In the Wake of the War

Chapter-30

After the last conversation with Vrishaketu, despite everything, Arjun had felt rather optimistic. According to Jyesht, he had been very 'smiley' for the first week after they had returned to Anga.

Everything was still terrible of course, but Arjun thought he could tentatively say that Vrishaketu no longer hated him.

He hoped he wasn't taking a huge leap in logic but... despite the boy being clearly supremely annoyed by him in their last conversation, he was somehow not radiating the aura of hatred.

But now, given that Vrishaketu and Angarani Vrushali had not been back for a month, Arjun felt slightly trepidatious, even as he tried to reassure Uttara.

"He is angry with me." Uttara said miserably. "What if they don't return again?! He hasn't even written to me!"

"Nothing like that will happen." Arjun told her, even though he had had the same thoughts more than once. Now that there might be a chance to build things with Vrishaketu, he did not want it to slip away. "Besides Vrishaketu would definitely come to visit his grandparents and kakis even if he was upset with everyone else. I'm sure they are just caught up with work in their Kingdom. They spend almost half their time here, you know. They have to rebuild too, right?"

When Uttara looked a little less worried that everything was over with Vrishaketu, Arjun spoke again.

"He might be upset with you but that's a little warranted, no?" He asked her seriously.

Uttara huffed. 

"Even if he doesn't like you, at least he spoke to you, right? I made sure of that. Instead of thanking me, you are scolding me, Pitashree?"

Arjun immediately felt guilty because she was right and then he remembered Vrishaketu's words about how all of them kids used emotional exaggeration to get out of stuff and how he was apparently 'naïve' to actually believe it. Well.

"I'm not going to praise you for locking the two of us in a room Uttara." Arjun said, doing his best to remain stern. "It might have had.... desirable results but the thing itself was not right."

"See, your grandfather is not being nice." Uttara said, looking down and patted her swelling belly.

Arjun snorted. It was still strange to think that he would soon be a grandfather. He was still rather young compared to Pitamaha who must have been around eighty when they had first arrived at the palace. Thinking about Pitamaha suddenly made Arjun very sad again. The image of the bed of arrows flashed in his mind and Arjun violently shook his head to clear it.

"Pitashree are you alright?" Uttara asked worriedly.

"Yes, yes I'm fine." Arjun sighed.

"Right." Uttara said, unconvinced, but decided to let the matter drop. "Anyway, I was thinking, if they don't show up in another week, why don't we go to Anga?"

Arjun felt his jaw drop open.

"We can't do that!" He hissed.

"Why not though? They are the ones who come here all the time, like you said, so maybe we should go!" Uttara looked excited. "Besides, unlike them, we don't have much work to do here! We can go along with Vrish's grandparents!"

Arjun pursed his lips. He really did not want to pop her bubble but despite that fact that Vrishaketu probably didn't really hate him anymore, Arjun didn't want to take any chances. He remembered how upset the boy had been when he had stepped into the forest clearing that had belonged to his father. Arjun didn't want to think just how upset he would be if he dared to upset the sanctity of his father's palace(No matter how much he wanted to know more about the kind of person the King of Anga--his Jyesht, had been when he was not busy showing his animosity towards Arjun).