The Broken Bond

Under his rules

"You must protect us, king! Send these damned ones away, they will devour our children!"

"Hey human king! They say about you that you are fair, so kill your people! And if not, then our king Bhima must protect us!"

- Calm down. All! said Yudhishthira.

They fell silent - and the merchant with his family, and the three Rakshasas who came with gifts from Hidimbi. They stood, sniffling, throwing angry glances at each other, like a flock of alarmed monkeys and predators approaching them. The venerable Kumar and his wife Ila were clearly afraid, but the Rakshasas only made them more fearful, baring their fangs and rattling their bone ornaments, made, it seems, from the bones of foxes, which many must have mistaken for human ones.

"So, what law did the guests of Indraprastha violate?" Yudhishthira nodded towards the Rakshasas.

"He looked at my sons. And licked! He wants to eat them, king!

Most likely, the way it is, thought Yudhishthira, but who, if not he, knew that the Rakshasas were very able to restrain hunger, if the need arose, and ate at least animal meat, at least fruits.

"It is not forbidden to look at people in Indraprastha, venerable one. Your children are fine, which means I have nothing to punish the Rakshasas for."

Gotama, their leader, snapped his teeth loudly, and Kumar turned visibly pale, and Ila's lips trembled. Without waiting for more objections, Yudhishthira turned to the Rakshasa.

"You must apologize to the people of my city. You purposely scare them, and it is unworthy."

Drawing his eyebrows together, Gotama bared his teeth again.

- If your man does not like the way I look at him, king, let him challenge me to a fight and prove that I have no right to look where I want. Or he won't prove it, - he licked his lips.

He will not prove it and will become lawful prey, which can be turned into a hearty dinner, at least according to Rakshasa laws. Yudhishthira shook his head, hiding an involuntary grin from such ingenuous innocence. Rakshasas!

"Gotama, there are other laws in Indraprastha, not like yours. It doesn't matter whether you are challenged to fight or whether you defeat your opponent, but if you eat a person, you will commit a crime and you will have to be executed. King Bhima will confirm my command, and

He tried to remember the most terrible death in the eyes of the Rakshas,

- your bodies will be deprived of the funeral fire. Also, King Bhima will refuse to accept your gifts if you do not apologize to Mr. Kumar.

Gotama squatted a little and obviously pulled his head into his shoulders.

- Fine, Fine! he muttered, then turned to Kumar,

- Forgive me man. Since you're such a coward, I won't scare you anymore and I won't eat your children. I swear by the grace of King Bhima.

Kumar grimaced, glanced at Yudhishthira, then back at Gotam, and nodded with obvious reluctance, as obvious as letters written in charcoal on a white wall. Yudhishthira called one of the warriors and ordered the Rakshasas with their gifts to be escorted to Bhima.

"Are you satisfied, venerable Kumar?" he asked the merchant.

He stood with his eyes fixed on the ground, and his wife clung to his elbow.

- Yes, king.

Lie. Yudhishthira winced inwardly both at the deception itself and at how helplessly obvious it was.

"Not true, Kumar. Tell me the truth. I won't get angry," he pleaded, trying to sound as comforting as possible.

Kumar hesitated, looking warily at him from under his brows, but Ila suddenly spoke: