A MAHABHARATA RETELLING
~~~
All the other flowers in the garden were brought up to envy the rose. Maybe shun it even. And admire it, too.
Unusual ways. Too-red petals, too-sharp thorns, too-sweet fragrance.
If only each flower did not have a mind...
I knew you'd come back to me, You'd come back to me, you'd come back to me, And you'd come back...
~cardigan, Taylor Swift
TW: Intimacy (that's all I'm gonna say. Kids, not the chapter for ya. See you in the next one xoxo)
Silver
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"The truth of love is mysticism, the fact that one never knows what it truly is. It could be gentle, yet fleeting, like a mountain stream. It could be steady, yet maybe murky, like some mighty river nearing the sea. It could-", her soft, clear voice was cut off by the smoky timbre of his.
"Be the ocean, consuming, drowning. Tides and consistent waves trying to wear down the rocks of the shores, swirling in sand and lives alike. Returning all, yet nothing."
She did not have to turn around.
"Did you memorise it on the journey back home?", her voice gained a taunting depth that made his skin burn and his muscles ache from the effort of holding back.
"Tsk tsk tsk", he made his way into the quiet premises of her chamber, "Such shade to be throwing on a new husband", his fingers were underneath her chin and making her eyes meet his within a fragmented moment, "To accuse him of indulging in such grim poetry instead of paying attention to his bride."
Her eyes flashed, maybe with the challenge, the taunt of a blatant lie there, or with something else entirely. The rest of his fingers began tasting the skin of her jaw, her throat.
"It is a morbid thought", she said in that same low, humming voice, "But I cannot help but think that sometimes you examine my skin as if wanting to see what is underneath."
As if she wasn't saying something utterly blasphemous and unhinged.
A smirk crept up the hard angles of his features. "I wish to delve into your mind sometimes, see how the light and dark blend in their, see how many gods live in the crevices, and how many demons.", his low, rough voice observed, as if sprinkling sand into a crackling fire; neither confirming, nor denying her earlier observation.
"There could be an easier way to find that out", her eyes flickered down to his lips once, "Just find out which side you brothers sway more towards - the dark or the light."
Amusement flashed in his eyes, and he gently coaxed her with his light grip to lean forward, forward, till his lips were upon hers. Greedy, wanton.
Consuming, drowning.
She matched the rhythm of his every movement, every little tilt and push and swipe.
