War For Love

~Twenty Six~

Sahib wasn't in the forest the next morning for the training. Siya waited for him for about an hour before she felt something wasn't right. Sahib was a punctual man. Even when he had asked Siya not to come for practice when she got whipped, he still came, knowing Siya would be there. But not finding him in the forest, that morning was scary for Siya. Is he alright? After the attack on the mills and office, Siya knew the royals would avenge their loss. From Sahib. Fear gripped her chest as she ran towards Sahib's house only to find it empty.

Sahib wasn't in his house too.

Her heart almost dropped down in her stomach when she saw a few droplets of blood on the ground. She squatted down to touch the blood, only for her fingers to get painted by red. Terror filled her heart and tears pooled her eyes. They hurt him. And Sahib knew they would come to his house after the attack and that was the reason he was asking her to leave his house. She gulped down the tears that made her throat burn before she walked out of his house. She had to know where was Sahib.

Siya froze when she saw men getting whipped in the market. These were the same men who had been with her last night, bombing the mills and offices. Jayanti Lal, Majid were getting whipped too but Sahib wasn't there with them. The scene itself was so horrifying that it made tears to roll down her eyes. She gripped her dupatta (scarf) tightly in her fingers as the noise of the whip hitting their bodies rang in the surrounding. The people around them were watching the torture silently, pain and remorse sketched on their faces too. But none of them had the courage to stop them.

Before Siya could even process it, her feet moved forward and she gripped the whip in her hand before the whip could've hit Jayanti Lal. The police officer looked at Siya, outraged. They didn't like Siya, firstly and her intervention was only fuelling their hatred for her. They looked at her as the woman provoking the people against their foreign rule. And why shouldn't she? After all, they were living like slaves in their own country. Wide eyes gaped at Siya, they didn't knew if Siya was more brave or more stupid to always oppose the men in authority.

"Step back, girl! Do not hinder the legal procedure." Officer snarled and she glared at him, pulling the whip from his hand sharply before staring right in his eyes.

"I don't believe in your government, Officer. You have no right to assault our people!"

"They bombed our mills! Burnt our offices down and our head too died in the fire who was working in the office." Officer shot, anger clearly lacing his voice and hatred swirled in his eyes.

"And who started this? We didn't start the violence! Your government did! Who gave you the right to buy us? We surely didn't sign the papers! Who started oppressing the poor and needy? We didn't. You are participating in wars to conquer other territories and yet we are paying for your expenses! Why? Your had your treaties signed with our kings and queens and yet we are getting punished! Why? Because you are some authority seeking pigs! Who wish to rule the world."

Officer looked at Siya, feeling the humiliation in public. He rose the whip from the ground to hit her and she blocked his hit, her reflexes working much better than she had originally expected. People gasped at her actions. First, saying so much to him and now stopping his attack.

"Do not make me forget the difference of our gender, woman." Officer threatened her and she smiled bitterly at him.

"Oh, don't hold yourself on the account of my gender, Officer. Actually, I'll get rid of this gender difference, right here, right now." With that she pulled the whip from his grip again, this time even more harshly than before as she started hitting him with it with all her might, making the officer to scream in pain. She did it again and again, until the officer was on the ground and other officers had to pull her back.

"What is wrong with you?" Jayanti Lal growled at Siya and she looked at him incredulously.

"Is standing for my country and people wrong?" Siya asked him and he huffed, shaking his head in frustration. No matter how much he tried, she would never listen to anyone.

"Where's Sahib?" Siya asked and Jayanti Lal simply ignored her but the officer holding her felt the pride as he spat the next few words out.

"Your Sahib is in the jail! Finally we could throw that punk inside the jail. And keep still, woman otherwise, I'll have to send you exactly where your saviour is right now." Siya felt her heart thumping loudly at his words. Jail. Her Sahib was in jail, for something he wasn't alone responsible of. They all had done it and yet she wasn't getting punished in either ways.

"Lies! You can't even put a woman behind the bars even after she bombed your mills and offices!" Siya said, smirking, almost to enrage the man. She had to make sure Sahib was alright, she had to meet him. And this was the only way, she could find out.

The officers and the villagers looked at her in shock. Jayanti Lal and the rest of the protestors clenched their eyes shut at her idiocy of revealing the truth. They had done everything to keep her presence in the revolt hidden but she couldn't keep her big mouth shut.

"You're lying!" The officer growled and Siya turned around as his grips loosened and smiled at him.

"Keep thinking like that and I'll bomb a few more factories of you."

"Looks like the woman had forgotten her previous punishment. Barrack, get me a whip!" Officer Woollard growled and Siya felt a shiver passing down her spine but she still managed to keep the smile on her face.

