"Who are you? Wait is this a tunnel under the bushes?" I looked around.

He looked tall and masculine with a piece of cloth hiding his face.
"What do you want from me?"
"I want you," he replied.
His voice seemed quite familiar.
"Don't you come close to me? My husband lives here too. He'll kill you and bury you in this very tunnel."
"He wouldn't know that you are here." he came closer.
I threw sand at him and moved back from him.

"Dhaksha, it's me." he coughed.
He removed the piece of cloth from his face and revealed himself.
"Aarya?" I exclaimed.
"I'm proud of you." he kept coughing.
"Why didn't you tell me that it was you? I'm sorry." I moved closer.
"I wanted to have some fun," he replied.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"No, I'm not. I think something got into this eye." he showed me.
"Let me help you." I blew on his eye.
"It's still there, Dhaksha," he replied.
I blew on his eye again.
"Yeah. I'm good now." he kissed me on the cheeks.
"Aarya?" I exclaimed.
"What?" he asked me.
"I've missed you a lot, Arjuna." I hugged him.
"I've missed you too, my lady." he hugged me back.

"Alright, let's get out. They'll be searching for me."
"Yeah, let's go." he climbed up.
"Give me your hands." he helped me to climb up.
"Dhaksha, where were you?" I saw Draupadi running towards me.
"Sakhi, my Aarya-"
In an instant, I slipped down and fell into the bushes.
** "Aarya Shiva,  forgive me." I heard a voice. **
"Are you alright, Dhaksha?" Aarya pulled me up.
"Aarya, did you hear anything?" I asked him.
"I just heard you fell, Dhaksha," he replied.
"But.."
"Are you alright?" he asked me.
"Let's leave."

Nearly sunset

I walked into the woods deep inside and settled down on the tree's root, thinking about the voice I heard.

"Dhaksha, what are you doing here?" I heard Aarya.
"This tree is very beautiful, isn't it?"
"Is something bothering you?" he asked.
"Only he knows how I feel."
"I wanted to tell you something, Aarya."
I explained everything about Rishyasringa.
"He gave you a love letter?" he exclaimed.
"Letters. He gave me many poems. He said he was admiring me from afar."
"Admiring you? What did he admire? You were just plucking flowers." he replied.
"I don't know, Aarya"
"Why would you go out alone?" he raised his voice.
"I can't trouble everyone, Aarya. That's why."
"Continue the story," he said
"He's mad at me."
I continued narrating the story to him.
"How dare he is to mess with my wife," he replied.
"He didn't know that I'm your wife. I didn't reveal my identity."
"But, why would they make a weapon to kill you?" he exclaimed.
"I don't know, Aarya. Everything is a mystery."
"From now on, I'm going everywhere you go," he replied.
"I won't go anywhere, Arjuna." I held his shoulder.
"I'm mad at you, Dhaksha." he moved back.
"Why are you mad, Arjuna?" I moved closer to him.
"Why did you let him write letters about you?"
"Did he describe the way your eyes looks? Did he describe the smell of your scent? Did he describe anything about your soft lips and this soft hair?" he slid his finger through my hair and pinned me to the tree.

"He's making me feel things that all his 100 letters fail to. Arjuna, Arjuna. My Arjuna."
"No one will know anything about this other than you, Arjuna," I replied.
"When will I get to know more about you, my lady?" he whispered in my ears.
"What else do you want to know, Aarya?"
"There are many. I can't tell you. I'll show it to you one day." he replied.
"That's when I realised. I forgot to take in the oxygen and give out Carbon dioxide."
"Dhaksha?" he called out for me.
"Let's leave from here. It's going to be sunset." he dragged me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Days at Kailya were truly the most beautiful moments of my life. I cherish every moment spent with my beloved Aarya and all my dear companions. Yet, there remains a deep longing for my Bhaiya, Krishna. I often reflect on how drastically my life transformed after he brought me here. Without his support, none of this would have been possible. He gifted me this wonderful family and everything I hold dear. At times, I also think about my Sakha, Karna, with whom I had conflicts. My heart aches at the thought of how I spoke to him, and I find myself searching for ways to reach out and apologize.

As I continue to pray to Lord Shiva, I feel an inexplicable connection to him growing stronger. There's an unanswered question lingering in my mind about why Krishna guided me to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva. This mystery weighs heavily on my thoughts, leaving me wondering if I'll ever understand it fully. I struggle with the belief that I may never hear from Lord Shiva directly, but I hold onto hope.

"Om Namah Shivay
Om Namo Bhagwate Rudraay'
Om Namah Shivay-"

** "Aarya Shiva, Forgive me." I heard the voice. **

My head started to ache as I kept hearing the voice again and again.
"Who's that?" I shouted.
"What happened, Dhaksha?  Everything's okay?" Bheem asked.
While all the others turned to me.
"Dhaksha? Are you okay?" Aarya asked.
"No, I'm good," I replied.
"Om Namah Shivay
Om Namo Bhagwate Rudraay-"

"How are you, my lady?"  I heard a familiar voice.
I opened my eyes to see the hunter standing in front of me.

To be continued...

Why do you think Dhaksha was told to seek Lord Shiva?

Who is that hunter who saved her?

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Author's note

Thanks for soo much love and support❤.