Chapter 282 - 280: News Reaches Bhishma & Satyavati... Order To Return...

(A/N):

Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.

Guys I hope you put more comments and power stones... Which will encourage me...

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Bhishma was at the Gurukul when Shakuni came looking for him.

The institution had been one of the many things Devara had established after becoming king, and Bhishma had taken a particular interest in it.

Unlike the traditional gurukuls he had seen throughout his life, this one did not separate students according to birth or family status.

Those who came here were taught according to their ability and discipline, whether they were the children of nobles, soldiers, merchants, craftsmen or ordinary villagers.

Across the large training grounds, students were practicing different arts.

Some were learning archery.

Others were practicing swordsmanship and mace fighting.

A group sat beneath a large tree studying scriptures while another class was learning music, mathematics and various forms of statecraft.

The teachers treated every student with the same seriousness.

Bhishma watched them quietly.

There was something deeply satisfying about seeing young people being given an opportunity to learn without someone deciding beforehand what they were capable of simply because of the family they had been born into.

He had been walking through the grounds when he noticed Shakuni approaching.

The expression on the Mahamantri’s face immediately told him that this wasn’t a casual visit.

Bhishma stopped for a second.

"Shakuni."

Shakuni bowed respectfully.

"Pitamah."

Bhishma studied him for a moment.

"What happened?"

Shakuni didn’t answer immediately.

He took a breath.

"I have come with news from Hastinapur."

Bhishma’s expression became serious.

"Is something wrong?"

Shakuni lowered his voice.

"There has been a death."

Bhishma’s eyes narrowed.

"Whose?"

Shakuni looked directly at him.

"Maharaja Pandu."

Bhishma froze hearing that name.

For several seconds, the noise of the Gurukul seemed to disappear.

The students continued their training in the distance, unaware of the conversation taking place nearby.

"Pandu..."

Bhishma repeated the name quietly.

Shakuni nodded with a serious expression.

"The message arrived earlier. The curse finally took effect while he was living in Shatashringa."

Bhishma closed his eyes.

A long breath escaped him.

He had known the curse would always remain a danger.

He had watched Pandu leave Hastinapur because of it.

He had hoped that the years away from the kingdom might somehow give his younger brother peace.

Instead...

Fate had finally claimed him.

Bhishma looked toward the students practicing in the distance.

"Another one..."

His voice was barely audible.

"Another son of Kuru blood has met his end."

Shakuni remained silent.

Bhishma’s expression carried no anger.

Only exhaustion.

He had spent much of his life watching members of the Kuru family grow before his eyes, only to eventually lose them.

Pandu had once been a young prince.

Bhishma remembered teaching him.

Correcting him. Watching him train.

Watching him grow into a warrior and eventually become king.

He remembered the boy who had once followed him around asking questions.

The young prince who had wanted to prove himself.

The king who had eventually been forced to leave everything behind because of the curse.

Even though Bhishma had technically been freed from the burdens of his old vows and was no longer bound to remain in Hastinapur,

That freedom had never erased his attachment to the Kuru family.

Blood was not the only thing that connected him to them.

He had watched them grow.

He had taught them.

He had corrected them when they were wrong.

He had celebrated their victories and carried their failures.

They were his family.

And every time another one of them died, a little more of the world he had known disappeared with them.

Bhishma slowly opened his eyes.

"What of the children?"

Shakuni immediately understood.

"The five sons are alive."

Bhishma’s expression softened slightly.

"The Pandavas..."

"Yes."

Bhishma looked toward the mountains in the distance.

"Then they have lost their father."

He paused.

"And Hastinapur has lost another son."

Shakuni nodded.

Bhishma remained silent for a long moment.

Then he straightened himself.

"Send my condolences to Kunti."

"I will."

"And tell Devara..."

Bhishma paused.

"Tell my younger brother that if the children need anything, I will stand beside them."

Shakuni nodded respectfully.

"I will make sure he knows."

Bhishma looked once more toward the Gurukul.

The students were still training.

Their laughter and voices carried across the grounds.

Life continued. It always did.

Even when families lost someone.

Even when kingdoms mourned.

