(A/N):

Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.

Guys I hope you put more comments and power stones... Which will encourage me...

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The moment Kumara Varma’s voice came from just outside the shed, both Devara and Princess Indhumati reacted instinctively.

Neither of them spoke.

Neither of them needed to.

Almost at the same time, they shifted deeper behind the towering bundles of dried hay, trying to make themselves as small and as quiet as possible.

The narrow hiding place, which had already been cramped, suddenly felt even smaller.

There was barely enough room for the two of them.

The old wooden walls of the shed creaked softly in the afternoon breeze, while tiny shafts of sunlight slipped through the gaps between the planks, illuminating countless specks of dust floating lazily through the air.

Outside...

Kumara Varma’s footsteps stopped.

He was close.

Far too close.

Inside the shed, the silence became almost suffocating.

"...."

"...."

"...."

As Indhumati leaned a little farther inward to avoid being seen through the entrance, the distance between her and Devara disappeared completely.

A few loose strands of her long black hair slipped over her shoulder.

The breeze carried them gently.

The silky strands brushed against Devara’s cheek before settling lightly across his face.

He instinctively froze.

A delicate fragrance accompanied them.

It wasn’t the heavy perfume worn by many noblewomen.

Instead, it was gentle and refreshing.

The scent of freshly woven jasmine garlands mixed with the faint sweetness of lotus flowers.

It reminded him of the flower gardens surrounding the palace.

For a brief moment, even Devara found his thoughts interrupted.

’So that’s why the crowd smelled different when she walked past...’ he thought.

Meanwhile, Indhumati remained completely focused on the sounds outside.

Every bit of her attention was fixed on Kumara Varma.

"...."

She didn’t even realize how close she had moved.

Not until... She heard it.

-Thump!

-Thump!

-Thump!

At first, she frowned slightly.

-Frown!

"...."

The sound was faint. Steady.

Then she realized what it was.

A heartbeat.

Not hers definitely.

Someone else’s.

Because the space between them had become so small, she could clearly hear the rhythmic beating coming from Devara’s chest.

At the same time, she became aware of something else.

His breathing.

Every slow breath he exhaled gently stirred a few loose strands of her hair resting near her shoulder.

A strange shiver ran through her body.

Her fingers instinctively tightened around the edge of her shawl.

’Too close...’

The realization arrived a little too late.

Her own heartbeat, which had remained calm until now, suddenly quickened.

She wasn’t frightened.

It was simply... Awkward. Very awkward.

This was the first time she had ever found herself hiding alone with an unrelated man in such close quarters.

Even if the circumstances were unusual...

It still made her unexpectedly conscious of the lack of distance between them.

For several moments, she stubbornly kept looking toward the entrance of the shed.

Pretending not to notice.

Pretending everything was perfectly normal.

She lasted exactly three seconds.

Unable to ignore the strange feeling any longer, Indhumati slowly turned her head.

At the exact same moment...

Devara also happened to look toward her.

Their eyes met.

Neither of them had expected it.

"...."

"...."

For a heartbeat...

Everything seemed to stop.

The noise of the festival outside faded into the background.

Neither spoke.

Neither looked away immediately.

The princess’s bright eyes reflected the thin rays of sunlight filtering through the wooden walls.

Devara could clearly see the surprise in them.

Along with a faint trace of embarrassment she was trying very hard to hide.

Indhumati herself noticed the same thing.

His green eyes were far calmer than she had expected.

There wasn’t the slightest hint of nervousness.

Only quiet curiosity.

The silence between them became increasingly awkward.

Finally...

Both of them looked away at exactly the same time.

Neither acknowledged what had just happened.

Neither wanted to.

Outside the shed, completely unaware of the awkward scene unfolding only a few feet away, Kumara Varma scratched his head thoughtfully.

He had reached the entrance and was now looking around the nearby area.

His eyes soon landed upon one of Princess Indhumati’s personal guards standing near the corner of the street.

A bright smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Ah!"

"There you are."

He walked over cheerfully.

The guard straightened respectfully.

"Young Master."

Kumara Varma looked around dramatically before lowering his voice.

"Where is the princess?"

The guard blinked once.

"I beg your pardon?"

"My cousin."

"I’ve been searching everywhere."

"I wished to show her my newest sword form."

"It took me nearly the entire morning to perfect."

