Aru Shah Oneshots (requests!)

[4.5] The Daughter of Gauri pt. 2

☆☆☆Aru☆☆☆

"Yep," Aru confirmed breathlessly. "That's me." She fiddled with her khichdi spoon.

The young man shook his head, still confused. He let go of Aru's hand and ran his head through his long, outgrown hair. "Something doesn't add up. Didn't you kill Meenakshi, Aru? How would Surpanakha still be looking for you?"

Aru didn't know how to answer. She remembered plunging the arrow into Surpanakha's heart many years ago, but that woman in her visions was definitely Meenakshi. Who else could it be?

Aiden raised his arm again. "Okay... but, I still don't understand. Who's Gauri? What does she have to do with what Brynne's seeing?"

Aru and Brynne shared a long, meaningful stare. The taller girl averted her eyes. "Um... I'll tell him, Aru." She took a long, deep breath. "I've been seeing things about times before I was born; when Anila was a Panchakanya. The first time I saw this vision, I saw five women: Anila, Aru's mother, Mini's mother, and the twins' mother."

Brynne ruffled through several papers on the table and finally found one. It showed four young women, and there, though the drawing was messy, were Kritika's familiar curls and smile. Aru couldn't help but smile at the drawing of her mother.

"But there was another woman whom I didn't recognize," Brynne continued. "That woman... she was the fifth Panchakanya. Her name was Gauri. Apparently, Gauri was supposed to be pregnant with the reincarnation of Bhima. She was supposed to be my mother, but she had other plans. She discovered in a minor prophecy that 'the one whose name shines bright will be the bride of Power.' Gauri thought it was about her because her name meant shining and brilliant. She thought she could rule with Power." The asura girl looked apologetically at Aru. "I-I can't, Aru."

Aru placed her hand on Brynne's shoulder and took on the story. "We found out that the prophecy was about my mother, Kritika. Kritika is the name of a star. She was the Sleeper's bride, who was quite powerful.

"Once Gauri discovered there was a world underneath ours, she became so excited. She was so enchanted by the Otherworld that she sort of... became a part of it. She literally wanted to rule the entire Otherworld, and she believed her unborn child was the weapon that could make that happen."

Aru explained how Gauri easily made enemies along the way. She explained how one day when she was running away from a few demons, she traveled too far into the forest of Ratri, and the goddess could sense her vain thoughts. Ratri confronted Gauri and told her that her plans for the Otherworld were foul. Gauri couldn't rule the world. Ratri told Gauri that the prophecy wasn't about her, but Kritika. Gauri became furious and sought vengeance.

"Gauri found out Kritika was in love with a man named Suyodhana... my father," Aru breathed. "She also learned that Suyodhana would turn evil against his will. After Kritika and Suyodhana got married, Gauri slowly started manipulating him, taking advantage of his prophesied fate. In a way, Gauri was the cause of him turning into the Sleeper." Aru closed her eyes. She could hear Gauri's faint voice in her head say, If Kritika wants Power, she'll get Power, as she said in one of the visions.

"Of course, we all know how marrying the Sleeper went for my mom," Aru muttered. As if anyone needed a reminder of the long quests she was forced to go on in middle school.

She felt Aiden's shoulder rub against her and she relaxed. Whatever it was, Aiden was with her now, and they weren't on opposite sides. That thought gave her the courage to continue the final bits of the story.

"Ratri found out what Gauri did to Kritika and cursed her, saying that the child growing in her would die, leaving her never to have kids again. Gauri panicked at first but found a way. She met Brynne's mom, Anila in Ireland where she was studying. Gauri convinced her to have the child."

"Surrogacy, basically," Brynne explained. "Gauri miscalculated the time, so Anila had me too early. She was horrified and, well, abandoned me."

Hira spoke for the first time. "So..." she turned to Brynne. "You're the daughter of Gauri?"

Brynne nodded grimly.

"That can't be bad, right?" Hira laughed nervously. "I mean, she's just a greedy woman. We've---I mean you've---defeated greedy women before, right? The Mahabharata is basically run by greedy women. It's nothing you guys haven't seen before."

Aru stepped forward. "I don't think you understand the depth of the situation. Gauri's different. She almost tore apart the Panchakanyas. She went to unimaginable heights to manipulate my father." Aru grimaced at the word, father. It seeped with distaste on her tongue. "Besides, you saw what she did to Anila. She ruined Brynne's life before she was born."

Hira looked from the daughter of Indra to her wife. "Kanna..."

Brynne blinked back tears. "If it weren't for her, Anila could've lived a happy life in Ireland." She kicked a nearby wall with such force and produced a hole. Drywall flaked and powder fell to the ground. "I wish I was never brought into this Pandava shit."

Aru wished she could disagree. Being a Pandava meant your life wasn't safe. It meant death, it meant destruction. Sure, the Pandavas had saved the day in the end, but why was the journey always so difficult? Besides, Aru couldn't tell if she was on the good guys' side again.

"In conclusion," Aiden said, "you two have been getting visions about an upcoming war and we have a new threat: Gauri. We don't know how to face Gauri or what she's currently capable of---we just know she's dangerous."

Aru nodded.

"Well, that's just perf---" Aiden's phone buzzed and he pulled it out.

Aru craned her neck to see who it was, but she couldn't read it in time. Aiden quickly swiped the call away, making her feel suspicious.

"I've gotta take this," he explained, hurrying to the kitchen. "Work call. My boss is looking for me." He cursed all the way there, shaking his head.

Aru silently chided herself. She put Aiden in this position: she made him skip work, and throw his tracker and radio away. If Aiden got fired, she was one hundred percent at fault. Still, that made her chuckle. It felt good to know that she and Aiden were getting back on track.