Hello friends, here is the chapter and please make sure you VOTE and leave a COMMENT on your favourite parts, it makes the author very happy. 🥺💕

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The grand palace of Angdesh glittered majestically in the sunlight as the most fragrant flowers were showered on the guests inside it's tall walls, who all had come there on the momentous occasion of Karna's coronation two days later.

Aarohi and Krishna stood with the Pandavas, experiencing it all. The Pandavas had reached well in time but they were slightly late because during the ten minutes that they had to ride in a carriage so it wouldn't seem like they'd appeared out of thin air, Aarohi had complained nonstop about the carriage moving unsteadily, violating all safety parameters (according to her), while Krishna, who had sat opposite to her, laughed uncontrollably.

Aarohi smoothed her hair down, which were a bit messed up thanks to the awful carriage ride while simultaneously trying to get the flower petals out of her hair as more and more kept on coming.

Arjun, who was standing besides her, chuckled with a hand over his mouth.

"What's so funny Arjun?" Aarohi asked the obvious, with a roll of her eyes.

"Need some help?" Arjun snickered as he moved his hand to take a petal out of her hair, but she immediately slapped his hand away.

"I think you should always keep your hair like this. Who knows? Maybe if you're lucky some bird will be friendly enough to make her nest on your head." He joked and naturally, Aarohi grumbled, looking away with a frown. But what she didn't notice was that Arjun's eyes lingered a bit too long at her, as if he didn't want to look away. Those little hair strands that came out of her complicated up-do made her look adorable, a striking contrast to her usually haughty attitude. In all honesty, Arjun thought slightly messy hair actually looked the best on her.

Sighing dejectedly, Aarohi had to accept the fate of her hair, she would fix it later. Then looking besides her, she found Arjun staring with a smile. Thinking he was making fun of her, she scoffed and moved to get out of there.

"Ouch!" But she stopped as she realised her hair was stuck in his jewels. Aarohi instead had to turn around to try and pry it out.

"Hey, hey, easy there! Do you want to rip your hair out?"

"I don't care, it would be better ripped than being stuck in your stupid jewellery! Why do you even have to wear more jewellery than the women here?" She hissed as she tried to yank it out. This time, Arjun was the one to roll his eyes as he removed her hand and tried to get the strand out himself, while a glaring Aarohi watched on.

"Aarohi... did you know what happened to Vrikasura the day we left Hastinapur?" Arjun said, trying to distract Aarohi with something he knew she'd want to hear.

"What? Tell me!" She asked wide eyed, anticipation filling her up to the brim but Arjun just smirked, his attempt had been successful.

"Oh, look who wants to know! Well, miss this information will not come for free. You will have to compensate me." He leaned closer to her, tilting his face down, forgetting about the hustle of people around them, as if they were the only two people in the world. "Excuse me...?" She pushed him away, pressing a perfectly manicured fingernail to his chest. His deep laugh reverberated through her body, as he backed away, making her shiver as an unusual feeling swirled in her stomach.

'What kind of compensation did he want? A k-' She shook her head, abandoning the thought as quickly as it came.

"Hmm... something doesn't feel right. Have you gotten a few inches taller Aarohi?" He looked her up and down.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well usually it takes a lot more bending to reach down to your face, you know. You're quite... short."

"Gee, thanks for the daily reminder, I totally forgot... bloody optimus prime." She muttered the last three word so he wouldn't hear them. He wouldn't understand it anyway.

"You're wearing those shoes again. Aren't you?" Arjun questioned, raising an eyebrow. The hair strand free from his jewellery, was long forgotten. They had another reason to bicker now.

"So what if I am? It's none of your business. Also, weren't you about to tell me something about Vrikasura?"

"No, I believed I asked for compensation first." Arjun answered with a cheeky grin.

"Isn't there someone else you can torture?" Aarohi groaned, getting frustrated.

"Probably..." Arjun trailed off, outstretching his broad palm into the air, catching some of the flowers petals. "But I chose you." He slowly sprinkled them on her head, while Aarohi scowled with her mouth open.

She was about to get the hell out of there, but winced as someone accidentally pushed her. Her leg was mostly healed but it still hurt a bit. Arjun acted right away and moved Aarohi to his spot, pulling her out of the dense crowd as he himself moved to stand in her previous spot, keeping her out of harm's way, his face appearing serious, while Aarohi looked at him puzzled.

One moment he makes fun of her and the next he's so... caring?

"Are you alright?"

"Uh-hun." She nodded, her brain not being able to form the correct words. She stood there quietly, glancing at him every few minutes during the whole ceremony, not knowing what to say.

