Kairavi

Chapter 24

The pandavs along with Kunti, Kairavi and Hidimba took the air to explore the forest and find a way out, if possible. Yudhishthir had clued in Arjun about their new demon companion which made him even more cautious.

Unaware of her true identity, Bheem kept making eye contact with Hidimba on the way. He turned around every 30 seconds to make sure that she was right behind him. Kunti shook her head, smiling at them.

After sometime, Sahadev started mimicking his brother. He would turn around occasionally and smile shyly at Kairavi. He made her snicker by offering his brown angvastra for her to hold.
Their life as forest dwellers seemed so much more pleasant than the lavish and pompous one at the rajmahal. Sure, it wasn't as luxurious, but it certainly was more memorable.

"I am hungry, mata." Bheem's stomach spoke for him. "Didn't you eat a wagon full of food just a few hours ago?" Arjun asked him. "Yes, but I'm hungry again. It takes vigour to duel with a rakhshas."

"What duel? W-why are you saying that?" Hidimba fumbled with her words.
"I killed Bakasur this morning to save Ekchakra from his monstrosity, and that too in a duel." Bheem flexed his arms in an attempt to impress her.

She was starstruck on hearing that. Bheem grinned satisfactorily seeing her smile at the ground. "This forest stinks so bad, I can't even smell fruits or anything here."
"This is the smell of food." Everyone's heads swivelled towards Hidimba, who said that as a matter of fact. "I-I mean, food of the ogres."

"Can you tell us where we can get human food?" Bheem asked. "Ofcourse! There might be some trees ahead, I can smell them from here." "Adbhut!" said the dazzled Vrikodar.

'Strange. She is a demoness indeed, but I don't feel threatened by her presence.' Kairavi pondered.

Soon, they found the trees that Hidimba had mentioned; and Bheem started shaking them until the berries fell on the floor. Everybody gathered around the heap of drupes and began feasting.
Bheem and Hidimba were competing on who could fit more berries in their mouth. And clearly, Hidimba was winning.

Both of them were eating as if it was their last meal. There was hardly anyone in Bharatvarsh who could compete with Bheem in eating.

The other pandavs looked utterly thunderstruck. The pile of berries disappeared within minutes.

Nakul leaned towards Kairavi and said, "That's it. We're gonna starve. Screw us, even bhrata Bheem isn't going to have his fill."

"Arya, if bhrata Bheem doesn't have his fill, he can come for your hand next." she dragged, still consumed in watching the contest. Nobody could believe their eyes; Hidimba was a tough contender to Vrikodar.

And for the first time in history, fear was seen in Panduputra Nakul's eyes. He looked like a doe caught in a car's headlights.

"Why are you scaring me?"
"Am I just scaring you Arya?" He gulped, thinking about the likelihood of that happening.
His jaw dropped on seeing Hidimba gorging two fistfuls of berries at once. "Just eat, Arya. Atleast you should have your fill before going into bhrata's stomach." she said while shoving another fruit in his mouth.

"Nakul, don't worry about us. We won't miss you." Sahadev piped in, earning a smack on the head from Kunti who heard their conversation.

Suddenly, Hidimba belched so loud that it almost sounded like a lion's roar. She cowered down in embarrassment, but Bheem let out a louder burp, making her a lot less disconcerted.
"Holy heavens and guts, I live!!" Nakul thanked his lucky stars for sparing his life. "I save the best for last, Nakul." Bheem said. The others couldn't hold in their laughter seeing his gratitude turn into fear once again.

But Kairavi was still focused on Hidimba, who was looking behind herself at the bushes. 'Who is she making faces at?' she tried to put the pieces together.

"Let's get going now." Arjun rose up from his place and ushered the others to do the same. Kairavi walked towards the direction where Hidimba was looking and craned her neck to see who she was staring at, but found nobody there.

"Weird." she said to herself and turned around to go back to her family but bumped into a massive giant.
His black body was enshrouded in ash, dirt and dry blood. Animal hides covered his almost naked body and a lion-head was perched on his skull. Kairavi screamed but he caught her by her throat, preventing the scream from escaping her mouth. His sharp nails dug through her skin. She felt some blood trickle down the back of her neck, leaving a wet trail.

He lifted her petite frame with ease and pulled it near his nose, breathing in her scent. A stream of saliva drooped from beneath his stained teeth, indicating his hunger for flesh. Human flesh.

"Bhratashree! Let her go. Don't kill her, please." It was Rakhshasraj Hidimb. He had grown impatient from waiting for his sister to bring in the preys, so he took the job upon himself.

He blatantly ignored Hidimba's pleas and licked Kairavi's neck greedily. She fell on her knees, "Please bhratashree, I beg you." But before he could bite into her skin, Bheem toppled him over by his jugular.

He lost his grasp on Kairavi and she slumped on the ground, coughing and wheezing from the strangulation. Sahadev pulled her away from the demon's reach while Hidimb glared at Vrikodar with pure hunger and fury.

He hurled himself towards Bheemsen at full speed, who banged his head on the nearby tree and ripped a tuft of hair off his head in the process. Another violent duel followed, consisting of a lot of thrashing, throwing trees and clawing. But ultimately, the second pandav was successful in snapping Hidimb's neck into two.

A loud and painful groan echoed in the atmosphere, and then the rakhshasraj was silenced forever.