Arjun stared with a cheeky smile as he saw Mrithika approaching towards his arena. He was grinning widely because of the mischievous secret that hid under the red blanket that was sprawled along the mud.

"Don't step further. You'll fall", He cautioned her but to Mrithika's ears it felt more of a tease, she surveyed the ground and found nothing out of the ordinary. She assumed that Arjun was either pulling her leg or he had some inside joke she wasn't aware of.

She scoffed and took two steps, loosing her balance in the third one. "GAH"! She felt her form being engulfed in a pothole.

And much to her chagrin, Arjun was laughing.

"I warned you to not to come near and look, you fell", He chuckled and occasionally skipped to avoid potential potholes and ambled towards her — extending his hand. Mrithika glared at him and slapped his hand away.

"To be honest, I've learned not to trust you in certain situations and could you not smile while warning someone? It makes you look shady", she reprimanded whilst getting up with much difficulty due to the ethnic wear.

"I'll keep that in mind", he smiled, again — and continued, "So, to what do I owe this pleasure of seeing you here"?

Mrithika dusted of the dirt from her skirt and said, "Don't flatter yourself. I came here because I was given a break by your dear Anuj and... there's no other companion here".

"There isn't? Then go bury your nose in a book", Arjun suggested in a mockingly amiable way.

"I'm not in a mood to read a book, I'm in a mood to chat", The Kalyugi replied airily and traced her step cautiously towards the plain ground.

"In that case, let's take a stroll", he proposed.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you about this — you're hair is amazing what do use"? Mrithika asked abruptly, earning a look of bemusement from the middle Pandava.

"My hair? It's amazing"? He asked bewildered — his hands subconsciously going to his dark locks. Like most of the people of the ancient times, Arjun too had shoulder length hair that was structured in dark curls but to Mrithika's eyes they looked glossy and thick — like he had a keratin treatment in an expensive salon.

Not even Nakul's had a shine like his.

But she made a note not to mention this to the elder Madreyā in case he got offended. He was too proud of his looks and everyone, be it Dwapar or Kalyug, knew how Nakul was famed to posses good looks. He was the most handsomest man in the entirety of Ancient India.

She wondered what her friend, Koel, would do if she were here. Obviously she would be busy transfixed by Nakul's visage and charm.

"Are you purposefully trying to make me repeat"? Mrithika prodded.

"Well...," he trailed off, this was the first time someone was complimenting on his hair, "I suppose yes"?

Mrithika shook her head and said, " Yes, you old vanity. Not even girls have that glossy hair despite of using expensive and high - ended products. Not even advanced Kalyugi products can give that — all except keratin treatment", she mumbled the last part in a low whisper that did not go unnoticed by the Kaunteyā.

She did not have the energy nor the mood to explain the process of a keratin treatment. Arjun beamed at her words and replied, "I'm not sure. You can ask my mother though, she applies some kind of oil on my locks before a head bath."

"YES! Finally I can get hold of your secret...er...which is not much of a secret I guess".

Arjun smiled and was about to say something when he got interrupted by a maid who meekly interjected, "Pardon me Rajkumar, but Rajkumar Sahadev has asked for the Suryavanshi Kumari's audience".

Mrithika's face fell and she groaned in annoyance, "Well, it looks like I have to continue with my practice again. I regret wanting to learn sword fighting, you're brother's too much of an overachiever".

Arjun chuckled good - naturedly and said, "You should be careful on what you ask for but...see you soon".

Mrithika gave him a sardonic smile and left with the maid. Arjun stood there in his spot and stared at her retreating back with a knowing smile. And true to what she said earlier, smiling does make him look shady at times.

"I had to send a dasi to bring you back. You lack punctuality, Mrithika," Sahadev pointed out with a serene expression that made no sense with his words.

Mrithika was dumbstruck. She could not believe that he expected her to keep track of time in a completely different timeline, "Give me a break you—"

"I already gave you one", Sahadev interrupted her placidly.

Mrithika opened and shut her mouth like a fish. She was taken aback not by the subtle insult in the comment but by the sarcasm it dripped. She couldn't believe that he could ever be sarcastic, he did not seem like the type.

"I-I...w-we", she spluttered. After seeing the slight amusement on Sahadev's face, she cleared her throat and spoke straightforwardly , "That's not what I meant! It was figurative. Before you so rudely interrupted me, I was trying to say that you can't really expect me to keep track of time in a yuga where there are no watches. I.E, miniature clocks that are strapped to your wrists. So, can you dial down on the judgement"?

"Miniature clocks strapped to your wrists"? Sahadev asked curiously before dissolving it away for the present, "Whatever, now let's get back with your training. Mata, informed me that she needed your presence in an hour".

Mrithika mentally thanked Kunti for her offer and was glad that the gruelling training was coming to an end in an hour — for the day.

He picked up two swords from the ground and threw hers towards her. Mrithika caught it but staggered back due to the sudden weight.

"Let's have a duel, I'll try to attack and with the swings that you've practiced, you will go for defence".

Mrithika nodded but an uncertainty gripped her from behind. She saw the way Sahadev twirled his sword and steadied himself. She wondered if she was capable enough. Disrupting her train of thoughts, Sahadev said coolly, "I'm waiting".

