The next morning, Krishna opened his eyes to find the worried faces of Rukmini and Yashoda peering over him. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up, only to realize the sun had risen almost to the centre of the sky. "What?" He muttered to himself when he noticed, a bowl of water and a cloth lying beside him. He realized with growing irritation that he had missed half of the day.
"You had a high fever, all last night." Rukmini added helpfully, "You don't remember? Your attendants came and woke me up when you wouldn't get up for dinner!"
Yashoda looked more annoyed as she pushed him back into the bed, "All that work, I'd warned you, Kanha. Would you never listen?! Your wives also didn't get to sleep the entire night yesterday; I had to postpone my return. Are you happy?!"
Krishna shook his head weakly.
"I'm sorry," He added.
Yashoda snapped again as she leaned to take his temperature, "You should be!"
Krishna sighed and turned to his wife, "Where are the other two over-thinkers? Gone to announce it up and down the city squares, have they?"
Rukmini smiled, running her fingers through his hair, "Jambavati went to make you some stew...don't worry, I'll slip in some honey to temper the spice when she's not looking! And Bhama? Well, she went to collect the doctors!"
"Doctors, plural?" Krishna asked gingerly.
"Well, her target is fifty, but we'll see." Rukmini smiled brightly, "Although she is an overachiever, so you never know!"
"And, who's going to pay for all of them?" Krishna asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Probably you, my Lord," Rukmini replied gently, completely missing the sarcasm in his voice.
"Well, where do you think you're going now?" Called Yashoda, as Krishna stopped in his tracks, one leg hanging out of the bed, "Well, the parliament...like, my job?" He retorted.
"Can't you skip just one day?" Rukmini pleaded.
"I cannot, my dear. I must go." Krishna sniffled.
"Yeah," Spoke Yashoda, "Fine! Just walk up to that door without help, hun? Then you can go wherever you want to!"
Krishna stopped to ponder a bit. His head was really spinning a mile an hour. To venture out in this state might attract more trouble and gossip that it was worth. "Fine," he conceded, "The living room, then. I'll work from home."
Yashoda looked angrier, but Rukmini stepped in, "Better seal the deal, Maiya. He'll work either way. This way at least we can keep an eye on him."
---
Krishna sighed as he looked around him. In the short time that it took him to descend from his bedroom to the living room, his wives, with the help of Manmatha, had created a makeshift bed in there. He was propped up by at least twelve soft pillows and Yashoda had insisted on wrapping him in a woollen shawl, "Bhama said this is fashionable nowadays, Kanha!"
She was now sitting beside him, feeding him Jambavati's spicy stew as he tried to ignore the sniggering of the people who had brought him new ordinances to sign. Rukmini sat on a throne nearby, her eyes fixed on Krishna's face. By divine grace, he had been able to convince at least Jambavati and Satyabhama to return to their quarters. He shuddered to think of the gossip that would filter through the parliament if they saw him being fussed over like a baby by four grown women!
An attendant entered, announcing the arrival of the Prince Shishupala of Chedi. Krishna's jaw hardened at the mention. "Go," he whispered to Rukmini, "That idiot spews double the poison when he sees you! Maiya, you too! Come back when he's gone."
Rukmini left the room, muttering insults under her breath, alongside Yashoda. The last thing she wanted to was to have a civil conversation with her ex-fiance.
Krishna sighed as he braced for the oncoming unpleasantness. Shishupala, his cousin, was always too eager to butt heads with him. Although he never dared to go as far as to actually go to war against Krishna, his comments and jibes were a constant source of annoyance at family reunions. He was one of Jarasandha's closest lackeys, which gave him some sense of superiority as the latter constantly fanned his hatred towards Krishna. Even though he was sick and tired of listening to Shishupala, Krishna chose to always ignore him or leave because of a promise that he had made to his aunt, Shishupala's mother, a long time back. He was to pardon one hundred mistakes of his bratty cousin, who spared no occasion to mouth off to him. Rukmini being betrothed to him before Krishna abducted and married her, complicated matters significantly.
