Savitri wasn't sure if his time in the underworld had enhanced his speed or if it was just that he was a ghost that made him able to move so quickly, but Satyavan was fast.

And not fast that he could outrun a horse or elephant, but it was the way that he ran - the sudden bursts of energy when he'd stop behind a tree or the flash of blinding blue and white light that would elicit a cry out of Savitri and force her to stop and close her eyes. By the time she opened them, Satyavan was far out of her reach.

She didn't give up, though. She couldn't. She was so close and Dharmaraj wasn't there to stop her. She had to keep going.

Chasting Satyavan through the forest wasn't like the languid walks she had taken with Suman. It was too dark and the temperature wasn't extremely cold, but it was chilly enough to make Savitri shiver. The quiver felt heavy on her back and shifted uncomfortably between her shoulder blades. The strap rubbed her exposed belly uncomfortably and was probably going to give her a rash. Walking alone through the dense collection of trees and bushes made Savitri realize just how alone she was.

There's nothing out there...there's nothing out there, Savitri assured herself. The intention behind her words was to calm herself, but the soothing, almost medicinal effect that her self-comfort usually had didn't work its magic this time. She was almost too aware of her surroundings to be able to even think straight and keep her eyes on the prize.

When Satyavan paused again on a nearby tree, Savitri noticed that the chains attached to his body seemed to be on tighter than they were before, almost as if trying to suffocate him. His pale skin made so much sense, unless it was just the natural color of a dead soul. Kandrat's was red, after all.

Snag the chains, Savitri thought. If she could get the chains off of him, maybe he wouldn't have to keep running from her. Maybe he'd be free to roam on his own, if Dharmaraj was controlling him. If not, then maybe she'd finally be able to understand what he was telling her.

Savitri pulled an arrow from the quiver and set it against the bow. She tried to mimic Suman's stance, but her foot stretched out from behind the tree that she was hiding behind and caught Satyavan's attention. Like a deer, he dashed away from the thicket and left a cloud of dirt in his path.

"Ugh!" Savitri grimaced and closed her eyes, brushing the small tornado away. When she regained her vision she was all alone and there was no light anywhere. The only sounds she could hear were the contemplative chirps of crickets and the tentative clapping of the trees.

"So funny," she quipped to the small, wilting flower next to her. She wished that the Moon was out so that she could see better, but alas, it had chosen that certain night to rest. Savitri wanted to curse at Chandra for picking the worst day to sleep in, but she'd heard about what happened to mortals who disrespected the gods, and she wasn't about to join Dharmaraj in hell just yet. At least, not dead.

Where did he go... she thought. Like a lion she surveyed the area in a crouched position. He had to be close by, or else what was the reason for bringing her in the first place. If Satyavan wanted to leave unseen, he could have, but he chose to wake her up for a reason, or so she thought.

A cloak of darkness covered the forest like a prickly blanket and every hair on Savitri's body stood on its end. The low hiss of a snake resonated in her ears like the battle cry of a conch shell and the splinters on the bow numbed her sense of touch.

Savitri... Satyavan's voice suddenly broke through the atmosphere of panic that whirled around her. Savitri's heart swelled and she turned away from the grass blades where the snake's hiss came from. Satyavan reappeared a few feet away from her, holding his hand out invitingly.

No...he's... Savitri reached out, but Satyavan pulled away before she could touch him. He took a step back, then another, then with a small smirk he was running again, back behind the deep curtains of the forest ahead of them.

"Ugh!" Savitri's exclamation of irritation was louder than before and she shoved the arrow back into the quiver. She shook her body as a way to force all of her senses to activate and she bolted after Satyavan. Trying to keep Suman from touching all the flowers had given Savitri a new record speed and she rushed through the thorns and damp leaves. Satyavan was visibly slowed down, both coaxing and teasing her. His impish smile was odd, because she'd never seen him smile in such an elfish way, but then again, they had only been married for a year. She had so much yet to learn about him.

I can't let him go, she thought through gritted teeth. Not again.

Passion fueled her like hay fuels a horse and she hastily knocked a small arrow into her bow. The next time Satyavan paused to do his little teasing ritual, Savitri closed her eye, focused on his arm, and shot the arrow -

-only for it to go right past him and dive crookedly into the bushes.

Satyavan bolted again, and Savitri let out a howl of anger that could rival a wolf's as she chased after him, using Suman's arrows one by one as she tried and failed to lock Satyavan to a tree.

Like a bee, adrenaline buzzed in her ear and seemed to add more logs to the burning fire pit of annoyance. Savitri's excitement evaporated into a hurricane of desire, demand, and ire. Suman's quiver only had a few arrows left, and Savitri wasn't sure how he'd react when he discovered most of his arrows to be gone, but she brushed the thought of him being angry aside rather quickly. He had a sword anyway. He'd survive.

