ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇꜱ | Republished ✓

63. War?

Hastinapur Palace:

Duryodhan, the son of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, paced to and fro in his living room for so long. All his life, he had been raised as the competitor to his cousins. He had been raised to be the evil to their good. His vice—his greed—would be his ultimate downfall.

His mamashree, whom he trusted more than anything, had gone slack in these past years. With his legs cut off, he had been not only traumatized but also very weak. His old body had not been able to take the strain. He mostly spent his time sleeping. His younger brother Dusshasan had his fingers cut off, turning his hand into a stump. He was very angry almost all the time and always practiced with his mace. Then the plan with his brother-in-law, Jayadratha, had also failed spectacularly. He had come back with a shaved head! Such a shame! Duryodhan hated the fact that his odds were against him. Yet when he heard about the death of the army general of Matsya Desh, something triggered in his mind. He dismissed it, thinking it was insignificant news. He needed to find the Pandavas as soon as possible because only four days were left. However, he overheard the discussion between his Pitamaha and Guru Drona, which mentioned the death of the army general. He heard how they thought Bheem was the one who had killed him.

He wanted to scoff, saying that Bheem had no such capabilities. But his conscience, his heart—something he ignored most of the time and only listened to when he wanted to—said that whatever he overheard had merit.

Bheem could be the one who had killed that army general, but if he was there, then the other brothers along with their wives would be there too. Those brothers could not stay away from each other if they could help it. Then that means....perhaps....he knew how he could get them to reveal themselves.

There were only four days left! He had to act fast.

He needed to speak with his Mamashree and his brother-in-law, Jayadratha. God knows, that man had been chanting about revenge against that Prithvi Kumari.

___________________________

"Maharaja!!" came a soldier running into Virata's court.

"What is it?" asked Virata, wondering what more problems had come up.

"Maharaja! King Sudarman is attacking with the Kuru army! He has also taken the cows and the cattle. He has made the people hostages!" said the soldier, trembling with fear.

"WHAT? This is my Kingdom, and I have no idea someone is attacking it!" said the despairing King.

"Maharaja, this is not the time to express disappointment! Please look into the matter immediately!" counseled Yuddhisthir, his worry for the people increasing.

"Yes, you are correct! I must go with the army!" said Virata, running out of the court hall with his courtiers.

Yuddhisthir stayed back without anyone noticing and went straight towards the Kitchen where Bheem was. When he arrived, Arjun, Draupadi, and Devanshi were also present.

"Bhrata!" called Arjun, seeing him.

Yuddhisthir went towards making sure no one was nearby.

"We cannot speak here! Too much of an open space! Come, I know a hidden chamber where we can speak freely," said Draupadi, understanding everyone's hesitation.

They all followed her into a small alcove which barely fit all of them but was very well hidden.

"Whatever we need to speak, we have to do it fast. Queen Sudeshna will get curious otherwise. And Princess Uttara is also no less. She is rather an inquisitive girl," said Draupadi.