"The stench of blood still lingers."

An inauspicious silence engulfed the room except the bated breaths of its occupants and the mild rustling of heavy curtains whenever a strong gust of wind blew inside. My eyes were transfixed on the spot where a few moments ago Dviti was withering against the hold of guards. The pool of blood laid fresh there, painting the floor in its ominous colours as a reminder of events transpired. The faint golden light of earthen lamps wavered on the faces present, highlighting fear present on them. The flowery fragrance deluged in the room was now accompanied with a rusty smell of blood which made me nauseous to some extent.

"Scrub it off." I whispered while clinging to Sugdha's frame. Staring at the floor marred in shades of red, I inhaled the repugnant odor lingering in the air. "I said scrub it off!" I raised my voice on seeing them in a dawn state.

The anger in my voice was unmistakable and so was the tremor of guilt within every syllable. Scurrying from their post the maids started cleaning the mess but Sugdha stayed there by my side.

"Rajkumari, should I get a seat for you?" Sugdha whispered softly. I shook my head in denial and just kept staring at the spot. With a splash of water the blood washed away, leaving droplets of water splattered around. A trail of blood carrying water reached my feet, I stayed there letting the blood now turned lather water soak them. It was like a reminder, reminder of the choices forced on me. 'Or choices you made? You knew this didn't you? You bear the burden of her doom, don't you?' A voice inside my head claimed.

'Of course not!' Another voice in my head chided. 'How could that be you? Every choice is forced on you. You are a mere observer.'

The reply of that voice calmed the dread sprouting underneath the stoic countenance, I currently donned. Regardless of all the mental debates the previous voice wasn't satiated, as a matter of fact even my conscience was skeptical of these false words of sweetness.

"Rajkumari, your clothes! They are wet, atleast change them." Sugdha fussed on seeing the soaked hem of my lehenga.

"Rather get a bath ready for me." I answered softly.

"Rajkumari..." She trailed.

"A bath Sugdha." I commanded her without skipping a beat. On realizing that I was not going to back off she nodded and departed from the room with few maids along her. I stood there, my back straight and eyes following every move of the servants. The floor looked clean but red blotches were still there whenever I looked at that place.

"The floor is not clean! Scrub thoroughly." I ordered the maid who was wiping the floor with a damp cloth. At first she looked confused but on seeing my glare she started scrubbing off the place with renewed vigour.

"Rajkumari, your bath is ready." Jasvi informed me with a bowed head and hands tightly clutched. Her shoulders had a slight tremor but she kept her stance straight and waited for me to take steps ahead.

"Make sure they clean this off and pour scent on that spot. The stench of blood should not be apparent." Instructing them, I exited the room to the bathing chambers.

Taking a few turns, I wholeheartedly tried to ignore fleeting glances at me. Whatever hallway I took, apart from the dim torches the only thing that was common in them were whispers. Whispers directed at me, skindering over the topic that occurred today. Though I acted as if they were unheard or beneath my notice but I listened, every syllable that was followed by my name was precisely heard by me. The chatters were unbearable but neither could I run nor could I hide away from them.

The small distance between the main chamber and the bath felt miles apart which I had to traverse bearing the searing whispers regardless of my will.

As soon as I reached the bathing place, the faint odor of roses, sandalwood and jasmine hit my nostrils subsequently relaxing my nerves. The whole area was jammed with steam wafting from the warm water and maids were making arrangements for the bath. Two maids approached me and helped me undress meticulously while I stood there ready to wash away grime sheathing my body.

Dabbing my palm in the water, I crunched my brow. "The water is not warm enough. Heat it a bit more." I commanded the maid next to me. She muttered a few words of affirmation before trotting away to get another pail of hot water. Meanwhile I stepped inside the tab and let the maids give me a wash. By the time the maid poured a third pail of hot boiling water my bath was halfway done but the heat was still not enough. I rested my head on the edge of the tub rewinding the memories repetitively. The debate was still prevailing in my head but the face reflecting from the bronze mirror ahead of me was stoic.

A maid set a cloth soused in sesame oil on my forehead while the other untangled knots of my tresses. After quite some time I opened my eyelids and studied the intricate designs on the ceiling. Carved meticulously, there were several flowers beautifying it with stone chiseled maidens smiling down at me.

With nibble movements the maids got the paste of sandalwood and applied it on my body. Their palms rubbed off my torso trying to clean the sludge off me but the filth seemed to be settled on my body or perhaps my conscience too.

"Rub more diligently." I asked the maid who had now suds accumulating on her forehead. She tried but the effects were nowhere to be seen. After I was done with my bath, my body was marred with red with faint scratches due to harsh rubbing but the dirt didn't leave its spot. It was as if it was now deep seated within my skin and I wanted nothing but to wash them away. Though they were deep scratches on my feet with fingernail marks of my own, my feet felt especially defiled. I took another batch of sandalwood from the bowl and applied it on my feet while trying to ignore the searing pain surfacing on touching them.

"Rajkumari, you are hurting yourself." Sugdha croaked out on seeing my futile trials. She bowed down and took my feet and started cleaning them wordlessly. Thereafter she started drying them with the nearest white cotton cloth.

