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

The future

Karna's pov

Karna had not taken Radha and Adhirath along as he left Hastinapur on foot in search of a sufficiently inconspicuous village they could take up as their new abode. He planned to set everything up before bringing his parents along.

But several times over the journey did he wish he had brought them along. The world appeared frighteningly dark and silent. 

Nothing could possibly light it up. Not even the sun.

His thoughts would keep turning to the palace of Hastinapur, the place where he had found acceptance, friendship and love--the only true happiness he had ever known, not knowing how little all of it would take to crumble into dust.

Of everything that he kept remembering and pushing away from his minds, two faces he did not allow to enter his thoughts at all.

******************** 

When it was a couple of hours past dawn, his feet were dragging. He had left Hastinapur behind long back.

And he never needed to think of the city again.

"Karna, my friend!" "Jyesht--jyesht!"

Shouts overpowered the sound of horse hooves. Karna whirled around, his heart pounding. The shouts continued as the seven horses came nearer in a cloud of dust.

Duryodhan, Dussashan, and each of the Pandava brothers were mounted on horses, with Draupadi on Arjun's.

For a moment, he was sure he had given in to hallucinations.

But then they alighted and came up to him, solid, tangible.

And they shouted in one voice, "You don't have to choose between us."

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

It was so unexpected that Karna went blank for a moment.

"We are not enemies any longer," Duryodhan said with conviction. "You can be friends with both of us--you have to come back to Hastinapur--"

"We have come to take you back," shouted Nakul. "We won't go back without you!"

"You do not have a problem with returning if we were not at loggerheads, do you, jyesht?" asked Yudhishthir.

"I--" said Karna, overcome. "What exactly are you saying?"

Panchali stepped forward.

"Well, it looks like the cousins have decided they love you more than they hate each other," she said smoothly. "They would rather be friends with each other than lose you."

Karna's jaw dropped.

"S-seriously?" 

Panchali beamed.

"There is another matter, jyesht," said Yudhishthir.

Karna had never heard him sound bashful before.

"I want the throne to go to you," he said quickly. "I want you to be crowned next month."

Before Karna could process it, all four of his brothers spoke up in eager agreement. When he grasped it, he glanced at Duryodhan, not knowing what he expected his friend to be thinking.

But Duryodhan had the biggest grin on his face. He--to everyone's shock--put an arm around Yudhishthir, of all people, and cried, "No one better!"

"But--but I don't want the throne," Karna began in alarm.

"Urm, jyesht," Draupadi put in sweetly. "We are trying to look for the only solution that will not lead to civil war. The idea of you being crowned has made Bhrata Yudhishthir and Bhrata Duryodhan stand with their arms around each other. Some people might say you are a godsend."