Changing Destiny

27. Departure

Meanwhile in the palace, an invitation was received for the inauguration of a Palace built by Purochana in Varnavrat and the maharaj decided to let the princes go there on his behalf.

Next day in the palace the princes were ordered to go.

"Yes Maharaj! That would be our honor", Yudhister said.

Then everyone looked at Duryodhan. "What me too?", he asked.

"Yes you too. What kind of a question is that?", Maharaj asked.

"Well I cant go", Duryodhan said.

"Why?"

"Well- I- uh-I am – I guess- I am sick So I can't go", Duryodhan stammered.

"Oh what happened son? Youalright?", asked the over protective father.

"Well- eh- nothing- I just caught a cold I guess", Duryodhan said faking a sneeze and sniffed.

"Fine. Take rest"

As the Pandavs prepared for their travel to varnavrat, Vidhur caught up with Duryodhan.

"Hey you alright son?", he asked.

"Yes", Duryodhan answered. Vidhur raised his eyebrows. "Actually no! Achchooo!", Duryodhan sneezed.

"I never thought the day will come when the mighty Duryodhan accepts his illness without hiding", Vidhur said.

"What can I say. I am trying to be the better man", Duryodhan said and fake sneezed again.

"I know you are faking it", Vidhur said.

"Yeah you are right!", Duryodhan gave up, "You see I can't go there"

"Why so?"

"Coz I don't wanna die"

"What?"

"I mean- Palace inaugurations are one of the most boring ceremonies in the history of ceremonies. I would rather be here than die of boredom there", Duryodhan confessed.

"You know maharaj wouldn't appreciate you lying right?", Vidhur asked.

"Well I have no obligation coz I am not the crown prince", Duryodhan said. Vidhur just stared at him. "Fine sorry! Please do not tell my father", Duryodhan requested. Vidhur just threw up his hands in exasperation.

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After the Pandavs left along with Kunti, Duryodhan escaped from the palace and walked down the very familiar street and stood in front of a very familiar house.

"What the hell are you doing here? I thought you will be half way through to varnavat right now", Karn asked.

"Well I jumped across palace walls to play with my little champ. Everyone in the palace thinks I am sick. So lets keep it that way", Duryodhan said as they went inside the house.

"Are you?", Karn asked checking over his friend.

"No! Just bluffed. I didn't want to go", Duryodhan said.

He found Karn's son was awake and took him into his arms. The baby snuggled in to his wide chest and smiled, "Awwwwww"

"So who knows you are here?", Karn asked.

"No one", Duryodhan replied, "According to everyone in the palace I am resting in my room and strictly ordered not to disturb under any circumstance"

"Except?"

"Except mahamantri and mamashree"

"Unbelievable", Karn scoffed.

"Uhhh?"

"So Gandharraj knew you missed a chance to represent the crown in the palace inauguration and yet he let you be?", Karn asked, 'Something fishy', he thought.

"Yeah- no big deal brother. Now stop with all these questions. Today I  came here to spend some time with this bundle of joy not you", Duryodhan said.

"You keep forgetting that I am his father", Karn muttered.

Duryodhan just smiled and turned his attention back to the kid in his arms. Karn couldn't ignore the slight nagging feeling at the back of his head, 'Something doesn't feel right', he thought.

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Hours passed! Duryodhan was having a great time.

"You should spend the night here son", Adirath said.

"Uhhh but-"

"Yes brother, if someone saw you sneaking in now, you will be in trouble", Vrushali said.

"Yeah but I have to sneak in anyway at some point of time", Duryodhan said.

"Well it will be easy at early dawn. Not now", Karn said.

"Fine!", Duryodhan gave in, "But if I stay here, I get to bunk with my two favorite boys", he demanded.

"Deal! You can have them. Atleast today I can sleep without interruptions in the middle of the night by baby cries or loud snores", Vrushali said.

"Hey I don't snore", Karn pouted.

"Oh God what am I getting myself into?", Duryodhan teased.

And they got ready to sleep. Duryodhan put the baby to sleep ang got ready to sleep himself when he found Karn distracted. "Mithr you good?", he asked.

"uhh yeah"

"You are a terrible liar"

"No- its probably nothing"

"Hey whatever it is you can tell me", Duryodhan insisted.

"Well it is just- I have a bad feeling about this palace inauguration", Karn confessed.

"What bad feeling?"

"I don't know- like something bad is gonna happen", Karn said.

"Well now you are just being paranoid. What are you? Their big brother? Even if something bad happens, Arjun and his Gandiv along with Bheem are present. They will take care of themselves. Don't loose your sleep over them", Duryodhan said.

"You are probably right. I am just being stupid. Goodnight Mithr", Karn said.

"Yeah goodnight"

Little did they know that the Pandavs were walking into their death trap.

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NOTE: And that's chapter 27. I am so sorry for this very long hiatus. Things got tough in the past month. But then I remembered the promise I made about not quitting this story. So here I am, keeping my word up. And the Pandavs are about to be fried and Duryodhan escaped. Will Karn follow his gut? Stay tuned to find out. Feel free to comment your thoughts and dont forget to vote.

Thanks a lot for your support. It means a lot.