Chapter 290 - 288: King Subala Arrives... Gandhari’s Stories To Her Mother...

(A/N):

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After Few Days...

After a few more days had passed, the long-awaited guests from Gandhara finally arrived at the borders of Trivenivrata.

King Subala had travelled with his family, bringing along the royal attendants, guards and gifts they had prepared for Gandhari and the unborn child.

The moment the news of their arrival reached the palace,

Devara personally went to receive them instead of leaving the responsibility to one of his ministers.

The streets leading toward the royal palace had already been decorated for the occasion, and when the Gandhara procession entered the capital,

The citizens gathered along the roads to welcome their visiting king and his family.

Flowers were thrown before the royal chariots while the people greeted them warmly, happy to see the family of their queen arriving in their kingdom.

Devara stood at the entrance of the royal palace with Rajmata Satyavati, his wives and the other members of the royal household, waiting for the procession to reach them.

The moment the first Gandharan chariots came into view, Gandhari, who had been standing beside Devara, could barely contain her excitement.

She had missed them.

Even though she had built a new life in Trivenivrata and had found a loving husband and a family that had accepted her completely, there were some bonds that distance could never replace.

She had not seen her parents for a long time, and she had especially missed her brothers who had remained in Gandhara.

Shakuni was, of course, already living in Trivenivrata as Devara’s Mahamantri,

So she had the comfort of seeing him regularly.

But that only made her miss the others even more. Having one brother beside her every day could never completely replace the rest of her family.

As the Gandharan chariots finally stopped before the palace, King Subala stepped down.

Devara immediately moved forward to greet him with the respect due to the king and, more importantly, to the father of his wife.

"Welcome to Trivenivrata, Maharaja. I am truly happy that you have come."

Subala smiled warmly and embraced Devara instead of allowing the formal distance between two kings to remain.

"I would have come much sooner if circumstances had allowed it. But after hearing that my daughter is going to become a mother, how could I possibly remain in Gandhara?"

Devara smiled.

"I understand completely."

But before the conversation could continue, Gandhari stepped forward.

"Father..."

Subala turned toward the voice.

The moment he saw his daughter, his entire expression changed.

"Gandhari."

She walked toward him, and her father immediately opened his arms.

Gandhari embraced him tightly.

For a few moments, neither of them said anything.

Subala gently placed his hand upon his daughter’s head, his face filled with emotion.

"You have grown even more beautiful."

Gandhari smiled against his shoulder.

"And you haven’t changed at all."

Subala laughed softly.

"That is because fathers are not supposed to change before their daughters."

Gandhari pulled away and looked toward the rest of her family, her eyes immediately searching for the people she had missed.

Her mother was there.

Her brothers were there.

And although Shakuni was standing nearby, watching the reunion with a proud smile, Gandhari’s attention remained fixed upon the rest of her family.

She had waited a long time for this moment.

Devara stood slightly aside, watching his wife reunite with the family she had left behind when she came to Trivenivrata.

For him, seeing Gandhari this happy was more than enough reason to be pleased with their arrival.

The formal welcome could wait.

For the moment, this was simply a daughter meeting her parents after far too long.

Seeing the happiness on her daughter’s face,

Queen of Gandhara felt a quiet sense of relief.

She had worried about Gandhari ever since the day she had left Gandhara after her marriage, knowing that she was moving into an entirely different kingdom and would have to build a new life away from the family she had grown up with.

But looking at her now, standing beside Devara with that genuine happiness in her eyes, those old worries finally seemed to fade.

She gently took Gandhari’s hand in hers.

"You look happy,"

She said softly.

Gandhari smiled hearing her mother.

"I am, Mother."

Her mother looked toward Devara for a moment before returning her attention to her daughter.

"That is all I wanted to know."

Soon the formal greetings gave way to something much more familiar.

Gandhari’s brothers and their wives gathered around her,

And before long the women had moved toward the palace chambers together, leaving the kings and the men to discuss their own matters.

The wives of Gandhari’s brothers were especially eager to hear what had happened after she left Gandhara.

They had heard pieces of news through royal messengers, but letters could never properly convey the little details of someone’s life.

"So tell us everything,"

one of them said as they settled together.

"What was it like after you came here?"

Gandhari laughed softly.

"You want everything?"

"Everything."

That was enough to begin the conversation.

They started asking about her marriage to Devara, what life in Trivenivrata was like,

How she had adjusted to the palace and how the people treated her as their queen.

