As Devashree's tale reached its heartfelt conclusion, a sudden clatter echoed through the dark corridors of the dungeon,
"The guards," Devaki whispered urgently, her voice barely above a breath. "You must leave, now. Being found here could mean your death or imprisonment."
Vasudev's gaze, too, sharpened with worry, reinforcing Devaki's plea.
"Go, Devashree. Our safety lies in your escape. Let not our chains become yours."
Devashree nodded her heart pounding against the silence of the dungeon.
"I will not forget this moment, nor your strength. Take this morpankh of Krishna and hold on to it"
With a final, respectful nod, Devashree turned and stepped back into the shadowed corridor, leaving behind the cell but carrying forward the spirit of the story she shared.
Devashree moved forward cautiously, her ears straining for any sound that might indicate Radha's presence.
As she passed each cell, the soft whispers of the imprisoned filled the air
Then, a voice, weak yet familiar, reached her. "Who's there?" it trembled through the darkness.
"Radha, it's me, Devashree. I've come to get you out," she whispered back, a surge of relief and urgency in her voice.
"Devashree? But how did you-"
"There's no time to explain. We need to move quickly before the guards realize I'm here," Devashree interrupted, her fingers working at the lock of the cell door.
The lock clicked open, a small victory against the tyranny of Kamsa's rule.
As the door swung open, Devashree stepped inside, finding Radha huddled in the corner.
"Can you walk?" Devashree asked, offering her hand to Radha.
"Yes, I think so," Radha replied, her voice gaining strength from Devashree's presence.
Together, they stepped out of the cell, the dungeon's shadows looming around them as they began their perilous journey back to freedom.
The echo of their footsteps was the only sound that punctuated the tense silence as went on.
Having freed Radha from the clutches of her dark cell, Devashree's heart was buoyant with a victory that felt both personal and profound.
Yet, their escape was far from secure, a fact they were both acutely aware of as they hastened towards the promise of freedom.
Their urgency was abruptly halted by the appearance of two guards rounding a corner, their armor gleaming dully in the torchlight.
"Stay behind me," Devashree whispered to Radha, her voice a soft command laced with determination.
"What's this?Look what we have here. Prisoners wandering the halls? You'll be begging for the comfort of your cells when we're through with you," one guard sneered, drawing his sword with a metallic hiss that seemed to slice through the tense air.
"Yes, look at them, the fresh flesh of young maidens. Don't worry, my dears, you will be screaming in pleasure once I am through you" another guard leered at them.
Disgust churned in Devashree's stomach. She responded not with words but with action, launching herself towards the guards with a swiftness that belied her appearance.
The element of surprise was on her side, and the first guard barely had time to raise his weapon before Devashree's well-aimed kick sent it clattering to the stone floor.
The second guard lunged at Devashree, his sword aimed with lethal intent. But Devashree, fueled by desperation and the adrenaline of the fight, dodged and weaved with a dancer's grace and with a precise strike, she disarmed the second guard, leaving him as vulnerable as his companion.
Radha stood wide-eyed but unharmed, and emerged from her place of relative safety from behind Devashree.
"We need to move," Devashree urged, her eyes scanning the corridor for any sign of additional guards.
But before they could continue their flight, Devashree paused. "Wait," she said, turning back to the fallen guards. "Their attire."
Understanding dawned on Radha's face. Together, they quickly stripped the guards of their uniforms, the armor cold and unfamiliar against their skin.
Their faces were partially covered by helmets and their bodies were concealed by armor, making them blend in with the other palace minions.
"Will this work?" Radha whispered, her voice tinged with both fear and awe at their audacity.
"It has to," Devashree replied, her voice steady, though her heart raced with the thrill of their ruse. "Just walk confidently. We're invisible in these."
As they rounded a corner, they were suddenly faced with a daunting sight-a shield of guards stationed before the exit, a barrier between them and the world outside.
Devashree paused, her heart skipping a beat, while Radha nearly collided with her, stifling a gasp. The guards seemed oblivious to the tension gripping the two impostors.
"We... we have to walk past them," Radha whispered, her voice barely audible beneath the helmet that was slightly too large for her head, slipping down to obscure her vision at the most inopportune moments.
Devashree nodded. "Just follow my lead. Walk with purpose. Remember, we're supposed to belong."