The next time that Satyavan stopped, Savitri slowed her pumping heart to concentrate without any distractions on her prize. She closed one eye and squinted her other. Her teeth dug into her lip so deeply that blood drew, but she ignored the taste of the bitter iron on her tongue and pulled the arrow back on the string. Just as Satyavan saw her, she released the dart, but instead of lodging Satyavan's chained hand to the trunk, it spun straight through him and right into the tree. Satyavan peered at her, laughed, and dashed away once again.

Stunned, Savitri's jaw unceremoniously dropped, and this time she didn't worry about princess poise enough to force it shut again. She couldn't believe what she had just seen. Satyavan's chain was supposed to have been lodged in the tree - her aim was on point! Except, she realized, that wasn't Satyavan.

It was an illusion.

Savitri's stomach suddenly became cold. An illusion in the forest was not something that happened daily. Either a god was making a fool of her, her mind was playing tricks on her, or Satyavan's illusion was a demon trying to coax her into his lair with the intention of having her for breakfast - and personally, Savitri went with the last option.

Run, Savitri, Run, her mind ordered, but Savitri felt as though her feet were buried in the dirt and too deep to be removed. Her palms were sweaty. The chill in her windpipe froze her airways, making it difficult to breathe.

RUN!

With a powerful blow, the wind pushed her, sending her nearly flying, but she managed to collect herself, pick up her dignity, and run. Run in any direction or in no direction at all, she ran. She didn't look back. Not for Satyavan. Not for any rakshasa. She just kept running.

At one point she felt like a wheelless chariot. The dark scenery blew by her so quickly that regardless if her legs were still moving or not, she somehow kept going. Everything felt weightless and the only burden on her back was the crawling realization that once again, she had failed. Savitri was thankful that the windy night wiped the beginning of her tears before they could fall, or else she was sure that she would have begun to bawl, and that was not dignified at all. Especially if Suman saw her...

Suman!

Savitri's heart rate picked up again, but this time for a totally different reason. Worry clouded her mind and she stopped running. Suddenly she was aware of the blood trickling between her toes. Too aware. The sting came next, like lightning after thunder. It felt like lightning too. Like she had bent her toes backward to try and touch her heel with them.

"Suman!" Savitri shouted into the black hole that seemed to surround her, eating up the spots where the trees used to be. So dark, it was, that she wasn't even sure where she was yelling at, much less where she was going. "Suman!"

Like medicine, desperation trickled into her voice and once again her eyes were moist. Savitri could only keep wiping her tears for so long before she'd inevitably get dirt in her eyes, and that would be quite uncomfortable.

"Suman!" Now, a croak. "Suman!" A tremble. "Suman!" A whisper.

I'm lost, she thought, and bitterly swept the blood away from her foot. The pain wasn't excruciating, but it hurt just enough that she felt like she had stepped on a bee's stinger. I shouldn't have left Suman...how could I have been so foolish to let my guard down?

Savitri knew the answer. Greed. A petty, greedy voice that urged her to recapture what she had rightfully deserved. The nasally tone was silent, now, having been just as disheartened and defeated as Savitri was.

"Savitri!" Seemingly out of nowhere (and quite literally in Savitri's mind since she thought that she had fallen into some endless dark hole), Suman's head popped out of the bushes. His wavy hair blended into the trees and his sparkling eyes were the size of the moon with what Savitri could only assume was concern. He had no weapons except for his drawn sword and his bow (Savitri realized with a tiny flush that she had taken most of his arrows).

"Suman!" Without thinking, Savitri jumped up and flung herself around his neck, hugging him so tightly that Suman thought she was going to squeeze all his organs out of his mouth.

"Hey...um...too...tight..." Suman choked, coughing.

"You are such a drama king," Savitri said, her voice a mix of a laugh and a sob. She brushed her tangled hair out of her eyes and let her heart finally rest a little. The gods had seemingly answered her prayers.

"Am not!" Suman shook his head stubbornly. "If anything, you're the drama queen. What were you thinking, Savitri? Running away like that?"

Okay...maybe they didn't answer my prayers, Savitri sighed, but the smile still remained on her face even though Suman was reprimanding her quite loudly. She handed him his nearly empty quiver of arrows and patted his arm.

"I thought I saw Satyavan," she explained, trying not to giggle as a childish pout overtook his once angry features when he noticed the lack of arrows in his quiver. "But when I shot at him-!"

"You shot...at your husband?" Terror overlapped Suman's tone.

Savitri rolled her eyes. "No, I shot at the chains on him, Suman," she quipped. "Why in the world would I shoot at the man I love?"

Suman shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "It's you."

"...Never mind." Savitri shook her head. "It wasn't Satyavan anyway?"

"Who was it?"

"It was an illusion."

"An illusion?" Suman repeated. Savitri nodded. Suman paused, then when a low hiss sprung from behind him, he straightened.

