Kaal Chakra

5. सौख्य

सौख्य - Meaning comfort or comfortableness

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Dwarka

Chaturdashi, Phalguna Krishna Paksha, 5000 BCE

"Has she fallen asleep?" Balarama asked Krishna in a whisper.

"Yes. I feel that we should leave her alone to rest now." Krishna whispered back, slowly standing up from the bed so that his movements don't wake up the sleeping girl.

Once he was on his feet, Rukmini bent down and pulled the blanket up to her chin, tucking it in securely. 

"May you have the sweetest of dreams tonight." She whispered and with a last smile, she too, followed the rest of them out of the chamber where they found Balarama giving strict instructions to the soldiers guarding the entrance.

"You are to allow no one, except the royal family and Vaidyā Gargi and her assistant, inside these doors. Is that absolutely clear?" Balabhadra ordered sternly.

"Yes, Yuvaraj." Came the swift reply from the two burly guards and with a satisfied nod, the crown prince of Dwarka spun around and started walking, the other members of the royal family behind him.

"Kanha, both mothers and Pitashree are waiting for us in the dining chamber." He informed his dark skinned brother.

"I had told Udho to inform them that all of us will be late and to not wait for us for dinner. I guess he wasn't able to convince them." Krishna said laughingly, his melodious laughter echoing throughout the hallways and involuntarily bringing a smile to the faces of anyone who heard it.

"You know that our mothers don't listen to anyone, except you. Poor Udho, now he must be feeling guilty that he wasn't able to do what you told him." Balarama chided him lightly.

But his mischievous younger brother just threw his head back, laughing heartily.

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A tall, slender yet built figure was pacing in front of the doors of the dining room. He wore a plain silk dhoti and angavastram with simple gold embroidery on it and minimalistic ornaments. There was no crown on his head, so his raven hair moved freely with the wind, just barely touching his shoulders.

He was fair like his oldest brother and had a few similar facial features, yet his face didn't possess the sharpness of the crown prince or the effortless divine beauty of Dwarkadheesh but was soft and round like the moon.

He was handsome, no doubt, but what attracted everyone to this Yadava youth was the innocence and simplicity mixed with humility and utmost devotion for his older brother, Vasudeva Krishna.
There was a lustre of knowledge on his calm features, similar to a rishi, even though the young man was a royal.

His slim fingers were knotted behind his back and his eyes, dark and almond shaped, steady and friendly, were continuously darting towards the end of the hallway to see whether his older brothers and sisters in law had entered the corridor.

The minute he saw their figures walking towards him, he almost ran to them.

"Bhratashree, I swear I tried to convince them to not wait for all of you and have their food, but they didn't listen to me. I promise, I really tried but I failed. Mata Devaki and Mata Rohini were adamant to not eat before you." Uddhava said in a rush, his words tumbling over each other.

"Udho, calm down and take a breath. I know that you tried your best." Krishna said, keeping a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"Kanha is right, now let's go inside and not make them wait any longer. Even I am hungry." Balarama said, slapping his youngest brother's back and almost making him bend forward due to the force of it. With a loud laugh, the crown prince started walking again and once he reached the massive door of the dining hall, the guards bowed down in front of him and opened the solid wooden doors.