Character Drabbles-Part 3

A/N-Well, with the amount of requests for yet another character drabbles, I have enough characters to do a part four. I included Bharat, Mandavi, and Kaikeyi here as a set because they all are related.

Mandavi "The Reasonable"

Mandavi remembered, at the tender age of just eight, she used to walk down the halls and lean over the balcony and watch the soldiers do their swordplay, and wish she was part of the action. Not as a warrior of course, she wasn't nearly as excited about bloodshed as a warrior undoubtedly had to be, she just wanted to learn how to use a sword so that if she was ever cornered without protection, she could learn to wield a weapon.

"Papa, papa!" cried Mandavi, running up to her father, who, sitting with Rani Chandrabhnaga on his throne, turned away from his divine scriptures, and looked up at her, leaning forward and asking her for her wish. "I want to learn how to wield the sword!" she cried giddily. "It sounds fun! It sounds awesome, in fact!"

Raja Kushadwaj turned uneasily towards his wife, but under her kind smile and encouraging nod, he returned his unwavering gaze and attention to an innocent Mandavi, who did not know the magnitude of what she had just asked for. "To wield a sword, my dear Devi, is hard work. A warrior's sword is a warrior's pride, it is." he swallowed hard. "Not many women learn the art of sword fighting. I myself shall teach you!"

A young Shrutakirti watched this, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. Later, she caught up to Mandavi. "That was quite bold of you," she mumbled, her face down towards her feet. It was only years later that Mandavi understood exactly what made her so bold in other's eyes. That she had asked to learn the sword? Was that it? That she wanted to do something that boys could as well?

She didn't want the title of bold when what she did was reasonable! Of course, she left the sword a few years later, not liking it very much, but even then. She never had an affinity for cooking, nor sewing, much to her mother's aghast, and did what she pleased. Mandavi never thought that was anything terrible! It was pretty obvious that everyone else did not share her thoughts, and she would often get hostile, but somewhat curious glances from the maids.

"I need to leave. The throne isn't mine." Bharat muttered. "My older brother is in the forest, alone, and I can't live a life in luxury when I know-I know that he is not, he ever so deserving of this throne and this gold, is sleeping on the forest floor." Mandavi looked up angrily, and scowled, but fear rushed up her spine like a torrent of freezing cold water.

Shrutakirti was watching the two of them carefully, and that was when Mandavi knew she was about to do something bold. Bold didn't matter then. All that mattered was having her husband with her. Did it matter to him that she was here as his wife was going to be alone? Was the love of his wife nothing to him anymore, compared to the bond of his brothers? In this way, Lakshman bhaiyya's sacrifice was useless if her own husband also exiled himself!

"No!" she cried out angrily, stepping forward. "You assign me to the same fate as Urmila, and you cannot! You have no right to, you understand? NONE. Ram bhaiyya is not alone, he is with Lakshman bhaiyya and Sita didi! Such devotion you have to your brother, but do you have none for your wife and mothers? Do you have no thought before you make such rash decisions?" Tears began flowing out of her eyes as Kaikeyi Maa sobbed.

"Do you have no feeling of responsibility for me?" she shouted. "Do you have zero second thoughts about your wife? Need I remind you that you will not be reigning as king? Need I remind you that you have an obligation towards your wife?" she looked around angrily. "At least Lakshman bhaiyya had a clear reason to go with his brother! You have none. You are not directly supporting the three, nor are you helping us. You are just selfishly leaving your responsibilities." she spat out angrily.

"It is not bold of me to want to have my husband with me." Before Bharat could even make an angry move towards her, she stalked away, out of the throne room. Urmila behen refused to act "selfishly", but Mandavi would not! Her mother, Rani Chandrabhanga, was content with being a trophy wife, sitting on the throne, but she was not. Her sister Shrutakirti was fine with being spat upon by the kingdom as the stationary rani, but she would not! Women had lives, and souls, and hearts, and feelings alike! And she would fight for hers, tooth and nail.

A/N- It was so hard to write about Mandavi because I simply had 0 ideas. In case you all want a redo of this one, I will happily deliver. I would not be surprised if you did.

Kaikeyi "The Quick"

Kaikeyi was always very swift. When she was a child, she managed to keep a few paces in front of her brother Yudhajit in the footraces her father joyfully conducted even though she was a girl. She was the fastest to reach the finish line, the fastest to start, the fastest to grab a sweet from the dinner table, wherever she was, one could count on how quickly she would do things and finish up.