Krishna forced himself to smile, as Shishupala swaggered in. Immediately he sat down on the throne Rukmini had been occupying. As usual, he had paid no heed to the convention where you do not take a seat in the presence of an elder unless specifically invited. Then again, armed with the stories of Krishna's humble upbringing, Shishupala had never really considered him a proper 'elder' to begin with.
"What?" Krishna snapped, his irritation bubbling up with his returning fever.
"Just wanted to impart some friendly advice, cousin to cousin." He smirked, "I had gone to visit dear Duryodhana the other day, and saw your assistant, old Akroora, getting real chummy with Auntie Kunti's kids. Their situation is real messy. even I am telling you that! It'd be in your best interest to keep out of it. They're really unlucky, even for their own flesh and blood! Why do you think no one talks to that side of the family?"
Krishna spoke sourly, "My parents were held captive in a dungeon for twenty-five years. I'd say that's pretty unlucky. So, would y'all not talk to us as well, if given the chance?"
"Exactly!" Said Shishupala, baring his teeth, "You do get the point. I honestly don't understand why my father likes you this much, given you are the cause of all your family's problems! Uncle Vasudeva was really a fool to have sa-"
"Shishupala!" Krishna interrupted, "The vow I made to your mother keeps me from killing you, not smacking you across the face, so don't tempt me!"
"Ooh, the cowherd threatens me!" Shishupaal spoke mockingly, "Count your lucky stars that I didn't tell anyone that I saw your spy lurking around in Hastinapura!"
Krishna laughed in spite of himself, "Ah, thank you, my brother, from the bottom of my heart! For not telling them how the esteemed messenger that I sent to the Kuru royal court with gifts for the lot of them, was roaming in the palace in his free time!"
Shishupala grunted, "Well, all this talk of mother reminds me, she's dead."
"What?!" Krishna exclaimed, almost dropping his stew, "When?! What happened?"
"Oh, she slipped on the stairs and hit her head I heard. I was in Hastinapura sorting your mess!" Shishupala hissed back.
"And you were planning to tell us when exactly?" Krishna spoke through gritted teeth, "When's the prayer meeting?"
"What prayer meeting? We don't have that for women, right? In Chedi, at least I've never seen one." Shishupala scrunched his nose.
"You do realize she's the only reason you're alive right? No, I'm not talking about my deal. Your father was about to have you thrown in a ditch, scared by your divine arms. She's been saving your arse since the day you were born! She was ready to leave your father; to go live in a forest in a thatched hut, begging for alms if that was to be the cost for keeping you alive!" Krishna lifted an arm to stop Shishupala from interrupting, "You don't even care though, do you? Well, I am sorry, my bad. I had expectations." Krishna shook his head, "Well, I'll have a meeting arranged for her here. You and your father come or don't. I don't even care. Well, there's the door. Please see yourself out before I lose my mind!"
Krishna found himself breathing heavily, vision nearly blinded with rage, as he watched his 'cousin' walk out, scattering a string of expletives on his way. Yashoda was standing behind the doorway listening to their conversation. She rushed in with a glass of water, gently caressing Krishna's hair. That would calm him down as a child, but Krishna seemed too angry to be pacified by it. It was the first time Yashoda had seen this side of her son.
"What does he think?" Krishna fumed, "That we're all joking when we caution him? And mention the deal with his mother? Wars are started for less than what he puts us through on a regular basis! He thinks I won't ever have the heart to actually kill him. Well, I would've..." Krishna trailed off, and Yashoda tried to shush him in vain.
Suddenly, Manmatha rushed into the room. He gasped as he had run all the way up from the beach. "Sage Durvasa is here, he wants you and the princess." He said, panting. Krishna sighed. This was bound to happen. The crown jewel of the already bad day.
"Of course," He said exasperated, "Where is he?"
"Making a scene at the main square." Manmatha replied nonchalantly. Even he was acquainted with the idiosyncrasies of this sage, albeit from a distance.
"Of course he is." Krishna laughed ruefully. Turning to Yashoda, he asked where Rukmini had disappeared to.
"She said she felt dirtied by the words of your cousin, so she went to take a bath." Yashoda replied in a small voice.
"I'll tell her to meet you there," Whistled Manmatha as he ran past them. Krishna let out a miffed grunt as he tried to steady his head in order to face the troublemaker rishi.
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