Jyesht's strife for kinship (A Karna-Arjun what-if story)

A leap of faith

Arjun's pov

The sky was in the earliest stages of sunrise.

"Arjun?" a tentative voice broke Arjun's concentration on the target he had been shooting at for a long time now.

He looked around only after he had arranged his features into the loftiest expression he could manage.

"Yes, King of Anga?"

Karna's eyes were crimson. His stance was of submission.

"I just wanted to tell you that what Duryodhan said earlier--what you, er, overheard--it was not exactly what actually happened." He was still tentative. "It was not like we had--"

Arjun's eyes flashed as he remembered Duryodhan's words.

"So," he said in a low, fierce voice. "Are you saying you lied to your precious friend, King of Anga? Surely I cannot be so deluded to believe you lied to him for our sake."

Karna gave a small smile at the parroted dialogues. Arjun did not return it.

"There are circumstances neither he nor you can possibly foresee," Karna said.

"Nothing that can justify you lying to Duryodhan," said Arjun flatly.

"Well, there are," said Karna. "If you can be a bit patient, you will find out soon, I--I hope."

"I do not know what you are hinting at, King of Anga, but timidity does not suit you." Arjun positioned his bow to aim at the target again. "Get out of my sight before I shoot you."

The King of Anga did not get out of his sight, but he did not say anything more. He chose to squat on the branch of a tree and watch him. Arjun refused to acknowledge him any further.

*******************

It was Duhsala's birthday gathering that was chosen for the King of Anga's mysterious revelation. Amidst the hundreds of guests, when dinner was being cleared off, Kunti called for attention.

The Pandavas exchanged nonplussed glances. Duryodhan had been discussing something laughingly with Vikarna, and had not looked up. It was only when Draupadi's fingers casually locked around his that Arjun noticed the King of Anga's bloodless face.

Were his mother and his wife both part of this strange affair?

It certainly seemed so.

"I have an extremely important announcement to make, one that I should have made a year ago," began Kunti, "when our Princes graduated and their display at the arena was interrupted by Adhirath and Radha's son, who claimed he was a better archer than any of Dronacharya's students, in spite of his caste."

Now Duryodhan had abandoned his conversation with his brother and was gaping at his aunt, too, like everyone else.

"There is nothing wrong with being a charioteer's son," said Kunti. "And with no right can we, the royalty, claim that a charioteer's son cannot be a good warrior. But the fact stands that Karna is not the son of a charioteer."

Arjun had barely got time to look at the King of Anga when his mother dropped the final bombshell.

"Karna is my son."

*********************

What followed was a melee of incredulous, exclaiming voices; Kunti speaking above them all to say that Karna was a boon to her from the Sun God, who had been the one who gifted him his infallible armour and earrings; Gandhari covering her mouth with her hands in near-faint; Bhisma and Dhritarashtra's lightning-struck expressions.