It had nearly been three months since Hidimba gave birth... But that's a misleading statement....

Her son grew over six years in this time! Talk about weird rakshas biology....

Mine was still stuck as a four month old... Who had now begun teething and was driving me crazy!

"PLEASE! " I tried to control my anger as she wouldn't quiet down, even when I gave her my finger as a chew toy.

" Why are you shouting! It won't help either way! " Nakul yelled next to me, as he too tried to attract Madhu's attention.

Arjun, Sahdev and my own husband had gone to the village with Jyeshth, who still hadn't explained his presence to us here.

"Shh! You're being just as loud as her. LEAVE! " I pushed him put the door.

"But bhabhishree? " He muttered.

"Go! "

^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•

My husband returned after about three hours... I knew because I counted...

He found me next to our daughter's crib, fast asleep, as head hung oddly, while she finally calmed down, chewing on her own thumb.

"Sagarika! Sagarika! " He yelled, holding my face against him, which was when I finally woke up.

"What is it? I gave her -"

"Oh! Thank - you're alright! '" He exclaimed.

"What do you think would have happened? Me dead? I was nearly a few hours away from dying -"

"No talks of dying in front of Madhu. Come. "  He said, lifting me into his arms as he deposited me onto the bed.

Which wawas very triggering to my daughter.

How could papa lift mumma and not her...... Which is why, when I finally put my head down to sleep, finally....

"Waaaaaah! " If I could choke my own ears, I would.

Wait, you can't choke ears.....

"Shhh... Mata is sleeping, come out, we'll sing a song, won't we? You trouble her too much little princess, someday she'll have both our heads for lunch. " He whispered conspiratorially.

The last I heard was another bout of crying before, silence.

^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•

" A princess? " I heard Nakul shout and I sighed.... If there was anyone in this world who could make a mole out of an ant hole, it was him.

" Ji , I am the princess of Panchal, Draupadi. " A woman announced, as I walked into the main hall.

Madhu was playing undisturbed with Ghatotkach on a mat by the throne, while the elders all surrounded the woman in question.

" We are the family of brahmins. He is Sukarm, Sulom, Shrutkarm, Sangram, Suryakant, my bhabhishree Suhasini, husband of Sulom and my eldest bhabhishree, Sulohita.

"What? " I asked and my husband, although wouldn't lie, held my hand tightly in a grip.

" What? Oh, you're the one brahmin kumar Shwetvarn keeps talking about. He says we share the same face.... But I'm not sure how that was possible, until I saw you. You are beautiful. " She said excitedly and I smiled, weary.

"Well yes,  we do share the same face. You are immensely beautiful too. " I smiled at her and was yanked into a rather abrupt hug.

" Oh? " I managed to choke put before she squeezed me, quite literally.

"Just between us,I am Sphulingini, I'm glad to have met you finally Sulohita. " She mumured and I sighed...

She knows! The best news I got today!

" It's alright, they know it too. " I answered back to her in a whisper and she visibly brightened.

" I'm so relieved... I was under the impression that I would have hide my true self from you all. " She beamed excitedly.

"So, A-Shwetvarn, why is the princess of Panchal gracing us with her presence? " Jyeshth Karn asked.

" She is here on her own request. Said she wished to meet my family. So I brought her here. " He said proudly...

" We are glad, do stay by, we will also treat you to food -"

"Thank you bhrata Sulom, I am infact in a hurry, I need to greet Raajkumar Ajatshatru from Pragjyotishpur. He has come here because he will be participating in my swayamvar soon. "

Her words took me like a wrecking ball... AJ would marry again? So soon?

"Ahh, I understand, than we hope to meet you again. " Mata told her comfortingly and she was led out by Arjun and Jyeshth.

"My brother is marrying again! " Was the first thing that left my mouth as soon as she left.

" Putri? Why are you so surprised. It must be some political reason -"

"No mata, he promised Devika that he would never take another wife, he doesn't go back on his promises. Sometimes is amiss here... But what. "

"We'll mediate over that later, come, we'll eat food. " Yudhishthir said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•

It had been three weeks yet again and Ghatotkach had finally grown up to the age of a young adult.

"I'm proud of you son. " I heard Bheem say, before he and all the brothers went out yet again for work.

Just as Angraj had come, he left, without informing us of anything, but he didn't go behind our backs.. He left in front of us.

