The Inseparable Princes

44. Bharat

Bharata. That was his name. He was the second son of Dasharatha, the prince of Kosala, who nearly even became the emperor, before he decided that he'd live in Nandigrama instead of the palace in which he had seen the entirety of his life.

The palace. That was where he was born. That was where he earned his name. The name which everyone thought would take their clan to great, great heights, and well it did! That was the place he had first spoken. That was where he had first fallen at his Ram Bhaiya's feet. That was where he had first found that somebody else could blame oneself, feel as guilty as he could; Lakshmana, that was his name. That was where he first realised that Shatrughna was that person whom he loved the most, in the entire universe. That was where he had fallen many times, and had got back up too. That was where he had eaten his favourite dishes. That was where he had discovered his love for art, and he had developed it very well as well. That was where he had fallen asleep almost every night. That was the place he had to leave to go to Gurukula, and while he was doing that, he could feel himself crying. That was the place in which when he returned, he did all his favourite things. That was where he had seen his two younger brothers prank him all the time. That was where he, along with his brothers, was welcomed with the girls of Mithila. That was where he had once seen his two prankster brothers on what could potentially have been their deathbed, but thankfully, it wasn't. That was the place from which himself, asking with Shatrughna, had left for Kekaya.

That was when everything has gone wrong.

At the present moment now, Bharata sat, lost in thought, thinking about how he was at fault. The guilt was something that he could not get over, for the dominant part of his mind told him that he was wrong, throughout.

It was a steady conversation in his head.

"It's not your fault if you don't know anything about the plan, that is naturally understood. If this holds good at all times, then how are you at fault, Bharat?" said a portion of his mind, as though speaking to a completely independent body altogether.

"It is your fault, Bharat, for the kingdom was asked for you. If you weren't even there, in the first place, this wouldn't happen, ever!" said the other, dominant part of his brain. This was what he thought of himself. This, to him, sounded like his voice. He was at fault, oh of course.

"It's all my fault!" he murmured, sitting in a dark corner of the cottage, there where he almost found the solace that he sought. Nobody would see him there, nobody would hear him either. Nobody would come there to pull him out, force him out of his thoughts, and sometimes, he thought that wasn't the worst. He almost wanted to think about how he could've stopped everything, because he still wanted a solution to it all, even if he was entirely aware that all was lost. No. All was lost, almost.

He wouldn't give up, he couldn't. He needed to be strong. He straightened from his rather squirmed position earlier. For whom, you ask? Nobody knew, even he himself didn't. 'I-I can't give up, I can't!' he thought to himself. Why did he feel that, however? Everybody hated him, right?

Suddenly, a soldier walked past his cottage, and Bharata noticed that. He quickly got up and straightened his dhoti, before wiping some tear tracks, moving towards the door.

"Hi!" said a voice, and Bharata felt happy after very long. However, he looked down, and bit his lower lip hesitantly. "Hi?" repeated the person, only a change in the intonation.

"Come in, Shatru!" said Bharata, pulling his brother's right hand, as Shatrughna smiled subtly. "I'm so glad you came, Shatru!"

"I'd have been happier to welcome you into our palace, Bhaiya," said Shatrughna, voice choked, before he instantly composed himself, and clearing his throat, continued. "Never mind! So, how're you doing?" he asked. It felt strange for him to ask that question. He never did before. He never had to, instead, because they were always together, and before something could potentially happen to Bharata, Shatrughna would take it upon himself.