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***

"Hey! Dushala- don't!" Aarohi ducked out of the way as Dushala sent yet another splatter of cold water her way, soaking her already wet clothes. The young Kuru princess giggled as she got up from the river's shore.

Back in Hastinapur after the coronation, they decided to visit the banks of river Ganga, relaxing and in some way trying to distract themselves from what could be the most important announcement for the whole dynasty. Maharaj Dhritraashtra was going to name his successor today, but Dushala didn't want to deal with the stress that came with it. Of course, Aarohi on the other hand knew that today's Rajya Sabha would be interrupted by Guru Drona, nonetheless she agreed to get out of the palace for a while. She needed the distraction after what she saw in Angdesh.

"Okay, okay! I promise I won't do that again." She winked and blew an air kiss at her friend, but as Aarohi sighed in relief looking away, Dushala immediately splashed her with some more water again!

"Alright! Now you've done it." Aarohi gasped, wiping her soaking face, tying her dampened strands into a lose bun. Then she rushed forward, splashing water at Dushala, who ducked behind the maids collecting lotuses nearby.

"Oh shit-"

The water hit the poor maids instead who all looked up from their work, baffled. Dushala stood up playfully stuck her tongue out at her, but Aarohi quickly sent another wave of water towards her without giving her any time to react. It splattered right on her face and due to her open mouth, unfortunately she swallowed some too.

"Aarohi! I cannot believe you!" She whined, but now it was Aarohi's turn to laugh.

"Oh, so it's fine when you do it?" Aarohi teased as Dushala crossed her arms, moving towards the sunlight to dry herself.

"I'm going to sit here for a while until the maids are done, then we'll return to the palace. I think we've been gone long enough, don't you think? Mata told me the Sabha would be done before lunchtime."

"Oh, alright..." Aarohi looked off into the distance, looking tense.

"Aarohi? What's wrong? You look like you don't want to go back..." Dushala asked.

"No. Uhh... It's nothing, really."

Dushala sighed, nodding to herself. By this point she knew asking Aarohi about her problems would never do any good. If she doesn't want to talk about the issue, she will not.

Aarohi turned away from Dushala and the maids, taking in a deep breath. Ever since that evening in Anga, she had been disturbed. She didn't know what to make of it. Aarohi had avoided both Arjun and Karna ever since, yet they lived in the same palace, so they were bound to catch glimpses of each other no matter how much she tried to hide in the shadows. While she had firmly denied whatever her eyes witnessed, every time the two men came across her, they would always give her a look that would turn any normal woman into a sentient puddle, which often made her reconsider.

'No. No. No. I'm just overthinking again, they've hated each other since the start. It probably has nothing to do with me.' She abruptly shook her head, as if trying to delete the memories of the last few days. She didn't know if it was just the strain of everything that had happened, but lately she hadn't felt like herself.

She sighed wearily and started to turn back around, but froze as a she heard a rustle of movement behind her. She turned around to find an unfamiliar maid collecting lotuses that had accidentally fallen from her basket, near her feet. Without thinking much of it, she bent down to help her.

"Kumari, you don't have to do that." The maid stammered, trying to stop the princess from doing her work.

Aarohi simply shrugged and put the remaining flowers into her basket, gesturing her that they were going to leave soon as the other maids were done.

After a while, when the girls arrived back at the palace, they were immediately hit by the news of Guru Drona interrupting the Rajya Sabha, asking for his rightful gurudakshina.

"And now all the princes will be attacking Panchal, to take revenge for their guru's insult. Guru Dronacharya wants King Drupad's head at his feet. So all the princes will depart tomorrow." One of the maids of Maharani Gandhari informed the princesses.

"So no successor was named today? Oh my, I'll need to talk to mata. Aarohi I will come see you later, alright?" Dushala whispered a hurried goodbye and went along the maid to her mother's chambers.

Aarohi watched her leave, then started walking back to her room to change her damp clothes and probably nap until dinner. In fact this was the best part of time travelling, she could nap anytime she wanted and didn't have to stay attentive in case some emergency comes up at the hospital.

"Ah! Finally, you're here." Krishna's kind voice addressed her as she entered her room.

"Kahna? You look all dressed up. Are you going somewhere?" She asked noticing his outfit.

"Yes Aarohi, I'll have to return to Dwarka today, I just came here to inform you and also I have some work for you." Krishna announced and Aarohi waited for him to continue. "I was hoping that you would give this small box to Parth, it might be helpful in the battle." He said, like always maintaining that mystery around his words.

"But... why can't you give this to him yourself...?" Aarohi questioned, not wanting to talk to neither Arjun nor Karna right now. She just wanted to lay in a comfortable bed and sleep until it was all over.

"Well... after five whole days of you ignoring him, I thought he might be dying to talk to you, so I thought he'd be happier receiving this from you and not me." He chuckled, a knowing smile turned up at the corners of his mouth, while Aarohi's eyes widened and she gulped down the sudden nervousness in her chest.

