Kairavi

Chapter 20

Sahadev ran as fast as he could with his shoes sticking to the lac floor. The blazes would occasionally blow up on his face, making him pull away from the heat. It was slowing him down, so he put his arm in the front to protect his face and swam through the clouds of smoke, towards Kairavi's room.

It was getting impossible to breathe for the princess. The lac stuck to her lehenga had now began to seep in through the fabric. She felt her skin scrunch as the searing hot lac left blisters on it.
The whole chamber was filled with dark smoke. She had been inhaling the toxic fumes for a while now, and it had started to block her air passage.

Kairavi tried to push away from underneath the chandelier; but she burnt her hands as all she could get a hold of, was a piping chunk of wax. The semi-solid substance couldn't be removed with bare hands. "Heeeelp!" Her voice had become husky due to the fumes that triggered violent fits of coughing.

She couldn't see anything in the room either, because of the dark smog that had accumulated in there. It had nowhere to escape; the reason being the shut windows.
The lack of oxygen had started to make her dizzy. Black spots danced before her watery eyes as she wheezed for air. Her eyes rolled back to her head and soon, she lost consciousness.

It was hard to make out which room was hers in the fire for Sahadev. His vision was blurry and the melting walls didn't help much either. Suddenly, someone jumped on him from behind to save him from the pillar that was about to fall and toast his body.
"What are you doing here Nakul?! The castle can collapse anytime!" He shouted.

"She is my wife as well." He countered. "I know she doesn't trust me so let me prove her wrong today."
Sahadev nodded as there wasn't much time to argue and they both made their way towards her chamber.
"This is locked!" Sahadev panicked. "Then let's kick it open!" And so they did. The burning doorframe came down along with the panels.
They were welcomed by a big black cloud of smoke that had been choking Kairavi this whole time.

After it cleared up, they found their bride crushed underneath the giant chandelier that was thawing rapidly. Her whole body was covered with burn marks. Sahadev went numb. He thought he didn't reach there fast enough to save her.

"She's alive!" Nakul screeched in relief as he rushed to her side. Sahadev snapped out of his trance after hearing his brother's words. He wiped off the tears that stung his eyes while looking at his twin who was struggling to take off the huge mass of lac off of her.

"GET OVER HERE!!" He yelled when he saw him standing with a blank expression on his face. Together, they both tried to claw off the lac but weren't successful. "Her breathing is shallow, we need to do something quick." Nakul said.

Sahadev looked around. The gears of his brain turned as he saw some large plates scrawled on the floor. Grabbing one, he plunged it in the space where her lehenga met the melted chandelier.
"On the count of three..!" Nakul clasped the edge beside Sahadev. "One, two.... Three! PULL!" They hauled the plate with so much force that the consolidated mass broke apart, tearing up a part of her lehenga along with it.

Chucking the plate aside, they scratched off the remaining lacquer. "Sahadev! Clear up the path." Nakul commanded as he put her arm around his neck.
He jabbed one forearm under Kairavi's back and hoisted her against his chest; while the other went under her knees. He lifted her off the ground and went straight for the entrace. Her long lehenga made it hard for him to maneuver his way; so his twin made sure that her clothes don't catch fire. 

"Nakul! we don't know where that tunnel is." "I do." Nakul replied. "I asked jyeshth about the location when you ran off." They jogged out to the courtyard where Kunti and the rest of the pandavs were waiting for them. "Kairavi!" Kunti's hand flew to her mouth in shock, seeing Kairavi's injured body.

"Is she breathing? Her lips are turning blue." Arjun asked anxiously. "Yes. But I need to find some lungworts and thyme leaves to clear the congestion in her lungs. Otherwise she'll die of asphyxia." Nakul said while setting her down.
"Jyeshth how far is the other end of the tunnel?" Sahadev asked. "Not far away, assuming that it leads to the banks of Ganga." Yudhishthir estimated. "Let's get out of here. Bheem, help mata down the tunnel." He put Bheem to work. After bringing his mother, Bheem carried Kairavi down the tunnel. The other brothers followed close behind.

They all practically ran the whole way, trying to keep Kairavi's breath inside her. And before long, they saw the exit of the tunnel waiting for their arrival. "There it is!" Bheem exclaimed with joy. "You will be fine, rajkumari. Stay strong." He said to the passed out Kairavi in his arms.

Arjun tried to push the round lid-like door but failed.
"It's jammed jyeshth!"