"The dirt isn't leaving me." I muttered under my breath while looking at her gentle actions.

"There is no dirt to clean." She said while applying lemongrass oil on my feet. Another maid helped her and started dabbing my neck with the fragrance of Jasmine and rosewater on my sides.

"Look closely, they are covered in blood." I pointed at the droplets of blood still marking my skin. She just shook her head and drew small patterns of sandalwood on my back. Finally finishing her work by adding faint musk-like smells on my hair, she combed them and muttered small words of support to me.

"There is nothing, Rajkumari. The dark clouds of fear have now mitigated." She murmured while clothing me. Draping me in red cotton clothes she ushered a maid to bring a mirror for me to look at. "You are unblemished." She held the mirror closer to me as if asking me to check that myself.

"You are right. I have no blemishes." I lied and casted my eyes down at my intervened fingers. They were red, like the rest of my skin and the blotches were still there. "Let's leave, the vapours are suffocating me."

Standing up, I didn't wait for the response and strode back to my room. The pain of my body was unbearable with feet bleeding at the soles but I tried to ignore it. Soon Sugdha caught up with my pace and held my arm in support on noticing my stumbling steps. By the time I reached there, the whole room was arranged in an immaculate manner with everything rinsed and things kept in proper positions. The spot where the blood graced the floor had scratches present as if the floor burned when an innocent's blood poured on it. It had scratched like the one I donned on every inch of my skin, though the blotches stuck on my skin was accompanied by the redness of my own.

"Why is the smell of blood still there Sugdha?" I questioned her icily. She scrunched her brows and took a sniff of the room.

"The room only smells like the usual faint ratrani Rajkumari, there is no blood." She answered. I retracted my hand and shook my head while taking a deep breath. "The stench of blood still lingers. Use a bit more fragrance."

She didn't refute my words but a hesitation could be easily seen in her eyes. Getting a fragrance, she poured droplets of the scent on the battered spot, then looked at me for a nod of affirmation.

"Still not enough." I shook my head in denial. She repeated the movement and my answer was the same yet again. "Rajkumari, there is no odor of blood." She said again which irked me. Taking the bottle from her clutches I poured the entire content on the place and let the heinous smell get subdued by the aromatic smell of rare jasmine plants from western desert regions.

"The stink is finally repressed." I took a deep breath of satisfaction which contrasted Sugdha's action of pressing a cloth on her nostrils as if being repulsed by the sweet odour.

"Rajkumari, you poured too much fragrance." She exclaimed which turned out to be muffled due to cloth pressed on half her face.

I paid little attention to her words and strode to my bed. The sheets were well arranged with extra coverings kept near the corner. I dismissed everyone with a swift movement of my hand and sat on the edge, trying to forget events that transpired today.

I almost sprawled on my bed with my fingers playing with the creases of the bedsheet. The faint rustling of curtains was still audible despite me being in the inner chambers. My eyes drooped and soon I slipped into my dreamscape but this time they were infested with horrors.

I was standing in the same garden as before with the ball in my hand and the girls staring at me. Instead of cool winds the ambience had humidity and there was utter stillness.

I took a few steps towards the girls but the scene swapped to my room where my mother was sitting along with Shreeman Aniishvara who was staring into my eyes. With a blink of my eyes his face changed to that of Bhrata Shakuni.

"The help is always there." He mouths, then points at my hands where a rose conjures. I hear Sugdha instructing Dviti to get flowers. I try to move, muster words to stop her from doing so but the world suddenly starts to rumble and before I could turn around, the world turns dark and there stood Dviti, donning tattered clothes, bloodshot eyes and grime covered face.

With a jolt I woke up and realized a thin layer of precipitate was covering my forehead when I tried to tuck a lock of my unbridled tresses behind my ear. Sans any winds the room was eerie silent and the only sound resonating was my ragged breath. The paws of darkness held the room under its captive as the earthen lamps were now extinguished and some had faint lining of smoke coming out of them.

I tried to call out my maids but my throat felt too dry to voice out anything. After multiple failed attempts I climbed down the bed and with small, stumbling steps headed to the porch.

Everything felt still under the starry night sky and I oddly felt uncomfortable with this. The parrots on the perch were sleeping and the only company I had of my shadow.

'Help' I heard a whisper from the darkest corner of my room.

Taking a few silent steps I headed in that direction.

'Help' Another plea came from a totally different direction. Soon another plea followed and the trend continued until those whispers turned into a set of chatters calling out for me. An acute thorb started permeating in my head and after every whisper it became more obvious. Anchored on my spot, I fell on my knees trying to stop these voices from resonating in my head but all in vain. They continued, continued until I curled up in a fetal position and started sobbing.

They kept on going, speaking all kinds of heinous things to me. It was like a never ending punishment that only ended when the first ray of sun stroked my visage, liberating me from the agony and soon I closed my eyes to seek the sleep I missed out.

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Hello people! The update is here.

I am trying to improve my updating schedule. Though I have a fair idea that I would fail in this but nevermind.

How was the chapter?

Did you liked it?

What do you think is happening with Gandhari?

What must have transpired with Dviti?

Tell me through you your comments regarding your views on the events unfolding and what you think might happen next.

Till then. Byes!