Lakshman was the very last to sit down in the carriage. Bharat sniffled, Ram waved goodbye to the ashram forlornly, and even cheery Shatrughan looked down. Without delay, Sumant began to drive the carriage slowly, and it escaped from the view of the ashram dwellers, down the winding path through the forest.

"I wonder what our parents will say," Bharat began, biting his lip, "when they see us again," Shatrughan grinned, finding a new opportunity to tell a joke.

"Yes, what will they say when they see you, Bharat bhaiyya? Our new family rebel, aren't you?" Bharat blushed, scratching the back of his head as Ram laughed. He had smuggled in all of his paintings onto the carriage even if the guru wanted to keep them. "I wonder what they will say when they see Laksh and I." Shatrughan continued. "They'll be overjoyed at Ram, I know."

Ram smiled sadly. He remembered the pathway to the ashram which they had last trekked down six years ago. The wilting tree saplings, which Lakshman glared at now. The massive boulders lining the side of the dirt road. The steady stream of trickling water that you could only hear, but could almost visualize it. It was as if faded color pictures were brought back to life.

And yet there were new sights as well. New nests, built by aspiring bird parents. Was that some chirping he could hear? Sprouting plants, lined with bright red berries that Maa Sumitra had warned him not to eat. New natural springs that could have been caused by lightning strikes. Ram settled back in for the long ride home. Maa Kaushalya. Maa Kaikeyi. Maa Sumitra. Father Dasharath.

"Kaushalya! Kaikeyi! Raja Dasharath!" an eager squeal was heard from down the corridor. "Our princes are coming home!" Sumitra dashed down the hallway, not caring about elegance, and found her sisters and husband lining pillars with auspicious orange flowers, painting rangoli on the ground, instructing the palace cooks to make special foods, ensuring that the princes were comfortable.

"Falak," demanded Rani Kaikeyi. "Make my Ram's gulab jamuns like you used to do. I want to feed my son with my very own hands." The excited cook nodded and ran away. "Mirza, make sure that Bharat has his set of paints and canvas close by." Kaushalya laughed as Sumitra grasped her behen Kaikeyi's hands and twirled her around.

"Our princes are coming home! Our family is complete!" laughed Raja Dasharath, leaning against the wall for support. Sumitra smiled reminiscently.

"I wonder if Ram still has those beautiful lotus eyes. If Bharat goes around painting anything and everything he can find." Sumitra practically glowed as she spoke fondly of the eldest two. Kaikeyi joined in.

"If Shatrughan pranks everyone he sees, making jokes that can make even our stoic palace guards laugh." Kaushalya didn't want to be left out.

"If Laksh is still our "angry young man" that scares our foreign adversaries into making alliances with us." Kaikeyi wondered, shaking her head. Sumitra leaned in, smirking.

"If he is, perhaps I will dose his bowl with some more chili peppers." Kaushalya cut in, looking horrified.

"Don't! The poor boy already has to consume enough. I'm telling you Sumitra, those peppers are only making him more hot-headed. Did you see him verbally clashing with his servant maid?" The royal family's memory session was cut off by an announcement.

"WELCOME, THE PRINCES OF AYODHYA!" A booming voice echoed through the palace, and silence, before Sumitra began to run urgently, all laughter forgotten. The other three followed, hasty footsteps down the hall as they ran out the main entrance of the palace. A large crowd, all of Ayodhya, was gathered at the front, and cheers rose from it as the carriage rode in, faithful Sumant at the helm.

"I can't see them!" cried Kaushalya, craning her neck. Dasharath solved the problem, pacing right into the crowd, who parted respectfully for the king. Swallowing hard, Dasharath beckoned the off the carriage, so he could see his sons for the first time in six years.

There was the first prince, who stepped off the carriage. He was the shortest of the four, but the most handsome, perhaps. Chiseled nose, jaw, broad shoulders, hair such a light brown that it was almost shining. Long fingers, curled not around a bow or dagger, but clasped together peacefully.

"Oh Bharat!" cried Kaikeyi, running forward and wrapping her arms around him tightly. He still managed to be taller than all the queens however, and leaned down slightly, squeezing tightly before letting go. Pure Bharat style.

The next departed the carriage almost too-perfectly. His eyes were lotus-shaped and large, a color that was almost blue. His nose was thin and small, lips were rosy colored, and his skin was a beautiful dusky color that was similar to the night sky. Second shortest of the four, his deep black hair curled around his shoulders elegantly as he grasped a bow tightly.

"Ram!" shrieked Kaushalya, but Kaikeyi hugged him first, then the entire royal family,as the crowd bowed deeply. Here was their beloved crown prince, standing before them at last, wiser, kinder and more kingly than ever. Sumitra inhaled sharply, looking up as the last two stepped off the carriage eagerly.

"Shatrughan!" she randomly grabbed the tallest of the four, who happened to be the elder twin, and hugged him tight. He tapped her shoulder lightly.

"Maa, I am Lakshman." he insisted, shaking his head. Laughing raucously, the second twin pulled him back.

"No, don't listen to him, the troublemaker. He is Shatrughan. I am Lakshman." Shatrughan lied. Ram just watched amusedly as Lakshman gaped at Shatrughan, who had mixed up their names on purpose.