Taking a deep breath, they stepped forward, their march towards the guards an exercise in feigned confidence. As they approached, one of the guards, a burly man with a thick beard protruding from under his helmet, nodded in their direction.
"Shift change already?" he grunted, eyeing them with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
Without missing a beat, Devashree replied in the deepest voice she could muster, "Yes, orders from above. Urgent business."
Radha attempted to mimic Devashree's baritone."Very urgent." Her voice, however, cracked mid-sentence, soaring to a comical squeak that was anything but authoritative.
A moment of silence followed as if the entire corridor held its breath.
Then, one of the guards snorted, a sound that quickly morphed into a chuckle.
"Must've been a long night," he joked, elbowing his companion. The tension broke like a spell, the guards stepping aside with amused shakes of their heads, allowing Radha and Devashree to pass.
As they moved through, a guard whispered loud enough for only them to hear, "Take care of that throat, friend. It sounds like you swallowed a frog. And also, you both are way too thin, don't you eat anything?"
"Khate hai n, woh toh bas bachpan main kuposhit ho gaye the, usi ka asar hai." Devashree blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.
Once safely past, Radha and Devashree dared not look at each other, for fear that laughter would undo them at the final hurdle.
Only when they had put a safe distance between themselves and the guards did they allow themselves a moment to exhale, their laughter bubbling forth like a pent-up stream.
"I can't believe that worked," Radha gasped between fits of laughter, adjusting her ill-fitting helmet. Devashree shook her head."Neither can I. But we're not out yet. Let's keep moving."
They shed their disguises along the way, leaving behind the weight of the armor and, with it, a portion of their fear. The stars above seemed to twinkle in celebration of their escape, guiding them on the path back to Radha's home.
As they approached the outskirts of Barsana, the familiar sight of the village filled them with a mixture of relief and apprehension.
The challenge now was to return Radha to her room without alerting anyone to the fact that she had been missing. Discovery could lead to questions they weren't ready to answer, not to mention the potential danger if word got back to Kamsa.
"Listen, the less attention we draw to ourselves, the better. We'll wait here until it's closer to dawn. Fewer eyes to see, and easier to explain your presence in the early hours."
Radha nodded in agreement exhausted yet happy by the sight of home, "What do you suggest we do?"
"We'll approach from the back. The trees there are dense enough to cover our approach. Once we're close, you'll need to climb through your window. I'll boost you up. It's risky, but it's the best chance we have to avoid detection."
They waited in the shadows, watching the sky slowly lighten to a predawn gray. When the moment felt right, they moved quietly towards Radha's home, their steps light on the dewy grass.
Reaching the back of the house, Devashree whispered, "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
With Devashree's help, Radha climbed onto her shoulders and then reached for the window sill, pulling herself up. There was a moment of struggle, a soft thud, and then Radha's whisper floated down,
"I'm in."
Devashree lingered for a moment, ensuring Radha's safe entry, before retreating into the shadows once more.
The first light of dawn painted the sky in hues of gold and pink, a new day beginning as if in homage to their successful escape.
As Devashree made her way back to her gurukul, her thoughts were a tangle of relief, and concern for the future.
Her education would be over soon, after which she would have to leave this place, leave Krishna. But before that, she would have to tell him about his real parents. Did he know? Was he aware about the truth of his birth?
She decided she would confront him tomorrow.
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Devashree awoke with a gasp.
The beheaded sight of Krishna on a platter still behind her eyes,as clear as crystal with the face of the man holding it.
Shit! Was it Kamsa? Will Kamsa manage to behead Krishna? NO! This cannot happen! Oh no! Was it a premonition?
She scrambled from her mat and made her way barefoot to the banks of Yamuna.
She found Krishna by the riverbank. He seemed to be in deep conversation with the birds, their chirps and his laughter blending into a melody that spoke of a connection far beyond the understanding of mere mortals.
"Krishna," Devashree called out, her voice steady despite the turmoil within. Just being in his presence soothe all her worries.
Krishna turned towards her, his smile as radiant as the dawn. "Shree! How are you this morning?"
"Good"
But as Devashree came closer, Krishna's eyes were drawn to a dark bruise marring the skin of Devashree's arm.
With a furrowed brow and a swift approach, Krishna was by her side in an instant, his concern palpable in the air.
"Shree, what happened here?" he asked, his voice a gentle whisper as he gently took her arm, examining the bruise with utmost care.
