Parnika was sitting on her horse, following Ashwatthama's horse. The said man looked every minute to check if she was alright. 

Her pale skin glowing in the moonlight resembled a pearl sitting on a bed. Her long hairs were tied in a messy braid, few strands of her hair were lose and dancing with the tunes of the wind.

Ashwatthama unfortunately did not see any of it, why? Wouldn't it be rude to stare at a beautiful lady you were travelling alone with? He was a strong warrior, huge in size, his gaze could make her uncomfortable or even scared.

She was travelling with him on the trust of his teacher, only because he was a student of Rishi Parshuram. She had nothing to protect herself if Ashwatthama decided to leave her in between or do something to her, and the son of Dron did not want to advantage of such huge trust she had on him.

He was respectful during the whole journey, certainly he looked behind every now and then, but his eyes stayed near the legs of the horse, if it was walking well, that means the one sitting on the horse was safe as well.

No matter how much he wish for a glimpse of her face, he controlled himself. It was matter of trust and pride of his teacher and himself. And he surely would like it to be permanent.

"Kripinandan," She called him, Ashwatthama turned to her, his eyes not meeting hers, "Yes?"

"Can you tell me about Indraprasth?" She asked, wanting to know more about the Kingdom she was going to work in.

Ashwatthama then went to make her ears bleed with the talks of his hometown. He explained about the country, various cities, and how much they changed in few months. He added his own viewpoints in between. 

He spoke about the culture the newly emerged state had adapted. How different the country was from other countries of Aryavart. He spoke about a few cities in brief, the ones he had visited for several reasons. But his knowledge of other cities, the ones he hadn't visited wasn't any less.

The man knew his country very well.
Of course he kept confidential information to himself, even though he knew she was going to be a minister of the nation. 

She wasn't the minister no, she would be. And at the moment, he, as the Mahamahim of Indraprasth couldn't expose the nation in such way.

Parnika noticed the thing at instance, and she was impressed. He appeared to be blabbering like a fool, but she knew that how smart it was in real. With his choice of words and way of speaking, she couldn't even ask to dig in for secret information.

Ashwatthama was no fool, admittedly a fool in love but he never let his feelings block his path of Karm. He gave her the basic details of what would help her once she got into her post. Of course he had a long discussion with Arjun about what she would be doing in Indraprasth, and he thought it would be good to pass on a few pointers to her before she walks in the country.

Parnika attentively heard everything Ashwatthama had to say, keeping all in her mind. Tomorrow would be tough, and she had to prepare for it today.

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In a forest outside Indraprasth:

Prakhar, along with the six former-ministers of Indraprasth were roaming aimlessly, having nothing to do and no plans for future. 

While the six were dejected, Prakhar was burning from inside. He couldn't handle how a woman had insulted him in front of everyone, and how a mere Sut Putr had threw him out of his home.

"Brothers, why are we standing this way?" Prakhar asked the other six, "Today we have been kicked out of our own home, and by whom? An outsider?"

The six men looked at Prakhar with confusion, "What is Prakhar?" Asked one of them.

"We must get our Kingdom back. Indraprasth is ours, not Arjun's. He is an outsider.
Look what he has done?
He made the Naga the Queen, the same Naga who was once married to Takshak's son.
He bought Ashwatthama, another outsider and made him Mahamahim?
And I have heard he is calling another woman from some Rishi's Ashram and will make her a minister as well.

No, we must act fast and take what is ours back. The Kingdom belongs to us.
The Ratna is ours. Everything is ours, not Arjun's"

Prakhar's words made the other six think about it. Their greedy minds instantaneously agreed with him. Afterall they did want their luxuries back.

But-

They had luxuries from birth? No. It was because of Arjun they had shifted from a rotten mattress to a soft silken bed, from a broken hut to lavish Palaces? Right?

Then their true birth-right was a barren land, broken huts, rotten mattress, measly meals, and no happiness. And the one they were plotting against was Narottam Arjun, in front of whom even the Lord of three worlds would bow down. 

"Yes, we agree Prakhar, from now on, we will follow you. Together we shall kill Arjun and obtain our Kingdom back." The men shouted.

If foolishness was face, it would the face of these seven men.

"Oh, if my ears are working well, did I hear you all plotting IndraprasthNaresh Arjun's death?" A different voice spoke, the seven banished men turned and saw a man dressed in royals, standing with a lamp in his hands. 

"Who are you? And were you eavesdropping our private conversation?" Prakhar asked boldly.

"You can hardly call it a private conversation, you were literally yelling like scared cats." The man spoke with a smirk on his face.

"Who are you?" Prakhar asked again, this time more seriously.

"You can call me your friend, because it seems we have the same goal. The death of Arjun." The man said, his lips curling into a smirk.

Prakhar dropped his serious facade and titled his head, "And does this friend have a name?"

"Many names," The man chuckled in a sickening way, "But you may call me by my favorite, Shakuni."

"GandharRaj Shakuni?" Prakhar's jaw dropped.

"The one and only." Shakuni smirked.

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How was the chapter?

Readers after seeing Parnika:

Yikesssssss

Parnika is so different than other women? I mean when you show a physically fragile persona for women- you automatically assume her to be mentally weak-
But boi: My Parnika is different, she is strong, her wits and sarcasm are to die for.

I personally like her character a lot.

Just because she is sweet and kind and won't hurt physically doesn't mean she WEAK.

I guess you won't understand much from my rants but just wait till she meets Uloopi, Nayana and Vrinda.

The four is a gang- and my bois are going to terrorized-

CONTINUING TO MEMES:

Me when someone asks for next update:

Readers when they see I bought Prakhar and Shakuni together in a team:

Me after writing "Then their true birth-right was a barren land, broken huts, rotten mattress, measly meals, and no happiness"