Journey to the Old Era (Drisana's Mahabharat #1)

Chapter 41

"Rajkumar Arjun?" Subhadra called him.

He was aware of the girls presence, but ignored her till now. As she addressed him, he turned with a blank face. Who was this?

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Subhadra. Your Madhav's little and lovely sister." Subhadra said smiling at him.

He started to go not seeing any reason to chit-chat with her.

"Wait. Where are you going, Rajkumar Arjun? I've waited so long to meet you." Subhadra said going behind him. That was rude of him. Her bhrata Krishna said Rajkumar Arjun was a jolly and sweet person. But he didn't seem like that. Or was he afraid of Draupadi? Was that why he didn't want to talk to her here at this time?

"How do you know who am I?" He asked turning towards Subhadra again.

"Anyone can recognise you from your performance. Who else can throw arrows with such precision except the greatest archer of Aryavart?" Subhadra said smiling again.

"Who said to you Rajkumar Arjun is the greatest archer of Aryavart?" He asked again.

"Bhrata Krishna. Who else?" Subhadra was confused now. What's with these questions?

"Either he lied or you misunderstood. Because Rajkumar Arjun is great, not greatest. And my name is Karna." Saying so Karna started to leave but stopped again.
"And little girls like you shouldn't roam at nights unattended." He added before leaving.

Subhadra stared at the way he went dumbfounded. She had heard about him from Drisana. He was King of Anga and also a good Archer. But what she saw was beyond good. Like extraordinarily good. It seemed to her he was under praised. Or she never noticed his praises. She would have to ask Drisana.

Wait.

Did he just call her a little girl? She frowned thinking about it. Then shrugged. Being called younger was supposed to be a compliment, right?

Next morning, Drisana was preparing for prayer when Subhadra came to her.

"Suprabhat, Drisana. (Good morning)" Subhadra said. Drisana frowned at her. Subhadra wasn't an early riser.

"Suprabhat. Why are you up so early? Is there something special today?" Drisana asked.

"You're saying like I only get up early on special occasion." Subhadra said pouting. Drisana gave her a look.

"Okay. Okay. I wanted to ask you something and you know I can't keep questions in my stomach for long." Subhadra said. Drisana's lips twisted.

"Ask away then."

"I-I wanted to know about your bhrata." Subhadra said meekly. Drisana sighed.

"What do you want to know about bhrata Arjun?" Drisana asked.

"Arjun? No. Not Rajkumar Arjun. I want to know about Angraj Karna." Subhadra said. Drisana stilled, then turned slowly towards Subhadra. When had she met Karna? What was happening?

"Why and what do you want to know about him?" Drisana asked carefully.

"Just curiosity. And nothing specific. Just about him." Subhadra said casually.

Drisana looked closely at Subhadra. She was looking everywhere but at her and there was a slight blush on her cheeks.

Okay.

This was unexpected. Drisana calculated the situation fast. Karna was currently single after his wife, Supriya died while childbirth. From what Drisana knew, Supriya was Duryodhan's wife, Bhanumati's maid and friend. When Duryodhan kidnapped Bhanumati with Karna's help, she refused to marry Duryodhan unless Karna married Supriya. Karna honoured her wish. After Supriya's death, he refused to marry again.
He was surly and Subhadra was bubbly. She could bring some lightness into him. Also Subhadra was Balaram and Krishnas sister and thus she could give Karna a strong standing that would remove his insecurities about caste and royals. Moreover, Drisana was sure as soon as the news of her and Nakul's marriage reached Hastinapur, Duryodhan and Gandharraj Shakuni would leave for Dwarka to make another alliance. Subhadra could be the last stroke on Karna and Duryodhan's friendship. As for the age difference, age is just a number after all. No one seemed to care about age in this time period, specially mens. And what she knew about Subhadra was, if she set her eyes on something, she became hell stubborn. Good thing. Because she would need to be Menaka to break this Vishwamitra's meditation.