Mata had been inconsolable last week, it broke my heart to see her that way.

We were making food in the kitchen, now that Hidimba also felt at peace at her son's maturing of age, she was another person altogether. Wise yet the same that I met before.

It might have been a few hours when I heard the footsteps of the brothers in the main hall.

"Mata, bhabhishree, look what bhrata Arjun has gotten as daan. " Said Nakul proudly.

Before I could stop her, she uttered the curse words, they truly felt like a curse in hindsight.

" Whatever it is, divide it amongst yourselves. " Mata mumbled and I finally turned around wit ha smile to see what they had got, but my smile was wiped away by the woman in front of me.

"Panchali? " I muttered and mata turned around in shock to see her, her hands flying to her mother in shock of what she had said.

" Putri! I'm so sorry! I never meant to - I take my words back. It isn't true. " She said frantically as I stood next to her confused... Why would she panic so much? She took her words back.

" Nahi mata, your words are as if devagya for us, we can't refuse them. " My husband said and I rounded to him.

All the while Arjun and Panchali were trying to explain to mata the situation, I stared at him.

" What do you mean! You'll marry her now? " I asked and he sighed, looking up at me as if he had no option.

This conversation cannot be held in public , I dragged him away by the hand into our rooms, shutting the heavy doors.

"Sagarika-" He began but I shot a cold glare at him.

"Do you know which time I belong to? " Hi asked coldly and he sighed, looking up at me.

"Kaliyug." He muttered and I threw my hands in the air.

"Precisely. You know I will not tolerate it if you have another wife. I don't care if I have to live on the streets, die, do whatever the heck I want for all I care! But I will not tolerate another woman being married to my husband, least of all my sister! " I shouted and he raised his hands, as if to pull me into a hug and apologize.

"Stay away! You don't get to touch me until you accept that mata's words were an accident! " I screamed, holding my hand upto him.

" I cannot Sagarika -"

"Why! Why can't you? It's not as if she asked you to vow, or ordered you, or said anything where you were truly bound! "

"But -"

"Putri, I have taken my words back. " I heard mata say as the family walked into the room, there was till tension in everyone's shoulders, seemingly waiting for my husband's decision.

"Mata, you may have taken back your words, but if A-Yudhishthir doesn't agree to you decision, I will leave him. I will not stay in a place where my husband keepts two wives. I cannot. I will take away Madhu too.. And you! " I rounded off to, see my husband's resigned expression.

"If you even think of appealing to me, or come to wherever I live, should you go through with this marriage and drown eight lives, I will call Krishn and he won't spare you. " I shouted, storming out of the room. I could hear Mata and my sisters calling at me.

I didn't know when I vegan running, when I stumbled and when I twisted an ankle, but all I knew was I was trying to get away before I said something much worse.

"Sakhi." Called a voice and I looked up from my knees, the one person who could solve it all.

"Krishn." I cried, as I wiped my face of tears, looking at him.

"Why are they so rigid on the rules here? " I asked and he sighed softly, pulling me into a hug.

"Your husband doesn't understand the true essence of dharm. " He told me softly and I looked up at him in surprise.

"He doesn't? "

"Yes, he doesn't understand that dharm is first based on compassion. Any dharm that destroys the lives of those who are good is not dharm at all. " He told me, wiping my tears away.

"So what now? " I asked him, looking up at the god himself. He always knows what to do.

" Now we wait. But whatever happens, I am with you. "  He ran a hand over my ankle and I finally felt the pain leave me.

^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•

"What is your decision pandu putr Yudhishthir. " I asked, clutching at the pallu of my saree till my knuckles turned white.

"I... I have decided to find a better solution to this situation. " He said and I waited, with bated breaths.

"Mata said to distribute her amongst ourselves.... She never said equally. Just like a flame cannot differentiate between people, similarly, she herself will not have to. We are going to distribute her. For Arjun, she will be his wife, for us, she will be our sister. " He answered. I felt my knees give away, but I held on, relief washing through me at his answer.

" Yudhishthir! Sagarika! " I heard AJ called and I looked around to see the two, their faces reflecting sadness.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Sooo... How was the compromise? The idea for the relations to be divided but not equally comes from a story I read, by  Captain Sham. I have not copied the work, but I have added my own interpretation to it based on the plot of our story as she is the flame, sphulingini.

Tell me how it was in the comments and do vote

Much love

Radhekrishn♥