Even when the people one loved disappeared from the world.

Bhishma took one final breath and turned away from the training grounds.

"Pandu deserved more years."

Shakuni said nothing.

Bhishma continued walking slowly beside him.

"But perhaps..."

His voice became quieter.

"...what matters now is what we do for the sons he left behind."

And with that thought weighing heavily upon him, Bhishma began making his way back toward the palace, carrying the grief of another Kuru prince who had become a memory.

After informing Bhishma, Shakuni made his way toward the inner palace where Rajmata Satyavati was staying.

He found her sitting comfortably in one of the shaded courtyards, enjoying a quiet afternoon with two of Devara’s wives, Lata and Vudvuda.

The three women had been talking for some time, and Satyavati had apparently been telling them stories from her younger days.

"...and that was how I first met King Shantanu,"

Satyavati was saying with a faint smile, her expression becoming almost nostalgic as she remembered a time that had passed so many years ago.

"At that time, I never imagined that the meeting would eventually change the entire course of my life."

Lata listened with obvious interest.

"So Rajmata, you really met him while you were still living with your people?"

Satyavati chuckled.

"Yes. I was not a princess sitting inside some palace waiting for a king to arrive. My life was very different then."

Vudvuda smiled.

"You must tell us the entire story sometime. Every time you tell it, you stop at a different place."

"Perhaps because you two keep interrupting me,"

Satyavati replied, giving them both an amused look.

The women laughed.

It was a peaceful moment.

Then Satyavati noticed someone approaching from the far end of the courtyard.

Shakuni.

The moment she saw his expression, the smile on her face slowly disappeared.

Shakuni was not walking like a man who had come to join their conversation.

He was walking like someone carrying news that he wished he didn’t have to deliver.

Satyavati immediately straightened.

"Shakuni?"

Lata and Vudvuda also turned toward him.

Shakuni approached and stopped a respectful distance away.

"Rajmata."

Satyavati studied his face.

"What happened?"

Shakuni remained silent for a moment.

"...."

Satyavati’s expression became increasingly concerned.

"Tell me."

Shakuni lowered his head.

"I have received a message from Hastinapur."

Something in his tone made Satyavati’s heart sink.

"What message?"

Shakuni took a slow breath.

"It concerns Maharaja Pandu."

The smile disappeared completely from Satyavati’s face.

"What about Pandu?"

Shakuni looked at her.

"Pandu is dead."

Satyavati froze hearing the news.

For several seconds she simply stared at him.

It was as though she hadn’t understood the words.

"What..."

Her voice came out barely above a whisper.

Shakuni repeated himself gently.

"The curse has taken effect."

Satyavati’s eyes widened.

"No..."

She slowly shook her head.

"No, Pandu..."

Lata immediately moved closer to her.

"Rajmata..."

Satyavati raised one trembling hand, asking them to wait.

She needed a moment.

Pandu.

Her grandson.

The child she had watched grow from a young prince into a warrior and then a king.

The same boy who had once run through the palace corridors.

The same young man who had trained under Bhishma and tried desperately to prove himself.

The same man who had eventually been forced to leave Hastinapur because of the curse.

Satyavati had always feared this day.

But fear was one thing.

Hearing that it had actually happened was something else entirely.

Her eyes filled with tears.

She turned her face slightly, trying to hide them.

"The curse..."

Shakuni nodded his head clarifying.

"It happened while he was in Shatashringa."

Satyavati closed her eyes.

For a few moments she struggled to control her breathing.

Lata reached out and gently held her hand.

"Rajmata..."

Satyavati finally opened her eyes again.

A tear slipped down her cheek.

She wiped it away almost immediately.

She was the Rajmata.

She had spent her entire life learning how to hold herself together when everyone else around her was falling apart.

But Pandu wasn’t merely another member of the royal family.

He was her grandson.

Her voice trembled despite her effort to keep it steady.

"How can fate be this cruel?"

Shakuni’s expression softened.

"Still far too young."

Satyavati looked down.

"He never deserved such a fate."

Nobody answered.

She took another breath and forced herself to sit upright.

"And the children?"

