Don't forget to vote and please leave some inline-comments. I'd really appreciate it as a writer. Your comments mean a lot so please do tell me how the chapter was. 💕

Also I have answered the questions asked for the Q&A at the end.

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Aarohi swiftly hid behind a large column before she could be spotted by Vrikasura or Dushasan. A dangerous mix of emotions swirled inside her mind like thunder clouds that were about to burst.

Rage, anger and hatred... it's been said that these are the worst emotions anyone can ever feel in the rush of a moment. They only give rise to everything destructive and evil, filling you with a chilling sense of dread and draining away your strength.

But they are as human to experience as all the other ones... no one can fully control themselves from facing these.

Aarohi stood there planning, as the two men left, leaving the doors Vrikasura's room wide open, inciting an array of possibilities in her mind. A part of her somewhere deep inside knew that acting on impulse would only get her deeper into the quicksand... but all she wanted was to keep going.

Those open doors just looked so inviting.

Alas, she did it.

She sneaked inside his room, which reeked of alcohol so badly that she had to cover her nose and breathe through her mouth. It was appallingly cluttered and generally a mess.

It seemed like not even a dasi felt safe enough to set foot in his room.

"Why do I keep doing stupid things?" Aarohi grimaced at the sight as she took a step forward into the room.

Man, how she wished she had some gloves and a mask on hand.

Aarohi's scrutinising gaze scanned the room, surveying carefully in hopes of finding anything that could be used against him. Unfortunately, nothing of that sort could be found just by taking a look around, no matter how thorough. If she wanted something, she would have to get her hands involved.

So like an expert criminal, she first wrapped her hands in her long scarf, praying she wouldn't get infected by some weird disease and then began searching through Vrikasura's belongings kept in the dresser, all while simultaneously placing them back to exactly how they were kept before. She searched through the closets, drawers and even from a pile of random stuff thrown away in a corner.

"Damn! Does he have a hidden room for his secrets or something? Because there's no way this slimy guy doesn't have any." Aarohi groaned in frustration. At this point she just wanted to write 'I know what you did' on the wall above the bed in blood red paint and slam a knife into it. But of course, even she would not do anything that rash, it might be traced back to her in light of the recent events.

She was looking for something more, well how can you put it... ah, yes... political.

She was looking for something political...

From what she understood in the few days she'd spent here in Hastinapur, she had come to know that there were many who'd be more interested in political secrets of a royal, rather than any other ones, no matter how scandalous. Hence, if she got her hands on something political, the suspicion level would be low as it would most likely be directed towards the known enemies. Plus, it would create more panic than something personal.

But where could she find anything like that?

It's not like those secrets were simply kept in plain sight or something... were they?

Aarohi's eyes fell on a very crowded desk, riddled with paper scrolls.

"Oh? What's that? Do I sense... the tingle of some secrets coming from that desk?" Aarohi's lips turned into a sly smirk, rubbing her hands together conspiratorially as she began searching through the contents on the messy table.

She found some papers with an unfamiliar royal stamp on them, which must've been Gandhar's. But one major disadvantage for her was that... she couldn't read the language, which made it difficult for her to distinguish between what might be important or not.

Trusting her instincts, she chose three scrolls, one with an indistinguishable design of a palace, one scroll with the royal stamp which looked pretty important and lastly one scroll that looked like an unfinished letter.

Why that unimportant letter, you ask?

Well, Aarohi's plan was to throw these scrolls into the small fire pit near the desk. To be caught with something like that would only mean trouble and since the desk was near the open windows, it could easily be assumed that a strong breeze swept the scrolls away, right into the fire, while Aarohi walks away, hands clean. No evidence.

Just a happy little accident!

Well, not for Vrikasura, he was going to be in trouble for being so untidy. Honestly it was way less of a punishment for what he had done to Aarohi, but she was satisfied... at least for now.

After scattering the remaining letters so it looked like the wind blew them away, Aarohi stood there watching the three scrolls burn.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps and loud laughter was heard, Vrikasura was coming back!

"Shit! That demon- - oh god- where do I go?" She frantically looked around for an escape. She couldn't go out the door, obviously, she would be caught.

Should she jump out of the window?

No, no.

"Wait, the balcony! Maybe it's connected to another one."

She rushed out to the balcony and saw that it was, in fact, connected with one other room. Well not actually connected... but the other balcony was close. She would have to jump to reach it, that too with an injured leg.