"It's nothing, Krishna. Just a little reminder of last night. Do you know what happened last night?"
"Do tell me, but you should have taken more care Shree, in whatever you did." Krishna's expression, however, was far from convinced. "And a reminder? It looks painful. Why didn't you tell me earlier? We need to take care of it."
Seeing the worry etched deeply in Krishna's features, Devashree couldn't help but let out a light laugh. "Krishna, it's truly not as bad as it looks, besides ghav ek kshatriya ke abhushan hote hai Krishn." (Wounds are nothing but the ornaments of a Kshatriya Krishna)
But Krishna was not to be swayed.
"That may be so but you need not always have to wear these ornaments. I would rather see you in real ones. Every bruise tells a story, Devashree, and this one tells me you've been brave yet again. But bravery doesn't mean we ignore the wounds we collect along the way. Let's get this treated."
Before Devashree could protest further, Krishna had already sprung to action, fetching some cool water from the river and a handful of leaves from a nearby plant known for its healing properties.
"Next time, Devashree, you must promise to be more careful. Or at least, let me be there to
"Radha was kidnapped last night, Krishna," Devashree broke before he could further proceed.
Krishna's hands stilled on her arms, a serious countenance on his face.His fists clenched at his sides, and his eyes, usually so full of warmth and laughter, now blazed with an intense fire. The air around him seemed to thicken, charged with his barely contained fury.
"Kans mamashri has crossed all his limits!"his expression was fierce yet fraught with anguish.
But seeing the worried lines on Devashree's forehead, Krishna forced himself to calm down.
And she began to narrate everything.
"And so," Devashree concluded, "with a bit of luck and a lot of determination, we managed to come back home safely."
"Devashree, your bravery is beyond words. To risk so much for Radha...for all of us...I am at a loss for how to express my gratitude."
"Krishna, there's no need for thanks. What are friends for, if not to stand by each other in times of need?"
But Krishna stepped forward, closing the space between them.
"No, Devashree. What you've done...it's more than just what friends do. You've shown a courage that many warriors would envy. You've saved not just Radha, but the heart of Vrindavan."
With that, Krishna wrapped Devashree in an embrace.
Caught off guard by the intensity of the moment, Devashree hesitated only briefly before returning the embrace, her own arms encircling Krishna in a circle of unity and trust. "Krishna, I...I just did what felt right. Knowing Radha is safe, that's all the thanks I need. And it does not matter. Even if I couldn't, you would have done the same in a heartbeat."
"Do you trust me so much?"
"Of course!"
"Then do tell me what else is bothering you, do not hide from me." Krishna cupped Devashree's cheeks, searching for the cause of her distress in her lotus eyes.
"Did you know about your real parents?" Devashree asked hesitantly.
Krishna's response was silence, profound and revealing. His gaze shifted to the horizon, where the sun's rays were just beginning to touch the world with light.
"I have always known, Shree," he finally said, his voice carrying a weight that seemed beyond his years. "The love of Yashoda maiyya and Nand Baba is a truth of my heart, but so is the knowledge of my birth. The tales of my deeds, the whispers of prophecies... they are strands of a larger tapestry, one that I have been weaving since the moment of my birth."
Devashree listened, her heart aching with empathy for the burden such knowledge must carry. "And yet, you smile, you play, you live with a lightness that belies such heavy truths."
Krishna turned to her, his smile returning, but now tinged with a depth that spoke of his acceptance of his destiny. "What use is the burden if it dims the light of life, Devashree? Each moment is a gift, a play of the divine. My path is laid before me, and I will walk it. But I will also cherish the journey, the love, the laughter, and even the tears. For in them, I find strength. And I also have you don't I"
"Nisandeh"( Without a doubt)
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Balrama was watching Krishna as he lovingly held Devashree's hand.
He scoffed to himself.
Dekho toh kaise prem ke gulcharre uda raha hai. And what about me?! It's been a month I was grueling him about meeting Mata. But no! Looks like he wants to keep her to himself. Agar tumhare bare main mata se shikayat nahi ki toh mera naam bhi balram nahi!
Hey Prabhu! ........Arey kahe ke prabhu ? ....Hey Mahadev! Now, that is better.
Whatever Kanha, you yourself will break your secret in front of not just me but everyone. Just wait and watch!
Balrama smirked and just rubbed his hands in anticipation.
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A/N
HAPPY HOLI EVERYONE!!
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