To start from the first chapter : https://theverandahclub.com/article/sehwag-tales-chapter-1-853 

20 years later...

The scrumptious scent of the magical herb quailing through the air dozed off the men on the night duty, the high gates of Yemangadha fell unprotected, a group of four young men roped inside the high walls of Yemangadha. “Hump! The king must be a scared of a person to have such high walls”, a young man in the crew commented as he jumped. The four young lads laughed out inside them, they were slim and sleek, their arms and shoulders of various sizes but all strong enough to combat two soldiers at the same time complemented to their age. “Shush… Not a place to laugh'', one of the young men warned. He had the smartest eye of the four, the mask he was wearing let anyone not miss the eyes, those attractive eyes, and he was Sehwag. Swiftly on hearing a double noise of the silver anklets from outside the walls the boys lined themselves up on the mark.

 A beautiful young lady was standing outside the walls catching her frock high to the ankle, giving anyone a clear vision of her anklets suggesting that she could be a dancer. With a naughty grin and the biting of lips she shook her ankle thrice signalling the boys. Like a trained horse to the master’s call, the four boys rushed towards the castle, dust raised into clouds as they ran.

 The boys manoeuvred into the bushes, jumped the artificial water stream and started climbing, each onto whatever that felt handy, one onto the walls, and another climbed the pillar while the other two caught the rigid creepers that fell through the rails. Their eyes were set on the flag that was hoisted on the keep tower of the castle benevolently flying to the moving night wind. One of the guards witnessed the swift lads and blew the whistle that alerted all the other guards. Now the boys had more trouble on their way, they dodged the approaching guards, fought a few and slipped the other, the oil applied on their body served a larger purpose than they thought.

 While others were fighting to reach the top, Sehwag took the long route walking on the rails, climbed on the creepers and reached the primary guard tower that stood tall in the waters. The guard from the tower handled the spear much better than what Sehwag had guessed. “No wonder Yemangadha has the best soldiers around the region.” Sehwag caught hold of the front of the spear, stuck it into the guard’s back, legged him down and pushed him into the waters. He threw the rope that had a multi pointed hook tied to its end to the keep tower. He jumped holding the rope, tossed on another tower, then on the walls and finally landed on the keep tower. There were two guards there on duty though he expected four. He held the first guard’s spear and pulled him back down while the other tried to stick him with the sword. He bent down and swept across the guard’s legs to make him fall down leaving with a small cut across his arms. He discarded the castle flag and disappeared in a moment before the guards realised.

 A moment later three young men fell out from the castle into the legs of Anaka. “I will protect you three. You don’t have to fall at my feet.” Anaka laughed while teasing them.

“Sehwag won. As usual.”

“I knew that already. We all knew that. But where is he?”

The three boys turned back to find that Sehwag was missing. “He was behind us”

“I saw him finally at the intersection” said Sehwag’s brother Nandhattan.

“He is Sehwag. He will find a way out” his friend Padhumuk nodded.

“I'm here.” Sehwag stood in a distance with the flag on the one hand and something covered on the other. “I had to divert to the gardens to get these beautiful Paarijat flowers.”

“They could have caught you.”

“You could have died.”

“What is so special about the flower to risk your life for?” asked Anaka.

“A princess named Paarijat once fell in love with the sun. When sun deserted her she committed suicide and the tree sprung from the ashes. From that day she flowers only in the night, unable to stand the sight of the sun, they drop down at the first ray of the sun in the morning. I always have this feeling that someone loves me from a distance, behind my sight, without my knowledge. These flowers speak of love.” He let the fragrance of the Paarijat flowers enter his nostrils and reach his throat and then into his heart. With a deep breath, “Anyway, give me the shares of your bet. I won like every time” he waved the flag with a pout on his lips.

Laughter filled the space and the youngsters left pushing each other. Little did they know that they were being watched the entire time…

TO BE CONTINUED

Next chapter : https://theverandahclub.com/article/sehwag-tales-chapter-3-862 

Vigneshwaran, Senior Correspondent of TheVerandahClub.com is both a skilled digital content writer and marketer by profession, as well as an avid independent writer driven by his passion. His literary talents extend to crafting beautiful poems and captivating short stories. In addition to these creative pursuits, he has also authored a book titled "Halahala," which can be found on Wattpad.