In the Wake of the War

Chapter-22

Next stop: Widows Wing.

Jyesht once again stepped forward to request the dasi at the entrance to please call Mridula if she would.

Arjun sighed deeply as they waited. Out of all these widows here, she deserved their apology the most.

She stepped out after a while, looking at all of them tiredly but her posture was still stiff and alert, as if ready to bolt.

"What can I do for you, my lords?"

"Well," Jyesht said, "the first would be to stop addressing us in that way. We... are family after all."

"Ah yes, family. Very well then Jyesht, what can I do for all of you?"

Arjun winced at her inflection, but she at least, had a right to be angry with all of them.

"We-- I, have come to apologise to you." Bhrata Bheem said, looking down ashamed. "I killed your husband despite Vikarna being the only one to speak up for Draupadi in that accursed Dyut Sabha. Even being her husbands, all of us were silent, but he spoke up. He spoke up against his Jyesht. If only we had done the same, things might have turned out differently."

Ouch. That was true, but out of all of them, only Bhrata Bheem would ever say it out loud.

"Thank you." She said formally. "I accept your apology, though I hope you will not mind if it takes me some time to forgive you."

"No, no of course not." Bheem assured her. "Take as much time as you need."

"I have a request." Jyesht said. "May we come inside?"

Mridula immediately shook her head. "Absolutely not. Not even married women with their husbands alive can enter here, you are men. When we don't make an exception for Mata Gandhari, we certainly cannot make an exception even for you."

"I understand." Jyesht said. "But how will I speak to all of them then? It will be be far too inconvenient to call everyone out here."

Mridula smiled. "I think you are forgetting the fact that people are willing to tolerate inconveniences to protect the sanctity of places they consider their safe haven. I will call them." she said, and went inside the door that marked the beginning of the Wing.

While the brothers did not regret Duryodhan and Dushsasan's death, they did regret that all their other cousins had been dragged along in this war due to duty and love for family. And above all they regretted their nephews. Having lost their children themselves, they knew how all these women felt and it was their duty to offer their condolences. And while their forgiveness didn't really matter that much to them unlike with their uncle and aunt,  it was their duty to apologise for their part in it.

The women all filed out eventually. Once upon a time they would have been dressed in bright, vibrant colours, but now all were dressed in either white or dull shades of ochres or oranges. Arjun hated Bhrata Duryodhan a bit more then. Had he not thought of his wife? Of his sisters in law? He could have simply given them back their Kingdom. Then this war would not have taken place. He could have even gotten away with everything he had done till then, and as much as that did not sit right with Arjun, all this devastation could have been avoided.

"I'm sorry for inconveniencing all of you by calling you here but it was necessary that we spoke." Jyesht said.

"We owe you a formal apology and offer you condolences for your loss. There is nothing we say that could lessen your grief, but please if you require anything, do not hesitate to come to us or to the Empress and Princess Subhadra."

All they got were dubious or blank looks. Mridula gave them a small nod though, so Arjun supposed that was something. Maybe she could talk to the rest of them later.