•|| Maze of Destiny ||•

~ Chapter 8 ~

They soon reached the edge of the forest. From there the Kauravas camp looked like a beehive with 99 bees buzzing in tune with their angry Queen bee. As they neared it, they could see a lone figure standing still, outside the tent. On looking at them the person quirked his eyebrow while a trace of smile appeared on his lips. Before he could say anything they heard voices and sounds of things being thrown around from the tent. Instantly Karna was alert, "Angraj, I think my brother Duryodhan needs you, his mitr might be the only one who can calm him down now". Without saying anything Karna ran into the tent. Aditi was about to follow him but was stopped by the person. "Bhrata Yuyutsu, I can talk to Rajkumar Duryodhan, maybe I can he__" even before she could finish her sentence she heard a loud bang from inside. "Aditi, I'm sure you can help, but now is not the right time. Maybe bhrata will listen to you someday when he isn't angry" Yuyutsu reasoned with Aditi even though he himself knew that it will never happen. "You also need to welcome the victorious Pandavas, go fast, they might be on their way to the camp" he shooed her away from there, afraid Duryodhan would hear her voice and vent out his anger in the wrong direction. 

She just had time to prepare the aarthi thali for doing the vijay tilak when she heard the footsteps of the Pandavas approaching. She ran to the entrance of the tent shouting "STOP". They stared at her with confusion before it dawned on them. They all stood in a line as she did the aarti. She can see her mitr Nakul buzzing with excitement to tell her about everything that happened. After she made sure that they didn't get any serious injuries, she started treating the small cuts. Finally they had time to sit down and talk. 

"We won sakhi" finally Nakul announced. Bheem also stopped eating the ladoos to give her a big grin before he continued. "Did you know we had to break through the Chakravyuh" he continued. "Isn't that the vyuh which is like a labyrinth of defensive walls made by soldiers which is difficult to get in and impossible to come out" she asked. "Did you also learn about warfare?" the ever silent Sahadev finally spoke to her. "No, I just learnt it from Guru Dron", she explained all that happened during their absence. "Wow sakhi, look at bhrata Arjun, it seems like he is already planning to teach you weaponry and warfare" laughed Nakul. "Why not Kul, our Diti is a fast learner, I will definitely teach her some basics once we reach Hastinapur" said Arjun eager to teach his sister all the battle skills she needs. "But what will she do with warfare Arjun" questioned Bheem. "Bhrata Bheem, we don't know when a skill can come in handy, she is a princess, it is always good for her to know self defence" Sahadev answered. Just then a chirping was heard making Aditi run to a table in the back. Everyone looked at her curiously as she brought Suroop to them. "I found him in the forest, he couldn't fly, can you check him mitr" she requested Nakul. "You went to the forest alone?" questioned the Pandavas worry evident in their voices. "No, Karna was with me, he helped me gather some herbs", they let out a sigh of relief.

As Nakul and Sahadev checked the parrot, everyone took turns in telling about the battle. "Bhrata Arjun was awesome, he single handedly defeated Panchalraj" Nakul said as Arjun blushed at the compliment before hitting Nakul. "It was teamwork Diti, I had help and without my brothers, we wouldn't have been able to pay our guru dakshina" he said, looking at his brothers lovingly. "Gurudev even forgave his friend and returned half the kingdom to him, he is so compassionate, isn't he sakhi" listening to this Aditi smiled, Guru Dron has kept his promise, he let go of his resentment. Now she just hoped Maharaj Drupad also wouldn't hold any resentment. If only she knew what the future holds.