That night, the Maharaj of Matsya was sent away to swarg, while his newly married son held on to his mother and his wife tried to pacify the subjects.

Everyone lamented the loss of their king, but none more than the farmers, who had loved the king beyond their expectations. So when they stood at the palace gates with their sickles drawn as weapons, willing to fight for their deceased king, Aahana could not stop their entry into the palace.

" Maharaj! Give us the order, we'll find who was the one who sent these mysterious assassins who killed our king. " Their leader, Sangraam said.

" Please, Sangraam ji, please go. Find those bastards. " Was all he could order, his regality covering the pain the boy felt when his father was snatched away from him.

He walked into the room, where he saw his wife sitting by the vanity chair, waiting for him to come back.

" Why! Why! Why ! Why? " He yelled, throwing the vase down as he broke it, kicking at the tables of the room and throwing the chair away. Aahana didn't do anything, as she knew how important it was as of now to let out that rage.

" My father left me! Why! Who dared to poison the king of Matsya! I won't spare them. I won't. They will suffer a fate worse than -aagh. " He said, surprised as glass shards pierced his hands.

Aahana's eyes snapped up at him, running to sit by him.

" What are you doing. You'll get hurt! There is broken glass here! "

" Yes and it has already pierced your arms. Come on the bed. Show me your hands. "

" But -"

" Shh. Come Arya Uttar. We'll see. " She said, holding him by the back of his hands, sitting him down on the bed.

Two tear streaked eyes gazed at the shards of glass, which represented their broken hearts too. Just newly wed they were, hoping to explore the kingdom, enjoy their few days of peace, when they were thrust into a power they would have to learn to handle.

With careful hands, Aahana picked out the shards of glass, which were thankfully big enough.

She quickly used an ointment she kept, wrapping his hands in the paste and bandaging it.

"What did we do wrong? I thought all casualties were supposed to end with the war. What did I do wrong Aahana? What did my mother do wrong? What did baba do wrong? " Uttar cried, putting his head kn her lap, holding her close by the waist.

"Nothing wrong Arya. You did nothing wrong and neither did anyone else in our family. We can't blame ourselves for the anger someone else feels, the anger that someone else holds. " She said, running his hands through his hair. Wiling her tears with another.

"But why us? Why him. Baba never hurt anyone. He was never a biased king. Why? "

"Arya. No one decides who does and who lives. Baba has passed away, giving us the responsibility of the throne now. We'll live up to it, won't we? " She asked, raising his face to look into his eyes. There was no prince, no king, no yuvraj there. There was oy a boy. A boy who lost his father.

"Matsya needs us Arya. Your mother needs us. We must be strong. For them. " She whispered, holding him close.

" Maharaj ki jai ho. They have found the culprit. " Said the guard, as Uttar got up.

Aahana wiped his tears, cleaned his hand and hid the hand behind his angvastr.

" What are you doing? I need my hand out. "

"Use the other one. No one can see the Maharaj as weak. Especially not when he is supposed to give out justice. That is the time he must be the strongest person in the world, standing tall and sharp, even if he has arrows embedded into his body. " Aahana said, wiping her own tears and taking his dagger.

"What are you -oh my. You'll get hurt." He exclaimed as she cut her thumb.

" I don't have teeka for you as of now. But this is what will give you your strength. These people challenged the might of Matsya raj. They need to be punished. But we must listen to what he says. Not because we want to forgive them. But because, if this is a bigger game than we anticipate, we must be alert. We must provoke him to tell the truth. " She told him, applying his tilak with her blood.

" They have thrust us upon the throne, thinking we'll be weak. We are new rulers. We must show them how wrong they are Aahana. Are you with me? "

"I thought I promised that yesterday in front of the fire. Always. " She answered, hand in his as they walked out of the room.

Grief would be welcomed later with open arms, but right now, they were the Maharaj and Maharani, not Uttar and Aahana.

  ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

They walked into the sabha, where the farmers held a man with a cloth on his face, as he kneeled in front of the throne.

"Maharaj.He is our culprit. " Sangraam ji said.

"Show us his face Sangraam ji. " Uttar ordered.

Sometimes, it is said it is better to keep things veiled than let them be seen, for what you may find under the covers is not what you need.

They were right.

" Langantan? Raajkumar Langatan? " Uttar spoke, surprised.

" You know him Maharaj? " Sangraam asked, while Aahana just looked at him in alarm.

" He is our best friend. From childhood. He is the prince of Avanti. Their Yuvraj to be precise. " Uttar said, as Aahana's brain went into overdrive.

Avanti Kumar. Shubhda's sister. Avanti Kumari's elder brother.

" Yes. I am Avanti Kumar Langatan. Why. Shocked? "

" Why did you kill Maharaj Virat. Answer me. " Aahana said, walking down to him, a dagger at his neck. "

"Maharani.Please calm down
We must fight together. " Uttar urged, pulling her back, as she stood by him.

"I was promised Uttara's hand by Maharaj Virat. I lost her to that child, Abhimanyu. I will take my revenge. "

"But why the Maharaj! "

" Because he was the one who promised me -"

"There were never any promises. Just because you and I were friends, does not mean you had any right on my sister! " Uttar shouted, but was calmed by a hand on his shoulder.

" Oh you are so naive. I'll never tell you anything. " He said, as he began to tip his head of in laughter, when Aahana noticed him inching his hand against his mouth when, " Aaarh. Stupid woman. Stay in your limits. " He shoutes as a dagger landed in the arm, pinning it to the ground.

" I am in my limits. Had I not been, you would have died a long while ago." Aahana said, eyes blazing in anger. She ripped of the ring from his finger.

" Poison Maharaj. " She said.

" Anyways, you won't be able to protect everyone. My men are going to Hastinapur right now. Raajkumar Abhimanyu will meet his end today." He said, passing out due to the blood loss.

Aahana ran, ran as fast as she could to the stables, while Uttar stood handling the matters in the sabha.

She pulled out a horse, riding it as fast as she could, towards Hastinapur.

Her hair blew open and her clothes got torn while getting tugged on the tree branches.

It took her three hours to ride there, even at her speed as she ran inside the palace.

"Where.is Raajkumar Abhimanyu! Where is he! " She yelled, as the commotion brought out everyone.

" Putri! What is this! What happened to you-" Yudhishthir asked before he was interrupted by a furious Aahana.

"Mamashree! Where is bhrata Abhimanyu? "

"He's with Arjun and Parikshit in the practicing arena - "

She heard enough as she ran, as fast as she could.

When she reached, what she saw blew her mind.

"ABHIMANYU! " She exclaimed.

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

I'm just gonna hide behind a car.

Anyways, tell me how the chapter was in the comments and do vote.

Much love

Radhekrishn ❤