Unedited!

Third-person

"Will you tell me how you killed that Lio- err Tiger?" Kirti asked hopefully, his young hazel eyes were filled with the hunger of knowledge

"I will if you tell me who made you this beautiful bow!" Arjun said playfully picking up the cute and perfect bow for three years old.

Kirti drank his milk fast to tell Arjun the story about how his mother gave him in their birthday

"My mother made it!" He said with a beaming smile

Arjun started talking to them and the excitement in their eyes made him relive his childhood again. This two kid made him laugh heartfelt which he didn't from the past four years

Soon Kirti fell asleep but Pragati kept talking to him.

"Don't you want to sleep?" He ruffled her curly hair and she shook her head "My mother always makes us sleep early! I don't want to sleep early today!"

Arjun noticed since they start talking everything was revolving around their mother and grandmother,

"Your mother is quite strict you have got a pampering father then !" He said to himself with a half-smile,

A smile which held the pain

An uncomfortable silence reveal their and Arjun looked down at Pragati who was in tears

"Hey! What happened? Did I make you upset? Do you miss your parents!" Arjun took her in his lap but Pragati continued to cry

"Pragati! Shhh... I'm here!" Arjun hugged her little body tenderly! She was so tiny, he was afraid, his body might crush her

"I want my mother!" She finally said through her sobs

Arjun's heart melted and the familiar fear of alone coming back

Was he really stopped feeling alone with them?

How much he knew them? They were just some random kids he met a few hours ago,

"Yes! You.. you will see your mother tomorrow, I, myself will take you and your brother to your mother! " Arjun said, the thought of being apart from them was somehow bothering him.

"But why were you crying?" Arjun made her face him

"I miss my mother and my father! Can I ask you something?" She asked, her eyes were so innocent as if they had never seen the darkness of outside let alone touch them. Arjun wanted to keep these two kids away from the darkness of lust, anger, and jealousy, he felt protective of them.

"You can ask me, anything princess!"

"Do your father lives with you?"

"He..." Arjun gulped the knot that had formed in his throat

"He used to but now he has gone away to rest for a while," he said as if assuring himself

"He used to live? You know my father never lived with us!" Her lips were trembling

To say Arjun was shocked would be an underestimate! Was their father dead? Or left them? No matter what, he had hurt her, He should have never mentioned their father's name. Before he could say anything Pragati continue

"But my mother says he will come back one day, he is punishing some bad people! But you know Kirti doesn't believe her and says he doesn't like our father!" She said sadly

"Did your father play with you when he lived with you like Vidhi didi's father?" She asked Arjun excitedly

"Yes. My father used to play with me and my brothers a lot! He was our best friend!" Arjun murmured to himself, as he recalled his childhood memories, every single memory spent with his father were so precious to him

"You have brothers? Are you twins like me and Kirti?" She asked curiously. Arjun was glad that she was slowly changing the topic unknown to herself

"I do. I have four brothers, two of my younger brothers are twins not the rest of us" he elucidated

Even though Arjun understood from her blank face she didn't quite what understand what he just told, Arjun saw her nodding her head

"Where do you live?" She asked Arjun was amused seeing her so much interest in knowing about him

"I live in Hastinapur!" Arjun pinched the bridge of her nose and she giggled

"Where is Hastinapur?" She continued her queries

"You know, you made me realized how frustrated Madhav actually feels when I continue to question him like that!" Arjun laughed throwing his head back

"Who is Madhav?" Pragati couldn't help but ask

"Who is Madhav? Hmm, that's a big question from your little head. Even I don't know who he actually is!"

"But you just said his name! How come you don't know? Or are you lying? Mother says God punishes those who lie!" She said gazing at him sternly, crossing her hands over her chest

Arjun chuckled "Your mother taught you a lot, can you share something with me?" And then he added "please"

"Okay!" Pragati clapped and started "She told us to always respect everyone, She told us, we should never lie, I and Kirti should not fight, and we should always obey her and grandmother...." She continued her speech and Arjun couldn't help but found a familiar character in her

The way she talks, the way she behaves, her smile, everything resembles a certain dark-skinned beauty whose arrival changed his life just like her departure did

Arjun felt bad for their mother who was raising these two hyperactive kids all alone. But at least she had these two precious gems unlike him, who had nothing, no one, he was nothing but just a hollow shell

"Are you listening?" Pragati yelled and giggled as Arjun pretend to be afraid of her

"Are you afraid of me? Don't worry I won't punish you..." She assured him and let out a big yawn rubbing her hazel eyes, those eyes are just way too familiar to Arjun

"Yes yes, I know ma'am now if you permit let's sleep or else your Bowman brother will wake up and shoot me with his arrows because I kept his sister awake till now!" Arjun picked Pragati up who placed her head on his shoulder and immediately fell asleep

"Never in my life ever I'm going to forget this conversation!" Arjun smiled to himself and, placed her beside Kirti and covered her with a blanket. He placed kisses on their forehead and with a heavy sigh went outside,

.........

Malini/Draupadi's POV.

"What?" The pot fell from my hands as I felt dizzy

"What did you just say!" I asked the children with disbelief,

"Yes, we..." The girl gulped and they looked at each other

"We were playing hide and seek and Pragati started running after a rabbit. We tried to stop her but she gets lost in the deep forest and then Kirti followed---"

"No!" I didn't let her finish "no..no.." I murmured to assure myself

"We waited for them to come back but they didn't so..."

I stood there like a statue, no words came out of my mouth, my legs felt numb as they lost balance

"Malini!" Mata supported me from behind "you... You can go!" She dismissed them

"It..its all--"

"Where did they go?" I removed myself from her, I was trembling in fear, fear of losing my children

"It's already dark and it's so cold out there. And the forest. .." I couldn't think anymore and burst into tears

"What would happen to my son and daughter?? My Kirti can't bear cold and Pragati is afraid of the darkness!" I cried out

"They will be okay, Mahadev is with them!"

"Why things like that keep happening with me,? Why mother?" I hugged her tightly

"First my parents then my husband and now my children..." I wiped off the tears of my face and said in a trembling voice

"God forbids if something happens to them I.. " I again burst into tears

After some time I got up and wiped my face

"Where are you going?" She asked in astonishment

"To search the twins!" I said blankly

"Are you serious? It's really dark out there and the forest is really dangerous on top of it the low temperature. I'm not going to let you go.."

"Yes, It's really dark out there and the forest is really dangerous and the weather is bad too and my three years old babies are alone there! What do you want me to do mata? Sit here in comfort and cry for them?"

"I can't! They are everything I have, they mean more than worlds to me. I have sacrificed everything for them, my family my home. My husband" I continued

"I carried them in me for 9 months, raised them with everything I had... I just can't lose them for anything in the world!" I said through tears and came closer to her

"I know you love them no less and just worried about me! Don't worry maa, no matter what I will fight for them till my last breath... "

"Let me come with you..." She said

"No, your health condition isn't well, I will be fine! I will come back with the twins, don't worry!" With that, I left

Thank you for the read, hope you like it if you did don't forget to

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Btw! I made another video on ArDi, here it is, watch and tell how it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Iv1c1rxhHs

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Jaishnavi Krishnaa