"Someday everything would make sense. As of now, laugh at the confusions, smile through the tears, be strong and remember that every thing that happens, happens for a reason."
~ Krishna

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There it was- the darkness again. 

But gladly, there was no sign of those eyes this time. The voices, on the other hand, could be heard. But this was of my brothers- perhaps tending to me. At least momentarily, things were normal. 

 "Subhadra.. Subhadra.. can you hear us?" 

Brata Bheem's tensed voice echoed in my ears. And as much as I wanted to reply to that question, I could not. Exhausted, I lost my consciousness. 

* * *

"Bhadra.." I heard a voice, after what seemed like ages. 

Fluttering my eyelids, struggling to adjust to the bright light, I slowly opened my eyes to Brata Bheem resting his head against the wooden ends of the bed. On his lap laid Brata Nakul, an open book covering his face. I blinked slowly at their sleeping figures and now looked up to find the source of voice. 

It was Brata Yudhishthir. "How are you feeling now?" He asked and I nodded lightly, "We were all so worried when we heard the news. You know Arjun did not rest a minute last night." He said, gesturing towards Arya who was sitting on the bed beside me, clutching my dupatta. I smiled warmly and tried to lift my left hand to touch him but... failed.  

Looking at the tormented look on my face, Brata Yudhishthir immediately began, "Don't worry, you are fine now Bhadra. Nakul told that your left hand would take time to completely recover." I sighed helplessly. 

"But how did all this happen?" He asked and I tried to battle the tears that blurred my vision. He immediately caressed my forehead to calm me down. 

"I-I was in the.. garden. Someone.. near the bushes... I took out my dagger.." I said whatever I could remember while he tried making sense of whatever I said. I unconsciously edger closer to Arya while Brata sat back, wondering how enemies had infiltrated our palace. 

"Bhadra! You're awake? Brata Bheem! Nakul!" Arya exclaimed, moving closer to me. Brata Bheem too woke up with a start. 

"Bhadra, are you okay?"

"Bhadra, do you have any idea how scared I was!" 

"Yes, we all were taken aback!" 

"But how did all this happen?"  

As they bombarded me with questions, I sighed tiredly looking at Brata Nakul who was still fast asleep, despite the chaos. I smiled warmly at him and the three Pandavas too turned around to look at their brother. 

Brata Bheem was the first to make a move and smack Brata Nakul on his arm, waking him up. "Brata Bheem! What is this?" He whined before his eyes caught mine. 

"Bhadra! Are you fine? Does your head hurt? And do your legs feel numb? Are you able to lift your left hand? And.." He went on his trail of questions as I glanced at Brata Yudhishthir helplessly. But before he could say something, Arya's voice distracted all of us, "We can ask questions later. Let her take some rest." I now looked at them who nodded and quietly left the room, leaving the two of us and Brata Nakul behind.

"In case you need something, I am in the adjacent chamber." He said, looking at both of us. Arya nodded, placing his hand on Brata Nakul's shoulder encouragingly before he left the chamber. It took a minute for him to close the door and look back at me. 

"How are you feeling?" He asked and I smiled tiredly. After helping me sit up on the bed, he hastily paced across the room murmuring something to himself. I watched him for a few minutes before sighing to myself, "Arya?" I called out.

He looked at me tap the bed and walked towards me. As he sat beside, I reached out for his hand, gently clasping it, "Are you okay?" I managed to ask. He snorted, "You were the one who got hurt, why are you asking me this question?" 

"Brata told me that you did not rest a minute last night." I said, feeling his grip tighten over my hand. 

"I thought I'd lose you.."

"Do you remember what the astrologer at Hastinapur told about my lifespan?" I paused, looking at him glance at me, "That you'll live longer than your contemporaries?" He asked. 

"Why worry then?" 

