Anuj's claim to affection (A Karna-Arjun what-if story)

The unexpected journeys of life

Arjun's pov

It was the most awkward wedding imaginable, but considering the circumstances preceding it, it could have been much worse.

Arjun was too scared to even look at Panchali in the eye. What must she be thinking of their family? To begin with, in the journey from Panchal to Hastinapur, his brothers barring Yudhishthir had been abusing their cousins and Uncle Shakuni with gusto. Coming back, first there was the matter of the polyandrous marriage. Then Duryodhan did not disappoint by passing an audible comment about how Panchali's father had subjected her to a lifetime of unhappiness by setting a target of archery in her swayamvar. Bheem shoved Duryodhan so hard, he almost collided with a pillar. Yudhishthir and Karna had to restrain them from turning it into a wrestling fight in the midst of the wedding, after which Kunti and Gandhari scolded them both for not behaving on their brother's wedding day.

After all this, could anyone blame him for being too scared to lift his eyes? Arjun thought.

He went through all the ceremonies staring resolutely at the floor and his bride's feet and feeling increasingly disgruntled. It was not to say her feet were not beautiful, but her face had been infinitely more so, and he wished he could screw up the courage to look up.

At some point, Panchali caught his hand in a firm grip, from which he took a bit of heart. He held on to it for getting through the ordeal.

"Are you okay?" she whispered when they were taking the seven rounds around the fire.

"Y-yes--yes, certainly," he stammered, which made it clear he was not okay.

Panchali laughed softly.

That made Arjun even more jittery. His wedding day was the last one he would have chosen to make such a fool of himself, but there you are.

By the time the ceremonies were over and they had been declared husband and wife, Arjun was desperately looking for ways to escape. He could have, but he did not want to make Panchali feel he had not wanted the wedding at all.

He had wanted it more than she possibly could have, and he went cold at the very thought of what might have transpired had Karna not intervened when he did.

Amidst all the well-wishers whose wishes was making Arjun want to escape more and more by the minute, there was one who calmed him down the moment she came.

********************

"Take a deep breath, child."

Vrushali's strange statement made Arjun looked up, confused.

"Do it," said Vrushali. "You could do with a lot of calming down."

Beside him, Panchali nodded. "I was wondering if it would be too rude to tell him that. Breathe in, breathe out."

Arjun did not feel as embarrassed as he thought he should.

"What happened was not your fault, Arjun," said Vrushali. "I am sure your wife does not hold you responsible."

"I don't," said Panchali quickly. "It will be a funny story to tell my brother back home. He will think his hard work at setting the target has been rewarded."

"Funny?" said Arjun in a hollow voice, finally turning to her.

"Because it ended well." Panchali smiled a smile that was at the same time mischievous and assuring. "I think we would be glad for today in the future. I already am."

"Me too," Arjun said.

By the time he had looked away from her (which was quite a long duration), Vrushali had disappeared. Spotting her standing with Karna near the other end, Arjun told Panchali he'd be right back and plunged into the crowd.