Hours later after the ceremony, after combing her hair out, Aarohi had curled up in a bed to sleep until the evening before dinner so she could save her energy for the pointless conversations as she would be introduced to the other royals families Krishna was familiar with. But she unexpectedly woke up early due to a bad dream.

What was it about?

Of course, it was her mother dying right in front of her eyes, falling from those wicked stairs. And she blamed it all on her sister and hated herself for it.

So she got out of room and decided to take a walk in the garden to ease her mind. Upon reaching there, she found someone already sitting there, looking a bit more miserable than her.

The person sitting on a step was no other than Karna. Seeing him like this, no one could guess it was his coronation tomorrow. Brows knitted together, head tilted backwards as if basking in the reminder of the sunlight, he looked tense.

"You... you don't look very happy for someone who's getting coronated a day after tomorrow Karn. Or should I say Angraj?" She asked, carefully approaching him. He patted the space next to him, gesturing her to sit down on the cold tile. Despite talking to Aarohi only a few times, he had promptly recognised that familiar voice.

Karna let out a laugh, that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"How can I be happy when the most important people in my life are not present here to see it?" The words came out of his mouth before he could make any excuses. While he liked to keep his problems buried inside, away from the world, Aarohi made him talk without even doing anything. She immediately got what he was talking about.

His parents, who were nowhere to be seen since the moment she had arrived in Anga.

She looked over at Karna, unhappy, regretful even because his parents weren't there with him.

In that moment, although not quite in the same way but Aarohi could understand him more than she wanted to. In every important event in her life, no matter how much she wanted her parents to attend and to be there for her, to feel proud of her little achievements, she knew it was impossible and they were never going to be because... they were dead.

Maybe it was just a consequence of the terrible dream she just had, but she suddenly felt a heavy weight on her heart. She looked off into the distance, slowly hugging her knees and resting her head over them.

"Aarohi...? What's wrong?" Karn inquired, noticing the sudden change in her mood. She breathed out, straightening up. And then she spoke with such emotion evident through her every word that Karna went silent for several moments.

"Some people are not even fortunate enough to have parents who are alive to love them, so of course, they know that they cannot support them in any new venture of their lives."

Although a bit taken a back, Karna waited for the girl to continue.

"Is it difficult? Yes. But you know what? These people eventually learn how to deal with that gaping hole in their hearts. You on the other hand, have parents who absolutely adore you. You should not let something stupid as a misunderstanding ruin that special bond. So maybe... when you get back to Hastinapur, try talking to them. Try explaining your point of view while understanding theirs. You have wonderful parents, cherish them... while you still can." The sentences came out like a strong breeze, sweeping up every remaining feeling with it. Aarohi had to take a few deep breaths just to stay calm and remember where she was.

She felt a warm touch on her arm.

"Aarohi...?" Karna whispered softly, his eyes conveying concern. The girl in front of him looked so pale, tortured by some inner pain.

The usually cold Aarohi, now felt like she was withering away into useless specks of dust as the distinct memories of her past flashed before her eyes. Her fingers dug into the fabric of her dress, gripping it tight, trying to find something to hold on to that would bring her back to reality.

"I-I'm sorry if that was too... forward. It probably wasn't my place to- -"

"No- no, no Aarohi. Not at all. In fact, I appreciate your advice. But... are you okay?"

"Ye-yeah! Yes, of-f- course- - I-" Aarohi stammered, suddenly getting up, waving his concerns off, trying to hide her misty eyes.

'What was I doing? I can't give into my emotions like this again. No one here knows that my real parents are not from Dwarka. I need to keep it that way.'

Lost in mentally berating herself, Aarohi accidentally slipped, stepping onto her long lehenga but before she could hit the ground, Karna caught her wrist. A strong breeze of wind followed, lifting her hair from her neck, exposing her tattoo slightly. Karna's eyes followed the path, wanting to catch a mere glimpse of it but she swiftly turned away, freeing herself from him as she started walking back to her room.

***

The next morning came.

After that encounter with Karna, Aarohi was dreading seeing him again, not knowing if he had seen her tattoo or not. Aarohi even tried making excuses to not attend the veneration but Dushala wasn't having it today. When the time came, Aarohi was dressed up in beautiful fabrics and jewels and dragged to the venue.

Dushala held her friend's arm and lead her through the hallways that were unfamiliar to her. "My god, Aarohi! You're going to leave everyone of those snobby Royals floundering for anything snide to say about your appearance today." Dushala praised.

