A/N: From this chapter, the story goes on a different track from the previous one of this series ('Jyesht's strife for kinship.')
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Arjun's pov
Six months from the day they graduated, Arjun was having an annoying sort of day.
Bheem had been in a foul mood from morning due to the long unavailability of the particular sweet dish he craved over a week. He had, of course, taken out his annoyance on his younger brothers. Since Nakul--the most common victim in such cases--had smartly stayed out of his sight--Arjun and Sahadev had been the ones to bear the brunt.
When Arjun complained to Yudhishthir, "Bhrata Bheem is yelling at us unnecessarily, jyesht," Yudhishthir disappointed by saying, "Let him yell his irritation out; better yell at us than go and challenge Duryodhan to a wrestling match."
"Easy for you to say," muttered Arjun. "He never yells at you."
What had followed was an encounter with the devil himself--Duryodhan, who had passed twenty comments about suck-ups to Guru Drona' unfair favour to the King of Anga's supremacy before he could walk away.
"I would stay out of the King of Anga's way, if I were you," Duryodhan called after Arjun ominously.
"Really? Is he planning to murder me? How kind of you to warn me, Bhrata Duryodhan."
"Just murder?" Duryodhan laughed. "No, you are not allowed to die so soon, Arjun. You have a lot to accomplish."
Arjun speeded up. Duryodhan, however, kept up with him on his enormous legs.
"You are the tool to my friend achieving greatness. Your defeat in front of the whole of Hastinapur with utter humiliation is going to be the stepping stone to--"
"To you and the King of Anga proving that the son of a charioteer can also be the best archer in the world," repeated Arjun. "Yes, I know, I know, Bhrata Duryodhan. I already know it by heart. Will you please leave me alone?"
"You seem to be in a touchy mood," observed Duryodhan.
"I am tired of hearing of the King of Anga day in, day out," said Arjun. "It is bound to get boring, right? He is obsessed with defeating me; I am not obsessed with defeating him."
"Maybe," suggested Duryodhan, "you would be, if you believed yourself to have that capability."
"I have the capability to defeat the King of Anga anyday!"
Duryodhan grinned. "So promise me one thing, if you are so sure. You will never turn down a challenge of his."
"Why," demanded Arjun, "would I turn down a challenge? I know you see the worst in us, Bhrata Duryodhan, but surely you know I would die before I turn down a challenge."
"Not if Gurudev had anything to do with it, given that the challenger is supreme to you by far."
Arjun picked up yet more speed till he left Duryodhan behind, fuming.
When people ran down his Gurudev was when he felt most capable of strangling them with his bare hands.
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No sooner had he taken the sensible decision of going to lie on his mother's lap and made for her room than he came across the second devil--the King of Anga--talking to his mother, no less.
"--when you get down to it, there are so many things you had never considered before--" Kunti was saying.
"Yeah, the state of--" Karna began.
"What is it with you and your friend lurking around the whole palace and never giving us a moment of peace, King of Anga?" Arjun broke in testily.
Kunti and Karna turned.
Arjun made a beeline for his mother and attempted to stand between her and his arch-rival.
"Go and plot my downfall with Bhrata Duryodhan and leave my mother alone," he said.
"Arjun," said Kunti sternly.
"What? Why is he here, Maa? Why does he keep talking to you?"
"How old are you?" said Karna scornfully. "Eight?"
"How underhand are you?" asked Arjun. "To pretend to be nice to our mother while contemplating on killing me every day?"
"Arjun." Kunti was sterner this time. "There is no need to be so rude to someone who has not done anything to you."
"Not done anything to me? What about his threats and challenges before I even knew him? Are they not the same?"
"Yes, but you see--" A teasing grin came on Karna's face. "Your mother is responsible for schooling you, not me."
"Thank heavens for that," said Arjun in his most condescending tone.
"Both of you, stop it," said Kunti. "As I was telling Karna the other day, Arjun, this rivalry and ill-feeling you two are growing inside yourselves is entirely meaningless. Karna is like your older brother..."
Arjun met Karna's eyes and found his own loathing reflected there.
"With due respect, no, I am not, Queen Mother," said Karna. "And I will take care not to intrude upon your mother's time, Arjun."
"How kind of you!" Arjun shouted after him.
Kunti surveyed Arjun after Karna had left. Her gaze seemed to suggest a severe reprimand coming his way.
A very unfair reprimand, thought Arjun plaintively.
"Bhrata Bheem and Duryodhan have already irritated me enough; I am not in the mood for all this, Maa," he said, before it could come, and followed the King of Anga out of sight.
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Before he had gone down two flights, of course, Arjun was seized with guilt and fresh longing to go and lie down with his head on his mother's lap, the only thing that would help his foul mood.
His mother seemed to have gone into her room, for the corridor was empty. As he neared the door, Arjun heard her the voice of her friend and handmaiden, Priyamvada.
"--said Karna is like Arjun's elder brother--you should be more careful with your words, Maharani, if you are so determined to keep it a secret..."
"I do, certainly," said Kunti.
"But you should not. They are making enemies of themselves. And there is a lot of talk going around that with Karna at his side, Duryodhan can do anything. Wage any war, Maharani. You can end this."
"I?" asked Kunti.
"Yes, you, Maharani! You have always insisted on hiding the truth. This, however, is the most vital time for the truth. Karna deserves the truth, as do your sons."
"Even if I tell Yudhishthir and the others, how can I tell Karna, Priyamvada?" Kunti sounded despairing. "How will he handle the truth?"
Every nerve in Arjun's body was taut with curiosity.
"You will never know till you tell him. You cannot become a mute spectator to watching him allying himself with Duryodhan and make an enemy of his brothers."
Brothers? Arjun frowned.
"He--" said Kunti. "He would hate me forever. My son would hate me forever. At this point, he comes to me for advice with the kingdom. He even--he even talks to me of everyday things, not the way a child would talk with a mother perhaps, but at least as one talks with someone they trust. I do not want to lose my Karna's trust by telling him I am the mother that abandoned him."
Arjun reeled back from the door, blood pounding in his ears.
Surely--surely he had heard his mother wrong? Surely she had not said she was Karna's mother?
He must have heard her wrong.
He must have, because if she was his mother, the King of Anga was his brother.
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Anuj's claim to affection (A Karna-Arjun what-if story)
Fanfiction~Book 2 of Mother's secret series~ At the graduation arena, Arjun is winded by a stranger's fierce hatred towards him. The stranger swears himself to his cousin Duryodhan and vows he will defeat him and prove the son of a charioteer can also become...
