The potbellied five-year-old plopped down on Draupadi's lap. Startled she kept the letter she had been reading down, looking affectionately at the little boy. A strong yet sweet voice was heard.

"Abhimanyu, where have you run away to now? I swear if you disturb Jiji, I wi-" the voice stopped seeing Draupadi and the boy giggle. Subhadra the second wife of Arjuna and the mother of Abhimanyu smiled embarrassedly.

In a hurry, she picked up the little Abhimanyu, "Sorry Jiji, I was trying to feed him, but he always runs away to you. I will give him a good scolding this time, he keeps disturbing you." Subhadra sighed.

"How could Abhimanyu disturb me Subhadra? I have all the time in the world for him!" she made an expression she knew the little boy loved. Abhimanyu giggled and jumped out of his mother's arms to hers. 

"I thove you, Badi Maa!" said Abhimanyu with a lisp he had, it made Draupadi smile.

"I love you too little guy." she replied.

A total of seven years had passed since the eldest Pandava had asked for Khandavprastha from the interim king of Hastinapur. A lot had happened since then.

When the party of six had reached the said place. No, matter how far their eyes saw, there were just woods. Draupadi had burned down a part of the forest which was nothing compared to the vast expanse of bushes, shrubs and trees when the God of Lightning, Indra decided to grace them with his presence. He did not come empty-handed, he came with the mighty Vajra and he was eager to fire it. Turned out the woods of Khandava were granted the god's protection. With a lot of logical reasoning, the god had retreated. Keeping in mind his generosity the place was renamed as Indraprastha. Initially, no one ruled the kingdom, the six of them together did it very well. And then there was also the fact that there was no one to rule. The first years the six strived to make the land habitable, and they succeeded very well, a one-third of Hastinapur's population had settled in their abode. The kingdom flourished, the people were happy. When condition began to look stable, the five brothers in light of Draupadi's sacrifices had decided to stay prince consorts, making her the ruler. Panchal and its subordinate kingdom were named Agniprastha and united with Indraprastha. Making Draupadi the ruler of almost all of Aryavarta. The queen of Paripurnam, the consummate kingdom. A Ranisuya Yagya was conducted for her which made her the Samragni, the Empress of Aryavarta. The Sabha after the Yagya was not as smooth as she had wanted it to go. The non-compliant Magadhraj Jarasandha was disrespecting the Panduputras and Draupadi. With one swipe of his Sudarshana, Govind had cut his head off, making Duryodhana, his friend enraged he went to attack Govinda, Arjuna and Bhima stood before him, daring him to hurt the guest. The turmoil ended when Draupadi ordered Duryodhana, his vile brother Dushasan and his best friend Karna to surrender their weapons. Though the weapons had been returned when the three crossed the borders of Paripurnam, Duryodhana felt humiliated, Draupadi knew revenge would be sought.

The Pandavas to continue their legacy had married once more. The forbearing wife of Yudhishtira, Devika bore him a son learned, like his father and gentle like her mother, but he also took after Draupadi's fierceness, he was named Yaudeha, the warrior. Kaurunamati like her name was gentle and philosophical unlike her husband Nakul, who she bore a son gentle but practical named Niramitra, he who has no enemies. Valandhara though was short and petite, her clever words could hurt the enemies, she bore Bhima a son just like him, strong and fierce but he was also very soft at heart, thus he was named Sarvagya, he who resided in every heart. Vijaya, the youngest's practical wife bore him a Rishi like son, Suhotra, the one who did Dharmik rituals. Subhadra, the sister of Vasudeva, witty and beautiful had borne Arjuna the youngest of the brothers and the most valiant Abhimanyu, the heroic man. All the Upapandavas as they were called loved Draupadi as much as their biological mothers. Subhadra was sure that Abhimanyu loved Draupadi more than her. She was a sweet soul and loved Draupadi like an elder sister, she was happy to see her son grow in Draupadi's shadow.

Subhadra picked up Abhimanyu again, "Sorry Jiji we will leave now, this dusht has to eat." Abhimanyu giggled, as his mother took him away.

Draupadi turned back towards the letter she had been reading. The seal though broken made it clear who was the sender. The thick yellow papyrus was an invitation. An invitation to a Dyutasabha from the Crown Prince of Hastinapur. Draupadi knew what she had to write.

Author's note: I am providing a vocabulary for words you may be unfamiliar with:

Abhimanyu - The son of Arjuna and Subhadra, the youngest of the Upapandavas 

Subhadra - The second wife of Arjuna

Badi Maa - Hindi for Elder Mother

Indra - The lightning God in Hinduism

Vajra - Th weapon of Lord Indra

Indraprastha - The renamed and habitable version of Khandavaprastha

Agniprastha - The renamed regions of Panchal and kingdoms under it

Paripurnam - The kingdom of Draupadi

Ranisuya Yagya - A ritual for the consecration of the queen

Sabha - A council

Jarasandha - The king of Magadh, current-day Bihar

Sudarshana - The weapon of Vasudev Krishna

Dushasan - The brother of Duryodhana, the second eldest Kauravas

Karna - The best friend of Duryodhana, the king of Angdesh

Devika - The second wife of Yudhishtira

Yaudeha - The son of Yudhishtira and Devika, the eldest of the Upapandavas 

Karunamati - The second wife of Nakul

Niramitra - The son of Nakul and Karunamati, the second of the Upapandavas 

Valandhara - The second wife of Bhima

Sarvagya - The son of Bhima and Valandhara, the third of the Upapandavas 

Vijaya -The second wife of Sahdev

Suhotra - The son of Sahdev and Vijaya, the fourth of the Upapandavas 

Dharmik - Related to Dharma

Upapandavas - The sons of Pandavas

Dusht - Hindi for monster

Dyutsabha - A gambling council