Unknown

Guilt

"Stop!, A warrior has no caste, His karma is what decides his place in the society, any man who is truthful, charitable, forgiving and kind is a brahmin, and every man who wields weapon to protect is a KSHATRIYA. Its not birth but virtues that count, Following dharma is one's duty but you earn merits through your karma, Karma is something of one's own will while birth is something which cannot be decided by one. karma will always be placed before birth before dharma. ALWAYS" The voice echoed through the whole stadium. Surprisingly enough it wasn't arjun's though there were similarities. It was Karna's voice , peaceful like the ringing bells of temple But raged as the unsteady blows of wind which could uproot any tree blocking its way.

 Arjuns heart screamed, he needed to do something, he can't just stand there, but he was glued to his place unable to think as the memory of Eklavya clouded his mind. Perhaps his words ruin everything again, It would become the reason of another life in ruins. And he became numb. The possibilities of punishments the of suta standing Infront of him made him Sick. He still remembers the punishment given to a shudra varna when he tried to read a veda. It made him wanna throw up. He wanted to run away from there but his body did not respond. He looked helplessly at Karna who looked just as helpless with taunts after taunts being thrown at him. Karna turned his head towards arjun, eyes hopeful and his face confused as he looked at arjuna's face which was pained. Arjun stood there looking towards the ground unable to meet the eyes of the archer standing in front of him. "This a competition of princes of Hastinapur, A suta like you has no place in it. You shouldn't even be allowed to weird weapons let alone challenge my student." Karna looked at arjun again who for the moment found his own feet the most interesting thing in the arena refusing to look anywhere else. "You claimed your student best without even considering other archers, just because he defeated a mace fighter through his arrows you can't proclaim him the best. The competition would only have been fair if warrior in possession of same weapons would have been fighting. Your claim is empty guru Drona and I'm here to prove it" Karna's voice spread like forest fire and arena burst into insults again claiming Karna's word as disrespect towards the guru of the kuru princes.
 
Guru Dron narrowed his eyes looking at karna carefully before realization hit him "aren't you the one that the one I rejected from teaching that day" he questioned, before the young man could answer Shakuni spoke up "It's good luck that you were rejected son, Or your right hand would have lost a thumb" arjun felt like he would faint as the image of Eklavya presenting his thumb to guru Drona flashed in his mind. The tears were threatening to fall his throat was dries, He wanted to scream, stop this all, He felt like the weakest man alive. His knees suddenly felt weak he was about to drop to the ground when a force pushed him back up. He finally found the courage to look up and found Karna chanting a mantra so slightly it was hardly noticeable. All people present were shooting there words at him which should have pierced any person like arrows. but Karna stood there with enough calm to chant a mantra it was as if he wore a unbreakable shield which was protecting both him an arjun. " According to the rules one royal can only challenged by another royal, So even if you are a warrior suta you are not allowed to challenge any of the kuru princes" Karna did not reply instead continue chanting giving strength to Arjun or perhaps the Kauntey was just imagining.

"If the rules say so we must follow the rules" It was Duryodhan who spoke up " Maharaj I ask you to crown mitra Karna as the king of Anga" the statement silenced everyone present as if there voice have been snatched away. ' KING OF ANGA' the words had thundered, paralyzing the spectators but Adhirathi had ears for only one word ' Mitra' an outcast in society, a rebel, A disappointment was the usual designations given to him. This was rare, His eyes filled with tears as the struggles of childhood were replayed in his mind. he had stopped chanting and the sudden warmth that arjun had felt was gone replaced with the familiar emptiness. Karna's step moved towards Duryodhan who's face was adorned with a smirk "mitra?" was all Karna managed to whisper Duryodhan kept his hand on Vasusena's shoulder, "mitra" the firm voice of gandhari nandan was like amrit to Karna. the sutaputra felt as if a heavy weight has been lifted on his shoulder. " I promise you my loyalty yuvraj, even if it cost me my life I  shall fulfil my duty as your friend" The promise of Vrisha stood like a mountain which holds the power to change the directions of the wind. 

While the voice of Dhrirashtra echoed proclaiming Karna the ruler of Anga, arjun had gone deaf his mind continuously replaying the horrifying memories . The crowd of ministers and court officials had surrounded had surrounded Duryodhan and Karna in protest and arjun slipped away finding his way out of the arena. he ran not knowing where he was going . His chest tighten his legs gave up and he was on his knees. 'Som'  he remembered. he met the boy lurking quite a few times near the mandir, being a shudra he was not allowed entry, Arjuna still remember how knowledgeable he was, Arjun had developed a liking to him, he enjoyed listening to soma talk about various things he had learned from listening to sadhu's and pandits. they had heartful conversation's about various topic. Arjun took time of his rest hours to visit som. It was perhaps just 1 month after Eklavya's departure that he found Som , inside the temple surrounded with pandits and various people, his hands were tied and he was crying in protest. Arjun pushed through the crowd but it was too late. Som's scream filled the temple as his tongue was cut and molten lead was poured in his ear and he dropped dead. Arjun screamed as loud as he can but he was gone and nothing could bring him back.

The seen flashed Infront of him just like it was yesterday. He tried to calm himself but it was as if he forgot how to breathe. his chest tightened he found it difficult to breathe. He gasped trying to fill air in his lungs but failed. "prince, Prince listen to me" An uncertain voice said .  "Arjun  take deep breaths, come on in and out," he heard the man instruct him  His vision was blurred and his mind felt dizzy, he couldn't make out who it was, But his instincts told him to trust the man. He Tried to follow trying to even out his breathing as the man caressed his back. Arjun finally caught his breath. He closed his eyes trying to shut his thoughts, The hand on his back was moved to his forehead as he felt warmth run through his body. The voice whispered something that arjun couldn't figure out but it felt calm like the sound of soft rain falling as he felt himself drift of into a peaceful sleep 

Ok so don't cringe out, this could be a bit cheesy of but here it is, I tried to write it the best I could, Suggestions are always welcomed. Sorry if your disappointed by the chapter, but do vote if you like, I am quite happy with the views so thankyou to all the readers. hope you enjoyed reading
~SVG