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─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
ACT 1.— SCENE 6.
Third Person's POV
Yashaswani woke up to the call of a dasi, telling her to freshen up so that she could style the Yajyaseni's hair. After bathing and dressing into fresh clothes, Yashaswani started dress Draupadi's hair, who sat on the chair fiddling with her fingers.
"Will Rajkumar Arjun participate in my svayamvar?" She asked out of blue making Yashaswani choke on air. "Huh?!"
"I don't want to marry Rajkumar Duryodhan," she began. "I have heard the tale about his marriage with Rajkumari Bhanumati, of how he forcefully abducted her when she refused to marry him." Yashaswani hummed in response.
"But what makes you believe that Rajkumar Arjun would be at your svayamwar, forgive me for my words Rajkumar but didn't his whole family along with him pass away in the fire that took place at Varnavat?" Yashaswani tried to bait.
Draupadi abruptly got up. She moved towards a painting that was covered with a veil. She pulled the veil, Yashaswnai saw that the painting was of Arjun in his brahmin guise wearing the same royal clothes he used to wear in Hastinapur. Breath was knocked out of Yashaswani's lungs as she realized that their identities were revealed.
"When I was at the Shiv Temple, there I saw a Brahmin, who made me feel as if he were Rajkumar Arjun," she said with slight blush on her cheeks. Yashaswani stood there stupefied as she realized that when she was in the temple, Arjun was there with her too.
"Govind had sent me to the Shiv Temple, he had said that Lord Shiva always answers our queries, and he did. I got the answer to all my queries." Panchali said, happiness leaking for her eyes. "Besides, my father had kept a challenge that only Rajkumar Arjun can win."
Yashaswani gave her a tight-lipped smile while the gears of her brain started to move. If Kanha sent her to the temple, it means that he knows about their existence. Yashaswani mentally face palmed herself, he already knew about their existence. He wants Arjun to marry Draupadi, if what Arjun has told Yashaswani about YadukulShreshth is true then he is manipulative enough to make Arjun do it, meaning that the Pandu family is royally screwed.
"I want you to marry to whoever you love, Rajkumari," Yashaswani well-wished for her. "But are you sure that Rajkumar Arjun would show up at the wedding?"
"I trust Govind," was all she said as she sat back on her chair. Yashaswani combed her hair and looked in great thought while Draupadi stared at her with mischievous eyes and a smile on her face.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Yashaswani stood at the corner of the sabha with a veil on her face as she looked around at the decorations. The grandeur of svayamvarsabha brought out the prosperity of the state of Panchal. Great kings from all of Aryavart were invited along with Angraj Karna and Yuvraj Duryodhan. One look at Duryodhan's face and Yashaswani was ready to strangle him. She couldn't bear to look at the evil man's face who has given her family so much pain. So, she turned away and looked at the last person she wanted to look at, Krishna.
The second Yashaswani turned to look at him, his eyes turned simultaneously. The hazel orbs of Yashaswani clashed with the honey-like orbs of Krishna. Her mind wanted to look away and ignore his presence, but her soul didn't allow her. His eyes were staring into her soul despite of the veil that was covering her face. She could find herself melting into his eyes. His eyes only reflected one emotion: love. Immense love. How could he love her so much?
Draupadi turned to Krishna so that she could talk to him but found him staring someone else, she followed his eyes and saw that he was staring Parthvi, Draupadi smiled at her Govind and tried to focus on the svayamvar. Yashaswani kept looking into his eyes and found herself being pulled into a dream. A dream where both of them were sitting on swing, with his flute kissing his lips while Gaurangi (giver of happiness, another name of Devi Radha) placed her head on his shoulder. A dream where the both of them were taking rounds around the holy fire of marriage, finally becoming one. A dream where she was only his and he was hers.
Yashaswani was snapped out of her daze by the voice of people howling with laughter. She was still staring at Krishna, who smirked at her as if he had seen the whole ordeal. Yashaswani started to turn beet red and turned away from him. She saw that people were laughing at Duryodhan, who couldn't even pick up the bow to shoot the arrow at the eye of the fish to win Draupadi in svayamwar. Seeing the whole ordeal, Yashaswani couldn't help but let a few laughs pass through her lips.
Duryodhan was nothing without Shakuni's brain and Angraj Karna's skills. Yashaswani's eyes wandered around the room and saw her brothers standing there. Sahadev spotted her first and hence pin-pointed it to other brothers making them turn to look at her. Despite wearing a veil, her face was slightly visible. Yashaswani nodded at them as if saying that she was fine, she saw that Shishupala laughed as he crossed Duryodhan to pick up the bow but failed in doing so. His failure was much funnier than Duryodhan due to which Yashaswani let out a loud laugh, he turned around and glared at her. He went back on his seat and kept glaring her which didn't go unnoticed neither by her brothers nor Krishna.
"If Jayadratha doesn't stop staring my sister, I will pluck his eyes eyeballs out," Bheem said through gritted teeth.
"There will be no need of that Bhrata Bheem, I will do that auspicious work myself." Nakul muttered. Everyone's gaze was now on Pandavas, who were in the disguise of Brahmins. People started questioning their presence and started muttering things about them, of how none of them looked like a Brahmin. Or how they caught YadukulShreshth staring at the handmaiden.
On being pressurized, Yudhishtir ordered Arjun to try his luck in the competition. Once Arjun made his way towards the arena, Yashaswani knew that now she was not going to be alone in the gang of boys, she would now have a bhabhishree too. Arjun joined his hands in front of the bow in respect and he picked up the bow in a single go. He paid his respects to King Drupad and positioned himself to shoot at the rotating object. Arjun and Yashaswani shared a look as a nostalgic smile appeared on their faces as they remembered their first day at Guru Drona's gurukul where Arjun was asked to shoot at the wooden bird's eye without making it fall. Yashaswani nodded at him as he released the arrow which struck straight at the eye of the fish, meaning that he had won Draupadi's hand in marriage.
