Swayamvadhu : The Bride he Chose

38 : An Unexpected Meeting

The golden globe in the sky scattered shades of scarlet over the cottony soft clouds..The twittering of birds and fragrance of fresh flowers signified the commencement of Dawn..The trumpeting of conches and rumbling of timbrels resonated in the fortress of Hastinapur..gandhari , the former queen of hastinapur stood at the centre of the courtyard carrying the aarti thali in her hands..beside her, stood queen mother kunti whose heart was agitated by this perilous endeavour..it's been only two days since Arjun returned after a conquest and again he is s being sent away by his eldest for another combat..

With heavy heart and soggy eyes , draupadi stood at the balcony along with dussala anticipating Arjun's and Govind's arrival..her ruddy eyes screamed the intensity of tears she cast off..
Her palpitation escalated by each passing second..The swooshing sounds of swords, galloping of stallions reverberated inside her ears.. Memories flashed across her mind like lightning.. forlorn visages of her siblings devoured her inner peace.. unable to withhold the terrifying memories, Draupadi closed her eyes firmly..At the next jiffy, savyasachi and his madhav made their entry into the courtyard, astounding everyone..

" Bhabhisree..look over there.."
Draupadi uplifted her eyelids heeding to dussala..she gazed down to watch her beloved Arjun and her govind standing, camouflaged themselves as Brahmins..Her mouth agape in amusement..her orbs wavered to avert it's gaze from her arjun..albeit he was unadorned ,his charm and aura enamored her..

" Bhrata Arjun , bhrata dhuryodhan and dwarkadhish disguised as Brahmins...but why? Do you have any idea regarding this bhabhisree..?"
Dussala interrogated in confound and draupadi wagged her head , fastening her eyes over her beloved..

" Bhabhisree come.. let us go downstairs..it is so intriguing..besides, won't you wish to watch bhrata Arjun departing?come along with me..come"
As dussala concluded, draupadi felt a grasp over her hands..before she could respond,dussala hauled draupadi along with her to downstairs..

Gandhari revolved the aarti thali around Arjun, krishna and dhuryodhan for their victorious return.. draupadi and dussala stood at the corner of the courtyard..Karn conferred wishes for their journey and elders bestowed their heartfelt benedictions.. yagyaseni,the beloved youngest offspring of Drupad,let tears cascade down from her orbs.. savyasachi,who perceived this endearingly glanced at his krishnaa and blinked his eyes in assurance which didn't go undiscovered by dhuryodhan's hawk eyes..

Kunti traced her fingers over her beloved phalgun's cheeks and graced him along with Krishna.. dronacharya who was also present there along with drauni , wholeheartedly graced his beloved disciple..

" The time has approached princes..to commence your journey.."
After glancing above the sun, kripacharya reminiscenced..

Arjun glanced at his love once again and bid farewell to her through his hazel which was easily comprehended by her..tears dripped like pearls through her cheeks as soon as his figure vanished from her sight..prior to someone notice her tears ,she hastily wiped it..karn who was about to enter inside the palace, ceased on his tracks when his orbs got captivated by ethereal beauty standing infront of him..his eyes gleamed with delight..he strode forward to approach her , but immediately he got ceased by a voice..

" Putrii draupadi.."
Kunti's voice hauled back draupadi from her daze..karn who was about to approach draupadi , waived his plan and initiated a conversation with pitamah..

" I've been searching for you..can you come and help me for the special veneration dear..?"
Kunti interrogated to which draupadi nodded positively and accompanied her.. karn watched draupadi leave and smirked, thinking about his forthcoming moments with her..

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Darkness slowly engulfed the sky..The stars that blinked over the infinite sky and the twilight of blazing fire lamps accompanied draupadi in her solitude..The seclusion she felt was non existent when comparing to her inner commotion..her heart supplicated to almighty every now and then..To obtain some tranquility, she sat under the mandap in the garden and closed her eyes, feeling the rhythm of zyhper..but heeding to certain footsteps, draupadi jolted and stood up only to behold the king of hastinapur standing infront of her with a small smile over his lips..
Draupadi's jaws got tightened..she impassively unbend her lips and went near..