"Father, I will not fail you, I do not mean to boast father, but that old man will die of fear when he knows of my birth when he knows of his death." spoke Drishtdyumna seeking to avenge his father for reasons unknown to him.

"That is my son, my son who will shed the blood of the man, who made me shed tears. Come here, Draupada" Drupad called his son by the name derived from his, embracing him.

"Long live father!" said Draupadi entering the court unnoticed by the king until she greeted him.

In reply Drupad just waved his hand, glancing at his daughter once, turning his attention back to his son. If the truth was said, Drupad was not fond of his daughter, why would he wed his offspring to someone who defeated him, though Arjuna was a great warrior, he was the pupil of his archnemesis. Moreover, he feared that his daughter would outsmart his son. He already was not liked by many for having a daughter who wore an armour instead of an angavastram, though Draupadi did not wear armour, she looked like she didn't need one. Drupad had decided that he would be known as the father of Drishtdyumna, the man who killed Drona, he refused to be defined by a woman once again. From the moment Draupadi stepped out of the fire Drupad had decided that he would entertain her on royal occasions, he was not keen on having a father-daughter relationship. The truth hadn't been spoken out loud, but Drupad made no effort to hide it either. No one spoke, but all knew Draupadi was not the favoured one. Draupadi herself knew the truth, she decided not to speak, to not damage the little respect his father was left with.

She seated herself beside her elder sister Shikhandini, she respected her, not only because she played with swords like girls played with dolls, but because she did not say anything to her father when she was overlooked, she continued to try to make him proud of her, fighting his battles hoping to win his affection. When she was born, it was said that she was born to kill the mighty Senapati of Hastinapur, Devrat. He was known as Bhishma for his robust vow to remain an ascetic all his life and forever be the slave of the throne.

"Greetings Didi!" Draupadi regarded her smiling.

"Greeting to you little sister." Shikhandini said returning the smile.

Drishtdyumna seated himself on the left of Draupadi, not caring to even address them.

Draupadi was not affected but as soon as she saw the look on her sister's face, she decided to say something.

"Didi, I have a certain doubt about the customs of Panchal." she whispered loud enough for both Shikhandini and Drishtdyumna to hear, "Is it that the males of the house do not greet the females or is that just arrogance?" Draupadi said feigning curiosity, her words dripping of sarcasm.

Shikhandini looked at her with amusement, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open, but she had a little smile on her face. Drishtdyumna acted like he didn't hear what Draupadi had just said, but his hardened face said otherwise.

Draupadi had lost the track of things going on in the court because of her little jab. She caught on, there was some vidushak, an entertainer asking riddles from the king.

"वृक्षाग्रवासी न च पक्षिराजः त्रिनेत्रधारी न च शूलपाणिः।

त्वग्वस्त्रधारी न च सिद्धयोगी जलं च बिभ्रत् न घटो न मेघः।।" said the obese vidushak.

Lives atop the tree but is not a bird. Has three eyes but is not Lord Shiva. 

Wears nothing over the skin but is not a sage. Contains water but is not a pot or a cloud.

"Hmmm... Nice riddle vidushak, my son will answer you." Drupad said pointing at Drishtdyumna.

"Umm.... father, this is a trick riddle who else can have three eyes except for Lord Shiva!" Drishtdyumna declared though he sounded confident he didn't look so.

"Wrong answer, your highness!" laughed the vidushak.

Draupadi grew impatient now, how was the answer not obvious to him?

"The answer to your riddle is coconut, vidushak." Draupadi answered.

The vidushak clapped, and turned towards the king, "Your daughter's wits are commendable my Lord." 

Drupad just nodded, his expression inscrutable. He waved his hands towards the courtsayer.

"Adjourned!" the sayer bellowed. Everyone waited for the king to leave before departing themselves.

Though he did not say anything, Draupadi knew his father was unhappy, just because she knew something his son did not?

Draupadi at that very moment decided to show her father what she was capable of, she had no intention of hurting Drishtdyumna's feelings, but she had to show the people she deserved as much respect.

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

Draupada - Another name for Drishtdyuma, derived from the name of his father Drupad

Hastinapur - A kingdom of ancient India, current-day Meerut, India

Devrat - The military commander of Hastinapur

Bhishma - Another name of Devrat

Didi - The Hindi word for sister

Vidushak - A jester

Shiva - The Hindu god of destruction of evil