have to regret these days and actions of mine." As warm and bright sun rays hit her face, she stirred. Samudra quickly and quietly turned away from her. His posture was such that he was guarding instead of staring at her. Tanisi opened her eyes slowly. And saw Samudra's back towards her. She felt a kind of warmth looking at him. She had started to rely on him and trust him. He was extremely handsome. And his demeanor was affecting Tanisi. She had felt her heart flutter at his sight. She got goosebumps when he used to smile at her. She was afraid she would fall for him and was praying silently they reach the others as soon as possible. Prox

Amongst all this, one person was very unhappy to see Emperor Samudra. Vikas had his eyes set on Tanisi. Seeing the attention she was getting from the Samrat(Emperor) he used to feel jealous and angry. But since it was the Samrat himself, nothing could be done. Yet he tried his luck again.The current terrain was very close to the border village of Nishantha. Once they entered the village the Samrat would have his contigent stationed there. This terrain was 2 days from the village. Also it was along the river. The river and her banks were inside the Nishantha territory. However, it was a difficult terrain to defend. On the other hand 30 feet from the farther bank of the river, it was the Kaingitya territory and it was a vantage point for them. If the Nishanthian's were attacked now, they needed a miracle to survive even a small group of 30 men from the Kaingitya's side. Vikas didn't want to lose this. He would ask Tanisi as his reward from the Kaingitya Prince. Even if she

After an hour's resting, they started their journey and reached the border village of Nishantha the next evening. Since they faced a battle, none of them wanted to stop and they kept moving at a brisk pace. This was possible as they kept riding the horses in turns giving all of them rest in between.By the time they arrived at the village they were completely exhausted. Shourya had already made arrangements for their arrival. Hence as soon as they entered the village, they were led straight to their respective resting areas. Since an army battalion was always stationed there, there was a permanent place for the men from the battles. Hence they had ample accomodation to spare to these additional men and women. All of them shared their chamber with one other person.The Emperor and Shourya took the main chamber. Aarna and Padma shared one, while Varidhi, Bhavya and Tanisi shared a slightly bigger one. Pradyumna and Ashish shared one, while Shirish shared the cham

The next morning after washing himself in his personal bath under his chambers the Samrat got ready to visit the Old Palace and later to attend his court. Vishwakeerthi came to personally escort the emperor. He was still skeptical about the Samrat's reaction on seeing the Old Palace. He was very well aware of Samudra's painful memories of the Palace. This was where the royal family had lived till the death of Queen Chandramathi. Queen Chandramathi loved Samudra the most. She always said that her love for him was as big as a Samudra(Ocean) and had hence named him so. After her husband Marthanda's death, her love for Samudra had kept her sane. She wanted to give the best she could to her only son. As a boy of twelve Samudra had screamed like a wounded tiger when his mother's death was announced. In Vishwa's mind the scene was etched, when his dearest friend and the crown prince had suffered. The mighty, courageous, confident, smart and ever smiling Samudra was shattere