Last Farewell

Warning:The oneshot contains violent and depressing content,especially for pranushkians.Don't kill me for writing this.

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"Be Careful! "his last words rang in her ears.His raspy voice was low with affection that knew no bounds. Amarendra Bahubali had died and and it was in her fate to be alive and suffer the loss. She lost her son to the river that Mahishmathi considered divine for twenty five years. She was ripped off her self respect and mercilessly restricted in shackles.Forced to live in a cage like an animal hunted from the jungles, made to stand at the very center of a royal podium to entertain the senses of a man who was inhumane enough to take the life of his blood mother,tortured to the point that she failed to feel her body;Devasena took it all in.She collected them in her mind and disposed them into the fire raging at the core of her heart. The embers coursed through her veins and reflected  in her eyes.

'When they burn you down, rise from the ashes. 'she was taught from a tender age.But she used to believe that she was the fire and fire can never be extinguished with another flame. It would only expand and consume the coercer.
However, she realized that no fire would blaze forever.Her line of vision met a melting candle placed inside the dark room she was in. A gentle blow of wind can dim it. It's end can be written by the tip of two fingers.She was in the same state.
She had grown old with multiple strands of white hair,her honey toned skin a bit wrinkled but her persona still intact.
She had witnessed her son, the lost heir of Mahishmathi being crowned the sovereign emperor.Nobody believed her when she claimed he would return. The people who mocked her for preparing a bonfire had been reduced to dust.
She sat by him during court hearings, fed him delicious dishes with her own hands and watched him look at Avanthika, her daughter in law,with the passion of a hundred suns. She had got the family she desired.
Mahendra Bahubali was a fine king with his father's intellect and mother's determination. Mahishmati healed from the scars left by Bhallaldeva under his rule and flourished for good.
But at times, he was impulsive and that had led to bad decisions. He had no royal training or deep knowledge about war formations or ancient texts. But Kattappa was always there, guiding him throughout.
However he too was aging and eventually weakened. He was bedridden when he took his last breath. The demise had left the royal family devastated. They had lost their most loyal acquaintance, a father and grand father figure.
Devasena sighed.His death was the beginning of Mahishmati's downfall.
Her well sculpted eyes caught sight of the narrow beams of faint light entering from a small window. The sun was melting away into an array of hills.The sky was frozen crimson as if it reflected the bloodbath the land had to go through.
She saw the empire fall apart once again. Shaurya,a trusted minister of the kingdom had leaked all the war secrets of Mahishmati. They launched a secret attack at the dead of night and plundered thousands of soldiers. Mahendra had fought fiercely. He would have succeeded if he hadn't seen the barbaric scene of his pregnant wife being stabbed twice in the stomach. The enemies took advantage of the weak moment and ran a sword through his spine from behind.Just like how Amarendra Bahubali was killed.
Devasena loathed herself as she couldn't be of any use. She was ailing and growing old, she found it difficult to stand alone against a battalion charging at her.
She was dragged from the castle on her knees and thrown into one of the dungeons. Soot and dried blood covered her body, her breathing fluctuating from high to low.
Shaurya had grabbed hair when she was made to confront him and smiled like a maniac. A smile she knew too well.
"I now understand the pleasure of holding someone captive. Sandhya,my mother.One of Bhallaldeva's thirst toys.I came to avenge her and I did. I destroyed the entire bloodline of Sivagami."he had scoffed and slapped her hard.
Sandhya was one of the women who was used by Bhallaldeva.She was beautiful.A few days after Devasena's marriage with Amarendra, there was a rumor spreading that Sandhya was bearing the king's child. The news had reached Rajmatha's ears and she was firm on either adopting the child after its birth or banishing the mother while she was pregnant. The emperor himself did not raise an objection when Sandhya was banished.
But now, Devasena was at the mercy of Shaurya and she hated it. Her eyes became a bit hazy for a second and when she closed it and opened it again, she saw Amarendra. He was dressed in silk robes and looked just like the handsome prince to whom she got married. She slowly raised a shivering hand and reached out to him. His face broke into a smile and it threw her into an abyss of recollections.
The way he pretended to be a simpleton in order to win her heart and then had it wrapped inside his long fingers in a matter of seconds.He was everything she could dream for.He left the glorified throne of Mahishmati to stay true to her.Stood by her even when the whole court was against her,cherished her to an unimaginable extent even when they lived in a brick hut.

Amarendra inched closer and she got a better view of his face.It reminded her of the moments of ultimate closeness they spent.The touch of his rough hands that made her senses tingle,the smug smile he would flash before taking her into his embrace.It was all snatched away from her within a few months.

He now held out a hand for her to hold but it began fading as soon as she touched it.Soon,he was no longer there.She looked at her own palms desperately but only saw a deep gash on one of them from where blood flowed without halt.The sight made her recall her husband again.How she once got an injury at the same spot when she was training and how panicked he looked.He had let go of the sword he was wielding that very moment and ran to her.He delicatedly clasped them in his grip and wiped out the blood.A mix of herbs was applied on the wound and it was bandaged with a spotless white cloth.He had then eyed her disapprovingly and warned her that he would stop her training if she was not careful.But when she asked him why he willfully slashed his palm to sacrifice for Ma Durga,he had chided her telling that it was inevitable and she had rolled her eyes.Then he had simply let his lips linger over the wound and left a trail of kisses there.And at that point,she couldn't retaliate by any means.

She was brought out from the chain of thoughts when a face appeared infront of the iron bars of the prison.

Aslam Khan

To whose kingdom Shaurya leaked their secrets and who convinced the Persian King to aid Shaurya.If Kattappa was the embodiment of trust and loyalty then Aslam Khan was the face of betrayal.He smirked sardonically at her pathetic condition.Her limbs were tied tight with chains once again.A plate of rotten and untouched food was kept before her.And she was staring into nothingness,leaning against the dirty black walls of the dungeon.Shaurya was right behind him,eyeing her with a sense of power.

She knew what they wanted.They wanted her to weep and scream like any other mother would do.She was a witness to the deaths of every single person she considered her own.Her parent,her brother,her uncle,her husband,her mother in law,her son,her daughter in law,even her unborn grandchild.The agony was worth crying a lifetime for but not a single tear left her eye.Not because she never loved them but pain had become a habit and numbed her senses.She felt like she was not the fire anymore;but the debris of a strongheaded princess.

It was slowly getting hard for her to breath and she had to use all her might to continue doing so.The excruciating pain of her injuries was spreading at an alarming rate and her eyes were fluttering close.It was her time to go and join her family up above.How much had she longed for this time.

The men outside narrowed their eyes as they saw the distraught woman depict a sarcastic smile on her face.As if she was challenging them.They  scorned as her smile widened.

"Why are you smiling?"Shaurya snarled but she didn't even flinch.

"Your days are counted."she voiced out,her voice so powerful that it hit them like a thunderbolt.Their faces darkened at her audacity but soon broke into bits of laughter.The old woman had completely lost it.But little did they know she had helped Mahendra's ten year old daughter escape along with his foster parents.

They stared on as her face lost its living colours and the soft tides of her breath stopped forever.

"Farewell,Rajamatha Devasena!"they said and walked away.

A/N:The author has left the chat