"Madhu?" I asked, taking her into my arms as I felt her neck and forehead.
"It's unnaturally hot! " I told him and I looked up at him in panic.
"Call the vaidy. Now! " He ordered and people scurried out of the room.
I put her on the bed, removing her clothes and ran to the bathroom.
"Where are you going? " Yudhishthir asked, eyes flitting between me and Madhu.
"Cloth packs. She needs to be cooled down! " I called back, as I ran into the washroom to pull out a pail of cold water.
" This should do it. " I murmured to myself, as I ran around the room, not finding anything to make strips off when I saw my off white saree.
I sprinted out of the room with scraps of cloth and the water, skidding into the room where Yudhishthir seemed to have decided to use a fan to fan her.
" Move move. " I called, sitting on the bed as I dipped the cloth in water and aced it all over her.
"Don't you people store ice anywhere? " I asked, looking back at him.
"There is, the one in the -" He'd run out of the room by then.
"Who did this to you sugar. This isn't a normal fever. " I mumbled, as I changed a round of the cloth strips.
"Yuvrani! " The vaidy ji called as he came in, with his attendants, observing the scene presented to him.
"Yes, the cloth packs are smart. Now, pinch her finger, I'll draw some blood. " He ordered and I sighed, pinching her finger, apologising profusely to her as she slept even in the discomfort. She moved and slapped her other hand on the bed at the prick, but remained sleeping.
" Please keep treating her to the cold packs till we find out the problem. "
Yudhishthir ran in with the ice and I dumped it into the bath.
It might have been five rounds of rechanging the strips before she cooled down and the vaidy ji had a concrete conclusion.
"Did she eat something before this? " He asked us and I looked up confused.
"She's only five months , I've only now started to give her rice and daal -"
" It's a poison. " He cut in and had I not been on the bed, I would have fallen down.
"Poison? What! " Yudhishthir exclaimed, before looking up in surprise and rushing out the door.
"Jyeshth! " His brothers called, but I couldn't hear a thing, all I could sense was my daughter's thankfully cooling body, due to the antitode the vaidy ji gave her, as I sat in shock.
Poison? A five month old? Have they really stooped so low?
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It might have been about six hours since Yudhishthir left that I heard the sound of someone rushing into the room. My hands hadn't left the pieces of cloth and my daughter, feeding her in intervals, hoped something would work.
" Bhabhishree, bhabishree! " Arjun shook me by the shoulders as I looked at him.
"It's not mamashree! " He yelled and I still looked, confused and altogether baffled.
"What? " I asked, not hearing myself.
" It isn't Gandharaj bhabhishree, it's not them. It's those two monsters! " He shouted and I finally felt myself regain control over my nervous system beyound constantly changing her cloth pads.
"Oh." I, muttered, before putting my head down near her.
"She's alright then? " Yudhishthir asked the vaidy ji. He too looked far too worse for the wear, sweat dripping from either side of his forehead, while his knuckles looked bloody. Oh man... What had he done.
" We'll leave you all to rest. " Hidimba said softly, as they all left the room.
I looked at Yudhishthir, he was staring out of the window.
"Come on, we should rest. We are about to have a long night. " I implored, running my hands up and down his arm.
"You rest my love. I'll come in a bit. " He bit out.
"But we need to rest together. If we rest one at a time, we'll be too exhausted to function. Hear me, come Yudhishthir. " I asked again, tugging at his hand.
Reluctantly, he let go of the tension he held and sighed, framing my face with his hands.
"We saved her, didn't we? " He asked softly and I nodded, trying to keep my tears at bay. We were both incredibly vulnerable, neither wanted to break down to protect the other's heart.
" We'll always fight for her. Won't we? " I mumbled back and he pulled me into a tight hug, holding me close as he burrowed his face in my hair, I could feel my shoulders wet as I am sure he might feel his, as we cried silently at the cruelty of the world.
" Why her? She's so young! " He exclaimed in anger, voice still muffled in my hair.
"I don't know. I don't know. " Was all I was repeating.
"It's not alright, but we need to be strong. Right? For her? " He asked, pulling back and I clapped down on his offered palm, squeezing it tight.
