WEAPON OF GOD :: Mahabharat

CH.69. MOVING FORWARD

It had been 26 years since Evi had started living with Hridasura but her body was already giving up. She was happy, but not healthy.

Krishna tried to make her familiar with Shivi and Rudra in all the years, but Evi had rejected doing so every time. She never saw the royals except twice after Duryodhan's funeral, once in a forest where she and Hridasura met Yudhishthir and Shikhandini, and the second time at Hiranya's wedding.

When Yudhishthir and Shikhandini met Evi and Hridasura soon after their hiding started, they could comprehend how the four now had similar kind of lives, with all of them staying away from royalty. Yudhishthir and Evi could see how similar they felt and acted, as both of them ran away from the 'responsibilities' that they previously had burdened themselves with. Shikhandini on the other hand, was delighted to know about Shivi unlike Evi, and wanted to see her from afar atleast once, and Hridasura gladly helped her do so.

The pairs parted their ways again, as they knew it was the last time they would be meeting. Evi had informed them of her decisions, of the hibernation and about Ren, which at first the two didn't take very well, but understood why it was required.

The next time, was years later, when Hiranya had decided to marry Ghatotkach.

Shruta was crowned the king 6 years ago, as he had become the strongest in the clan. Many soldiers had formed till now, and the tribe atlast became stable. As that happened, Ghatotkach was atlast ready to break his duties from the tribe, but he felt that it was his second home now. Hiranya and Shruta, both felt the same about Ghatotkach, who they looked up to, and Hiranya had put forth the proposal of marriage, much to Evi's opposition.

Ghatotkach had profusely promised Evi, that he wouldn't let himself or Hiranya get entangled with Kuru politics, but Evi still had her doubts. Especially because Ghatotkach was now Indraprastha's king's first born.

The day of the wedding was chaotic to say the least, as Evi had ordered only the four Pandavas and Hidimba to be allowed in the tribe from the royalty and no one else. She didn't want to bring the King of Hastinapur in the mess either, so Karna was kept out of the celebrations too.

Evi had been writing letters to only one of the brothers, Sahadev, as he was the one dealing with the demons of Khandav, and also because he was the closest to Evi. Nakul was a close second, but since Yudhisthir's 'demise', he had felt a break in the connection, and Evi respected it.

Thus, Sahadev was the only one, who felt comfortable starting the conversation with Evi, who rather stayed silent throughout out of courtesy.

The four could see how much she had changed, and she could also observe how much the four had grown in the 20 years.

Just to let things settle, all of them started talking about their own families, as it was the best to not reminisce the old times.

Arjun had married Shubhadra, and had three children with her, with the oldest one named Abhimanyu as per Krishna's request. Evi smiled, wondering if even this time Abhimanyu was related to the moon or not. But after Shubhadra, he had gone to marry three more princesses, among which one was Chitrangada.

Bheem had married twice after Hidimba, and much to Evi's surprise, he had given Hidimba the position of Maharani instead of the other two 'human' woman. She wanted to praise him, but again couldn't find words of affirmation for the Pandava. Although her smile was enough to let Bheem and Hidimba know that she was happy about it.

Nakul and Sahadev had married princesses of their choice, out of love, as they didn't have much responsibility to 'expand' the kingdom. They searched for Princesses who held similar love towards animals and non-humans, so that they could complement them in their work.