"Damaged women are the most dangerous kind, because they already know that they can survive."
Vrinda is the only female child of The Pandavas. More specifically she is the daughter born out of wedlock between the mighty prince Arjun and his common w...
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V R I N D A
Nightfall in Viratnagar came with a heavy sigh of relief. The sound of the cool breeze swept through the quarter I had been allotted. They were small but airy. Hygiene was of greatest importance to the Matsyans, the room was cleaned twice a day. After all, it was the land of fishermen, The king must not want its populace to contract any diseases from the disgusting stench of dead flesh.
The paperwork of employment as the royal staff had been done immediately after The Queen's assessment. From tomorrow's breaking dawn, I was officially an employ of the royal staff, of the Matsyan royal family.
I smiled.
It was the season of Hemant. The breeze was cold, yet not deadly. The bone-chilling winter was yet to come. This season was my favourite out of all. Generally, the liking is towards Vasant, or the spring which captivates the eye with the magic of blooming flowers. But the pre-winter was always underrated. The way the sky broke into a dance with clouds scattering on its surface was always a point of adoration. I peeked out my head to feel the breeze brush the waves of my hair and closed my eyes at the serene feeling.
Finally, I was where I am supposed to be.
Relief was an understatement to label the emotion that beamed through my heart.
Suddenly, I heard a knock at my door. I frowned at the sudden noise. It was quite late at night, nobody in the royal family would be awake. It was rather odd to summon employees in the middle of the night.
I walked slowly and opened the door.
"Mandakini. Quite a brilliant name to come up with, little emerald." Said the voice that I had last heard when I was a child of four.
"Baba." I hugged him. Tightening my embrace, I saw four men and one veiled woman standing behind him. My eyes widened.
"Trust me, I wanted to come alone. But Bheem Dada wouldn't let me." He said entering my small room.
"She isn't just your daughter, Arjun!" The heavily built man came after the party settled into the small room. He came towards me and hugged me, picking me up to swirl me around. I laughed. This was his signature move of endearment.
"AH! I have missed you, squirrel!" He roared after gripping me in his tightened embrace.
"Bade Baba! I can't... breathe." I replied, choking under his strong arms of love.
"Step aside, Bheem! You'll kill the poor child." Said a voice from my left. I turned around to see my eldest uncle Yudhishthira standing with wet eyes.
"Taya ji." I walked towards him. He hugged me, kissing my fore head with affection.
"You've grown up well, Vrinda." He said with his voice cracking. I smiled.
"That's because you didn't name her 'Chitradurga' Dada. What a disaster had that been?" Added a voice from the center of the room.
"Nakul is right Dada! I am so glad we let Vasudev Krishna name her!" Replied the other.
I quickly went and hugged them, closing my eyes at the utter delight that I was feeling.
"Now would you all ever let a mother meet her child?" Said a female voice. I tensed up. The only time that I had seen my mother was in my nightmares, all bruised and broken. I felt a wave of emotions as I saw her smiling towards me. I slowly walked towards her, with tears in my eyes.
"Maa.." I said, almost choking on my own words, feeling the lump inside my throat grow. My mother took me under her embrace the very moment. I cried as I hugged her, and I coukd feel her tears glide through my cheeks.
"My baby." She hugged me tighter. "I missed you so much." She added, wiping my tears.
"I missed you all too. Beyond your imagination." I replied.
"You've done Indraprastha proud after winning the championship, Vrinda. You don't know how happy Arjun was! He made me make sweets for an entire aashram!" Added Bheem. I laughed looking at my father who was beaming with pride.
"Have you been in touch with any of your brothers, Vrinda?" asked my father.
"Yes Baba, I have. Vindhya Dada and I had exchanged many letters. Soma Dada had recently gained weight that he was desperately trying to reduce. Shatanika Dada and Shrutsena Dada had sent me many skin care remedies and you know how Karma is, always a headache." I replied laughing.
"Abhimanyu is doing well too. He had a problem of sleep talking but he tends to do it less, these days." I added in a low voice. Baba noticed the change in my demeanor as I felt him frown.
"What are you doing here though, squirrel? I thought we were not revealing our stay to the kids for the agyaat vaas, Dada?" Uncle Bheem asked Yudhishthira.
"It is a long story, Bade Baba. Not a pleasant one in the least."
"Well. we have the night with us." Baba replied. I could gather from his expression that he was worried. But there wasn't any point in keeping them in the dark. It was better if they knew.
"I am on exile, for stabbing Durmasana, Prince Dussahana's son." I simply replied.
"WHAT?!" Baba exclaimed.
"Exile?" Yudhishthira questioned.
"You stabbed him? That is like my girl!" Bheem praised.
"He insulted me during the celebration ceremony, calling me a whore's child. And that he would disrobe me just like his father tried on Maa." I replied. I looked at my mother. Her expression was grim, full of dismay.
"So, I spilled his guts out." I joked. Bheem chuckled.
"But how on earth did all of this ever commence?" Asked Nakul.
"It was planned, Chote Baba." I replied. "The Kauravas wanted to hold me as hostage and use me as a leverage to lure Baba out of the exile."
"Those Bastards!" Growled Bheem.
"Govind knew about this plot of theirs. Now that I think about it, he sent me the place I'd be most safe at, Matsya. To the place they were hunting and wanted to hold me hostage for. Two targets with a single arrow." I said, looking at Baba and smiling.
"Madhav, is a genius." Baba replied, grinning.
"That is an understatement. " I replied.
"But we still do have a problem, Arjun. The exile is almost over and with this attitude, I don't think that the Kauravas will give our Indraprastha back to us." Questioned Yudhishthira.
"If he won't give it back then we take it from him, Dada." Baba replied. "We do what we know best. We fight." He added.
"A war is inevitable, Dada. The Kauravas are not trustworthy, they never have been." Added Bheem.
"We will wage a war, seen like none before. Its payback time for all the atrocities that they have unleashed on us." Added Nakul.
A war? Was this the supposed end of this long rivalry. The poison was so deep in the veins that now it had become blood. If justice meant war, then so be it. Our lineage deserved it. We deserved our honor back. And I would do anything, give anything, to fight for it.
"May Lord Mahadev be with us." I heard my father whisper.
"Har Har Mahadev!" I replied with fervor, as his lips broke into a smile.
