“My queen, should I serve you lunch now ?” , Anwesha asked Draupadi who looked at the sleeping form of the young princes.

“I would like to wait for Prince Nakul, Uma. He has promised to visit me every noon for lunch.”, she said with a smile, basking in love and attention of her most handsome husband.

Anwesha sucked but nodded, feeling happy for her mistress who had become more like a friend to her in the past two months. It had been three whole months since had had been serving in the palace and two months under the care of the queen herself.

At first the queen had maintained her stone face and cold demeanour but Anwesha’s positive and comforting aura never failed to befriend even the toughest of nuts.

Becoming a friend the  queen also means being under constant scrutiny from the second Pandava prince and recently the oldest Madreya prince had become a daily visitor as well.

It would not have been an issue if he would just converse with the queen, sharing her thoughts and burden of hearts and discussing the economy of the kingdom as well as their family issues. He would often try to communicate with her and try to joke with her, which was not a part of her comfort zone, making her look for an escape in the form of naughty hyperactive children or fetching forgotten delicacy which had never actually been prepared.

The queen seemed to be blissfully unaware of this and this added to her misery and discomfort as the queen  would be amused at her antics, to avoid being in the presence of the prince. 

Not to mention the last encounter with the prince was less than suitable and hardly graceful, something that had scarred her heart for a life time. It had happened a week ago.

A WEEK AGO [ ROYAL CHAMBERS OF QUEEN DRAUPADI ]

“Try these on”, the queen commanded handing her piles of light coloured clothes.

Anwesha held on the beautiful sarees ; some made of cotton while other made of silk – best of quality and still in good shape.

“ I am a widow, my queen. I possibly can’t –“, she tried to explain the reason for her dilemma who hushed her to silence.

“So what if you are a widow. You weren’t  even married for a day and didn’t  even know your husband. Not that anyone apart from few are aware of your past, here. Why not start afresh? “, the queen suggested with her signature smile, her hands on her waist, as she patted her feet, busily, on the mahogany floor in a constant rhythm.

‘Has the queen ever tried to learn Bharatnatyam ? Even kathak did suite her Grace.’, Anwesha wondered often as she would look upon the queen swaying her hip in a to-and-fro manner as if in a step for dance, with grace and beauty. She would often think of suggesting to teach the enigma, a form of art she had once mastered as a teen but had half forgotten due to lack of practice. She also did lack precision in the steps as well, if she was honest.

“Now get dressed in these, I will be back soon after the royal court is over. The envoy from Hastinapur has arrived today, with news about the Kuru clan and a letter from mata Kunti.”, Draupadi said in her usual calm voice but from her tone one could tell of her excitement to read about her mother in law whom she very well considered to be a prominent mother figure in her life.

Anwesha signed as the queen left her to get dressed in her hand me downs, which were still much of a dream to someone of her stature and look after the young princes who sat there scribbling something on the black tablets they received from the king, the previous week.

Anwesha sat and looked through each saree looking for the most appropriate one among the pile. Finally she picked up a light pink saree, that after being washed a couple of times, looked near white.

Great, even if she wore this , people would care less and she would not have to face any raised eyebrows.

She quickly went behind the wooden dressing screen, placed beside the vanity table and the long cupboards of teek wood- all of which housed some of the most exquisite and exotic jewellery pieces of the world.

Quickly abandoning her white – roughed out and half torn jute saree, and wrapped the pink mulberry silk around her body, after tying it securely around her waist. Wearing it in the form of a dhoti saree felt the most convenient, noting all the physical labour and strainous running she has to do daily, behind the notorious princes.

She still wore the same white breast cloth though, having very limited options.

‘Maybe I should visit the market with daima sometimes this week.’, she thought as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

She looked beautiful, but she could not measure up the refined beauty that once used to adorn this cloth. Luckily, her braid still looked near, she thought to herself as she took the loose end of the saree and wrapped it around her back over her head, veiling her face.

