Karna's Queen

26

"I know how to stop them"
.
.
.
Karna and Gautam shared a look and waited for what she was about to say.

But she stopped.
If I tell them about the stone then we have to tell Gautam about his real mother. Maybe I should talk to his Foster parents first.

"Meera, what were you saying?"
Asked Gautam.

"Meera" 
Meera was fighting a dilemma, when she was called. And then she said
"Yes?."
Meera was planning to ask Karna,  and Sharma couple to tell him the truth.
"I think I need more time to figure it out. So... Sorry I need to go..."

"What happened to her?" asked Gautam.

Karna followed her leaving Gautam in the room.
Gautam was holding his cup and was caught by his deep thoughts.
He never said it out loud but something is going on in his mind too.
He looked at the direction of the door gulping the last sip of the tonic.

"Meera what happened?" asked Karna worriedly.
"We have to tell him"
Karna blinked twice and said.
"But it's not just us who has to decide."
Meera sighed at his statement.

It was in the evening, Meera and Karna didn't yet ask the Sharma couple about telling Gautam the truth.
They were regularly practicing their fights that evening.
The weather started to change. The hushing sounds were audible all over the place.
The three got closer.
"Are they here?" asked Gautam.
Just after a while those demons came out of no where and attacked the trio.
This time was pretty bad. Last time it was only 3 but this time they were 12.

Karna got onto his beast mode and defeated the demons. Though the demons left heavy injuries on his body, Karna didn't pay much attention to it and continued his fight.
On the other hand, Meera managed to trick most of them and burnt them down into ashes by her lightning bolt.
Gautam had a bit difficulty at the start but as he got onto the track he became good at this.
The demons were almost losing but one trickster ghost hid behind the trees waiting for the right time.
Suddenly it rushed out of the woods and attacked Gautam from behind.
Gautam fell down.
"Gautam!!!!!"
Karna saw what the demon was trying to do.
Most of the time hunters are known to feed on human souls. They slowly suck out the souls from the body and kill them.
Karna without even giving it a second thought jumped in front of the demon and pushed it far away.
But another demon came behind Karna, lifted him up and threw him away.
Meera and Gautam became almost helpless.
Karna got dragged to some distance, one demon held him tight from behind while the other one came infront of him and started sucking his soul.
As the soul is being sucked out of his body, he became pale and weak.
The scene made Meera furious she screamed out, "ARYA!!!!!"
She immediately ran towards him but in no time she got knocked down by another demon. Due to heavy impact Meera broke her ribs and fell at the roots of a giant tree.
She felt the pain, it was serious. It could take her at least an hour to recover fastly. But Karna doesn't have much time left.
She couldn't move no matter how hard she tried.
Gautam was severely injured too. But looking at Karna and Meera made him more and more furious.
Blood rushed through his veins.
He took an arrow from the quiver and ran towards those monsters with all the strength he has left with. The demons must have underestimated his strength and didn't pay much attention to him.
But then a miracle happened.
Meera saw a glimpse of golden kavach and kundal appearing on Gautam's body as he jumped in the mid-air and attacked the creatures.
It was Gautam, but still he felt like someone else. Maybe his father? Karna?
He killed two of the demons who surrounded Karna. One was sucking the soul out of him.
He pulled it by its head and pinned it to the tree.

"NO ONE. NO ONE CAN HURT MY FATHER!!"
Gautam's voice echoed in the middle of the forest. His voice was as powerful as the Lion's roar.
He pierced the arrow exactly at the center of it's head. The demon disappeared leaving behind the arrow which is now strongly stuck inside the tree trunk.
Meera saw the golden armour that was protecting Gautam disappear slowly.
Gautam turned around and ran towards Karna who now looked like a zombie.
"Hey... It's me. Are you okay?" asked Gautam with concern.
"You knew. *chuckled*" Karna saying this cupped Gautam's cheek with his weak hands.
Gautam took Karna's hand into his and said, "Yes I knew" both of them shared a chuckle. Gautam couldn't see Karna in such pain. Tears almost made their way down. Karna regained his strength, he stood up, half leaning on Gautam. Both shared a look and chuckled again.
"How long have you been playing along?" asked Karna.
"Hm... Since the day you figured it out. I came back sooner that day."
Confessed Gautam and shyly smiled at him.

"Hey I um... I'm really sorry for disturbing the father and son interaction but... I think I am hurt. It's pretty bad. I still can't move my body. Ouch. Yes, I'm hurt." said Meera.

The duo quickly went to Meera and sat on the either side of her. They both adjusted Meera's position so that she could heal faster.
Gautam held Meera's left hand and rested his back on the tree behind.
Karna held Meera's right hand and leaned back on the tree.
"Now I feel better" said Meera.
The trio waited for Meera to recover from her wounds. Karna also felt better after a little rest.
Gautam was new to wars and fights so he had trouble adjusting his body but that's fine he's just a beginner, he will learn it sooner or later for sure.

"I love this crazy family" said Gautam which made both Karna and Meera laugh.

The fact that Gautam knew solved half of Meera's tensions.

Gautam said he was quiet because he didn't want to disrespect his father's or his Foster parent's decision.
Although the decision was made about Gautam without his consent, he was kind enough to understand them.

Maybe that's the reason why he also wanted to help us. Maybe that's why he kept on asking for more and more training. Maybe that's why he always found an excuse to stay close to me and Meera.
He knew.
He knew he was my son.
That's why he didn't want to disappoint me.
He is my son indeed.