𝐑𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐑𝐀 𝐁𝐇Ā𝐕𝐀

CHAPTER 12

It was a cloudy afternoon, the chances of rain were high. The lesson given today by Dronacharya was over, but Arjun and Manvendra stayed back practicing the use of weapons.

Both of them were blind folded, shooting the dangling pots hanging from trees which had few pebbles in them, to make noise.

Duryodhan came there with his brothers, seeing their display of Shabd-bhedi baan, they got intimidated.

Ideally this should inspire them to work harder on their skills, but all it inspired was some insults, in futile hopes that it will discourage them.

"Hitting pots that you two only hanged, is it valour ? Or false display of it ?" Duryodhan taunted.

"Don't come unannounced Duryodhan, I might have hit you instead." Manvendra retorted removing his blind fold. Arjun too removed his as he looked at the Kauravas.

"I doubt it. You lack the ability to actually use the knowledge of Shabd-bhedi baan practically." Duryodhan said.

"It's high coming from someone who cannot even hit a target properly." Arjun said.

"It's also high coming from someone who became best after cutting the thumb of a Nishadh boy." Duryodhan said.

"Come to the point. Or leave." Manvendra said.

"The point is that you are giving a false display of your valour. If you really know Shabd-bhedi baan then go to the forest and hunt an animal and come back with it." Duryodhan said.

"I have no need to prove my valor to you." Manvendra said.

"Consider it a challenge then." Duryodhan said with a smirk.

The clouds had started thundering, but whatever the weather may be Manvendra was not going to back away from a challenge.

"If that's the case, I accept the challenge." Manvendra said.

"Taat, but the weather ?" Arjun asked looking at the lightening among the heavy clouds.

"A Kshatriya never backs away from a challenge, Arjun." Manvendra said.

Arjun looked at him unsure, but Manvendra gave him a smile that had always inspired confidence in him.

He went towards the forest with Arjun and Kauravas. Manvendra took out the blindfold and tied it on his eyes, and went inside the woods.

Streching his bow he walked slowly across the forest carefully. His focus was on every noise, from the rustling of leaves to the flow of Yamuna river at a distance.

And suddenly he heard a sound of someone drinking from the river. Thinking it to be a deer, he shot his arrow.

But when it hit the target, the scream that came didn't belong to a deer. It seemed to belong to a man !

Removing his blindfold he hurried towards the river and was shaken to the core seeing a man pinned on the tree due to the impact of his arrow and beside him a woman wailed.

"Swami ! Swami !" She cried as she tried to remove his body from the tree but failed.

Manvendra walked towards them, grabbed the arrow that had pinned the man and pulled it out of his body, causing the man to fall down.

He knelt down, and kept his finger near the man's nose to check if he was breathing. But unfortunately he wasn't.

The wife looked at Manvendra, seeing his guilt-ridden and shocked expressions it was clear to her that he was her culprit.

"It was you ! Wasn't it !?" The woman exclaimed at him.

Manvendra looked at her, seeing those tear-filled accusing eyes, he for the first time couldn't utter a word, he just nodded in despair.

"Why ?" She asked.

"I-I had come for hunt." He couldn't say more.

"And you hunted my husband !? You're a reckless warrior !" She yelled.

"Forgive me." Manvendra said with joined hands.

"No ! You have killed my husband ! You have killed my heart ! Your condition shall become like mine ! This very moment, your heart shall also die but you shall keep living !" She cursed.

And as soon as those words left from her mouth, a sharp and intense pang shot through the chest of Manvendra, who fell on his knees. It was a feeling like no other, as if a icy grip had taken hold of his heart and was squeezing it with all its might.

Manvendra grunted in pain, clutching his heart as he felt like every emotion, every sensation, every aspect of what made the person human was being ripped away from him.

"Taat !" Arjun rushed towards Manvendra, even in the heavy rains the tears in Parth's eyes were visible. He had seen and heard everything.

Manvendra's breathing became shallow and labored as if his lungs could no longer draw in enough air. With eyes closed tightly, he tried to focus on controlling the agony, but it was all-consuming.

Tears escaped from his shut eyes as the intense pang inside his chest only grew stronger, as if a vice was tightening around his chest, squeezing the life out of him.

It was as if his very existence was being ripped apart from the inside out, leaving nothing but a cold, desolate void in its wake.

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A/N

Dury Bhai 🙃🔪