" what the hell I'm doing on a hospital bed..i was with you all.."
Arjun got up immediately from the bed and glanced at Krishna incredulously...

" Parth ..relax .. actually it's not only you...all others have also admitted in the same hospital.."
Krishna divulged and Arjun stared at him , unable to comprehend his words... lakshmi glanced at Krishna and then at Arjun simultaneously....

"Are you alright Arjun?"
Arjun swivelled his head towards the direction where he heard the sound and he saw darshan standing with concern laced visage...
He glanced at darshan from top to bottom as if he's watching him for the first time...his memories ran back to his uncle dhritarashtra,though all that memories he had with him were bitter ...

" Yeah...I'm .."
Arjun replied softly and glanced simultaneously at his friends and asked in an exasperated voice...

" Can anyone tell me what's happening?"
He asked and this time darshan replied...

" Actually the one who brought us all here were the security guards in the palace..they said that after we got inside the palace, a sudden Strom came resulting in shutting the windows and gates of palace...thus we all felt suffocated and fainted there itself..."
Darshan said and Krishna sighed...a befuddled Arjun glanced at lakshmi Krishna and darshan...

" And you guys also fainted..."
He asked raising his brow and darshan nodded positively...

"Yes .. we all gained consciousness a few minutes back...it was only you and Shakti left...now you woke up but don't know about shakti..."
Darshan said and Arjun's eyes widened...he glanced at his madhav just to earn a positive nod from him...

Arjun immediately tried to get down from the bed but a hand stopped him from doing further..he saw darshan glancing at him with guilt and pain...he immediately embraced Arjun into a tight hug...Arjun knows what he was feeling...
Him ,as dhritarashtra did a lot to hurt his brother's children just because of his over obsession over his children...
Darshan said nothing but Tears made their way down through his eyes , pouring out his emotions well...
Krishna patted darshan on his shoulder to appease him and Arjun rubbed his back just to soothe him ...
Lakshmi smiled at them and slowly left the room , to check shakti's state of health...

Just then, grabbing their attention,they heard the sound of door opening...their head snapped towards the direction and the scene infront of him brought tears into Arjun's orbs...
His four brothers standing infront of him, gazing fondly at him...
His elder brother in the form of yuvan , his bhrata bheem as bhushan and his naughty Little brothers Nakul and sahadev as dev and naksh...
Tears permeated from their eyes as the 4 brothers intently stared at him ...
Immediately,the 5 brothers gathered into a bear hug and tightly hugged each other, squeezing out their happiness and excitement...

" I never knew that almighty will give us another chance to see together.."
Bhushan said as they parted and the brothers grinned to each other in happiness...

" And look how we all became brothers in this life too ..this time soul brothers.."
Nakul commented , making everyone smile a bit..
But on the other side,Arjun strived hard not to explicit his agitation....yes, he was happy that his brothers got enlightened by their past life but he was tensed..tensed thinking about their memories with HIS krishnaa.
He side glanced Krishna and Krishna smiled at him as if he knew everything...

As soon as the brothers left the room after spending a little time together, Arjun anxiously glanced at Krishna and Krishna placed his palms over Arjun's shoulder..

" Don't worry parth...your brothers are here to fulfill their past wishes...they do remember about panchali, but not the memories they spent with her...for them , she's just yuvan's fiancee.."
Krishna tranquilized Arjun and he felt a pang inside his heart heeding to Krishna's statement about shakti as yuvan's fiancee...

Suddenly, lakshmi made her appearance inside the room and said
"Arjun... shakti has just gained her consciousness "

Shakti sat on the hospital bed emotionlessly and glanced around to see her cousins and relatives darting their sympathetic gazes at her ...
Hearing the news Her father, Ajay rushed into the room and hugged her tightly...she smiled a bit at her father...

" I'm ok paa ."
She said in a weary voice but her father wasn't convinced by that...
She passed a reassuring smile to her papa...but the small smile she had on her face just dropped as soon as she saw two shadows approaching towards her...

Dhyan and Karan...her eyes brimmed with brines as she glanced at them ..
Painful memories conferred excruciating pain to her inner self...the beastial laughter of her own brothers rang inside her ears...
On the other side,Karan and dhyan 's forlorn gaze scanned their sister's pale visage...
Tears made their way down through Dhyan's eyes... unable to withhold the pain that was eating him inside, dhyan exited the room without saying a word and Karan followed him immediately...

" Bhai.."
Karan called from behind as soon as they exited the room...dhyan without a word,hugged his brother tightly and sobbed

" Probably, She might hate me too Bhai.."
Karan said while tranquilizing Dhyan...tears of helplessness escaped from karan's eyes too as he realised the impact of his past deeds ..

"How can I be so cruel Karan...the one who has to be treated as a sister, treated as a slave by me...she was your sister in law...my sister in law and we failed to ...."
Dhyan sobbed hard like a toddler inside karan's embrace...Karan too strived hard not to break down infront of his brother who was broken...

