-"As your so perspicuous daughter has successfully insulted and denied the only one who could have fulfilled the task, are you ready to send your daughter off as a Dasi, King Drupad?" Jarasandh asked, his spiteful venomous words made King Drupad worried for the first time that day.

Drupad turned to Krishna for help, "Vasudev, what do I do now? The society would not accept my daughter if she remains unmarried today."

-"Your daughter will not remain unmarried Panchal Raj. Don't worry too much. As the royals have failed to accomplish the task at hand, I think we should now open the competition for the Brahmins." Krishna suggested.

-"You think the task that the mighty warriors of Aryavarth couldn't do, a mere Brahmin would be able to do?"

-"Many Brahmins are skilled warriors Panchal Raj. One such warrior is present right in front of you." Krishna pointed towards Ashwatthama with his eyes.

Drupad's expression turned bitter, "Not even in my worst nightmare I can imagine him as my son-in-law, the son of that dirt-poor Brahmin who came to me to seek alms."

Krishna's voice became hard, "You are forgetting he is the king of Uttar Panchal now and eighty percent of the Brahmins in this, who do not engage in malpractice are dirt-poor."

Drupad dismissed the edge of Krishna's words and replied, "But they are not Drona's sons." He thought for a moment and then instructed Dhrishtadyumna, "Putra, please announce that the competition is now open for the Brahmins. If anyone wishes to come forward and believes they can fulfil the task, I will offer them my daughter's hand in marriage." 

-"Marrying a poor Brahmin is at least better than marrying a Suta King," Drupad muttered under his breath. 

Krishna, as if defeated, just shook his head. He looked up toward Tiasha only to find her staring into the eyes of a certain someone. She was almost in a trance, lost in those amber orbs that gazed back into her dark pools. Nothing that was going on around her reached her ears. 

-'Ahh! At least something entertaining enough is happening in between all this chaos.' He thought as the smile returned to his face. He lightly drummed his fingers on the back of Tiasha's hand which was set on the armrest of his seat. 

The sudden touch startled her. She looked at him and the teasing smirk on his lips made her blush. She released a sigh, at least nobody could see her flushed face as it was covered with the veil.

Dhrishtadyumna stood up and announced, "As none of the great Kings of Aryavarth could complete the task I request the Nobel Brahmins present in the arena to join the competition. It would be very unfortunate for all of us if my sister remains unmarried today. Please come forward, oh great Brahmins and save my sister from this grave situation."

The royals exchanged mocking smirks. The Brahmins in the arena shifted in their seats, none of them willing to invite insults upon themselves. After a little while of hushed mummer in the crowds, a mismatching group of five stood up from the midst of the Brahmins. The way they communicated with each other, people had no difficulty figuring out they were brothers. One among them stepped forward towards the dais while the remaining four waited at the sideline. 

Royals and common people in the crowd covered their mouths to hide their laughter. The idea of how a broke bloke like him dreams of winning the hand of a princess seemed jocular to them. The man was not much to look at. He was tall and well-built but not as much as the mountain of a man like his brother. He was dark, but not as much as Krishna, or Draupadi, or even Tiasha. Dressed In saggy tattered soiled saffron clothes, his unrecognisable beard-covered (handsome) face, and matted dusty hair, he was not much to look at. 

Draupadi watched Krishna's smiling face. Previously she had been battling with herself about her deception of rejecting Angaraj Karna. While the bigger voice in her heart roared in pride that she made the right choice, it couldn't suppress the other small voice which said, she made a huge mistake. 

Her eyes turned towards the man who was approaching the dias. A gust of recognition passed over her. The previous day while giving alms to the poor Brahmins she saw this man along with those other four men who stood not far from him. Draupadi scrunched her nose. Surely this man can't be worthy of her, right? 

After paying his respect to it, the crowd held their breath as the Brahmin touched the Dhanus. He effortlessly lifted it up to everyone's surprise and Draupadi's horror. 

She again turned towards Krishna to see his reaction. His approving smile towards that young man made her panic. He is not planning to get her married to this poor Brahmin, is he? The Princess of Panchal, whose destiny is to change history, is supposed to be the empress of all the lands and the seven seas of this earth. She cannot be married to a poor Brahmin, cook and clean for him, and carry his children, right? 

Draupadi decided to stand up and voice her thoughts but before she could do so Krishna caught her arm.

-"Are you planning to remain unmarried today?" He asked her, the mischief in his eyes couldn't go unnoticed. 

-"You are not telling me I have to marry a dirt poor Brahmin! At least Anga Raj was a king!" She replied bewildered. 

Thung! Sharp sound waves were created as the arrowhead pierced the soft metal eye of the fish. 

Krishna let out a small laugh. He said to Draupadi, "Never judge a man by his appearance, dear Sakhi! Now go, your destiny is waiting for you." 

