Notes:

I want to point out that Abhimanyu's age when he first met Arjuna or during his death varies between works. I am going to be choosing the age of 13 and work with it for this story! It is just my choice and I would like to point out that it may not be accurate!

Terms:

Mamashree- respectful term for Uncle

Chakravyuha - army troop formation strategy in warfare

Kheer- a type of sweet pudding (usually made with rice or vermicelli)

Lehenga - full ankle-length skirt (embroidered and pleated) worn by women from the Indian subcontinent 

'It's another sunny afternoon in Dwaraka today, and I've just

completed my daily chakravyuha trainingwith Mamashree.

Both Mamashree Vasudeva and Mamashree Balarama had

praised my war skills and knowledge of being able to break

through and enter a chakravyuha at this age. I can't even begin to explain

the emotions that coursed through my mind at that point. Maatha

always told me that my each and every action should bring

pride to my father's name, and I feel this action of mine today

has helped me accomplish a part of that goal. Now that I have

learned how to break through and enter a chakravyuha, I can request

father to teach me how to again break my way out after defeating

the enemy troops. With this knowledge, I will be able to display

my full potential on the battlefield while avenging Maatha

Draupadi's insult, and I will be able to witness the shining

pride in Father's eyes. Nothing else can possibly bring

me more joy...'

Tears streamed down the Mitra's cheeks as she read the lines written by her elder brother, who had housed endless dreams in his heart about making his father proud and being trained under him.

"But you never did learn that, Brother," she whispered, as her voice was heard loud and clear in the silent room. "And you were never able to witness that shining pride you wanted to see in Baba's eyes post the battle."

Mitra bit back a sob as she considered the fate of the warrior prince who had lost his life, along with his brothers in the war. She wanted to learn more about her brother's life and his thoughts, especially his bond with the other members of the family. Specifically, Arjun Baba. Mitra flipped the pages forward till she landed on one which appeared to be dated closer to the start of the war. Wiping away the lingering tears on her cheek with the back of her palm, she lowered her gaze to the scroll writing on the page before her.

'I was able to spend some time with Father this morning

during our archery training in preparation for the war.

Sadly, I'm not able to spend as much time with him as

I'd wanted to, as the war is fast approaching, and there

is a lot to be prepared in the meantime. I barely get to catch

a glimpse of Father, other than at mealtimes and practice

sessions (which is when all my brothers are being trained as well).

Please don't

take me wrong. It's not that I do not want to spend time

with my brothers – they mean the world to me. But,

is it so much for a boy to want to spend some

quality time with his father? A father whom he had only been

able to visualize through the stories told to him by his

mother and uncle. A father whom he's only met for the

first time after thirteen years since the start of his life on Earth.

But I won't complain much, because I know that I will be able

to spend all the time I want to with my father once this

battle is over. That is my only wish...'

The diary toppled out of the hands of the young princess, and dropped to the floor, as she sunk to the floor, bereft of her ability to think straight. Abhimanyu's words from the diary kept repeating themselves over and over in her head. 'Is it so much for a boy to want to spend some quality time with his father?' Mitra shut her ears trying to block out the words being voiced in her head. 'A father whom he's only met for the first time after thirteen years since the start of his life?' Mitra shook her head side to side as her ears remained covered by her palms. The voice was eating her from within. Flashes of Arjuna spending time with her popped up in her mind, despite her vigorous efforts to shove them away right now. Arjuna feeding her kheer she busied her hands with her paintings. Arjuna carrying her on his shoulders around the palace. Arjuna playing horse with her as she sat herself on his back. Arjuna cradling her in his arms and rocking her to sleep as he hummed lullabies for her.

Mitra let her entire body sink to the cold and dusty floor, as she cocooned herself by bringing her knees to her chest – in an attempt to calm the ache that was building up with much intensity in her heart. As endless tears slipped her ever beautiful eyes, she wrapped her arms around her knees and pressed her face against it to muffle her sobs from being heard. Despite the single torch somewhat illuminating the lonely room, darkness swarmed in on the world around her as a painful truth, one which she had been suppressing for a while now, made itself heard within the silent walls of her heart. The life she had been living in this palace, in Hastinapura as the gem of the Kuru dynasty, was Abhimayu's. The place she had filled in the lives of the Pandavas, Draupadi Maa, Subhadra Maa and Grandmother Kunti – was Abhimayu's. A heart-breaking sob wracked her body as she thought of her Baba. The place she held in Arjun Baba's life, as his daughter, was Abhimayu's. She had taken her brother's place. The dark and silent walls of the cluttered old storeroom were the sole witness to the beautiful Princess's shattering heart as it realized the bitter truth – if Abhimanyu were alive and here today, there would never have been the need for a Vijaya Nandhini.