"It's not easy Bhadra. When I saw you fall unconscious with blood everywhere on the ground, I- I couldn't control myself. Nakul told that the cut on your wrist was very deep, and that there were equal chances.. I- I could not help not help but imagine all the possible outcomes.." He paused as his voice broke. 

"Thinking about it now, I don't think something grave has happened-" I paused looking at his hand on mine and glanced at him playfully. 

"What do you mean?"

"Had I not been hurt, you wouldn't have been sitting here with me." I joked and found him pull his hand away.

"Your jokes can be very bad at times!" 

"But isn't this the truth? I bet you only came to put me on the bed again. And stayed because I was nearly dyin-" I shut my mouth, realizing what I was going to blurt out. 

Looking at him happened to be my biggest mistake ever as I could not brave the desolation in his eyes. A dead silence prevailed in the room for the next few minutes, as I occasionally stole glances at him. 

"You better stay silent-" I heard when I opened my mouth to ease the situation. I sighed and closed my mouth as he sat still, looking at the floor lost in his thoughts.

A few seconds passed and it felt like that was the longest I could go without talking in that situation.

"You know how much of a chatterbox I am! How could you expect me to not talk when my most favorite person is beside me?" I whined theatrically. He smiled to himself before looking at me, "I'm confused. Who is this most favorite person you're talking about? Me?" He asked confusingly pointing towards himself. 

"I can't see anyone else in the room.. or wait, is there someone else hiding here?" I faked worry. He just chuckled and inched closer softly embracing me.

"You know how much I missed you!" I began, wrapping my right hand around his back. 

"I know." He whispered. I tossed my head, "Of course, you don't."

"Why did you ask me the question if you already thought that I did not know the answer?" He chuckled. 

"Because I want you to know that I missed you so much more than you feel." I replied in a childish tone. He giggled and did not quite say anything after that. Perhaps, he knew that I had more to say and that it was best for him to remain patient.   

"You know, till two weeks back, I felt that the worst thing one could face in love was losing their love to someone else. And when we got married, I felt that all our problems came to an end. We were together, in love with each other, and with a supportive cowife who was more like an elder sister." I paused for a moment. 

"But these two weeks have made me understand that being alienated by one's love and family was the worst thing that could happen to someone. You feel alone. You feel unwanted. You feel like a burden." I finished as I could feel more warmth in his hug.  

"I know this things lately have been unfair towards you.. but trust me Subhadra, none of us intend to make you feel this way. My brothers adore you much more than they adore me and Panchali has specifically told me that she's delighted over the fact that I married and brought you along with me." He replied in a gentle tone.

"And you?" I asked. 

"What about me?" He asked casually. I rolled my eyes and snapped, "Never mind." I tried to break the embrace when he pulled me even closer saying,

"You mean the world to me and I do not know what good deeds I have performed in my previous birth to have you in my life. Yes, you are a little playful and stubborn at times but whatever you are, you bring me peace." 

And before I knew, I had tears rolling down my eyes. Arya never expressed his thoughts openly. The first time he did was during the proposal. And it was so badly done that I needed Brata Krishna's help to understand what he really wanted from me. 

Jiji also felt that Arya expressed his care and love in actions. Her first and only advice to me was to not expects words of affection or compliments from him. Or to word it better, to not weigh the love he had by his words. But now, to see him openly express himself, I would gladly accept such many such situations.  

"By the way, do you really feel that the exile period we served in Dwarka was-" I began, when he cut me down, "No! That was my mistake." He said, resting his chin on my shoulder. I sighed and said, "Brata Balram feared this and when you vaguely said the same thing, I was petrified." 

"Brata Balram? What did he say?" He asked and I narrated our entire conversation to him. 

"I am so sorry Subhadra. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that but I had no way. I wanted to apologize on that very day but from then, both of us only got busier."

"I really enjoyed the period we served in Dwarka. I've come to understand you better and we both know that we have spent some of the best moments of our life there. I really mean what I'm saying." He said and I smiled in relief. At last, things sorted out.  