A dasi escorted Draupadi towards the dias and handed her a beautiful garland of fragrant red flowers. Draupadi was confused and surprised by the events that happened within an interval of a few minutes. She garlanded the unknown young man as if her body was being controlled by someone else. 

The touch of the rough palm of the young man on her own broke her out of her trance. She blushed looking up at him. His dark obsidian eyes were filled with pride as he looked at the prize that he won that day. The small victorious smile on his played lips as he looked at her and then looked forward. Draupadi's heart flooded with sadness. She realised in less than a second she the princess of Panchal had turned into the wife of a poor Brahmin youth. She no more will have the luxuries of the palace but will have to start living like one of those who used to serve her. Now she had to be the one to serve her husband and his family.

The entire arena was also in a state of stillness, drowned in astonishment as the events took place. Now as the Young Brahmin made his way towards the gates of the arena, Draupadi's Varmala adorned in his neck and her palm tightly grasped into his own they got back to their senses. Some of them busted into a protest while some others went to attack the newlywed couple and their four companions. Soon they realised that the five brothers were trained warriors and were much more skilled than themselves. Other warriors of Panchal joined to defend them against the raving kings.

Duryodhan, driven by rage and frustration, jumped into battle and duelled with the giant brother of the young Brahmin. the clash of their maces jarred the arena. Karna and Ashwatthama soon joined in to help their friend but both of them refrained from attacking the Brahmins. They only defended themselves and the struggling Kings in the battle. Shakuni moved behind the pillar and watched the Brahmin fight with a few curious creases forming on his forehead.

Her husband, his brothers, and the crown prince of Panchal all were engaged in a fight, Karna saw Shishupala trying to strike a defenceless Draupadi. He tried to push his way through the crowd to save her. Although she insulted him, as a Warrior it was his duty to save the life of a distressed woman. But before he could reach her, Shishupala raised his sword. A terrified scream left Draupadi's mouth and she closed her eyes expecting pain. But the pain never came. With a clash of swords, she opened her eyes to find Shyama holding Shishupala back with her own sword. 

Karna watched her in amazement. A weird-looking curved sword sliced through anyone and everyone as she, Dhrishtadyumna, and the other warriors held back the enraged kings and escorted the Brahmins and Draupadi outside the arena. 

--

After the battle in the arena, the defeated Kings started leaving one by one. Karna was collecting his things in his chamber when he felt something soft and warm rubbing on his feet. He looked down to find a very familiar blue-eyed feline purring and rubbing her head on his feet. 

If he had any doubt about her presence in Panchal, now, seeing this grey-stripped fur ball nagging for affection took all those away. He giggled and picked her up. 

-"How have you been, my sweet girl?" He scratched her neck and Vati purred in satisfaction. 

-"Ohh, here you are, your mother and I have been looking for you all over the place!" Krishna barged inside Karna's Chamber. "Bhrata Karna, I hope she is not causing you any trouble." Krishna passed him an apologetic smile. 

-"No No, Vasu...I mean Keshav, she is a very good girl, she never causes trouble to anyone, Do you, Vati?" Vati meowed in reply as if confirming Karna's claims. 

-"Well her mother thinks otherwise..." Krishna slightly turned his gaze towards the door behind the curtain, which made Karna look expectedly in the direction of his eyes. Vati jumped down from his arms and disappeared somewhere outside the chamber. Krishna giggled in amusement when Karna let out a sigh and his excitement dropped.

-"Bharata Karna, are you expecting to see someone?" Krishna asked innocently but Karna caught the teasing look in his eyes. 

-"Na...no one Keshav." 

-"Are you sure you were not expecting to see, my sister Tiasha, your priye?" Krishna smirked. 

Karna's eyes widened and his fair cheeks turned into deep shades of red. "Ke..Keshav...what...what are you..." 

Krishna didn't let him finish, "Oh come on now Bhrata Karna, you thought you would be passing heart eyes to my sister and I wouldn't notice? Thank heavens it was just me here today, I can't even imagine what would have happened if Dau was here. Although, it was somewhat the same from the other side as well..." He looked at the door again where the curtain moved just very slightly. 

Karna looked confused, "Your sister?" 

-"Ohh yes, your Kumari Tiasha, my Shyama, is my Sakhi and Sister, we are related, we are distant cousins actually." Krishna replied. He offered Karna a sweet smile and said, "Hope you have a safe journey ahead Bhrata. We will meet soon."

-XX-

This chapter is all over the place. I promise the next chapter will be better. To be honest with you I was feeling kinda bored writing this, so I procrastinated. I don't know why even I decided to make the Swayam Var part so long. Now it's finally over and I excitement and enthusiasm is back. Let me know what you think of it in the comments. Don't forget to tell me what you liked and what you didn't.

See you all very soon, my Dearies.❤️