Karna POV

I completed my Surya Puja and was heading out in search of Arshia. She must have not gone to my parents house and must be in Hastina's palace grounds.

The first place I thought she would be in was the horse stable. Mainly because there was no place where Arshia could possibly have been. Although I wished she somehow sought into the chamber I stayed in but she was too stubborn to her thoughts.

I entered the horse stable and I was right. There she laid, in front of the corner most stable and her head rested on her arm. Her legs were scrunched together, probably because it must have been so cold in the night. I slowly made my way to her and knelt down, putting a hand on her head.

What was the use of taking up this royal crown when I couldn't provide my own wife with the comfort and luxury?What was the use when she was still known as a sut's wife?What was the use of my valour when I couldn't defend her in the sabha?

I sat cross legged on the ground and still kept my hands in her head.

I thought about yesterday last night and the guilt kept eating me up. How could I let Shishupal continue?How could I have stayed quiet and open my mouth when Duryodhana was threatened with death?How could I betray my own wife?How could I let her get insulted?

But a part of me,the part that I hated the most,screamed why didn't Arshia speak up when Bheem called me a beggar?Why did she only give him a mere cold shoulder? Doesn't that make us even?

This part of me was blocked because my other part over powered this. There have been times where Arshia has stood up for me,in her own way.

Arshia stired in her sleep as she opened her eyes,maybe because of the discomfort. Her eyes fluttered at me and she blinked a few times to get a clear vision. She sat up and stared at me with confusion in her eyes.

"Arya,why are you here?" Her morning tone asked. She rubbed her eyes and stared at me. A smile made up my face and my hand rested on her cheek. She fell into my touch and closed her eyes, resting her face on my hand.

"I couldn't really sleep last night, knowing you must be sleeping somewhere that isn't a huge comfortable bed"

Arshia nodded at my words and stood up.

"I have to go. I will be in Mata Radha and Pitashree Adhiratha's house. I don't think I am welcome here,anyways"

Although her tone expressed humour,I knew she felt anything but humour.

"You are welcome here anytime Arshia"

.

No one POV

Both of them turned their attention at the voice and,out of reflex,joined their hands and greeted Bhishma and Vidur. Bhishma noticed the dirt on Arshia's clothes and shook his head.

"You shouldn't have taken his words so seriously Arshia. You are the queen of our most trusted ally kingdom and you don't deserve to sleep near the stables. This is Hastinapur's regret,Arshia" Bhishma expressed his sadness.

"Yuvraj was blinded with rage and hatred. It must have been insulting for him to experience that. His rage is understandable, Mahamahim. You coming here and apologising really doesn't make sense. If you are concerned about my stay in Hastinapur,the beautiful and love filled hut of my in-laws always welcome me. I shall stay th—"

"You are staying in Hastinapur's palace and that's final. Please take the pain to follow me Arshia" Bhishma turned and walked away with Vidur following him. Arshia stared up at Karna and asked for his opinion. Karna grabbed her hands and walked out of the stable, leading her to the palace.

.

Getting bathed in warm water, Arshia seemed all freshed up. She was wearing a light yellow attire with golden border and was adorned with jewellery which complimented her. At last she wore her churamani and thanked the maids who helped her dress up.

She walked out of her chamber and she was welcomed by the bright sun rays falling on her. She joined her hands and bowed at the sun god,and as if he had accepted her greeting the rays calmed down. Turning her eyes to scan the environment,she saw Vidur walking down the stairs with rage and discomfort.

"Mahamantri Vidur!"

Arshia called out. Vidur stopped at the bottom third step and looked up to acknowledge the voice that had called him out. He forced a smile on his face and greeted Arshia.

"Why such discomfort?And where are you going at such an early time?" Arshia asked with a small smile on her face. Vidur sighed and shook his head. "I am afraid that Gandharaj Shakuni is plotting something disastrous. Yesterday,at night,Jyesth told me to give out a invitation to Indraprastha and invite Rani Draupadi to Hastinapur. She wasn't pleasantly welcomed when she first entered the palace grounds"

"Invitation for what Mahamantri?"

"A dice game"

Arshia felt as if her world froze.

"Dice game"

Her legs gave up on her as her vision blurred. Her legs slipped and she heard Vidur calling her out. She fell into soft arms,which belonged to Bhanumati.

"Arshia!Are you okay?" Vidur climbed up and rested his palm on Arshia's forehead,to check if she had a fever. Vidur shook his head and stared at Arshia,with worry. Bhanumati shook her and tried to make Arshia concious again. Gaining back conciousness,she stood up on her legs and repeatedly blinked her eyes to remove the circular view she was gazing at the moment.

"Are you okay?" Bhanumati grabbed a glass of water and put it near her lips. A whispery yes left her lips.

