Arjun's P.O.V.
"I, Maharaj Dhritarashtr announce that the yuvraj of Hastinapur is-"
"Kuru Maharaj Dhritarashtr ka kalyan ho" I herd Gurudev's voice that interrupted Maharaj we all looked at the entrance and Gurudev walked in, I smiled
"Maharaj, I apologize for interrupting you, Maharaj. I know that today you are going to announce the heir to the throne and that is why I have come to request to you that out of my shishys no one ought to be chosen in the court."
"Tatpary?" asked Maharaj
"Until a sculptor is satisfied even the Almighty cannot reside in the idol made by him. And that idol cannot be deemed worthy of worship." said gurudev
"I do not understand you." said Maharaj
"Maharaj, Dronachary has not received his gurudakshina from the rajkumaro. That is why, until the rajkumaro are his shishys we cannot coronet any of the rajkumaro." said Kakashree
"So, what does the maha guru Dronachary expect?" asked Maharaj
"Maharaj, I expect my shishys." said Gurudev
"To give me my gurudakshina in the form of the art I have taught them. Let me see, who is the most superior amongst my shishys." said Gurudev, bhrata Yudhisthir, bhrata Bheem, Nakul Sahadev and I nodded
"I wish to see who is the most capable shishy." said Gurudev
"Indeed, achary." said Kakashree
"A guru testing his shishys is the aptest way of judging them. Then no one shall charge us for being partial." he said
"Forgive me, Maharaj! Forgive me." said Gandhar Raj Shakuni getting up
"What is the need for testing the capabilities again and again?" he said
"If one looks at one's reflection for too long one sees ugliness in it, Dronachary." he said looking at Gurudev
"Capability is a virtue of the soul and not an adornment of the face, Gandhar Raj. And it does not show in a reflection." said Kakashree
"But was the competition not held, maha mantri?" asked Gandhar Raj Shakuni
"But there was no definitive outcome of that competition." said Kakashree, Gandhar Raj Shakuni frowned
"Maharaj himself has said this." said Kakashree
"That is why, if the capabilities are now judged through the medium of Dronacharya's gurudakshina then what problem do you have with it?" asked Kakashree
"Avashya!" said Maharaj everyone looked at him
"Since the competition was inconclusive resorting to this method seems appropriate." he said
"So, Dronachary. Ask for your gurudakshina." said Kakashree
"The rajkumar who will be able to convince you with his might shall be the most capable one." he said
"But while seeking your gurudakshina, what if you become partial and choose only one particular rajkumar as the most capable one?" asked Gandhar Raj Shakuni
"Your doubt is an insult to me, Gandhar Raj. A guru can never be partial. And whether my gurudakshina can be given by one rajkumar or all the rajkumar for that matter is a matter of doubt." said Gurudev
"What are you asking for, Dronachary?" asked Pitamaha
"I want revenge for being insulted." said Gurudev, there were whispers around the court
"Panchal ka raja, Drupad, (The King of Panchal, Drupad) needs to be at my feet." he said
"I was insulted gravely in the rajya sabha of Panchal once, at the hands of my friend, Drupad." he said I looked concernedly at gurudev
"The hurtful words of an enemy give a challenge, but those of a friend, give an insult." he said
"When a friend insults you, your whole life gets poisoned." he said and looked at all of us
"My shishys, I have endured the fire of this insult within me and lived for years." he said I looked at him concernedly again
"Had I made up my mind, I could have defeated Drupad at that very moment!" he said
"But he had insulted my knowledge. That is why I took an oath that one day I will defeat him at the hands of my shishys!" he said
"And today that day has come, rajkumaro. That moment has come. rajkumaro when you have the opportunity of fulfilling the vow of your teacher. Who will be able to give me my gurudakshina? Do you have the capability?" said gurudev
"DO YOU HAVE THE CAPABILITY?!" he shouted
"No! Impossible!" said Maharaj, we all looked at him
"A powerful and experienced warrior like Drupad cannot be faced by my putro." he said
"Panchal has more than two akshauni sena. And the fort of the capital city Kampilya. No maha guru Dronachary. Ask for something else." he said
"This is gurudakshina, Maharaj. Not business." said gurudev
"I want either revenge or nothing." he said
"If I could not fortify the might and self-confidence of my shishys, then it is my misfortune, Maharaj." he said, I looked down thinking No...
"But you need not feel sad. I will go to other rajyo to look for brave men." said gurudev, What?! No! I thought
"I will fortify them with my art so that they avenge my insult, because, Maharaj. I shall have my revenge." he said and turn towards the gates and turned his head back and said
"Then you must find the heir to your throne from other rajyo." he said
"Agya dijiye." he said joining his hands, turned around and started walking
"Gurudev!" I called, he stopped, I stood up and walked forward
"Every word uttered by my guru is an order for me!" I said gurudev turned around
"I take an oath! That you will have either Drupad will be at your feet, or my severed head in your hands!" I vowed, gurudev smiled proudly
"Arjun." I herd Duryodhan's voice I turned to him
"Your vow shall indeed be fulfilled," he said What?! Since when did he become supportive of me. I thought
"but at my hands." he said and I spoke too soon. I thought
"Pitashree, Maharaj, give the order to launch the attack!" he said
Time skip
We were all in the royal garden planning the strategy for the war, after convincing Jyesht that he cannot come to the war with us
Subhadra's P.O.V.