" Yes, come, as I said, we should rest. " I mumbled.
We moved to the bed, when I realised my hands felt wet. Which is when I recalled his bloody fists.
" What happened here? " I asked, as I picked up the hand holding my waist, Madhu to my front as I was to his.
"It's mine, but I didn't hurt anyone. " He muttered, trying to release his hand from my grip.
"You hurt yourself, why? " I muttered, holding on tightly to it, as he winced and I adjusted my grip.
" I was angry, I could have burnt this place down. I needed to let it out somewhere. A wall seemed like the best option. " He answered back, tracing my own fist with his fingers.
" That isn't healthy Yudhishthir, but it's fine. We should rest. She'll be alright. " I mumbled, turning around to press a kiss to his brow.
It was as if sleep had decided to evade us that night, both of us, changing positions, moving around the bed, even the smallest of naps resulted in a rude awakening at our daughtet's sickly pale face imprinted in our minds, as she sweated. The feel of her hot skin embedded in our hands as the coolness of neither the blanket nor the blowing wind brought peace to our mind.
By midnight, I had given up sleeping altogether and so had Yudhishthir it seemed as he too sat on a desk, surveying papers.
I swiftly made my way to him, gathering the saree which was wet and clammy with sweat.
"Hey, what's wrong? " I asked him softly, putting my hands on his shoulders.
"I can't sleep. Go rest my love, even I know how hard you worked looking after her. "
"Yes, but that is my love for her. "
"Doesn't mean it needn't be appreciated." He said, a small smile making it's way on her face.
" Alright, I'll rest but here. " I muttered, as I went back to the bed, gently lifting Madhu up. The medicine had her knocked out for so long.
" Alright, but how? " He asked and I smiled, pulling him off the chair onto the sofa, where I sat him down on one end. Putting my feet in his lap, I put my head on the other end, adjusting Madhu on me.
"Sleep my dears. The night has just begun. " He said softly, as I finally closed my eyes.
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I opened my eyes to see Yudhishthir and Madhu by the window, with him showing her the scene outside. She was laughing and giggling, small chuckles that melted her father's heart.
"That is your home. " He whispered and I smiled.
"You sound like Mufasa. Mufasa teaching Simba about his kingdom. " I said to him, coming from behind me.
Ever since the teething incident, my daughter had taken a liking to me, her face lighting up in the cutest of ways as she would spot me.
"Ale, you're so sweet. Do you feel better now? Say mama. " I asked and she smiled yet again, while Yudhishthir grinned.
" Why, can't she say papa? "
"Well they can't say that yet. Their speech isn't that develop-"
" Yuvraj, Yuvrani, you've been called for the rajyabhishek. " Called a guard at the door.
"Now? " I asked surprised. Didn't Maharaj know that Madhu had been sick.
" We'll come soon. " I answered and he left.
" Come darling, papa needs to get ready. And so do we! " I smiled at her and she giggled.
" I'll come soon. " He said, leaving the health room to make it to our own.
"What shall we do now? Ooh. I know. Let's have something. I am too hungry to function on an empty stomach. Especially if I have to stand there for another four hours during papa's ceremony. " I nuzzled her nose.
We made our way to the kitchens where the chef was busy with the preparations for lunch.
"Mahoday, please treat us both to your healthiest daal rice. " I said smiling and he returned in kind, bending low to look at Madhu.
"Well, the little princess has begun to eat food now hasn't she? " He asked, teasing her with flour on her nose as she sneezed.
" Yes, we'll be in our rooms. " I told him kindly.
"Whatever you need Maharani. " He answered and I turned around confused.
"Maharani? "
"Ji, once you and your husband are crowned rulers of Khandavprasth, we'll be following you to Khandavprasth. We can't live under a ruler like Yuvraj Duryodhan. We want a king like Maharaj Yudhishthir. " He answered lowly, but proud of his statement.
"But -"
"No Maharani, you and your family have won our hearts just as Maharaj Pandu had when he was king. We want another Ram rajy. " He declared.
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Well, the public is intent on following them.
Tell me how it was
Much love
Radhekrishn ♥