After Sadhu Adinatha left, Bhupendra came back with an unknown man with him. Karna eyed the man curiously. His dark skin contrasted against his yellow attire. Dark brown eyes and a small mischievous smile always playing on his lips. He is not their Raj Vaidya. Then who is he?

-"Maharaj, our Raj Vaidya couldn't come, his wife said he is not home... I was returning right back but..." He pointed at the man and continued, "...but then he showed up. He said he is a Vaidya, he heard that we were looking for one...and I thought it was an emergency so I brought him..."

Karna sighed, he couldn't trust Tiasha's health with someone unknown. This new Vaidya is very young and probably has just finished his studies. He probably is not experienced at all.  As if reading Karna's doubts the man tried to assure him with a small smile, "Maharaj, trust me, I might be young but I am good at my job." 

Karna covered his surprise with a small cough. This is something Tiasha does all the time, read his thoughts. She says it's a simple observation. And now this man is also doing so. Is he that easy to read? 

-"Maharaj, I don't think it's wise to just stand here and waste time, I faster I examine Kumari Tiasha, the faster she will be healed." He laughed internally knowing exactly what Karna was thinking.

Karna nodded and they started walking towards Tiasha's chamber. Karna's suspicion and curiosity still haven't gone away. He asked, "I have never seen you around Mahasay, are you new here?"

The new Vaidya smiled, "My name is Banamali, Maharaj. I was travelling to Dwarika. I heard that there is an inauguration of Mata Krishnakali's temple here in Anga Desh, so I came here to visit. And I am glad that I did."

This man has something in his smile. It's comforting, it's contagious. His smile made Karna forget all his worries for a moment. He smiled back.

Banamali entered Tiasha's Chamber and saw The Pandavas, Ashwatthama, and Duryodhan sitting around with a worried face. Dushala is almost in tears holding Tiasha's, calling her, trying desperately to wake her up. They all looked at Banamali and Karna as they stood on the threshold.

He bit back a grin appearing on his face. Kaushiki surely knows how to make a family out of strangers, he thought. Maintaining a serious face as much as he could, he said, "I know, you are very much worried about Kumari but you all need to go out from here now."

Dushala tried, "Can I stay, Please?" 

-"I am extremely sorry Rajkumari but I cannot let you stay." he gave her a sympathetic smile as he took a seat beside Tiasha's bed. Duryodhan wrapped an arm around his sister and escorted her out of there, closing the door behind him.

Banamali sat patiently beside Tiasha as her eyelid scrunched in her slumber and she started tossing and turning. After about half an hour, she stopped and then sat up with a jerk, eyes snapping open and breathing heavily through her mouth. A hand held a glass of water in front of her, she took it without looking and gulped the water in one go. Then her eyes went to the man standing next to her bed, smiling down at her. 

She immediately knew who it was, looking into his dark brown eyes and warm smile. He can fool anybody and everybody with his disguise but not her. She wrapped her arms around his mid and buried her face in him.

Banamali withdrew his hands in surrender, "I don't think it's very appropriate to hug an unknown man like this Kumari Tiasha. What will your beloved Vasusena think, if he sees this?"

-"That you are my long lost lover..." Tiasha looked up with a small mischievous smile mirroring Banamali's. 

-"This is not very ladylike...not at all." Banamali's eyes twinkled.

-"...I am anything but a lady. Cut your games already, Jayantha."

Banamali also known as Dwarkadhish Vasudev Shree Krishna sighed and sat on the bed beside Tiasha. 

-"I can never hide from you, can I?" Tiasha shook her head and grinned. She put her head on his chest. Her grin turned into a melancholy smile and a lone tear escaped from her left eye. The teardrop fell on Krishna's lap and turned into a small round sapphire.

Krishna held her with one arm and combed her hair with the other, shooting her. 

-"Jayantha, I don't know who am I anymore, I don't know what this life is." She looked up at him seeing his eyelashes getting wet and sticking to each other as he tried to blink his own tears away. 

He wiped her tears with his hand and cupped her face. 

-"My dear Tiasha, you are who you have been all your life. The darling daughter of businessman Mr. Kaushik Halder and Mrs. Jhuma Halder. The sassy, sarcastic, cool, MBBS gold medallist of Calcutta Medical College, Neurosurgeon Dr. Tiasha Halder..." They laughed. 

-"... And in here everybody's brilliant and lovely Kumari Tiasha. Just a few more things added to that. You are my beloved bhagini, my Saada Sahacharini, my Chira Sakhi. You are my protector Kali Udvuta, Kaushiki. You are Nanda Baba and Yashoda Maiya's Nilmani. If Dau Balarama is the ruby of their heads and I am the pearl of their eyes, then you are my dear, the sapphire of their hearts. You are the Bela flower of Gokul, Nanda's Nandini as well as the Parijat of Banga, Kaushik's Kaushiki. Although Nanda and Kaushik are not different at all."

Tiasha looked at him her teary eyes widening. 

Krishna continued with a smile, "He always had a desire for the baby girl he once lost. After I left, he told Maiya about you. They yearned to have you back. They just wanted to see you one more time. So Mata Kali granted their wish and told them in another life you will again be their daughter."

-"I want to see them, Jayantha."

-"You will, Kaushiki when the right time comes, I will send you to meet them. But they can't know you are the one they long to have back in their lives. You can't tell them who you are. You came here with a new life, with a purpose..."

-"I know, Jayantha. I am not the one they gave birth to in this yuga, I am their daughter at the same time I am not." 

-"Now, everybody outside is worried sick. We will talk about this later. We should go and see them." Krishna wiped Tiasha's face, "You don't look good without a smile." Tiasha grabbed the loose end of Krishna's Angavastra and pretended to wipe her nose with it.

-"HEY!" Krishna jumped one step back, snatching his Angavastra from her hand. Tiasha laughed. She returned back to her usual cheery self. Krishna too joined her laughter.

-"Now, come on. Ohh! And I am Banamali by the way." Tiasha grinned cheekily nodded at him and then hugged him one last time standing up from the bed. Krishna wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. 

Karna paced in front of Tiasha's chamber. It's been almost an hour since the Vaidya went inside. Vaidya sent everyone out. He didn't even let Rajkumari Dushala stay inside. God knows what he is doing. With each passing moment, Karna's worry increased. All the others except for Duryodhan, Ashwatthama and Yudhishthira left for their own rooms.

The door opened and there stood the Vaidya with a content smile on his face. Tiasha stepped out from behind him. Surprisingly, she didn't look ill at all. She looked just like herself. She was composed and perfect. 

-"Maharaj, you don't need to worry anymore. Kumari is absolutely fine. Seems like her body was just exhausted from overworking. The rest did it's job." Banamali the Vaidya addressed Karna, "Now I shall take my leave, Maharaj. I can't delay my journey any further." 

Karna said, "Thank you so much, Banamali. You worked wonders."

Tiasha looked at him with hopeful eyes, "Mahasay, can't you stay here just for today? We will be happy if you do."

Banamali smiled apologetically, "No Kumari, I can not. Perhaps some other time."

Tiasha nodded giving him a tight-lipped smile. They bid farewell to him. Tiasha stood at the entrance and watched as his figure went further and further until it disappeared from her range of sight. 

--

Tiasha and Dushala sat under the cool shades of a big Siris (Lebbeck) tree, the small gusts of wind bringing the sweet smell of the Siris flowers to their nose, from time to time. Dushala's head rested on Tiasha's shoulder and Tiasha's two-month-old gray kitten Vati soundly slept on her lap. Tiasha hummed a tune watching the flowers raining down from the tree occasionally. 

Their peaceful silence was broken when a Koel started cooing above them. Tiasha couldn't control her mischief and started cooking back at the bird. The sound made by her was identical to the bird's song. You can only capture the minute difference between the two if you pay very close attention.

Dushala giggled as the competition went on between the bird and her sister went on. Tiasha too giggled and kept cooing back. It's known that if a Koel is singing and you coo back to it, the bird will get agitated and try to prove itself better than the other voice. 

The singing contest came to an end when they heard a peal of laughter. 

-"You are still on the game huh?" Karna asked smiling. Ashwatthama stood beside him amused and Duryodhan dropped himself beside Tiasha. He patted the ground in front of him, gesturing for his two Mitras to take a seat.

-"The last we had our contest was two days ago. She is just asking about my well-being."

-"I didn't know that you could mimic bird sounds that well. What is this all about." Ashwatthama asked. 

-"One of my many hobbies." Tiasha shrugged. 

-"This bird comes here every day around this time. And She..." Karna pointed at Tiasha before continuing, "...likes to have a singing contest with it every day."

-"Ahh, I am going to miss this so much when I leave." Tiasha sighed but the smile on her face never went away.

Duryodhan sighed and rested his head on Tiasha's shoulder. 

Ashwatthama laughed at his friend's antic. Pointing at the two, he said, "Sometimes I forget, Mitra Duryodhan is not your son."

Tiasha smirked, "It's not just you Drauni, I too sometimes have the feeling that he is not my friend but my son who is older than me."

Duryodhan narrowed his eyes, with scrunched eyebrows he looked up at Tiasha pouting. Everyone broke into a laugh. Their Laughter was interrupted as Yudhishthira cleared his throat. The five Pandavas stood in front of them.

Yudhishthira asked, "Do you mind if we sit?"

The smile from the faces of the three faces vanished immediately. Duryodhan has decided, as for now he will not pick up a fight with any of the Pandavas, just like his Mama Shree has suggested. But that doesn't mean that he was comfortable hanging around with them. 

He was about to open his mouth but Tiasha stopped him. She smiled at them and said, "Of course, Yuvraj, please join us." 

The Pandavas sat down each giving a small nod to Duryodhan, Ashwatthama and Karna.

-"You did a wonderful job here in Anga Kumari, it's truly admirable." Yudhishthira started trying to break the awkward silence.

Ashwatthama too bothered by the silence decided to talk, "Yea, I agree. Seeing what you did here, I wish to take you with me, to Ahichatra, make you my special advisor and keep you there forever."

Tiasha smirked, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she teased, "Ohh, just a special advisor? I thought you would offer me the position of your Queen." 

Karna and Yudhishthira felt their heart being pierced with a thousand arrows. On the other hand, Ashwatthama's heart jumped. The Pandavas looked at each other. Dushala who was drowsing the whole time sat up straight hearing Tiasha. Duryodhan stared at her as if she had grown two heads.

Ashwatthama smirked although he felt his ears getting hotter he hid his blush under his mask of confidence. 

-"I don't have a problem offering you the position if you wish." 

-"I am joking." Tiasha shook her head. 

-"Ohh" Ashwatthama said a little disappointed. Karna and Yudhishthira sighed in relief and joined the others in laughing.

-"Seems like the princess is confused, about which one to choose. Are you princess?" In between the laughter they failed to notice Gandhar Raj coming their way. He stood smirking looking down at Tiasha. 

All of them present their understood Shakuni's mocking words and a spark of anger ignited in their hearts. They stood up. Duryodhan frowned, He doesn't understand his Mama Shree's problem with his Sakhi. Tiasha handed over Vati to Dushala and made her way and stood face-to-face with him. She smirked almost in a challenging manner.

-"Can you really blame me for that Gandhar Raj?"

-"Of course not. On one hand, we have, Panchal Naresh Drona Putra Ashwatthama and on the other, we have Hastinapur Yuvraj Kumar Yudhishthira. It's most definitely a tough decision." 

-"Ohh no Gandhar Raj, you missed the one, who captured my heart since day one."

-"And who would that be?"

-"You Gandhar Raj." Tiasha smirked as she took another step towards him, "Wouldn't you want me with you Priya?"

Shakuni took a step back, "I...umm...I am...I have taken an oath to practise celibacy all my life...I just remembered some work...I...I need to go." 

Shakuni practically flew from the scene. All of them looked at her in shock. She looked at their faces and doubled over in laughter. 

Soon Karna and Ashwatthama joined her as they understood what she was doing. Karna started shaking his head at her.

Duryodhan asked confused, "Why are you laughing? And Sakhi what is this? You like my Mama Shree?" 

Tiasha stopped and stood looking at him with hands on her hips. She eyed him like she was measuring him up.

-"You know when god creates a human there are three main categories taken into consideration. Strength, looks and intelligence. If one is gifted in one particular category, he or she lacks at least in one of the others. You are extremely gifted in the strength and looks category but about the third one I am not so sure."

Duryodhan's eyebrows shot up, "Are you saying, I am dumb?" 

Tiasha put on an extremely serious expression and said, "No...how can I? Me Your Favourite Sakhi call You, My dear Sakha, Dumb, Never!" 

Another fit of laughter started among the group. 

Dushala who was still a little confused asked, "No, Didi seriously, You like Mama Shree? I mean he is old and ug..." Dushala stopped herself before she could finish the word.

Duryodhan frowned at her. 

Tiasha said, "No my dear sister, I didn't want to deal with your Mama Shree right now, so I just scared him away."

-"Then who do you like Didi?" 

Tiasha blushed. She looked at Karna with the corner of her eyes and saw him staring right back. 

-"I will tell you later Dushala. Now come on everyone it's getting late."

-XX-

This chapter is long as Hell. Took me so much time to write. I have so many more ideas for the story so I just wanted to speed it up a little. I could have made two chapters looking at the word count but I am being impatient. I want to move to the next segment as soon as possible. So I crammed everything into one chapter. I still hope you like it. 

Let me know your thoughts.

And, by the way in case you are wondering 

This is what the flowers and leaves of the Siris tree look like 

And this is the beautiful Koel

Thank you all so much for your votes and comments. Lots of love 😍.

Take care, Adiós, my lovely readers ❤️.