The Broken Bond

Why Me?

- Now when I think about it, it is really strange the amount of worries Karna have for mother. After all she is just Queen Mother to him.

Nakula smiled in relief getting at a slightest different vive from his new found brother other than sheer hatred and fury.

"And he's not so poisonous when Duryodhana isn't around," Bhima chuckled when they were far enough away.

Nakula chuckled.

"It seems that there is so much poison in Duryodhana that it spills out and poison those who are near him. I already knew that it was better not to stand next to him, but now I definitely won't even come close."

Arjuna remained silent, his heart clenched at the huge possiblity of the innocence remark. Yudhishthira thought it best to postpone the conversation to a more suitable place. Palace corridors, in which sounds sometimes diverged in the most bizarre way, never disposed to discuss sensitive topics.

First, they met with their mother and reassured her as best they could, promising that everything would be fine, because after learning from Drona's mentor, they could not return from the war. About new clashes with Anga-raj, without any collusion, not one of them uttered a word. Then routine chores swirled around them: preparing orders, taking care of armor, weapons and fodder. Yudhishthira, as the eldest, was appointed senapati, so the main concerns fell on his shoulders. And although Duryodhana and his brothers gathered with demonstrative independence, there were plenty of things to do.

In all this fuss about Anga-raja, Yudhishthira not only forgot - he simply put these thoughts aside for a more appropriate time. However, in the evening, when the mother was asleep and the five of them were also getting ready to rest, Arjuna sat down on Yudhishthira's bed.

-Why does he hate me so much?

To be honest, it took Yudhishthira, who was tired during the day, a couple of moments to realize the meaning of this question.

- Brother...

Arjuna looked upset and it broke Yudhishthira's heart. Rarely did it happen that their radiant, strong and generous Arjuna himself needed support, and at such moments the four of them were ready to stand up against the whole world, just to avenge his offense.

However, Arjuna did not need to be avenged for him, he needed something completely different - consolation and understanding, reasons for which he was being punished. Alas, this time Yudhishthira had no ready answers.

"Brother Arjuna..." Nakula silently rolled across the floor from his bed, sat down beside him, burying his face in Arjuna's knees.

Behind Yudhishthira did not hear - he felt the weight of Bhima. Sahadeva was the last to come and also sank to the floor.

Why does he hate me so much? repeated Arjuna a little offended.

Yudhishthira remembered this bewilderment from his very childhood, from the time when he brought home the treasures he found - river colored pebbles, lizards and cold frogs - and could not understand why mother Madri was unhappy. When they first arrived in Hastinapur, Arjuna was also offended that their cousins ​​did not like them. His heart, open to the whole world, did not understand someone else's unreasonable malice. But then Yudhishthira was able to immediately explain to Arjuna that it was not about them, but about intricate inheritance rights. Now he himself was confused.

Nakula rubbed his cheek against his brother's knee.

- He's just jealous. You are younger than them and Duryodhana, but better than both, so they are mad!

Nakula's voice echoed the impotent bitterness and indignation they all felt when Arjuna was so unfairly humiliated.

"Don't talk like that," Arjuna objected, "I guess I really hurt him and didn't even notice, because now he is so eager to hurt me."