But with the footsteps getting closer and closer, she didn't have another choice, she had no time to lose or find another way out.

She had to jump.

"Oh boy, I hope I don't die." Aarohi stood up on the edge of the railing, wincing a bit due to her injured leg, then took a deep breath and... jumped.

Thud!

She successfully landed on the other room's balcony.

"I am... batman." Aarohi let out a 'woohoo' waving her arms up, as if she was receiving applause from an imaginary audience, yet immediately simmered down as she realised, she now had to figure out a way to get out of this room.

Another problem. Great.

Maybe she should have listened to Arjun and went straight to bed.

But nothing could be changed now.

So Aarohi peeked inside the unknown room through the curtains, frowning as she searched for someone who could be inside. It was pretty quiet, maybe there was no one in it? Or maybe... the person was sleeping?

But with her luck, even if the person was sleeping, he would wake the moment she'd set foot inside. Aarohi slowly creeped to the other side of the entrance to the room and hid behind the flowy curtains.

The cool air outside made her shiver, she put her arms around her, rubbing as she looked inside once again, hoping that the room would be empty so she could escape.

But as she scanned the room, she spotted a figure lounging on the bed.

It was a man.

Taking half a step closer, she noticed he had something in his hand, that looked like a piece of jewellery.

With the golden light from several oil lamps reflecting on him... he looked so serene.

Aarohi peeked inside to get a better look at the man and it there was nothing that could prepare her for the shock that came next.

'I-It's- - Karn. What the hell! I'm in Karn's room?!'

She quickly hid as Karn stood up from the bed, walking around aimlessly and coming to a stop right in front of her hiding place. With her heart already thumping loudly in her chest, she covered her mouth so she wouldn't make a sound.

And yet she couldn't help but edge a bit closer to see what he was doing.

What was that jewellery he was holding?

And whose was it?

Why was he staring at it like he was in a trance?

Sneaking a quick look, Aarohi found out that it was an anklet that looked quite like the same one she had lost when she'd crashed into him that evening at the temple. Wait. He had kept it?

But... why?

Had he recognised her...?

Millions of questions raced in her mind.

"I wish I knew who you were... will I ever see you again?" Aarohi's chain of thoughts was broken as she heard Karn saying those words. There was something so wistful in his voice that it sent a wave of trepidation through her body. The way he talked... well, it made her nervous.

Why?

That was her only question.

'It was just an anklet...'

And yet, it wasn't just an anklet.

For Karn, it was proof that he had in fact encountered that mysterious girl... to whom it belonged. It was a physical reminder of the girl that had never left her thoughts since that night. Her beautiful silhouette disappearing into the magical moonlight was all he could think about when he was alone.

Her anklet tinkled in his broad hand, the diamonds on it glittered in the firelight. Not being able to find her with his each day passing agonisingly slow, he had grown more restless. He wanted to know everything about her.

Who was she?

If only he knew...

Karn sighed putting the anklet on a table and then turned towards the balcony, sweeping a curtain away, when he noticed a hazy figure delicately covering her face in between them. And it was like the world had stopped for a second. It was her. He could just tell... there was no mistaking it!

His heart was beating faster and faster with every step he took towards her.

Meanwhile, Aarohi on the other hand, went into a complete sense of panic. She covered her face with her scarf, hoping he wouldn't recognise her. With every step she took backwards, he took one further towards her.

'OH GOD- - why is he coming closer- -? Should I jump off the balcony? It's only two floors high, maybe I if I'm lucky I'll survive.' She thought, at this point anything was better than the embarrassment from getting caught.

As she was really considering jumping off the high platform, her back bumped into a wall behind. And if that wasn't bad enough... Aarohi looked up to find Karna standing right in front of her.

The soft breeze made her hair move along with it. Only a few inches apart now, there were only curtains that separated them. Aarohi watched at the man in front of her, anxiety brimming up to the core, then turned to look at the wall behind. Her breathing grew quicker as she realised that she was trapped.

Whilst, Karn on the other side couldn't believe his eyes as he took in the person standing in front of him. The dim lighting made her look ethereal as a pair of glassy eyes, devoid of anything looked up from glancing around and bore into his soulful ones.

Was this still reality?

Or was he asleep?

Had she come into his dreams to answer all his questions?

