This is a Mahabharata Fanfiction mostly based on facts we see in Star Mahabharat. The Mahabharat in its entirety holds a lot of facts and is a complicated and marvelous creation, But this is just a fanfiction. So there will be several anomalies. This story is just meant as an entertainment and there is no intention to hurt anyone's feelings, religious or otherwise. I have just borrowed the characters to weave a storyline.
So I could thankfully get up this chapter quickly but it may take some time to come up with the next chapter due to health reasons. Kindly bear with me as I really intend to take this story to a conclusion. Thank you all for the kind comments and I will always welcome comments and suggestions. They keep the zeal going :). Thank you and regards.
7. Yudhistira
The hours were slowly creeping by but there was no noticeable improvement in Arjun's health. The bed chamber was now blissfully empty. The medicines Nakul had given Arjun should have put him in a limbo like state but something was stopping them from functioning as they should have. Arjun was moving restlessly, whimpering from the pain that must have been wrecking his body. The rapid movement of his eyeballs could be seen framing and moving his closed eyelids. Yudhistira had massaged his brother's feet with some warm oil and he could see that it had calmed down the archer to a great extent.
Arjun would have bristled and literally danced around trying to stop Yudhistira from touching his feet had he been in control of his faculties; Yudhistira smiles absently.
There was only himself, Nakul, Guru Dronacharya and Pitamah in the bedchamber now. They had finally managed to convince Mata Kunti to leave with Maharani Gandhari to get some much needed rest. Arjun had been injured sometime near noon and it was now past midnight. It was fruitless to try to convince either Pitamah or Gurudev to go and rest and it was not possible to give Nakul a break.
Sahadeva was yet to arrive and even though Yudhistira could see Nakul's hand slowly gaining some tremors from extreme tiredness, he was helpless to remedy the same. He carefully raised himself from the bed after placing Arjun's feet on the coverlet and started preparing a pitcher of salt and jaggery water mix. He has been doing this for the entire day and it was mainly what was sustaining them, specifically Nakul. None of them could even think of eating at this time and Nakul would not as it may interfere with his healing.
While making the first pitcher of water, everybody from the maids to his mother had tried to take over the task, saying something about it being unbecoming of a Samrat, but Yudhistira had persevered; he needed to do something and he had ever held much stock about what was becoming and what wasn't. His younger brother laid on the bed unconscious and the only thing unbecoming would be to leave him to the servants.
Yudhistira poured the contents of the pitcher into the tumblers placed there and handed them over to everyone in the room. While handing one to Nakul he added, "Rest for a while," in a slightly chiding voice.
"And you too, Samrat!" Yudhistira started and then slightly blushed as Pitamah's slightly amused voice addressed him.
"I am alright, Pitamah," he mumbled back, all the while making sure that the pitcher was properly closed and that there was still fresh water at hand. He felt a presence behind him and realized that his Pitamah stood there.
"It shows how much..." Pitamah placed a hand on Yudhistira's arm and it was then that the emperor realized that his hands were shaking. Pitamah gently led him back to Arjun's bed and Yudhistira sank down unto the soft mattress. He could feel the aches on his body now more than ever. "You need to rest too, son."
Pitamah made his way back to his seat and picked up his own tumbler of water. For now Guru Drone was sitting guard near Arjun's head and his hand was placed on the archer's head. He was chanting mantras in an undertone, bolstering strength in the young prince. Nakul had finally taken a seat nearby and was slowly sipping on his water. Already dark shadows were looming under his eyes. Yudhistira caught his eyes and smiled in assurance at his younger brother, an assurance he did not feel.
"Any plans for the future course of action, Mahamahim?" Guru Drone asked after a few long minutes of silence.
Pitamah stared unblinkingly at the carpet and took some time as if to gather his thoughts and then replied, "Sahadeva should be here within a few hours if the messages reach timely. Much will depend on what he has to say about Arjun's condition. Messengers have been sent to Dwaraka too, though it may take them a while to reach. I have also sent forth some of my best carrier birds to Dwaraka and they may reach much sooner. I have also sent my best men into the city; even now they are scouring the streets and the forests trying to find the man responsible for the attack or any news about him."
