Mayavati steps up to the counter of the kitchen and begins chopping the onions Chef Kangi had left for her to do. She glances up to spot Pradyumna teasing one of the kitchen girls.
“Pradyumna,” she says sharply. More so than she intended, but lately he’s been getting a little more rambunctious with the ladies.
She gets no response.
“Pradyumna,” she says again, this time intending to be stern.
“What Maya,” he snaps back. She could hear the irritation in his voice.
It’s time, she thinks. I have to tell him. He’s old enough and capable.
“I need to speak with you,” she tells him. “Outside. Now.”
His expression tells her he expects a lecture. It also tells her he does not want a lecture. Mayavati holds her head high going over in her mind how to tell him.
A few moments later in the garden outside the kitchen:
Pradyumna comes stomping out of the kitchen.
Thankfully he’s willing to listen to me, she thinks.
He sits down with a huff and flings his shoulder-length hair back, finally turning to look at her with a skeptical look.
“I need you to focus on what I’m about to tell you.”
“I’m listening,” he replies with a deep scowl.
“You are not a servant boy. You are the son of a god. You are destined to kill Shambara. He attempted to kill you as a babe when he learned of your destiny. He threw you into the ocean and that is how you ended up in that fish. It is time that you know. It is time that you learn. It’s also time that you realize your purpose.”
Mayavati watches as he begins shaking his head. She stops, letting him soak it in.
“The big guy that runs this palace?”
“Yes.”
“I’m supposed to kill him.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Shambara has been a thorn in the gods' side for years now and Shiva chose you.”
“Shiva?”
“Yes, Shiva.”
Pradyumna is speechless. Then. “Why did you wait this long to tell me?”
“Because I wasn’t supposed to tell you until you were ready. We don’t need you getting distracted by all these kitchen girls.”
“Oh, that’s why you're mad. You want attention,” Pradyumna says with a grin spreading across his face. “You could’ve said something. I can take care of your needs.” He winks.
“I’m being serious," Mayavati says with a sigh.
“Me too.” That mischievous grin is still plastered on his face. “Okay, I’ll go take care of Shambara,” he says a moment later with a more serious look on his face.
A few hours later in Shambara's private quarters:
“Shambara.” A voice breaks the silence of the room. Shambara turns to look. There stands a young man. His hair pulled back into a ponytail, revealing the small glinting gold hoops in his earlobes. His ripped torso is bare, but the strength is evident. He wears no more than trousers, but in his hands are two small swords.
Shambara laughs and unsheathes his own large sword from its sheath hanging on his side.
Pradyumna jumps and slices his sword through the air. It clangs as it meets Shambara’s sword in midair. Pradyumna swings his other sword, but somehow Shambara’s one sword is now stopping both swords.
Pradyumna takes a step back, breathing hard.
Shambara is still cackling. He throws his head back. Pradyuma sees his opening. Suddenly, Shabara gasps. He looks down, the laugh fading, and he only sees the blood pouring down his body. His hand quickly goes to feel his neck. Something doesn't feel right. His body slumps to the ground. Life is quickly leaving his body as more and more blood begins to covering the floor below him.
Pradyumna stands looking at the scene unfolds before him. The strengthless body of his opponent crumpled up at his feet shudders a last breath. Then swiftly, as he had appeared, he turns and runs from the bloodstained room reaking of death.
He knows who he has to find. Maya.
Author's Note: I used a couple of sources to make this story. This is supposed to be the first of my stories, thus it's left a bit open-ended for the next part to come into play. All of the characters are the same, but I added my own interpretation of their character. I took inspiration for Pradyumna a lot from the recent Avengers movies and also combined that from the way his character is presented in the book I'm reading. His flirting attitude is sort of my own addition. His hair is very much inspired by the book cover and Thor's old long haircut. Mayavati is called Maya because she's undercover in the kitchen and I assumed she wouldn't go with her own name. My idea for Shambara's death is entirely my own idea. Pradyumna has been in a kitchen and suddenly he's taking a guy out. I wanted him to luck out. That scene is meant to give him the courage he needs to become the hero he's meant to be, but for the first time around he lucked out and managed to pull a fast one. It's not like he's been training for this since he could walk.