"Quick question. Will we get hurt"? Mrithika asked uncertainly, wincing at the thought of an ugly scar or a bleeding cut. Though she was not foreign to getting hurt, she did not fancy an injury.

Sahadev did not reply. Instead he smiled and lunged at her, the blade swiped at her face but Mrithika's reflexes activated upon the adrenaline flow and blocked the strike with her sword. Despite her defence, she was not able to sustain it for long as Sahadev aimed another strike which Mrithika barely escaped from.

To add salt to wounds, her skirt often came in her way but her tiny form compared to him made it easier to slip past and increased her dexterity. Sahadev grew annoyed at her slides and glides instead of defending herself manually with a weapon. He felt as if he was duelling against a kid.

A really slippery kid.

His attacks were getting heavier and swifter, and Mrithika prayed that she didn't get on the receiving end of his sword. She tried her best to analyze his techniques and blows. In her experience, rash fighting and wits were the ones that helped in a situation where strength seemed to fail.

However, what neither failed to realise is that, both the opponents were trying to analyse each other's weak points. Mrithika was having a hard time in deciphering his loophole because the Pandava was skilled with both his arms.

Instead of aiming a high strike, Sahadev decided to go for a lower one to prevent the Rajput Princess from slipping away but before he could get a chance to execute it, Mrithika stopped abruptly — her shoulders loosing her former tense position and scrunched her eyebrows in a thoughtful look.

"Why is Mata Kunti coming towards the training ground"? She asked curiously and pointed behind him.

Sahadev whipped around in alarm, probably to greet his mother, and saw no one. For a moment he was confused, and suddenly realisation struck him that he was tricked with the oldest trick in the book.

His reflexes acted slow in response to his discernment as Mrithika promptly rammed the butt of her sword on his back, creating a force enough to stumble him in surprise.

His usually calm features were now contorted into a furious one at the sight of a smugly smirking Mrithika, who rested her elbow on the same hilt that caught him by surprise. "This is not fair! You can't attack someone when they're not ready"! He almost yelled before restraining himself to calm down.

Mrithika's smirk widened as she replied snidely, "Who says I fight fair"?

Sahadev's patience thinned at the comment. He took the opportunity of her relaxed stance and sprang at her —knocking her sword in a hasty swipe, destroying her balance. But Mrithika wasn't the one to go down alone, unintentionally. In an attempt to regain her losing balance, she caught hold of his angavastra and brought the Pandava Prince along with her.

Mrithika and Sahadev stared wide - eyed at each other in shock. A crimson hue creeped into Sahadev's fair complexion at awkwardness he was placed in. Due to Mrithika's fortuitous mistake of grasping on to him for balance, the two tumbled to the ground with Sahadev on top of her.

For a moment there was a pregnant pause between them. Mrithika was as stiff as a stick beneath him. Never in her life had she been in such a close proximity with a boy as she was now, and the same went for the youngest Pandava.

The Kalyugi wished for the earth to swallow her up just as it did once for Sita. Her sun - kissed skin served as a blessing to hide the blush that mentally stained her face. Her breath stopped and she willed herself to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Oh wow, would you look at the Sun! I suppose it's already evening... if you would excuse me, I must get going. Your mother's expecting me", Her voice went an octave high to hide the awkwardness. Sahadev, who was wide - eyed and hypnotised, snapped back to reality and nodded hurriedly.

"Y-Yes, I dare say you should go", He breathed out ruggedly and instantly got up, his muscles stiff as before.

Mrithika gave a watery smile and teetered away from him in her — clutching her now dusty skirt to prevent tripping. Sahadev was still shook from the events that unfolded seconds ago. A tingling sensation overtook his stomach and disappointment made way in his mind at the short duration of their awkward position.

He shook his head in denial 'No, stop it'. A part of denied the accusations but the other part poked him mercilessly to confess his true intentions at that time. He shuddered at the recent memory.

The Madreyā was glad that he asked the soldiers and maids to clear away from the training grounds or he was sure in for a nasty situation. Him and Mrithika would've been the hot topic for the servant's gossips but he thanked the stars for the otherwise fate.

Once Mrithika was safe inside the walls of her own chamber, she heaved a sigh of relief. There was no way she could face Sahadev normally ever again after that. The gritted her teeth and scolded herself, "Stupid, STUPID MRITHIKA! Why would you ever hold on to him?! Now look what you did, you idiot"!

She was relieved that Arjun or any of his brothers other than Yudhishthir were not there at the time or else she would have surely died from all the humiliation and teasing.

Especially from Arjun.

And God-forbid Duryodhan was there. She was sure about the fact that Krishna was probably having a good time laughing at the two. And that made her more grumpy, but one thing was for sure.

She was never going to learn sword fighting from him.

A/N

Hello lovely people !! Ooh la la, I'm pretty sure Mrithika and Sahadev are gonna hate me for this but um I suppose they're gonna be pacified by the big news I'm going to give to them and y'all.

So, AMITAVĀ won second position in the Ambrosia Awards in the Historical fiction genre hosted by !!!!!

Also before exiting, do check out the character aesthetics page as I've edited it out and added some graphics for u guys.

Me : Peace guys☮️🕊????

Sahadev : * glares *

Mrithika : *Also glares but twidles a pen knife*

Me: *gulps and runs away*