"Yes, Barrack, get your Master the whip and maybe collars and chain for yourself too. After all, you're his loyal dog. And actually do whip me that would make it easier for me to attack again after some time." Siya knew she was playing dangerously but she had no other option to visit Sahib in the jail.

"Sir, put her in the jail too! And put her in the same jail as that bastard of a man they consider as their saviour. And see the villagers boycotting her!" Barrack laughed evilly, unknown to the fact that Siya didn't give a single damn about what people would think about her. She just had to make sure Sahib was alright.

"Arrest her!"

Jayanti Lal and the men knew Siya did that intentionally. But none of them said anything, knowing how stubborn Siya was.

~~~~~~~

Sahib was facing the wall, his back had fresh wounds as he stood in nothing but the dhoti draped around his waist. Siya felt her heart wrenching at the red marks painting his dark body. She walked inside, slowly as the officer pushed her inside the cell. Siya felt her eyes brimming with tears but she blinked them back. Who knew seeing someone in pain would pain her too? She closed her eyes to take a deep breath before she tapped his shoulders making him turn towards her only to freeze.

In front of him stood a proud Siya, dressed in one of her two dresses with her hair tied in a braid and her eyes painted with thick coat of the kohl. His eyes widened when she smiled, sitting down on the ground, making him to look at her in confusion. What was she doing inside the jail? He knew Siya could go to any extent to meet him but he didn't knew she would be this crazy to come inside the jail for him.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Siya asked with amusement and Sahib glared at her but she only continued. "I always thought how a jail would look like. And I always imagined spiders, insects and mice crawling inside the cell but it's surprisingly not so..... bad? What do you think, hm?"

Sahib took a step forward, his fingers gripping her biceps as he pulled her up on her feet, a little towards himself, spreading warmth down her cold body. Bad, bad, Siya. Concentrate. She rebuked herself mentally, licking her lips. But how could she concentrate when he was so close to her, gripping her arms and looking down at her with his predatory gaze. And for once, she wanted to be his prey.

"What I'm thinking is, what in the name of God are you doing here, Siya?" In return she just smiled at him but her heart curled painfully inside her chest as her gaze occassionally fell down at his wounds.

"I'm here for the exact reason you're here."

"Don't tell me Siya, you told them that your were involved in the attacks. I swear, if you revealed anything, I'd........"

"I did. I exactly did what you're thinking. I told them I was involved in the attack and when they wanted to whip me publicly, probably to teach me a lesson, I provoked them to put me behind the bars." Sahib took a deep breath as he closed his eyes to calm himself down.

Sometimes Siya infuriates him so much that he finds it hard to control himself. When he and his men were trying to keep Siya's name hidden in the protest, Siya was doing everything to reveal herself out. What was wrong with her? Did she not know what society thinks of women who spend their nights in the prison, that too with a man?

"Why would you do that?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Siya."

"Too see you, of course." Sahib froze at her words. He tilted his face to the side, looking at her with raw emotions swirling in his eyes as he cupped her face, shaking her head. His thumb rubbing the side of her face, making her to suck in a breath.

"You're impossible, Siya. Sometimes you scare me so much. I can't even predict what your next step would be but then again, I knew you won't sit idly, knowing about my arrest." Siya smiled before her lips quivered and tears rolled down her eyes and Sahib's eyes widened.

There's so much about Siya that he was learning and seeing every single day. But he had never seen her crying. She always had a smile on her face. Be it happy or sarcastic. He cupped her face with both of his hands, making her look at him. Her red eyes looked at him with pain and helplessness. She wasn't there when the officers beat him. She wasn't there to stop his arrest. She felt guilty of so many things and yet she could do nothing but to cry over it.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying, Siya?" He asked, his voice surprisingly soft. So soft that it almost caressed her soul, making her to cry even harder.

"Why does it have to be you every single time, Rudra? Your body bears new marks every third day. And I can't see you in so much pain, everyday." Something inside Sahib shattered into pieces. He could bear anything, any sort of torture and humiliation but he couldn't see her in tears. Not now, not ever.

Sahib forgot all his rules. He pushed his saner part behind as he wrapped his arms around her body before pushing her against his chest. His fingers stroked her hair while his other hand rubbed her back in circles, trying to calm her down.

This was the first time Sahib had embraced Siya; this was the first time he had hugged her. Siya felt so many emotions rushing inside her at that moment. She felt the pain of his wounds, she felt his concern and love. And as much as she felt herself getting closer to her, she could also feel herself getting far away from him. His one hug made her realize how blissful her life would be with him and his very hug made her realize, she had no right on him.

But when did love ever ask for validation?

"Stop crying, Siya. I can't see the woman I love the most crying because of me. Please stop crying."