Yudhistira felt some relief; he did not have any rights to order things about in Hastinapur as he was but a guest but Pitamah had taken care of the major things.
Pitamah continued, "I have also sent word for Maharishi Ved Vyas seeking his counsel in the matter. I have also written to some other healers around our kingdom and beyond, though I doubt that anyone is more adept at this that our Nakul and Sahadeva."
Guru Drone hummed his pleasure at the steps Pitamah had taken. "Let Sahadeva come and tomorrow morning I believe it will be good if we send someone to trace back the path Arjun had taken. I believe that the blood he will have dripped should be collected, though it would have dried out by now. Dushyala could have guided but I do not think that having too many people will be favourable and may destroy some known evidence. We can decide on who will go in the morning."
"I will go," Yudhistira immediately spoke up and there was absolute steel in his tone; he was determined.
"But you are the Samrat, putra," Pitamah Bhisma protested immediately as Yudhistira had expected.
"Let me do this, Pitamah." Yudhistira folded his hands and there was humility in his voice but the underlying hardness persisted. "You send with me whomsoever you find appropriate, but I need to be there. If there is something to come out of this, I need to try. I cannot bear to see Arjun like this for much longer."
To his horror, Yudhistira found his voice chocking and he quickly took another drink of the water to abate the tears which would have followed. He had to hold strong for now; he cannot show weakness when Arjun lay unresponsive on the bed and Nakul was on the verge of a breakdown.
Bhisma stared intently at Yudhistira for a long time and then finally nodded. "Ok child, if you insist. But we will need to send capable and sincere warriors with you, Samrat." Again a slightly amused and benevolent smile lit up Bhisma's face and he exchanged a look with Acharya Drona.
Nakul was again tending to Arjun. He was bathing the wound in a concoction of water seeped with healing herbs and the scent of the same had filled the room imbibing a sense of calmness in all. Yudhistira could feel his eyes drooping and it was only Arjun's intermittent shivers that kept him from dropping off to sleep; the Gudhakesha lay unconscious while the rest were trying to waive off the tendrils of sleep.
"What do you make of all this, Guru Dronacharya?" Pitamah finally asked; Yudhistira forced himself to concentrate.
Guru Dronacharya had Arjun's wrist in his hand now and Yudhistira could some feel some wisps of the heat being transferred through the touch. The love Gurudev and Pitamah held for this younger brother of his exceeded all boundaries and it was reciprocated back equally. Arjun always had the softest emotions out of all of them and it was his greatest strength and weakness.
Even after the incidents of Lakshagraha, once they were living in the forest, Yudhistira could often find Arjun sitting aloof, lost in thoughts and if not disturbed, Yudhistira could have sworn that he had seen tears glistening in his younger brother's eyes. They had yearned for a family when they had come to Hastinapur for the first time but the Kauravas' hatred had come as a shock to them who had only known love till then; simple living they were used to but not hatred.
The hatred had mainly hurt Arjun who had spent many a sleepless night. Yudhistira had tried many a time to explain to his younger brother that they cannot expect love and affection from their Kaurava brothers but it had not soothed Arjun's soul. Arjun was an ace archer but he never hunted animals for sport and in his influence none of the Pandava's did. They grew up to love and treat nature as a thing to be respected and to accord this respect to all creature of this world.
"I believe that the arrow contained some sort of poison but it was also a divine weapon."
"A divine weapon?" Yudhistira felt the coldness of fear steal his breathe away for a moment; being hit by a divine weapon was no joke.
Guru Drona nodded. "The arrow was blessed, or cursed, as you would want to look at it. It held immense power and the traces of the same is still very evident in this room and in Arjun's wound. I do not know how hard Arjun is fighting at the moment but I am sure that every moment is no less than piercing agony for him; physical and mental agony."
Yudhistira squeezed his eyes shut and muttered a silent prayer; his heart was breaking for his brother but he could ill afford tears.
