A/N-So, this is kind of a continuation of the previous chapter? Because more light stuff, you know?
But eventually, the monkeys did get tired of Ram's emotional storytelling. It lacked humor, romance, action, anything, he just seemed to half fall asleep as he spoke. Finally, Jambavan finished bandaging the scratch on Lakshman's shoulder, and Lakshman did exactly what a healing person should do; he got up and he picked up an extremely heavy human being, also known as the incarnation of Lord Vishnu also known as Ram, and steadied him up. "Bhaiyya!" he shouted.
"Hneuhgh?" Ram asked, before finally blinking rapidly and straightening his frame. "I mean, what is it?" Lakshman gestured towards the army, and his bandage immediately fell off. "You're hurt!" Ram admonished (more like shrieked). "You should not be doing stuff that requires physical activity. I will not allow it! Sit back down and be a good child!" Lakshman began to speak again, and Ram shook his head. "I'll not hear a word more!"
"Aww fine-" Lakshman grumbled, and plopped back down, his bangs now fully covering his eyes as he crossed his arms, making him look like a moody teenager. "It's a war bhaiyya. I can't possibly stop just because I got an eenie meenie scratch. Remember that one time we fought with those two rakshasas? I got crushed underneath a tree, but I still managed to kill one of them! If I got crushed under a tree and managed to survive, how does a little, tiny cut count? I'm telling you, the day that I stop fighting because of a meager injury is the day that the world ends. Period."
"Ahem Ahem-" Angad cleared his throat, and Lakshman quickly stopped talking. "You know, Lakshman bhaiyya, we're still waiting here! It's a vacay day, if someone doesn't tell us stories then we might start partying-" Ram paled. "But, you know what? You can tell us stories." Everyone seemed to perk up at this, and Ram sighed a breath of relief, hightailing it out of there, and to where Sugriv slowly discussed details. Nal grinned and cuffed Angad on the back and looked around.
"See? I knew there was a reason he was declared Yuvraj! Come on, Lakshman bhaiyya!" Lakshman, if anything, seemed to recede more into himself, something he usually didn't do, making it his mission to project himself as this bulletproof, silent warrior. Which he was, but he was also a social retard. "You need to break your shyness yaar! Or else, we still have that coconut water left over from-"
"Uh-no." Lakshman began. "No coconut water. You all could die, and then there'd only be Ram bhaiyya and me alive." he paused. "Uh, I'm not sure how to do this. How does one tell a story?" Silence ensued. "So, do you all not know, or...." Lakshman trailed off as he was met with hundreds of expecting eyes. "Ah, I see. Once upon a time, no that won't work. You all aren't little children." he blanched, gripping his dagger for emotional support as one may grip a stuffed animal. "Okay, well, I guess the only way to tell a story is to have a flashback, so umm, cue the italics Author!" he waved his hands hopefully.
Flashback
The days were ever nearing Ram and Sita's wedding, and even then, Ram did nothing but scare himself with melodramatic thoughts, thoughts that usually either Bharat or Shatrughan would have (melodramatic drama princes as they were), but definitely not Ram. And so, every day, at exactly whatever-o'-clock, Ram kidnapped Lakshman from whatever he was doing and dragged him over to the oak tree in the gardens of Mithila, where no one could see them, and there he would unload all of his worries onto a very unwilling candidate.
"But what if she suddenly had last-minute thoughts?" Ram asked, biting his nails so that they ripped off and scattered around the place. Lakshman grunted. "But what if she decides that she hates me because I've killed so many rakshasas? Death is never appealing to women, I'm sure." Another noncommittal sound from Lakshman. "Yes, yes, Lakshman, you say that you don't agree, but what if she has a long-" he paused in horror. "What if she has a long-hey why aren't you saying anything Lakshman?"
Ram turned towards him, and discovered that Lakshman still had the gag in his mouth, and quickly removed it. Lakshman took a gasping breath of air. "Thank God. You know, you don't have to gag me like some kidnapper. You can just call me, even when I'm doing something with Urmila-
Present
"Again this Urmila!" Angad exclaimed, and Lakshman silently cursed. "Come on, she has to be more than an extra. I mean, is she a friend of yours, or as we mentioned, Prabhu Shri Ram's second wife, though I do doubt that. Is she maybe Bharat bhaiyya's wife? I know you mentioned Shatrughan bhaiyya had one, but never Bharat bhaiyya." Lakshman's eyes darted for a moment, before calmly settling on Angad.
