Kaampilya, Paanchaal

"Oh my daughter. . ." Kunti cupped Draupadi's soft cheeks in her palms, her eyes watering with motherly warmth as she firmly kissed her forehead, caressing her face, "May God keep you always blessed!" 

Arjun chuckled under his breath as Draupadi's cheeks turned pink upon getting so much attention all at once; the little, shy yet innocent smile on her lips as she peered at everyone through her long lashes now and then. 

It was obvious she was a bit overwhelmed whenever she was the center of attention, owing to her tender age, like a little rosebud hidden beneath the garbs of older leaves, waiting to bloom.

"Hayee, I always wanted a beautiful daughter like you!" Kunti hugged her tight, pressing another kiss to her temple.

That's when Arjun choked on his throat, audibly.

Yes, he was the one who had fulfilled the duty of Kunti's 'beautiful daughter' fantasy in childhood, and he was unaware for a long time how his mother used to trade off his dhoti and angavastra into draping and flowing garments and laugh and giggle with Bheem and Yudhishthir everyday. 

He used to gape in disbelief at Bheem when he found that out- but the damage was done. 

More when he found out that the older boys around used to make him as their 'wife' during their games and take him on play-dates-

Peak embarassment. 

And when he angrily confronted about it to Kunti with puffed cheeks, she just laughed and tousled his hairs, as if it was nothing. 

As expected, Kunti discreetly passed him a playful blink purposely, making Arjun tilt his head, and curve his brows questionably at her. 

Women and their weird fantasies,  he was always the victim of it. 

And something told him, he will be in future as well.

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.

.

Arjun's quarters appeared no less than the dazzling heavens under the settling Sun; a magnanimous part of the palace that shone with the exuberance of the wedding magnificence.

No pillar, no wall was left undone. Thick garlands of fresh  jasmines and marigold hung through the corridors lit by extravagant fire-lamps. Huge golden chandeliers hung up from the ceilings, each carved intricately with pieces of glass and gems; resembling mirrors that reflected the coruscating flicker of the fire-lamps across the chambers. 

Lavish and royal, well-embroidered curtains adorned the windows and doors. Meticulous sculptures of finesse decked the gardens. Servants ran helter-skelter, busy and in waiting for every guest. The sweet fragrance of honey, incense and flowers was heavy in the air of laughter, joy and celebration.

And of-course, that of blue lotus that dominated over every aroma around.

"Arrey! Arrey, how much more?!" Arjun gasped for breath, seeing the servants swiftly entering with another array of sweets. He had already been served over and over with fragrant rice, delicious curries, puffed breads, all kinds of sweet and savory condiments. He had just finished his share of breads when two servants were waiting under his nose to serve three different preparations of rice. 

His politeness not to deny finally exploded, as he was fed like a man who had been starving for days. 

But, but- the cuisine of Paanchaal was lip-smacking worthy. Generally, it was always Bheem who appreciated good food, but this time the Pandavas couldn't get off their seats at the dining hall when they first arrived in Paanchaal.

Perhaps, more than the cuisine, it was the overall atmosphere. 

Hastinapur had already killed their apatite. 

When one would overthink whether their food had another mixture of Kalakut, would someone's stomach ever rumble with hunger any long? 

"Seriously Arjun? You're sulking with just this much food?" Satyajit shook his head dramatically, "It's just two servings of rice you took!"

Arjun chewed the ball of rice and curry in his mouth, ready to protest, but Satyajit and Shikhandi had ordered the servants to lay out the sweets.

"You still didn't taste our seasonal sweets!" The royal women were already around him, chuckling and as they sat around, "Come on, men don't shy over good food!"

"Arrey but. . ." Arjun weakly protested with a gulp, as the servants laid ten bowls of sweets that smelled like heavens, upon the order of the women, "But I don't think I can eat so much-" He mumbled nervously, as the elder women around him chuckled warmly, "Arrey array! Don't say like that son!"

"Paanchaal has a tradition, you cannot deny sweets as it is comes!" She caressed Arjun's hair, squeezing a sweet from it's juices and forwarding it towards his mouth, "Come on, have it Prince!"

"Al. . . alright," Arjun smiled shyly, as he ate the sweet from her hand, when another woman forwarded a laddoo, "One from this mother as well!" 

"Haye, the way he obeys! Such a golden boy!" 

"Princess will be so lucky!"

Another woman caressed his cheek as she fed him a sweet from her hand, completely submitting to their whims and affection. 

No wonder why Arjun and his brothers had caught the attention of the women since the day they arrived. 

