2 months later

Abhimanyu woke up early, however a little late than usual and proceeded towards the practice grounds where Kriti was waiting for him.
"Sorry, I am a bit late", he panted.
Kriti raised an eyebrow. "You are late again. Anything interesting happening?"
Kriti smirked at his brother and continued to tease him. Abhimanyu rolled his eyes. "It's nothing like that, you know it!"
Kriti however, just laughed.

Abhimanyu ignored him and picked up his bow from the stand under the tree.
"How far should we aim today?", he asked eagerly. Every week, he and Kriti would decide on a target and practice for the whole week. The next week, they would decide a target again, a more difficult one, and perfect it during the week.

Kriti squinted his eyes, thinking. "How about that one?", he suggested, pointing at it.
Abhimanyu followed his finger. Kriti was pointing towards a water droplet, about to fall off a leaf. Due to the monsoons, there were several. Abhimanyu nodded, excitedly.

He picked up an arrow and aimed at a water drop. He squinted his eyes in concentration, calculating the exact moment it would fall, before releasing his arrow.
His aim was perfect, the arrow cutting through the drop. Abhimanyu smiled, satisfied.

Kriti went next and pierced his droplet with precision, feeling proud.
The two brothers exchanged a look, before continuing their practice.

        ♡♧◇♤♡♧◇♤♡♧♤

Uttara stood in her balcony, breathing in the fresh air. It had rained the entire night and the morning was beautiful. Greenery everywhere, the smell of soft, wet soil.
It was sad that she had to stay indoors, in the treasury, behind it's closed doors, counting wealth, instead of spending her time outdoors. She sighed.

No matter how much she loved her work, it was sometimes exhausting. But she was proud to have learned so much  under Mata Draupadi.
She bathed and Kuhu did her hair, before she left for the treasury.

Mata Draupadi was already there, instructing the officers. Uttara stood at the gate for a while, admiring her mother-in-law.
She wondered how Mata handles five husbands, all with different needs and wants and performs her royal duties perfectly. And here she was. Not sure how to handle one husband.

Draupadi turned around to see Uttara and smiled at her.
"Uttara. What are you doing there? Come in".

Uttara nodded and started her work of recording everything. She counted all the gold coins, silver and precious gemstones, won from various kingdoms.
She finally finished and was surprised that she was done before time.

Draupadi smiled at her, proudly.
"Well done, putri", she complimented. "You have improved tremendously."
Uttara smiled shyly. It wasn't everyday that the Samragyi of Indraprasth compliments someone. Even her own daughters.

Uttara left the treasury, feeling proud of herself.

'Well', she thought. 'Atleast someone here values me.'

      ♡♧◇♤♡♧◇♤♡♧◇♤

It had been two months since their marriage and they still weren't really on talking terms. Uttara hadn't known what to expect, but she definitely didn't expect this.

It has been two months and all her attempts to break his wall had been futile. She never expected them to fall in love, not even close.
But she did expect them to be friends, or atleast an acknowledgement, but that wasn't the case.

He was never disrespectful, nor had he ever mistreated her, but he was blatantly indifferent and sometimes, unintentionally rude.
She desperately tried to find some emotion in him, something he felt towards her, but was unsuccessful.

They did talk, atleast she did. At night time, in their private chambers, where he neither had an excuse to leave, nor an opportunity to wander off in the middle of the conversation.
And if she ever pointed this out, it often led to an argument. At first, she would feel hurt, but now, she was just habituated to it.

'How can anyone be this unbothered', she wondered. 'Especially with the person who happens to be his wife'.
It was true. He was like a puzzle which she wasn't able to solve, an unanswered question, a problem without a solution.

She was often tempted to complain to Mata Draupadi. Or atleast, ask for advice. Several times over the course of these two months, the question was on her tongue, ready to be asked, but she didn't.

She didn't know what would Mata think. Draupadi had accepted Uttara with open arms and treated her like her daughter. 
But Abhimanyu is, afterall her son. Would she even accept Uttara talking ill about him?
These thoughts prevented her from saying a word to Mata.

It was night time now and Abhimanyu could enter the chambers any time now.
She contemplated whether she should initiate a conversation, or just let him be.
She was to be ignored either way, so it didn't really matter.

Abhimanyu entered her chambers a few minutes later. As usual, he struggled with his ornaments. Uttara bit back a laugh. He would struggle for fifteen minutes to take off his ornaments, but never once would ask her for help.

Finally, when he was done, he came and sat on the bed. Uttara put down the book she was reading, and turned to face him, deciding to talk.
"So, how was your day, arya?", she asked sweetly.
Abhimanyu glared at her before answering. "It was fine."

"Just fine?", she questioned again.
"Yes. Nothing interesting happened", he replied curtly.
"Nothing interesting ever seems to happen in your life", she tried to get him to talk, to give her a proper reply.
"Atleast nothing you should be bothered about", he said sharply.

Uttara sighed. This had become routine for her. She often wondered if her Arya was reserved like her, but he did seem to get along well with others. Just not her.
"Atleast try sharing your day with me", she argued, finally snapping. "Maybe we will find something common to talk about."

He turned to face her. He looked angry.
"I don't want to. So stop forcing me. Nothing that happens is worth sharing with you."
"You never talk to me. How would you know if something interests me or not?", she countered.

Abhimanyu looked annoyed. "Listen Rajkumari", he spoke calmly yet rudely. "I don't care what interests you and what doesn't. I don't care what you think. There is no place in my life for you and you better understand that. You are unwanted here".

Uttara froze on her spot as Abhimanyu's eyes widened, realizing what he just said.