Arshia gripped the cement and brick railing tightly, watching Duryodhana get bathed with pure milk. The evil look on Shakuni's face with him caressing the knife strapped around his waist and Karna's proud look killed her. Her eyes lingered around the huge doors of the court, waiting for Bhishma to come and stop it. Although she didn't clearly remember the events,she knew Duryodhana was never crowned king of Hastinapur. She tapped her feet impatiently as she saw Duryodhana getting bathed in water.

"What is this nonsense?Why do we have to watch a man bathe?" Arshia mumbled. Gandhari swiftly turned her head to Arshia and then back straight.

Duryodhana proudly looked up at the ladies corner and smiled arrogantly at Arshia. She tilted her head,not knowing for what reason he was staring at her with so much arrogance. He powerfully walked towards Dhritarashtra and kneeled down in front of him, waiting for him to take off his crown and place it on his head. Arshia moved her gaze to her husband and saw his proud face,as if he was the one being crowned the king of Hastinapur.

Had it been for someone else, pride would have filled her body and she would have admired how selfless and kind Karna was.

Duryodhana placed his firm hands on Dhritarashtra's own and,with force,he tried to place the crown on his head. As the crown almost touched his head,a booming and strong voice put the ceremony to a pause.

Arshia turned her gaze to the huge doors and sighed in relief, seeing Gangaputra Bhishma. His stern and serious tone made Duryodhana stop in his actions and turn to face his blazing anger.

"Maharaj Dhritarashtra!With whose permission are you crowning Duryodhana as the king of Hastinapur?" Bhishma gripped his bow tighter. Shakuni turned to the king and said "Does the king of Hastinapur have to take permission before taking decisions?" He mocked.

"Stay silent,Gandhar Raj!" Bhishma took heavy and angry steps towards Shakuni, resulting in the king of Gandhar step a few steps back. "I am the eldest son of Raja Shantanu!I walk in front of the king and I shall stop adharm from reaching the Hastinapur throne!" His angry voice filled the sabha and everyone seemed to have stopped breathing.

"B-but Mahamahim,how can you go against the decision of the Maharaj?That was your oath" Shakuni's voice shivered. Bhishma turned away from him and continued speaking,while looking at Dhritarashtra and Duryodhana.

"My oath was to protect the Hastinapur throne and I will not tolerate adharm ruling Hastina!And to protect the throne of Hastinapur,I shall lift my weapons against Hastinapur!"

He circled on his place slowly and asked

"Does anyone have the capability to go against me!?"

The hall fell dead silent.

"Forgive me, Mahamahim" Karna's voice was the first to break the heavy silence.

Arshia turned her gaze to Karna and stared at him,shocked.

"If I had to fight for Mitr Duryodhana and make him sit on the throne,then in the order of the Hastinapur throne,I shall show my capability in front of you"

Bhishma stared at Karna, angrily. He turned his gaze to Dhritarashtra. He pointed at Karna and said "If that is the case,Maharaj Dhritarashtra,ask Angraj Karna to raise his weapons against me!Let Rajkumar Duryodhana know when adharm tries to sit on the Hastinapur throne,what horrible and deadly war Devrat Bhishma can wage!"

Arshia widened her eyes at the sudden request. She looked at Karna and not even a single sense of discomfort or fear prevailed over him. He stood stern and fixed his decision, waiting for Dhritarashtra to command him.

"Mahamahim!"

Arshia stopped.

Bhishma looked up to the ladies corner and his gaze softened at the sight of Arshia. She walked down the stairs,now the jingling sounds of her anklets being the only source of sound. Walking to Bhishma,she bent down and sought his blessings. She stood in front of him with her enchanting smile which seemed to take off the stress on Bhishma's face. He lifted his hand and blessed the girl.

"Mahamahim,I don't know if I am in the position to defend Hastinapur's throne as I am just the queen of Anga but I am sure none of them wanted to insult you. About waging a war, it's not needed. Angraj never had the intention to insult you and raise his weapons against you. It was purely out of loyalty that he uttered those words before you."

Bhishma nodded at his words.

"Mahamahim,you allowed Duryodhana to become the Yuvraj of Hastina,why not crown him a king then?" Shakuni said.

"You are the puppet king of Hastinapur, Maharaj!If you want,you can crown Duryodhana the puppet king of Hastinapur. His yuvraj position holds no importance as Yudhishthir was crowned Yuvraj before him!"

"But the five brothers have died in the fire in Varnavart, Pitamah!So,I will end up as the king of Hastinapur either way!"

