An interlude to Sunset

The part where things look bleak - Yudhistira

This is a Mahabharata Fanfiction mostly based on facts we see in Star Mahabharat. The Mahabharat in its entirety holds a lot of facts and is a complicated and marvelous creation, But this is just a fanfiction. So there will be several anomalies. This story is just meant as an entertainment and there is no intention to hurt anyone's feelings, religious or otherwise. I have just borrowed the characters to weave a storyline. 

So I could thankfully get up this chapter quickly but it may take some time to come up with the next chapter due to health reasons. Kindly bear with me as I really intend to take this story to a conclusion. Thank you all for the kind comments and I will always welcome comments and suggestions. They keep the zeal going :). Thank you and regards. 

7. Yudhistira

The hours were slowly creeping by but there was no noticeable improvement in Arjun's health. The bed chamber was now blissfully empty. The medicines Nakul had given Arjun should have put him in a limbo like state but something was stopping them from functioning as they should have. Arjun was moving restlessly, whimpering from the pain that must have been wrecking his body. The rapid movement of his eyeballs could be seen framing and moving his closed eyelids. Yudhistira had massaged his brother's feet with some warm oil and he could see that it had calmed down the archer to a great extent.

Arjun would have bristled and literally danced around trying to stop Yudhistira from touching his feet had he been in control of his faculties; Yudhistira smiles absently.

There was only himself, Nakul, Guru Dronacharya and Pitamah in the bedchamber now. They had finally managed to convince Mata Kunti to leave with Maharani Gandhari to get some much needed rest. Arjun had been injured sometime near noon and it was now past midnight. It was fruitless to try to convince either Pitamah or Gurudev to go and rest and it was not possible to give Nakul a break.

Sahadeva was yet to arrive and even though Yudhistira could see Nakul's hand slowly gaining some tremors from extreme tiredness, he was helpless to remedy the same. He carefully raised himself from the bed after placing Arjun's feet on the coverlet and started preparing a pitcher of salt and jaggery water mix. He has been doing this for the entire day and it was mainly what was sustaining them, specifically Nakul. None of them could even think of eating at this time and Nakul would not as it may interfere with his healing.

While making the first pitcher of water, everybody from the maids to his mother had tried to take over the task, saying something about it being unbecoming of a Samrat, but Yudhistira had persevered; he needed to do something and he had ever held much stock about what was becoming and what wasn't. His younger brother laid on the bed unconscious and the only thing unbecoming would be to leave him to the servants.

Yudhistira poured the contents of the pitcher into the tumblers placed there and handed them over to everyone in the room. While handing one to Nakul he added, "Rest for a while," in a slightly chiding voice.

"And you too, Samrat!" Yudhistira started and then slightly blushed as Pitamah's slightly amused voice addressed him.

"I am alright, Pitamah," he mumbled back, all the while making sure that the pitcher was properly closed and that there was still fresh water at hand. He felt a presence behind him and realized that his Pitamah stood there.

"It shows how much..." Pitamah placed a hand on Yudhistira's arm and it was then that the emperor realized that his hands were shaking. Pitamah gently led him back to Arjun's bed and Yudhistira sank down unto the soft mattress. He could feel the aches on his body now more than ever. "You need to rest too, son."