Hastinapur

Arjun's POV

My lips shifted up into an inadvertent smile, as my orbs lingered upon the words on the parchment. Smudging the edge of it with my thumb, my heart couldn't help but dash back to the stack of particular memories. 

Strange ah?

You recall of your own father by reading someone else's father's letters? Maybe that's because a father's love towards their children ain't any different.

I stared blankly at the piece of paper, lost down in the aisle of the memory lane. Sucking in enough air to dissolve the lump in the throat, my thumb began to stroke the edge of my lips. A habit I had unknowingly developed whenever the heart tries to play with feelings instead of doing its job of pumping blood, threatening to reveal themselves in those trickles of water and my urge to pause them.

Stupid heart.

"Arjun, can you hand me over Pitashree's letter?" My eyes travelled up towards the woman who was seated on the edge of the bed, with her hand extended yet eyes glued on the other parchments with a contented smile on her face. The voice died out just like that, while I kept staring at her with a void expression.

"Arya Arjun?" 

"Hmm?" I snapped back to reality, realizing the fact that I had been clutching Maharaaj Drupad's letter in my hand for a long time. "Yeah," I sucked in all the feelings I had unknowingly allowed to flow and strode towards her with an extended palm clutching the parchment.

"Is anything...... wrong?" 

Difficult question. 

Her eyebrows knitted gradually, making me realize she is about to make me spill out everything.  I retracted my gaze from her and glued it on the chamber door, still retaining the blank expression and rested my hand on her shoulder. "Come with me," I vaguely patted her.

"But where?"

"First you come with me," I didn't dare to look back as I strode out of the chamber. A soft smile graced my lips as the footsteps coupled with chiming of anklets and a perfervid scent of blue lotus trailed behind me.

A whiff of cool yet pleasant wind collided my face as the stretch of vast stretch of empty land lay open and empty in front of my eyes. Nothing, just moonlight graced the tip of grasses allowing them to shimmer. I crouched down and laid on my back flat, a cooling sensation consumed me as I hit the soft grasses. 

I pursed my lips looking back at her, who stood assessing the area with folded palms. I waved at her and patted the space beside me, indicating her to join. She gave me an amused expression and began smoothening her lower garment, seating beside me. My gaze prolonged on exuberant dark hued figure, while she wrapped both her arms around her knees and gave an agile exhale.

"Worried about spoiling your hair?" I half smiled, her fragrance of blue lotus intoxicating my nostrils. 

"No," she shrugged, giving me an obvious expression. Her fingers went up towards her braid as she pushed it to one side of her shoulder and plopped down flat on the ground, "Happy?" she bared her teeth, dimples etching on both her cheeks. Though dark, I could observe her orphic ravens bearing into my ambers.

My lips stretched on both sides seeing her smile, while she dashed her eyes, fixing it on the night sky, "Looks better like this."

"I know right," I copied her and glued my eyes on the shiny round orb that was out in its full glamour. The stars sprinkled in the sky like glitters, adding to the charm.

Beautiful night.

With a beautiful person.

"So? Star gazing all of a sudden?" she cupped her elbows and meekly questioned.

"Nothing, just remembered somethi-someone." My fingers started playing with the grass tips, rolling it unknowingly as I consumed the view above me. 

"You miss him?"

"Miss whom?" I simply answered without thinking, half of my mind still lost in memories and other half in the sky. 

"Your father...." My head snapped back towards her in astonishment. She laid still, moonlight embellishing the exposed parts of her dark skin, as it shone under it. Unblemished, untarnished.

 My lips parted open to utter something but I was caught tongue tied incredulously, my eyebrows curving down while my heart began screaming only one question.

How on earth did she comprehend that?

"Was it that obvious?" I finally answered, feeling a bit defeated that someone was about to discern through what I was trying to abstract. I mean I generally don't allow people to easily read or assess me. Most of the times I had spent where sucking in back what I had in store and when did it slowly became a habit, I myself didn't realize.

