The golden globe in the sky scattered shades of scarlet over the cottony soft clouds..The twittering of birds and fragrance of fresh flowers signified the commencement of Dawn..The trumpeting of conches and rumbling of timbrels resonated in the fortress of Hastinapur..gandhari , the former queen of hastinapur stood at the centre of the courtyard carrying the aarti thali in her hands..beside her, stood queen mother kunti whose heart was agitated by this perilous endeavour..it's been only two days since Arjun returned after a conquest and again he is s being sent away by his eldest for another combat..

With heavy heart and soggy eyes , draupadi stood at the balcony along with dussala anticipating Arjun's and Govind's arrival..her ruddy eyes screamed the intensity of tears she cast off..
Her palpitation escalated by each passing second..The swooshing sounds of swords, galloping of stallions reverberated inside her ears.. Memories flashed across her mind like lightning.. forlorn visages of her siblings devoured her inner peace.. unable to withhold the terrifying memories, Draupadi closed her eyes firmly..At the next jiffy, savyasachi and his madhav made their entry into the courtyard, astounding everyone..

" Bhabhisree..look over there.."
Draupadi uplifted her eyelids heeding to dussala..she gazed down to watch her beloved Arjun and her govind standing, camouflaged themselves as Brahmins..Her mouth agape in amusement..her orbs wavered to avert it's gaze from her arjun..albeit he was unadorned ,his charm and aura enamored her..

" Bhrata Arjun , bhrata dhuryodhan and dwarkadhish disguised as Brahmins...but why? Do you have any idea regarding this bhabhisree..?"
Dussala interrogated in confound and draupadi wagged her head , fastening her eyes over her beloved..

" Bhabhisree come.. let us go downstairs..it is so intriguing..besides, won't you wish to watch bhrata Arjun departing?come along with me..come"
As dussala concluded, draupadi felt a grasp over her hands..before she could respond,dussala hauled draupadi along with her to downstairs..

Gandhari revolved the aarti thali around Arjun, krishna and dhuryodhan for their victorious return.. draupadi and dussala stood at the corner of the courtyard..Karn conferred wishes for their journey and elders bestowed their heartfelt benedictions.. yagyaseni,the beloved youngest offspring of Drupad,let tears cascade down from her orbs.. savyasachi,who perceived this endearingly glanced at his krishnaa and blinked his eyes in assurance which didn't go undiscovered by dhuryodhan's hawk eyes..

Kunti traced her fingers over her beloved phalgun's cheeks and graced him along with Krishna.. dronacharya who was also present there along with drauni , wholeheartedly graced his beloved disciple..

" The time has approached princes..to commence your journey.."
After glancing above the sun, kripacharya reminiscenced..

Arjun glanced at his love once again and bid farewell to her through his hazel which was easily comprehended by her..tears dripped like pearls through her cheeks as soon as his figure vanished from her sight..prior to someone notice her tears ,she hastily wiped it..karn who was about to enter inside the palace, ceased on his tracks when his orbs got captivated by ethereal beauty standing infront of him..his eyes gleamed with delight..he strode forward to approach her , but immediately he got ceased by a voice..

" Putrii draupadi.."
Kunti's voice hauled back draupadi from her daze..karn who was about to approach draupadi , waived his plan and initiated a conversation with pitamah..

" I've been searching for you..can you come and help me for the special veneration dear..?"
Kunti interrogated to which draupadi nodded positively and accompanied her.. karn watched draupadi leave and smirked, thinking about his forthcoming moments with her..

••••••••••*•••••••••••

Darkness slowly engulfed the sky..The stars that blinked over the infinite sky and the twilight of blazing fire lamps accompanied draupadi in her solitude..The seclusion she felt was non existent when comparing to her inner commotion..her heart supplicated to almighty every now and then..To obtain some tranquility, she sat under the mandap in the garden and closed her eyes, feeling the rhythm of zyhper..but heeding to certain footsteps, draupadi jolted and stood up only to behold the king of hastinapur standing infront of her with a small smile over his lips..
Draupadi's jaws got tightened..she impassively unbend her lips and went near..

"Your majesty, you're here.. I.."
Before she could conclude ,karn interrupted..

" Why ? Can't I pay a visit here.. especially when you are standing here in solitary "
Karn enthusiastically glanced into her orbs..he anticipated her reply..in Lieu, she averted her visage and answered

" Actually, I desired for some solitude .. that's why I came here, apprising mata kunti about it..but let me acknowledge you that I'm fine..I earnestly apologise for your inconvenience but think you can take your leave, your majesty.."
Mustering courage, draupadi concluded..a tone of behest reflected in her voice but unfortunately karn couldn't comprehend the solemnity of her words..

