CHALLENGING DESTINY

THE FIRST MEET

On the outskirts of Hastinapur, time: midnight

A valiant youth can be seen seated upon a high spirited horse moving at a fast pace.

His features were a definition of perfection, a face no less charming than the proclaimed most handsome man of Aryavrat. The youth was dressed in ordinary clothes displaying his status as a commoner, but the aura he exuded was anything but ordinary. His usually stoic face held an unusual trace of smile making him look amiable and approachable creating a great contrast to his distant self during the day.

Dressed in royal clothes and holding a stern expression while exuding an air of nobility, he makes the perfect example of a typical prince during the day. While at night he rips of his façade and be the way he is. A pity only his duo friends had the pleasure to witness this side of him that remained unknown to the world.

A ride during night had always managed to calm him down, and with the courtesy of some of his lesser liked family a ride like this happens twice or thrice a week.

If said no one would believe that the dignified prince of Hastinapur is well acquainted with all the roads and streets of their kingdom.

Sometimes he felt jealous of the love and care his cousins received from their subject while on other hand people feared him and his brothers. No matter how he treated his cousins, he has always treated his subjects sincerely and fairly but they always kept a distance from him. Sometimes he feels doubtful whether they were a boon or a curse.

His life was struck in a quagmire in which Karna appeared as a ray of hope. He was the person that brought him a sense of belonging, a sense of clarity. At the beginning he had two reasons to befriend him, one being what others assumed, to use him as a weapon against Arjun and the second being the major one which others wouldn't believe even if said, he genuinely felt that the guy with the radiance of the sun who possessed skills superior to the  world's proclaimed best archer all the while having immense courage to break the social norms of the society and challenging the royalty........ was worth befriending.

He is glad to have listened to his heart that once or else he would have lost the chance to experience this beautiful friendship. Now Karna had became the most important person in his life whom he is not ready to loose at any cost, neither at the expense of the kingdom nor the throne.

Unknown to him, he was  soon going to meet the person whom he would regard with the same importance as that of Karna. The eldest Kaurav was immersed in his own thoughts completely unaware of the presence of upcoming storm in his life.

The horse came to a halt near the periphery of a forest causing the prince to jump down.

'Tej now you go and rest by the side  while I go to the forest .'

The horse seems used to its owner's behavior as it obediently follows his command while the prince wanders off to the forest. He took many turns with familiarity pushing through the thick and tall canopies before he reached a small lake in the middle of the forest. The surface of the lake was crystal clear perfectly reflecting the moon rays causing its surroundings to be illuminated. The place appeared ethereal and the words of his Mitra rang in his minds.

'No matter how spectacular the human inventions are it can never compare to the God's creations.'

This place was his secret hideout, his secret haven, it was such a coincidence that this kind of place existed within the perimeters of Anga and Northern Panchal too and happens to be the trio's favorite spot where they spent a considerable amount of time in solitude and in company of each other.