ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇꜱ | Republished ✓

60. Matsya Desh - the disguise.

Rajkumar Sahadev, son of Madri, adopted son of Kunti, known as Madreya and Kaunteya both, was in a pensive mood. They were traveling through the thick forests of Panchal. There were still four weeks left before they needed to be in Matsya Desh.

The spy that had been tailing them was left stranded in some remote village of the Kuru Kingdom, where even the locals had helped. Let's say the spy has no idea where Sahadev and Vritika were.

"Arya?" called a melodious voice.

"Haa, Vriti?" answered Sahadev from where he was sitting.

"There are still some days left, but... have you thought about what you are going to disguise yourself as?" asked Vritika, her eyes bright.

Sahadev hummed.

"I will disguise myself as Tantipala - the cow herder. What about you, priye?" asked Sahadev.

"Why, your wife of course!" said Vritika, a small smirk on her face.

Sahadev sighed before chuckling softly.

"Ab prasthan kare? Hume shigra ati shigra upasthit hona hai, Matsya Desh ke jungle mei." said Sahadev, getting up.

"Then... let's disguise ourselves, from now only!" said Vritika, making Sahadev nod.

_______________________________

Advika's pov:-

Matsya Desh - the kingdom where all of us have decided for Agyatavas. The forests of Matsya Desh were thick with numerous trees, birds, and animals. Many people don't go into the forests during the night. This was the exact reason the meeting would be held at night. I was really tense. This year was the most important year for us. We cannot mess up at all. We can't let Duryodhan win.

I had been right when I thought that the spies would tail us. We were the last people to leave our temporary abode of 12 years. We took our spies straight towards Matsya Desh, but instead of stopping, we entered Koshal Rajya. Then we left him there and returned towards Matsya again. We were the first people to arrive. Karna found a clearing, while I left a path there for others to follow.

It was a full moon tonight. The sky looked beautiful, with stars and the moon shining on us. The forest was illuminated beautifully as well.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, as he gave me a few sweets he had bought from the bazaar on our way.

"Nothing much. By the way, you look... funny."

He hummed while I giggled. He looked different but not that funny. We have gotten the news that the head blacksmith, who supplied the army of Matsya Desh with weapons, had died. He only had a wife left, as his daughters were married. So, the kingdom was in need of a new blacksmith. Therefore, Karna in disguise as a blacksmith had gone in for the post. He wore brown dhoti with a black cloth, which can't be called an angavastra, tied to his waist. Silver cheap jewelry adorned his neck. His kundals were very hard to hide, but before we arrived again in Matsya, we had detoured to Hidimba, who had disillusioned his kundals and his radiance. The illusion would last exactly a year.

"You know, it's a good thing that Hidimba weaved an illusion on you; otherwise, hiding those Kundals and your natural radiance would be very hard, especially when they know how to identify it's you," I said after a while.

"Yes. Disguising myself would have been tough otherwise," he replied softly.

"Are you sure of your disguise?" he asked again. I looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I find the fact that the previous blacksmith died all of a sudden, when he had no ill-health, a bit suspicious. I don't want you to tangle yourself in some kind of problem," he explained.

"You suspect someone," I stated, wondering who it could be. He nodded.

"Suspect whom?" called a voice. We turned around to find Devanshi and was... that Yuddhisthir?

"Is that Yuddhisthir?" I asked incredulously. Devanshi nodded.

"You have a lot of hair on your face," stated he, while I laughed. Devanshi snickered.

Yuddhisthir sighed, but he looked amused too. "Hair on his face?" asked another voice. We all looked around to find Nakul and Kalyani approaching. Nakul took one look at Yuddhisthir and then snorted, which led to a chuckle and then full-blown laughter.

"Bhratashree, did you take inspiration from Pitamaha? Because, you sure look like him, now! Only the hair is black, compared to his white!" said Nakul.

I looked around to find Bheem, Vandita, Sahadev, and Vritika had joined us. Only Arjun and Draupadi were left.

I frowned when I saw a red cloth. My frown deepened, as I knew that the cloth was the end of the saree.

My eyes narrowed because I had seen a similar cloth somewhere. My eyes widened as the entire thing clicked.

"Brihannale???" I called out.

Immediately, a soft giggle was heard, and a reluctant-looking Arjun, dressed as Brihannala, poked his head out from behind a tree. Draupadi dragged him by his wrist, giggling at something.

I looked at Karna, who looked amused too.

"So what's going on?" said Arjun, grumbling.

"Wow, bhratashree, you look handsome... I mean pretty!" said Nakul, snorting. Arjun glared at him.

"Okay, enough! Tell me your disguises and the names you have chosen. Then I will explain what news I have found," said Karna, his face serious.

I straightened as well, as I watched my family do the same.

Yuddhisthir will go as the entertainer in the court. Devanshi will go as his wife. Bheem will be the cook, while Vandita will stay with us as my sister-in-law. Arjun will go as Brihannala, the dance and music teacher of Princess Uttara. Draupadi will go as the maid of the queen, while our twins will go to work in the stables, their wives disguising themselves as their other halves.

I heard him sigh.

"I will go as the blacksmith for the royal family. Bheem, Arjun, and Yuddhisthir be very careful. I have a suspicion that someone from King Virat's court had killed the previous blacksmith. We need to be very careful. Draupadi and Devanshi, by no chance should anyone see your face. We will be caught if someone even gets an inkling."

"Ji jyesht. We will be careful," replied Yuddhisthir. All of our faces have become serious.

"We can meet every fortnight, in this very place at midnight," he said, while everyone nodded.

"What about our weapons, jyesht?" asked Sahadev, making me frown a bit. It was a very important question. I looked around before I spotted a tree, which is dead but yet standing, as the moonlight made it look ghostly in nature. An idea formed in my brain.

"There!! We can use that tree," I said, before going straight towards it. When I explained that since the tree was dead, we could use it, Sahadev used his axe to cut a hollow within it, and all of them hid their weapons in it. This way no one would be able to find our weapons.

"Arya, Jyesht, please use an arrow that will make sure none comes to this place, ever!" said Draupadi, making all of us nod in agreement.

After everything was done, as all of us looked at each other. Our Incognito year has officially begun. I wonder how many problems we will be facing.