Uddhava sat beside his wife as the close guests and rest of the yadava cousins and siblings sat around the room. It was the day after the wedding, a special ritual conjured by the younger generation, headed by Niyati herself to entertain the newly wed couple with stories, music and dance.
Niyati couldn't lie to herself, she deeply missed Prakriti in a celebration like this but she knew she'll meet her soon enough if she is with the Pandavas. Krishna has also assured the rest of the family of her whereabouts, after much insisting from Niyati who couldn't see her Devaki Maa, Rohini Maa and Subhadra jiji sad.
"Oh! Shivanya did something like that as a child too!" Sushala said.
Niyati's dazed eyes snapped back to what was happening.
"Really?" Satyabhama, the ever so cheerful bhabhishree of hers asked, with mirth in her eyes.
"Yes! She would climb up mango trees like an absolute monkey, sometimes will get stranded up in a tall branch. One of our brothers would have to wait for her to jump so they could catch her." Her older sister recounted causing her face to heat up.
"There's nothing wrong with working hard to achieve something you love!" Niyati huffed.
"That is true." Krishna said, a playful glint in his eyes.
"But you prove my point, Shivu." Ashwathama says, joining the conversation, "you are a monkey. You accidentally turned into a girl." He laughed.
"How dare you call my sister a monkey, Drauni." Sushala protested, to which Ashwathama raised a brow.
"Only I get to do that!" Sushala completed with a goofy smile.
"Okay, enough of teasing the poor girl." Rukmini said gently, wrapping her arms around the girl softly as she hid her face in her saree in embarassment.
"I feel even if Rajkumari Shivanya was a wild animal, she'll have grace and elegance in being so." Claimed another voice, Shivanya glanced up.
"That's far fetched, Satyaki." Uddhava himself shook his head, his wise eyes twinkling with mirth. Sometimes Shivanya would be in awe by how much Uddhava resembled her Kanha, just that he was much calm and soft spoken by nature.
"Yeah Satyaki, don't get swayed by her beauty." Ashwathama teased.
"What would you know of beauty, you Giraffe?" Shivanya scowled.
"See? That's her reality." Ashwathama sighed, pretending to be hurt.
"What is this? Tease Shivanya day?" She huffed, placing her head on Rukmini's shoulder, pouting slightly as she felt the Jagatmata caress her head.
"Okay okay, sorry!" Ashwathama apologized, getting up from where he sat with a plate of sweet treats and placing it infront of the youngest in the room, pinching her nose slightly to which he recieved a slap to his arm that was started away.
"How dare you upset my sister?" Sushala teased the man, trying to comfort her younger sister.
"Rajkumari Sushala, you started it." Ashwathama gaped at the older Kuru Princess.
"Oh so now you're blaming me? I see how it is!" Sushala gasped.
"What-" Ashwathama's eyes met the mischievous eyes of the eldest kuru princess, and he couldn't believe what he accepted himself doing was getting lost in them as his heart skipped a beat. He gulped, suddenly words stuck in his mouth as he realises how much the sweet face of Sushala reminded him of a waterlily in bloom.
"Ooo. I sense something!" Whispered Satyabhama, who sat behind Rukmini and Shivanya.
Jambavati nodded in agreement, "It seems the Drauni is lost in his thoughts." She giggled.
YOU ARE READING
WHEN THE STARS ALIGNED / A Mahabharat AU
FanfictionTime, something exempt from the shackles of nature, it is independent, curious and ever-changing. It almost never bowed to anyone. So when time decided to play a little, chaos was right behind her, striding confidently as if he knew it was his time...
