A Magical Spell ~ Ramayan | @TheLadyAesthetic

15. Revenge Of A Brother

Flashback Continues-

"Bhaiya wait for me!" Growled the youngest prince desperately as he grudgingly trudged after Bharat up the steep hill, lugging a massive waterpot in his frail arms.

The scorching afternoon sun beat down upon the young princes mercilessly, tiring them all the more unnecessarily, as they trekked back to the ashram, bringing with them the sacred water their Guru had requested.

"A few more.....steps....Shatru..." Bharat wheezed, exhausted to the limit himself.

Reaching the widespread shadow of a large sacred fig, the princes set their vessels down at a safe spot, and nestled atop the protruding roots beneath the umbra.

"Are you okay little one?" Bharat asked after he had taken a moment to breathe, eyeing the youngest prince anxiously.

Shatrughna beamed, his small brown eyes sparkling in the lustrous downpour of natural light, and nodded subtly.

Bharat smiled and ruffled his younger brother's hair. His gaze then travelled distantly to the large waterpots. "We need to get to the hermitage before sundown Shatru. The water needs to be there on time for Lord Narayana's Puja. And we don't want to wander out here in the woods for too long either do we?"

The younger boy nodded, his sunny expression morphing into a thoughtful one, as his bright garments fluttered enchantingly in the refreshing breeze, that washed unexpectedly over the torrid mountain peak.

"Where is Bhaiya? And Laksh? And the others?" He asked after a few silently spent minutes, picking up a dried branch to snap it.

Bharat clicked his tongue. "Don't break that child, you may hurt yourself." He warned sincerely.

Pouting, the young prince cast away his decision and began peeling the bough instead, a task not much safer than the first.

"Bhaiya and the others are probably almost there already. You and I had to stop for a bit because of that remember?" Kaikeyi's son sighed tiredly, pointing at the reddish scratch on his brother's ankle.

Shatrughna scanned the drying wound sheepishly, recounting his epic stumble that had led to it.

Looking into the sky again, that was gradually changing color, Bharat stood up and took hold of his pot. "Let's go. We need to be there before the dark." He commanded softly.

Shatrughna stood up and tucked the half-pealed branch in his bag and lifted the pot onto his shoulder.

Carefully, the boys began descending the other side of the mountain, watching constantly for signs of lurking danger in the dense forests of dry shoots.

As they reached the foot of the hill however, a sudden rustling in the nearby bushes caught the younger one's attention, and he instantly perked up, his head snapping in the target's direction.

"Psst..Bhaiya!" He whispered and Bharat paused, turning carefully. "Do you hear something? Someone's there I think.." He mumbled.

The princes fixed their alert eyes on the bush as Bharat moved in front of Shatrughna, his hand automatically moving to grip the arrowhead in his pouch, something his other younger brother had personally carved and given to him for defense. Meanwhile, Shatrughna snaked his hand into his bag, his fingers determinedly wrapping themselves around the branch he now treasured as a souvenir.

But their gallant positions morphed into disappointed faces of disbelief, when they saw none other than the third prince himself emerging crossly from the thicket, grumbling something inaudible and incomprehensible.

"Lakshman? What are you doing here?" Bharat called, moving forward in surprise as the prince looked up, equally surprised, but the vexation was clear in his eyes.