The hearts of mothers melted with affection, and the hearts of maidens stopped.

They gasped, they blushed they almost had their hearts stopping seeing Arjun, the dark skinned charmer from Hastinapur. The maids rushed towards balconies to have a glimpse of him, giggling and shying whenever he passed by, and sometimes followed him from a distance. They hid their faces behind palms and whispered amongst themselves, talking and reddening. 

Mothers and elderly women cooed him as their son, when he gently touched their feet with respect, their bosom overwhelming with his simplicity and undeniable charm. 

"Just this. . . this is going to be the last my son!" Another one giggled, feeding him a sweet which he took a bite with a defeated smile. 

"There. . . there like a good boy you are!" 

The women giggled, cooing and feeding him like their darling, as the latter's cheeks flushed with their affection.

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The large tub filled with milk and scented water was placed in front of Draupadi, as her lips curled into a soft smile, the corner of her lips tilting up. The rose petals floated over, swaying with the impact ripples. 

This.

This was when her heart swelled, as she reminisced how the two most powerful warriors on earth had given up their desire to win this game, for her sake. 

Her heart had did a happy somersault when Yudhishthir seemed least interested in finding the ring, almost too lost in her to give a damn. And labelling his lack of concentration as 'basic decency not to compete with his wife' was an excuse to impress her; as she pulled out the ring for two rounds complete, winning the game fair and square. She blushed and giggled happily, for Yudhishthir at first, didn't seem like a man who would give in so easily. 

She wanted to win. And she won.

And so did he, her heart that night.

Her innocent eyes were enough to work magic on Bheem. Who thought the mighty second Prince wouldn't try even for once? She had thought she wouldn't last even a second in front of him, because his precise warrior instincts wouldn't take much time to locate the ring inside the milky waters, so a disappointed small pout etched over her lips, and so did a gasp as Bheem discreetly and gently shoved the ring in Draupadi's fist under the waters with an effort to hide his smile. She gasped softly, her heart doing a full dance and she tried hard not to grin like a mesmerized woman. 

He charmed her. Both in Swayamvar and here. 

Fair and square. 

The smile on her lips was intact as she settled herself to win against the third Pandav.

Will she win? 

Was that even a question now?

In fact, Arjun had to be the easiest one to compete with. 

She was already visualizing him not doing even an effort to search for the ring, and she would win fair and square once again. She was so, so sure that Arjun wouldn't even try. 

The platter was hers to take, and hers to win. 

The crowd gathered around, giggling and gossiping excitedly, filling the atmosphere with the aura of mirth and happiness. And most of them had already predicted how Arjun would lose, specially the maidens of Draupadi who were giggling with her, and fueling her confidence. 

"Princess, consider this game in your hands today," One of her handmaidens nudged her with a wink and she smirked slightly at her in return.

"What else? Haven't you seen Prince Arjun's condition?" The other one giggled, "I bet he wouldn't even try!" 

"Exactly! He wanted the Princess's attention so bad! It would be his loss!" 

Even Draupadi had to giggle at this silently, her cheeks heating up, when the sounds of multiple footsteps entering the hall alerted her. 

Arjun came in with a soft smile as usual, looking around, when his eyes landed upon Draupadi, giggling with her maidens. His heart skipped a beat again, watching her cover the back of her palm and chuckle with the women.

But. . .this time  with a mischievous glint in her eyes. 

He walked slowly, his eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion, and that's when he realized the entire gathering of women were making fun of him.

Fun of him?

And so was Draupadi, not evidently so, but the way she was giggling at intervals and peering at him was enough to confirm. Her handmaidens were constantly nudging her, exchanging glances at each other and laughing. One of them said something in the Princess's ear, due to which she almost choked on her giggle, a very poor attempt to hide the obvious.

Seriously?

He raised a brow slightly, keeping his stance nonchalant. 

Draupadi looked down at the water bath, the little confident smirk still etching on her lips.

Arjun looked down too into the bath, and a slow, playful smirk formed on the corner of his mouth.

The game would be interesting now.

★★★★★★★★★

A/N

Ahem...🤣🤣🤣🤣abhi ayega na mazza bhidu 🤣🤣💖💖

Jinhone meri 'You Have No Idea' padhi hai unko shayad thora bahut pata ho ki hone kya wala 🤣🤣🤣

Waise, I am getting stalked a lot nowadays by someone who has blocked me from their side (✿◡‿◡)

Ab iska kya karsakte hai (✿◡‿◡)

Signing off for today!

Nushkie