Kaikeyi always loved this quickness of hers. It had never failed her, not in the most trying of moments did the fast dial of her body ever turn slow. Wherever they went, Kaikeyi was there first, whatever they did, Kaikeyi finished first. It had earned her great esteem and regard from her father, who praised her as a true warrior princess, quick to eliminate her enemies. She was also quick to fall in love with the charming Dasharath of Kosala, reserved, but kind, and to her utter delight, found someone who had the same briskness as her in reciprocation!

Then there was the war. Kaikeyi looked over to her husband, who stood valiantly at the head, gripping his bow so tight that his knuckles turned a sickly white and unleashing arrow after arrow on the approaching enemy, his fiery fury barely recognizable to the young queen who only knew his kindness, compassion, and love. Kaikeyi hastily handed him a spear as his bow was knocked out of his hands.

Suddenly, she teetered to her left, and gripped the sides of the now immobile chariot for support as her eyes darted quickly. What could that be? She leaned over the walls to observe, and almost shrieked in fear as she viewed the half broken wheel of the chariot. Swallowing hard, Kaikeyi jumped out, adjusting her rather large armor, and began to work on the wheel. Her heart beat even faster as she worked, and though her hands moved rapidly, her brain told her that something was about to go wrong.

Just as she looked up, about to voice her fear to her husband, a familiar whizzing sound rang in her ears. Her eyes, soft and amber colored, widened as the arrow, sharp and swift, almost like her, dove into Dasharath's chest like a clawed hand. She heard a loud victory roar, and felt anger blossom inside of her like a flower the color of red, spilled blood. Kaikeyi growled, and her fingers worked even more swiftly as she now knew that she was the target.

Done! Her rapidness had finally come to a real use as she got back into the chariot, and sparing the warriors a single last scathing glare, she turned around and raced the horses off, helping to stop Dasharath's bleeding the best she could. Every breath felt labored, every moment a second too long as she stared at the paling face of her husband, his trembling fingers, the waning look of anger in his eyes.

Kaikeyi now looked at the same face, peaceful and calm, resting on the bed. "Ma'am, rani sa. It was your quick work that saved the Raja of Kosala, it is you, not I that can be credited with his life! Raja Dasharath will most certainly be grateful, and definitely indebted to you. Expect favors, and many of them too!" She looked up as her brother beamed, laughing, praising her skills with a proud voice. Gone was that whiny child who always was a sore loser.

"Curse this quickness! Curse it!" Kaikeyi shrieked as she stood on her balcony, wearing the pearly white of widows she never thought she would wear. Her sorrow-filled screams were ripped from her throat willingly as she begged to the empty night for forgiveness and her husband back. The man that she loved most had succumbed to death because of her foolish actions, her biting greed. And nothing could bring him back.

Kaikeyi was quick to celebrate Ram's coronation yes, they could count on her to dance through the halls, eating mangoes and tipping the dasis and servant maids highly as she laughed, her voice ecstatic like jingling bells. Her charming eyes drifted around the palace, her lovely smile only growing wider as she spotted the decorations. She was beauty and joy in itself, all trapped in the body of a human being.

But Kaikeyi was also the first, the wretched first in another thing. She was quick to believe her nursemaid, the witch! She was quick to jump to conclusions about Ram and his coronation. She was quick to demand her two boons. She was quick to banish her son, her dear son, to the forest. And now Kaikeyi sobbed, cursing the nimbleness she possessed since childhood, and Mandavi stood beside her, breathing in the chilly air as she stared sorrowfully at her mother-in-law.

"You know another thing you were quick at, Maa?" asked Mandavi, as she smiled at her mother. Kaikeyi looked up, wiping her tears away, and her eyes catching the ones of the young princess. "You were quick at realizing your mistake and apologizing for it, as many others would not admit. You were quick at cursing yourself, knowing it was your mistake. You were quick at begging for forgiveness. Doesn't that count for something?"

Kaikeyi smiled at the hopeful attempts of Mandavi. "It does. But forgiveness will not bring back Dasharath, joyful and ecstatic at the coronation of his son. Forgiveness will not bring back the black hairs of Kaushalya, which turn grey as she laments in her bedchambers. Forgiveness will not bring back the smiles and playful statements of Sumitra, lighting up the entire area." she sniffled, before continuing.