 Now that I do, I still rely upon snuggling to what I was used to. That would be literally the last thing I might prefer; an open speaking of the heart. Because, I don't know what it has in store or rather gather appropriate words to frame them.

But this woman seems to be pushing me out of my comfort zone subtly. So much so that I once or twice ended up speaking too much in front of her. Too much more than she is supposed to know. 

And it appeared beyond my succour.

She is trying to breach the walls of the small and secure world I had created for myself. And she is succeeding. Too much than anyone should.  

Wha-what will happen if she succeeds completely in doing that?

"Is it bad to be obvious?" 

Her words transferred me back to reality, making me shove off the question instantly. Do-don't go there Arjun, don't. Don't think about it.

Don't.

"Its not in my trait actually,"  I managed to formulate something, smothering the strand of curl as a whiff of wind made it fall on my forehead, back to where it belonged, "Your Highness seems to be assessing this poor man too much." 

She didn't reply, but dropped her lids down to her fingers with were fidgeting with the end of her clothing. "You used to star gaze with your father?" she smartly shifted the question, making me flash a soft smile, "Hmm, favorite hobby. All five of us and father." 

 I rubbed my palm with my thumb, not that a miniscule part of me trying to imagine the full figure of my father rested beside me. Just like those days.

"Even without meeting him, I can assure by your words that he might be an remarkable individual."

 "Remarkable, would be an understatement." my heart unknowingly dipped to what I can recall about him, "Amazing words he chose. He used to speak in riddles. You know, he used to say that nothing is really dark or does darkness exist. It is just the phase when there is no light, and it is not possible for light to exist anywhere." I chuckled softly, "Seems like a tongue twister, doesn't it? We smacked our heads and then realized that he was actually...actually talking about the night sky."

I heard a soft sigh of laughter from beside me.

"Strange right Krishnaa, sometimes we don't understand simple things. They are right in front of us, they are simple, yet we refuse to acknowledge them. And sometimes simple things hide a lot. Finding your happiness in them is what matters....just like those stars above. For someone it might be just a stuff, or a part of Universe that exists for the sake of it.

Maybe it was for me as well. Watching those stars sometimes for the sake of that it exists. But when Pitashree went away, then I realized that I had left an emotion connected to it and it, it still exists.." I really don't know what I was blabbering, but it was providing a tiny feeling of relief swirled in my heart as I did so, "And the feeling is nothing but, peace." I seem to have completed what I was feeling all of a sudden.

Sensing a pair of eyes glued on me curiously, I realized that once again I had spoken too much, "Too much life lessons for the day?" I drooped my eyebrows casually and shrugged, trying to hide the slight embarrassment under the garb of jest as my eyes collided with those dark orbs which were calculating my each and every move. 

They surveilled me such warmth and ardour, the sense of adulation with which it performed appeared to pore down through each and every nook of my soul. 

She smiled and shook her head after a while, her nose scrunching up slightly as she twirled the edge of her saree, "I can never judge you for what you feel." A smile dared to etch on my lips hearing her. 

"Just that you don't get to hear Arjun speaking two full paragraphs in a single breath without pausing, that too not related to archery," she added, raising up her eyebrows.

My jaw dropped slightly, as I lifted a few blades of grasses and tossed it on her face. She covered her face with her palms instantly to block it and began with a full fledged giggle.

★★★★★★★★★

A/N

Arjun is the real definition of--Bahut kam bolta hai lekin jo bhi bolta hai bada meetha bolta hai ( He speaks less but whatever he speaks is always sweet). 

Well, btw how do you guys like my portrayal of Arjun? 🥺🥺👉👈🐨🐨

Guys, and if you are thinking why are you getting all One-Shots from Arjun's POV, the thing is that...

Jaanti hu aukaat ke bahar hai lekin,ka-kabhi to mujhe apna sapna poora karne do Arjun banne ka! *looks away flustered*

Signing off for today!

~Kiritija Nushkie