|| PāṇcālīHr̥distha- Thunder Ablaze ||

|| Ashta- To Adore Her ||

"Krishnaa!"

The wonder, amusement, surprise, love and adoration in Arjuna's voice alone was enough to melt Krishnaa, and the purity and sweetness that poured from his voice like a waterfall flushed Krishnaa as a teary, yet beaming smile made its way onto her visage, which now glowed brighter than the moon, her brown irises, radiated light like the brightest stars in the universe.

"Savyasachi..." Her voice was so lucid, affectionate and was filled with longing in each syllable that she uttered of his name, and Arjuna's heart couldn't thud faster ever. It was not the words that held the emotions, but it was the silence for a few minutes in which thick emotions in each other's tones flowed towards each other, and both of them had tears adorn both their eyes, while their soul thrummed in togetherness, vibrating to the same emotion.

Krishnaa, a few months ago, wasn't in a position to have any hopes. She thought he was killed, and the pressure and stress on her mind prevented her from thinking straight, but all that flowed in her was her love for him, and the love he showered on her. They had aspired to build a life together, have a contended, happy life in each other, to raise their family, to flourish in each other's love, but everything turned to ashes at the minute she found out that his existence too was burnt to nothingness. But, the fire of their love was too strong to be put off by such suspicious situations, and the hope in her heart reignited, though she couldn't act about anything without any confirmation.

But when the time finally arrived, and the fact that he was there, in-front of her, awaiting her presence, and cherishing her love, she couldn't believe her eyes and her soul. His sight gave her a new life, and that was enough for her to lead her hope into fruition. Her belief in him was as strong as the diamond, it couldn't fail her now.

Arjuna, though aware of Krishnaa's heart, couldn't bring about himself to face herself. He knew she would've been shattered at the news, and the fact that he couldn't do anything to rid her of her depression and distress, despite being alive, pained him. But he did what was right at that moment; for he couldn't risk his family's wellbeing by expressing himself to Krishnaa.

But now, she came for him, and that meant that nothing would go wrong. She took the step herself, and that meant that she had thought through every single aspect and nuance, and then only made the conscious decision to meet him. He was beyond thrilled, and overwhelmed that his yearning for a year had come to an end.

"Arjuna, I can't believe my eyes!" Krishnaa broke into soft sobs as she rushed forward, and Arjuna too did the same thing at the very same moment, tears shining on the threshold of their eyes.

"Krishnaa, I.." His usually caring, affectionate voice now was rough and thick, and that indicated his emotions that surfaced after a long time, and the Princess of Panchala understood that very well.

He held her palm into his own, softly, as he walked towards the mud pedestal at the doors of the hut, and before she could say anything, he pulled the thick deerskin that was supposed to be covering his torso, which instead hanging around his bow, and placed it on the pedestal, and indicated Krishnaa to sit, as he caressed her knuckles.

Panchali smiled in acknowledgment as she sat down, but her jaw hung down, when he, instead of taking a seat beside herself, sat down on the rough ground opposite to her, still clutching her palm in his.

"Arjuna, what are you doing this. You cannot sit on that bare, rugged ground, I won't let you do that!"

"Shh, Krishnaa. Don't. I know you wouldn't want me to sit before you on the ground, but today, I don't want to sit on your side. I want to sit in front of you, and admire you as we converse, I don't know, but my heart yearns for it."

Krishnaa was shaken, as she pressed her eyelids together, completely not anticipating his actions, but she couldn't let him sit on the bare ground like that, it didn't feel right.

"No, no, Arjuna, you shouldn't be sitting on the ground like this. First of all, it's about the time for sunset, and moreover, you have given away your deerskin to keep me warm, and sitting on the ground with nothing to cover your torso would only lead you to fall sick. And you can't sit down like this, you have to sit on this pedestal alone, you-"

She was replied with only audible chuckles, and she her rant came to an abrupt end, a full, beaming smile making its way onto her face as face as she saw him laugh out heartily, and that warmed Krishnaa's heart so much that she forgot what she was saying mid-way.

"Krishnaa, I know you are concerned. But I want to talk to you like this, sitting in front of you, and observing all your loving, adorable movements, and all the sweetness that you give me. I want to admire your characteristics, Krishnaa, I want to admire the beauty of your eyes, that are like pools of divinity. I want to admire the form of your eyes that are in the shape of lotus petals. I want to admire the love for me that flows from your eyes like nectar from flowers, I want to admire the divinity that emanates from the Princess who rules my heart!" Arjuna explained, as he wiped the tears that trailed down her cheeks, and adoring the love that took the form of a smile on her face.

Krishnaa and Arjuna, spent the evening conversing with each other, heartfully after the longest time they had ever been away from each other, and the emotions that transversed between their hearts, and the ecstasy they experienced, after meeting each other after such a long time, filled them with bliss, as they sat with their palms entwined and their hearts together.

———-

A/N

There is a few things that I want to clear. We have come to an end of the first track of PH with this chapter, and the next chapter will be a prelude into the new track. And that means we are entering into the events that took place the Svayamvara and they are important to the book, and to KrishnaaArjuna's journey as well. 

1) The events upcoming will be following BORI CE strictly, except for the places where there is scope for open interpretation or where there is no proper clarity. I say this with conviction that nothing will be portrayed against the original characteristics of KrishnaaArjuna as given in the Mahabharata. 

2) I believe that the marriage of the Pancha Pandavas to Krishnaa did happen with Krishnaa's absolute consent and acceptance. Krishnaa is not someone who would put herself into such a situation without thinking or blindly for the sake of it. Neither are Pandavas who will force their opinions onto Krishnaa for their sake. And, My Yudhishthira and Mata Kunti will not be shown petty like major opinions, because they are Dharmaraja and PandavaMata for a reason. They will not do such injustice to Krishnaa, because the very Mahabharata says Kunti loved Krishnaa more than she did his own sons, and the Pandavas and Draupadi are one minded as per what Arjuna himself says. So there is no scope for injustice happening there, and certainly, Pandavas and Krishnaa are mature enough to understand what their destiny and what their Dharma is. I will not be tolerating any kind of hate against this, for this is what authentic scriptures say. 

3) Krishnaa and Arjuna's relationship and dynamics are crisp and clearly mentioned and they are anything but "tragic", "fragile" or whatever adjectives modern perceptions say. In my story, they are in love from before, and they will continue to do so. Their relationship is deep and they have a clear understanding of each other and there will be no silly concepts like ignoring each other and etc. They support each other and they supported each other,  in every step of each other's journey, and importantly there is mutual respect for each other that is already shown in this chapter, and that is exactly what I will be portraying in this book's upcoming chapters as well. Please keep the above points in your mind, it will surely ensure some clarity about the upcoming chapters of my book. 

Also, thank you so much for 1K reads! Ever grateful! <3