Janani - The Warrior Mother

Chapter 11

It was the last night she would spend with him for the longest time.

Fate had been too cruel to her. Too cruel to all of them.

She had spent too long crying. Her burning eyes had turned dry, her tears entirely spent. 

Abhimanyu wouldn't sleep, and when he finally did, he was clutching onto his father's hand, and Arjun found himself incapable of tearing himself away. "He knows, doesn't he?" Arjun had said, unwilling to pull away from his son. "He understands."

When he entered the chamber, Subhadra looked at him wordlessly, her eyes brimming with emotions too deep and too painful for words. Arjun crossed the distance between them in an instant, his need for her overwhelming every other thought. Without hesitation, he captured her lips in a searing kiss, a kiss that seemed to hold the weight of everything left unsaid, everything he feared to lose.

His hands cupped her face, his fingers trembling slightly as they brushed against her skin. The kiss was desperate, fervent, as if he could somehow imprint himself on her soul, leave a part of him with her that would remain even in his absence. It was more than just a kiss; it was a promise, a plea, and an apology all at once.

Subhadra responded with equal intensity, her hands grasping at his robes, pulling him closer as if she could fuse their bodies together, eliminate the cruel distance that was soon to come between them. She poured all her love, all her fear, and all her sorrow into that kiss, as if this moment could last forever, as if she could hold on to him and never let go.

They broke apart only to catch their breath, their foreheads resting against each other as they tried to steady themselves. Arjun's eyes searched hers, and in that moment, they both knew that this night would be their last chance to truly be together, to share the love that had bound them from the start.

Without a word, he began to trace the contours of her face with his fingers, memorizing every line, every curve, as if he were engraving her image into his memory. Subhadra's breath hitched as he touched her, the tenderness of his gesture contrasting with the urgency of their kiss. Her own hands began to move, caressing his face, his neck, his chest, as if she could somehow memorize the feel of him, the warmth of his skin, the strength of his embrace.

He lifted her gently, moving her to the bed as he laid her on the covers. She pulled him close, needing to feel the reality of his presence. He laid down beside her, wrapping an arm around her as she rested her head on his chest. 

"I don't want to leave," he whispered into the dark, his thumb brushing the skin by her waist involuntarily. "This is unbearable."

"I don't know how to live without you," she whispered back, her fingers tracing small circles on his chest. "I don't know how I will bear it."

"I will be back," he said, his voice distant but hopeful. "I will come back to you, to our son."

She nodded, but the words did little to ease the pain. The thought of the long years ahead, of the nights she would spend alone, with nothing but memories to keep her company, was almost too much to bear. "Thirteen years," she whispered, the enormity of it hitting her all over again. "It feels like a lifetime."

Arjun pressed a kiss to her forehead, his lips lingering on her skin a moment longer. As the night wore on, the inevitability of dawn loomed closer, and with it, the moment when he would have to leave. They both knew it was coming, but neither of them could bring themselves to acknowledge it. Instead, they held on to each other, letting the silence stretch between them, a fragile shield against the sorrow that awaited them.

She lay in his arms the whole night, neither of them letting sleep take hold of them for the fear of losing time. They held onto each other as if they could somehow freeze time, as if they could remain like that forever.