UPON KILLING Hidimb, Bheem was coronated as the king of rakshas not only that but he also got married to Hidimbi in ceremony. A few months later, they had a baby boy, who was named Ghatothkach. He was a cute little baby who was loved by everyone. Especially Devasena. She never left him, wherever she went, she took him along. She used to tell stories to him, sang lullabies and played with him. Soon the time passed and it was time for the Pandavas to leave the kingdom for they now needed to take back their rights of the rajsinghasan.

Devasena sat on a swing with Ghatothkach in her arms as she swayed on the swing and hummed a lullaby. She was randomly humming when words started to itself leave her mouth.     

Before she complete whole song. she felt a hand on her shoulder snapping her out of the trance. She turned to see Bheem standing behind her. He sat on the swing as he looked at her with concern.

"Itne mithe swar tum kiske liye gaa rahi thi?" Bheem asked as Devasena stuttered.

'Main kiske liye gaa rahi thi? Mujhe swayam nahi maloom?' she thought, a look of confusion visible on her face.

"Mujhe bhi gyaat nahi." she honestly said as Bheem let out a laugh at her childishness. He then looked at Ghatothkach, who was sleeping in his bua's arms peacefully.

"Mujhe Ghatothkach ki bahut yaad aayegi. Uski smritian mujhe har pal satayegi." he said suppressing a sob as Devasena leaned against her brother.

"Chinta na karein Bhratashree hum bahut sheeghra hi Ghatothkach se punah milenge." she consoled as he wiped his tears and took his sister in his embrace.

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The next morning Pandavas left the forest. They took the disguise of Brahmins which was not really easy for Devasena a since she, unlike Kunti, won't take a veil, making her reveal her face. After walking for few miles, the Pandu family decided to rest in small hut. They would stay here for a few days and then proceed their journey.

"Aaj raat yahin vishram karna hoga," Yudhishtir said as the brothers looked at him.

"Main aaj yahaan ki rakhvaali karungi." Devasena initiated only to get defied by her brother Bheem.

"Mere rahte iski kya avashyakta Parthvi?" he questioned as Devasena smiled.

"Aap sab bahut thak gaye honge, mujhe aaj karne dein baad mein aap rakhvaalo ka lijiyega." The brothers reluctantly nodded as they went inside and slept in their makeshift hut while Devasena sat against a tree under the moonlight. She felt content, maybe the problems weren't solved in their life but still they were safe and sound, that was all she wanted. The moonlight was giving her another amount of satisfaction and peace. Just as her eyes were about to be closed, she heard the crunching of leaves that made her alert. On instinct, she immediately got up and started chasing the sound with slight low steps so that no one could hear her.

She walked quiet for a while and ended up being in the heart of the jungle. She pulled out an arrow from her quiver and made it ready to attack. She moved around with light footsteps, suddenly she saw a figure in the dark, without thinking she released the arrow from the bow. She heard the arrow piercing through someone's skin. 

'Kya Duryodhan ne humare piche jasoos bheje the?' she thought as she followed the sound. She moved the tree branch that obstructed her way and saw a man or boy, nearly of her age standing there with a smile. He had an arrow pierced through his left shoulder, the same arrow that was shot by Devasena. His curly hair fell perfectly over his shoulder. He was wearing a yellow dhoti kurta which was adorned with jewelery made of gold which made Chandra sure that he was not any villager. Devasena noticed that he also had a peacock feather adorned on his head which was quiet unusual.

Devasena approached him and looked him in the eye, she didn't know why but she felt as if she was in heaven. Those hazel brown orbs made her feel heavenly. The eye contact didn't break as she touched the arrow, expecting him to flinch or hiss away but got no reaction. He kept looking in her eyes with a godly smile on his face. She used it as an opportunity as she pulled out the arrow in an instant and threw it away. What she didn't expect was that he would close his eyes and fall over shoulder, going unconscious. Devasena fell on her knees along with him, his head was on her shoulder, the smile not leaving his face. Devasena looked down at her hands to see them covered with blood, she sighed with perplex knowing that she had to cure him. Somehow she got him up and stood for a minute and thought. 

'Kahaan le jaon mein inhe?' she thought. 'Bhratashree ke pass toh nahi, par kahaan? Hey Shiva! Meri sahayta karein!'

It was as if god had heard her plea as she saw a small cave nearby, she somehow managed his weight and made it to the cave. She made him lay on the pavement that was in the cave and cleaned it slightly. She lit some lamps in their to make sure that the place was illuminated enough. Then she tore a piece of her dupatta and placed it over his wound to stop the bleeding. 

She sighed as she got out of the cave and searched for some herbs, after plucking some herbs and filling an earthen pot with water, she made her way back to the cave. After applying the paste and covering the wound, she sat their for a minute and took a sigh of relief, mentally praying to cure him early. 

She looked at his well chiseled body and his sharp features, a part of her was tempted to touch his face but she rejected the thought, finding it too weird. Never once in her life she was attracted to anyone but even one look at his face would make her heart beat go faster. After sitting for an hour, she decided to go back to her brothers so as not to arouse suspicion. With one last look at his face, she left, not turning back to see the mischievous smile that adorned his face as her back turned to leave. 

By the time Devasena reached back, the sun was already on the horizon. She sighed knowing that she can't get any sleep now. One by one, the brothers woke up along while their mother cooked food for them. After taking bath, Devasena started to help her brother. 