"She is Sita bhabhi's sister, and thus Ram bhaiyya's too." He thought about it for a second. "So I guess mine as well..." he trailed off in horror, his face suddenly paling. Oh no, wait what? "Uh-let's continue." he quickly hastened before he found more disturbing things about his marriage that he hadn't cared to think about before.
Flashback
"-and anyone else." But Ram just pouted, crossing his arms and staring off into the horizon. Bharat and Shatrughan popped up from behind the tree (as they were prone to doing sometimes), and nodded along.
"I'd bet that Sita bhabhi hasn't even met a boy around her age!" Bharat declared, optimistic as he was. "I'd bet she's never even met a boy before you-no that's hoping too much. But we all know that you were her first love, and the first boy who loved her for who she was instead of her beauty or whatever. And we all know that I am the best devar there could ever be-" Bharat was beat around the head by Shatrughan as Lakshman looked scarily serious at that very moment.
-----O-----
They walked into the palace minutes later, and Janak pulled them in for a close hug, all except Lakshman and Shatrughan, whom he kept a distance of three feet away for different safety reasons. So he only hugged Bharat and Ram, which looked weird, but anyways. "Hello!" he boomed, laughing. "We're here to welcome a more welcome guest today! Come, come, stand here!"
He clapped excitedly, and arranged all the brothers in a line, with special attention that Ram was placed next to Sita. And then the doors were thrown open, and a procession entered the throne room of Mithila. Through the opening of the heavy wooden doors entered a messenger, his head held high, and his oiled mustache (because these fishy characters always should have oiled mustaches) curled into a perfect spiral at both ends.
"Entering," he boomed, and Bharat half-jumped, Ram amusedly pulling him back down. "Crown Prince Zubair the Great of the Shakya Kingdom!" Ram paused as a tall man entered, with somewhat dusky skin and hazel eyes. His dark brown hair fell further than his shoulder, reaching mid back, and upon his mouth lay a playful smirk of sorts. Ram noticed that this man was fairly handsome, and seemed to know Janak well. What he also noticed? Sita turned bright red.
Present
Neel choked on his water, and Jal, for what seemed like the enneth time, dropped her sewing as Hanuman and Angad both leaned in, equally interested in this new turn of Lakshman bhaiyya's. But Lakshman didn't seem nearly as interested in this new turn of Lakshman bhaiyya's. "No, no, that's not spicy enough." he murmured to himself, stroking his chin as Nal made a noise as if he was gargling. "Oh, I know!"
Flashback
"Wait, I know him!" Shrutakirti hissed, poking Lakshman's arm. "I remember, he used to be our childhood friend! He was sent away for some time, and Sita didi and Janak chacha were both heartbroken, because the latter planned to make a marriage alliance between the both of them." Shatrughan whimpered slightly as Bharat rubbed his temples exasperatedly. Ram shifted imperceptibly closer to Sita, almost protectively.
"What do we do now?" Bharat hissed. "We all ship SiRa, but I mean, he hasn't done anything bad so far. Maybe Sita bhabhi just turned red because she has a rash. Having a rash is great! I mean, not great, but then she has an excuse to leave, and Ram bhaiyya has an excuse to take care of her." Bharat shrugged as Shatrughan shook his head, looking ready to twist his ear angrily.
Present
"No, that's not nearly spicy enough." Lakshman continued to himself, adjusting his legs so that they curled underneath him. Well, if it wasn't spicy enough for him, it certainly was for the monkeys, who ran around back and forth, squealing, shrieking and losing their minds over the newest twist in Lakshman's certainly very exciting story. "Oh, I think I've got it this time!" Lakshman exclaimed , quickly schooling his face into an impassive one again. "I mean, yeah, I think I have it." he grunted.
Flashback
Lakshman shook his head as Zubair neared closer, closer, ever closer. A long scar ran from his eyebrow to the end of his eye. "No, no I know this one. There was this one boy, who arrived during our final years of Gurukul. He was still the same age as all of us, but remember? He was a troublemaker. Only Guru Vishwamitra liked him, because apparently, Rajkumar Zubair was the best angel there ever was, second only to Ram bhaiyya." Lakshman snorted. "Well, we already know that. Everyone is second to Ram bhaiyya."