The guard’s face remained perfectly expressionless.

"I’m afraid I haven’t seen Her Highness today."

Inside the shed, Indhumati almost sighed in relief.

’Well done,’

She thought very annoyed.

’Just keep saying that...’

Outside, Kumara Varma frowned.

"That’s strange."

"You always accompany her."

The guard answered without missing a beat.

"Today is different."

"I was assigned elsewhere."

"I see..."

Kumara Varma rubbed his chin.

For anyone else, that answer might have been enough.

Unfortunately...

Kumara Varma possessed a rather unique way of thinking.

A slow smile spread across his face.

"I understand now."

The guard looked at him, puzzled.

"You do?"

"Of course!"

He nodded confidently, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

"If you’re standing here... then sooner or later... Princess Indhumati will definitely come looking for you."

The guard stared at him in silence.

"...."

Inside the shed, both Devara and Indhumati slowly closed their eyes.

Neither needed to say anything.

They had both reached exactly the same conclusion.

’Kumara Varma wasn’t leaving anytime soon.’

The strange silence inside the small wooden shed refused to disappear.

If anything...

It only became more awkward.

Outside, Kumara Varma showed absolutely no signs of leaving.

Having found one of Princess Indhumati’s personal guards, he seemed to have decided that waiting beside her was the perfect strategy.

Instead of continuing his search, he happily began chatting with the guard, who looked as though she would rather be standing anywhere else.

"You must always remain alert,"

Kumara Varma said while pacing around confidently with his hands behind his back.

"A royal guard should never allow her attention to wander."

The guard nodded politely.

"Yes, Young Master."

"You never know when danger might appear."

He suddenly pointed dramatically toward a random tree.

"For example!"

"What if an assassin were hiding behind that tree?"

The guard glanced toward it.

The tree was completely empty.

"I understand, Young Master."

Kumara Varma nodded proudly.

"Good."

"And suppose your opponent is not an ordinary man."

"What if he is ten times stronger than you?"

"What if he possesses unimaginable martial skills?"

"What if he leaps through the air and attacks from above?"

The poor guard simply continued nodding.

"Yes, Young Master."

Inside the shed, Devara couldn’t help rubbing his forehead.

’The poor guard...’

’She deserves a reward after surviving this conversation.’

Princess Indhumati, who was crouched beside him, looked equally helpless.

"Cousin isn’t leaving anytime soon,"

She whisper’s back.

Devara sighed quietly.

"I noticed."

The confined space forced both of them to remain almost shoulder to shoulder.

Every small movement one of them made immediately disturbed the other.

As Devara tried adjusting his footing to keep his leg from feeling uncomfortable, his shoulder accidentally brushed against hers.

Indhumati immediately frowned.

"Don’t move."

"I barely moved."

"You did."

"I shifted half an inch."

"That is still moving."

Devara looked at her with quiet disbelief.

"There isn’t exactly much room in here."

"Then don’t shift."

"My leg is asleep."

"Let it sleep."

He stared at her hearing her monotonous tone.

"My leg isn’t a person, Your Highness."

"It can still remain quiet."

Devara suppressed a laugh.

A few moments later, Princess Indhumati tried adjusting her own position.

The hay beneath her knee shifted with a soft rustling sound.

Devara immediately looked at her.

"I thought We weren’t supposed to move."

"I didn’t."

"The hay disagrees just a moment ago."

"It moved by itself."

"The hay?"

"Yes."

"It must have. Since it was alive."

Devara slowly nodded.

"I see."

"So the hay is choosing sides now."

She glared at him.

"Don’t make jokes."

"I’m merely observing with interest of a merchant."

Outside, Kumara Varma’s voice continued without interruption.

"A guard must also learn to remain calm under pressure!"

"No matter how terrifying the enemy appears!"

"You must never panic!"

The guard silently prayed for someone to rescue her.

Meanwhile, inside the shed, neither Devara nor Indhumati noticed another resident slowly making its way toward them.

Hidden beneath the dried bundles of hay was a narrow opening leading toward a small burrow beneath the shed.

It had been undisturbed for weeks.

The shed happened to be home to a large cobra.

The snake wasn’t hunting.

Nor was it angry.

The two humans had unknowingly chosen to hide directly beside the entrance to its temporary resting place.

And the snake could feel some favourable smell coming from him.

