Kairavi

Chapter 100

"It is from jyeshth!" He exclaimed, gesturing Kairavi to come and see. She skipped towards him, bequeathing Nakul with his behaviour for the moment. She hoped to see a word from Parshati, for it had been 9 years since they parted.

"What does it say?" She put her hands on her hip.
"Samrat has called for me. Seems like the situation is critical, because there is no mention of you or Nakul here. I should leave as soon as possible."

"That's suspicious. Are you sure it is from him?" Their incognito was drawing near, so she could safely presume that Shakuni had something up on his sleeve.
However, Sahadev shook his head. "I don't know."

"Well, then don't go!" she protested, making him purse his lips in rumination. His eyes flickered back and forth between his wife and the letter.

"I see no harm in a sojourn. I shall be back in a week or so." Kairavi was not going to have any of his disregard for the danger or consequences of his actions.
If something happened to him, the pandavs would fall apart, and so would her heart.

"But I do. What if it is a trap of some sort? You are just walking straight into it." she argued, desperate for him to change his mind.

"But what if he really needs me there? I would never be able to forgive myself, knowing he called out to me but I chose to ignore it."

"I don't have a good feeling about it, Arya." He laughed at her innocence. Tilting her chin up, he assured her.
"Just because I lost a duel with you, you think I cannot protect myself? That's very arrogant, rajkumari."

His humour didn't help one bit in easing her distress. He noticed apprehension drifting in her sparkling orbs; and kissed her forehead.

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows. Rather, it empties today of its strength." She nodded hesitantly, unwilling to let him embark on the journey on his own.

But the queen knew that none of her husbands would allow her to stay back alone, while they visited the Dvaita forest for an entire week.

"Help me pack some essentials, dear. I shall start walking today."

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Arni was gloomy about her husband's departure. She could not shake the feeling of someone attacking him on the way, and that made her weak to the core.
But Sahadev was a brilliant astrologer. He would have foreseen the odyssey beforehand.

Then what was this malaise snatching her peace of mind?

Her thoughts got the better of her; and she dropped a ladle full of rice on the ground, instead of Nakul's plate.
She jerked awake from the mishap, immediately apologizing for the imbecility.

"Be careful, love." The fifth pandav caressed her forearm reassuringly, for he knew about the turmoil inside her mind.
However, her other husband did not utter a word of complaint. He zipped his mouth and ate while Chandreya cleaned up the mess.

"I shall send another letter to you if everything is fine there. Our medical education is complete, and Kairavi's training is near its conclusion as well. She can practice there." He proposed, making his brother snap out of the trance he was lost in.

His pained eyes never left Arni.

"Huh? Yeah." He stammered a response and went back to his meal.
'Look at the way she is anxious about Sahadev's well-being. Would it cost a fortune to think about me sometimes?' He thought to himself, silently hoping that she heard it; but her psyche was stumbling upon unpleasant thoughts at that nonce.