"Forgiveness, Mandavi, will not bring back the love of Bharat. Forgiveness will not bring back the spoiled innocence of Shatrughan. Forgiveness will not bring back the joy of Urmila, lost with her husband. Forgiveness will not return Sita, her soft feet treading upon the harsh unknowns of the forest. Forgiveness will not return Lakshman, pining, surely, for his wife, but trudging on loyally." She wiped away a single tear. "And no forgiveness, nor any swiftness on my part will bring back Raghav, the true yuvraj and raja of Kosala."

She turned towards Mandavi, hugging her gently, and letting the girl pat her back and cry lightly into her cheek as she stared at the moon which Ram stared at at night when he was a simple, innocent toddler who had not a hint of his tragic future. "It is my wretched quickness that has brought about this disaster. No speed will be able to speed up the rest of these twelve years. Now I, Mandavi, must learn to slow down, because there is no point in speeding up."

A/N- This one was surprisingly quick to write. I guess I was channeling some of my inner-Kaikeyi. Anyways, many people perceive Kaikeyi as either "evil", or "misunderstood". I don't think any single person has thought of her as "quick". But hey! Am unique, no judge.

Bharat "The Optimistic"

Even when they were children, Bharat always liked to think the best of the future, always had the answer, the best ones too, to their problems. One day, Shatrughan sat on his bed, crying, as not even Ram could console him. Bharat walked in. "What on Earth has happened, Shatrughan?" he cried. "Did somebody hurt you? Who did it? I'll tell Lakshman, he'll beat him up for you? Or was it Lakshman himself? Well, if I tell him to, he will probably beat himself up. Do tell, what could possibly be the matter?"

Shatrughan looked up, his fair face stained with tear tracks. "No one can help me, not even a beating! A village boy has just told me that I will never find a wife, and Maa Kaikeyi agrees! Bhaiyya, what shall I do? I'll never find a wife, ever, and I will have to watch you all live in bliss while I while away the rest of my days, alone, pining, lost all hope." Bharat wanted to interrupt desperately, but he continued.

"I will be truly a horrible husband, I know I will be! Flirty, stupid, immature, everything a woman does not want! In the meantime, you all will be laughing at my plight, and I will be sitting here, crying all alone with no one to care for me and-" Bharat cut him off right then and there before the boy, obviously stricken, could disturb himself further with his rambling words and recollections, his self-doubts.

"Of course not, what are you talking about? I know you will find a wife, we all will, and we will live in harmony, together forever! Do not say such stupid things, Shatru. Besides, I'll never leave you, even for my wife. And I would never laugh at your tears!" It was a disbelieving Shatrughan that looked at him that day, but Bharat beamed as the very same Shatrughan walked the final turn around the fire at the same time as him.

"Oh, forget this! I will never be good at this cooking! In fact, I will never be good at anything that is meant for a good wife. Why you married me, I do not know, Bharat, I really do not! Will I ever be good at this, I wonder? No, I will not!" cried Mandavi, setting down the spoon. Bharat looked up, his eyes widening. "This idli is the worst I've ever tasted! It's somehow turned bitter, nothing like those soft, fluffy rice cakes Sita didi makes."

Bharat shook his head, pulling his wife closer as he set the food, quite alright in his opinion, down. "Oh hush, Mandavi. Who cares if you are good at this stuff or not, certainly not I! I married you not because I needed someone to cook and clean, but because I wanted someone to love, and that person is you!" He heard a small sniffle, and knew a smile, sheepish and gleeful, was spreading across his wife's face like an infectious disease. "Besides, someday I am sure, you will be good at this cooking.

Many many years later, Mandavi had nothing to do as the fourteen years passed drearily. She sat in the kitchen and began to learn how to cook. As she spent her days focused, she got better and better, smiling as her cakes finally didn't taste so bitter, her sambar so salty, her rice and daal so sweet. She fed her food to Bharat, who smiled at her knowingly with an "I told you so" look on his face.

"It is impossible!" cried the medic agitatedly as he stared at Dasharath's bleeding forehead. "Impossible! There is no way he won't die of blood loss. I cannot do anything, I am sorry! Cut my head off for my horrible work, do it now so that I can be pulled away from this overpowering guilt, and removed, undeserving, from this Earth!"

Bharat gaped at the loyalty of the medic as Kaushlaya and Kaikeyi both sobbed at his terrible news, Ram paling quickly as the twins both stiffened. "No, no! You can't do that! Father won't bleed to death, I know it! Just apply some bandages there, and there, and maybe a little disinfectant!" And the king had not died that day, from blood loss or anything else. Once again, Bharat was correct in his assumptions and optimism.