His hands moved to remove the curtain away which made Aarohi back away further into the wall. A weird and unusual feeling swirled in her, making her shiver. Karna shifted his posture, shielding her from the cold air, thinking she was cold and without thinking... he carefully tucked a strand of stray hair that flew with the wind, behind her ear, his eyes conveyed everything he felt.

"Karn... please- - I-" Aarohi stammered, as Karna's eyes widened due to the pleasant surprise, his heart stopped. She knew his name and it sounded so delightfully right on her lips. But why did her voice sound somewhat familiar...?

He just wanted to remove that fabric from her face so he could see her.

But instead of stepping that boundary... his eyes instead traced the familiar marking below her ear.

What did it mean? He wondered.

Only she knew that answer.

As he looked up, he noticed the beautiful girl noticing his every move, making him swallow the questions in his mind as he once again found himself drowning in her black orbs. He could stay like that forever.

Suddenly, Aarohi's felt a burning sensation on her wrist, she knew what was next but found herself unable to look away from Karna, her bracelet must be turning black, she was going back. Everything was just like last time. She was going to disappear right in front of Karna again.

As she began dissolving into the night, Karna made a failed attempt at holding her wrist, he didn't want to let go even as she vanished right before his eyes.

"Will I ever see you again...?"

This was the last thing Aarohi heard before she faded away.

Oh Karna... if only you knew who that mysterious girl was...

***

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.💕 Forgive me if it wasn't up to the mark.

Here are the answers to the questions you all asked:

1. To Karn : what do you think about Aarohi?

*Karn comes up on the stage and takes the mic from the author*

*Clears his throat and begins to answer while Arjun in the audience, restlessly waits for him to answer*

Karna:- There's not much to say since we haven't talked much but what I have noticed is that, I feel like there's a lot more to her than meets the eye, almost makes me wonder if she's that- - oh sorry, I-I can't elaborate further. I hope I do get to know her better. *returns mic to the author*

Why would he want to get to know her better? *Arjun mutters* but an annoyed audience member throws popcorn at him, making the author laugh.

2. Rajkumar Nakul, what will you do if Aarohi cut your hair?

Nakul:- *absolutely flabbergasted* Huh? What?! Aarohi I swear if you're planning something I'll go tell Krishna to scold you. *points to Aarohi sitting besides the author, who simply rolls her eyes*

3. To Bheem ji : no questions just wanted to say you are cute.

Bheem:- *looks away smiling* I don't know how to respond to that but- thank you.

4. Arjun ji are you willing to dress up as a lady if Aarohi asked you with a sugary smile on her face?

Arjun:- *exasperated that someone would ever ask a question like that* Of course not! Who do you take me for? Her personal assistant? Why would I dress up as a lady anyway? *looks at author questioningly as she was busy laughing with Aarohi*

5. If Aarohi had to marry one person between Pandavas/ Kauravas/ Karn who would it be?

Aarohi:- *almost spits out her coffee and then proceeds to glare at the author for including this question.*

Author:- Alright, it looks like Aarohi's not going to answer that. I'm sorry.

6. How do you write so good author?

Author:- *blushes and tries to hide her face* Umm... Oh you sweetheart- *waves her hand shrugging* it's really nothing special, but I'm glad you enjoy reading. Okay next question!

7. To Arjun: so Arjun, you say that Aarohi's annoying and not your type, yet why do you get so angry Karn looks at her? Why are you so caring towards her? Do you like her by any chance?

Arjun:- What? No- not true- I- - you are misunderstood- - *Stammers helplessly as Aarohi angrily narrows her eyes at him* *looks at author for help* *Author sighs and moves on to the next question*

8. To Nakul: will you try to mess with Aarohi again?

Nakul:- Well, I probably know I shouldn't but everyone knows I absolutely will.

9. To Arjun: why don't you like it when Karn looks at Aarohi?

Arjun:- *sighs* I don't seem to have a particular reason but I just do, okay? It doesn't mean anything... *trails off questioning himself*

10. Arjun and Aarohi: Will you both fall in love?

Aarohi:- Uhh... what? Absolutely not- - why would I love his annoying self?

Arjun:- but... why not...? *whole audience gasps and stares at him* *puts a hand on his mouth and sits back down*

*Author chuckles*

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Okay everyone that's it for today, I'll see you in the next chapter.

Please do vote and comment.