Lilavati placed her hands on the table, simultaneously grappling with her feelings and also trying to figure out anything else about the incident. Close to her, Madhuraa was pacing around, her eyes downcast as she was lost in her own thoughts. 

The both of them were in a room, having retired to it to talk amongst themselves. No one else was present in the room, however the guards were right outside and were keeping a stringent watch on her.

Lilavati raised her eyes, fixing her gaze on the woman before her.

Natha, give me strength.

"Madhuraa," the name was forced out with a mere semblance of civility, "What have you seen that relates to the assassination attempt of Maharaani Bhadra?"

The mentioned woman frowned, turning on her heel to face Lilavati. 

"That's what I'm trying to understand, Lilavati." She chewed on her lip.

"A few days ago, I was walking with my sister when I heard the frightened voice of a dasi speaking very frantically. I told my sister to hide when I hid behind a vase and tried to decipher the flow of the conversation. I saw a eunuch glaring at a dasi, who was speaking about our... husband and his relationships, and whom he was closest to?" Madhuraa frowned.

"There was a loud crash from another room which made them stiffen, and the eunuch grabbed the dasi by the shoulders and warned her not to breathe a word to anyone else otherwise she would not see the next sunrise, and the eunuch ran. The dasi scuttled away immediately and when I went out to the spot where they had stood, I found a torn piece of cloth that appeared to be from a flag or some sort."

Lilavati listened closely, and processed the information for a few minutes when Madhuraa fell silent.

"Do you still have the cloth?"

Madhuraa nodded, and pulled out a piece of cloth from a pouch.

Lilavati paused before lifting her hands off the table, remembering her Lord's gentle but firm grasp on her hands when she had first encountered the woman in front of her.

She took the cloth from Madhuraa, inspecting it closely. 

She was not very familiar with many of the fabrics in Aryavarta, though there was a faint stirring of recognition in the back of her mind from her earliest memories when she looked at the cloth.

"I feel like I should be able to recognise this," she frowned at the fabric.

"But you can't?" queried Madhuraa.

Lilavati pursed her lips and shook her head.

Madhuraa turned her head, lost in thought.

A few minutes later, she said, "We can gather all the women, and perhaps ask them to see if they can recognise it?"

Lilavati nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."

Internally, she was relieved. She gathered her saari and turned to leave when Madhuraa's voice stopped her. 

"Wait, Lilavati!"

She stopped but did not turn around.

"If you don't mind and have nothing important to do—would you stay and we can talk?"

Lilavati meant to say no and walk away but it was as though someone else spoke through her voice as she said, "Okay."

She turned before she could think better of it.

The next while passed with intervals of stiff silence and mindless conversations, and it left Lilavati feeling strange.

Madhuraa occasionally made some offhand remarks that seemed to threaten to awaken some of the anger with which she had just wrestled with to tamper it down.

Currently, she was fiddling with her earring, removing and putting it back again.

Madhuraa mumbled, "Honestly though, how has Krishna stolen every heart that sets its sight on him? He must have some really powerful maya on some of his wives to earn the kind of love they carry for him. I feel sad for them."

Lilavati saw red.

Her dagger flashed a bright silver as she drew it out of its girdle, and within an instant she pushed it against Madhuraa's neck, whose eyes widened in fear as she froze in position.

"Say that again, I dare you." The blade pressed closer to her neck, drawing a thin line of blood.

"Say that again and you will be dead before his pious name falls from your lips once again," Lilavati snarled.

The guards reacted instantly.

They raced inside the room, wrenching the dagger from her hand and rendering her immobile by forcing her hands behind her back. Rage burned within her but she did not try to escape from their grasp as she watched the woman in front of her.

Madhuraa's hand drifted to her neck, her eyes still wide, and she winced minutely as her fingers grazed the bleeding wound. A second later, she stumbled back from Lilavati, and turned and ran. 

The guards' grasp on her wrists was tight, preventing her from moving her hands even a little. Two other guards quickly searched her person for any other weapons, and once they were done, they released her and Lilavati dropped to her knees from the force.

They quickly left the room, leaving her alone in it.

Lilavati's hands dropped to her side as her breathing became the loudest thing in the room, numb but also horrified.

~

Her husband's brother looked down at her with a blank expression on his face. 

"I have no excuse," slipped out of her lips as she dropped her head.

"You have no excuse indeed," Gada muttered, folding his arms, looking skyward.

The son of Rohini paced the short distance of Lilavati's chambers, clearly working through something in his mind.

"What am I to do with you?" he finally asked, looking at her.

"You are the wife of my elder brother, yet you tried to murder another woman under his protection as well. My elder brothers are not here at the moment, and I do not wish to bring this to the attention of Pitashri or Matamaha as it would only worry them. I do not have the capacity to handle this either, considering that you are my senior in status."

Lilavati sighed.

"I am sorry to have put you in this predicament."

"That is the least of my worries," Gada replied, focusing on her.

"If news of this gets out, there might as well be another revolt. We cannot afford for that to happen."

The younger brother of Balarama fell silent for a while, clearly thinking about something.

He then sighed. "For now, I will have you kept in isolation. You are not to leave this palace until Bhrata Krishna returns, and your judgement I shall leave in his hands. Please do not try to escape because the guards will be ordered to ensure your continued remaining here, even if they have to take you by force."

Lilavati was slow to nod.

This is the least of what I deserve.

Gada gave her a curt nod and left, but not without pausing to speak to the guards outside.

As silence fell on her, she tried to focus on her breathing, inhaling and exhaling and watching her chest rise and fall.

It did nothing to stem the horrifying guilt rising up to consume her.

Again, and again. I just took an oath a day ago to never harm another person again, and I nearly break it a day later.

Her throat was dry and her eyes clear.

Madhuraa's fearful look flashed in her mind and Lilavati physically recoiled, the horror creeping up to her throat and choking her.

Her breath came out in a shuddery whisper.

She curled into her knees.

Forgive me, Natha. 

My deed is unforgivable yet I beg you to look upon me with kindness just once more.

Please.

No response came to her.

A/N: Enjoy, lmao.