-"Didi, why are you leaving?", Dushala whined.

-"You say it yourself, that we are your family. You do not have any family left in Banga. Then why are you going there, Didi? You should stay with us, we need you here." Bhanumati said holding Tiasha's arm, Dushala nodded in agreement. 

Tiasha put the last piece of clothing in a makeshift bag and sighed, "I am not going to Banga to see someone, Bhanu. It's just...I can't explain to you what exactly it is. I was born there, it's my motherland. I miss the smell of that soil..."

-"Don't go, Didi, please. This is my eighth month, please stay with me..." Dushala pleaded, tears forming in her eyes. 

Tiasha cupped Dushala's face and said, "I promise, I will return soon. I promise I will be beside you, to welcome your child into this world." She kissed Dushala's forehead. Dushala wrapped her arms around Tiasha's mid. 

Duryodhan, Karna, and Ashwatthama came into the chamber all three of them looking very anxious. 

-"Sakhi what is all this? Is it true what I heard?..." Duryodhan asked perturbed, "...You are going to Banga Pradesh, of all places, that too alone? What if your wicked relatives come for you again?" 

-"That is what I was trying to tell Didi." Bhanumati went to stand beside Duryodhan.

Tiasha sighed, "Nothing like that will happen. I left Banga a long time ago, and besides they wouldn't recognise me..."

-"What do you mean they wouldn't recognise you?"

-"You will see tomorrow." 

-"But why do you want to go there in the first place?"  Duryodhan huffed.

Tiasha sighed, "You wouldn't understand."

-"Yes Of course I wouldn't understand! After all, I am the foolish emotionless piece of rock, how would I understand what's going on in people's hearts?" Duryodhan's voice raised.

-"Duryodhan!!" Tiasha exclaimed. "Where is this even coming from? I told everyone that I hadn't been in Banga since I left..." she almost shouted. "...I...I just..." Tiasha couldn't finish. She sighed and looked away. 

Duryodhan paused. His Sakhi has never called him by his name like that, she never looked away in the middle of a conversation. She looked somewhat disturbed. As if a storm was raging inside her and she was trying to escape from that, finding shelter in the soil of her motherland. True, Duryodhan wouldn't understand the feeling of being away from his land, his people. He sighed.

-"Don't go alone, Sakhi. It's not safe, I am just worried for you..." Duryodhan said putting a hand on Tiasha's shoulder.

Karna stepped forward and stood in front of Tiasha. He said softly, "At least let me come with you..."

-"You have been out of Anga for quite some time now. You should return. People need you there." Tiasha said looking deep into his eyes.

-"Tiasha..."

-"I want to go alone, all by myself. I am capable of defending myself, I think, at least you know that..." She looked at the three men one by one. 

Her eyes turned towards Karna again, "Just this one last time, before our marriage, let me truly be free..." she pleaded with her eyes. Karna felt a little sting in his heart. Does she think that he is going to strip her away from her freedom when they get married? Karna opened his mouth to say something but decided not to finish. He understood that it was not possible to make her agree with him. He sighed and then nodded making an unexplainable melancholy smile appear on Tiasha's lips. 

-"Mitra you can't be serious!" Ashwatthama spoke for the first time since he entered the chamber watching the exchange between the two. "You can't just allow her to go all by herself. I know she can defend herself but that is not enough! It is dangerous for a young woman to travel such a long distance!" He said frowning at Karna. 

Karna shook his head, "Let's go Ashwa, Duryodhan, Let her pack." He simply walked out of the chamber. Duryodhan and Ashwatthama followed him, confused by his sudden change in behaviour. 

-"Mitra Karna, are you sure?" Ashwatthama asked.

-"I think she can take care of herself..." Karna smiled, "Come, I have something to discuss with you two." 

--

-"Pranam Kumari, Angaraj is here to meet you." Tiasha's attention snapped from the canvas towards the door of her chamber as she heard the guard's voice. 

-"Yes let him in." 

The guard left bowing to Tiasha. A few seconds later Karna stepped inside. He pointed at the painting and asked, "I hope I didn't disturb you." 

Tiasha smiled at him and shook her head. "I was just finishing up" She replied washing a brush. Karna came and stood beside her. He looked at the painting carefully. 

-"Such a unique structure, I have never seen a temple built like this!" His eyes went to Tiasha's face. "Is this a real temple, or am I seeing a fragment of your imagination on the Canvas?" 