Duryodhana replied back.

"And what if they are alive?" Bhishma questioned back.

Dhritarashtra sat on his throne, disheartened. He hugged his crown and said "Within one week,if you find the Pandavas then Yudhishthir shall be crowned king...and if not Duryodhana will be the one who is going to be crowned the king of Hastinapur"

Suddenly the drums and saxophone started to play. The sabha turned to the gates, confused why celebrations had suddenly started.

Arshia was the first one to know as she looked up to make eye-contact with Bhishma,the excitement and childish-ness shining through her eyes. Bhishma whole-heartedly smiled at Arshia and nodded. He turned to Duryodhana and Dhritarashtra and said "There is no need for one week,not even one prahar!The Pandavas are already here,to claim what was originally theirs"

He turned to Arshia and patted her head. "Your brothers are coming back,Putri Arshia" she childishly smiled.

.

The Pandavas along with their mother entered the palace,the flowers showering them. The five of them were handsomely dressed and Yudhishthir had a gentle expression on his face...but the other 4 had different expressions. They sternly looked at the Kauravas.

Karna patted Duryodhana's shoulder, trying to provide comfort.

Yudhishthir was the first one to come and seek blessings of both Dhritarashtra and Gandhari. He moved to Bhishma and sought his blessings. "Pranipat, Pitamah"

Bhishma proudly smiled at him and blessed him.

"Putra Yudhishthir,I protected the throne so that I could place dharma on it...in the form of you,the son of Dharmraj himself" Yudhishthir smiled at Bhishma and nodded.

He turned his gaze to Arshia. As soon as they made eye-contact,she bent down and sought his blessings. Yudhishthir smiled happily,the genuineness shining brightly. He blessed her as she stood up. Yudhishthir patted her head.

"How are you Arshia?" He asked,his tone softer than cotton. "I am fine,bhrata Yudhishthir"

He froze for a bit and then a huge yet gentle smile spread across his face. He nodded at her and walked to his brothers. Each one of the Pandavas sought the elders blessings and shortly greeted Arshia.

"You look brighter, what's the reason?" Nakul teasingly wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh,they are yet to know I am married..." Arshia thought. She simply shook her head.

Sahadev was the last one to greet her. "Pranipat bhrata Sahadev." She bowed her head. "My blessings are always with you,Arshia. I hope you have been well over the days" Sahadev enquired. She nodded at him, assuring that she was well and happy.

"Arjun,where is our Kulvadu?" Gandhari asked. The expressions on the Pandavas faces fell a bit but they called Draupadi to bless Hastinapur with her appearance.

Arshia stared at Draupadi in 'aww'. Her dark beauty reflected under the sun rays as she walked up the stairs with her head bowed. As she took each step,flowers were placed under her feet making sure her feet don't get hurt. She walked past Arjun and bent down to seek Gandhari's blessings.

Arshia couldn't hear what Gandhari said after blessing Draupadi. It was as if Draupadi and her were the only people there. She snapped out when she saw the Pandavas standing beside Draupadi.

"We,five brothers,have married Draupadi"

The large plate for arti which was in Gandhari's hands fell with a loud sound. Shakuni's wicked laugh filled everyone's ears as he started mocking the Pandavas.

"Adharm!"

Bhishma said angrily once Shakuni was done mocking the Pandavas. The Kauravas seemed to have gained their confidence and had a 'smirky' expression on their faces.

"I had dreams to place Dharma on the throne and awaited your arrival. Yudhishthir,you came to Hastinapur to be crowned king after committing such an adharm?!"

The Pandavas hung their head low as Kunti had a troubled expression on her face. Bhishma angrily turned to the stairs and began to walk away from the hurtful news.

"Mahamahim Bhishma!Maybe they had a reason to commit such an unusual act. It's not right not to welcome Hastinapur's Kulvadu, Mahamahim"

Arshia tried her best to save the situation. Bhishma turned to Arshia and said "I admire you a lot Arshia and,to me,you are the face of dharma and would do anything to protect dharma. That's why the whole of Aryavart adores you. It doesn't matter if you have accepted them as your brothers and they have accepted you as a sister....as long as dharma is concerned,even you know they have committed the biggest adharm!Know your priorities Arshia, that's the only area you have to work on!"

Bhishma said rudely.

Arshia was taken aback by his sudden burst of anger. She slowly nodded at Bhishma. He took it as his cue to leave.

Draupadi's eyes lingered on Bhishma's disappearing figure.

. . .

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