A Different Destiny - A Mahabharat/Karn Fanfic

CHAPTER - 11 : EQUAL TO THE ALMIGHTY

It was evening, after the competition. Kunti was going out of her room to meet her sons when Bheem walked in and lifted her in his arms, making her gasp in surprise. Bheem smiled at her cheekily when Kunti looked at him questioningly. 

"Bheem?" asked Kunti.

"I am kidnapping you, Matha as I will be the first one to touch your feet" said Bheem while carrying Kunti back to her room.

"But to touch Matha's feet, you have to place her on the ground first" said Nakul, walking behind Bheem.

Bheem walked towards a chair and placed Kunti on it, making her sit on it and before he could touch her feet to seek her blessings, Nakul somersaulted towards Kunti and touched her feet first.

"Pranipat Matha" said Nakul while Bheem looked at him blankly.

Kunti grinned and stood up and Nakul followed. She patted Nakul's cheek, looking at him happily. Just then Yudhishthir, Arjun and Sahadev walked in and smiled at the scene. They too walked towards Kunti and touched her feet and Bheem too did the same. She blessed them all with a smile on her face. 

"I was elated upon seeing all of you in the arena today" said Kunti.

Kunti gestured them towards her and all of them hugged her together with Bheem almost knocking everyone off their balance. They made then sit on the chair again and knelt down in front of her.

"Sahadev, since when did you become this competent, Putra?" asked Kunti cupping Sahadev's cheek with her hands.

"What about me?" asked Bheem.

Kunti smiled at him and said "When the ground trembled at the blow of your mace, my trembling heart became stable, my Vrikodar."

Bheem looked at Nakul and wriggled his eyebrows at him while Nakul grinned at him.

"Today, you ball have made your mother victorious, Putron" said Kunti.

She then looked up and saw Karn entering the room and mock glared at him, narrowing her eyes at him.

When he walked towards Kunti, she turned her head away from him in fake anger. 

"Pranipat Matha" said Karn, kneeling in front of her when his brothers moved aside to give way to him.

Kunti still didn't look at him.

Karn frowned and asked "Is something wrong, Matha?"

"Don't talk to me. I'm angry at you" said Kunti.

Karn's frown deepened and he looked at his brothers who shrugged in response.

He looked back at his mother and asked "But why?"

Kunti looked at him pointedly and replied "You left Hastinapur 12 years ago. Nobody knows where you went and you made no moves to contact your mother. Do you know how worried I was? And when you finally returned, instead of coming back to your mother, you went to that arena like a stranger! Don't talk to me Karn, I'm very angry at you."

Karn's frown lessened and a small smile appeared on his face.

"I am sorry, Matha. I was taken to Bhagawan Parashuram for education and he was having his doubts on my desire to attain knowledge. If I have contacted you, he might have thought that I have different priorities and might have stopped teaching me. He started sending me to solve problems of other people too so that I can gain some experience. Forgive me, Matha. I won't repeat such actions again" said Karn holding Kunti's hand.

Kunti looked at him with a frown and asked "Why didn't you come back to me when you returned to Hastinapur?"

Karn smirked and said "I wanted to surprise you all Matha! I wanted to see if anyone of you have recognized me."