The evening sun was beginning to set as Mitra left the lonely walls of the storeroom and walked aimlessly through the corridors of the palace. All who came across her saw that the princess appeared to be the same way as she had been seen that morning – with the beautiful rose-tinted cheeks, neatly kept hair, glossy pink lips, and well-pressed shimmering lehenga. Yet, those who loved her would be able to see that the ever-present spark of life, that shone from the deepest depths of her being, had extinguished behind those kohl-lined eyes.

"Putri, where were you all day? We had been searching for you around the palace!" came Yudhishthira's worried voice.

Mitra slowly raised her head to see that her aimless trekking through the hallways had led her to the royal sitting room, which was occupied by her four uncles, Raja Maatha Kunti, and her mothers. With a desperate search of her eyes, she saw that Arjun Baba was not amongst them.

"I'd been in the storeroom, Uncle," she replied with a downcast voice while avoiding the direct gaze of everyone. "I'm sorry, I was just looking through some old artifacts. I didn't know you were all looking for me."

Yudhishthira wore a small smile on his face, masking the strange anxiety that grew in his heart, as he observed the dullness in her usually cheerful voice.

"It's okay, my dear! No need to apologize for this. We were just worried that you were missing."

"There you are!" called out a panicked voice of an individual entering the sitting room. "I was searching everywhere around the palace for you!"

Mitra shut her eyes tightly as the individual she was not yet ready to face again after her discovery in the storeroom, walked up to her from behind with quick strides. As Arjuna placed his palm over her shoulder, the daughter of Karna involuntary cringed, wanting nothing more than to place that distance she had wanted to place four years ago near the Kaurava camp.

An unexplainable feeling of dread coursed through Arjuna's body as he felt his dear daughter's body stiffen in response to his touch. 'Something was not right!' his mind screamed at him. Why was he beginning to feel the eeriness that had surrounded him during his last moments with Abhimanyu on the battlefield? Masking the fear that was building with intensity in his heart, he pasted a smile on his face as he willed himself to converse with her.

"Where were you, my child? Do you know how anxious I had been when I realized you were nowhere to be seen?"

Mitra was torn between the voices of her heart and her mind as they played tug of war with her soul. 'Please don't let your father mourn, Mitra! He loves you so much!' her heart pleaded. Yet, she felt herself sinking within the depths of her heart, as she heard her mind overpower them both. 'Use your brain, you foolish girl! Haven't you done enough? Haven't you already taken your brother's place? What more do you want?' Mitra felt suffocated as she shoved away the pleading voice of her heart, and once again succumbed to the winning desire of her mind, as she spoke up.

"I was in the storeroom. I'm sorry I wasn't near you when you wanted to see me," she muttered.

The cold carelessness in that response shook Arjuna to the core, yet he continued to mask the storm in his heart as he struggled to keep the shaking smile on his face.

"That's okay, Putri. You can never be far from me, as your place is in my heart."

Mitra fought back the tears threatening to blur her vision, as she played a silent witness to her heart berating her mind for the insensitive actions it had made the princess take. 'I'm capable of bringing nothing more than sorrow to anyone I love,' she thought.

Yudhishthira, sensing the stiffness in the room - vibrating from the single source standing indifferently at the entrance to the room - decided it would be best to change the topic of discussion.

"It's a good thing we all gathered here today. I wanted to talk to you all about Mitra's training. I'm proud to say that our child has been excelling in all forms of warfare so far, and now I believe it's time to train her in one of the more complex tactics."

Arjuna felt the fear encroaching upon him again, as his mind was able to put two and two together in comprehending what his elder brother was heading towards.

Yudhishthira looked up to meet Arjuna's gaze with a solemn one of his own, which held a tinge of pain as his mind travelled back some years in the past.

"Arjuna, I think it's time she undergoes the chakravyuha training."

