Natyam | A Mahabharata Fiction

19.

"Subhadra?"

"Jiji," she replied, demure and soft.

I blinked. Once. Twice. Why would they come here? It was Arjun's turn this year as Panchali's husband, he should've gone to her first. Then it struck me.

Turning to my husband, I asked, "She barred your entry, did she not?"

Arjun did not even look me in the eye.

"Rules are rules, Arya."

"It was me, Jiji." Subhadra piped up.

I looked her way. She was sweet, no doubt; I had met her too, plenty of times, whenever I went to Dwarka. Sweet as honey is what I would say for Subhadra.

I remember the way she looked at me, with firm resolve as she said. "I made him marry me."

"What?"

"I made him marry me." She repeated. "Dau had promised my hand to Yuvraj Duryodhan and I couldn't Jiji, I just couldn't! So I. . ." She gulped in air and hesitated.

"Yes?" I offered.

"I made Arjun get into the chariot and ran off with him. I made him elope, Rajkumari, it was me!"

I nodded my understanding. And slowly, with the ache that there was a third wife (but a wife I knew earlier and adored), I welcomed them into my home.

"You cannot stay here forever without Draupadi's blessing. She must accept you." I told the newly wedded couple over lunch.

Both of them visibly stiffened. I fought back a smile. They should be afraid. My poor sister-in-law must have been raging when she found out.

"Well, what do you plan on doing?"

Arjun looked down at his food and then looked up at me, hope and desire oozing through him. "Maybe you cou–"

"Not on your life, my dear." A feline smile bloomed on my lips. "You have brought home a new wife, you must suffer the consequences."

"Please, Mrinali!"

I turned him down. Every time he asked, I turned him down. It was not that I did not want to help. It was simply that fracturing a relationship that had taken so long to build was not something I was willing to risk for anyone. Not even my husband. Especially when the relationship was my rapport with my sister-in-law. If I meddled, Draupadi would be upset. At all of us. I remember resolutely shaking my head. Most certainly not.

Sighing I told them both, "You are welcome here because I am the mistress of this house. Draupadi is the mistress of that house. My acceptance is not her acceptance."

As my new co-wife watched me, I held her forearm. She looked at me, young and beautiful, expectant and anxious. "Subhadra, you cannot live here forever with Draupadi's refusal on your head. You must make it right."

The young princess from Dwarka only nodded. "I will think of something, Jiji."

About a day later, she came to me with an odd request. She wanted simple clothes, the kind a sage's wife would wear. Procuring them, she changed into them and went off. "I will make things right." She said, a determined chin and a resolute look decorating her features.

Arjun and I looked on; and then turned to face each other.

Silence.

I gave him a cool look as he lowered his eyes.

"Do you have something to say to me, my dear?"

Arjun looked up from underneath his lashes, hand rubbing the nape of his neck. "Mrinali, I—"

"I am sorry I brought this upon us but Subhadra needed to escape from her betrothal to Yuvraj Duryodhan. I just happened to be there when she was looking for someone."

"Do you like her?"

He stalled. Of course. Of course!

He was about to reply. "Do not even think about lying to me, Arjun. Remember who you are talking to."

Glancing to the doorway, he whispered. "I do like her, she is terribly sweet."

It stung. His words stung.

"Nevertheless, Mrinali, you are still important to me." Pushing himself off the beam he was leaning against, he stood before me just inches away.

Taking my hands in his, he placed them over his cutting cheekbones. He leaned in and murmured in my ear. "You are the queen of my mind."

"But not your heart, I see." I retorted.

"Why should you be? You guide every thought of mine, every hope, every desire. You are the absolute for me." Then he flashed his unbelievably charming smile.

Annoyed though I was, I couldn't help but smile. "We will see about that, Rajkumar. You will simply have to prove it."

"And I will!"

I rolled my eyes and smiled wider.

"Good, you two are here." A voice spoke. We both turned to see Kanha, lustrous and handsome standing at the doorway. "I was worried you would both be coaxing Draupadi to let my sister in."

"Subhadra is executing some plot she cooked up a while ago."

So we waited for her.

She came an hour later, beaming at her success. Of course she succeeded! She had Kanha's charm and Dau's sincerity, no wonder Draupadi had given in.

Before Subhadra could walk into her new home with her new husband, Kanha tugged her aside into a corner.

To this day, I am not sure if Kanha let me listen to what he said or if he was simply unaware of my presence. He gave a preparatory speech, similar to the one he gave to me when I first got married.

"Listen to me, Sister, listen carefully. You must be told what it is like to have two co-wives. Not very ordinary co-wives either."

I never knew Kanha thought so highly of me.

"You know Mrinali a little because she visits Dwarka but Krishnaa is someone you have really dealt with before." Kanha paused, considering his next words. "You see Krishnaa is much like the fire she was born out of. She is smolderingly beautiful with fiery intentions and fierce drive. She is holy and dangerous, divine and yet, completely natural. And her fury could rival a burning continent. Her love, however, is just as powerful. If she loves you, you are protected. You will be loved and protected better than any man could offer.

"And Mrinali," he breathed, "Mrinali is the ocean, rain, water. She is fluid and dynamic, ever-changing. She is, just as is with water, beyond our control. She can charm and heal you. Remember, you can quench your thirst thanks to water but you can also drown in it. And that is the way with your eldest sister-in-law. She is sweet and welcoming but the terror she can inflict on you is. . .beyond your imagination.

"So, Subhadra, remember, you are the salt of the earth, aren't you? The fire will suck the life out of you if you do not find a way to control it. In case that does happen, depend on the water. But be careful. Their love will be your strongest ally. Their resentment shall perish you."

My, my.

I never knew Kanha thought so highly of me.

*****
Thought I'd forget, did you? Ha, never!

What did you think of this chapter!

Do vote and comment!

And have a good day, wherever you are!

Love.