FF Love In Death Valley - Part 5

“KHUSHI”  

His voice echoed through the cave, a silent whisper through the calmness that surrounded them but its reverberations were felt through out Death Valley, light seeped intp Death Valley like a shining beacon of hope before fading away, the single moment blinding every soul , Daityas rendered helpless as their powers left them,it was a moment of total abandon, a moment that stood still, not a soul stirred, the evil overlords of  Death Valley  surrounded by blinding rays so powerful that it threatened to blind them  in the never ending blaze, and then it passed, darkness returned, Ahi and Mitra knew that the omens didn’t bode well, ever since Arnav came of age, they were living in dread every moment of their lives, their lifelong quest to find the escaped souls of Nysa had gone in vain, the prophecy by Elissa was nearing its time of fulfillment and they had to do all in their power to prevent it from happening, little did they know.... 

That it had already happened....

That the wheels had been  set in motion....

Destruction of Death Valley had begun....

Sacrifices will be made....

Lives will be lost....

What was written by Gods...could never be altered by the evil souls on earth.

Khushi  smiled, a smile that could light up any soul, a smile that Arnav would never forget, a smile that will be etched into his memory, inked into his heart , carved into his soul , for an eternity, it was the smile coming from a soul who had just found her identity from her true soulmate, Arnav & Khushi , they were born soulmates, their lovestory had started, the very soul against whom Arnav was kept away from, all the powers of death Valley couldn’t stop Arnav from meeting Khushi as was destinied, Khushi leaned forward and gently kissed him, Arnav circled her in his arms and pulled her closer as the deepened the kiss, Arnav was surprised at himself at how familiar he felt with her, he had been virtually ignorant of the existence of a race that complemented his, a race that was vital for the survival of humanity, yet everything he felt for her, everything she made him feel, their touches and caresses, their kisses, it all had a natural ethreal feel to it and he didn’t want to pull away from her but he knew he had to go, he had been with her too long and he didn’t want the Daityas coming in search of him, he pulled away from her….

Arnav : How will I find you again Khushi ?? How do I reach you ?? What if I never see you again ?? 

Khushi hushed him by kissing him lightly on his lips...

Khushi : we will meet everyday Arnav, and no one can tear us apart, there will be many who try to but we will always be together, the unicorn who led you to me, will show you the way out and wait for it to turn up tomo, I will send him to come to you  and he will bring you to me again, we will meet everyday from now on and then a day will come when wouldn’t have to stay apart. But go now and beware of the people around you, they will ask you questions, behave normal, do not let them know that you have finally found out about my existence which they intended to prevent you from knowing.

Arnav gave her a reassuring smile and walked out from the cave, Khushi followed him and soon led him to the unicorn, Arnav hugged her again for one brief moment...

Arnav : please let this not be a dream from which I wake up, I want this to be real, and I want to be with you forever.

Khushi hugged him back tighter...

Khushi : this isn’t a dream Arnav, its real, I waited 20 long years of my life for you, for you to give me a name, for you to love me, this is a reality that even more beautiful than the dreams that we see.

Arnav released her and without looking back once followed the unicorn, walking away from his Khushi because he knew that if he turned to look at her, then he would never be able to leave her, and he left, his heart left behind with Khushi, his mind full of everything that had happened today, his soul still fluttering with a feeling so alien to him that he felt that he taken a rebirth, walking back towards his people and his world, he felt as though he been born anew, a whole knew person, it felt as though his past life was just a blur now, a moment in the past.

Arnav soon reached the clearing where his stallion was left, the Unicorn looked at him and then turned around and left, Arnav watched it go, wondering what would happen if he followed it back but then right before his eyes, it vanished into the mist,  Arnav turned to see his steed waiting for him, Abastor had been his constant companion, fiercest among the horses in Death Valley, even the shadow of Abastor could make the inhabitants flee. 

Abastor 



They said that the horse and rider share a connection, the same goes for Arnav and Abastor, every creature in Death Valley had evil residing in it in varying degrees, Abastor was the king of all stallions of Death Valley, he had an inane will power to wreck evil, having been brought up under Ahi’s training, there was no hesitance to kill if Arnav was riding on Abastor, Arnav’s soul had been maimed by too much evil and Abastor was one among that but as Arnav mounted the stallion today, Abastor felt a sense of chill creeping through him, there was something that was different, Arnav seemed distant and removed, the passion with which Arnav rode Abastor was missing...

Nenyrast



 Arnav simply let Abastor take him back to his palace, Arnav’s home, the castle, it was home to to the evil omnipotennts of Death Valley, the very air around it reeked of blood and death, it was home to all the evil overlords, only the evil and the cursed could survive in it, nothing good had ever entered it or survived in it, the Daityas were around him, the mist had them trapped in it and they had emerged from it to see Arnav waiting for them on Abastor but they could see the change in the prince, he looked cold and distant but Arnav allayed their fears…

Arnav : where were you all lost into ?? its not the first time that you have ridden through Death Valley then why were you lost like children who needs to be piggybacked !!! As punishment you will loose your kill for tonight, you will not hunt any creature, and i hope it will serve as a punishment incase you loose yourselves once again !!! 

