The Broken Bond

False Accusations

He hurriedly entered the nearest chambers, broke the seal and fixed his eyes on the large, even lines.

The message turned out to be as short as the others, but this time much more capacious. Duryodhana announced his coronation, which took place a month and a half ago, about which Karna already knew, and also expressed hope for a meeting in Panchala. Karna was again filled with regret at not being able to share in his friend's triumph, and touched with slight resentment that Duryodhana had taken so long to communicate his joy. Karna hurriedly quelled the resentment, giving room for anticipation of the upcoming meeting. Duryodhana wanted to see him! It was good, thought Karna, that he had let Jaswinder and Yudhishthira talk him into participating in the swayamvara.

Jaswinder and Yudhishthira.

Karna froze, trying to catch the thought, and almost immediately remembered what Rajan had told him.

Did Jaswinder go to consult Yudhishthira?

Or... what was Rajan trying to say? That Yudhishthira is tricking one of them into doing what the other wants? But why would he need it?

Karna's gaze fell on the letter he was still holding in his hands, and he was suddenly trembling. Did Jaswinder know he was talking to the crown prince of Hastinapur? With the former crown prince. Or is it still real? Even if Duryodhana was bathed in milk - as long as Yudhishthira is alive, which of them is considered the crowned heir? And what did Jaswinder need from this heir?

Karna tried to carefully fold the letter with trembling hands.

Jaswinder hated Duryodhana and believed that he should have been killed in his cradle. But Yudhishthira said that he would not try to return to Hastinapur. Yudhishthira could not lie and he really left Hastinapura.

But he came to Anga Pradesh, whose crown was given to Karna, but which was ruled by Jasvinder, and would have ruled until now, if not for the quarrel after the tragedy in Varnavrat. Why did Yudhishthira come here? And didn't he want to meet Jaswinder from the very beginning to...

For what? Raise an army and come to Hastinapur with weapons in an attempt to regain the title given to him by force?

No, he said he didn't want the throne of Hastinapur.

What did Yudhishthira want from Jaswinder? Or... Jaswinder from Yudhishthira? Jaswinder may have insisted that the prince return to Hastinapur and overthrow the "demon spawn".

Karna clenched his jaw. The suspicion that Jaswinder or Yudhishthira had arranged behind his back about the death of his friend somehow pierced his body with real pain. Thinking about it was unbearable, like getting stabbed in the back by...

From whom? Yudhishthira and Jaswinder were not Karna's friends. They simply helped him, one out of a sense of duty, the other out of mercy. But did they really help him? Yudhishthira renounced Hastinapur, but is it true that the descendant of kings, the son of Pandu, resigned himself to the fact that he was deprived of the throne? Maybe his renunciation meant that he intended to get himself another kingdom and become independent from the will of his uncle and brother?

Karna darted around the chambers, as if he was trying to keep up with his racing thoughts.

Did Yudhishthira want to take Anga away from Hastinapur - from Duryodhana? Is this what he really came for?

Groaning through his teeth, Karna stopped and leaned heavily on the table. His heart was beating wildly, his chest ached, and angry tears boiled in his eyes. If everything is so! .. If he was deceived without a word of lies! ..

If this is an empty suspicion? He'd been wrong about people before.

You have to ask, Karna realized. Jaswinder or Yudhishthira. No, he immediately corrected himself, only at Yudhishthira's: Jaswinder could have been lying. Tomorrow. Tomorrow on the beach.

My heart continued to ache, and a heavy lump arose in my throat, which I could not swallow.

Or today.

After a few more seconds of hesitation, Karna quickly left the chamber and went to the stables. Soon he drove up to the orphanage where the sons of Pandu were to live.

****

Evening had already fallen, the parting red rays of the sun painted the roofs of the houses, and thick shadows lay below. Karna dismounted from his horse, wrapped the reins around the fence, and strode broadly towards the entrance to the astonished whispers of several elderly brahmins who were stationed under the wall of the house.

- Anga-raj?

Yudhishthira was right in the courtyard and called him first. Turning sharply, Karna literally flew up to him.

-"Why did you come here?" Yudhishthira blinked.

- Anga-raj? he repeated in bewilderment. - My regards. What happened?

"Why are you here?" Karna repeated tensely, "You could have gone anywhere, but you came here-why?"

Yudhishthira glanced sideways at the brahmins and shook his head.

-"Let's go into the house, Anga-raj."

Karna gritted his teeth at the delay, but nodded.

They went inside a long earthen building with a succession of small rooms that could accommodate enough pilgrims. The Pandavas settled in the farthest room and, apparently, they had no neighbors.

Prince Nakula jumped up from his mat as they entered, but Prince Sahadeva simply tossed his head and froze. Karna barely noticed them.

- So what happened? repeated Yudhishthira, stopping and turning towards Karna. He seemed calm, only a tense back betrayed excitement.

-"Why did you come to Anga-pradesh?" Karna asked for the third time, "You wanted to take it from Duryodhana? With the help of Jaswinder?"

- What?! Nakula exclaimed, and Yudhishthira's face showed astonishment and, as if, for a moment, relief.

-"No," he replied without hesitation, "I don't need Anga Pradesh, and I told you I'm not going to continue the war with Duryodhana. And Mr. Jaswinder doesn't know who we are, and I hope he doesn't find out any more."

Karna stared desperately at his face for a few moments, then exhaled slowly. The invisible hand that had been squeezing his heart all this time loosened. Yudhishthira looked back, and Karna felt embarrassed under his gaze. Why did he rush here, why didn't he wait until tomorrow to ask his question?

-"May I now know what really happened, Anga-raj?"

-"And why do you accuse my brother of cheating," a voice came from behind, from which a wave of flame went through Karna's body. He froze, feeling his heart pounding, then very slowly turned around.

-"Dinner is ready, and mother ordered everyone to be called," added Arjuna, barely recognizable in the guise of a brahmin, and at the same time exactly the same as before: calm, mocking and self-confident, despite his poor clothes and the tip of his nose stained with soot. "Will you say hello to our mother, Anga-raj?"

-"N-No!" Karna thought almost frightened as his words stammering....

He did not understand why, despite this, after a very short time, he was sitting in the backyard of the shelter in front of a small fire, holding a pea cake in his hands.

-"You should have captured some more laddu from the palace, Anga-raj!"

Voice of Bheem shoed away the pregnant silence of the evening.
His face showed a slight hint of smile,"Next time, prince."

Like he would ever mistrust them like this. Woe to his overly suspicious Mind...