It had been a day since Mrithika had arrived at Kosala and much to her surprise she found out that the old king had a son - her supposed brother - Barhināman, who was currently in their vassal kingdom of Kashi due to political issues.

She bided her time in Kosala by bonding with her new family of the Kosala royalty. Mrithika wasn't exactly sure what to make of the budding friendship between Hastinapur and Kosala — or the budding friendship between the future Indraprastha and Kosala. Wether it was a genuine platonic bond or an aspiring political alliance for the benefit of both the parties. Her Kalyugi practical mindset kept second guessing the former statement despite the knowledge that the people of this era had different opinions on various topics that contradicted the Kalyugi explanations.

After a day's rest in Kosala and a half a day's journey, they had finally reached their destination at Varnavrat. She was astonished at the lush greenery that surrounded the path they had travelled through, such sights were impossible to see in modern day Uttar Pradesh save for a few places.

The chariots halted near an enormous mansion just at the outskirts of the village, isolated from the main civilisation. 'For a better experience at countryside serenity' Purochan asserted with a grin that mirrored his master.

He got a raise of a brow and a ghost of a smile from Mrithika in response to his words. Sahadev glanced around at the mansion uncertainly before voicing his thoughts. "What will you do for the new moon? The moonlight will not be providing luminance all nights."

Purochan and his family dropped their smiles at the question. Mrithika snickered with a hand covering her mouth 'Hah. Got you'!

Their nerves increased when the intense stares of the Pandavas and their mother fixed themselves upon the conspirators. Purochan looked defeated and fumbled with his words. "Um...I...you see, Prince....I suppose we shall light a torch during the new moon night".

"Meaning, you had not planned for such an event"? Sahadev implored with a brow mirroring Mrithika's.

Purochan's face flushed until it was left pale, the moon taunting him by intensifying his ashen face against the darkness. Bheem sighed and placed a hand on the younger Madreyā's shoulder, "Let it be, Anuj. We shall staying for a short while and I'm sure that we won't present till the new moon. Do not fret", he turned towards Purochan. "Now, show us the way to our chambers and I hope you have one ready for our guest, the princess of Kosala"?

Purochan's beady eyes shifted towards Mrithika at his words and lingered a little longer than intended. "The princess of Kosala? Gandharraj never mentioned a Suryavanshi", he muttered softly under his breath. "You mean the Devi Mrithika? Ah yes...yes, yes, yes, Your Highness. My wife shall lead the Lady Kunti and the Rajkumari. Please, make yourselves comfortable. I am after all in your service here".

Sweaty and sleepy from the journey, Mrithika dismissed the prospect of an assassination and was ready to hit the hay the second Purochan's wife showed the women's quarters. Her eyes drooped and all she wanted was to get out of the heavy attire.

'Ah the palace of Lac.' Who thought she would ever be present in flesh five thousand years back in the place?

"Have a good night's rest, Rajkumari", the woman whom she presumed to be Purochan's wife, said monotonously with no emotion betraying on her face. Mrithika gave a curt nod and slumped on the soft mattress of the bed and fell asleep in a second without realising that she had to change from the extrinsic garment nor that she was surrounded by combustible walls.

The next morning Mrithika surprisingly got up earlier than usual. She attested it to the deep slumber she was able to get last night. At the breakfast table she heard Bheem grumbling about the kitchen being too faraway and the horrible construction of the palace.

"I mean, who has a kitchen outside of the main building? Whoever is the architect did a pathetic work", He complained to Kunti and Yudhishthir, the former having an amused smile at her son's complaints meanwhile Yudhishthir's face was set in a deep thought.

"I agree Bhratashree. There aren't even balconies or back door or even a terrace for that matter! Perhaps, the kitchen must have been a later addition owing to the temporary nature of the building itself. However I do find it strange now that you have mentioned it." Sahdev agreed, voicing his eldest brother's thought. He turned towards Mrithika beside him and asked, "Don't you agree, Mrithika? Isn't it a bit strange? I'm assuming kitchens do exist inside the main buildings even in your time?"

"Eh"? The girl in question snapped back to reality as the prince's voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned to see everyone looking in her way except for Nakul who had a mischievous smile as he whispered something in Arjun's ears prompting a snicker from the latter.

'What's up with those two'? She wondered with a slight sneer curling at the corner of her lips. "Oh..um..yes, yes it does seem strange but I shouldn't be much surprised since this was planned by the King of Gandhar.....er—no offence".

"Ha, none taken", Bheem chuckled.

Yudhishthir sighed deeply with his mouth set in a straight line and instructed, "That's quite enough. I suggest that you all continue with your meal before we begin with our worship".

The Pandavas halted their chuckling and continued with their breakfast meanwhile Mrithika let a dejected sigh as she silently disapproved Yudhishthir's staunch respect for his elders that upheld without any questioning.

The morning worship for the annual veneration of Pandu went quiet eventfully as the rituals conducted intrigued her and the unusual message sent by their prime minister, Vidur, reached them in the form of a mice hidden in a rice sack. Fortunately, Purochan's watchful eyes failed to decipher the hidden meaning behind the strange gesture as most people and disregarded it as the mischief of the rodent who might've snuck in sneakily.

Nakul was happy to adopt a mice.

The ceremony parched Mrithika's throat. Remembering that there was a little stream that flowed by the lac mansion, she set out to quench her thirst. The water provided by the tiny water body was cleaner than most present in her time but that did not matter her as she was used to drinking untreated water when times were desperate. Compared to that, this was a luxury.

Her hands cupped beneath the water surface as the cool liquid collected inside her palms. Just as she brought it to her lips, an airy yet firm voice almost made her lose her balance.

"When do you plan on continuing your fencing lessons"?

"Woah"! Mrithika's hands freed themselves from their former position as she regained her balance. She had let her guard down. The scion of Rathore shook her head in disbelief, was it the illusion or the atmosphere of this era that made her loosed her guard?

She turned around in annoyance to berate the one who had disturbed her serenity but failed to do as she realised the source of those passive aggressive taunts.

Sahadev held a quizzical look as he raised a brow at her startled behaviour. "H-Have I interrupted your um...solitude"?

Mrithika rolled her eyes. "Well are you blind"? She shot back in a rather snarky manner, further annoyed by his rhetoric question.

"Then I hope you forgive me", the younger son of Madrī sincerely apologised with a grave look on his face prompting a snort from the crude princess. "Relax, I was being sarcastic. Don't take it too personally, prince".

Sahadev blinked. "I didn't. I just felt responsibility for alarming a person by unintentionally sneaking upon them when hey were least suspecting it", he replied in one breath and added, "Now what about my previous question"?

Now it was her turn to blink. In a peculiar way she found his words cute but it could also be so that it was rare for the boys in her time to speak with such poise that she was accustomed to such speech. She cleared her throat as her mind snapped back to the earlier question that was imposed on her.

"Oh you see...um...hehehe— I don't know how you're going to take this but...eh I quit. I really have no further interest in continuing with the art of sword- wielding. Sorry." She coughed lightly as she realised how dry her apology was, and she wasn't going to be surprised if Sahadev lost his patience with her.

"No interest"? The younger Madreyā was not quick to lose his patience however he was little taken aback at her non commitment to such a pious art as sword wielding itself.

Mrithika chuckled sheepishly and said, "Well you see, I have these sudden bouts of intrigue over one subject and it burns brightly until one odd day it just fizzles out...and then I don't have the motivation to continue it further."

He shook his head in disbelief and stated bluntly. "You really are fickle, Kausalya"!

"So I've heard", the woman in question shrugged nonchalantly and patted the damp soil near her, "Have a seat".

"Huh", The youngest Pandava was a little jolted at her candid invitation as he was reminded of his actual feelings towards her.