"Yudhishtir," Kunti called out. "Jal khatam ho gaya hai-"

"Main le aaongi." Devasena suddenly said as everyone looked at her baffled.

"Paruntu Parthvi main le aaonga, tum vishram karo." Yudhishtir reassured her.

"Nahi Bhratashree, aap sab thak gaye honge, main kar leti hoon na." she said as she snatched the matka.

"Paruntu putri, tum kal ratri bhar jaagi ho. Apne Bhrata ko jaane do." Kunti insisted as Devasena nervously smiled.

"Mujhe van mein jaane ki iccha ho rahi hai, toh main jal bhi le aaongi aur thoda sair bhi kar loongi." she said and before anyone could ask anything, she left.

"Aaj Devasena kuch vichitra ka vyavhar nahi kar rahi?" Nakul said while Arjun and Bheem nodded in affirmation.

"Bahut vichitra hai...." Sahadev mused as he looked at the disappearing figure of Devasena, knowing way too well of what was going to happen.

Devasena looked around to see if someone was following here or not. Once assured that no one was there, she made her way to the cave. He was still laying on the stone slab peacefully. She sighed as she sat next to him and held his hand to check if it was cold or not. A smile of relief formed on her face as his hand was not cold, meaning that he was alive. She was about to move when he gripped the hand tightly and slowly was now opening his eyes. Devasena looked at him with her breath held in her chest as he opened his eyes. He looked around slightly as his grip on her hand loosened but didn't leave it. 

He took a deep breathe and tried to sit but hissed with pain as soon as he tried, on reflex Devasena kept a hand on his back and made him sit properly. 

"Aap vishram karein, ghav adhik gehra nahi hai, jald hi bhar jayega." she said as he stared at her. He did see her that night but looking at her after so many years of agonizing separation, all he wanted was to stare at magnificent beauty.

"Aap meri baat sun rahe hain?" she said as she brought him out of his trance.

"Ji bilkul." he replied. "Paruntu ye teer mujhe kaise laga?" he asked with a smirk as Devasena gulped.

"Wo-wo main van se jaa rahi thi tabhi maine dekha ki aap van mein khade the-" she rambled.

"Isliye aapne mujhe teer maar diya." he completed with a smile as Devasena looked at him.

"Nah-Haan." she accepted the truth as a laugh left through her lips. She picked up the paste in the bowl and proceeded to remove his bandage carefully. Once removed, she started to apply the paste, she didn't know why but every time she touched his wound, it was her feeling the pain while he looked at her with a calm smile. 

'Paap karne ka dand yahi hota hai.' she thought. Once she wrapped the bandage carefully, she poured the water in a bowl. He opened his mouth as she poured the water slowly for him to drink. Once he gulped it down, he looked at her.

"Aapne baan(arrow) chalaya tha paruntu aap ek brahmin ke vesh mein hain?" he questioned as Devasena thought of another lie while she poured the water again.

"Mujhe vedon ke saath shastra gyaan mein bhi ruchi thi." she lied as he drank the water. She knew that he knew that she was lying but she couldn't tell him the truth, could she?

"Aapne apna naam nahi bataya?" she asked, placing the pot filled with half water on the floor.

"Main?" he let out a laugh. "Main toh woh hoon jiski murli par sab gopiyan raas karti hain, main woh hoon jo sabka hriday sirf apne nainon se lubha sakta hai-" Devasena's breath was now stuck in her throat, if she remembers correctly then that was what she was singing two days back.

"Main Manmohan hoon." he said with a mischievous smile as Devasena felt a wave of cool air pass through her.

"Manmohan." she said as he closed his eyes and smiled in satisfaction. 

"Maine aapna naam bataya, aap apna bataiye." he said with a cute smile.

"Mera naam..." Devasena thought for a second before speaking. "Radha hai."

"Radha." he repeated as her heart skipped a beat. 

"Aap ke saath aur kaun rahta hai?" he asked as Devasena sat on the floor comfortably.

"Mere saath meri mata-" Devasena stopped midway as she remembered that she had to take back water. "Mata!" She picked up the pot and rushed out. "Mujhe kshama mujhe jaana hoga!" and with that she left.

"Arey ! Par rukiye toh!"Manmohan called out but she had already left. Between his laughs he said, "Tum ab bhi nahi badla, Chanchala. Tum ab bhi nahi badli."

Devasena filled the pots with water and rushed back to her hut where Kunti had a look of distress on her face. 

"Kahaan rah gayi thi, Vibha. Kabse tumhari raah dekh rahi thi." Kunti scolded.

"Wo mein...van mein bhatak gayi thi isliye thoda samay lag gaya." she lied as her brother's looked at her suspiciously.

"Ishwar ka dhanyawad ki tum thik ho." Kunti said as she tightly hugged her daughter. She took the pots away and left the Pandu princess under the scrutinizing gaze of her brothers.

"Tum jal hi bharne gayi thi na?" Arjun asked while looking at his sister with a scrutinizing look.

"Haan, main asatya thode hi bolungi." Devasena said as the Pandavas did not accept the lie. "Mujhe bahut karya, ab jaane dein." with that she made her way out of them.

'Hey Narayan! Aaj toh bach gayi, kal bhi bacha lijiyega.' she thought as she made her way to her mother.

"Tathastu!"         

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

Radhe Radhe