ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇꜱ | Republished ✓

39. Free! Free! Free!

Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.

"Advika!""Putri!"" Bhabhishree!" the calls came simultaneously.
Advika had fainted the moment, she landed on Karna's arms. Her exhaustion catching up on
her. Karna shifted his hold, picking his wife in his arms as walked down the stairs to where all
of hid family was standing.
Kunti sat down on the ground, near the pitcher of water.
" Putra, bring her over here!" said Kunti, as she gestured towards her lap. Karna slowly laid
Advika on the ground, her head on Kunti's lap.

Nakul came forward to check her pulse, and sighed in relief when he found it was strong.
" Jyesht, maa, chinta ka koi karan nehi hai! Bhabhishree's pulse is strong!" said Nakul, a small
smile on his face.
Everyone released the breath they were holding. Karna sat down removing his angavastra
( upper garment ) as it had burned a bit. His bare chest still adorned with its usual jewels. His
hands immediately rubbed Advika's palms, trying to bring her into consciousness.

His brothers followed. Yuddhisthir, Bhima, Arjun, Nakul and Sahadev also removed their
angavastra, which had also half burned. They kept their weapons aside, and sat down on the
ground in a half circle, surrounding their jyesht, bhabhishree and maa.
Kunti opened the pitcher and sprinkled a bit of water on Advika's face and patted her cheeks
gently.

" Ahh!!" a soft noise escaped Advika lips, as her eyes fluttered open, before shutting again.
She slowly opened her eyes, unconsciously squeezing Karna's palms a bit, before her hand
went straight to her head.

Kunti slowly let Advika sit up, as Advika opened her eyes again slowly, adjusting to the low
lighting of the palace. A single mashal burned in the dark tunnel.
" Did we get out?" asked Advika, her voice a bit scratchy from thirst.
Immediately Kunti gave her a glass of water from the pitcher.
" Drink putri, then speak. How are you feeling?" said Kunti, as she helped her to drink.

Karna slowly helped her sit in between him and Kunti completing the circle.
" I am fine maa. The smoke must have made me faint." said Advika, she smiled a bit sheepishly,
now speaking softly and properly.
" Bhabhishree, You had us worried for a moment! What was that you did? and Jyesht how did
you touch the fire, and not get burned?" asked Yuddhisthir, firing question one by one.
" Shant putro! Let them speak, and all of you first eat something." with that Kunti took the
fruits and sweets that was present and distributed among all her children and herself.
When everyone had their share of food, and had eaten a bit, Karna spoke softly.

" As the son of Suryadev, fire does not harm me! In the end, Sun is a huge ball of heat and fire,
whose mere temperature is higher than that of any fire. I cannot control fire, but I am not
harmed by it either. This is one of my two divine qualities from my father Suryadev." explained
Karna, as he nibbled on a sweet.
All the others had a shocked look on their faces.
" Will we be able to do something like this as well?" asked Arjun, now very excited to explore
his gifts.
" Perhaps! We will figure it out. What I did was also one of my two gifts. I could control earth,
as the daughter of Devi Prithvi. I created the earth wall to shield you all from the explosion.
The problem is I used it when I was already tired and panicked. I need a clear head for using
that power, hence I fainted from exhaustion." said Advika, as she leaned on to Karna, her head
resting on his shoulder.

" That is amazing! You mentioned two gifts though, what is the other one?" asked Sahadev,
his eyes sparkling.
" You will know soon. For now we need to move soon. I want to use the night as cover." said
Karna, as he gave Kunti a bit of water, which she took with a smile, listening to her children
chatter.

" Haa jyesht! How long is this tunnel?" asked Bhima, as he finished his food.
" It is not very long. It opens at the Ganga river, which flows near Varnavrat." relied Karna, as
he got up. He helped Advika to get up, while Arjun helped their mother.
Kunti packed the clothes and wooden shoes in a bundle and held it to her chest. Yuddhisthir
bought the mashal and held it in the middle.
" Let us walk fast. If we can escape in the cover of the night, it would be highly beneficial."
said Karna, as he motioned Yuddhisthir to take the lead with the mashal. Arjun and Karna took
the side, in the middle walked Kunti and Advika. Behind them was Nakul and Sahadev , while
Bhima bought the rear of the group.
All the brothers had their weapons with them, even Karna. The tunnel was deep and dark. They
could feel the musty air, and the damp walls. After walking for nearly an hour or two, they
could hear the sound of running water.
" It seems like we are very near to the mouth of the tunnel." said Nakul, from behind.
" Yes putra! It seems like it." answered Kunti, with a smile.
After 20 minutes of walking they reached the other end and came out to breath fresh air.