Panchaali, and the Men That Mattered (Update: Page 4 & 6) - Page 4

Bhim

I walked through the dark corridor of the Palace of Maharaj Virat's Kingdom, Matsya. My feet threatened to give away as I managed to walk to the maid's chamber, where I was staying, disguised as Sairindhri. Maybe I was scared, yes; any one would be after what had happened today. But more than scared, I was appalled at the audacity of that man, Keechak. Despite repeated warning's he had not backed away, had made inappropriate passes and advances towards me, even after he knew that I was married.

The only thing that made me comfortable while walking was that I knew that it was all over. He had done it, for me. Like he always did. And somehow, I knew he was around right now, keeping an eye on me, to ensure that I am okay.

I saw a shadow move in the darkness. My heartbeat sped up with nervousness for a few seconds, dreading another problem coming my way. Then I saw the shadow more carefully, it was of a huge person, and immediately, all my worries flew away. He was there, as I had expected, looking out for me.

"Bhim" I breathed out softly, hoping no one would hear me. He came out from behind a pillar where he was hiding. I looked at him for a long time. Anyone would be scared of him. He was tall, and well, huge. But I wasn't scared of him. I could see the softness in his eyes, the one that came from deep within. He blushed as I kept looking at him and cleared his throat to speak.

"Don't! You can't call me by that name" he tried to whisper back but his voice was still loud enough. He smacked his palm on his forehead for being so loud and I giggled. He tried to hush me but I giggled more when his hush sounded more like a wind swishing by. He laughed with me and then stood horrified because his laughter echoed through the palace corridors. Quickly, he stepped away from me and ran off in the opposite direction before anyone came to find the source of the sound and found us together. I smiled and walked into the maid's quarters and plopped down on the bed in my room.

Why did he do everything for me?' I wondered.

Because he loves you, foolish' a voice in my head told me.

Of course, I knew that. Bhim loved me. Well, I think all my husbands loved me. But Bhim was always there for me. Always concerned if I was alright, always ensuring that I got everything I needed and always caring for me.

My thoughts went back to what he had done for me today.

Keechak had been trying to get my attention ever since we came into the kingdom in our disguise. First, I had been polite, and then I had warned him that I wasn't interested. I had told him that I had 5 Gandharva Husbands and they would soon return and take me away, but he hadn't backed away. In fact, with each passing day, he got more and more insistent. When he tried to forcefully throw himself on me, I had run to the king's court in seek of help, but got none. When the Queen instructed me to deliver wine to Keechak's Chamber one night, I was terrified. I knew what was coming. Not knowing what to do, I went to Bhim. I knew he was in the servant's quarters and crawled in there. I woke him up softly and told him everything.

I expected him to instantly flare up with anger and curse Keechak. Instead, he held me in his arms. I was trembling with fear and he pulled me close towards his chest, holding me and calming me down. That moment felt so right, and for a moment I forgot all my worries. Then he made me one promise, that he would kill Keechak that night. He told me to relax and return to my Chamber and he would take care of everything. I knew he would keep his promise and kissed his cheek and left for the Maid's Quarters . He did. That was the last time I ever saw Keechak.

Bhim had always been the one looking out for me. Now that I was relaxing in the maid's quarters, my mind wandered off to the many events in the past, that had over the years made me realize just how much he loved me.

The first time I saw Bhim was at the Swayamvar, when Arjun had won my hand. Of course, I didn't know him then, they were in disguise. At first, I was scared of him. He was huge- Tall, and from what I saw that day, mighty as well. Any girl would be scared. As we walked towards their hut, I was told who they really were. I was married to Arjun then, he had won my hand at the swayamvar. I remember as I spoke to Arjun, Bhim trailed us. He walked at a distance and when Arjun had stopped and turned to speak to him, I turned too, and I noticed him looking at me with an admiration. I didn't pay heed to it then, it was only after I was married off to all the Pandavas and I actually spoke to Bhim during my year with him, that he told me that he was in love with me since the moment he lay his eyes on me.

When I got to know him, I realised that he had a huge heart. All the fright that I'd felt when I first saw him started vanishing. He was the first one to know which of his brother's I would love the most. I never told him expressly, but he just knew. Every time he brought it up to tease me about it, I would avoid it. I knew he loved me. He knew I loved someone else. Why would I talk about him and hurt him?

During our time in exile, he was the one who always lent me a helping hand with cooking and keeping the house clean. I knew how much he loved ffod and I made sure that I served him with the most quantity of food. It wasn't to mock him, it was my little way of showing him that I knew about his likes and dislikes, and wanted to keep him happy.

The best part about him was that he would always be up to some antics, trying to make me laugh. And he would go to any extent to see me smile. Like the one time when I had asked him to bring me many lotuses with a thousand petals. He'd gone through so many hardships, and had I known earlier, I would never ever ask him to ring them for me. Yet, when he returned, he had a huge smile spread across his face as he handed those flowers to me. When he told me of his adventures while he attempted to get those petals for me, I wanted to scream at him for risking his life. Yet, when he spoke about it, softly, and with so much admiration for me, all my anger seemed to fly out of the window.

If I had to describe how I felt about him, I would say I respected him. He did so much for me and never ever asked for anything in return. How could anyone not respect such a person? Memories started flooding back to my mind, those of the day of the dice game.

The pain I'd seen in his eyes then, the sheer frustration of not being able to do anything to stop Duryodhan and Dushashan or even his elder brother Yudhisthir, was clearly seen in his eyes. That day, Bhim made two promises in front of everyone: First that he would break Duryodhan's thighs, and second that he would tear apart Dushashan's chest, drink his blood, and wash my hair with it. It had scared me; the sheer depth of his words had terrified me. I wanted to somehow tell him not to utter the words, because I knew what that would lead to: People will question his acts; call him a monster for doing something like that to his cousins. Nobody would see the reason behind it; nobody would see how much he loved me. I knew he'd said those things in anger, but since it was a promise, he would have to fulfil it. I knew that was the one thing that would taint his image forever. Yet, for taking my revenge on Duryodhan and Dushashan, I knew he would take that step. I knew he would...

***

Okay how was it? Honest opinions.

Also something important: I might( which means 99% I will) shift Abhimanyu's order forward. This is because I have written a lot of it, like just need to draft it well and give a few finishing touches to it. Also, there's another reason behind it. Abhimanyu's part has something to do with ARjun's part, which makes it necessary to shift Arjun after Abhimanyu. If at all it makes you angry, sad,upset,annoyed, and all that, I'm sorry I am going to try posting Abhimanyu by next week, if I get time from Classes and Office. Mostly, it will be done.

See you guys soon,

Payal😳