Chapter 78

                                    

                                          
Night settled in soon. 
The hut was large enough to accommodate all seven of them, but they put the broken bamboo door as a partition to respect the privacy of the ladies. 
Panchali and Kairavi were sleeping on one side of the shack, leaving the rest of the space for the five brothers.
                          
Mattresses made of moss were laid out for the two queens, whereas the princes slept on separate jute mats. 
They kept their weapons close to themselves, just in case any animal tried to break in.
                          
"So that's where Sutsom gets his habit of snoring." Kairavi inferred, alluding to the considerably loud snores of Vrikodar. 
Shyama quietly chuckled with her eyes closed. 
"This is pretty mild compared to what I've heard." She smiled.






                          
It didn't take long for Panchali to fall asleep. 
She wasn't used to doing so much work alone; hence, the exhaustion was justified.
                          
However, Arni's weariness wasn't allowing sleep to take over. 
She laid wide awake with the anticipation of Nakul's reaction disturbing her repose. 
                          
But was there any reason for her to be so restless? 
                          
The twins had to suffer their punishment anyway. 
Moreover, Sahadev accepted her decision whole-heartedly, then why would the other one be contemptuous about it?
                          
She did not have time to sit and ponder; wait for them to give their consent on the resolution and then act over what was best for the situation.
'Everything will fall into place.' 
She reassured herself and it sounded pretty rational.
                          
"I just hope he makes peace with it." She whispered. 
After spending some insomniac hours on the moss bed, Kairavi was finally able to submit herself to darkness. 









                          
She dreamt about her son being an exceptional warrior after growing up. She saw him dueling with another person. 
By the looks of it, they looked like a warrior as well.
The battle was indeed fierce, with none of them letting up on their tactics.
                          
The opponent's face was covered with a cloth. 
It only permitted their eyes to be visible to the world. 

                          
Arush leapt up on the air and swung his sword at the stranger; the sheer strength of which could split them into two halves.
But the rival wasn't a novice either. They held their sword between them and Kairavi's son, inhibiting the sharp blade to cut through their face.
                          
One strategic push, and the prince was sent flying towards a wall. Chandreya whimpered in her sleep, seeing her son's body slamming against the brick structure. 
Her eyebrows scrunched up and beads of sweat began forming on her temples, reciprocating those on Arush's huge arms.
                          
Adityansh winced in pain, but his feet re-entered the arena with more determination. 
                          
Without giving them a chance to know what was happening, he ducked down on the ground and swiped his sword in an attempt to slit their ankles. 
The veiled competitor hopped up in the air instantly, narrowly dodging the attack. 
                          
Just as soon as they landed on the ground, Chandrajey spun around on his heel swiftly, whirling his weapon in the process.
The stranger's eyes widened and they crouched on the ground. 
From a bird's eye view, it looked like a game of brutal hop-scotch.
                          
Luckily, the miscalculation didn't result in their head being chopped off their neck, but the flowing violet garment got caught in the blade.
The torque snatched the cloth away from their face, revealing their identity.
                          
Kohl-smeared eyes glared at the prince of Chandralok, with a coy smirk playing on their plump lips. Pale skin was adorned with numerous scratches; some of them fresh and others healing. 
The warrior recovered quickly and initiated their next attack.  
It felt like they were going for Arush's waist, but deception is a vital art when comes to sword-fighting.
                          
The swords clanked and Kairavi's son met with a kick on his midriff. Knocked out of breath, he stumbled and fell down face-first on the dirt-laden ground. 
He groaned and tried to get up, but was stomped back to the floor by the stranger's foot.
                          
"Surrender or lose your head."














                          
Kairavi gasped awake, recognizing the person behind the satin veil. 
She panted heavily and sat up. 
Wiping the sweat from her philtrum, she heaved in slow and steady breaths to calm the panic brewing inside. 
                          
"Hey, Ishwar... what was that?" She pondered out loud. The fear had her heart throbbing in her ribcage relentlessly.
                          
"It's just a nightmare, just a nightmare... A nightmare." She chanted over and over again, trying to get her subconscious to be more merciful to her. 
Hugging her knees, she rested her head on them. 
The tremors of apprehension had subsided from her body, but not from her heart. 
                          
The palpitations made her hard for her to stay still on the bed. 
Fearing that she might wake Parshati, Kairavi stood up from the moss. 
A peaceful night's sleep looked far-fetched from where she saw.






                          
"Mere putra ki raksha karna, Govind." she prayed while pouring out some water in a vessel. 
The cool stream surged down her parched throat like a brook in a desert. 
                          
A light clank of metal startled her. Her head snapped towards her right. 
The noise came from where the Panduputras were sleeping. 
The sound was sharp enough her ears amidst Bhimsen's vociferous snores; and abrupt enough to make her heart palpitate with dread. 
                          
Arni stood frozen in place, waiting for the intruder to confirm their presence by making more noise. 
                          
And they did. 
                          
It felt like someone was rummaging through the dry grass and accidentally hit something in the dark.
                          
"Meri bhi raksha karna..." She muttered nervously while tip-toeing towards the partition. 
She saw Arjun nearest to her.







                          
"Strange. Bhrata Arjun did not wake up?" She wondered. 
Vibhatsu had conquered sleep, so nothing could escape his senses even when he was unconscious. 
                          
"Bhrata Arjun. Bhrata Arjun!" She whisper-yelled, chucking some shreds of hay at his direction.
                          
"That's Nakul, Kairavi." He responded huskily while rolling on his side. "Oh!" She exclaimed. 
                          
Indeed it was her husband. He had gotten up to relieve himself from his bodily needs. 
She exhaled loudly in relief. 
Good thing that nobody had broken into their mud castle to steal their priceless pots and crockeries. 





                          
"Wimp." Arjun teased. 
                          
"Shut up." Arni shot back, making him vibrate with silent laughter.