"Maa, I am Lakshman. What makes you think that I am not?" Lakshman asked. Sumitra pointed to their heights. In childhood, Shatrughan was the taller twin, but now, since Lakshman had become the tallest of the four, she had mixed them up. Lakshman glared a death-glare at Shatrughan, and Sumitra immediately realized her mistake.

"Sumitra, only Lakshman could glare as if he were about to kill. Besides, have you ever seen eyes like his, murderous and dark? He is Lakshman, he is taller than Shatru now, Shatrughan tricked us again!" Kaushalya exclaimed, twisting his ear.

"Aaah, Maa, I am sorry!" Shatrughan cried. He was just an inch shorter than Lakshman, with merry, twinkling, light amber eyes, heart shaped face, and lean body frame. His hair was a light brown, though not nearly as light as Bharat's, and his skin was a mocha colored hue. He had an array of paint bombs on his belt.

"Maa, how could you have ever mistaken us?" asked the second wonderingly. Lakshman was the tallest of the four, and not by a small amount. He had darker eyes than anyone could imagine, a chiseled nose, and thin lips, with a sharp jawline. His hair was a dark brown, and was shorter than all of his brothers', and he had a broad muscular frame. His arms were crossed, revealing the dagger that he had kept sheathed on his waistband. He was most definitely Lakshman.

"Maa, I can't eat anymore!" exclaimed Bharat, pushing his bowl away. Kaikeyi pushed another handful of rice in his mouth, and Bharat choked.

"Dusht, Bharat, look how much the twins are eating!" cried Kaikeyi, pointing jealously towards Shatrughan, who was shoveling down bowls and bowls of white rice as Sumitra stared at him as if all her wishes had been fulfilled. The other Saumitranandan, however, did not eat.

"Maa," Laksh whined, feeling that the rice was too bland. "Not enough mirch." Sumitra poured some in, but Laksh shook his head. She tried some more, and received a no again. Finally, she pushed the pepper bowl towards him. In went the entire bowlful of spicy peppers. Everything was mixed in expertfully, and as the entire family watched, Lakshman began to eat.

And eat and eat and eat and eat. He ate faster than Ram, happier than Bharat, more than Shatrughan. Bowls and bowls of bright red rice that even Kaikeyi seemed reluctant to let him continue, while Sumitra just gaped at the spice that he could manage.

"How do you eat that much, Laksh?" she asked incredulously as his face didn't even show signs of the intense amount of spice he was consuming. Kaikeyi scowled at her, chiding her playfully.

"Why did you insist upon giving him spiced rice? His temper doesn't seem to have cooled." she gestured towards where Lakshman, mid-chew, glared at Shatrughan, who was making funny faces at him.

Half an Hour later...

"Gosh, I'm full," he finally gasped, pushing away his final bowl. The cook in the kitchen cried with joy as everyone else gaped at the rows of empty bowls disbelievingly. "Do you all believe that I am Lakshman now?" he asked finally, leading to bouts of hiccuping laughter, and even resulting in a fresh ear twisting.

That night, as each of the four brothers sat in their beds, Ram and Bharat separated from the twins, they all moved around restlessly, feeling off without the other brother. Finally, Ram and Bharat simultaneously walked out of their rooms and into the twins'.

"We couldn't sleep." Ram murmured, and Lakshman offered him his bed, which he took gratefully. "Palace life will take some getting used to again." Shatrughan nodded, as Bharat plopped down next to him.

"If Lakshman eats like that ever again, we might have food shortages." Shatrughan agreed, as Bharat shoved the embarrassed third prince. "I can't believe that Maa Sumitra mixed us up."

Bonus Scene

"Still can't sleep?" Urmila asked, stepping out on the moon-lit balcony, hours after bed-time. Sita smiled at her hopefully, finding the answer to her worries that she had been trying to tell the white orb that hung, suspended, in the sky. Of course, only her behen Urmila could understand what she felt right now. She'd best confide before she went mad by bottling up her thoughts.

"Well, I can't help but feel that something important is closer to me than ever before. Something life-changing. You remember those boys from Gurukul? " Images of that Ram from Sage Vishwamitra's ashram flashed in her mind as she attempted to explain in vain, moving her hands around in hope that she could get her point across.

Urmila nodded, and sat down next to her, admiring the stars as Sita did the moon. Urmila always loved how they supported the moon, followed it wherever it went, surrounding the moon as if to guard it. Unknown to the elder sister, however, a certain Saumitranandan's memories clogged Urmila's brain.

A/N- 1000 Views. We have 1000 views. I never thought this would happen, but it has, and I'm dancing in joy. I'm too happy. Thank you to all of those people who have voted for my story, who have commented on it, trust me, I read them ALL. Thank you to everyone who reads by story in general, it doesn't matter if you comment, or vote, or whatever.

This is the second chapter of the "milestone crossing extra chapter" event.

Which prince are you most similar to? I'm going to give you guys some characterizations right here, right now.

Ram

Sometimes melodramatic

Can overreact

Loves his bow and arrow a LOT

Good at many, many things

Natural leader

Never strays from the path of dharma

Brave

Bharat

Artistic (loves painting)

Selfless

Kind

Linguistic Genius

Dreamy

Protective

Can be eccentric

Lakshman

Short Tempered

Loyal

Quiet

Can be Scary

High Spice Tolerance

Skilled in warfare

Courageous

Shatrughan

Humorous

Mischievous

Friendly

Loud

Taunting

Flirty

Strategic

I'm a mix of Lakshman and Bharat, what are you?