"No!" Hugging her forcefully in reflex, the prince shut his eyes in pain, "No, Devi stop this! I said I'll go, ok?! I know I was wrong to meddle with your country's business. I was wrong! Please don't push me away Sara…"

"Sara, I love you…Don't do this."

"Sara, say something…"

When he felt the soft tears falling on his shoulder, the current heir of Abhaya kingdom finally fell silent. He just stayed like that for the longest time. The look of heartbreak on his yet to fully mature face was heart-wrenching.

Eventually, the eldest princess spoke in a soft tone. She patted the prince's back, saying, "My prince, it's not your fault…I cannot marry you because I have to look after my little brother."

"I can wait!" the prince nearly yelled.

Sarapriya shook her head softly. She looked nothing like the aggressive eldest prince the palace residents of Rtadhara were familiar with. "It's not so simple."

The prince frowned as he thought quickly. "I heard he was injured in the forest…How bad is it? I know you brought him up as though he was your son instead of your brother, I can understand your pain Sara…" holding her shoulders tightly, the prince tried to shake sense into her. "Why don't you bring him with us? A change of scenery is good for health. He can convalesce more swiftly in Abhaya…"

Her shoulders stooping, the princess finally broke down. Her voice sounding pitiable, she cried, "I can't. I can't bring him out of Rtadhara anymore…!"

A foreboding feeling rose in Hara's heart. He felt like this was an argument he couldn't win no matter what!

"But why not?" he asked urgently, "Did he lose a limb…? I know it's hard, but people still survive that…"

Covering her face with her palms, the princess just cried instead of answering. Distressed, the prince too remained silent, taking her into his embrace and patting her head. He kissed her on her head and said eventually, "Devi, you're the only one in my heart. If you leave, my goddess, my heart will forever remain dark…I won't stop you if this is your decision. I will wait for you till the end of time if that's what it takes. But can you at least tell me why you are doing this?"

"I don't want you to wait…" her voice was almost inaudible and muffled with sobs.

"That's my decision and this is yours. Don't interfere," the prince said in a commanding voice. "Just tell me why, ok?"

The princess sniffled painfully for a long time until she could find her voice again. With big red eyes, she looked pitifully at her lover, pinching his heart painfully. "Big brother is dead."

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Suddenly everything clicked into place. Yes, of course. Hara heard reports from his people about Dhija assassins infiltrating deep into Rtadhara's borders. He didn't know who they were targeting, but considering the past history when those bastards attacked the palace, Hara panicked and rushed over to see the princess. Considering they targeted Vajradhaara instead, whose whereabouts should not be known to them, he deduced that Rtadhara was now under attack from the outside as well as inside. Gentle and cunning are the two adjectives alternatives used to describe Abhaya's heir apparent. If he couldn't even figure out now what a precarious place Rtadhara is in, he wouldn't be worth those many nasty names people call him with.

Vajradhaara died, the second in line to the throne, Little Prince Vajradandaka was gravely injured. The Indra is in the final stages of his illness. Of course, the eldest princess had to stay behind until the situation stabilizes. Considering how young the little prince is and how long it might take for him to return from the trauma, she could be stuck here for ages. If it was just a clan in the kingdom she is marrying into, she could of course keep her fiancée waiting. But she couldn't do that to the heir of a kingdom. Hara was already twenty-three, the same age as her brother. But while big brother already had a five year old son, Hara was not even married yet because of this arrangement with Rtadhara made during his childhood.

As she cried quietly in front of him, her entire face turning red, Yuvaraja Hara of Abhaya only felt infinite tenderness and endless love for her. Pinching her chin softly with his fingers, he tipped her face and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

"Vajradhaara was a great man," he said after a period of silence. "The vacuum he leaves behind will not be easily fulfilled…I think father will understand that we have to postpone the wedding for a bit…"

"No, you don't understand. Cactus is truly not mature…Besides he…" Unconsciously, the princess looked below towards the fourth floor balcony. If the wind wafted upwards a little, one could almost smell the medicine smell coming from there while standing here. Her brows furrowed tightly when she thought of her little brother's condition. He had been moved to the Crystal Arrow Palace in the middle of the night on that day when the Rajaguru m

et with the third princess. The fourth princess insisted on it and for good reason. The sacredness of the Lotus Seat could only stop attackers from taking that last step for a while. The grand prince who had long decided to defect to Dhija stopped caring about it long ago. The only one who opposed sending assassins to the main seat of Tri-Shakti was the Rajguru himself. In the end, he was still a pious man after all. He could not commit such sacrilege, and this was why he was the one who tried to convince the little princess to bring the prince out. Otherwise, for his stature, he would not be going about tricking little girls.

Only two days after the little prince was vacated through the secret tunnel, the Lotus Seat was attacked by assassins, revealing the foreign hand to one and all. However, even before that happened, Varunapriya took a few doctors raised by the Tri-Shakti Palace Complex to Indra's abode in order to rouse her father from his confused state. She sent Bhupriya to urge Teer-gaan, who was her brother's most trusted aide and friend, to pave the way for her so she wouldn't meet any obstructions. Her father might have been confused and traumatized, but she didn't believe he would sit and do nothing when the palace is being attacked. Meanwhile, her grandfather Shwetasura had almost finished routing the traitor forces of the Patr-dal clan and was due to arrive in the capital at any minute. Though everything was a mess, the situation could still be saved…but after seeing Cactus for the first time when he was brought to the tower, the first princess didn't hold any hopes for him to take control of the kingdom soon.