Once done, she returned to her job, as she sat on the cushioned sofa, her back facing the chamber doors as she continued to watch the children play with their tablets.

Watching them reminded her of her own childhood- how lonely yet peaceful being an only child was and how she would oven play by her self, pretending and imagining scenarios, even dancing around the three storied old Bengali house belonging to her maternal parents. Good old days  gone too soon.

Lost in her thoughts, Anwesha had not noticed the footsteps of the prince who had entered the chambers of his wife, unannounced to surprise her, upon his return from the land of the Yavanas.

Seeing the woman seated before him, dressed in the old clothes of his wife, the prince presumed her identity and wrapped his arms around her bodice.

Anwesha had been shocked at the intrusion, her veil failing from her head. Being unprepared of the invasion of her privacy and sanctity, she pushed the person as hard as her physical strength would allow her.

The person had been equally baffled and hurt at the rejection of  affection, even after three long months of  separation- before she turned about, revealing her face to the eldest of the Madreya twins. The prince’s expressions had shifted from shocked to stunned as he proceeded to stare at her face, his fingers grabbing her face and tracing over her features in awe.

This had left her embarrassed as she tried to veil herself again, as quickly as her hands would, and then scurrying away to the kitchen and staying there until the prince was gone and the queen had returned to her adobe.

BACK TO PRESENT TIME [ ROYAL CHAMBERS OF QUEEN DRAUPADI]

As she was thinking about the prince when he entered the chambers, yet again unannounced. The queen stood up from her seat, having been immerse in making accounts of state expenditure until then and greeted the prince.

“What would you like to eat my prince ? Should I bring out the lunch for us ?”, she asked with a wide smile which was reciprocated by the man.

“Of course dear, but if only you could fulfil one of my wishes, then I did kiss your fingers with delight. “, he promised, his head moving from side to side, a boyish grin on his face.

‘And he was supposed to be charming?!’, Anwesha wondered to herself as she fanned the sleeping princes.

“Any wish you make would be my command.”, the queen said.

“Your words and selfless nature fill my heart darling, if not Renu could be half as gracious as you.”, he said, praising the queen and slighting his wife at the same time as he proceeded to request some rice pudding to be prepared by the queen  for their lunch.

The queen hurried off the  kitchen, to fulfil the desire of her lord husband, shouting orders to the attendants on her way.

The prince splayed himself down on the sofa, comfortably as he picked up an apple to eat.

“So, did you have any to eat, miss…?”, he asked, directing his question towards her, making her go stiff.

“No, my lord, I am not hungry. I broke my fast late this morning.”, she spluttered, as she placed the hand fan down, to take a breath.

“Well what was your name again ?”, Nakul tried again, this time more directly.

“Umavati”, my lord.

“And where were your from ?”, he asked.

“Kashi, my lord”, she said in an equal monotonous tone, as if to mimic his boredom. The prince smiled.

“Then who was the Kashi princess married to ?”, he asked her again trying to find any looping her words.

“Kumari Valandhara was married to the second Pandava prince, my lord.”, she said, well recognising the doubt behind his words, as he drilled her with the same questions when he visited.

AA AAShe looked at the brass pitcher of water, she had purposefully left empty as she picked it up and bowed towards the prince.

“The water pitcher is empty, my lord. I must go and fill it up, before the princes wake up. “, she said as she hurried outwards.

“Hopefully this time you would know your way out and back, unlike the other time.”, he remarked, reminding her often the last time she had excused herself and been roaming around the place and unfortunately run into the prince himself, after sometime. She had made an excuse of losing her way, which didn’t sit too well with the prince but he had to accept.

“ Hopefully you will visit the royal kitchen and not the well for the water.” , she heard his sarcastic comment as she made her exit.

Nakul’s Pov  

Back in his chambers, Nakul felt restless . He had been feeling this way since the first time he had seen her two weeks ago.

