𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 || ArDi ||

47. Rise of Yagyaseni.

~ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS ~
Everytime you go,
It is like a knife that cuts right to my soul.

It was the day of new moon.

Arjun walked down the corridor of the giant palace of Indraprastha. The soldiers shivered and stepped out of his way, bowing as the King passed.

Arjun barely acknowledged them, covering his distance upto the garden in large strides.

The soldiers breathed out a sense of relief as they saw his run out of their sight. None could deny that their King had changed. He had turned into a ruthless monster. It was as if the one bridge holding the empathy in heart had broke.

And it indeed did.

The loss of their beloved Queen had affected everyone in the Kingdom. Everyone was eclipsed in the cloak of darkness. But what bothered them more was the condition of their King. He lived like a walking corpse. He barely ate, and spent his days planning for the ceremony.

The Marriage ceremony of their King.

To a person loathed by them.

***

"Madhav," Arjun nodded in response to Krishna.

That day, Krishna did not have a charming smile on his face. His eyes did not gleam like they always did. Instead he blankly looked at Arjun, "What is the plan, Parth?"

Arjun walked alongside Krishna and pointed to the map set down on the table. He took out a scale out of nowhere and pointed it to the darker side of map. "The forest covers a major part in the south-east of Indraprastha. To the south, past the river Narmada is the territory of Vasuki. Takshak had been wise enough to maintain good relations with the Cobra with Nagmani."

He moved to the next map which focused entirely on the forest. "There are three ways into the forest from Indraprastha. North, North-west and East. The Southern entry has been blocked by Vasuki." He pointed the scale to the Northern part, a curved way into the dense forest, "This is from where we expect the bridegroom's entry."

"You," Arjun said referring to Krishna, "Would enter from the Eastern Gate."

"Why?" Krishna frowned.

Arjun sighed, the words felt hard to be forced out. "I must enter along with the barat, you should cover the eastern side and Bhrata Bheem would be guarding the North-west frontier."

Krishna waved his hand dismissively, "You will come with me."

"But the groom-"

"Duryodhan will take you place."

Arjun felt his blood boil at the mere mention of that name. He turned his head away in disgust. Why would his wife's murderer even agree to take his place?

"Parth," Krishna said cautiously, "You trust me, don't you?"

Arjun blew out a harsh breath, trying to supress the rising anger, "I do trust you, Madhav. But I don't trust that cruel creature. He has given me every reason for feeling so."

Arjun could not meet his eyes, knowing that the person standing before him knew him like the back of his hand, yet could not understand what he was feeling.

"You vowed not to kill Nagas, Arjun. What made you change your decision? Are you not afraid of the consequences? Of Devraj Indra?" Krishna question, surrounding him. He had either stopped regarding Arjun's emotions or was blankly ignoring them. Arjun suspected the second one to be correct.