The Daityas cowered in fear seeing Arnav’s fury, the evil that resided in Arnav, his fury, his thirst to kill and feast on it was a legend in Death Valley and no one desired to be victims of that !! little did they know that the fury they saw today was just an act by Arnav to convince them that he was still the same. Arnav smiled inwardly as he looked at his home, but today he couldn’t call it home, it repelled him, there was a force around it that threatened to blow away his memories about Khushi, it send a silent chill through his heart, an odd sense of fear gripped him, he couldn’t loose her memories, he couldn’t be part of anything that threatened to destroy his memory about her, just then he heard her voice speak to him, her soft voice that was music to his heart and ears….

“enter  Nenyrast without fear Arnav, you wont loose me or our memories to the evil that resides here, the gods are watching over us, the angels are protecting us, enter without any fear and sleep well tonight because you will meet me again when dawn breaks tomorrow “ 

Arnav smiled as he entered Nenyrast, Ahi and Mitra saw him coming in and went out to meet him,

Mitra : Arnav , where were you ?? you had been gone for so long ?? what took you so long ??? 

Arnav bit back his anger at the two people standing in front of him, they were always the 2 men that he had respected and trusted blindly, they had raised him, but now he knew that these two people were his biggest enemies, he knew these were the two people instrumental in keeping him away from Khushi and he knew that it was the denizens of Nenyrast that he had to be beware off, if evil resides in Death Valley then Nenyrast is its home !!

Arnav : Ahi, Mitra, do you think anything in Death Valley can disturb me ?? you both look shaken and worried, is there any problem, because I had a very thrilling afternoon, the hunt was really good, the best hunt of my life !! 

Ahi, Mitra were shocked, none of the disturbances in Death Valley seemed to have affected Arnav, they realised that Elissa and her people were protecting Arnav as well, they decided to let it pass.

Mitra : everything is fine here as well Arnav, we were just wondering what took you so long, but if you had the best hunt of your life then its understood what kept you, go freshen up Arnav.

Arnav walked away, his eyes closed, his heart set on Khushi, he walked away to sleep off the night so that the day could take him to his Khushi.

Khushi meanwhile was with Elissa, the unicorn standing guard over them, she was lying down in Elissa’s lap, a gentle smile adorning her face, she had just finished recounting her meeting with Arnav to Elissa, ofcourse she didn’t tell Elissa any of their intimate moments and Elissa didn’t ask, she was happy learning Arnav’s acceptance, ever since the birth of Arnav, all Elissa wanted was to take Arnav into her care, even as a baby, Arnav had born curse, unaware of the betrayal that had been unleashed on him, she knew it was only a matter of time before Arnav came to live with them, she smiled as she saw Khushi lying on her lap, lost in her dreams, Elissa was happy hearing the name Arnav gave her,

it was the perfect selection...

a true reflection of his heart’s feelings....

pure and untouched....

She looked at the unicorn who was watching over Khushi, they watched her as she fell asleep, beautiful and glowing, meanwhile Arnav had fallen asleep as well, his face was the picture of peace and contentment while Khushi was the picture of ethereal perfection and serenity. Their dreams invaded them, dreams that took them both to their happy place, two souls who had found their haven in each other, and as they slept and the night gre darker, Elissa looked at the Unicorn...

It undertood that it was time to switch its guard, Elissa would take care of Khushi but Arnav needed to be protected, the Unicorn took off in one straight gallop, it sped through Death Valley , and then it all changed, the Unicorn was no longer a Unicorn, in its place stood a knight riding on a majestic stallion, Dayeus sat on Aeton, the divine stallion, the swiftest in the land, he slipped in and soon he was in Arnav’s room, Dayeus smiled as he saw Arnav sleeping, he had stood as an invisible guard to Arnav over the years but he had never seen the prince looking so serene and calm, he knew it was all because of his angel , his angel of light, his Khushi, Elissa and Dayeus had waiting for this moment for a long time now and they had sworn to themselves that they would do anything it takes….

Dayeus on Aeton 



To wipe out the evil in Death Valley....

To bring Nysa back to its majestic grandeur....

To revive the lostcivilisation of Nysa ....

And most of all, to make sure that nothing or no one ever came in the way of Arnav & Khushi and their love and future together....

Arnav & Khushi beginning of forever had been set in motion and the golden age of Nysa would rise once again. 

Glossary for this chapter : 

Nenyrast - Arnav's home in Death Valley, its soul of all evil in Death Valley.

Abastor - Arnav's horse, Greek name meaning "away from the stars" or "deprived of the light of day."

Dayeus - Knight of Nysa, more about him will be revealed later. 

Aeton - Dayeus's steed , Greek myth name of one Pluto's horses, usually rendered "swift as an eagle."