"Well, that's good I guess. Especially with the weird looks I got for my messed up hair yesterday. Even Nakul was grinning! He looked so happy to have the best hair out of everyone."

"Unfortunately for bhrata Nakul, this time your hairstyle will outshine him and he will be left trying different hair masks all night!"

The princesses cracked all the useless jokes they could, as they reached the hall.

Aarohi's gaze immediately settled onto rajmata Kunti. Needless to say she looked happy, but sorrowful at the same time. After all, why wouldn't she be?

But her five son's carried somber expressions on their faces, it went without saying that coming to Anga was just an obligation for them and not a willing choice, though Yudhishthir as always was calm and respectful to everyone around. On the other side, the Kauravas were jovial. Duryodhan was standing next to Karna, congratulating and boosting him as the puja began, while his Mamashri and brother Dushasan stood at their backs, satisfied grins plastered on their faces. They considered this their victory over the Pandavas.

'These people need more therapy than me...' Aarohi thought, then shrugged settling into her place.

Karna gave her a slight smile as he noticed her there which she reciprocated feeling relieved, realising he hadn't seen her tattoo after all.

The veneration went on for a few hours, Karna's attention was focused on the rituals most of the time but there were a few times when he had spared brief glances towards Aarohi, who seemed to be in better spirits than yesterday but he kept on sneaking little glimpses of the princess to make sure she was okay. He was still confused, but more concerned and couldn't stop thinking about how abruptly she had left yesterday.

A few times, their eyes had met which sent the poor girl into an inner turmoil, rethinking everything she had thought before. Did he in fact notice her tattoo? She begun wondering again.

As the rituals were completed, the puja came to an end. Everyone stood up to offer flowers and pray. The place became slightly crowded and tight as they all got up, making Aarohi bump into someone. "Ow! Watch where you're going!"

"Oh well, well well... The little princess came straight towards me." The man said and Aarohi sighed, she could recognise that infuriating voice anywhere.

'Vrikasura'

Aarohi rolled her eyes and straitened up. She ignored him as well as put a distance between them and stayed quiet.

"Missed me, my delicate flower?" The slimy man reached forward, whispering in her ear.

"Oh yes, I'm the same delicate flower who broke your hand. I hope it doesn't hurt anymore..." She pretended to worry as she hissed back quietly, not wanting to cause a scene at a place of worship.

"My hand doesn't hurt but you will after I- -"

"Enough Vrikasura, leave. Looks like getting chewed out by your own father wasn't sufficient for you." Arjun interrupted before he could try anything else.

Vrikasura looked at him startled, then backed away, avoiding eye contact, he didn't know someone had witnessed that while Aarohi barely suppressed her laugh as she took the information in, astounded. Her little act of revenge had proved fruitful.

She gave Arjun a look that said, 'I want all the details later'. They shared a concealed smile as they stood in wait for their turn to place offerings and pray.

Soon enough, Aarohi placed the flowers on the platform. Stepping back, she closed her eyes then, joined her hands to pray, while Arjun had done the same before her. Even though he was done and could leave, he lingered on just in case Vrikasura decided to try anything. And he had thought right.

As Aarohi prayed with her eyes closed, Vrikasura wickedly inched closer from the other side and pretended to unconsciously tilt the burning oil lamps with his arm so the hot oil drips onto the unsuspecting girl.

But Arjun was quick to notice and placed his hand over her shoulder, where the oil was about to fall. It sizzled against his skin but Arjun payed no mind to the burn, he was furious and ready to pounce on Vrikasura's already retreating figure. But as Aarohi made out what had occurred, she held his other hand, turning his attention towards her.

"Aarohi, leave my hand, I won't spare him." He raged on but Aarohi cut him off with a firm 'No'.

Wordlessly, she pulled on his hand and lead him outside, he didn't dare resist. She grabbed some herbal paste from nearby and treated the burn with it. Her obsidian eyes, usually ready to challenge him, now showed a spark of something else. Arjun was a bit surprised with the gesture, but it was easily overlooked as a warm feeling settled into his chest.

"Is it okay now?" She asked, but all she heard was the steady sound of a heart beating.

"Arjun?" Aarohi asked once again and glanced over to him, expecting a response but instead he shook his head as if coming out of a trance, then nodded slowly.

"Well, okay then... I'm just going to-" She made a gesture of leaving as she noticed Dushala calling her from a distance, while Arjun stayed rooted in his spot, looking at his hand.

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Okay everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Aarohi's made some friends and some enemies. Let's see how that plays out in the future. If you are confused about some stuff, you can ask that in the Weekly Wednesday posts.

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