"How will we face her now Karan? We are her culprit...god ! Why are you testing us..."
Dhyan cried and Karan tried his maximum to appease his elder brother...

" We aren't deserving for this birth Karan...we are not..we are sinners .. I can't face my younger sister like this .. she's my life Karan and i can't bear this silence of hers..."
Dhyan's lament made Karan too broke down into tears...but just then,they felt a cold hands on their shoulders...
They swivelled their head to glance at the figure standing Infront of them...

" Vasudev.."
Karan whispered as soon as they saw Krishna standing infront of them with a small smile dancing on his lips...

" Don't loose hope dhyan bro... she's your blood this time ,your sister..."
Krishna said and dhyan wiped his tears and nodded negatively...

" No vasudev...I'm her culprit...i dis.. owned...my sister...my chinki..."
Dhyan again broke down making Krishna cease him from doing so...

" But she's no more panchali... she's shakti now .. your sister whom you loved more and vice versa... she'll understand you bro .."
Krishna said but this time Karan replied..

" I don't think so vasudev... during these years, I've never seen anything other than love for us in her eyes ..but today for the first time,i saw her eyes filled with hatred and dejection..."

Krishna sadly smiled at them and shook his head not to think so ..

" Time heals everything Karan bro...have faith in yourself and your love and affection you'll definitely succeed..."
Krishna said and walked away from there leaving the two brothers baffled...

At evening,
By evening, everybody got discharged and came back to the palace as today they've arranged Shakti and yuvan's mehandi ceremony..as it is already planned,they can't postpone the ceremony... thus, they decided to complete the ceremony today itself...

Shakti Sat inside the room, infront of her dressing table as her cousins were busy in getting her ready...just then she saw varsha entering into the room with two familiar faces following them....
Shakti saw two girls entering into the room all excited and they nearly squeaked as they saw her....

" Didi..."
They both squeaked in unison...shakti swivelled her head and a wide smile formed on her lips as soon as she saw them...

" Renu...Jaya.."
Shakti whispered and hugged them tightly... It had been 2 years since she met her cousin sisters renuka and sreejaya...her happiness had no bounds as soon as she saw them ...and after hours, finally shakti genuinely smiled at them ...

Renuka (left) and sreejaya
( Shakti's cousin sisters... naughty, bubbly twin sisters ... currently studying in an engineering college... reincarnation of karenumati and Vijaya respectively...)

" It had been 2 years di....two years .."
Renu yelled hugging shakti making shakti giggle...

" Yes ..and we won't leave until your wedding rituals complete...we love you dii .."
Sreejaya hugged her from other side and both squeezed shakti from two sides...

" Ok ok...now..come ..it's time for the ceremony..."
Varsha said grabbing the trio's attention and shakti's smile faded as soon as she heard it...she pursed her lips to form a tight lipped smile and they moved forward towards the main hall ...

At the hall,
Everybody was waiting for the bride to come and guests were already arrived.. lakshmi and Shakti already found a great bond together and lakshmi went to get shakti along with bhumika ..

Arjun stood around a corner chatting with Krishna..but his hazels scanned each and every corner of the hall to get a momentary glance of his Krishnaa...
Just then,he saw Shakti descending down the steps like a princess, looking enchanting in her pink anarkali suit paired with dazzling jewelleries...she kept her make up very light and simple but yet the radiance of her face fascinated everyone like a moth getting fascinated towards the flame...

Varsha along with lakshmi, bhumika , renu and Jaya made shakti sit on a decorated chaise lounge at the center of the hall... quickly, some women surrounded her, conferring blessings to her, blocking Arjun's view...
An exasperated Arjun turned his face to see Krishna smiling mischievously at him ..

" someone is So Desperate "
He commented making Arjun more irritated...

" Shut up Maddy...or else I'll call your appa and inform them that their son has fallen madly in love with a mallu girl..."
Arjun smirked and divulged making Krishna aghasted....

"What...??"
Krishna asked unable to credible what his friend said ..

" What .. don't fake shock ..i knew that you got hooked up with laksh...for a life time..."
Arjun said and Krishna immediately shut his mouth with his palm...

" Now don't open your mouth here .and to my appa and amma ..i myself will convince them ."
Krishna said and Arjun shook his head smiling..he already comprehended about Krishna and Lakshmi from their actions...and why not..afterall who knows his madhav better than him ..

Shakti got suffocated by the environment..she felt everybody was falling over her in the name of blessings...renu and Jaya laughed at her cousin sister's pathetic situation ..
Just then, shakti's eyes fell on her Arjun,who looked irresistibly charming in his dark blue kurta and matching pants ...his neck length hair falling highlighted his sharp jaw line...his baby moustache and beard that peeked through his skin made him look hot ....
Shakti for a minute got lost inside him and their eyes locked for a brief time submerging in the ocean of love and admiration...

