|| - Sister - ||

The moment before chaos everything's in its place...

The woods were shriveled up brown and thorny standing under a ruthlessly heated sun. Their green cover was so thin and patched that it hardly offered any screen to the scattered life within. James McLane let his ice blue gaze wander through the barks and branches occasionally flitting towards the cloudless sky where his hunting hawks were making their own rounds.

He liked the weighed of rifle on his shoulder and the feeling of death on the command of his fingertips. There was no better cure to his shifting nerves or faltering temper. The senior McLane knew that before he faced his son, he need to relieve his stress somewhere or else he might fail to steer the conversation towards the outcome that he desired.

There were few points to be cleared between them. The sooner it was done, the better their progress would be.

Somewhere close by a stream giggled. Water was a sure sign of lurking life and James urged his stallion towards the source of the sound. He did not break from the thicket of the forest choosing to remain sheltered as he observed the banks of the isolated stream. Unware of the doom lurking behind the shadow of the trees a stag raised its magnificent head after a long swallow.

James locked his target his soldier instinct taking over as his mind went blank. He was a great shooter who had never missed a target. Like a predator he made no sound as he waited for the perfect moment to release the bullet. One shot and the animal would be down. As he waited his eyes noted the details about the stag, the way its coat glittered in the sunlight, the fine elegance of its antlers and the simple grace of its being. Then he shot.

And he missed.

At the same moment when his rifle released the ammunition a different hand jerked it off its path. The bullet ended up hitting a branch high up to the left from the original target and the stag with its tail in the air and ears perked up flew back into the heart of the woods. A cloud of birds chirping and mumbling took flight in a musical chaos.

"Good morning lord McLane," greeted Lilian Kent.

James took another moment to mask his disappointment and the wary look in his eyes. His face was as blank as his tone when he returned the greeting.

"Miss Kent," he said. "What a pleasant surprise!"

"Oh," Lillian raised an eyebrow as she said in a light tone. "Is that so? I believed you wished to see me as soon as I could manage."

"Indeed I did," agreed the old man as the two led their horses to the currently deserted water and dismounted as the beasts drank their fill. "But I did not quite picture our meeting involving a missed bullet and a lost prey."

"These woods are hallowed my lord," Lilly chirped. "'I'm sure the Rani would not take it lightly if she comes to know beasts in her holy forest were slayed to relieve stress."

"Ever the informed," commented McLane in a clipped tone.

"And observant," supplied Lily.

James held her gaze for a moment inwardly thinking. It seemed she did not disappoint him for the corners of his mouth tugged upwards after a moment.

"May I inquire what the conclusion of your observations had been then my dear Miss Kent?"

"You placed me next to your son not simply as an ally but as a spy – which could only mean that you do not trust him as much as you like to portray."

"It could also be that I'm a father looking out for my son's mistakes with his best interest at heart?" McLane offered gently.

"Still you do not let him proceed entirely on his ways and means – you choose to force his hand by placing Keren at stake here under Gayatri's custody when you see it fit."

"I'm sure you have a fascinating conclusion for that as well," hummed McLane.

"You weren't entirely convinced on his intentions with princess Kashi."

"I will not deny that claim – he was taking too much time and too many risks."

"Still – still," Lillian gritted her teeth before reining in her temper. "Still you think it's wise to let him use the same girl as a trump card again?"

There was a gleam in McLane's eyes when he turned to face Lilly. The man stroked his stallion's mane absentmindedly before speaking.

"Tell me Lillian – are you jealous?"

Lillian huffed scrunching her nose.

"Of her? For what – going back to that cave of vipers where everybody is after her blood? Dear lord, why would I envy such a dangerous prospect?"

"Not quite – I mean I did not mean Kashi Bai when I posed that question. Of cause your answer changes my perspective on the fact that I believed you had no reason to envy her. I meant David. Do you envy the mantle I've placed upon him Lillian? Do you by any chance believe that you should have been the one calling shots here?"

"At least I would not have been so foolish!" Lillian snapped her eyes flashing defensively.

"Indeed?"

"If you do not share my view my lord, would you be kind enough to enlighten me how exactly sending Kashi Bai back to Chandranagara will aid our cause?" Lillian demanded in the end her voice losing its earlier strength of confidence. "That too with the prince of Madhavgadh at tow?"

"That depends on what you think our cause is my dear Miss Kent," McLane was back to his pleasant tone as he offered his arm for her to assist in mounting her horse. Lillian took his assistance after a moment of hesitation.

