An interlude to Sunset

The part where it all began - Yudhistira

ONE – Yudhistira

"Arjun"

The cry tore itself from Yudhistira as he registered the sight in front of him. 

In the main gate leading to the palace of Hastinapur stood his sister Dushyala and almost being held up by her stood his younger brother, Arjun. The well-built warrior looked pale and there was a wound on his upper chest where an arrow had stuck through and it was bleeding heavily. But the placement or the severity of the wound did not look enough to disable his strong and valiant brother to the extent that he couldn't stand up on his own strength.

"Arjun"

With another shout of dawning horror, the Chakravarti Samrat (emperor) dashed down the stairs of the palace and ran over to his siblings. On reaching them he drew away his wounded and listless brother from Dushyala. One careful glance at her showed that she was terrified of something but otherwise unharmed.

"What happened, Dushyala?" Yudhistira asked even as he tried to coax his brother into some form of movement. Arjun was taller than him and he was trying not to jostle his younger brother too much. The arrow wound did not look deep enough but it must have been poisoned for Arjun to act as he was. "Dushyala, my sister! Please. Answer me. Are you okay? What happened?"

Dushyala finally broke out of whatever stupor she was in and started sobbing. "I-It is b-because of me...-because of us...." Her voice trembled and her beautiful face soon became wet with tears. No other words were forthcoming and she continued with her incessant sobbing.

There were footsteps behind and as Yudhistira turned carefully, supporting Arjun, he saw that a small congregation has assembled before the palace gate. The group included his Pitamah Bhisma, Duryodhana, Angaraj Karna, and a few more of Duryodhana's brothers. Their faces registered the same surprise as Yudhistira was sure than his did and there were a look of great worry on Pitamah's face. He rushed forward and grabbed hold of Arjun on his other shoulder.

"Putra Yudhistira, this is not the time for questions. First let us take Arjun inside. The wound does not look deep but there is something amiss with the way he is not responding and is practically unconscious. You get the healer and fast." 

Bhisma took charge of the situation and Yudhistira would readily agree that he was relieved. An emperor he may have become but still felt helpless in such situations.

 "Duryodhana!" the grandsire now called out of the eldest Kaurava. Duryodhana and his brothers usually held a look of utter contempt whenever they were around the Pandavas, but today they looked as flabbergasted as the others. Any mishap on him and his brothers, Yudhistira would manage to find some hand of Duryodhana's but it did not seem to be the case this once; at least, for the time being.

"Duryodhana go and fetch Gandhari and Kunti and also Nakul, if you can find them," Bhisma directed. "And make haste about it child!" he snapped.

The eldest Kaurava, the crown prince of Hastinapur, now looked annoyed, but in the face of Pitamah's direct orders chose not to argue this once. Before leaving he casted a wary look at his sister as if making sure that she was truly okay and not injured. He need not have worried as Yudhistira had already checked over her. For all the enmity that existed between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, all of them loved their sister equally and without reservation.

Pitamah Bhisma had slowly yet steadily carried Arjun inside the place and Yudhistira made his way towards the healer's chambers. Before that he had made sure that Dushyala was sitting in a partly shaded alcove near the palace entrance. He had tried to coax her into coming inside but was unsuccessful. She had started shivering violently and her sobs had increased evermore. Angaraj Karna was still standing there as were Dushyala's few other brothers and Yudhistira left with parting instructions for them to look after her. Karna had looked annoyed and on thinking back Yudhistira could not fault him. His instructions were not required as they would have looked after her regardless.

Yudhistira found that the palace was unusually empty for the time of the day. Only a few maids and soldiers were about. But Yudhistira only partly registered all of this as he maintained a fast pace towards the healer's quarters. 

The Emperor's heavy robes were hampering him; else he would have run through the extent of the corridors. Not for the first time he cursed the sheer enormity of the Hastinapur Palace. Everything was too far away. With each passing minute the worry for Arjun was making even breathing difficult for him. He had never seen his brother ever look so listless and he had seen him with worse injuries.

Injuries were inevitable when one was a Kshatriya and a world renowned archer at that. Yudhistira had seen and nursed his brother through worse arrow injuries, sword slashes, broken bones and other diseases. But Arjun never looked so still before. In fact, his brother was never still. 

Yudhistira had seen Arjun try to practice archery with a broken forearm and had proceeded to deliver the worst scolding that he could to his errant brother. He had also seen Vasudev Krishna and Arjun come back from one of their exploits with deep gorges made from sword wounds but had still found them laughing as they had alighted from the chariot. It had taken some serious glares from Panchali to finally make them stop with their childishness and to get their wounds treated. But what ailed Arjun now? What was in the arrow that had stopped his spirited brother?

On reaching the healer's chambers, Yudhistira wasted no time on ceremony and explained the situation as briefly as possible. He directed the healer to his younger brother's quarters and then reluctantly made his way back to the palace entrance. His duty directed him towards Dushyala, even though his heart yearned to be by his brother's side and he could not shirk his duties. The thought made his heart heavier and the crown weighed all the more...

Should the story be continued?.......