"I- uh... I- I did not ignore him! And I don't think that's what he would want. In fact I'm pretty sure he wants to talk to his dear Madhav to gain some extra knowledge about King Drupad's army and other things like-" Aarohi tried, but failed in convincing Krishna to give Arjun that box himself as he cut her off mid sentence.

"It's too bad his Madhav has to leave in a hurry today. Won't my sister do me this little favour?" He raised his eyebrows and then placed the beautifully wrapped box in her hands as Aarohi protested, whining and shaking her head. But of course, she had to agree at last.

As Krishna stepped out of her room, he gave her one last look and added, "Be careful who you choose to support Aarohi. That's all I want from my sister."

Aarohi stayed quiet for a moment, then she understood his meaning.

'I'm not even here that much, I'll always be going back to the future anyways, so I don't think I even need to.' She shrugged, thinking to herself. She wanted to say this out loud but all that came out was, "I'm not sure what you're talking about dear brother..."

Krishna just gave the girl a slight smile and patted her back as he hugged her goodbye. "I'll be returning soon. Take care Aarohi."

As he left, Aarohi looked down at the box in her hands.

"Ugh, I guess I'd better get going. The sooner I give this to Arjun, the better." She sighed, her shoulders slumped, then after several minutes of considering if she should just send her maid instead, she thought it would be disrespectful when Kahna specifically requested her to go, so she hesitantly went to Arjun with the box.

She found him outside, on a raised sitting area facing one of many flower gardens, seemingly planning different strategies. As she inched closer, she saw that Arjun was completely engrossed in preparing for the battle, he never noticed her coming.

'He's so focused and deeply concentrated... Maybe I should come back later...' She thought, she knew she was just making useless excuses at this point. But she hadn't even turned her back yet that Arjun noticed her. "Aarohi?"

"Yup, that's me... Aarohi..." She muttered and groaned slightly as she climbed up onto the raised platform.

"It's been a while... hasn't it? Where have you been these days?" He asked.

"Trying to avoid you, of course!" The words left her mouth before she could stop them, her eyes widened in shock, saying that Arjun was taken aback, would be an understatement. He completely abandoned his work to confirm if what he had heard was true. "What did you just say?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Uh- I never said anything. You know, sometimes people start hearing things when they are stressed out." Aarohi mused on, trying to distract him. Arjun made a puzzled face at her and shook his head. For a second he was really wondering if he had just heard something.

"So... what are you doing...?" Aarohi asked, picking up a stone figurine from the map Arjun was working on.

"I was devising formations for the war and mediating the best way to create them." He explained, gesturing to the paper scrolls on the table. Meanwhile Aarohi was a bit confused, he was behaving so sincerely today. No annoying jokes or anything!

'I like this Arjun better.'

"That reminds me, I was actually here to give you something."

"Oh? Did you miss me so much that you decided to bring a gift?" He teased, while Aarohi grimaced.

There it was...

The annoying Arjun who wouldn't miss an opportunity for joking around!

"You're not that lucky to get a gift from me. However, this box was sent by your Madhav, he said if you keep this with you, it will be of use." She said, handing it to him.

As Arjun opened the box, he saw five blue stones with different numbers of beads on each one of them and wondered how they could help. Whereas, Aarohi's eyes were quick to notice Arjun's hand. A loose cloth was wrapped around the healing burn.

"How is your hand now?" Despite Arjun being well... Arjun, Aarohi couldn't help but ask about the burn, especially since he got it because of her and somewhere deep inside she felt guilty about that. Also that loose cloth was giving the doctor in her the biggest ick.

"Are you worried about me- -" But Arjun couldn't finish his teasing sentence as Aarohi unexpectedly stepped forward and took his hand in both of hers. He was rendered speechless as Aarohi untied the bandage, then correctly placed it on the wound and gently tied it again.

"There. It's good now. Always tie it like this, okay? Not too loose and not too tight either." She instructed while Arjun stared at her with his heart hammering inside his chest. He never knew Aarohi could be this caring when she wanted to be and that he would even get to experience that side of hers.

"Aarohi..." "Hmm...?" She looked up at him.

"Why did you..." He trailed off, not knowing how to ask why she did that. In a moment of silence, he found himself zoned out, imagining her saying, "I could ask you the same question for that day..."

But, this was Aarohi. And she could only be a puddle of feelings for just an instant in front of somebody. And unfortunately for Arjun, that instant was over.

"Because... humanity!" She teased.

"Huh? What do you mean humanity...?" Arjun asked, confusion lacing his words. The disappointment he felt was directly visible on his face while Aarohi just smirked.

"I think that's pretty self explanatory." She continued.

"Or here's a thought... Maybe it's because, you've started caring about me." Arjun teased back.