Now he stood, staring, at his father's preserved body. His three mothers sobbed beside him, his wife and sister-in-law both at a loss for words, Shatrughan recently cured from his momentary fury. There was nothing he could do about this. No solution for the future. Nothing he could say would make this better. His father was gone. Dead. Succumbed finally to the death that had been chasing him since Shravan Kumar. It had caught him, the cat and mouse game was over. It left three widows in its disastrous wake.

-----O-----

"Say something." Kaushalya murmured as they sat in the throne room, after their journey to Chitrakut. "Anything, Bharat, do something and anything! You have always been our light in the darkness, out anchor towards the Earth, preventing our ship from drifting away. You calm our worst sorrows down like drenching a fire with ice cold water. Please, I beg of you son." Bharat looked up, swallowing.

"I can't. Nothing I say or do will bring back father. Nothing I say or do will reverse your decision, Rani Kaikeyi. Nothing I say or do will bring back Ram bhaiyya, Sita bhabhi, and Lakshman. They are lost. The future is bleak. Ayodhya is like a candle left unlit in the darkness without them. We are lost without them. There is nothing we can do." And so, the last hope of the family was snuffed out. Bharat had started speaking in dark tones.

"However, there is still hope," and the family looked up. "We prepare this kingdom, do upkeep to keep it ready for Ram. He would be exasperated if he returned to an unprosperous and unlit kingdom. Make sure his favorite fields are filled with crops. Keep the arts and music that he so loves everywhere. Make sure the citizens he holds so dearly to his heart, make sure they are happy. That is the only way we can even work towards deserving him in our kingdom again, to receive forgiveness from God."

"Fourteen years later, Ram bhaiyya, the rightful Yuvraj and Raja Ram, will return from his exile with Maharani Sita and Soumitri. Fourteen years later, our joy will return. We know that fourteen years later, lanterns can be lit in homes again, people will laugh again, our joy might return again. Until then, we hope. We pray for the three in the jungle, used to divine foodstuffs and living on nothing but roots and berries."

"Until then, we stay in this kingdom, dutifully working and living for their return. That day, fourteen years later, we will celebrate! With fireworks and lanterns, and everything in between. That day, we will ask for forgiveness, and perhaps receive it too. Until then, that day, that fateful day in our lives, let us work, hope, and pray. It will arrive soon, and then we shall make merry. There is nothing else to do."

With that, Bharat stood up and walked away. He knew that there was absolutely nothing he could do to even come close to bringing the joy that everyone had before. But he knew that someday, possibly, it would return. And that day was fourteen years later. Bharat would never stop his optimism, even when there was absolutely nothing left in the world to be thankful for, to be happy about.

A/N- I spent so much time thinking about if I should include Bharat or someone else. And then when I finally decided on Bharat, I spent five minutes wondering what his main characteristic was. Loyal? Yes, but no tho. Brave? Yeah..no. Truthful? I mean technically, but would my readers want a page or two about how completely and utterly honest Bharat is? I think not. So I finally settled on optimism. Because Ram usually just thinks good about people, Lakshman is realistic and pessimistic, and Shatrughan wails and complains all the time. Nice balance, no?

A/N- Yay! Our 3rd part of character drabbles has been concluded, mon amis! I would be most happy to comply for a fourth. So Mandavi was obviously not my thing. I love writing Mandavi as a main and/or side character, but not her character itself! I just perceive her as a reasonable, strong woman. And that is surprisingly hard to write about. To answer one of your questions, I did not write about her as Bharat returned from Nandigram, because I don't want to separate Bharat and Mandavi! Kaikeyi, of course is a weird one because I spent some time milling over "strategic" and "repentant" as options, but then was like...eh? Quick, I feel describes her more thoroughly. And then there is Bharat. Dear, optimistic Bharat. Oh my god, I spent ages debating over if I wanted to do Bharat or Kaushalya, and I even considered Angad for a moment (thank you @Ramayana_lover), but I finally settled on Bharat. Then was the enormous task of figuring out what exactly Bharat was. Was that a journey? Yes, folks, it most definitely was. Did I prevail? Welp, folks, I most definitely did.

This chapter was probably a downgrade from the last part, since one of you even cried (?!), and I don't think we got that many emotions running through here. However, I did incorporate the characters, and some characteristics, so...yay? In case, again, any of you wish for a fourth part, let me know in the comments! I'll just be putting these drabbles in whenever I have writer's block for the next chapter.