The storm was raging outside, making the whole Kamyaka forest still. No voices can be heard. Birds, animals, insects,s and every living being found a safe shelter to hide till this gets over. Inside both, the queens of Kamyaka were trying to get some sleep. After a while, Harshini felt some pain in her lower abdomen. Watching Hidimba almost sleep peacefully, she decided to not mention it. Despite all her futile attempts, she wasn't able to control it anymore then she decided to wake her up slowly.

"Grandma please wake up. I am in pain."

Listening to her painful callings Hidimba shot up instantly. One look at Harshini's face was enough to make her feel how much pain she is in. After setting her comfortably in bed she calmly decides to explain the situation to her little one.

"Little one listens to me carefully. Don't panic, I think it's time. You are going to give birth. I want you to be calm, take deep breaths and muster your strength. You will need it tonight. I won't lie, it is going to be painful. To remain as calm as you can. I am going to look for our healer. Hopefully, I can bring her as soon as I can."

The young girl looked at her expectantly. Finding the terror in her old grandmother's eye she decided to keep herself calm and strong as much as possible. She has the idea after the painful loss of their family this is one such big moment for them. Both are worried but don't want to stress others by sharing It.

Hidimba went out to look for a healer but the weather outside made it almost impossible. The old lady who is their regular doctor resides on the other side of the forest near the border. In such bad weather going there to fetch her is a tricky job. Hidimba returned defeated with a determination to protect her last family on her own at any cost. She started a fire to heat the water. In between, she collected fresh cotton clothes. Before she finished the house was replenished with the painful screams of the little Harshini.

Hidimba rushed to her, waking her up and changing her dress into a comfortable one. She made a comfortable bed on the floor and placed her comfortably. Outside the storm is making the night scary, inside Harshini's pain is unbearable. Hidimba is getting scared with each passing minute.

The trauma and pain of losing came rushing back in full force. All this put her head in a haze and made her vision blurry. She wasn't able to understand how to handle such a delicate matter. She rushed to her home temple praying for the safety of both mother and child. She folded her hand and the tears which she controlled till now started falling freely. In another room, Harshini is in severe pain at the same time getting worried about Hidimba's absence.

One by one hard whole life passes in front of both the lady's eyes making them reminisce about all the major moments that happened till yet. After a while, the inner voice reminded Hidimba to gain control. She felt like the mother deity is ordering her to wake up and handle everything like she always did. She remembered her life. She wasn't the one who got afraid and gave up. She is a fighter who always fights till the last moment.

Finding her strength back she rushed back to Harshini only to find the poor girl exhausted from the pain. Her eyes are dropping with the pain and tiredness. Hidimba wiped her face and neck with a wet cloth dipped in cold water. The young girl felt some relief but the pain hit back in full force. She decided to encourage the young girl to help her go through.

She kept whispering the encouraging and sweet nothing words in her ears and helping her deliver the child. Growing in the wild alone made her aware of herbs and all-natural medicines. After a few tiring hours, the storm finally comes to an end. The beautiful stars and moon came on display. At the exact moment, the house of the queen of Kamyaka is filled with the cry of an infant.

Hidimba's eyes were filled with tears of happiness. It was the first gain after their tragic loss. Hidimba changed and cleaned both the mother-child as well as the room. Harshini is lying in bed with fresh clothes while the baby is lying beside her wrapped in a soft cotton towel. Hidimba was sitting at the foot of the bed looking at them with love-filled eyes.

Her mind went towards the day when she held her son for the first time. She found her whole world in those small eyes. She remembered the moment she set her grandson in her daughter-in-law's lap. The smiles on their faces removed all the pain and aching from her heart. Then one day suddenly everything got snatched from her brutally forever.

She was in her trance when a knock on the door took her attention. She quietly gets up and rushes towards the door to not wake up the sleeping duo. Morning sun is peeking from behind the curtains of the clouds. The healer was on the other side of the door. Looking at her queen she nodded her head in courtesy and continued.

"Congratulations your highness for the birth of your next generation. I got your message. You wanted to check up on the princess and the newborn. Where are they? Take me to them."

Hidimba nodded at this formality before leading the way to the chamber of her little one and newborn. The healer inspects both mother and child care.

"I am glad to see that both the princess and the newborn are healthy. Your highness, you know the herbs and medicine the princess needs to regain her physical strength. I am sure you will be able to take care of them very well. So I will take your leave now. I will come to check on them from time to time."

