About half a prahara had passed since her husband had sought her out, and they had spent that time sitting side by side, sleep eluding the both of them.

Eventually, Lilavati looked to Krishna, and asked, "What happened, Natha?"

He met her gaze, and after a few moments where her question hung in the air, he spoke in a soft but very slightly hoarse voice, "I killed my cousin."

Oh.

Lilavati's eyes widened and her eyebrows knitted together in an expression of shock.

And then he told her the whole story, describing the set of the Rajasuya Yajna, and Shishupala standing up to insult him, though he glossed over exactly what his cousin spoke.

"I could not rein in my anger after he took Rukmini's name—that he foolishly assumed he could claim a woman—my woman—without her consent, and that he had the gall to insult her! My Sudarshana Chakra left my hand before I realised I had summoned it, and his head was cut off."

Lilavati focused on the sound of her breathing, taking in the information. 

And then she mumbled, "Kind of sounds like me."

Her husband's gaze on her turned curious and amused, not angry, and she gasped when she realised the implications of her words. Hastily, she amended, "I mean—I can see the parallels, but your anger was obviously righteous. Your cousin really did have some nerve, speaking like that."

Krishna did not say anything for a few moments, and then sweet laughter—albeit softly—escaped his lips, as his face came to rest on his hands.

Her trepidation escaped her, and she sighed and chuckled silently.

Silence drifted on them for another while, and then eventually, her husband rose, adjusting his clothes. 

Lilavati rose as well.

"I must go." His voice was gentle. "Almost a prahara has gone by, and I would like to get some sleep before SuryaNarayana decides to embark on his daily journey."

She nodded.

He turned to leave, but then turned back and came to her.

She looked upon his dark countenance, illuminated by the silvery rays of the moon and looking no less beautiful for it.

He took her hands.

"Thank you, Lila."

Those three words were enough to make her smile, and he brushed a curl of her hair behind her ear tenderly and his touch sent shivers tingling down her spine.

And then he left.

~

She had slept for a while, but then something disturbed her sleep and now its grasp seemed to elude her. 

Lilavati tossed amidst her covers, and then let out a long suffering sigh, and rose from her bed.

Grabbing a shawl from the rows of clothes she had, Lilavati wrapped it around herself in an effort to prevent the chilly air of the night from making her shiver. She then began to walk the halls of the palace, silently admiring its architecture. 

Raised voices caught her attention.

Lilavati paused, wondering who could be arguing at this time of night.

She crept closer, unsure of what to expect.

"—WHY the—" a word she could not parse, but sounded derogatory, "—didn't you let me go in there?! I could have finished this within moments!"

"It was never our intention to harm him," another masculine voice hissed.

"We could've been done with this already!" A frustrated huff from one and an angry sigh from the other.

"He is not our target. And you were out of line, out of orders tonight. I ought to report this to our superior and see your—" another curse word rang out, "—head cut off."

There was some more frenzied arguing, even though it was low and she had to strain herself to hear them.

Lilavati stiffened.

These must have been the perpetrators of the other incidents. 

She had to tell someone.

But she listened again, determined to find out anything more.

"He murdered our-our king—our protector—" the voice cut off with a whisper of anguish.

"I know." The other voice was rough, bordering on a hint of sympathy. "But we cannot risk being found out, unless you wish to die."

"Better to die, than live in a world without our king," snapped the other.

Lilavati cursed to herself, wishing that she was armed right now, but then there were quick movements, and she realised that the two were moving away.

She restrained herself with great difficulty from pursuing them, telling herself that she was not armed and to spring upon them would be a death sentence.

Their arguing voices faded away and Lilavati curled her fingers into a fist, wondering who and why were these people behind such incidents.

~

Lilavati found herself in the company of Madhuraa yet again, the woman having sought her out in the gardens again.

"Why do you keep seeking me out?" Lilavati had asked.

Madhuraa smiled, even though it was tight at the edges. 

"Meeting you keeps me reminded that there are things in the world that can still make you uncomfortable. Dvaravati is such a safe place that you can forget about the outside world, and believe that you are safe from everything. But even Dvaraka is not entirely safe. Nowhere can be that safe. And it's a testament to my own boundaries that I may still speak with you, and make peace with my pain, since I cannot do with the others who have caused my trauma."

Lilavati accepted that explanation.

A tentative sort of friendship, if it could be called that, had formed between them, mostly due to Madhuraa's actions of seeking her out and spending time with her.

Lilavati could never have expected such a relationship, not even in her wildest dreams. 

But she was grateful nonetheless.

If she could correct one of her wrongs, then she would gladly do so, and if that wrong were to be amended by spending time with someone she had tried to kill, well, who was she to question the ways of the world?

A/N: When you realise that the plan you'd previously drafted for this chapter no longer fits the narrative and you have to come up with another idea for this chapter- 

Well. Sigh. That's why this chapter is pretty short.

I did want to write a scene between Lila and Madhu anyways.

I've now reached 30K words, which is far more than I've ever written on a single work, and I'm so happy. And we're more than halfway through the book!