Rewriting the War (Duryodhan)

Chapter 10 - The King's Hand

The days passed by in a blur, and before I knew it, I was in a palanquin, almost nearing the village of Varnavata.

Duryodhan had sent me off with a little advice from his side, asking me to stick by the female members throughout the visit, to which I had nodded, knowing that I was going to do the exact opposite.

My journey was halted, and the palanquin was placed on the ground. I peeked, my head sticking out of the curtains, and I saw a comparatively small castle amidst a forest.

"We have arrived at the palace, Miss." One of the helpers said to me, offering his hand for me to get up.

"Thanks." I uttered as I took a better look at it. Despite it being small, the handcrafted designs were intricate and beautiful.

"We shall proceed." At Gandhari's instance, we entered the doomed Lakshagriha.

"Welcome to this palace, Your Majesty." A dark man with a long moustache spoke in reverence, his hands folded as he greeted all of us.

"You have built it well, Purochana." Gandhari authoritatively praised. "We would like to rest."

"Of course, Your Highness." He gestured to a couple of servants and spoke rapidly with them.

A maid who looked about twelve or thirteen escorted me to my chambers.

"Can you tell me where the Pandavas are occupying?" I asked her as gently as I could, but the fear in her bambi eyes remained.

"I apologise for my lack of knowledge regarding..." I cut her off.

"You don't have to apologise. Just ask around and tell me once you know." I assured her, smiling so her nerves could ease.

"Yes, Miss Amara." She replied, her trepidation turning into a look of regard.

I watched her go, and as soon as she crossed out of my vision, I began my inspection by touching the walls. The substance felt slippery as I rubbed it in my hand. Taking it to my nose, I smelt the lingering aroma of ghee.

"Miss?" A soft voice called out.

"Ah, yes?" I saw my maid waiting at the doorstep.

"Can I take you to their rooms, Lady Amara?

"That would be nice. Thank you." The girl blushed at the simple word of appreciation.

"What's your name?" I asked, while we walked around.

"Aditi." Came the feeble reply.

"It's really a great name!" I exclaimed as the name evoked memories of my friend.

"Doesn't it mean 'limitless'?" I remembered the meaning.

"Yes." She was still shy with her words. "Here we are, Miss." Our conversation came to an end upon the wooden door.

"Thank you, Aditi." I affirmed again as I barged into the room without knocking.

They were together like they were always. Five heads simultaneously turned towards me.

"Did you check the material?" I asked straight away.

"Yes, I did as soon as I entered." Nakul lifted his two stained fingers at me.

"What are we going to do?" Yudhishthir raised the important query, appearing worried at the very thought of the future.

"We cannot go back." I began slowly.

"But." Bheem voiced a noise of protest, but I lifted my hand for him to stop.

"He won't attempt to murder you this early. It would take a year or so." I continued, thinking diligently for the next course of action.

"Isn't it better to stop the murder attempt from happening and going back to Hastinapur?" It was a reasonable question from Arjuna's end, but,

"Your uncle was the one to give his permission to his son's schemes." I informed them of the hard truth and watched their jaws slack in denial.

"The King won't." Yudhishthir shook his head in disbelief.

"The King did." I emphasised.

"To answer your question, even if you prevent the attempt, you cannot go back to Hastinapur unless the King calls you there, and the King will only call you if his son says so." I took a deep breath.

"And do you think that Duryodhan would stop with one?"

"No." Sahadev finally vocalised.

"What are we going to do?" Bheem asked.

"We will carry out the endeavour ourselves." I watched their eyes grow wide.

"Foremost, sow an idea on Purochana's head to show a nearby temple to the Queens and the Princess tomorrow."

"While they are gone, we have to tie that man alongside four other males and one woman. Then we set fire to the palace."

"Did Vidura send a miner to dig a tunnel?" I enquired, all our hopes resting on the escape route.

"Yes, he had done it." Nakul responded positively.

"Good, we shall escape through it to the banks of Ganga."

"Why so soon?" Bheem sharply squinted.

"It's for the better. Knowing a mishap occurred just one day after our visit might arouse suspicions among the citizens. They might begin to doubt the King's role in it."

"And it would speed things up. If Duryodhan becomes the heir, he would have no competitors for the throne, and because of it, he would stop plotting."

"This is all fine. What are we going to do after escaping?" Sahadev scrutinized me.

"Oh that! We are going to look for potential brides." I answered bluntly.