Arjun's POV:
Somewhere between the dust of exile and the fire of fate, I had forgotten what silence meant.
But as we walked toward Hastinapur's gates again, Draupadi at our side, I realized this silence wasn't peace.
It was tension.
Even the wind held its breath.
We could've stayed in the forest longer, hidden behind trees and myths, letting the world forget us.
But we had Draupadi now.
A woman like her wasn't meant for mud paths and rough straw beds.
She was born to walk in light, among kings—and we would give her nothing less.
Yet beneath that resolve, another thought kept blooming like an unwanted thorn.
Karna.
Had he changed his mind yet?
Had he seen what his loyalty had done to people like us—like Draupadi?
I still held a sliver of hope. Maybe even more than I should have.
---
At Hastinapur's Gate,
The rumors had already reached the palace.
Whispers of Arjun marrying the fire-born princess.
But when they arrived—not as one groom, but five—the palace fell into stunned silence.
Kshatriyas, courtiers, even sages stared as if they had seen the impossible.
And then… Bhishma stood.
His expression was stone.
Unyielding. Unreadable.
"I will not permit this," he said. "This… defies Dharma."
He turned away and walked toward the riverbank of Ganga, where he often sat in reflection and grief.
Before any of us could follow—Draupadi did.
---
Draupadi & Bhishma—
The river hissed softly as Draupadi approached him, sari fluttering like flame.
"Pitamah," she said gently, kneeling beside him.
Bhishma didn't look at her.
"I have seen queens, my child. I have known wisdom. But this… what you've done—this is not our way."
Draupadi closed her eyes for a moment.
"Is it not our way," she whispered, "or is it simply the way men have written the rules?"
He glanced at her, slightly.
She continued, "If fire can split into five tongues, if the moon can shine on five oceans, if Dharma can wear many faces… why can a woman not be loved by five men, with a pure heart?"
Bhishma blinked. The river behind them shimmered in silence, as if listening.
"You speak boldly," he said.
"I speak truly," she replied.
And in that moment, the old warrior saw not a girl who had defied tradition—
—but a queen who had redefined it.
He nodded once.
And when they returned, he was the one to open the palace gates.
---
But Karna… was not there.
Kunti's eyes kept drifting toward the hallway, waiting.
But he did not come.
Later, she would find out he had gone to his foster parents in Anga. He had taken leave from Duryodhana for a few days.
He had said it was to fulfill a long-overdue duty.
But in truth—
He wasn't ready.
Not to meet the brothers he had nearly killed.
Not to meet the mother who had hidden him from himself.
---
Karna's POV:
He stood before his foster mother, Radha, her hands trembling on his cheeks.
"You've returned, Karna…"
He lowered his head.
"I don't know what I've returned as, Maa."
She pressed his forehead to hers.
"As my son. That's all that matters."
But as night fell, Karna lay awake in a familiar room, haunted by unfamiliar feelings.
Guilt. Longing. Fear.
And something far worse.
Hope.
---
That Night – Arjun at the Riverbank
Sleep refused to come.
Nakul had stayed with me for a while, but even he gave up after a few hours.
The wind carried whispers again. Familiar ones.
I walked to the riverbank.
And just like every time—she was there.
Grandmother. Satyavati.
"Parth," she smiled as if expecting me.
"Did we do right?" I asked her. "Bringing her back here? Marrying her like this?"
"She is more than your wife, Parth," she said. "She is your balance. Your flame."
We watched the river together.
"She made even Bhishma listen…" I whispered.
"She didn't make him listen," Satyavati said. "She made him remember."
Silence again.
And then she looked at me with eyes that held centuries.
"Do you still think of her?"
I knew who she meant.
"…Subhadra."
A pause. My breath caught.
"I thought I could leave that feeling behind. For her sake. For Draupadi's. But…"
"You're human, Parth," she said softly. "And sometimes… love refuses to be unloved."
The river rushed on.
---