Shakti glanced at the mehandi design that was gradually adorning her hands and suddenly a cherished memory flashed through her mind ...

" Malini...it's enough ..look I've no time...it's nearly noon..."
Draupadi nearly scolded her handmaid and best friend Malini...

" Sakhi...it's diwali... moreover your first diwali with prince Arjun in indraprastha...so don't you think that you should look good .."
Malini said, applying mehandi on draupadi's delicate palms ..

"But Malini...I've to supervise the preparations..poor devika and dhara was alone in checking the preparations...and bhadra,poor her she was running behind kirti since morning ..."
Draupadi whined and after final touches Malini hot up finishing applying mehandi on her hands ..

" Ok.. done..now sit there like a good girl for 2 hours and after that you can supervise the preparations..."
Malini said and draupadi widened her eyes...

" Two hours?!"

" All hail her majesty, commander in chief Prince Arjun has entered inside your mansion..."
One of the maid announced and draupadi glanced at her own reflection in the mirror...
Malini exited the chamber with a naughty grin on her lips..

Just then she saw her beloved husband entering into the chamber with all his glory... draupadi got up from where she was sitting and glanced at him...she saw Arjun striding towards the crib....

"Kirti ..my baby ..where are.."

Arjun cooed glancing at the crib but got baffled as soon as he saw the crib was empty..but he saw his queen standing near the couch, staring at him raising her brows...

" Where's kirti..?"
He asked and draupadi replied that he's with Subhadra in her mansion...
Just then, Arjun noticed his queen's hand filled with intricate designs of mehandi and a mischievous smirk appeared on his lips ..

Taking advantage of the situation,he advanced towards her making her heart palpitate loudly and rapidly...he reached dangerously close to his wife and wrapped his arms around her slender waist transmitting chills through her spines...

"Arya...I'm busy..i.. I've to..to ..go ."
Draupadi faltered at her words as his sharp nose brushed against the delicate skin of her neck...
Arjun inhaled her blue lotus fragrance and conferred wet kisses on her neck trailing down to her collar bone...
Draupadi 's eyes rolled back in ecstasy and toes curled up in coy...she strived to divert his attention but her mehandi filled hands restricted her from doing so ..

"You can't do anything krishnaa... you have to bear this sweet torturing or else the design will ruin...""
While drawing abstract patterns on her bare waist with his long artistic fingers,Arjun commented making her eyes down cast...
He teased her by delicately fondling her bare back , shoulders and waist arousing goosebumps on yagyaseni's whole body....
Arjun intensively glanced into her eyes..his love filled glanced made yagyaseni go weak on her knees and her lips quivered....
His glance travelled to her quivering lips and it doesn't take much time for savyasachi to join his hankering lips with her to pull her into a passionate kiss....he sucked her lips as if no today and no tomorrow...her poured out all his passion , longings and love in a single kiss and unknowingly her mehandi filled palms clutched his strong locks and robust back , imprinting her design and mehandi colour over him ..

" I love you so so much Krishnaa.."
Arjun finally muttered while kissing her forehead, before setting apart from her...they neither cared about heis back filled with her mehandi colour not her ruined mehandi design...they just submerged into the ocean and colours of love deeply without wishing for a comeback from there ..
He fell with his Krishnaa in his arms on the couch ,to fulfill his unfulfilled desire and passion to make her his once again ...

" It's done ma'am "
Shakti swiftly opened her eyes when she heard the voice of mehandi artist...
She glanced forward and saw Arjun standing a bit far away from her, glancing intensively at her like the same as he glanced at her years ago...his enamoured gaze again captivated her and she easily comprehended that he too reminiscenced the same memory now..
She averted her gaze from him but Arjun kept gawking at her ..
He could still feel her petite frame inside his arms and her luscious lips near his lips ..he closed his eyes and stood there unable to withhold the present...

Everybody gathered near shakti and now yuvan was also brought near her to find his name inside her mehandi...
Arjun clenched his fist and was about to exit the hall, Krishna restricted him by holding his hands ..

" Yuvan...find your name inside her mehandi now dear.."
Preetha announced and yuvan reluctantly agreed ...he took a glimpse of devika who was standing a little away from there with her brother..she forced a smile and immediately left the hall much to yuvan's dismay...

Yuvan was about to search inside her hand ..they heard the mehandi artist calling shakti in a shuddering tone ..
" Ma'am..I'm sorry..i forgot to add his name..."

Preetha incredulously stared at the mehandi artist who was quivering under everyone's gaze darting at her...
Arjun snapped his head and glanced at Krishna only to see him smiling...
And that was a biggest manifestation of almighty...
That shakti was not meant for yuvan but for someone else ....

Shakti and Arjun glanced at each other and their eyes intertwined their gaze as if they've to speak a zillion emotions to each other...

.................................................................
So here is the next chapter...
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