Karn's Saviour - Drina

Chapter 20 - Death of Brothers

It was time for Drina and Karn's puja. At brahmamuhrta, they both used to practice fighting together, and then they used to take a bath to do their long routine of Puja. The temple was built by Karn, for his daily practices. Whenever Karn was younger he used to go to the Shiv Shakti temple in Hastinapur near his house. This one was made as a replica of the old one. The temple had a huge dome, which was carved beautifully with Sanskrit mantras. The main grabhgrah was where the murti of Shiv Shakti was kept. They both sat at least 5 feet away from the Murti.

Drina was a big bhakt of Shakti. When she got the boon from Maa Durga, she always felt very in dept to the goddess. Karn was more inclined towards Shiv, and Parashurama always was a big follower of Shiv himself hence he always taught Karn about the Trishul Dhari . They made a perfect duo to worship Shiv-Shakti.

Karn wore an orange dhoti with waist jewellery,

Karn was enveloped in a state of deep meditation, his unwavering focus directed towards the recitation of the Shiv Stotram. The sound of his voice echoed throughout the temple, resonating with a powerful energy that seemed to fill every corner of the sacred space. Drina stood nearby, watching him with a deep sense of love and admiration. Her heart swelled with emotion as she observed the intensity of his devotion.

As she gazed upon Karn, Drina felt her thoughts drift towards the future. Despite the challenges and obstacles that lay ahead, she knew that they would face them together. With a sense of profound faith, she approached the sacred Bull Nandi, offering a sheepish smile as she closed her eyes and whispered her prayer. "No matter what the future holds, no matter how broken we may become, please keep us together always."

Karn opened his eyes and looked at her, "Done?" he asked, Drina nodded, bowed down and walked together to her room.
Drina was wearing a plain white saree with a red border. She liked her attire simply in the morning, not much jewellery.

They were halfway to her room when her maid came running towards her. She came panting, taking deep breaths, she was trying to say something but her gasps for oxygen were making it difficult. Karn furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what she needed to say to Drina. Drina kept her hands on her maid's shoulders and calmed her down, "What happened Priyashi?". "Rajkumari ............... Your......................... brothers" Priyashi tried to complete but was breathing heavily, Drina's eyes widened, "Brothers? What happened to my brothers, Priyashi?" She asked urgently.
Priyashi looked down, nervously biting her lips, "They are dead, Rajkumari" she said slowly. Drina stumbled back, her eyes widened with shock. Karn was also shook by this sudden announcement, he tried to convince Duryodhan a lot but all in vain. But he had a plan to get the Pandavas out before the time, but this wasn't supposed to happen this soon.

"No .......no.......no........" Drina mumbled to herself, her eyes moving everywhere. "This is not happening" she slowly muttered, she closed her eyes, "It's just a very bad dream" she tried to convince herself

Karn and Priyashi looked at her fragile state and pityed her loss. "Drina" Karn softly called her, carefully trying to hold her hand. But Drina flinched and ran towards her chambers. She ran as tears flowed out of her green eyes like a river.

She went inside and locked her wooden doors. She stumbled and fell on a vase, breaking it into pieces. She sat down, by the a wall, her head on her knees, sobbing and crying, not able to take in the loss of her brothers and her mother.

She was crying as Karn opened the doors with all his might. He saw her crying, mumbling things to herself. She kept looking down at the glass pieces, they were as broken as her heart.

Karn slowly bent down and sat on his knees. "Drina" he slowly called her. Her blood shot eyes met with his honey golds. "You knew this would happen, didn't you?" She asked as her heart beats grew faster. Karn went pale and looked down with shame and embarrassment.

She understood his silence and looked at with shock. "I tried Drina. I had made arrangements so when it would happen I could save them but this incident was planned to happen next month" he explained slowly

She got up as she wiped her tears, "How can I trust you?". Karn's eyes widened, he could not hear his ears, Drina was the only one who trusted him, and now she was judging him? "I promise you Drina. If I am lying to you, then Lord Surya will turn me into ashes right here, right now." He said with profound impact.

"I swear on my mother's life, Drina. Your Radhey is guilty of not helping but he is not guilty of killing them"

Drina could not control it anymore as she run to him and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her waist as they both cried. They fell on the floor as their tears, souls and hearts consoled each other.

"I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry" Karn kept muttering again and again. Drina looked at him, broken and grieving for someone who was not even his own. She kept her finger on his lips "Shh". "It's not your fault". She kept her head on his shoulder as they grieved for the same family they had.

But did the Pandavas die? Or it was god's another Maya?

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First of all, I have not posted since 10 to 11 months and I deeply apologize for that. I had a lot of stuff going on and was not able to deal with.

I am so sorry my lovely readers for your author has disappointed you. Once again I am sorry and I will now on post the new chapters weekly.

Thank you if you are an old reader who came back. Plz show your love so I can revive the story