A Thousand Crescents [Baahubali Drabble]

A Thousand Crescents

Disclaimer: Characters mentioned in the following OS belong solely to the creator(s) of the world of Baahubali.

WARNING: Baahubali: The Conclusion spoilers ahead.

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Summary: What if, after the whole Kumara Varma fiasco, Rajamata Sivagami Devi hadn't actually taken the horrible decision we have all come to unanimously hate? What if she hadn't given Kattappa the royal order?

All that Devasena had hoped for in her Seementham (baby shower) would have come true. A short drabble on that take.

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Amarendra heard the shrill cries that would forever be imprinted on his mind just as the sun rose over the horizon.

Without waiting for anyone to even call him, he barged into the hut, uncharacteristically impatient. His eyes fell immediately on his wife, who lay on the cot, looking pale and still sweating. He didn't even think twice to go forth and wet his own cloth with the water they kept side for drinking and dab her face with it, softly calling out to her.

Though, Amara's brows ceased in worry when his Deva barely reacted to his touch nor his voice.

"Deva...?" he gently whispered, his heartbeat racing.

But he exhaled the breath he didn't know he was holding when Devasena slowly opened her eyes and gave him a faint smile. Leaning forward, he pressed a firm kiss to her forehead, forgetting everyone and everything around him for a moment or two.

"It's a boy," she finally whispered, and Amara suddenly became attuned to the sharp cries of his newborn son.

Tears brimming in his eyes, Amara turned to the midwife, who held a squirming bundle in her arms. She knelt on the other side of the cot and made to pass the baby to Devasena, but the new mother expectantly turned to Amara. Assuming that Devasena probably wanted the father to hold the baby first, the midwife held the baby before him, but blinked in surprise when Amara shook his head, a gentle smile playing on his face.

"Mama," Amara called out instead.

Kattappa walked in, beaming so brightly that one might have mistaken him for the sun himself. He looked from the proud new parents to the bundle in the midwife's arm. Closing the gap with a few slow steps, Kattappa took the baby boy from the midwife, and held Amarendra Baahubali and Devasena's son in his arms for the very first time.

"And now he will live to see a thousand crescents," Deva whispered.

"I will be here to make sure of that, that's a promise," Kattappa uttered, his voice choking with emotions.

The baby's cries dwindled to whimpers as he took a long look at his grandfather, before he was passed to the man he would eventually grow up to look like -- his father.

Amara felt the tears in his eyes spill over as he took a long look at the child he had waited for nine long months to finally meet.

"He smiles just like you, Deva," Amara finally said after having looked at his son for the longest few minutes. He barely looked away, almost as if memorising the baby's features in his mind's eye, as if he'd forget his child's face if he looked away for even a single moment.

"I think he looks exactly like you," his wife countered, stretching to look at her son from where she lay. Understanding her situation, Amara moved closer to her, helped her sit up with one arm while the other held their baby, and he sat at the edge of the cot before handing the little one over to her.

Amara wrapped an arm around her shoulder, looking down at his small family as Deva cooed and crooned over their son. Both of them were shining with what one could only refer to as pride.

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Hours later, after the small family had settled down and sent a messenger to the palace announcing the birth of Amarendra's child, Kattappa was once again holding the newborn in his arm, gently rocking him.

"What are you going to name him?" Kattappa asked them both.

"I am thinking Rajamata would have a perfect name for her grandson," Deva offered casually, never looking away from her son, completely unaware of the tears that had once again welled up in both Kattappa's and Amara's eyes.

"Yes...yes, she would," Amara finally whispered, feeling as if his heart would burst at any given moment with the amount of love and respect he had for his wife.

But the tender moment was rather quickly disrupted by Kattappa clearing his throat.

"Er...I think he just peed..." the older man observed as the warm liquid ran down his hand and arm.

There was a moment of silence, and then Amara and Deva fell apart laughing.

"Luck's on his side, alright; this one's going to see not just one thousand, but possibly tens of thousands of crescents!" Devasena managed to say between fits of laughter.

Kattappa chuckled as his rested his forehead on the baby who was gurgling away happily.

"And I will make sure of that," he quietly promised the young prince.

End.

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Note: In the Tamil version of BB2, Deva had wanted Kattappa to first hold her child, so that the child would get to live to see 'aayiram piraigal' -- direct translation would be a thousand crescents. Translating this just in case it meant something else in the other versions of the movie and the title and parts of the OS ends up not making sense.

And yes, we wouldn't even have gotten Baahubali 1 and 2 if the exceptionally important turn of events in the movie hadn't occurred. But me being me, I have refused to accept Amara's death on a certain level, and have instead resorted to writing drabbles/OSs that make my heart happy. I can't seem to stop now. Yikes. Do leave likes and comments if you liked this drabble!