He took a long sip from his silver goblet, the wine burnt into his throat but didn’t cloud his conscience. He kept the  goblet and picked up the brush, laying lazy strikes on the canvas.

He had just finished the fifth portrait, yet it couldn’t  not give him the same ecstasy as feeling her face with his own hands did, two weeks ago. The paintings felt imperfect as his memory which had not been able to formulate her image well enough- not as well as he desired he had, at least.

How he had entered his queen’s chambers unaware and peaceful, and come upon the heaven sent beauty, posing as his wife. That had given rise to the storm in his heart.

He had almost captured her in his arms, and relished that feeling as he would recall the encounter over and over again- tormented by this feeling of not achieving what he desired.

Now he would visit his queen often to catch a glimpse of her face in vain, so akin to the silvery full moon light. So heavenly and pure, unblemished by the sins of mortals.

Lost in the thoughts of the timeless nymph his wife has been harbouring in her chambers, Nakul didn’t  even realise the presence of his own other part of soul, his twin brother who had long entered his chambers and been taken by the various paintings of the same unreal lady, that lay around the room.

“You do have the wildest imaginations among us, don’t you Nakul.”, Sahadev commented as he poured himself some wine as well, sipping on it.

“Imagination ?! What would you be referring to??”, he asked turning about, annoyed at the intrusion.

“This could not possibly be a real person. She is too perfect to exist. Or maybe you are being visited by some heavenly nymph in your dreams, perhaps?!”, he asked, raising his brow as Nakul snatched away the goblet from his hands, chugging down it’s  contents in mere seconds.

He signed.

“Is this what you look so tormented and feel so distant ?!”, He questioned, standing up and walking towards the portrait slowly with caution as if the lady of his brother’s dreams may fall out of the canvas into his arms.

“If only she was a dream, then I could look into the face of our reality – our wife and her ethereal beauty. But she is as real as God, as the sun and the moon who are eternal. She is as real as us, brother and that is the reason of behind my unrest.”, Nakul said exasperated as Sahadev rolled him eyes.

“Is she some Yavana Kumari you meet during your expedition? You should  have asked for her company, and got her out of your head before you returned you know. No woman, Yavana or Arya ; human or asura can resist you or your charm. You look crafted by god’s themselves, Nakul. But you chose to not use your privilege and powers as royal and  sulk, when you are back home, far away from that woman. “, Sahadev said, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

“ I have travelled enough, Deva. I have seen some of the most beautiful women in the world- our wife, the fire born queen,  her golden brown skin and honey hewed orbs and long dark tresses. I have seen the Yavana queen, who had even prepositioned to be my lover for the time I was there, and even offered her younger daughter for me to take as wife. There eyes had been like emeralds and their hair woven of gold threads but nothing could entice my heart like she did. “, Nakul lamented, pouring himself yet another goblet of wine, sinking back into her grief.

“She is well within my limitations, being sheltered by our wife the queen-serving under her guidance, caring for the princes day and night. And yet she is so far from my reach, trying to fleet from my mere presence, her face  covered by a veil.”

“Face covered by a veil, you say. It couldn’t  possibly be the widow who saved the princes the other day, the one who we had saved from Khandav van.”, Sahadev wondered out loud, as Nakul shot him a look.

“Widow ? Which widow?”, He stuttered, the alcohol catching up to him as Sahadev narrated the incident he had witnessed long back in the royal gardens.

“Isn’t this curious. It seems like we have a mystery to solve, doesn’t  it. I wonder what would be the most appropriate time to get started.”, he asked, a small smirk on his handsome face.

Being twins they often thought and acted the same , their brains functioning identically even if they looked poles apart.

“Why the public Holiday festival would be the most appropriate time for execution, won’t it ?”, he answered, an identical smirk adorning his face.

So, second chapter is here. Please leave your opinion and reviews. The updates will be once a week every Saturday.
Also check out the main character aesthetic.
Also I would like to thank Niniret for being such a dedicated reader and her reviews. ❤🥰