Hidimba gets all the herbs checked from the healer before dropping her at her door. She returns only to find her granddaughter-in-law in deep sleep and the newborn is looking at her with curious eyes. Their faces melt her heart. After a week it was finally the naming ceremony of the next heir of Kamyaka. The whole kamyaka was waiting expectantly for their queens to arrive with the newborn. The gender was still a mystery for them. On the way, Harshini nagged Hidimba to finish her tale. Hidimba sighed at her childishness and started the unfinished.

After my brothers boasted about his power and their so-called revenge from kurus, it was decided that the fight would start at the end of the first prahar of night. The calm and stress-free demeanor of the Pandava brothers scared me. The eldest brother was meditating, the big guy was busy bickering with one of the twins, the mighty archer was staring at stars with their mother while the youngest was busy staring at me creepily.

The whole Kamyaka started gathering for this commotion. It is one important event of their boring routine life. No one wants to miss the chance at fun. I prayed for the mother deity to support the righteous today. Only her blessing can remove all the darkness and injustice from the world.

The fight commenced at its fixed time. My brother overpowered Pandu Putra in the beginning. My heart clenched in pain looking at him at the receiving end of the battle. His family was still calm, no one was looking worried at all. I was shocked, hurt, guilty, and angry all at once. The chaos of emotions was messing with my mind.

I thought it was my fault he was in pain. If I told them the right path, in the beginning, they were out of this jungle and safe. I dragged them in all this. Till the mid-fight it was enough for me I decided to intervene in the fight. This was my battle, no one has to fight it for me, not even the person I love with all my heart. It was my responsibility to protect them but before I even took one step the brothers stood in front of me like a wall stopping me. I was stunned at this action, then once again my anger overpowered me.

"What the hell do you all think you are doing? If you haven't realized then let me tell you it's your brother who is in danger. We have to help him, he needs it and no one can stop me" I hissed at them at their audacity.

"Bharata bheem wouldn't like this, someone messing up with his battles. Let him finish what he started. Do not try to interrupt, we won't let you." All of them repeated the same in chorus.

"It's not a time to keep your ego in the middle. You guys already messed up by returning here. I won't let you suicide by keep continuing it. Anyway, it was always my battle, no one else has anything to do with this." I tried to reason with them calmly but they weren't willing to even buzz. Their stubbornness was annoying at times.

"Don't worry he is just toying with your brother. He got a chance for a duel after so long, so he wants to devour every moment as much as he can. Let him have his share of fun." Arjun and Nakul's reasoning made me roll my eyes. These brothers were not normal in any sense.

"It doesn't look like a game to me in any sense. Are you guys even looking at the match? My brother is not a toy, he is a monster king. He is not even going to care if he dies too. Even if possible he will make his death as brutal as possible." I tried one last time to make them understand the significance of the situation.

"Trust us, we know our brother better than anyone else. Your brother doesn't stand a chance. He won't be harmed or defeated. You just stay in the back and watch the fight quietly". They warned me in a matter-of-fact tone.

" Confidence is an appreciable quality but overconfidence is harmful. No one can announce the winner till a fight ends."

I fired back and sat on the ground praying to the Goddess Adishakti to bless him. Mother deity has always blessed us like her own. She never differentiated us from the rest when it comes to her blessings. After the middle of the fight, the game suddenly started changing which surprised me.

My brother started feeling tired. His sluggish demeanor and less intensity of his punch are proof of the same. While the big guy suddenly started overpowering him. Everyone was equally surprised at him. His brothers have smug looks on their faces like telling me "we told you so". His punches started getting harder, with each punch he started gaining more and more energy. After an intense match of a few hours, my brother was completely drained. Before midnight one last punch from the big guy and the game was over.

My brother lost this game and his life both. Every emotion came back rushing to me. Every moment of ours was running in front of my eyes like a film. I was sad at his demise. After all, I lost my only family but I am well aware that this was bound to happen. He brought this on him.

But the biggest question in front of us is now what? He won the match so rightfully he is the king now but I am still alive. One heir of the throne is alive which doesn't give him complete right on the throne. The biggest problem of human existence is that before we get the answer to one question, the next set of questions already stand in front of us.

No matter how difficult it may be, we have to find an answer. Nevertheless, this is so late today. I suspended all the subjects and guests towards their homes for sleep. I stayed in front of the throne, I was not able to get any sleep that night. After all, one decision tomorrow will not only change mine but the fates of the whole Kamyaka.

Hidimba finished her part of the tale looking towards the sky with a sigh. Harshini opens her mouth to comment but the cheering and hailing of subjects brought them back to reality from their dreamland