Shikhandhi walks towards me her hair as wild and untamed and her face as handsome as ever. She puts her hands on my shoulders and comes close So close I can feel her tears on my cheek. "I'm so sorry for you sister" she says. I smile at her but then she throws her head back laughing like an animal, a rabid animal. Her laugh is so feral it unsettles you and churns your insides. "But all our destinies are linked with yours." That's when I realise Shikhandhi is two people. I'm not naive. I know the stories, the blessings, the curses, the vows all of them. But this is the first time I see Amba. I stare at her, my brain trying to comprehend the layer behind the meticulous, strong, brave woman wondering when she is Amba and when she is Shikhandhi.
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My father stands before me, his eyes brimming with tears, grief etched on his face. Dhri supports him on one side, while Shikhandhi stands resolutely on the other. "How can I find peace in the palace when my daughter suffers in the wilderness? What sins have I committed that my child must endure such pain? Oh, what have I done to witness this?" It feels as though he is mourning me even though I am alive. His gaze falls upon my untamed hair, and he gently runs his fingers through it, a tender gesture that speaks volumes. "Father, please don't worry. I am stronger than I appear. I have my husbands with me; they will care for me," I say, my voice steadying, even as I feel the weight of his despair.
He sighs deeply, the burden of a father's heart palpable. "They don't know how to take care of you. Come back to Paanchal," he pleads, desperation lacing his words.
"Father," I reply softly, "you taught me the ways of dharma. I cannot abandon my pathni dharma, can I?" I watch his face falter, the struggle within him clear.I heard you said that you would only ask for two boons. You showed them that your the princess of Paanchal." he says. I smile at him glaincing at my husbands. My father addressing me as Paanchal's princess not queen of Indhraprastha. My husbands heads are bowed down. I call them and we fall to his feet. Rising, my father turns to my husbands, his voice trembling with earnestness. "Please, take care of her. I beg you."
My husbands look at him, their eyes filled with sincerity but also the weight of their past failures. "We swear to protect her," Yudhisthra declares, his voice steady as he meets my father's gaze. "We know she deserves better, and we vow to become deserving of her."
My father nods slowly, a flicker of hope igniting within him. He bids us farewell, the heaviness in his heart momentarily lifted by our promises. I turn to my husbands, and in that moment, I see a renewed strength in their eyes, a determination to rise to the challenge.
As we stand together, I feel a surge of love and unity. We are bound not just by duty but by a deep connection that will carry us through the trials ahead. Together, we will face whatever fate has in store, our hearts intertwined in resilience and hope. Nothing could ever ruin us permanently, not a thing not a circumstance not a person.
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Draupadi
Historical Fiction--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dharma was the cloth I held closest. I was draped in dharma. No one could ever take that from me. No amount of pu...