"Now that we are on good terms again, I want to ask you. What happened to Jiji?" He broke the embrace and looked at me, "What did you say?" A certain nervousness was evident on his face. 

"Of course. Something must have happened to her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have not paid a visit when I was almost out." I said, not wanting to use the word dead as it scared him. He sighed and reached out to my palms, gently massaging them. Enough to let me know that the issue I was enquiring about was something that troubled him as well.

"Panchali.. she's sick Subhadra." He said, not meeting my eyes. 

"What did Brata Nakul say after he checked her condition?" I asked and Arya shook his head in negative.

"Nakul hasn't. The royal doctor said that it's a contagious disease and the lower contact she has with the other members of the palace, the better it is. I myself haven't met her yet."

"Moreover, Panchali had asked the others to not let you know about her condition. She feared that you will disregard yourself and proceed to be with her." He finished. 

I sighed. So this was the reason behind why Jiji neither came to welcome us nor met afterwards. And why the Pandavas acted so weirdly when I asked them about what was bothering them.

I looked at Arya, "Can I be in charge of her? I mean, I will not go into the room but ensure that everything she needs to get well soon is promptly delivered." 

He nodded.  

"I am hoping she recovers soon. I've been really worried after I heard the news. And I couldn't even share it with you.. it wasn't easy for me either Bhadra.." He said and I nodded, "I'm not upset with any of you Arya. I would have done the same if I was in your place." I said and he smiled faintly. 

I extended my arms towards him and smiled, "I think you need a hug." He smiled and hugged me back, "I really needed this, thank you." He whispered. It took a while before he could ask the question that was bugging him. 

"Bhadra, how did you get hurt?"

At that question, my spin prickled with fear. I could not form words. Instead, I tightened my hold over him, letting my tears flow freely. And as though reading my mind, he began, "Shh.. you are safe Subhadra. I promise you that whatever happened today will never happen again." He paused caressing my hair softly to pacify me.

"But to fulfill that promise, I need to know what happened. And as a wife, it's now in your hands to help me keep up my promise." He said and I sighed, "I can see Brata Krishna's influence on you. You've finally learnt how to play with words like him." 

And despite not looking at him, I knew that a big smile was playing on his lips. Even a mere mention of Brata Krishna was enough for Arya to cheer up. Satyabhama Bhabhi often joked about how Brata Krishna and Arya were each other's first love and that all of us could only occupy the second place. 

"Bhadra?" His voice distracted me and I nodded, "I'll tell you but it'll take some time." He hummed, gently stroking my open hair. Now, how had it come off was something at the end of my priority list. 

"I- I was almost done with my responsibilities concerning our deal with the Trigarta kingdom. None of you were available to talk to and hence, I decided to take a stroll in the garden. It was all going fine until.." I paused as the cut on my wrist started burning. I hissed and pulled away from Arya who now examined my wound. 

"What happened? Should I call Nakul?" He asked after I screeched in pain. 

"It's hurting me Arya. I feel the pain all over again.." I said, struggling to breathe. He placed a quick kiss on my forehead before rushing out of the room to bring Brata Nakul for help. I fizzled and rolled out of the bed in agony. And amidst the tears, I felt something outside the window draw my attention. 

Looking outside, far away in the dark, I could spot those evil eyes staring right into me. Who was this and what did they want? I wondered before I lost all my strength.

* * *

PS: Hello everyone! So, many people complained that there wasn't any light hearted moments in my book. I hope the Arjun- Subhadra conversation met your expectations. Do vote and comment what you feel about this track as I'm totally lost in understanding if you all are enjoying it or not.

I had to update Story through my eyes originally but wasn't satisfied with the outcome. And I don't know why but My Days is easier to update. I don't want to set targets but I may stall the next chapter until I get sufficient response on the newly updated chapters. Till then, I'll try to update Story through my eyes. 

Thank you so much for sticking out till the end. 

Take care guys! See you around!