"I'm going to be seven tomorrow! Seven!" cried Bharat exuberantly, jumping on his bed. "I'll finally be older than Laksh and Shatru, and-" Shatrughan cut in excitedly.
"And, you'll get presents! I can't wait for my birthday either, can you Laksh?" Without allowing his twin to speak, he continued. "I wonder how you'll react to your surprise present-mmmf!" Lakshman clapped a hand on his careless twin's mouth, but the damage was done. Bharat had heard.
"What did he say? Surprise present?" Lakshman face palmed, and glared at Shatrughan, who shrunk a little bit. "He said surprise present. Well, what is it?" Bharat persisted. At this point, Ram walked into the room, and heard what Bharat had said.
"Bharat, don't be like that. I'm sure you can wait a day!" Ram tried to cover up the mistake. Bharat scowled, and crossed his arms.
"I'm going! Until you give me my present, you will not find me!" Bharat stormed off, and Lakshman turned towards Shatrughan furiously.
"Shatrughan, can't you keep a secret? I wonder what will happen when we go to war with some enemy. Will you shout out the battle plans into the air because you can't bear to keep it within you?" Shatrughan shrugged.
"He isn't serious about it, Laksh. He'll come around." Ram consoled the two, and they followed him as he began to search for the 2nd prince. "Where are you, Bharat?" they called, they shouted, and in Shatrughan's case, they teased, taunted.
A few hours later, the three brothers came back to the center of the castle, Shatrughan holding a large, spherical ladoo. "I found nothing, except some sweets, a bowl of rice, and a fallen slipper." Shatrughan held up a golden slipper which belonged to Bharat.
Lakshman snatched it. "Where did you find this, twin?" Shatrughan pointed towards the garden, and Ram groaned. Of course Bharat was there. Bharat often sought a relaxing place in the garden when he needed to calm down. Ram couldn't blame him. Soft birds chirped in the distance, cool breezes rustled the tree leaves, a steady stream of crystal clear water fell from the fountains, and no one ventured out to disturb you. Except apparently the three princes of Ayodhya, nobody.
The trio strolled towards the great willow tree in the main garden, where Bharat was sitting, looking very bored.
"Here," sighed Ram, handing him a wrapped box. "From all of us." Bharat stared at it, eyes twinkling, then ripped off the thin leaf paper, to reveal a large, wooden palette filled with bright paints.
"Wow." he gasped, looking up. "Thank you!" Shatrughan bit his lip. "So, that's what he would look like." Laksh whispered.
"I came up with the idea. Laksh carved the wood, and Ram bhaiyya located the paints. It was a team effort." Shatrughan stated. Bharat grinned, and the four brothers walked back to the palace, Bharat stumbling occasionally due to staring at his gift and nothing else.
Ram knew it was the perfect present when Shatrughan had mentioned it. Bharat wouldn't like weapons, but he spent hours on end admiring the beautiful reliefs etched into the front doors of his chamber. He was also the peacemaker, between the brothers, the mothers, some court officials, and Lakshman and literally everyone who crossed his path. Nobody except the three brothers, especially Shatrughan, who was extra attached to Bharat, seemed to understand that, however.
The entire dinner, Bharat fidgeted without his palette, which was something usually only the twins, hyperactive as they were, did. As night fell, Bharat retired to his chambers. What better time to paint than at night, when no one would be there to see him?
If Kaikeyi Maa figured out that he didn't like war and battle very much, that he enjoyed painting, and writing, and reading, then she would be devastated. Queen Kaikeyi always wanted Bharat to be an enviable fighter on the battlefield, to lead the army to victory. Bharat always thought that was more Ram's thing, saving everyone. He could write a poem about Ram's victory.
Grabbing his palette, he snuck out of Kaikeyi's vision and out into the hallways. Oh no! Ram hadn't included any paintbrushes! Hesitantly, he dipped a finger into a vivid red, the same color of the eldest brother's dhoti today. Peering about to see if anyone was watching, the guards were asleep, and Bharat quickly smeared it on the wall.
Lighting a small lantern, he placed it on the ground and studied the streak. Maybe he could test out the paints right here! It was right in front of the twins' room, and they wouldn't mind! So, he tested out the royal blues, and forest greens, and sunset oranges, and even a disgusting shade of pink that he quickly got off his fingers.
