Sita: The Fiery Flame

~ A Brother's Crown ~

Around 13 years ago

They weren't fast enough. 

The best stallions in the entire empire weren't fast enough.

To Bharath, even the winds weren't fast enough.

Twice already he had felt this, the need to be faster than wind. First, when he'd gotten the doomed letter that held the most horrendous news; His brothers' exile and the death of his beloved Father. Second, right now, as he bore the grim news himself, desperately hoping Ram Bhaiya would realise how horrific this whole fiasco was and return home to be their rightful ruler. 

He'd called upon a modest battalion to accompany him and his brother Shatrughna, after all an Emperor should be brought back into his empire in all his glory and Ram Bhaiya deserved nothing short of that! Bharath had planned a procession, he had arranged for flowers, bands and the entire kingdom would be waiting for Bhaiya's return. The return that would wash away the gloom that shrouded their kingdom after the death of their adored father. Yes, this would set everything right. Bharath would make sure of it!

He could hear the mad rattling of the chariot, the charioteer was indeed following orders and they were speeding through the woods dangerously. Bharath turned to look at Shatrughna who followed him closely in his own chariot. Shatrughna's face was a mask of eerie quiet, Bharath knew he was preparing for the worst already; returning home without their eldest and his twin. It wasn't as if the twins had been attached by their hips, Shathrughna had always been by Bharath's side and Lakshman by Ram Bhaiya's. And yet, Bharath couldn't begin to imagine the void Shathrugna must be have in his soul, being apart from the being you were together with in your mother's womb? Bharath knew nothing of that pain. But he did know pain. He had been feeling it incessantly for a while now, not having Ram Bhaiya around to ease the blow of his father's death and of course the betrayal of his own mother! Bharath tried not to think about it often, he knew his heart wasn't strong enough to endure such pain all at once and yet there it was, the weight of the sky in his gut pulling him down every waking moment of his life! 

He felt like a stranger in his own home. The dasis addressed him as "Your Highness" which brought a sour taste to his mouth, the very glimpse of his mother's face made his stomach turn, the empty throne his father used to occupy haunted him in his nightmares, the forlorn look on his mothers' faces made him want to destroy the world. But there was nothing he could do, it was as if the whole universe had conspired against him and planned to torture his will to live. 

Until the moment he'd made the decision to embark on this journey to bring his Bhaiya back and crown him as the rightful King, not one soul in the kingdom nor the palace had looked at him with disdain and that destroyed his heart! Not a soul bore hatred for him, the imposter King! But he knew what they all felt, he was feeling the same thing. The whole kingdom had tumbled into a jarring darkness after his Bhaiya's departure and the death of his father, no one knew what was to be done, the late king had passed away with none of his sons by his side... a fate no father would wish upon himself. 

Nothing had been going right ever since the evil Manthara had decided to bleed poison into his mother's heart. His mother; Kaikeyi... the very thought of her brought so many emotions to the front. One part of him hated her for every allowing herself to fall prey to Manthara's evil schemes! How could she have ever done this to them? Exiling the very light that kept them all alive and well, the very existence that made the burden of life seem as light as a feather and last of all how could she condemn the empire to such treachery? The other part of him felt immense pity for her, his mother was anything but gullible but she too does have a few buttons that would work dark magic if pushed the wrong way and that was exactly what Manthara had done. And yet, Bharath found it hard to forgive her in his heart... but he knew that this was the way of life and the way of people, too err is indeed human. 

The chariot came to an alarming halt, throwing him off balance. Had they reached? Is this where Bhaiya was? Overcame with joy, anticipation and despair all at once, Bharath leaped out of the chariot and took hurried steps towards the clearing ahead of him. And there, unmistakably where the three people he'd travelled all the way to see, standing under the shade of a banyan tree, the two men stood protectively covering the woman with their bows drawn, ready to strike. Bharath felt his knees quiver with relief the moment his eyes met Ram Bhaiya's. Almost as if the sky had been lifted off of his shoulders, he felt all his worries dissolve in Ram Bhaiya's smile. 

And then he remembered, that the smile wouldn't last long. It will wither away upon hearing the terrible news Bharath bore. But there was nothing that can be done now, so Bharath took a deep breath and took slow and deliberate steps towards the eldest, towards solace and towards the rightful king. 

Ram bhaiya did no such thing, he rushed towards Bharath and swung his arms around him, pulling him into the tightest of hugs that made Bharath's world come to a standstill. Right here in his brother's embrace, he wished to perish, leave behind everything that did and did not belong to him.

"Bharath! Oh, my Bharath!" Ram bhaiya exclaimed, breaking the hug, his face brimming with joy. But that too lasted only a fraction of a second, his expression swiftly morphed into genuine concern.

"Bharath? Is something wrong? Why are you here, brother?" 

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"Bharath?"

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"What is it? You are worrying me!"

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