Book 1 of Maharani Devika Trilogy (Previously known as DharmaPriyaa: The Lady Who Loved Yudhishthira)
She struggles to prevent an unwanted marriage.
He is thrown into murder attempts.
But love still found its way, overcoming all the dangers.
_______...
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Kampilya
Potter's hut
Draupadi woke up to the pleasant morning. It had been such a good sleep that she had been unusually late. Her gaze fell on the other corner of the room. None was there. Fresh flowers lying on the Puja altar told her that they were already done with the morning phase of Sandhya-vandana. She bit her tongue for being so late and not helping them in it.
As she rose, a thick deerskin fell off her body. Draupadi's eyebrows met. How did it come here? The last thing she remembered was shivering in the cold night, lying on this cold earthen floor. Who wrapped her thus with deerskin? Draupadi's eyes moved to the place where the Pandavas used to keep their single winter garment. It was not there.
She blushed, smiling to herself. How could they realize that she needed it? And that meant, they themselves slept without a cover, in this cold?
Her fingers ran through the deerskin. There was an warmth of love that she could sense. The warmth that had made her sleep so comfortably even in this small hut.
"Namo Narayanaya!"
Draupadi's musings shuttered. The voice felt familar. She peeped through the window. It was Aacharya Yaja, the royal priest of Kampilya.
Has he come to gather her news?
Draupadi saw Yudhishthira welcoming the Brahmin with due respect before asking him the reason for this arrival.
"I have brought message from King Drupada." The priest informed. "The Lord of Panchala wants to see you soon in his place, Brahmins!"
"His wish is order for us." Yudhishthira nodded with a smile. "We shall reach there soon."
"Young Brahmin," priest Yaja looked at him intently. "May I know your real identity before we reach the King?"
Yudhishthira's smile fainted. He looked up to the priest with alert eyes.
"You do not look like Brahmins. Your well-built frames and marks of bowstrings on your palms do not support this attire. And above all, the existence of five warrior Brahmin brothers along with a widowed mother, looks too much of coincidence."
Yudhishthira sighed. He knew that the Panchala family already began guessing it right.
"If you trust me, may I know who you are?" Yaja enquired again.
"So this is why Yuvaraj Dhrishtadyumna was secretly watching over us yesterday, right?" Yudhishthira calmly asked. "To guess our identity?"
This time the priest was tongue-tied in surprise. He could not imagine that they had sensed Dhrishtadyumna's presence.
"Brahmin Kumar, isn't it very natural for a father to worry about her daughter's marital home?"
"I know, Aacharya. Still I request you to wait for a little more. I promise you, not only Panchala but the entire Aryavarta will know our identity soon!"