"We have to go," he ordered, his voice abruptly becoming much deeper than it usually was. "Now."

"Why?"

"That illusion was made by an asura," Suman explained. His knuckles tightened around his sword. "I'm guessing it was lunchtime and he was trying to lure you into his trap to have a nice snack."

"Pity, I'm not that delicious anyway," Savitri mentioned dryly. She ran after Suman, but had to slow down to walking fast when the cuts on her feet began to complain.

Just as annoying as someone else I know, she thought, glaring at the back of Suman's head. The sudden arrival of the moon made his skin look extremely pale. When he turned to make sure that Savitri was still following him, his eyes were jaded.

"When did you wake up?" She demanded. "Did you even sleep at all?"

"Of course," Suman said. "I didn't even realize that you were gone until..." he trailed off, and from behind him, Savitri could see his cheeks pulling upwards. "Until I heard you yelling my name..."

"Don't get too high on your horse," Savitri grumbled. "Your job is to protect me. I was in dire need of protection."

"Sure, whatever you say." Suman allowed her to take the lead and Savitri's annoyance rippled through her when she caught a glimpse of his smug grin.

Silly boy, she thought, stomping through the woods. Suman trailed behind her, constantly stopping to look at the flowers or trees. A despicable thought briefly entered Savitri's mind to let him keep touching the leaves in hopes of catching poison ivy, but her lessons on kindness and her equally vexatious conscience forced her to grab his wrist and pull him behind her, like she had seen the fatigued mothers do to their children in the kingdom square.

"Suman, don't touch everything that you see," she told him sternly for what felt like the millionth time. "I told you that one of them could be poison ivy."

"But they're so pretty!" Suman poked another flower.

"It's dark, how can you even see any of them!" Savitri nearly yelled. "And most of the flowers are wilting. How is that pretty to you?"

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, princess." He grinned, his voice mildly slurred. "What's ugly to you, is beautiful to me."

"I agree that flowers are beautiful," Savitri said. "But dead ones? How are they beautiful at all? They're dead?"

"...The hypocrisy is not lost to me," Suman chuckled. "But I find wilting flowers beautiful because they don't have to keep up this proud persona. They can finally rest, you know?"

"No, I don't know," Savitri muttered. "But if you find them lovely, then who am I to argue? It's your opinion."

"Not that we always see eye to eye." Suman twirled a strand of his hair. "But what do you think?"

"About?"

"Flowers? Specifically, the chrysanthemums that we're standing on."

"Oh!" Savitri moved aside. "I actually agree with you. Flowers are beautiful, especially these." She felt her eyes lose their tenseness. "My ma had chrysanthemums in the garden. They were burned with her when she died, too, at least, my father tells me."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Suman murmured. He picked at the tip of his bow, frowning at the pieces that chipped away.

"It is alright. I don't remember her that much anyway," Savitri said offhandedly, shrugging. "She was my papa's light, I suppose. He never remarried."

"Well, he had a child to look after."

"Which is usually a mother's job," Savitri interjected. "But my papa defied those stereotypes and took care of me." A fond smile crossed her mouth. "He remade ma's garden, just for me. I would go there after my lessons with my friends."

"Did you have a favorite flower?"

"Not particularly. They were all my favorites," Savitri replied.

Suman coughed, then cleared his throat and shook his head. "I must have woken up too quickly," he muttered. "This whole world is spinning. Next thing you know, I'll be in Dharmaraj's kingdom." He laughed a little weakly.

"Don't joke about that kind of thing," Savitri reprimanded him firmly. "You aren't dying, drama king."

"I am not a drama king." Suman stuck his tongue out at her. "But, speaking of Dharmaraj...do you know where you're going?"

"To the kingdom of death?...no, I don't." Savitri's shoulders slumped. "For now, though, I'm just trying to get us out of this forest."

"I was thinking...or dreaming, more so," Suman muttered. "If Kailash is the entrance to heaven, so to speak, wouldn't it be the entrance to hell too?"

Savitri stopped walking. "What do you mean?"

"There's a cave, or tunnel, I'm not sure," Suman explained. "That connects earth, heaven, and hell. If we go to Kailash, then hell's entrance should be there."

Savitri scowled. "I was hoping that Satyavan would enter heaven with Lord Indra," she said icily.

"All dead people go to hell first, Savitri," Suman responded airily. Ignorance is bliss, they say, but Savitri thought that Suman took the phrase a little too seriously, if he even knew about it.

"Fine," she said, her tone clipped. "We will go to Kailash, then." She hesitated. "Tell me again, how do you know this now and not yesterday?"

"I dreamt about it," Suman said. "The gods must be sending us a message if the dream was that vivid."

"Or they were sending you to eternal sleep," Savitri grumbled, cursing her inability to control her panic. "Alright, let's hurry up and keep moving, then."

"Okay," Suman agreed. Then, he collapsed.