Nightmares she had already been used to, but not this kind, the kind that came from trauma nestled deep within her and not her own choices; crawling up her throat and choking her before disappearing.

Her sleep was sometimes restless, sometimes fitful. It changed, from day to day.

Lilavati sighed, as she struggled upwards to sit against the ample pillows that had been piled on her bed.

She was tired of lying in bed all day and wished to move around more, but the vaidyaa had left strict instructions that she was not to do anything more strenuous than some stretching to help her retain her mobility for at least two weeks.

Lilavati's hand went up to gingerly prod at the part of her head that she had gotten a concussion from. It was still covered in bandages, though it hurt little now.

As she shifted on the pillows, her side ached. It was better now. For the first few days, even moving slightly used to shoot up pain through her spine.

Beside her, Krishna shifted in his sleep. Though she guessed that he was aware that she was awake.

Her husband had taken to sleeping beside her despite her protests. She was grateful for it, and the fact that she was never alone.

Satyaki and Kritavarma came to visit her every other day, the former chattering on about the most mundane topics and the latter sometimes engaging in debates with her or Satyaki. Nagnajiti was there with her most of the time, even though she had other queenly duties that took higher priority, her elder sister still spent a lot of the day with her.

And Lilavati was beyond grateful for them—for her family.

The younger version of her would have laughed had she been told that one day she'd have a support system beyond Iltani, but yet here she was, loved beyond reason.

The door creaked open, shaking her from her thoughts.

She tensed, but as a face she recognised peeked in, Lilavati sighed in relief.

"Madhuraa."

Her... friend, though the title was somewhat strange considering the nature of their relationship, had come to visit her.

"Lilavati. I was just hoping to see you asleep and be on my way."

Lilavati smiled. "I was just awake. Do you wish to take a walk?"

Madhuraa's gaze drifted to the sleeping form of their husband, serene in yoganidra.

"Only if you want to."

Lilavati did not respond to that, rather getting off the bed as lightly as she could, wincing at the ache in her back from being in one position all day.

Well, these were mundane aches. Those she could handle.

It was part of a boring life after all.

She walked over to Krishna's side of the bed, looking at him almost wistfully and she had to remind herself that he would still be there for her in the morning.

She pressed a kiss to her hand and rested her palm on his cheek tenderly for a few moments.

Smiling, she turned to Madhuraa, who was watching her with a careful eye.

"Are you sure you should be out of bed?"

Lilavati laughed silently. "I'm tired of sitting in bed. A walk would be anything but strenuous right now."

Madhuraa nodded.

They made their way to the gardens, and the fresh air greeted her, and she took a deep breath, glad to be back.

She had heard the gardens of Dvaravati compared to the Nandana Vana, the celestial gardens in all its splendour, and she had to give credit to whoever made that comparison, but she was of the opinion that its beauty was magnified immensely due to the moonlight.

"How are you now?"

Lilavati shrugged. "The vaidyaa said that I would be able to move around freely in a couple of days, but to take care with my head as I got a concussion, but other than that, I'm feeling perfectly fine."

They traversed through the gardens for a while in silence and another just catching up and talking about random topics.

A part of Lilavati still found it absurd that Madhuraa would willingly seek her out to check on her wellbeing, but with her family trying daily to hammer it into her heads that others cared about her, she was far quicker to accept it.

This, Madhuraa pointed out.

Lilavati agreed.

A brief sojourn into the silent gardens over, and with her tiring far quicker than she was used to, Madhuraa dropped her at her chambers and they parted way for the night.

Lilavati stood for a few minutes watching the rhythmic rise and fall of her husband's chest, and counted herself immeasurably lucky to experience her lord so vulnerable.

~

Days continued to pass, and Lilavati was released from bed rest but was still advised to take it slow.

The sun shone vividly on the gardens of the palace complex of the Ashtabharya, viridian grass caressing the earthy brown of Bhumi, akin to a soft carpet.

Lilavati was sitting, surrounded by the children of her elder sisters.