Meanwhile, Shatrughan was hastily whispering to Ram tips of how to look taller as Zubair still slow-mo walked towards the group. "We've had at least three conversations and two spice-ups in the period of time that he's been walking! Even Shatrughan isn't as dramatic as him!" Bharat groaned, putting his head in his hands. Well, he couldn't, because that would be an act of disrespect towards Zubair, who took his dear, sweet time walking.
-----O------
Finally, five minutes later, Zubair reached them. Janak didn't seem annoyed though, he just hugged him twice. "Thank you for having me, uncle." Zubair greeted, and immediately, Shatrughan winced, plugging his ears. The man's voice wasn't even as slippery as oil, it was as annoying as chalk scratching on a blackboard. Ram only clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth, Shatrughan still murmuring encouraging words in his ears.
Zubair bowed in front of all of the sisters, who obligatorily giggled, all fake except Sita, who actually giggled. Bharat shook his head, in slow pain. "You all look most beautiful on this fine day." he stated nasally, and Sita didn't even seem to notice as his voice took up the screeching one of a banshee. "I am honored to meet all of you after so long." he stood up and turned towards Ram, finally clearing his throat.
Present
Angad had stuffed all of his fingers in his mouth and was biting them all eagerly as Hanuman began to question if Ram and Sita would really end up together after all. Lakshman didn't seem nearly as pleased or immersed however. "Maybe I should stop-" he began but his ears were immediately filled with angry protests. "Fine, but it's not spicy enough." At this point, even Sugriv began to inch closer to the storytelling.
Flashback
And then, suddenly, his voice became as melodious as a mockingbird. "Well I'm sorry, I must have had something in my throat." Ram smiled at him, bowing his head slightly. "You must be Yuvraj Ram of Kosala, betrothed to Rajkumari Sita, I've heard?" His eyes darted between the both of them, and his lips curled up into a genuine smile. Or well, at least it looked genuine to everyone except Lakshman, Bharat, and Shatrughan. "Careful!" he laughed. "She's so lovely, someone may steal her away before your marriage!" he leaned it with a large wink, and there was another bout of obligatory laughter, but it didn't sound nearly as choked as when Phool Jani had arrived. Gods, Ram thought. They were actually laughing.
He moved on to Shatrughan. "Nice to meet you." he said calmly with a light Punjabi tone, shaking hands with Shatrughan. Shatrughan just pumped his arm up and down.
"Nice to meet you too! It is truly an honor to take time out of my very hectic schedule that very much exists to join this place, which I very much wanted to do, I can assure, I definitely knew you existed!" he continued to shake Zubair's hand so far up and down that if Ram hadn't stopped him, he might have ripped it out (which totally wasn't his intention).
Then, Zubair moved onto Bharat, and they courteously shook hands. "I have heard of your artistic skills." Zubair continued in a thick Persian accent (not Pubjabi, idiots, Persian). "Hopefully you can fight war as well, eh? There may be many kingdoms who battle after your elder brother marries Sita."
Bharat grinned as courteously as he could. "I can fight and I can paint, and my skills must be legendary if you heard it all the way in whichever state you live in which has both Punjab and Persia. You must speak both languages very well to have an accent in both."
Zubair laughed weakly, and finally ended up at Lakshman, who grasped his arm first, his face untelling as he shook it up and down rigidly, not allowing the man a chance to speak first. "If you ruin SiRa for me, the only good thing in my life, then I will rip off your limbs one by one and mince them into shreds right in front of your face, and then puncture a hole in your head and tear out your brain of which you must have very little-"
"Ha, Ha, Ha-" Shatrughan laughed, quickly bypassing a traumatized Bharat and taking Lakshman's arm out of Zubair's. "Uh-actually, he didn't mean any harm by that, you know, Rajkumar Zubair, I mean, of course, Yuvraj Zubair! He's, um, he's-" Shatrughan paused, as if getting emotional. "Well, this is actually very hard for me to say, but he's adopted."
A/N-*smirks* Heylo! I'm back with another part division! And a cliffhanger, which none of you expected, did you? Lakshman is secretly adopted. So then...who is his birth mother?
Whatever. Everything will be answered....tomorrow. I'm feeling terrible, okay, but I just typed up 8 pages in a single day, and I'm feeling exhausted. 🥱🥱🥱
Also, this story won 2nd Place in the Butterfly Awards! I forgot to download, but I PROMISE IT DID!!
Congratulations to @Ramayana_lover for also getting 2nd Place! *claps excitedly*