" You don't need to seek apology draupadi..it's completely fine..I'm also devoid of any responsibilities so that's why I also arrived here for a leisurely walk..as I'm here, I hope we could take a stroll together.."
Karn again remarked making draupadi exasperated..she glanced above the sky and closed her eyes , inhaling a deep breathe..

" Again I earnestly solicit for your Apologise his majesty..i think we should get inside.."
By saying so as she was about to leave , karn hastily enwrapped his fingers over her wrist , aghasting her..Rage upsurged inside her and her brows scrunched..unceremoniously, she withdrew her hand from his grip.. her trenchant stare made him befuddled..

" Draupadi.. I.."
As he attempted to explicate, she upraised her palms and articulated bitterly..

" I apologise for this uncouth demeanor but this is inappropriate your majesty..you cannot touch me without my permission..I shouldn't have said this but this is loathe some and absurd..now let me take my leave.."
Her answer made karn dumbfounded..he stared at her in culpability..he could see tears percolating from her orbs..at the next jiffy,she left , leaving him behind..
Karn gnashed ..culpability encompassed his heart ..he reminiscenced how that day she restrained Arjun..he felt remorseful and resolved to seek apology to draupadi and retrieved back to palace only to get disheartened that draupadi already left for her chamber..soon,he also retired to his chamber, resolving to seek apology from her tomorrow..

•••••••••••*•••••••••••

Days and nights , weeks and months elapsed hastily.. Indicating the arrival of midday, The blazing fireball on the sky gleamed emitting it's full radiance..it's been a month since the princes of hastinapur along with the prince of indraprastha and lord of Dwarka set out their journey towards magadha..A day ago , they victoriously set their foot in the outskirts of magadha..yet the journey was fragmentary since they didn't arrive at the capital city of magadha which was located at a considerable distance away from the frontiers..Thus, They resumed their journey by walk..
An exhausted dhuryodhan sat under a tree , wiping the streaks of sweat that cascaded down from his temples..

" Arjun..i can't move an inch from here now..let us have some leisure time and then we can resume our journey..i never knew that this journey would be this much tedious "
Dhuryodhan blurted..Arjun glanced at his madhav and prince bheem..

" If you think this is tedious,then why did you even set out for this endeavour?"
At the next jiffy, bheem quipped making dhuryodhan gnaw in rage..from the inception of the journey itself,bheem didn't miss the opportunity to jest dhuryodhan and this irked him..

" Parth..i think we should consider bhrata dhuryodhan's suggestion.. let's resume the journey after some leisure time "
Krishna remarked..Arjun and bheem acquiesced to it.. making dhuryodhan sit under the enormous tree , Arjun and bheem parted in quest of fresh water to drink..

Arjun cautiously paced through the shallow forest,in quest of Rivers and ponds..The scorching fireball on the sky made beads of sweat cascade down from his temples..A drops of saliva glided down to dampen her parched throat..feebly Arjun sat on the bushes wiping the beads of sweat formed on his forehead..

" Greetings, oh Brahmin lord..you looks weary..may I ask everything is fine?"
Arjun sluggishly uplifted his eyelids as soon as a masculine voice reverberated inside his eardrums..Arjun perceived a tall lean man standing afore him , carrying a earthen pot in his hands..albeit he appeared to be an ordinary man, his visage gleamed with an ineffable radiance..his lips curled up to form a soothing smile..For some vauge reasons, Arjun felt the smile so acquaint..he reciprocated a smile and replied

" Thankyou for your concern.. I've been in quest of some water to drink.. but unfortunately I couldn't discover any water bodies nearby.."
The youth's orbs glistened in compassion as he streched the earthen pot towards Arjun and answered..

"I fetched this from the nearby lake..If you wouldn't mind , you can have this water to quench your thirst."
His words instantly brought a gratifying smile to Arjun's visage as he nodded positively..

" I'll forever be grateful if you confer me this water.."
Arjun stated and gratefully accepted the earthen pot from his hands and uplifted it..the youth smiled at Arjun ,but instantaneously,his orbs caught the momentary glance of the ring shimmering on Arjun's baby finger..
Perturbation flashed across his Heart as incredibly stared at Arjun..His brown orbs permeated tears as his gaze fastened over the Ring..

••••••••••••*•••••••••••

.................................................................

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