Mrithika's smile widened into a taunting grin, "What? It's to have a chat, silly. It's been a long time since we've had a proper conversation— why is it unnatural for the men of Dwapar yug to have a friendly conversation with their friends by a peaceful scenery"?

Sahadev scoffed indignantly as he rolled the fabric of his dhoti and dipped his feet in the cool waters of the rushing stream and retorted, "And is it natural for the women of Kalyug to be impulsive?"

"Not really. Many aren't but some are. Hey, you can't blame us we have a lot of fascinating stuff in our time that yours lack so it becomes hard to choose as you're always exploring new things."

"Is that so"? His eyes subtly brightened with hidden curiosity for the unknown. "Then I'm sure there must be something you must've held a passion for for a longer period. What is it that's different from here"?

Mrithika pondered for a while. There were many things she had indulged in during her time in Kalyug, both before and while being on the run from her lunatic mother. But there certainly were some hobbies that she would never grow tired off despite the years that would pass by.

"I think you already know my love for good story books but I also love dancing and it's one of the consistent arts I'm still fond of — but it's a different kind of dancing"! She quickly corrected herself. "It's not Bharatnatyam. I used to take classes for dancing and it's well...more appropriately from foreign countries. We call it street style".

"Street style"? Sahadev commented amusingly, foreign to the term. "But why something from the mleccha countries? Why not Bharatnatyam?" He paused and gasped in utter disbelief , "Don't tell me Bharatnatyam does not exist anymore"!

"No no, it's not like that", The now princess of Kosala cackled at his assumption. "It's just that other dance forms have become popular over time and as for Bharatnatyam...it's not very easy to learn as compared to other dance styles. I'm sure you already know how much devotion and patience it requires right? Well to be honest, I did try for a year but then I lost my—"

"Interest"? He playfully interjected earning a scornful look from her.

"No. patience".

"I see", he nodded solemnly with a small smile playing on his lips. "You lack patience too."

"Happy realisation day" she replied instantly with a sarcastic grin. "Anyways, I learnt dancing and...oh, and there's debating too! I used to be the debate club president during my sc- Gurukul days."

"You had clubs in your Gurukuls? That's actually kind of fascinating! And if I must say, I'm not surprised you are a debater".

"Huh? And why is that so"?

"Because I've seen you argue a lot with Bhrata Arjun and you don't seem like the person to suppress their views and opinions. Also, you're a loudmouth", he declared casually, his words unfiltered and crisp in the fresh air by the creek.

Mrithika let a mock gasp escape her thin lips in a very dramatic manner. "ME A LOUDMOUTH?! Well Mr. Prince, in that case, you're a withering wallflower".

"I am more of a thinker and not a talker unlike someone I know".

Insults and taunts flew in and out from both the parties, their voices raising each decibel above until it attracted unwanted attention from a non hostile audience who just seemed to be passing by the lonely place. Nakul pulled his elder brother, Bheem, by his forearm to avoid being in the visible range of the bantering duo. He motioned a finger to his lips and pointed towards the couple as he whispered, "Now what did I tell you? See for yourself".

The Kaunteya followed his younger brother's instructions and observed the duo for a while. "You're right Nakul. It was quite hard for me to believe that my introvert of a brother would ever dare to look at a woman in a romantic way but I suppose we should expect the unexpected. Now let's turn away from here, these two need privacy. And I'm sure Mata has work for us anyway".

AUTHORS NOTE

A long time since I've updated but I guess I finally found some time to return back to this book. See, I've kept my promise and have not abandoned it because this book and the characters are very dear to me. And I thank the readers who have patiently kept up with this story whilst being on hold for a long time.

I have made some minor changes to the book like changing the faceclaim of Mrithika from Alia since she turned out to be problematic ( no offence to her fans) . And also the description for Mrithika erstwhile does not match the faceclaim given to her hence, I've changed the aesthetics page (I hope you do check it out) with an ai art instead.

A belated Happy New Year to all of you! Let's hope 2024 is a better start to all of us here 💃🏻🎊.