"Arjun will persevere," Gurudev continued and there was underlying determination in his tone, "He has to! He is the grandson of Mahamahim Bhisma and the disciple of Drona. He is the epitome of determination and tolerance. He will not give up!" Yudhistira could almost feel the heat that now generated from his Gurudev's touch and for a random moment couldn't help thinking that the same might cause Arjun's skin to burn. But it was just a wayward thought because of course nothing like that happened. Arjun's body relaxed further on receiving the boost of energy.
"He will, Acharya." Pitamah Bhisma said. "Arjun will not give up. These are grave tidings for Hastinapur and as if things were already not in a jeopardy."
Yudhistira was taken aback by the grief in Pitamah's voice and couldn't help his question, "Did we make a judgemental lapse when we decided to conduct the Rajsurya ceremony, Pitamah?"
"A Lapse, child? Of course not! It was your duty and a requirement for the wellbeing of your citizens." There was a pregnant pause. "And what happened there was unfortunate but it could have occurred anywhere and under any circumstance."
Another coughing bout hit the prone body of Arjun and it soon became evident that this was worse than the previous times. Nakul abandoned his goblet of water and the glass dropped while being placed carelessly at the edge of the table splashing water everywhere. Nakul ignored the mess and moved to support Arjun's body. Acharya Dronacharya had moved aside and Nakul tried to hold Arjun upright.
"Can you please rub Arjun's back, Jyestha?" he asked.
Yudhistira nodded and immediately moved to comply. It took both their considerable strengths to simply try to hold Arjun upright. Arjun coughed so hard that for a moment Yudhistira feared that his brother's heart may just give out. He tightened his grip on Arjun's shoulders and kept rubbing his back. It took a long time and by the time the coughing stopped, the linens were awash with blood stains.
"What is happening? Nakul?" Mahamahim's voice now wavered. He visibly steadied himself before deserting his seat and moving towards the bed.
Nakul was looking aghast at the bloodied clothes and it took some prompting from Guru Dronacharya before the young healer moved towards the bottles of carefully prepared medicines he had placed on one of the tables. There was some fumbling before Nakul seemed to find the right bottle and hurried over to coax it into Arjun.
The wounded prince laid listlessly on the bed, looking whiter than before and in a stark contrast with the red blood. Yudhistira had placed Arjun's prone body back on the bed and could not help the shivers that were running through his body. How much longer could Arjun's body take this? It had been less than a day and Arjun looked so near death that Yudhistira rechecked his breathing; Arjun was breathing, but barely so.
Guru Dronacharya had again taken up Arjun's hand and was chanting mantras under his breathe; Yudhistira could recognize the familiar syllables of the Maha Mrityunjay Mantra. He quickly stripped away the topmost coverlet which was covered in blood and called out to a servant to bring in a fresh one. Having resided with Nakul and Sahadeva he knew better than to dispose of the coverlet and placed it at a corner, carefully putting the blood out of sight.
"Can you recognize anything, Nakul? Do you require any special herbs?" Mahamahim placed his question again.
Nakul still looked somewhat lost which was very unlike him. "I do not think so, Pitamah." He replied at long last. "I am trying to think back to all I know about such cursed wounds but I am unable to come up with anything. I am just trying to get the internal bleeding to stop as that would buy us some time until Sahadeva gets here."
"We are all awaiting his presence, son, but your knowledge is also next to none."
Pitamah's words sounded cryptic to Yudhishthira and he looked over at Nakul just to see him averting his gaze, his face tinged red. But before he could infer anything or speak up, a messenger hurriedly entered the room with the briefest announcement.
"Pranipat Mahamahim, Guru Drona. Pranipat Samrat, Pranipat Rajkumar Nakul; I have some urgent news. I have missives from both Indraprasth and Dwaraka; they are on their way in the fastest possible mode."
And finally Yudhistira felt like that he could breathe a little lighter now and even as he looked out of one of open windows he could see the faintest colour of dawn creeping in.
And now it remained to beseen what sort of omen it brought forth .