SWEETHEART DRAUPADI (INNOCENCE OF THE FLAME)

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KUNTI, GANDHARI AND DUSHALA ENTERED THE ROOM TO SEE DRAUPADI SITTING ON THE COUCH NEAR THE BALCONY LOOKING AT THE MOON. "SEE! I TOLD YOU SOMETHING WAS UP! ITS WRONG TIMING!" DUSHALA SAID SEEING ALL THE JEWELRIES THROWN HERE AND THERE, BED SHEETS AND BLANKET A MESS AND DRAUPADI'S LOOSELY TIED STRINGS OF THE BLOUSE AND MESSED UP PALLO.

"PUTRI?" GANDHARI CALLED MAKING HER TURN AROUND. "MATA? WHY ARE YOU ALL HERE?" DRAUPADI ASKED. "NOTHING JUST WE SAW GUARDS HEADING TOWARDS YOUR ROOM SO WE CAME TO CHECK." KUNTI SAID. "WHY DID PITASHREE CALL BHRATA THIS LATE NIGHT?" DUSHALA ASKED. "NO IDEA BUT I AM NOT FEELING GOOD ABOUT THIS." DRAUPADI SAID. "YUVRANI KI JAI." A DASI SAID. "MAHARANI KUNTI AUR MAHARANI GANDHARI KI JAI, RAJUMARI DUSHALA KI JAI." THE DASI SAID SEEING THE REST AS WELL.

"WHAT HAPPENED PADMAVATI?" DRAUPADI ASKED. "YUVRANI... ACUTALLY.. YUVRAJ-" PADMAVATI SAID. "YUVRAJ? WHAT HAPPENED TO YUVRAJ?" KUNTI ASKED PANICKING. "ARYA WHAT, PADMAVATI?" DRAUPADI ASKED BEING IMPATIENT. "YUVRAJ HAS BEEN ARRESTED." PADMAVATI SAID. THE WHOLE WORLD STOPPED HEARING THIS FOR DRAUPADI. DRAUPADI STUMBLED BACK DUE TO THE SHOCK AS HER LEGS GAVE UP. DUSHALA CAUGHT HER IN TIME AND MADE HER SIT ON THE COUCH.

"WHAT NONSENSE? MY SON IS THE YUVRAJ WHO CAN ARREST HIM?" GANDHARI SAID NEARLY SHOUTING. "THE KING, MY QUEEN." PADMAVATI SAID. TEARS WERE FLOWING DOWN DRAUPADI'S EYES LIKE WATERFALL. DUSHALA TOO WAS CRYING AND TRYING TO BRING DRAUPADI OUT OF HER TRANCE. "NO WAY PITASHREE CAN DO THAT. BHABHI NOTHING WILL HAPPEN TO MY BHRATA, DON'T WORRY." DUSHALA CRIED SIDE HUGGING HER.

"WHERE IS HE RIGHT NOW?" KUNTI ASKED. "THEY ARE IN 5 DIFFERENT ROOM THE CORRIDOR DOWN THE SABHA." PADMAVATI SAID. WITHOUT WASTING ANY TIME DRAUPADI RAN TOWARDS THE ROOMS WITH THE REST FOLLOWING HER. SHE THEN CAME ACROSS ONE OF THE ROOM. "WHO IS IN HERE?" DRAUPADI ASKED. "YUVRAJ YUDHISTIR, YUVRANI." THE SOLDIER SAID AND DRAUPADI TRIED TO GO IN BUT WAS STOPPED BY THEM. "LET ME GO." DRAUPADI SAID. "SORRY WE CAN'T LET ANYONE GO. ITS THE ORDER BY THE KING." ANOTHER SOLDIER SAID. "IF HE IS THE KING THEN I AM THE SAMRAGINI OF ARYAVART AND HASTINAPUR FALLS UNDER ARYAVART, THE SAMRAGINI'S ORDER IS HIGHER AND MORE POWERFUL THAN A KING'S. LET ME GO OR BE READY TO FACE CONSCEQUENCES." DRAUPADI SAID IN A DEADLY CALM VOICE MAKING THE SOLDIERS SHIVER IN FEAR.

NOBODY HAD SEEN THIS SIDE OF DRAUPADI AND NOBODY EVER WISHED TO. HER VOICE AND EYES CLEARLY SHOWED A RED FLAG, A WARNING SO THEY LET HER GO IN. THE ROOM WAS COMPLETELY DARK WITH MOONLIGHT AT THE CENTER WHERE YUDHISTIR WAS SITTING. "ARYA." DRAUPADI WHISPERED QUITE AUDIBLY HEARING TO WHICH YUDHISTIR TURNED AROUND. "DRAUPADI? PRIYE? WHAT ARE YOU DOI-" YUDHISTIR SAID BUT WAS SOON CUT OFF BY HER TEARS WHICH WERE FLOWING LIKE WATERFALLS.

"ARYA!" DRAUPADI SAID AND RAN TOWARDS HIM AND HUGGED HIM BREAKING DOWN IN TEARS. "SHHHH! I AM HERE." DRAUPADI SAID EMBRACING HER TIGHTLY WHILE CARESSING HER HEAD. DRAUPADI WAS SOBBING UNCONTROLLABLY, HER LEGS HAD GIVEN UP SO YUDHISTIR SLOWLY SAT DOWN ALONG WITH HER ON THE FLOOR. DRAUPADI'S FACE WAS BURIED ON YUDHISTIR'S EXPOSED CHEST CRYING.

YUDHISTIR LOOKED UP TO SEE GANDHARI, KUNTI AND DUSHALA FEW STEPS INSIDE THE ROOM WITH TEARS IN THEIR EYES. "REST ASSURED." YUDHISTIR SAID AND THE 3 LADIES UNDERSTOOD AND WENT OUTSIDE AND ORDERED THE GUARDS NOT TO LET ANYONE IN. "ARYA PLEASE TELL ME WHY DID PITASHREE ARREST YOU?" DRAUPADI ASKED. "I CAN'T.." YUDHISTIR SAID. "WHY ARYA? I HAVE THE FULL RIGHT TO KNOW WHY MY HUSBAND HAS BEEN ARRESTED." DRAUPADI SAID. "IT WILL HURT YOU." YUDHISTIR SAID. "NOTHING HURTS ME MORE THAN YOUR PAIN AND SILENCE ARYA." DRAUPADI SAID.