Sitting on that tall secret place of theirs above Vajradhaara's room, Varunpriya, for once wanted to take back her convictions. The huge eave shaped like a downward facing lotus petal seated her facing the entire palace, with relentless arid wind beating her face. Fat tears slid down her pale cheeks.

"Big brother, Little Cactus is acting up again. You must discipline him…"

The wind howled at her, its hot tempest reminding her of the dynamic temperament of her eldest brother.

"Big brother, father-Indra was not wrong. Cactus should've brought you back. I'd have expected the same!" she said harshly, a muted sob dying in her throat as she looked defiantly at the Lotus Seat situated among the gardens.

Her eyes were full of blame and complaint. The red dusk dyed the horizon in blood, glaringly reminding her of what she had lost. "At least, he had a chance…He had so many resources at hand. What did I have?" The unfallen tears were her defiant protest against her helplessness. She glared back at the setting sun angrily, wishing to douse it water, putting it out in its entirety. "He was useless!" she spat. "How could father not hate him? Even I hate him…If it were me…"

A long silence later, the sun had set and the light had dimmed in the sky, bringing a deep, pink twilight. The winds became gentle. The temperature fell swiftly with the cold desert winds sweeping through from the northwest. Varunapriya's beautiful big eyes still glistened, her eyelashes fluttering as though adorned with dewdrops.

"If it were me…" she murmured once again, wondering.

A man's light voice was heard from behind. "If it was you princess?"

Startled, Varunapriya jumped to her feet, ready to cry assassin! She would've been right in this case, but more importantly, before she could do so, she lost her footing and fell down! The last thing she thought of was how Vajradhaara was always holding her when they came up here. He always had a steady demeanor and wasn't as playful and mischievous as he was on solid ground. It was almost as if he anticipated that her exaggerated reactions would cause her to fall one day. As she thought of that and closed her eyes, a steady hand caught her and pulled her up. Another hand covered her mouth as the man put her down softly.

"Princess, don't scream. Sheesha of the Shadow Clan is here to serve you."

Panting hard from fright, Varunapriya saw a man that nearly melded into the twilight standing three feet from her on the eave. Tall and lithe, the man's originally ferocious face now assumed a gentle temperament making him look like a refined scholar! This was his skill as an assassin. No one could know what he's really like. Subtle expressions were all it took to change people's impression of him.

Her little brother shared a lot of the official business with Varunapriya, including the names of the personnel he had selected. Sheesha of the Shadow Clan was the one he chose to be his personal guard when he planned his escape. At the time, Varuna argued that, as a man mainly trained to carry out assassinations, he was not fit for the task of being a guard. Vajradandaka joked that Sheesha was different, Sheesha was a shadow inside a mirror, which meant he had some substance even if he was still a shadow. By the time Varunapriya discovered that that was just a play on the assassin's name, Vajra had already selected him and brought him under his wing. He wouldn't alter his decision no matter what she said. 'Speed. Evasion tactics. Camouflage. These are the kind of things I need right now. A bulky body guard maybe a good meat shield, but there are no meat shields you can use more than a few times.' At that time, Varuna was trying to make her own point and failed to recognize the clues Vajradandaka gave away. None of the sisters knew what he had planned in the end, to actually serve as a distraction for his brother!

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"Why are you here?" Varunapriya asked in a disturbed voice as her mind ran through all these past details.

"I am here to protect you princess," the assassin said in a toneless voice. He wanted to remain in the shadows unless a situation presented itself, but he was oddly moved by the princess's silent grief. He was not incensed that she blamed the little prince. It was not his place to react to it after all, but he was curious. Having seen the perseverance and endless tenacity of the little prince in the dryland jungle for ten odd days, he really wondered about it when someone said they could do a better job. Because that would be really something…

Of course, his question was merely rhetorical and he wasn't expecting an answer, so he did not press for one. As soon as he reported to her, he wanted to go back to the shadows.

"You're here to protect me?" the princess asked in a naïve tone. "Who ordered you to?"

Taking a deep look at the assassin, she saw that he was still bandaged up in several places. Although, his wounds weren't as grave as Vajra's, they weren't light either. Looking closer, he looked tired and dehydrated, as if he hadn't had a proper rest in ages. Who would order a man like him to protect her? Even if the situation was dire, surely they can afford one soldier to take a few sick days…

The assassin looked unsure of whether to answer.

"Are the other princesses also being protected in secret by the Shadow Clan?"

The assassin's brow tightened a little as he shook his head. "I…uh…the first princess was asked to arrange for the security of the second and third princesses."

"You mean you informed her to do so…" Sharp as she was, Varunapriya caught that easily. "Based on whose directive?"

The assassin's brows furrowed, a lost look coming over his face. He shrugged. "The Little Prince."

"When?" Varunapriya said, puzzled.

"When he revived from his coma…I had already returned to the shadows by then and wasn't openly protecting him. But a couple of days before we reached the palace, he called me and said that when we return to the palace, I should protect fourth princess from the shadows and seek the first princess's directive for the rest."

Varunapriya fell into a disturbed silence, her mind being filled automatically by Agni's curses and accusations. Is it true? Does he really care more about me than I do about him?

If it was an adult, they would've wondered why their brother would send a banged up assassin to protect them while sending those who were in fighting fit condition to their siblings. But Varuna was a child just like Vajra. She automatically understood that her little brother sent Sheesha because Sheesha protected him. Vajra felt safe with Sheesha, so by having him protect his elder sister, not only would he feel relieved, he even expected Varuna to feel as safe as he did once. It was him giving away his toughest ace for her, so that no danger would befall her.

"Why me?" Varunapriya asked numbly.

"Who knows fourth princess?" the assassin smiled mildly with a shrug, "Perhaps the little prince expects just as much from you as you do from him."

The tears which she held in for so long suddenly spilled out. A drizzle that started soundlessly but drenched everything in its path.

"Right! Right!" Varuna used her two chubby little palms to rub her big eyes until they turned red. "I won't disappoint him at all!"