At those words, some of the tension in Satyavati’s face eased.

"The boys... At least they still have Kunti."

Shakuni nodded.

"Kunti is with them."

Satyavati wiped the tears from her face again.

Lata and Vudvuda remained beside her, neither knowing what to say.

Only a short while ago, they had been listening to Satyavati speak fondly about King Shantanu and the life she had once lived.

Now the same woman sat before them mourning another person she had loved.

Satyavati looked toward Shakuni.

"Does Devara know?"

"He was the one who instructed me to tell you personally."

She nodded slowly.

"Of course he did."

A faint, sad smile appeared on her face.

"That boy..."

She shook her head.

"Even after everything he has been through, he still worries about everyone else."

Her voice broke slightly.

Then Satyavati looked toward the distant palace walls.

"Take me to him."

Shakuni nodded.

"I will."

Satyavati stood slowly.

Before leaving, she looked once more at Lata and Vudvuda.

"Our conversation can wait."

Neither woman argued.

Lata gently squeezed her hand.

"We will come with you, Rajmata."

Satyavati nodded.

And as they walked away from the courtyard, the story of how she had once met Shantanu remained unfinished.

It no longer mattered.

For now, Satyavati had only one thing on her mind.

Her grandson Pandu was gone.

And somewhere in Shatashringa, five young boys had just lost their father.

Shatashringa...

Meanwhile, back in Shatashringa, Kunti received another message from Hastinapur.

The messenger had arrived after travelling for days and immediately requested an audience with her. Kunti,

Who had been occupied with the preparations for Pandu’s final rites and looking after the five boys, stepped outside the hut to receive him.

The messenger bowed deeply before her and presented the royal scroll.

"From Hastinapur, Devi."

Kunti accepted it with a heavy heart.

She already knew what the message would contain. Pandu’s death had been reported, and she knew that Hastinapur could not remain silent after losing one of its former kings and a member of the Kuru family.

Still, when she opened the scroll and began reading, her eyes slowly moved across the words.

King Dhritarashtra had ordered her to return to Hastinapur.

Not as a guest.

Not as someone seeking refuge.

As the wife of Pandu and the mother of his sons.

The message made it clear that the gates of Hastinapur would be opened to her and the five Pandavas. Dhritarashtra had declared that the blood of his younger brother would not be left wandering in the mountains after his death.

Kunti lowered the scroll.

For a moment, she simply stared at it.

Hastinapur.

She had left that place years ago.

And now she was being called back.

The five boys would have to return to the kingdom where their father had once been a prince and later a king.

She looked toward them.

Yudhishthira was sitting quietly beneath a tree, while Bhima was helping Nakula and Sahadeva carry firewood. Arjuna was nearby, still unusually silent after everything that had happened.

They were no longer simply children living peacefully in the mountains.

They were Pandu’s sons.

The heirs of his blood.

And now Hastinapur was calling them home.

Kunti folded the scroll carefully.

The messenger waited.

"What did Maharaja Dhritarashtra say?"

She finally asked.

The messenger bowed again.

"His Majesty said that you and the princes are part of the Kuru family, Devi. He has ordered that you return to Hastinapur, where you and the five princes will be received with the honour due to the family of his younger brother."

Kunti closed her eyes briefly.

There was kindness in the message.

But there was also something else.

Responsibility.

Hastinapur could not simply ignore five princes carrying the blood of Pandu.

And Kunti knew that her sons could not remain hidden in Shatashringa forever.

She looked toward the mountains.

The place had been their home.

It had been where Pandu had found peace.

Where the boys had grown.

Where their family had shared some of its happiest moments.

Now Pandu’s death had changed everything.

"We will go,"

Kunti finally said.

The messenger bowed.

"I shall carry your answer to the king."

Kunti nodded.

But before he left, she added quietly,

"Tell Maharaja Dhritarashtra that I will bring Pandu’s sons back to Hastinapur."

The messenger bowed once more before departing.

Kunti remained standing there long after he had gone.

Her eyes moved toward the five boys.

Soon they would leave the mountains.

Soon they would enter the world of kings, politics and the Kuru family.

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(Author note:)

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