Through the path in between the fountains, I saw the Pandav and mahrthi Karn doing something. I was looking at rajkumar Arjun and walked over to them.
Arjun's P.O.V.
Nakul looked up
"Bhratashree, looks like someone has come to meet you." he said poking me with his elbow I looked up and saw Subhadra,
"Shut up, Nakul!" I snapped, bhrata Bheem, Nakul and Sahadev laughed, Jyesht and bhrata Yudhisthir chuckled, I looked at them and then looked back at Subhadra and saw that she was going step on a model of the Kamalvyuh
"Careful!" I told her, she stopped and was about to fall, but didn't
"Do not step on those illusory circles else you will fall in a ditch." Nakul lied, Sahadev and I chuckled
"From there." said Sahadev gesturing to the right, she jumped to the right
"Hey! Not there!" I said, she looked at me
"There." said Nakul, gesturing to the left, she jumped to the left
"Now, that side," said Sahadev gesturing to the right, she jumped to the right
"No! No!" I said she was going to step on one of the sheets and was going to fall.
"Careful! Careful." I said
"Now, come from that side." Sahadev said, she jumped where he said
"And now, from there. Inside." said Nakul, Subhadra jumped inside
"What were you trying to do?" she asked
"Teaching you how to dance." said Sahadev
"You dance quite well." I said, she looked back
"Arthat, these are not illusory circles?" she asked I looked up and shook my head
"No." I said and we all stood up
"We were devising the Vyuhs for the war." said Sahadev
"We were revising on how to create them and how to break through them." I said she smiled and looked down
"What is this?" she asked gesturing to the Chakravyuh model
"It is the Chakravyuh," said Jyesht she looked at him
"Pranipat, mahrthi Karn! Pranipat, bhrata Yudhisthir!" said Subhadra joining her hands
"Pranipat." said Jyesht and bhrata Yudhisthir in unison nodding
"Could you explain it to me?" Subhadra asked me smiling looking at the Chakravyuh model
"It is not your cup of tea. You will fall asleep" said Nakul her smile dispersed
"My bhrata Krishna says, only a person who is afraid makes Vyuhs, but only a competent person can break through them." said Subhadra looking at me, Nakul, Sahadev and I frowned
"Does your bhrata Krishna deem himself highly knowledgeable, Or what?" asked Sahadev she looked at Sahadev
"No. Other people deem him highly knowledgeable." she said savagely
"What is the reason you came here?" I asked she smiled
"I wanted to ask you the name of the ragini (Melody) you had played the other night." she said
"Why?" I asked
"It was very beautiful." she said I saw Nakul smirking at me, I sent a death glare at him and he stopped
"It is still resonating in my ears. It was a very soothing melody at least to me" she said, Nakul and Sahadev chuckled
"It was war music, not soothing music." I said
"Oh!" she said
"It is not always necessary for a rag to be soothing. Sometimes, the heart of a person deems it so." I said, she blushed a bit looking at me, I smiled at her
"Did you give your heart to someone that night?" asked Nakul teasingly smirking at her, She suddenly look at him and looked a bit shocked
"No. I didn't give my heart to anyone that night." said Subhadra
"Then?" asked Sahadev
"Someone stole my heart that night." she said looking at me, I blushed a bit rubbing the back of my neck with my hand looking at Subhadra, she turned around.
"Is that all?" asked bhrata Bheem
Subhadra's P.O.V.
"Is that all?" asked rajkumar Bheem
"Do you not wish to learn war music for your love?" asked mahrthi Karn, I looked down Oops I totally forgot the gift Bhrata Krishna sent I thought, I turned back
Arjun's P.O.V.
"Do you not wish to learn war music for your love?" asked Jyesht, Subhadra turned back
"Bhrata Krishna has sent this for you all." she said stretching out her hand to give me a box
"What is it?" I asked taking the box
"I don't know. Bhrata Krishna said, if you keep this with you, it will be of use to you in the war." said Subhadra I took the box and opened it and saw seven stones
"What is it, Arjun?" asked bhrata Yudhisthir
"Ek paheli hai, bhrata Yudhisthir.(It's a riddle, bhrata Yudhisthir.)" I said handing him the box bhrata Bheem, Nakul and Sahadev peeped
"Ye tho bas saat patthar hai.(These are just seven stones.)" said Nakul
"Saat?" asked Jyesht looking at the seven stones
"Listen." I heard, we all looked up and saw Subhadra Oh, she is still here. I thought
"Yes?" we all asked in unison
"Are you going to be at the front of the army in the war?" Subhadra asked looking at me smiling
"Avashya. I shall indeed be at the front." I said her smile dispersed. Subhadra turned around and walked away. After Subhadra left the garden we sat down.
"Dev, I think bhrata Arjun has an admirer." Nakul said to Sahadev, but indirectly pulling my leg, I hit him on the back of his head slightly.
"I was just saying." he said
"But isn't it true, anuj? Don't you like her?" said Jyesht
"What?! No?!" I said. Jyesht, bhrata Yudhisthir, bhrata Bheem, Nakul and Sahadev gave me unsatisfied looks
"Okay, maybe." I said they were still giving me unsatisfied looks, I grunted
"Okay fine, I- I li- like her." I said Jyesht, bhrata Yudhisthir, bhrata Bheem, Nakul and Sahadev smiled
"But I don't have time for her now." I added immediately and looking and the Chakravyuh model