"Serve your foremost spouse first" Priyamvadha hushed in the ears of Panchala Princess, whose distraught clumsiness made her mother in law ponder,
"what are you waiting for, dearie? Start serving the food" Kunti passed a uniform smile to the lady who seemed to be swallowed by the ground beneath.
"Priyam, Rajkumar Arjun or the eldest son of Mata Kunti?" Draupadi disposed her worry on her friend.
"Of course, the crown prince, you foolish girl, Rajkumar Arjun doesn't count the foremost one here.." the sensible advisor quickly calculated the family's temperament.
"But..but..didn't the third Pandava marry me first? I was betrothed to him in a Gandharvic way!" The newly wedded woman quarrelled.
"Do as I say if you wish to maintain the decorum here" Priyam forced her commanding spirit onto the woman.
Diminutive horripilation feared her heart, Draupadi palpitated visioning a past reel, her body shuddered for a loud second while Arjun crawled over her waist with his hefty fingers.
"Something's wrong with you" his unhappy tone after frisking the goosebumps on her skin, alerted her brain to cook up stories.
"May I skip breakfast?" She sled cunningly from his curious eyes.
"What!? You were screaming in hunger just a few minutes ago" Arjun pacified himself before bursting into giggles recalling how she created havoc in the room because she felt a hunger monster roll in her stomach.
"No one wants me to be in this house, Arj.." she stitched her lips and concealed direct allegations, only to portray a delicate yearning, "I am sick"
"Really?" Arjun bit his lower lip while pulling her closer to himself.
A smirk crept on his lips as he began tickling her.
"You can't tickle your way to victory" she seemed unamused, pushing his body away.
"It did work, didn't it?" The childishness in his masculine voice paused her internal battles.
"Maybe, maybe not" she demanded to be pleased, thus challenging the lover of challenges.
The man turned his back to the woman after sighing in ignorance, irking the woman's esteem.
She designated herself to the study desk before taking short glimpses of her husband who was supposedly neglecting her presence.
"Drau...Draupadi! I am going to the dining hall, it's up to you to join" the final arrow left Arjun's bow to hit the bull's eye.
He deliberately crushed his wife's innate hopes of him mollifying her, he very well knew how to handle the proud lady.
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"Oh! Well, Draupadi is here too" Nakul flattered his eyes for spotting the newest member first.
Closing all the tabs of past trauma and past life's connections, the bride only focused on how easily her husband disregarded her and then comfortably positioned herself on a dining chair next to Devangi, casually spurning her mother in law or the brothers of her husband.
Her eyes squeezed and brows furrowed each time Arjun happened to glance at her, how dare he not placate her?
"So, Draupadi, how much would you rate our family and this house?" Bheem burst as soon as his mother walked out of the hall, as if he was waiting for her to leave.
Pritha wasn't able to absorb the picture of the 'unwanted guest' and so had quickened her actions and then signalled her husband to follow her steps.
"I? Err.. isn't it too early to say anything?" the lady chuckled, "moreover, I have not been given a proper house tour yet" she complained like a kid.
"If that's the case then, Deva and Hruti will show you around!" Yash tried to act perfectly normal even though his nerves were craving for a soother.
"Yes, and I am so excited to show all my favourite spots" Devangi gestured to her friend.
"No, BB" Nakul rolled his eyes, whispering to Sahdev with his lips pressed.
"Oh yes..yes, Arjun bhaiya, why don't you take her on a house tour?" Sahdev's innocent mumblings reflected Nakul's racing thoughts.
"Why me?" Arjun protested in front of Bheem with his naive orbs,
"better you go or else we will send BB" The older brother's arm sarcastically patted the newly married man's back.
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Draupadi's face looked freshly showered with rose syrup made out of the reddest petals as she worked her eyes upon designing a portrait of hers in the wooden picture frame with floral strings of silver that housed a perfect photograph of her husband.
"As you can see, this is the family wall!" Arjun sighed, "mom's idea it was" his mind drenching in nostalgic happiness while viewing the various frames from different jolly moments of the family.
"Is that you?" The woman stole glimpses of her lover's embarrassed expressions while he nodded in a tiny yes, looking at his childhood memories, a photo frame containing the naughtiness of his toddler days.
Almost immediately, the wife pulled his cheeks, "you were so cute" she faintly kissed his cheek and murmured.
"Were? Am I not cute now?" Arjun seemed browned off, his folded arms and seriousness fooled the woman into believing his fraud displeasure.
"You are hot" The woman who was searching for some pardon in his eyes blabbered without cross-checking her statement.
"Looks like my presence has changed you" The man praised himself for her openness after catching her off guard.
"Shall we proceed with the tour?" Draupadi shrugged away the claims of speaking anything about him before he could make any other comment about her words.
The bride suspected her husband while he guided her through a silent passage and a narrow staircase to a room that looked abandoned.
"This room is not at all sketchy and it is a very special place, no one knows about this secret room, actually they do but no one comes here so.." Arjun leaned on a wooden door, "this will be our hideout" he winked at her.
"I haven't come here in a long time but we both will bring this place to life again" the man chattered alongside opening the door.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Arjun jumped in horror, scanning Nakul who had a video game controller in one hand and a can of soda in the other.
"Surprise? Oh, wait, no surprise" The older twin fiddled with his brain for a long minute before administering himself with the opportunity to enlighten his elder brother.
"Don't you remember? You traded this room for.." Nakul glanced at his sister in law and then his brother whose blood ran cold after recalling a pact of years ago between Nakul and him.
Arjun's terrorised mute pleadings to stay quiet were offhandedly neglected by the younger sibling.
"Oh, don't you know Draupadi? I caught him red-handed once" Nakul giggled as if recollecting a memory, the voice of his laugh sounded like devil's bells in Arjun's ears, he could feel himself drowning even though there was no water.
"He and his girlfriend from school, Chitra...
I found them here and he traded this room in return for unseeing him"
The new sister in law of Nakul stared blankly at him, her lack of movement and plain bearing left him dumbfounded, his dealings were to get his elder brother a taunt or two but the woman looked inscrutable.
"Maharani, I have got some information for you from the royal court" A servant dared to break the news to the majestic queen.
"What is it Daasi? Is it about Aryaputra Arjun?" Panchali hoped, her wailing heart was waiting to be comforted by any narration of his.
"Rajkumar has fathered a child again, a messenger from Manipura claims that the princess of his kingdom, Chitrangadha got married to Rajkumar Arjun a few months ago and is now the mother of his child" The servant's decent wordings felt a mocking to the queen.
"Please excuse me, I need to complete a pending task" Draupadi spoke under her breath, quivering over a sudden exhibit of the past life.