The Commoner Consort: The Country's Respected Empress

Kalki falls on his back weakly. He looks at his palm still in disbelief.

'The magic still works...I thought everything ended. I believed it won't continue. So my mother lied to me?!'.

Kalki rubs his neck again in disbelief.

He blinks his eyes repeatedly trying to focus as he has to see whether he had been imagining things in his childhood or it still happens

He coughs badly and looks around. Only now he realizes he was still on the frozen lake.

Kalki is already shivering. He stands weakly and grabs his outer robe.

He wears his robe and puts on his boots with his shivering hands. He stumbles and walks fast away from the lake.

Nothing helped as it was still snowing.

With great effort, he reaches his tent. He sits before the campfire. Some of his servant must have noticed his absence and have kept it lit for him.

Kalki rubs his palms and gets lost in his deep thoughts.

'I got this strange disease when I was 14. I can't forget this day in my life. One that day, Xavier and I were returning from our forest after hunting some animals. We heard some growling sounds'.

In the forest.

That day.

Xavier stops his horse and looks at Kalki who had already stopped his horse before him.

Both of them looked around and listened to the sounds.

Kalki gestures Xavier to be silent and takes his bow and arrow. He gestures Xavier to wait for him and jumps from his horse silently.

Kalki walked into the forest observing the sounds. He hears some rumbling sounds and takes an arrow to attack the animal anytime. The sound fascinated him as he never heard so powerful growls before. The growls of the animal almost made the trees and leaves to vibrate. He pulls the string until it stretches to its threshold.

RUMBLE

GROWL

He hears the sound approaching him closely and smirks.

SNAP!!

He hits the arrow in the direction.

THUD!!

Sound of something falling with a heavy thud can be heard.

Kalki runs hastily towards the direction. He is so sure the arrow had hit the animal fatally. He pushes the lush green branches aside and reaches the animal after hopping and running in ecstasy.

GROWL!!

ROAR!!

He stops stunned seeing a big lion in front of him. A giant female lion was lying there injured. He had hit its neck and the lion is crawling but not dead yet.

Kalki has seen many lions in his life since his childhood. But this lion seamed so surreal! He knew very well that his mind is not boasting.

Without realizing himself a gasp escaped from his mouth. His breaths shook just by viewing the lion.

The lion seamed different. Bigger than the normal ones that he has seen. It looked marvelling. He stares at its eyes and felt something unnatural. The eyes had something which is subtle.

But Kalki noticed that mysterious glint. It stirred something in his heart. 'May be …fear? No… Sadness?'.

The sadness suited his emotion. A strange feeling of guilt itches his heart which he never feels. He never felt guilty for hunting animals! It's usual for him but not at this moment.

GROWL!!

Kalki walks near the lion with his next arrow pointed at it.

SNAP!

ROAR!!

The lion pounded on him suddenly. Kalki was under the lion in next second. He couldn't do anything as the weight of the lion is unimaginable.

ROAR!

The lion had already pawed its nails in his c.h.e.s.t. The lion was staring him with a low growl. May be it was hurting.

Kalki tried his every ounce to gain his strength but he felt nothing helping. He felt like he had no control over his body at all.

Fresh blood oozed from his c.h.e.s.t but the thing surprised him was not the lion's counter attack.

Yes it was surprising that the lion had a pair of glowing eyes. A pair of Red Eyes!.

Kalki was very intimidated by the lion's eyes. He notices that the glow in the lion's eyes diminished suddenly and frowns.

The lion turns into a flame and disappears in thin air. The lion has disappeared completely.

XANDER!!

Kalki turns towards the direction of the sound.

Xavier was looking at Kalki worriedly.

Kalki was so immersed in the shock. He looks around the surroundings in disbelief.

Xavier lifts Kalki by holding his shoulder. Seeing Kalki staring around the trees, he asks "Xander! What are you looking for?".

Kalki asks in a daze "Did you see it?".

Xavier asks "See what?!".

Kalki looks at his c.h.e.s.t and gasps in shock. There were not any traces

of blood. There were no inkling of any blood on his c.h.e.s.t.

Kalki looks at Xavier and wonders "Didn't you see anything?".

Xavier shakes his head "You just fell from the horse Xander! Don't try

to trick me!".

Kalki frowns even harder "Fell from horse?! That's impossible!".

'How can he not remember anything?! How-'.

He freezes seeing the horses standing right before them.

'How did the whole scene change?!'.

Xavier smiles "Don't worry. I know you were sleepless the whole night. I won't even remember this happened. My Brother's ego would be at stake if anyone knows about this".

He frowns seeing Kalki is lost in thoughts "Xander?".

Kalki just nods curtly "Let's go from this place".

'I wonder what was all that about..'.

Xavier tilts his head suspiciously "Brother?".

Kalki never remained so lost. In fact Kalki was the witty one and never snaps out. He couldn't be distracted so easily like Xavier.

Kalki c.a.r.e.s.ses his c.h.e.s.t and frowns feeling something. He moves his outer robe and freezes seeing a scar on his c.h.e.s.t.

By the way Kalki was named as Xander at first. But when Emperor Philips returned from his exploration, he named Xander as 'Kalki' immediately.

He never bothered to answer any of people's questions like whether he embraced Hinduism. Emperors embracing different religions were always a masterstroke to get rid of unwanted riots between the people of different religion in the country.

But none has known the real reason behind naming his son after 'A God to-be-incarnated