"Come on pitamaha!!" Vrishaketu wheedled. "Tell him, pitamahi!" Vrishaketu demanded, turning to Radha.
After hours of whining, he had finally managed to convince his Grandmother to move to the Palace of Hastinapur at least, if allowed, if not the Palace of Anga, but his Grandfather still would not accept.
Radha looked at him amused. "I'm afraid you'll have to do all the convincing yourself, my dear." She said. Vrishaketu huffed and turned back to Adhirat.
"My boy," Adhirat repeated patiently for the twentieth time, "I used to work as a charioteer in the castle. The castle is my workplace. And thus, it cannot be my home."
"The castle was your workplace. It is no longer your workplace. Thus it can be your home now." Vrishaketu insisted again.
Adhirat shot Radha another helpless look and she simply shrugged.
Vrishaketu held his breath. He felt that after all these hours and endless repititons of the same arguments, he might finally win.
Frustrated, Adhirat massaged his forehead.
"You know Pitamahi Gandhari and Pitamaha Dhitarashtra! You like each other! You'll get along just fine!"
His grandfather sighed in exasperation. "That does not mean we can simply stay in that Palace."
"You can, if given permission!"
"Dhitarashtra is no longer Maharaj. The permission must come from the Samrat himself. Has he given permission?" Adhirat asked pointedly.
"I haven't asked yet." Vrishaketu muttered mulishly.
"Then how can you even consider asking us?" Adhirat asked, literally throwing up his hands.
"What if I do get permission, though? Will you come then?"
"Fine. Fine." Adhirat said finally.
Vrishaketu immediately hugged him and then Radha and then flounced out of their home and back to the castle, presumably to get 'permission'.
"How will he face the Pandavas?" Radha asked her husband softly.
"I don't know. I really don't." Adhirat shook his head. "And if by some miracle he succeeds, how will we go to the Palace and face those men?"
"The better question would be, how will we face their Mother?" Radha sighed. "The answer would be: we won't. We cannot deny our grandson anything, but even if we stay in that palace, I'm sure that we, who are not any royalty, can certainly manage to avoid them."
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As Vrishaketu came back to the palace, he did not know what to do. Finally, he had found a way for his grandparents to be in the Palace where they would be well taken care of and it would be easier to meet them whenever they came to Hastinapur, but how on Earth would he go about fulfilling it?
He had convinced his grandparents to come, but how would he talk to the Pandavas?
Could he perhaps get his mother to ask them?
No, he told himself sternly. That would be the coward's way. And the son of the great Maharathi Karna is certainly not a coward.
Well, the Universe seemed to want to test him immediately on his resolve, for at the very next turning of the corridor, he came face to face with the Pandava that he wanted to see the least.
He stood stock still and Prince Arjun came to a halt as well.
His eyes widened and he looked away.
Well, he thought, at least I'm not the only one who doesn't want to face the other.
They just kept standing there awkwardly for a whole two minutes before Prince Arjun finally opened his mouth to say, "Good Morning, Vrishaketu."
Seriously? he thought. Two whole minutes and 'Good Morning' is what he decided to finally go with?
Prince Arjun was just about to open his mouth to say something else when Vrishaketu remembered Bhanu Kaki's words and decided to waste no time on uncomfortable conversations.
"I just went to meet my grandparents." He blurted out.
Prince Arjun blinked rapidly several times.
Alright, so he could have started off better than that, Vrishaketu admitted to himself.
"I... See. When you say Grandparents...."
"Radha and Adhirat." He said, looking at the man carefully, to gauge his reaction.
"Of course." Prince Arjun sounded ...odd, but he couldn't quite place it.
Since Prince Arjun didn't seem inclined to say anything else and was apparently content to just stand there and stare at him, Vrishaketu realised he would have to be the one to carry the conversation forward.
"So... I was wondering if I could ask permission for something?"
"Why would you need my permission for anything?" Prince Arjun asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Technically, I don't." Vrishaketu said immediately. The second eyebrow went up join the first one on the older man's forehead.
"I mean," Vrishaketu amended, "I need the Samrat's permission, but... you're here so...." he trailed off.
"So, you want me to convey your message to the Samrat?" Prince Arjun asked.
"If you would."
"Well, I certainly could, but you do realise that my brother won't eat you if you went to him yourself, right?"
Vrishaketu flushed with rage. How could this man be attempting to make jokes with him?
Something must have shown on his face because Prince Arjun backtracked. "I mean, yes, of course, I will deliver your message about whatever you wish to ask permission for. What is it, by the way?"
Vrishaketu almost wanted to turn away in defiance without answering, but he might not get a chance again and there was no way he was going to squander any opportunity he had of getting his Grandparents to come here. Like Mother had said, he had to be on his best behaviour.
"My grandparents have grown old." He said. "I know their neighbours often help them out, but I don't like the idea of them staying alone. We have attempted to convince them to move to Anga several times but they refuse to leave Hastinapur. So I would like for them to stay here, in this palace."
There was a silence, but Prince Arjun seemed to be considering it, so he added "I think they'll get along well with Pitamahi Gandhari and Pitamaha Dhitarashtra."
Something twisted in Prince Arjun's expression and Vrishaketu wondered if he had made some kind of mistake by saying that.
He held his breath as Prince Arjun pursed his lips and then eventually let out a sigh.
"I will certainly inform my brother. But even before he officially says anything, you can rest assured that the permission will be granted."
Saying this, Prince Arjun turned to leave.
"Thank You." Vrishaketu called back, as it was only polite.
Prince Arjun stopped and nodded at him before continuing on his way.
Well, Vrishaketu thought. He had just survived a conversation with the man who had killed his father and three of his brothers. He had also managed to pretty much get permission for his grandparents to come stay here. That was an accomplishment.
Then he realised in horror, that this would mean that they would have have visit Hastinapur's Palace even more often than they might have needed to otherwise.
Which meant they would be spending just as much time here as they did before.... before the war. Before his brothers and... and his father...
It would mean greater chances of facing the Pandavas.
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