Arjuna felt the world around him come to a standstill, as that dreadful day, four years ago on the battlefield, came thundering before his eyes again. The room around him had completely vanished and was instead replaced again by the brutal, blood-dripping corpse filled Kurukshetra land. There in the centre, his eyes fell upon Abhimanyu laying lifeless. His young body covered from head to toe with cuts and bloodied gashes.

"Arjuna...Arjuna!!" cried Kunti, dragging Dhananjayaout of his horrid memory.

His body trembling uncontrollably, Arjuna hurriedly glanced around, searching for any trace of the bloodied Kuruksehtra land in sight, but began calming down when he was instead able to see the agitated and questioning faces of his family in the sitting room.

"Arjuna-"

"No, Brother," Arjuna announced in a soft yet cold voice, cutting off Yudhishthira. "She will not be undergoing any chakravyuha training."

A chilling silence filled the room, as the smiles present on the faces of all dropped. Some held extreme pain and sorrow, while others held remorse and guilt.

Yudhishthira took a deep breath to calm his emotions, before he once again glanced at his younger brother.

"Arjuna, please just listen to me once-"

"Brother, I'm sorry to interrupt you. But, I really think we should discuss this another day," cut in Sahadeva, with agitation written clearly on his features. Sadly, the youngest Pandava Prince, despite being unable to voice what exactly was bound to happen, could feel that this particular topic was going to lead to a devastating turn of events in the family.

"It's okay," came a soft reply, which made all, except Gandivadhari, turn their heads towards the owner of the voice.

Mitra lowered her gaze, unable to meet those of her family. She struggled to block the competing voices in her head, as she attempted to form coherent words to speak. 'You've lost your father, my child...what gives you the right to lay claim over another's father?' her mind questioned viciously, suffocating Mitra with an unbearable heart ache – one that was far worse than what she had experienced while seeing her father on his death bed. 'Don't be ridiculous! Arjuna is her father too! Just as much as he was Abhimanyu's father!' her heart argued back. 'Ah, but that is only because Abhimanyu is no more, my friend,' her mind countered. 'Our dear Mitra has taken his place in Arjuna's life.' And those words accomplished exactly what they were intending to. They hit the deepest depths of Vijaya Nandhini's heart, as she internally doubled over from the effect. While trying to hold together the shattering pieces of her heart, she spoke up in a soft voice, devoid of any emotion.

"It's okay, Uncle Yudhishthira. Please don't force him to teach me anything regarding the chakravyuha formation. After all, why would he teach me?"

Arjuna's eyes snapped up to meet Mitra's who averted her pained gaze elsewhere, unable to look her father in his eyes. 'The life you are living is not yours. You have taken his place,' whispered her mind, as tears escaped the eyes of the Princess succumbing to her misfortune.

"I'm not his Abhimanyu."

Arjuna's world came crashing down on him, but for once he was unable to feel anything. His body and mind had completely numbed the moment the words uttered by his dear daughter had registered in the deepest depths of his being. He vaguely heard the jingling of anklets as the adorner of them ran out of the room, with Subhadra and Panchali running after her, pleading with her to come back. Yet, he was unable to react. Unaware of the lone tear that escaped his eye, he lifted his hand up to his chest – rubbing small circles to ease the ache that was building up intensely. Unable to bear the inner grief, Vijaya succumbed to it, letting himself drop to his knees. He could feel Sahadeva and Nakula on either side of him, trying to lift him up again. But he was unable to respond. He believed his broken heart could never be mended again, after seeing the bloodied corpse of his son on the battlefield. Yet, his Mitra had proved him wrong by re-constructing each and every piece of it back together with her love. Only to snatch it out once again and step on it – crushing it into an innumerable number of pieces.

To be Continued...

And that is Part II of Abhimanyu's Diary - hope you all enjoyed it! I put this together fairly quickly for all of you who could not handle the cliffhanger last time. Please do leave your comments on your thoughts about the chapter - and where you think this is heading! Nothing makes me more happier than going through your comments and seeing what you're thinking :) Please do vote if you feel it's worthy.

I will try my very best to update the next part of the chapter as soon as possible. It is a bit challenging with all the other commitments I have going on - but still I try to put in some time each day to work on the story. Thank you so much for all your love, patience and support - it means the world! Please do continue to bear with me and shower your support and love for this journey of DaanveerPutri :)

Loads of Love,

Geitha