Something slammed into Rudra's side so hard, he could swear he flew a feet or two before he conveniently crashed against the wall.
Then he lies on the floor, blinking. A part of his brain aware of the screaming of people- multiple people- on his left.
He didn't move. He started remembering the war. How he has arrived in Benevia. Tris's rejection. And then how he had defied his father- the person who had been the omnipotent existence in his life. And then he had returned back into his quarter to plot his actions henceforth only to fall asleep in minutes. But it wasn't enough. Because half of his sense was still stuck in the dream - about Tris's imprisonment in Alaka- while the other half was still stressing over the fact he had said no to his father for the first time in both of his past and recent life.
Atfirst he tried to understand if he was in present or past. In a nightmare or reality. He feels the right side of his head feeling hot. He touched it. His palm came out bloody. He sat up. He wasn't trapped in his body like the way he had felt in the dream watching Tish fall while he could only stand and watch. He smiled.
"Smiling?! You're smiling?! You crazy bastard-"
Another crash. But it never reached him. Dazed, Rudra looked up to see Nayan looming over him, her back turned towards him, the muscle beneath the thin shirt rippling like waves of a restless sea. "Back...," she growled out, "Off!"
Rudra sttands up, the pains already becoming distant, "Nayan," he says in a soothing voice, "Step down, I've got this."
Nayan looked back, eyes widening. But she didn't protest. She shoved the figure back with a grunt and stepped aside. Nayan liked to mess around a lot, but when the situation was dire, she definitely knew how to stand on business.
Rudra tilted his head, looking up and down. It was man, no more older than perhaps Rudra himself, red hair, piercing blue eyes- typical Benevian - , he wasn't dressed like a warrior. His armour too clean, spotless, with a number of unnecessary badges, "And you are?"
"Mamon," he uttered, "I am Mamon."
A quiet fell over the room for several seconds.
"Mamon is a very common name in Benevia, Your Majesty," Nayan uttered, she audibly swallowed, "To them ....that man is a legend."
The red haired man narrowed his eyes, "Ofcourse he is! He is the only man who had ever succeeded in killing the dragon!" He thumped on his chest with his fist, "My father named me after him with the hope that somedays I'll achieve his level of greatness and I have no intention of letting him down."
"You need not let your father down but that doesn't mean I won't cut you down," Rudra looked around for his sword.
"Stop," Tish stood at the door, face flushed and hair tousled looking like she had come running right out of her bed (which given the fact it was midnight- was probably case), "He's the Prince of Benevia Prince Mamon Kosco Rān. If you kill him, not even your father can stop an all out war."
"And he can throw the Prince of Partha against the wall in the middle of the night?" Nayan snapped, "I know Rudra isn't exactly without fault but there should atleast a limit to how much you can just abuse him."
Mamon sneered, "He sleeps in silks and feathers while the people of my Nation spends nights awake without even a roof over their head!" He looked at Teresa, "Tell them! How the aid camps are overwhelmed by injured people! Tell them how his reckless actions have literally change the course of a river and dozens of villages had got flooded! Tell him how the list of missing people continue to grow!"
"Honestly? I had never thought so much of those ....little creatures," Rudra waved his hand, dismissive, "Father says they are same as ants. It ten die, hundred take their place. If hundred die, thousands of them spawn."
"THEY ARE HUMANS!" Roared Prince Mamon.
"They are below me in the food chain!" Scoffed Rudra, completely unbothered, "Do you cry about the chicken you are in the morning, little prince? Do you think about the fish you roasted in leisure? Or the deers you hunted in your annual hunting completions?" Rudra asked back, "You don't because you have endless supplies of them. You have people who breed them, grow them and serve you on a plate. So don't come to lecture me about your little pests."
Prince Mamon's face visibly changed colour from the ghastly pale to a vivid red. He reached for his sword. Rudra's lips twitched as he fought back a smile.
"Right, you don't care for humans," she murmured, "But you care for me."
Rudra turned his head, eyes widening.
"In your own sick twisted way," Tish continued, "You care what I feel."
"Saintess?" Even the Prince of Benevia sounded confused, "I don't see where this is going..."
"So fix it. Fix the bridges, the broken dams, the buildings. Help the people to repair their homes, their dreams," She took a step towards Rudra, "You wanted me to marry you? You wanted me to go back to Partha? I will do it."
The Prince paled, "No," he breathed out, "No no no,Saintess," he took hasty steps towards her but Tries just held up a hand. Her face looked determined or rather....stubborn.
"Allow me to enter into this contract Your Majesty," she urged the Prince, "I want to see if the dragon survives showing kindness like he can survive an army or war. I want to see if he can live guilt-free when he is standing face to face with his sins."
She looked at Rudra, "What did you call them? Pests? Ants? Let us see if your arrogance can survive their hatred, Dragon Prince. Only then I may, I may consider going back to you."