"Mahamantri,please don't go to Indraprastha" Arshia shook her head. "Why Arshia?This is for welcoming the queen and play a friendly game of dice. I don't see a problem with this" Bhanumati commented.

"Why did you react the way you did Arshia?" Vidur asked. "It's not something I can say at the moment Mahamantri!This will bring immense pain to Aryavart an-and many will.."

"Careful Arhsia. Careful of the words you are going to utter now"

A divine voice spoke in her head. She gulped down her words and reframed her sentence.

"I don't see the need of a dice game, Mahamantri and bhabhi Bhanumati. Sure, welcoming Bhabhi Draupadi is important and you can but this dice game doesn't settle right with me"

"Well,you don't get to choose do you? Because the last time I checked,you were the queen of Anga not Hastinapur" Duryodhana mocked, coming down the stairs. Arshia looked up to see Duryodhana followed by Dussahan and Shakuni. Arshia rolled her eyes and looked away, fidgeting with her saree.

"Mahamantri,you should leave." Duryodhana ordered. Vidur was reluctant to go but knowing he had no other option,he glanced at Arshia and made his way to the chariot.

"It would be appreciable if your don't interfere in Hastinapur's matters, Rajakumari Arshia" Duryodhana gritted his teeth. "Bhabhishree Arshia,Arya" Bhanumati whispered.

"They say, 'Bhabhi ma saman'. She doesn't deserve the respect that I give to my mother" Duryodhana said bitterly.

"I am glad you realised that Yuvraj. Let me inform you, nothing I do would is appreciable for you. Want to know why? Because what I do pleases the gods above and what you do pleases the demons below"

Arshia glared at Duryodhana and walked up the stairs.

"Just wait Arshia. I am going to strip off that arrogance of yours"

Duryodhana thought as a smirk made up his face.

.

"Arya,I have to tell you something" Arshia called out. Karna turned and nodded at her. "Please tell me Arshe"

They were in the guest chambers and Karna was fixing his bow when Arshia called him out. Arshia scanned the room and noticed the absence of Vrishaketu.

"Where's Vrishaketu?" Arshia asked. "With Mahamahim Bhishma. What is it that you wanted to tell me Arshia?" Karna asked placing his bow on the bed. Arshia dismissed the servants and stared up at Karna.

She gulped and softly grabbed Karna's hands.

"Don't you ever think about your real birth?" Karna's face fell and the grip he had on her hands loosened. He shook his head. "Never?"

"Yes,I have. I have thought about it but my adopted parents have showered with me with so much love and care that I have never felt the absence of my real parents" Karna replied. "What if you were of a higher caste?What if you are a......Rajput?" Arshia asked. Karna frowned and shook his head.

"I haven't t-thought about it" Karna mumbled.

"Arya,I-I am about to tell you this truth and you have to promise me,you are not questioning me. You are not asking me how I know this" Arshia warned. "You know about my real birth status?" Karna asked,his voice barely a whisper. Now it was just Arshia grabbing onto his hands.

"Arya,

What if I told you that you were the eldest son of R-Rajmata Kunti?"

Karna pulled his hands away. His eyes flashed and a moment of silence prevailed.

"Why are you joking with me?" Karna asked. "I am not joking Arya. You are the eldest son of Rajmata Kunti. Haven't you ever thought why she accepted you as her Dharma-putra? When you have such deep emnimity with her third son, Indra-putra Arjun? Haven't you ever thought why you felt such a deep connection with Rajmata Kunti?"

"Ho-how do you kn-kn—"

"I can't answer you now Arya and I deeply regret that I don't have a proper answer for you. I am sorry Arya" Karna stared at her,his eyes filled with tears. "You are Vasudev's sakhi. You must be telling the truth. I-I"

He fell on his knees,tears finally escaping his eyes.

"I am sorry Arya. I know it's hard for you to believe me. I know you still cannot register this new information. But think about everything that had happened with you and Rajmata Kunti. Don't you ever feel a connection with her?"

"She had me before marriage?" Karna asked. Arshia bent down and touched his shoulder. She explained Kunti's blessings from her devotion and how she accidentally summoned the Sun god.

"Your kavach and kundal are the sign of you being the son of Surya Dev" Arshia smiled, trying to ease what Karna was feeling at the moment.

"How do you know this?"

The only question that ran through Karna's mind. How did she know? For how long did she know this fact?Why didn't she tell him earlier?Why was all this happening to him?How are the 5 Pandavas his younger brothers? Did Krishna tell her this information?

Mainly,why was she telling him now?Why did she feel that this time was the best time for him to know this information? Was she lieing? She couldn't possibly lieing right?

