BUTTERFLY FROM THE FLAME (JOY AND GENTLENESS OF THE FLAME)

Chapter 45

"OH MY GOD!" Nakul exclaimed seeing Arjun sitting on the kitchen counter with Abhimanyu in his lap. "So what is angrani's craving?" Arjun said. "Why are you here? You scared the life out of me!" Nakul said. "Like I said when its your turn me and my sons will be waiting and laughing at you at the kitchen." Arjun said. "It's soooo hard! What do you know?" Nakul said. "What do I know?" Arjun said signalling his lap. "Okay now say where are damsons?" Nakul said. "There! In the right corner." Arjun said and Nakul quickly rushed.

"Please my little princess don't give me such a hard time." Nakul said collapsing on the floor and resting his head on draupadi's lap while caressing her 7 month baby bump. "Just 2 more months. Don't worry." Draupadi said while eating her damsons. "After two months I have to go to chedi..." Nakul said. "Don't worry you will come back in few days." Draupadi said. "Still, what if she take birth before I arrive?" nakul said. "Don't worry, your princess is obedient to you. She kicks when you say and moves when you talk with her." Draupadi said.

*****

"I am going. I will come back soon okay?" Nakul said claiming her lips. "We both will be waiting for you." Draupadi said. Nakul bent and caressed her 9 month belly and placed a kiss on it. "Looks like princess is excited to come out." Dhara said. "These two are too fascinated with your belly and princess's movement in it." Survi said chuckling seeing abhi and suthanu staring at it and touching it while making an amused face whenever the fetus moved inside. Draupadi covered her belly loosely making the belly disappear and making the two fascinated and look at each other making the rest chuckle.

The three ladies turned their head hearing five men's chuckle along with theirs to see the five pandavas. The five came and sat on the green grass along with their two kids and started playing and chattering. "Abhi! Suthanu!" the five called but the two went towards their mother making draupadi chuckle. "Both of our children abandoned us." Yudhistir said. "Hope nakul's child won't abandon us." Karn said. 

*****

Draupadi had returned from mandir after her evening pooja and was resting in her bed thinking about nakul and his flirting and smiling to herself. "Looks like juliet is lost in the thoughts of her romeo." Dhara said. "See your juliet mother." Survi said to abhimanyu and suthanu who were playing on the bed besides draupadi making them look at her.  Draupadi chuckled seeing her two kids but the chuckle didn't last long. Discomfort took place which suthanu noticed and stood up and went closer towards draupadi and cupped her face with her little hands and wiped the lone tear that escaped her eyes right after she cupped her face.

Abhimanyu too grew curious and worried seeing his mother in discomfort. Suthanu then sat down and plopped her head on her stomach trying to trace her little sibling. Draupadi let out a scream catching Dhara and Survi's attention along with the few maids. "Maharani?" a maid called. "Sandhya!" Draupadi called the maid and the maid rushed towards her. "Yes maharani?" the maid Sandhya asked. "Call daima.... Ahhhh." Draupadi let out a heart wrenching scream. Dhara went to call the daima and Survi went to inform the pandavas who were doing some works with some officials. 

"Maharaj! Survi-" a soldier was about to say but Survi cut him off. "Sorry for the disturbance and rudeness but maharani has went into lab-" Survi said but was cut off by the painful screams of Draupadi that reached the work room making everybody jerk up from their seat. The pandavas upon hearing their beloved's screams quickly stood up and rushed towards her chamber along with the few officials. Sandhya took the startled suthanu and abhimanyu in her arms and exited.

As she came out she was greeted by the daima who hurried inside the chamber. The pandavas rushed but the door was already closed and daima told them not to come in. The children seeing their father and motioned their hands towards them. As yudhistir took abhimanyu and arjun took suthanu draupadi's heart wrenching scream pierced each and every corner of the palace. "Angrani has went in labor!" the announcer announced and right after the announcement draupadi's scream managed to escape the palace gates starling the nearby.

Each passing second her screams grew louder. "What happened here?" Pitamah asked. Dushala had went to Hastinapur and returned with Pandu, Kunti, Dhritrarsatra, Gandhari, Vidur and his wife sulabha. A heart wrenching scream again managed to escape from the palace gate and reach till the nearby market which was in the distance of 10 m from the gates. "Putri draupadi?" Kunti said startled hearing draupadi's scream. "Bhabhi has went in labor!" Dushala said and the elders made their way to her corridor inside the palace. "Pitamah?" Shahadev said seeing the elders come towards them. "Pranipat" the pandavas greeted. The elders were not only greeted with their pranipat but draupadi's loud painful screams and the two children's cries upon hearing their mother's painful state.

"Where is nakul?" Gandhari asked. "He is in Chedi." Bheem replied. "He should have been with her." Dhritrarsatra said. "He had some important work so he left." Karn said. The two children stopped crying abruptly making them confused. Their eyes were sparkling with awe seeing Bhism making him the most confused. Suthanu along with abhimanyu pointed at his beard then at at sky at the clouds making them look up outside and chuckle. "Come here you two." Pitamah said and took the two in his arms amusing the two even more as they were together lifted by one man except for their mother and touched his beard making them chuckle. It was their first time seeing Suthanu as they had met abhimanyu when the pandavas paid a small visit.

Everybody admired the little girl until draupadi's loud screams brought them to reality making them worried. "Daima! What happened? Why is she in such a pain? This never happened during abhi and suthanu's turn." Shahadev asked worried. "I don't know senapati. Maharani is trying her best so are we. The child is not coming out, maharani has passed out making it hard for us." daima said. "She passed out? How? Why?" Bheem asked. "Maharani is quite exhausted khandav yuvraj. She has expressed her few small early labors in the past few days to me. Right now I am going to make ginseng soup for her or else..." daima said. "What or else?" Arjun asked. "It can be life threatening to both maharani and her child." daima said and rushed towards leaving the shook pandavas behind.

"Everything will be alright." Pandu said to the pandavas. Its been 4 hours since draupadi's labor began, it been exhausting and painful to her. She felt like she was being torn apart in two, tears were flowing non-stop. The pandavas were sick worried along with the rest. Kunti and Gandhari put suthanu and abhimanyu to sleep but was of no use as they would wake up again after few minutes as draupadi's scream were too painful and loud that even the people outside the palace gates could hear.

It was now past midnight but draupadi's labor didn't stop but was getting worse making the pandavas go impatient. "Abhi and thanu's birth was so quick. Why is this time taking so long? How will Nakul feel when he gets to know about draupadi and his child's condition?" Yudhistir said. He could feel and imagine the expression, emotion and pain of nakul as draupadi too blessed him to be her husband and father of their daughter suthanu.