A Journey To Mahabharata

Chapter 31

Days blended into weeks and as soon as I blinked, two months had passed with the Pandavas. We had changed our location in that duration. When we were still in the kuru kingdom, at one point the number of guards searching us increased.

So, Yudhisthir suggested, we move to Panchal. The place was not far, so the travel would be easy, but it not close either, thus our chances of getting caught decreased.

Even there we lived away from the settlements. It was better private. Alexa was standing in the same spot for over a month now. I had spent a lot of time with her. Tried converting her in many different types of vehicles. I tried tank. It worked, I guess. There was not enough space and it crushed two trees. Other than that, I tried bike, toy car and for some reason space ship. She outright denied the last one. Understandable. I was just checking her limits. But I still believe she can turn into a space ship. I just think she's denying me, because she's scared that I will go to space. Only time will prove me right.

Other than that, we had panner tikka on a bonfire. This was my idea. But the credit of the entire operation goes to bua Kunti. I explained to her the process, as best as I could, as I myself am a noob at cooking. After her listening patiently to my rant she noted down all the ingredients needed and then sent us to the town to bring it. We also brought corn and cauliflower. That night they had their first taste of barbeque and their reactions didn't disappoint. After that we tried noodles. But it was a failure. The Manchurians did work, but they were not exact. I guess it was beginners' luck that the barbeque worked.

Coming to the topic everyone is curious about. What happened after that night? I am sorry to disappoint you, but nothing happened. But something had changed between us after that vow. It was really hard to believe that night before happened the next day. But it did. It was hard to trust him. My trust was again broken a few days ago. And knowing the future I know he would marry Draupadi. So, what would change? The vow or future. I knew the answer. But I was not ready to accept it yet.

Both of us, didn't directly bring up the night of confessions after that. Even if we did, it was just vague references. But some sort of ritual had started. Twice or thrice a week, we would both spend time together near a river (which we found even in Panchal). It didn't start like that. We were sort of in the same location at the same time. In the beginning, I drank a lot. Because somewhere it still hurt. Him removing me from his life so quickly. But nothing is permanent, right? The hurt also decreased over time.

We also talked and laughed on those nights. You could say they were good memories. Yudhishtir wanted to learn English. I was happy to comply.

I asked him, "In return, can you teach me weapons?"

He replied, "I can't teach you."

I cut his next words and spoke, "Why? don't you think I should learn self-defense if I want to?"

He answered patiently to my harsh question, "I am not against that. It's just I don't know how to teach. I don't want you to have a wrong foundation. Breaking it and creating the correct one would be way harder."

I asked, "So, what do you want me to do?"

"Study under a good teacher. You will learn a lot faster and accurate."

I turned towards him, "Even I'm a bad English teacher. Go learn it from someone else."

He smiled, "You are the best teacher, I'll met. And only both of us will know about it. Why does it have to be perfect?"

I was frustrated at his words; how can you compliment and deny in the same sentence and still be called as a simple man? He was a cunning fox. I cursed in English, "You charming son-of-a-"

"Now, you haven't taught me that. Translate it." He replied smiling.

I didn't translate it for him for obvious reasons. "Figure it out yourself."

"I will in due time. You know I have photographic memory, right?" he said.

"You-" Threw the nearest object which happened to be a stone at him.

He laughed, "You aren't fast enough to hit or catch me, yet."

I took it as a challenge, "I'll show you how fast I am."

He was quicker on his feet and I chased him on the banks of river ganga in a silver night. The sounds of river and my anklets could be heard till I felt my feet tire out.

I crouched tired of the running. A minute later, I felt him standing above me. I looked up. He offered, "Water?"

I took the bottle from him and hit his hand. "Calm down women, at least drink the water."

"If I did that you'll run away." I yelled.

The back of his hand touched my cheek as he said, "Drink. I am not running anywhere."

But that's just the stories of the past. Right now, we are on our way towards the Panchal palace for the Swaymvar of princess Draupadi. There was a nagging feeling inside me that something was supposed to happen before this. Something important. I tried to look at the downloads of Mahabhart episodes but I found that the entire series was lost. It was nowhere in the laptop. Something was up. Somebody was up to something.

(The event being referred to here is the marriage of Rakshasi Hidimba to Prince Bheem. This event did not happen. Thus, Ghatotkach, their son was not born.)

Coming back to the Swayamvar. Draupadi wished to marry Arjun only. It was her boon which had backfired which eventually led to a war. Not her fault, I'm not blaming her. But if I stop this event, it could stop a chain of events leading to war. I had a plan. It was a very simple one, rather than the complicated one which I had tried last time. The plan was to reach the tree house early and stop mata Kunti from saying those words. What could go wrong?

"So, Arjun what do you think about princess Draupadi." I asked Arjun trying to tease him.

He acted aloof, "Why would I think about Draupadi?" and when I said acted. I mean it. He was really bad at acting.

"Accha ji." (Oh really) I spoke. "Fir voh Shiv mandir ke samne wali mulakat kuch nahi thi?" (Then should I assume that the meeting in front of Shiv mandir was nothing?)

He flustered and then tried to catch himself. "How do you know about it?" How do I know about it? Easy, I stalked him. You don't miss the good parts of your favorite series.

Before I could say anything, Nakul caught up. "Bhrata Arjun ab aap aise saval ka javab saval se mat do. Hume bhi batao mandir main kya hua tha?" He asked raising his eyebrow. (Bhrata Arjun don't answer a question with a question. Let us know what happened at the temple.)

And you might say how does Nakul know about it. Easy, I took him with me. Everyone should have fun, right?

"Shut up, Nakul." Arjun said. He then turned towards me, "So, answer me, Aarohi. Where do you get lost in the night? And I can't find my brother at that time too. Strange, isn't it?" It was my time to blush.

Nakul slipped in the conversation, "Batao batao. Aap dono batao, chal kya raha hai?" (Both of you tell me what is going on?)

We yelled together, "Shut up, Nakul."