-"This the Kali Temple of Kalikshetra. We used to live very close to the temple, beside the Ganga. I used to watch the sun rise and set behind the dome of the Temple from my balcony." Tiasha smiled at the memory. Karna watched her expression with a smile on his own face.

-"You truly do miss Banga, don't you?" He asked. Tiasha nodded.

-"Can I ask my Priyatama to take a walk with me in the banks of Ganga?" Karna extended his hand towards Tiasha.

Tiasha laughed at Karna's dramatic gesture, "My my, when did the war machine become such a romantic inamorato?"

-"Only for you my lady, love changes a man to the extreme. And I have always been quite romantic. This is Duryodhan's fault, he is the one behind the narrative that I am unfeeling unromantic war machine." 

 Tiasha laughed again and finally took his hand. Karna felt happy that he was able to make her laugh. He held her hand firmly and took her outside the palace to the banks of the Ganga. A comfortable silence persisted between the two of them as they walked along the shore. 

-"Do you truly think that I would take away your freedom once we are married?" Karna asked.

They stopped and looked into each other's eyes. Tiasha took a deep breath. "It's not you, I know you won't, but the society will. I will be expected to live in a certain way, as your wife and as the queen of Anga."

-"Who cares about what the society thinks?" Karna took both of Tiasha's hands into his.

-"We are still a part of the society. Even if we don't care, we still have to live among other people who do care..."

-"One day I sure will ask you to run away with me, away from these people, far away from the society. There nobody will judge us, not for me being a Sutaputra and not for you being a woman. Nobody will expect us to behave a certain way..." Karna said cupping Tiasha's face. "Inside the dense woods, I would build a small hut for us beside a small stream. The forest would hide us from the noises of the outside world."

-"I will eagerly wait for that day to come..." Tiasha leaned into his touch. 

-"I may do some farming. Then I would go inside the forest and bring firewood..."

-"Would you be able to live without battles, my war machine?" Tiasha asked playfully. Karna shrugged, "I might end up fighting a mad wild boar or an unruly man-eating tiger to satisfy the craving." They laughed together.

Karna continued, "And you will cook those delicious meals for us. I might bring you with me inside the forest sometimes. Then in the evening, we will lie together in the courtyard watch the stars and listen to the harmony of crickets and night birds..."

-"Hmm...and?"

-"And then someday maybe there would be a few little ones running around the hut causing trouble..." Tiasha felt heat rising on her cheeks at Karna's last words. She looked away. Karna gently held her chin and made her look at him again. "How many troublemakers do you think you can handle?" Karna teased. 

-"Off!" Tiasha blushed furiously making Karna laugh.

Time flowed in between the exchange of honey-words and laughter. The moon crossed half the distance of his journey through the sky. Looking towards the sky, Karna asked "I think we should go back now. It's getting late and you are starting your journey quite early tomorrow isn't it?". Tiasha nodded. 

Karna escorted Tiasha to her chamber and left after planting a soft lingering kiss on her forehead. 

--

The next morning while entering Tiasha's chamber Karna, Ashwatthama and Duryodhan stood stunned at the threshold. 

-"Well never in my wildest dream I thought I would see Kumari Tiasha like this." Ashwatthama exclaimed. The other two were too stunned to speak.

-"Kumari Tiasha? Do you mean Angaraj's would-be wife, Panchal Raj?" Tiasha spoke in a deeper-than-usual voice.

-"And, isn't that you?" 

-"Is something clouding your vision Panchal Raj? Do I look or sound like a woman to you? I am Yadav Kumar Maitrayo, a pleasure to meet you all." Tiasha picked up her sword and tucked it into her belt. 

The three men followed as she made her way towards the main entrance of the Palace. 

Everybody saw, instead of Kumari Tiasha there stood a young boy taking hold of the reins of a black horse.

-XX-

Hello people, It's been so long since we last interacted. How have you all been? I know I am a bit rusty because I haven't written anything for a while. But I promise you things are going to get interesting again very soon. Our dear Tiasha is going to face some unexpected challenges on her way. This chapter is just for setting the ground. Let me know your thoughts on this.

I started updating this story on the 6th of October 2023, so it's been a year now. I can not express how I feel. All I can say is thank you so much for being with me. You all are the best. I swear I am not crying. 

See you soon with another update. Adiós my lovelies. ❤️❤️

Ps. - By the way do you guys know Sudhira and Satyavrata?