"Arya,I know the turmoil you are experiencing at the moment and I am afraid that I cannot do anything about it. But I am not lieing to you,I could never. But again I don't have what it takes it to prove myself. I wanted Rajmata Kunti to reveal the truth but I was afraid she would reveal it at the wrong time. I hope you understand me" Arshia said.

"How can I possibly understand you Arshia?! All my life I have been through insults and insults only because I wanted to prove myself. And suddenly you reveal that I am of such high status! How does all of this make sense Arshia?How am I supposed to accept this?" Karna bursted out.

"Why did you reveal it to me?!If Rajmata Kunti didn't have the guts to tell me then how could you?" Karna yelled.

Arshia didn't think of the after math. After hearing the news that the Pandavas and Draupadi were invited for the dice game and connecting Krishna's words,she knew the bastra haran would happen. She knew what Krishna was trying to indicate.

And she figured out that rewriting fate wasn't that easy.

"I have reasons Arya. I cannot tell you how I came to know this but believe me, revealing this will help us in the future."

"Vasudev Krishna told you this, didn't he?" Karna wiped his tears and stared at Arshia.

"Yes sakhi,I told you this"

"Govind,I cannot lie in your name"

"This is not lieing,dear. Yes I told you this. Your mother recited the Mahabharat to you and how come she knew so many things about the Mahabharat?She read scriptures that I told from my very own mouth. So didn't I tell you this?"

"I—"

"It's a order Arshia. You are going to land in trouble if you tell him that you are from Kaliyug."

"Yes, Vasudev was the one who told me" Arshia gulped. "Why did he tell you and not me?"

"I don't know why,Arya. I thought it would be right if I told you." Arshia said with difficulty.

The moment had suddenly paused. Arshia tried to shake Karna but he seemed frozen in his place. She looked around to see that even the surroundings had changed. Bright white light covered the room. She looked around to see Krishna standing far away,with his warrior fit

"You have already made a huge mistake by telling him the truth,Arshia"

"Madhav,you brought me here to rewrite fate and yet you are saying such things to me?"

"It's true that I brought you here to change fate and I have also informed you that each step you take towards trying to fix things,is the deeper you are landing yourself in trouble"

"Then why did you bring me here?Just to be a mere spectator!"

"Yes sakhi. If you don't remember,I told that your mother had requested me to let you experience Mahabharat,not have such a big role in the epic. But look were we are,you are almost like the main heroine of this epic"

"You told me I had a chance to rewrite fate!"

"Yes,I told you that. But I never confirmed that fate would actually change,now did I? I will tell you one thing Arshia,no matter what you do,no matter what magic you play,no matter how you use your knowledge and your influence here,you will fail to rewrite the strings of fate"

Arshia took steps back and for a moment she couldn't believe her ears.

"Why are you doing this?! If I was just meant to be a mere spectator,then why did I have to marry Karna?! Why am I a sister to the Pandavas?!Why does Mahamahim and Mahamantri think so highly of me?Why do the people love me?! Why is all of this happening if I was meant to be a mere spectator?!"

Arshia couldn't hold it any longer and she forgot who she was talking to.

"Because Destiny choose you to suffer. I am not supposed to reveal this but looking at your pain,I have to.

Your efforts might go into vain,Arshia"

..

"Return me back!"

Krishna stared at her with pity.

"I said,return me back! I want to go to my family in Kaliyug!I don't want to stay here and experience this pain!"

"I cannot Arshia,my hands are tied"

"How can that happen?!You are bhagwan Vishnu,the protector of the universe!How can your hands be tied?!"

"I am sorry Arshia but you have stay until all of this gets over."

"Do you want to know why you will fail? Because you are making efforts to stop the war from happening. I took birth for this war,Arshia....how can you try and stop this?"

The surroundings started to get back the colour it was void of and Arshia could see Karna moving in his place. She fell back as her arms provided her support.

"What happened?" Karna asked, momentarily forgetting the huge truth that got revealed to him.

"I don't feel good" Arshia mumbled, rubbing her chest. She stood up and ran to the bathroom,puking out whatever she had in her stomach. Karna rushed behind and rubbed her back.

What had happened to her?

Was him questioning her,make her sick?

Karna stared at her and stood back, shaking her head.

"This is all a dream,this is all a dream"

Arshia looked up to gaze at Karna with her blury vision as tears escaped her eyes.

"Why am I here if I can't change anything? Mahadev,save me. Take me away. I don't belong here. I don't belong here. I don't belong here. I don't belong here..."

"If I can't stop the war,I will change the war"

. . .

Dissapointing? I am sorry but please don't leave this book. I don't know to want extent can I satisfy what you all want but this is my form of the story. I know what I will write after this can actually dissapoint many of you to which I am,now, apologising.

To the people who want to talk to me and message,my sincere regret that I cannot answer it for a reason I cannot state. I am sorry.