The Inseparable Princes

102. Fire

"Seek shelter elsewhere, Devi. Anywhere else. It'll be your wish." Rama hadn't done anything as challenging as this before. He exhaled heavily, letting his eyes close for a moment exhaustedly. Nobody saw it. Not a single being. "Choose anybody you want. Bharat, Lakshman, Shatrughna, Vibhishan, Sugreev-"

Lakshmana was visibly gasping, as though he had just returned from a marathon. What on earth did his brother just say? Did he ask his Bhabhi to choose him? As in, choose him in place of Rama? Did Rama not know that Lakshmana considered her his mother? How could he possibly say such a thing? What was he even doing? How could he say such a thing, despite knowing what kind of a relationship Sita shared with Lakshmana? That of a mother and son! Lakshmana almost felt...betrayed. To hear such a thing from the brother he revered was purely painful. How could his brother even think about such a statement? This was just emotional torture for him.

Sita didn't react. She just waited. Now there was something about this. Rama couldn't possibly doubt her chastity, her character. She knew that. She trusted him. Yes, this coldness in her beloved's behaviour hurt. But something hurt him too. She could see it so clearly, that behind that coldness in his eyes was pain. She wanted to figure out the reason for it, of course. She wanted to ask if something was troubling him. For otherwise, her Rama would never say such a thing to her. She was only and only his, and he knew that better than most others did.  

"I couldn't have been the reason for any sort of dishonour to my ancestors. I killed Ravana, annihilated every being that supported Adharma. This was to establish righteousness. Apart from that, it was to ensure that nobody could point a finger at my ancestors, at my father, at Raghuvansha, at the ability of the descendants of Ikshvaku." He paused, mustering some courage to say what he was about to. "This was not done for you, Maithili."

Lakshmana was done with this. If it wasn't done for her, then why did he do every single thing he did? To protect the honour of their clan? If that wasn't the biggest joke he had heard, he didn't know what was. How did his brother even say such a thing? He just could not understand. Unadulterated rage was all Lakshmana felt. Frankly, he had had enough with having to listen ti this, illogical as it was. Rama was telling him that the woman for whom he had spent sleepless nights for months together was not the reason he had waged this war. He was telling him that he didn't love Sita enough for this.

 Instead, if there was a person that he knew was so much in love with his spouse that he would do anything for her, it was Rama. Anything. He had seen his brother almost destroy the universe when he had found out that his Sita wasn't there. He was shattered. He didn't even have a reason to live. Rama had decided to finish everything off. For the first time, Lakshmana, who had lived with Rama all his life, had got to see the pure anger of Rama. Not once, but twice. And a lot more times in the war. Wasn't all of that for Sita? Oh, or was it for the honour, the reputation of Raghuvansha? It was preposterous. It was unbelievable. 

"You, with suspicion arisen on your character, are disagreeable to me. I cannot accept you, just as the eyes of a blind human don't accept light. It would be wrong if I accepted a woman who has been glanced at by the evil Ravana." Rama hated it all. But his impassive face didn't even hint at that. Strong, serious it looked. "Every direction is open for you to choose from. Choose anybody you like." Choose! She was only his! Rama himself knew it! He hated what he was saying. He hated himself more and more and more. He cursed himself for what he was doing. It was unjustified. That wasn't even him. That wasn't even the Rama everybody knew. And Rama hated being that man that he was being, inflicting pain on his faultless Vaidehi. What had she done to be in such a situation? What had he done, that now, she was forced to be in this situation? The second one was more apt, and it hit Rama hard. 

Sita's hands trembled, hearing these words, harsh, piercing, from her husband who only spoke ever so politely with everbody. Had she really committed a sin, that Kaushalya's son was having to speak harshly to her?