Paanchaal, Kaampilya

Arjun held his breath, a subtle curl of a smile etched on his lips. 

Her grip on his palm tightened into a signal squeeze, to which he glanced up at her. 

Oh God, those eyes could set a thousand hearts to fire straight there. 

Her brows furrowed slightly as she lowered her lashes, hinting towards his hand below the water and bobbed her head discreetly, asking whether he had the ring; more than asking, it was a sheer ultimatum from her side. 

It should be a crime to be this adorable, and more than that, when his hands were itching to pull her close.

She gave a firmer squeeze to his palm, and tried to warn him; her lips parted softly in breath, her doe eyes trying it's best to look into his without faltering, and her feeble attempt to look commanding. 

And oh, he was loving every moment of it.

He would play along, because why wouldn't he? 

Arjun nodded slowly as if accepting, lowering his eyes to which she breathed out slightly in a gesture of victory, a tiny smile forming on her lips. 

He discreetly, almost as stealthily as he could, detached his ring from his ring finger, and tilted his hand as if giving in to her, hiding the actual ring beneath his thumb. And pretending, he shoved his ring in her hands, as if he had been played fair and square. 

As expected, Draupadi bit back a jubilant smile.

"Found it!" She squealed out like a chirping bird without wasting much time, pulling out her hand from the cauldron waters, and showing the ring to everyone. Her face seemed flushed with a shade of crimson as if she had literally won a battle. 

"Our Princess won! Our Princess won this round!" Her girlfriends giggled, one of them almost crash-hugging a grinning Draupadi.

"Our Princess!" The people started cheering with laughter and chuckles.

Arjun was trying to control his smile as Shikhandi blinked after a while, "Krishnaa? Wha-what. . . ring is this?"

"Hnn?" Draupadi furrowed her brows, her jaw dropping slightly. Even the people around began to notice, and they started looking at each other with confused noises and whispers.

"Arrey Krishnaa? What is this?"

"Arrey. . . th-this isn't the ring I had dropped!" Dhrishtadyumn almost flushed a shade red, probably realizing who's ring her sister actually pulled out instead.

"Krishnaa I guess you probably, pulled out Arjun's ring. . ." Malati chewed on her words, whispering embarrassedly in her ear from behind, making the latter's eyes go wide.

"Ahem, I think this is the actual ring," Arjun pulled out the real one in his fingers holding back his chuckle, "Isn't it?"

"What the. . ." 

The crowd erupted in huge peals of laughter, "O my goodness! Prince Arjun!" 

"God! What is this Prince?" They giggled, "Who does like that?"

"What did I do?" Arjun innocently shrugged, "If Princess pulled out my ring, where did I fault. . ." He sighed a little, playing naive as his mischievous glance travelled towards the Princess.

Draupadi stayed rooted to the spot for a good damn while, not being able to blink for a moment. Her jaw dropped, a soft gasp left her lips unintended as she tried to form words but none came out. 

Subhalata slapped her forehead, hiding her face between her palms eventually, "O God. . ."

Draupadi blinked for a while, looking at Arjun's ring in her hand.

She was played. . .

She was PLAYED.

Once again!

ONCE AGAIN!

"Looks like Princess is too eager today!" 

"Exactly! Isn't is dear Princess?" They all chuckled, "Hayee! I always knew it! Princess isn't as innocent as she looks, isn't it?"

Draupadi glanced at her brothers, chuckling. Dhrishtadyumn was trying his best not to erupt into a mad laughter.

 Traitors. All of them were traitors!

She looked at Arjun in pure disbelief, and still reeling from the fact that he tricked her again; and she fell for it!

When she was the one who had almost. . .

Goodness! Her cheeks started to flame red as the people around started teasing her and chuckle.

Now it seemed as if it was much better letting him have the ring instead- the entire plan backfired!

Arjun was chuckling with the humor in his eyes, the mirth clearly visible. And it was clearly evident that he was enjoying every moment of it heartily. 

"Princess. . . do you want to devour him now with your eyes?" There was another score of laughter again, to which she gasped softly; not realizing that she had been staring at him too hard with furrowed brows, of course out of disbelief, but it was definitely interpreted as something else.

Oh goodness! 

.

.

.

Arjun was loving it.

'Loving' would be an understatement. 

The way she flushed, and tried to figure out for a while what actually had happened with her. . .like a little fawn. Arjun couldn't help but chuckle hard.

Goodness. . . why was she so adorable? 

He watched her inhale a deep breath to compose herself, utterly flustered at the way she was being teased, the soft roundness of her cheeks colored deeply like the buds of newly bloomed roses. Her soft full lips, bright like the reddest of berries, parted slightly. 

Only if he could brush a thumb over it, right then if not kiss.

"Princess. . .! You must feed him a sweet now for his win!" One of them brought a tray of a variety of sweets.

Oh yeah!

There was nothing that can combat when God gives opportunities!

And here he was son of God himself.

Draupadi exhaled deeply, biting the corner of her lips with a hint of annoyance; she slowly picked up a round sweet, trying to look nonchalant. Looking down with a firm blink, she forwarded the sweet towards him. 

Arjun looked down at the sweet in her fingers with a mischievous smirk and took a bite of it suddenly, shooting her deliberately a look of tease that could instantly infuriate the calmest of veins and blinked playfully at her, adding to her frustration. 

She still couldn't believe that it was the same man who looked so simple and demure under the garb of a Brahmin.

Goodness!

"Hmm hmmph. . ." Arjun chewed on the sweet, covering his mouth with the back of his hand with a sugary half smile, "I think I owe the Princess a sweet too for playing well, isn't it?" 

Draupadi looked at him, blinking twice.

What was he going to do now? 

Arjun took the half eaten sweet from her fingers.

"Ayee hayee!" The people around giggled in chorus, "Do we have perfection in the name of Panchali's husband?"

But there was already a saying; once bitten, twice shy. 

Draupadi discreetly raised a brow, almost narrowing her eyes slightly as he forwarded the sweet towards her, smiling. Mirth danced in his amber eyes, that shone with a fleck of gold from the reflecting lamps; deep enough to be drowned if stared longer. They seemed perfectly carved into petal like curves, without even a single blemish and the thick, long dark lashes added to the other-worldly beauty. 

There was something, something achingly, anciently surreal about it.

She did not even realize when she took a bite of the sweet slowly, until her soft lips tingled with the sudden swipe of his thumb over, smearing her tint stealthily. 

She almost froze completely, her breath catching midway at the sudden touch and break of daze.

And Arjun with a hint of mischief, smiled again as if only he knew what he had done.

And knew what it had done to her.

★★★★★★★★★

A/N

Arjun ke tewar pe ab koi rok nahi 😏✋

Bichari masoom Drau 🙈

Signing off for today!

Nushkie