Son of Fire, daughter of the Sun

Chapter 5: Beginning of Swayamvara

"Are you going to do it?" Kunti gasped and pressed her tiny hand to her face.

“Participate in svayamvara to marry the daughter of Adiratha?”

" But why, son? Mom, I don't need anyone else!"The rest of the brothers froze with colorful expressions showing varying degrees of surprise. Yudhishthira's eyes widened. Bhima's jaw dropped and his neck stretched out. The younger brothers silently stared at each other: Nakula's left eyebrow twitched slightly, Sahadeva's right.

“Son,” Kunti lowered her hands desperately, “but she’s not even a princess."

"She will become queen immediately after her marriage."

“But why do you need a small province as a kingdom, son? You and your brothers are fighting for your right to sit on the throne of Hastinapur."

“I don't need Ang Pradesh, Mom. But Hastinapur is not needed either. I'm going to marry Karishma, that's my only goal. Brother Yudhishthira may continue to try to defeat brother Duryodhana. My bow, arrows and skill will always support him, and I am sure that one day my elder brother, having shown his prowess, will become the king of Hastinapur. But why should I give up personal happiness?" Confused, Kunti could not find what to say to her son. Since yesterday, she had been haunted by another circumstance: when the girl, who called herself the daughter of Adiratha, appeared on the duel arena, the golden earrings in her ears seemed surprisingly familiar to Queen Kunti. She was not sure, but it seems that the Lord Surya gave exactly the same at the birth of her eldest daughter. If I knew if this Karisma had golden armor to protect her from danger? But who can you ask about this?

“Oh, I have a bad feeling, Arjuna.” Kunti pressed her hand to her heart.

- "I'm uneasy. Leave this girl. Many beautiful princesses live in Bharat, woo them!"

“I have seen many girls, mother, but not one has challenged me yet!” And none of them looked like they could see right through me! What eyes she has, mother ... If only you could see them up close! No, I won't find another one like it." Kunti looked desperately at Yudhishthira, but he only spread his arms and shook his head, and the queen understood: he would not dissuade his brother, and Arjuna himself would never give up his idea. Kunti sighed and asked her sons to leave her alone.

***

"I would never have thought that at least in one of the worlds Arjuna would not pay the slightest attention to me," Vishnu admitted with a bitter sigh.

“Having learned about Karishma's swayamvara, I came to Hastinapur to see the Pandavas a little earlier than planned and at the same time test my influence on them. And for the first time I felt terrible, Bolenath. My passionate devotee looked past me and did not want to hear my words. All his thoughts hovered around the beautiful archer. For a moment, it seemed to me that it was not Amba who received the magical emerald earrings, but Karisma. But what could I do? There was only one thing left for me: to participate in swayamvara myself in order to rid Arjuna of illusions. However, I did not take into account that Maharathi Karna in his female incarnation would still decide to send a message to Mount Mahendra. And an even bigger surprise was that Arundev would take it into his head to go to the groom selection ceremony, forgetting about his oath to continue the ascetic lifestyle. Turning on my mystical vision, I saw Karisma write in a letter sent with a messenger-servant to her former guru: “I do not want power or a crown. But I must show my skills to these arrogant princes. Let me make my dream come true! However, this will be possible only after a husband is chosen at my svayamvara, who will be appointed the king of Anga. And I do not dream of another spouse, except for you. I know you swore an oath that I would be like a sister to you for the duration of my training with you, and you kept your word. But I have ceased to be your student, and my love for you, about which I have been silent until now, is still alive. Come to swayamvara, where I will choose you as my husband and walk with you seven times around the sacrificial fire, otherwise I will have to become unhappy for life, subordinating my body and soul to the one whom my soul does not love. Having read her message, Arundev at the same moment jumped on his horse and rushed to Anga. In an attempt to correct this strange world, Bolenath, and let him go on his usual path, I had to delay Arundev with my illusion of an enclosed space so that he would be late for the start of the svayamvara ...