Curious about the disturbance, the cobra slowly emerged from beneath the hay.

Its black scales glistened faintly in the narrow beams of sunlight filtering through the wooden walls.

Moving silently, it began gliding through the dried grass.

A soft...

"Hsssss..."

echoed through the cramped hiding place.

Princess Indhumati frowned.

Without even turning around, she whispered irritably,

"Must you make strange noises now?"

Devara looked at her in confusion.

"I didn’t."

"You just did. I heard it clearly."

"No princess why would I?"

"I heard it."

"So did I."

"Then who made it?"

Before either of them could continue arguing...

Princess Indhumati suddenly felt something cool brush lightly against her ankle.

She froze.

Whatever it was...

It slowly slid upward over the fabric of her dress.

Her face immediately flushed crimson.

Her eyes widened.

Without thinking, she turned toward Devara with an expression of complete disbelief.

"What are you doing?"

Devara blinked caught off guard.

"What?"

She lowered her voice as much as possible.

"Why are you touching my leg?"

Devara looked genuinely confused.

"Why would I?"

"Don’t lie. I could still feel it."

"I’m not lying."

"I can clearly feel something!"

Devara frowned hearing her repeated accusation.

"If I’m not touching you..."

His eyes slowly drifted downward.

Then behind her.

The confusion on his face disappeared.

Instead...

He chuckled.

Princess Indhumati stared at him.

"You find this amusing?"

"No."

He tried suppressing another laugh.

"I’ve simply discovered the real culprit."

"What culprit?"

"The one touching your leg."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Stop making excuses."

Without answering, Devara calmly reached behind her.

Princess Indhumati’s heartbeat immediately accelerated.

"What are you—"

Before she could finish...

Devara gently lifted something into the air.

It coiled naturally around his forearm.

Its hood spread slightly.

Its tongue flickered.

A large cobra.

The snake looked surprisingly calm, almost as though it had no intention of attacking.

Devara lightly supported it beneath its body while holding it away from himself.

"There."

He smiled.

"I believe this gentleman deserves the blame instead."

Princess Indhumati slowly turned her head.

The cobra’s face was barely a foot away from hers.

For several seconds...

Her mind simply stopped working.

"...."

Then...

A deafening scream shattered the peaceful festival atmosphere.

"SNAAAAAKE!"

Her voice echoed far beyond the little shed.

Outside...

Kumara Varma stopped speaking in the middle of his lecture.

"A snake?"

He slowly turned toward the shed.

"The princess..."

Before anyone could react further, Princess Indhumati burst out of the shed at full speed.

She wasn’t thinking about royal dignity.

Or graceful composure. Or anything else.

She ran.

While running, she frantically brushed handfuls of hay from her hair and clothes.

"You idiot!"

She shouted over her shoulder.

"You could’ve warned me earlier!"

Devara’s laughter echoed faintly from inside the shed.

The royal guard, finally realizing what had happened, immediately ran after the princess.

"Your Highness! Please wait!"

Meanwhile...

Kumara Varma’s face had turned completely pale.

"A snake?"

His eyes became as wide as saucers.

"A real snake?"

Without another word...

The brave young prince who had been lecturing about courage only moments earlier spun around and began running in the opposite direction.

"Snake!"

"There’s a snake!"

"Everyone be careful!"

"Someone catch it!"

"No!"

"Actually..."

"Someone else catch it!"

His terrified voice echoed throughout the festival as he disappeared into the crowd faster than anyone had ever seen him move.

Inside the now quiet shed, Devara looked down at the cobra still resting comfortably around his arm.

"...."

The snake raised its head slightly before giving a slow, respectful bow.

Devara smiled gently.

"So this was your home."

The cobra flicked its tongue once.

"I’m the one who intruded."

He carefully lowered the snake back onto the hay.

"My apologies for disturbing your rest."

The cobra remained where it was for a moment before lowering its hood and quietly disappearing back into the narrow opening beneath the bundles of hay.

Watching it leave, Devara dusted the dried hay from his clothes and stretched his back.

"Well..."

He muttered to himself with an amused smile.

"I suppose this hiding place belongs to you."

"I’ll leave now."

With that, he calmly stepped out of the shed, as though nothing unusual had happened, while the sounds of panic caused by a single harmless cobra still echoed through the festival grounds.

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(Author note:)

I hope you guys give me your opinion and idea’s.

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