"Now, what do I make of this?" he asked about the rainbow jumble of colors he had tested on the walls. Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching him steadily. His heart stopped, and breathing quickened as fear rushed up his spine. It must be a guard! He quickly hid, but they faded away, and he returned to his makeshift canvas.
"Maybe I'll just cover the entire wall with dots." And so, Bharat went on and on, fingerpainting the entire wall in front of the bed chambers until he was tired and dawn was about to hit.
The sun rose, and light flooded in through the windows. Shatrughan woke up happily, as he usually was, and leapt off his cot. Lakshman, beside him, wasn't really a morning person, and stayed buried under the blankets. Walking out the door, a horrendous sight greeted him. The entire wall was covered with faded greens and browns!
"Laksh, Laksh, come see this!" he called, and his twin groaned. So, the youngest prince took it upon himself to drag his rather short-tempered brother out of the bed, and into the hallway. Lakshman's eyes widened, and he refrained himself from shouting at Shatrughan.
"Shatrughan! Who did this? Did you?" Shatrughan shook his head. "I'm not that artistic bhaiyya. But I know who is..." They both turned towards Bharat, who had fallen asleep in front of the wall, still clutching onto the palette of paints.
"Bharat? But, isn't he seven today?" Shatrughan nodded, and Lakshman's eyes widened, and showing a certain observant natura that would prove most helpful later in his life, cried,
"He'll get punished by Maa Kaikeyi for sure! Come on, it's still the break of dawn. Let's get him cleaned up and put him back on his bed. Birthdays aren't the time to be grounded or deprived of sweets." And so, the twins, who usually caused mischief or trouble, showing great presence of mind at only age six, did just that.
"What is this?" cried Sumitra, dragging the twins out of their beds by the ears. "What on Earth is this?" She pointed towards the wall, and the twins feigned shock.
"That looks horrible!" cried Shatrughan, and Lakshman gulped. Wrong words.
"So you admit to painting on the wall, then?" Sumitra shrieked furiously, and the youngest twin swallowed hard. Ram sighed. He had seen Bharat doing the painting very clearly.
Flashback
"What is that noise?" Ram exclaimed, sitting up from his bed. A little sound of clacking wood echoed through the area, before a scraping sound that made him wince. Slipping on a pair of traveling shoes, he stepped out into the hallway.
"Who's there?" he whispered. Noone responded. As he got closer and closer to the sound, he saw...Bharat? Painting on the wall? He was about to confront his brother, but heard a small gasp, and rapid footsteps. Sighing, he stepped back a few, and sure enough, Bharat raced back to the wall.
"Hmmm," he mumbled. "Let's try a mix of this black and a spot of white." Ram could have groaned as Bharat slapped a little on the wall. Poor Lakshman and Shatrughan! Of course, they would be blamed for it! Shaking his head, he paced back to his room, wondering what to do.
Present
"No, actually Maa," Ram stepped up. "I did. You see, I thought Bharat loved art, so I made a mural for him as his birthday present." Silence, before Dasharath cleared his throat. That seemed to ease the tension a bit, as Kaushalya laughed, and Kaikeyi shook her head reprovingly.
"Why did you trouble poor Shatrughan about it? He obviously doesn't have paints." Kaikeyi chided. Lakshman's jaw dropped. Poor Shatrughan was it? Poor Shatrughan was the reason that Bharat had gotten paints! What about him? He had gotten dragged out by the ears too!
Moments later, as the brothers walked together towards the dining areas, Bharat attempted to renew some of his dignity. "You know, the painting wasn't bad, now was it?" he pleaded.
Lakshman snorted. "No, bhaiyya, it was horrendous. Terrible, horrible, no good. You ought to have made an image of a mud mountain, and it would have turned out better."
"Lakshman." Ram sighed. "Look, Bharat. It was hard enough convincing everyone that I had done the painting. Next time, at least make it a bit more expertful! Perhaps it might be easier."
A/N-The title needs no explanation, and yet still I persevere! Bharat was a bit (read: very) mischievous, and Michelangelo is a famous painter. Anyways, how did you feel about my perception of the 2nd oldest prince? I never thought of him as very warrior-type, rather peaceful, calm, appreciative of literature and the humanities. What about you? I focused a bit on Bharat and Ram this time, but I love adding the twins in. In the next chapter or two I'll make them the center point. Who is your favorite prince of Ayodhya? Can you guess who mine is?