"Bringing war of cause!"

"And this will not be the first time a peace envoy had brought war upon a kingdom." McLane mounted his own stallion swiftly and caught Lillian's eye.

"But how -?"

"Oh – don't let me spoil it for you," He smiled and placed a finger on his lips. "It's a secret best served cold."

**

He let others think he was coaxed into it. Khan thought to himself as his eyes caught Hussain straightening his turban one more time. His eyes filtered through the gathered crowd; his bagum was not in attendance and nor was his daughter. Noor's absence was expected. He did not wish to give anyone another chance to corner and question her on matters that were best buried. However, Nadhira's absence only meant that she was going to make it difficult for him as much as she could possibly manage.

It an illusion in the name of a peace conference Khan wondered, where neither party was actually interested in peace. Had his plan with Shehezada Usman gone as it had been planned, his peace envoy would not have been alive to attend this peace summit. Alas, the god would take worry so easily off his plate.

Khan sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose as the iron gates of the inner fortress opened and the party of guests poured in. Unlike the last visit where David McLane and his two friends had driven a tiny chariot to Chandranagara the party of Kuwar Shivjit came in splendour.

He chose to ignore the exhibition of extravagance since Khan knew the dethroned prince's thirst for attention. He had hoped that perhaps lord McLane might have managed to store some intellect into his spoiled head but he was by no means disappointed to learn of his failure. After all in the game of war they were engaged in since ages a foolish enemy was more than what one could pray for.

By no means did Khan consider Shivjit to be his opponent. Shivjit was but a pawn. McLane was the player. Now that he has learned to keep his eye on the bigger picture he knew how fruitless an effort it had been trying to forge any sort of a bond with lord McLane. He was right in assessing that the man was no friend of Madhavgadh, but wrong in predicting that he could be befriended to his own cause. McLane served none but played all. By the time Khan learned the rules of his game he had found himself swept towards the middle of the board from where there was no escape but to play till the very end. He was too late to server the ties with McLane now and had to play along this new charade of peace.

And he was not a man who would go silently. If these were the cards he was dealt with, Khan knew how to play his hand.

Patiently he waited until the last carriage pulled in and Shivjit had finished greeting his officials. David McLane stepped down and his grey gaze swept over his before he offered his hand to a lady in emerald silk and assisted her to descend.

Somebody drew in a breath and the crowd fell silent. A muscle at Khan's jaw worked furiously and his fuzzy eyebrows narrowed. Shivjit who did not seemed to notice the tension that had suddenly increased ten folds, bounced on his heels.

"Allow me to introduce – and reintroduce Mr. David McLane and his lovely sister Miss. Keren McLane."

"Sister," Khan said silkily. "Sister?" His whisper was directed towards Hussain whose wide eyes were bulging from their sockets as his mouth remained agape. "Care to explain Bakshi?" His tone was venomous and Hussain stumbled before he was almost knocked off his balance by Andrew who elbowed past him.

Their greeting to the prince had been fleeting as Andrew shook hands with his friend clapping his shoulder. He took the lady's hand afterwards and brushed her knuckles to his lips.

"Welcome to Chandranagara once again, my lady!" His blue eyes twinkled at her. "I'm sure you didn't get a chance to admire it in daylight last time."

"Of cause Mr. Kent," the lady replied her curtsy perfect as she greeted him. "I will look forward to it."

As she hooked her arm through Andrew's who led her inside her dark gaze lifted and met Khan's with defiance. For a moment suspended in time their gazes simply burned into each other. Nothing was amiss for the girl was perfectly Keren McLane. But everything was in disarray for it was impossible for her to look so much like Kashi Bai; the cursed and now deceased princess of Chandranagara.

But the people who attested to her death could they possibly claim to have seen her alive? The cards were laid and the game begun.

**

I'm sure you have tons of questions. Trust me, I'm almost daring your reaction as I write this. But this twist was pre planned – planned since the beginning of CTS. I can just ask you to trust me and read on for a few more chapters until everything becomes crystal to everyone.

This started as a transitional chapter and ended as a bomb (at least I hope so.) Do share your views with me. What do you think Kashi (and or David) hopes to achieve by this role play? And where is the real Keren? Is Shivjit in the game or not? I'd like to know what you think.

And...what happened to Afreen?

To know you will have to wait for Thursday!

Thank you for reading!