So what if he didn't get the answer he wanted? He'd be happier getting on her nerves and seeing her pout like a kid anyways.

And sure enough, that smirk made it's way off of Aarohi's face as she slowly rolled her eyes and turned to leave. "Goodbye and good luck for the war Arjun." She grumbled, begrudgingly wishing him all the best. "And don't get hurt." She muttered under her breath, so he wouldn't hear, despite every annoying joke he had made, she of course never wished he would get injured.

But those four words were already heard by Arjun.

Loud. And. Clear.

"I didn't know you you were so worried about me Aarohi. This is helping me prove my point." Arjun walked ahead of her, standing at the lowest step of the three stairs, closing off Aarohi's only escape from this conversation, trapping her. He casually rested his arms on both sides of the small entrance, towering over her as she crossed her arms and frowned.

"No, I'm really not." She bit her lip, trying to think of an appropriate response.

"Do you trust my skills and capabilities this much?" He smirked, tilting his head closer to her face.

"No it's not that either. I only said that because if you come back all ripped apart, the Raj Vaidya would have a really hard time cleaning and fixing you up. He seems like a nice old guy and I wouldn't want him to get tired because of your carelessness." Aarohi stated and straitened up, trying to match Arjun's height with her confidence, instead of backing away.

"Well, if he gets tired, I can always count on you to always clean up my wounds since you couldn't even resist the sloppily tied bandage on my hand. Not to mention how you quite literally pulled me outside the temple to treat my burn." Arjun took a step closer.

"So what? Literally anyone could have done that." Aarohi tried standing taller but in reality she felt like a helpless rabbit under his attentive gaze, their faces were so close to each other. As if one wrong move and- - -

"You'd be surprised at how many people don't know the simplest of treatments." He bent down slightly, his warm cheek resting against her icy cold one, as he murmured in her ear. Aarohi swallowed audibly, almost stumbling back.

"But, why would I do that for you?" She took a sharp breath in, once again steadying herself and looking Arjun straight in his eyes, who's deep chuckle rang through the surroundings.

"I've said it once and I'll say it again, you've clearly started to care for me Aarohi. That's why." Arjun's warm hand tucked a damp strand of her hair behind her ear.

And suddenly, Aarohi remembered that she never changed out of her wet clothes. She looked down and noticed the way they clung to her figure and... it seemed like Arjun did too. A blush crept up her cheeks, turning them into a deep shade of pink.

Without warning, she pushed him away in an attempt to get the hell out of there. The cold air hit her and she shivered. But she had to stop as Arjun held her arm.

"Arjun don't- -"

"Here, take this." Arjun removed his warm shawl and draped it around Aarohi's shoulders.

"It's almost evening and you're already wet, you'll catch a cold." He reasoned, softly rubbing her arm, trying to warm her up at least a little, while Aarohi's words were caught in her throat. Those hands of his, made for slaying the most terrible enemies... they seemed so gentle. Her breath hitched and she separated herself from him.

"I'm not that cold, I don't need it Arjun." She mumbled but unexpectedly sneezed at that very moment. Arjun chuckled while Aarohi looked away, feeling bashful for the first time in her life. What was going on with her?

"Will you come see me off tomorrow?" He asked Aarohi, hope shining in his eyes.

"Uh-hun" She nodded breathlessly due to their little encounter and then rushed back towards her room, stopping to risk one last glance at Arjun who gave her his most genuine smile, devoid of any kind of mischief, for the first time.

***

The next morning, Aarohi and Dushala hurried to the courtyard to see off the princes. As they reached there they heard Guru Drona in the middle of his speech. His son Ashwatthama, stood right next to him as he addressed all the princes going to their very first battle. Arjun looked to his side, noting that in fact Aarohi kept her word and came. He smiled to himself and then turned his attention back towards his guru.

"Is there anyone who doubts my teachings? Or has no faith in their own abilities?" Dronacharya questioned, but the students remained quiet.

"We have full faith, Gurudev." Duryodhan's booming voice snapped through the crowd.

"In order to protect oneself, if you are accompanied by a warrior who is not my disciple... I do not deem that as faith, Prince Duryodhan." Guru Drona reasoned, pointing at Karna, who looked dejected. "I have no faith in his archery, because I did not teach him that. Prince Duryodhan, you will not move forward like this, the rest of you shall proceed." He announced.

"I do not know from where he learnt the art. Hence if you lose because of him, I will be the one to be humiliated. And even if you win because of him, I will still be humiliated." Dronacharya thundered. From the resolute faces of Karna and Duryodhan, anyone could tell what they had decided. Duryodhan walked forward, leaving his friend's side.

The princes all mounted their horses, leaving a crestfallen Karna behind.

***

Who likes Arjun&Aarohi scenes? Do you think Aarohi's warming up to him? What do you think will happen when Karna is now left behind? Will Aarohi muster up the strength to talk to him?