"Mrithika, Mrithika I'm really sorry. I didn't know you were um....more than sixteen. You never told me"! Arjun yelled as he ran behind her.

Mrithika whipped around and glowered at him. Well, she had to agree she never did tell him about her age but still, she did not look that young and this guy was supposed to have a really good eye sight.

"How on earth do I look like a sixteen year old, Arjun"? Mrithika deadpanned.

Arjun paused for awhile. "Well, um...there's your height and you look quite kiddy and all that...." He mumbled under his breath and looked anywhere but at her accusing gaze. He scratched the back of his neck as he waited for her reaction which he doubted was any good.

"In what way do I look kiddy, exactly"? She asked in a brittle voice with a fake smile that did no good.

This got the archer tongue - tied, he knew that one slip of a wrong answer could land him in a wrong direction. He wondered how Govind handled such situations flawlessly and times like these wished he was with him.

On the other side of Bharatvarsh, the lord of Dwarka very well heard his thoughts. A sly smile tugged at his lips as he mused, "You're all alone in this, Parth".

"Uhhh....why do you braid your hair"? He asked abruptly which made Mrithika knit her eyebrows.

"What"?

Her voice was funny as one of her brows lifted in a high arch, she could see that Arjun still held his sheepish smile. " I mean, I've been meaning to ask this, like only married woman braid their hair so...are you married"? He asked the last part in a whisper, glancing across his surroundings to see if anyone was eavesdropping.

"Cut the bullshit, Arjun. Stop trying to change the topic and NO, I'm not married for god's sake".

"Oh", He said and wondered if things have changed as such in Kalyug. 'Yes, must be a Kalyug thing', He thought, nodding his head.

"Okay so, what's your age"? He asked sheepishly.

Mrithika shook her head at his obliviousness, "You know what, Arjun? I'll talk to you only when you guess my age correctly, try using your brains".

With that she sashayed across the corridors, leaving Arjun in the dust, who was guessing what might be her accurate age.

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

"How does this one look"? Dushala, the only daughter of Gandhari and Dhritarashtra, asked as she held a red skirt with golden embroidery along its hem.

Mrithika gave a blank stare at the skirt and sighed. Dushala was going to be wedded to the King of Sindh, Jaydrath, on the whims of Duryodhan. Her marriage was about to be in a matter of four days and she felt bad for the girl, the girl who was so excited for her wedding that she no idea of what it held for her later. And that made Mrithika the least enthusiastic of all when it came to such matters.

Dushala dragged her away to her quarters the moment she saw Mrithika all alone in the Palace corridors as usual since Nakul and Bheem were off sneaking in the kitchen, Sahadev was nowhere to be seen, Yudhisthir was busy with royal work as usual and Arjun and her weren't on speaking terms from the past two days due to his inability to still correctly guess her age.

At first, Mrithika disliked the girl because of her overly excessive gawking that made her feel uncomfortable, but when Kunti finally took it upon herself to introduce the two, they clicked off. Mostly because Dushala and Mrithika were the only girls in the entire palace.

Dushala was the one who took the responsibility of giving Mrithika her first set of Dwapar clothes, and she had to admit, they were amazing. Being used to shirts and pants in modern era where ethnic clothes were limited, these ones felt light and flowy. She wondered if Dushala was thoughtful about her previous wardrobe that made her do such arrangements.

Even the current lehenga set she wore was the curtesy of the Kaurava Princess. Such gestures made Mrithika's heart melt and difficult for her to not get attached, she was helpless that Govind forbid her from altering any of history's sequence.

"It's fine, I suppose", she muttered, picking upon a stray fibre on Dushala's bed cover. The older girl glared at her, dropping the garment.

"What is wrong with you? Are you not happy with my marriage"? She asked, her voice going slightly shrill at the moment.

"What? No! It's not like that, I just feel like Jaydrath might not be a good guy. Why do you have to marry him just because your brother says so? Can't you tell him to piss off"? Mrithika replied carefully. She did not want to alter the story but she wanted to know what was her opinion before she was hushed into a relationship.

Dushala mellowed at it and smiled, "I get what you're saying but you see, in this timeline, princesses have to be married for alliances between kingdoms wether they like it or not. It's your duty as a royal member."

"Oh believe me. Such matters exist in our timeline too but some think about their welfare instead of jumping into such things", Mrithika scoffed.

"Well, whatever's happened has happened. Now tell me which one shou-", Dushala was interrupted when a dasi rushed in and bowed her head.

"Forgive me, Rajkumari but Rajkumar Sahadev is here and he wants to meet Rajputkumari it seems", she conveyed.