Gandhari happily answered their questions, occasionally laughing when they asked about something embarrassing that had happened between her and Devara.

She told them about the palace, about Rajmata Satyavati and how she had accepted her as a daughter,

About Devara’s wives and how naturally they had welcomed her into their family,

And about the countless things she had experienced since coming to the kingdom.

Then the conversation naturally reached the recent war.

Gandhari’s expression became more serious as she described the hundred-day battle and the fear that had filled the palace when Devara disappeared beneath the ground on the final day.

Her family listened carefully as she explained how everyone had waited for his return and how the news of his victory had finally reached them.

"And then,"

Gandhari said with a smile, placing a hand gently over her stomach,

"we received another piece of news."

Her mother immediately understood.

"You mean the child?"

Gandhari nodded.

"Yes."

The women around her immediately smiled.

Gandhari continued talking, now with a happiness she couldn’t hide.

She told them how Devara had reacted when the Royal Physician informed him, how completely stunned he had been and how quickly he had ordered the entire kingdom to celebrate.

Her sisters-in-law laughed when she described the way he had promised to fulfil anything she asked of him.

"Anything?"

One of them asked mischievously.

Gandhari immediately realized where the conversation was heading.

"Don’t start."

The women laughed.

Gandhari smiled despite herself and explained that she had only asked for simple things, food she was craving, fruits, sweets and for him to spend more time with her whenever possible.

Her mother listened quietly, watching her daughter speak.

There was something different about Gandhari now.

She wasn’t merely happy because she was going to become a mother.

She was happy because she had found a place where she belonged.

The Queen of Gandhara gently squeezed her daughter’s hand.

"You made the right choice."

Gandhari looked at her mother and smiled.

"I know."

And while the women continued sharing stories of their lives,

The years of distance between them slowly seemed to disappear, replaced by laughter, memories and the simple happiness of having the family together again.

Meanwhile, outside the women’s chambers, Devara was spending time with King Subala and his sons, the formal atmosphere of their arrival having already disappeared as they settled into a much more familiar conversation. Devara stepped toward his father-in-law and warmly embraced him, happy that the king of Gandhara had personally travelled all the way to Trivenivrata to see his daughter.

"Welcome again, Maharaja. I am genuinely happy that you came."

Subala smiled as he returned the embrace.

"I couldn’t have stayed back after hearing that my daughter is going to become a mother. I wanted to see her with my own eyes and make sure she is doing well."

Devara nodded.

"She is happy, and I promise you, she is being looked after properly."

One of Gandhari’s brothers immediately interrupted from the side.

"We heard that you promised our sister you would do anything she asked."

Devara looked toward him.

"Who told you that?"

The brothers exchanged amused glances.

"We have our sources."

Devara shook his head, already realizing that whatever Gandhari had discussed with the women had somehow travelled through the family faster than any royal messenger could manage.

"So you came all this way just to tease me?"

"Perhaps."

Devara laughed and called one of the attendants carrying a large tray of sweets that had been prepared for the visiting Gandharan family.

"Since you have come here to make fun of me, at least take something while you are doing it."

He picked up one of the sweets and handed it to his brother-in-law.

"Here."

The man accepted it with a grin.

"Thank you, brother-in-law."

Another brother immediately stepped forward.

"Don’t forget me."

Devara picked another sweet from the tray and handed it to him.

"And you."

The third one laughed.

"Since you are giving them to everyone, I suppose I should get one too."

Devara shook his head but handed him another sweet.

"There. Now nobody can complain that the king of Trivenivrata welcomed Gandhara’s princes empty-handed."

The brothers laughed as they began eating.

One of them looked at the sweet and then back at Devara.

"Not bad. Perhaps becoming a father has already made you generous."

Devara gave him a look.

"I was generous before."

"Of course you were."

The sarcastic reply immediately made everyone laugh again.

King Subala watched the exchange with a smile.

It was clear to him that Devara was not maintaining some stiff distance simply because they were members of two royal families.

He treated Gandhari’s brothers as his own family, and they were already comfortable enough with him to tease him without worrying about royal formalities.

Devara glanced toward the palace chambers where Gandhari had gone with her mother and the other women.

He smiled.

"Let them enjoy their reunion. They have a lot of catching up to do."

King Subala nodded.

"And you?"

Devara looked at him with a grin.

"I suppose I have to survive your sons first."

The brothers immediately laughed again.

"Don’t worry, brother-in-law. We are only getting started."

Devara sighed dramatically.

While others laughed seeing his reaction...

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(Author note:)

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