Some of them were laughing and chasing each other, others playing games, while some others were clustered around her, watching her with eager eyes as she narrated a story.

"...and the rabbit sprang away, satisfied with the hunter caught in the trap!"

She imitated grabby motions towards Prabala, with the soft curls of Krishna, and he shrieked playfully, getting up and running away from her.

Lilavati smiled, lost in the domesticity of the moment.

Some time later, she found herself braiding the hair of Charumati, the only and eldest daughter of Rakhumai, as the young maiden chattered on about something.

"—and then Mayavati and I had to run out before Pradyumna woke up! And when he did, oh by Mahadeva, his shriek was so loud that Pitamaha heard it, several palaces down!"

Charumati burst out laughing at the memory of it, and Lilavati let a chuckle escape her at the image.

Softly, she chided, "Charu, if you want me to finish braiding your hair, you have to remain still."

"Yes, Maa."

The words were said in a mutter and with an eye roll, out of habit, but Lilavati paused, blinking at the sudden burst of feeling the name evoked.

Krishnajaa interpreted her freezing as one of disapproval and began to apologise, but Lilavati cut her off in the middle.

"It's okay, it's okay, Charumati! I was only surprised is all, you can call me what you want."

Charumati calmed down, and Lilavati continued to braid her hair, smiling when she was done.

The daughter of Rukmini touched her hair and then grinned, "Thank you, Mata!"

She then ran away, off to join her friends.

Lilavati watched the darling daughter of Krishna run off, a fond smile tugging at her lips.

She remained in place, soaking up the rays of the sun and the noise of the gardens.

A sudden rustling of the plants made her tense, and she turned in that direction.

Iltani stood in front of her, hair dishevelled and eyes wide, rimmed red at the corners.

"Ilu?"

"Lila!"

And with a strangled cry of her name, her best friend flung herself at her, sobbing as she held her tight.

Lilavati instantly hugged Iltani as her best friend fell apart in her arms, murmuring something she couldn't discern.

As her sobs subsided, Iltani stopped holding onto her so tight.

"Ilu, I'm right here. It's okay, you can come back to me now," she said, in a soothing tone.

That seemed to snap Ishtar's priestess out of her stupor, and then she grabbed Lilavati's shoulders and shook her.

"Do you know how worried I was? I get this message from your husband: Lilavati's gone, we cannot find her; we need you here at the earliest, and by Ishtar I swear, I felt like I was going to collapse! Day and night I worried about you and here you are—here you are, sitting in the gardens with nary a care in the world!"

Lilavati let her rant, knowing her best friend would feel better by the end of it.

When Iltani paused for breath, Lilavati smiled wryly, "And how glad I am to see you too, Ilu."

Iltani hugged her again, her musical voice hoarse. "Kianga, I was so worried. I've fought to keep you alive from the moment we met. Why do you make it so hard?"

Lilavati let herself grin as Iltani's voice turned from grief to exasperation.

"It's not like I try to make your life harder, Ilu. I can't help it!"

Iltani let herself smile sardonically, a fond motion in her body language as she shifted. "Well, I did bring this upon me."

"You did."

When Lilavati agreed, her best friend stared at her in shock, and as she began to laugh, Iltani let herself laugh to her heart's content as well.

"Alright, promise me this: you'll try your best to live a boring life from now on. I don't need any more grey hairs from you."

Lilavati grinned again. "Well, now that I have Satyaa Jiji's order as well, I can't ignore yours, can I?"

"Good," Iltani muttered. "If my words aren't strong enough for you to hold on to, I'm glad your elder sister is there to keep you in check."

Lilavati squeezed her best friend's hand and they watched the sunset together, her world finally complete.

A/N: Aaaand Ilu's back! She'll be here for the rest of the book. I missed her. I'm sure you guys did too. 

krishna-sahacharini sent me this funny af message when we were chatting last week, and I needed to share this with you all:

That's my lady, people: my person. Lobe you Rasgulla. <3