Dushala glanced at Mrithika who seemed equally confused as her, she nodded in answer. The dasi opened the door and Sahadev walked in and greeted Dushala, "Pranipaat Jiji".

"Praanipat", She smiled.

"I hope the preparations are going smoothly", he asked politely but Mrithika can see the hidden pain in his eyes. He knows, she thought. She kept forgetting that he can see the future.

"They are, Anuj, except that Mrithika is being of no help", She pouted and smirked when she saw Mrithika glare at her playfully.

"It's true, Jiji. Mrithika is being of no help to anyone", he huffed.

"What do you mean I'm being of no help"? She whined when the brother - sister duo ganged up against her.

"Well you promised to give me angrezi books and now all I'm reading are children's fairytales! I want something more authentic", he complained, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes well, they were for your practice! I can only give you more authentic ones if you have managed to read those fairytales fluently"! Mrithika protested, true to her thoughts earlier, Sahadev had managed to learn so much that he was ready to read story books but the only ones he was reading was of fairytales like Cinderella, Snow White and Pinnochio.

"Well to be honest, I'm quite good at reading those and I just finished them today morning. Now, I need something better than those", He spoke in English, perfect English that knocked the daylights from both Mrithika and Dushala. Of course, the accent can be pardoned.

"Alright, what is going on in here and what did you just say, Sahadev"? Dushala asked, astonished as she looked between Mrithika and the youngest Madreyā.

"I just spoke in English, Jiji", He replied smiling innocently.

"Ingleez? What is this Ingleez"? She asked with dubeity.

"It's not Ingleez, Jiji, it's Ing - lesh", He corrected her politely but Dushala waved her hand dismissively, "I don't care what it's called, what I care is how you spoke that language when none of us know it"!

"I taught him, Dushi," Mrithika interrupted but that was the least of her concern, she looked at Sahadev in bemusement, "How"?

"I'm a quick learner", he grinned, again in English.

"Sanskrit please", Dushala interrupted only to be ignored.

"Now give me something better", Sahadev said calmly despite the bewildered look on Mrithika's face. It was rare treat to see such an expression on the Rajput Princess and Sahadev would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it.

Mrithika cleared her throat and said, "Fine. But if you truly are that confident, then I'll bring you a novel. Wait here". With that she left the chambers in a hurry as she lifted up her skirt and ran through the corridors.

She pulled open the magical book cupboard and willed for a book of her choice to appear. Satisfied, she ran back up to Dushala's quarters, panting for breath. A dasi looked at her and asked if she needed any help only to be politely denied.

"Here I am", she said breathlessly, bursting through the doors much to Dushala's horror and Sahadev's amusement. She thrust the book into his hands and took a moment to catch her breath.

"This book is a beginner one but it's quite popular in my era and if you've managed to read that, then I'll be convinced that you're ready for the more complex ones", she said as she watched him examine the book with a peculiar look.

"H-Harry Potter?" he read out as he looked at the colourful cover with amazement and curiosity, "Funny name", he commented.

"Ooooo, looks pretty", Dushala squealed at the cover as she peeked over his shoulder. "What does it say? The letters look funny".

"The sorc-c-cerer's stone. Hmm, sounds interesting. What's it about"? He asked Mrithika as he flipped through the pages and touching the printed letters with awe and care. Mrithika was touched at knowing that there was another person who cared for books as much as she did.

"You'll know that when you read it", She replied with a hint of a smile. Harry Potter was her first ever novel that she read as a kid and it was her favourite to this day. She was excited to introduce him to it, just so she could have someone to discuss it about in this new timeline.

"Do you know that the author is actually a female"? She probed.

Sahadev was stunned, "Really? But the name...JK Ro-Rowling sounds like a male's".

"Yeah well she did that intentionally so that no one would ignore her book just because of her gender".

"I see that I'm not needed here, well I'll just go to my other brothers. My friend and my baby brother have abandoned me from their conversation even before I'm married. I wonder what will happen to me once I'm wedded", Dushala cried dramatically and sniffled for extra effects.

Mrithika rolled her eyes and Sahadev grinned wryly. " Oh stop being so dramatic, Dushi. Sahadev it's girls hour, now excuse us while I find your sister a perfect wedding dress", Mrithika clapped her hands enthusiastically and shooed the youngest Pandava from the chamber.

A/N

Okay, lemme clear some confusion. Dushala is actually older than Arjun, Nakul and Sahadev as opposed to the popular notion of showing her as the youngest. Dury Bhai was born after Bheem and all the 101 kauravas where born each day.

QFTD : Arjun couldn't guess Mrithika's age but let's see if you readers can. The winner will get to ask me any question regarding this story's plot and I will answer you honestly.