Chapter 29 29. Choice Of Gandhari
"Can you be my eyes?"
Gandhari was taken aback by her husband's words. She knew he didn't know about his uncle Bhisma's previous massacre of her family, but she always assumed he despised her because she was not blind.
He always told her to take off the blindfolds, saying she was acting or faking it and should stop. Now it's turn out they were all excuses to make her hate him and remove her blindfold.
This realisation was a blessing for any wife. Her husband may accepted to be despise by his own wife to pull her from her sea of misery.
She wanted to tell him that she would gladly be his eyes, lead him down the right path, and give their children the love of both of them, but she couldn't. If she says that, she will betray not only a daughter, a sister, and a princess, but also she will betray a wife.
"Arya, Before I answer your question. I also have something to say, so please hear it all before answering it."
Gandhari took his hand off her shoulders, ready to ask him her own questions. If her husband can be honest with her, she must also be honest with him.
"I loved and respected you as your wife and will continue to do so until the day i die, but I was never able to give you my entire heart. Someone in my heart is always preventing me from fully accepting you."
Gandhari spoke with heavy breath, as the secrets she had kept for years were about to be revealed.
Dhritarashtra heard her words and missed his heartbeat. He had always felt her reluctance to accept him, but he never imagined that he would be able to find out the reason today. He took a deep breath and bared himself to hear her reason, fearing that his blindness might be the reason.
"There is My fa-father, My b-brothers and My kin-kingdom in my heart. Their daughter, sister and princess asked me for justice, Justice for their loved one's unrighteous blood shed."
Gandhari at this time became emotional, Her voice was chocking tears and her face wetted by her tears but she still goes on to say all the things she hide in her heart today. She can't keep those things trapped inside anymore.
"What their crime was that the son of Ganga, A demi-god, The excellency Bhisma with his own hand nearly wiped our bloodline? Is that king was guilty for protecting his own daughter's happiness? Are those princes was guilty for saving their sister's honor? Or that kingdom was guilty for loving its princess? Answer me this question Arya!?"
Gandhari at this moment, Looking like wounded lioness, Weak yet ferocious. She roared like one and asked her answer to questions, These questions that were always haunting her, Begging her to be answered, She finally asked to the world.
She felt like an immense weight on her shoulder lifted up. For the first time in years she felt that she was alive. She sensed the warm flowing blood in her veins, Which at this moment was boiling because of her rage.
For the first time in years, there was a smile on her exotic face, and yet when that smile appeared, The world felt ashamed and the atmosphere was saddened by one point. Because that smile was not of joy but pain, There was an immeasurable amount of pain and grief was hidden in that smile.
Seeing that smile with her tear filled face might be what made people come up with a saying of a weeping beauty but sadly no one in that room was able to appreciate that or console this beauty.
"I am not asking for revenge, I will never want revenge, All I want is justice. I want their souls to get a peace and that will never happen until they receive justice."
Gandhari continued but this time her voice was firm, the same as her demand for justice.
"So Arya, Can you as my husband help me to get justice for them?"
Gandhari said her last line and closed her eyes waiting to hear her husband's answer. As she closed her eyes two lines of tears escaped from those two gems just like her how her long-suppressed emotions escaped from her heart today.
She knows the answer of Dhritarashtra is going to be negative after not only asking she was him to go against his own family but also to stand opposite the strongest person not only in their kingdom but in this big land of Aryavart (Land of Arya, India).
"I Will."
But to her disbelief, Dhritarashtra answered her in very quick and firm words. He will, This has so much determination that she concluded he was not lying.
"Arya, Do you understand, What are you talking about? I am asking you to get justice from Excellency Bhisma, THE BHISMA. The strongest warrior and your uncle, Bhisma, Don't be foolish and promise the things you can't do."
Gandhari didn't know what happened to her but once she heard that he will go against Bhisma to get justice for her other than being happy she became afraid. She has the shadow of Bhisma in her heart. Her father and brother also said the same thing to her before going to war with Bhisma but they never came back.
She know what she wants is now is a justice, She was firm on that, But she also didn't want to lose her husband. She only live for two people one is her survived brother and other one is her husband, If something happened to any of them, She can't live anymore.
"Gandhari, When the whole world rejected me only you were standing there with me, You not only accepted me but you also accepted my disability and willingly accepted that suffering. That movement you also stole my heart, You are only woman that this Dhritarashtra ,The prince of Hastinapur ever loved. So how could i deny you your one simple request? Not to mention the justice even if I asked for my own head I cut off an- Muhh."
Dhritarashtra cupped her tiny exotic face with is large borad warriors hand, With his thumbs he wipe those tears of hers that always there as an uninvited guest. For the first time he said his true feelings to her. But as he was about to complete his sentence, A soft hand blocked his mouth preventing him from completing his sentence.
"Arya!!! Don't you know you are not supposed to talk about death, It's a bad omen. Please never say something like this or I will never talk to you again."
It was Gandhari who stopped him from speaking any further. She for the first time full heartedly hugged her husband. Her tears started falling like a broken dam. Her tears soon soaked Dhritarashtra's upper garment with tears but there was no sign of her tears stopping, As if she wanted to wash aways all her resentment, pain and misery through her tears.
Dhritarashtra didn't say anything, He just silently hugged his wife and he himself shed a few tears of his own.
They didn't know how much time passed in the world of these two husbands of wives but soon the next day's sun started to rise on the horizon bringing a new ray of hope to the life of these two unfortunate souls.
Gandhari had long since stopped crying as there were no tears left in her eyes for it. Finally, she left her husband's arms.
Both people became new people through this experience, like how the caterpillar broke its cocoon to be a beautiful butterfly; they broke there past's cocoon to be a new person.
"He taken away a important things from me, Then by justice he loses his important things too. For a warrior like him, their frame is more important than their lives, So we have to find someone younger who can defeat him in a fair fight. Not only that, we have to find someone who makes Bhisma ashamed to lose to that warrior."
After thinking for a whole night, Gandhari came up with this way to get justice for her family. She didn't want Bhisma's life but she wanted to him live with the fact that someone younger, The one he didn't hold in his eye defeated him. She wanted to take away his pride as the best warrior in this world from him. For a warrior like him that life is worse than death.
After last night, She appeared as a new person. She was no longer alone in this cold Palace of a Kuru lineage, She has her husband with her.
"But it's close to impossible to find a warrior like Gandhari, Not to mention it will take too much time, Might be years."
Dhritarashtra too changed, He finally has someone who can understand him, and Accepts him as he is. In this cruel world they now only have each other's support.
"I waited for years to even ask for justice, I can wait for a few more years to receive a justice. Not only a few, if I can get justice for them then I am willing to wait for eternity."
*Thunder*
As Gandhari roared these words, Thunder in the clear sky rang. This is the power of her commitment to that world has to acknowledge.
"So be it, I will send all of my spies throughout the entire Aryavart to find a suitable warrior. I don't think there will not be a single one able to counter Bhisma."
As it was decided, Both husband and wife were standing up to get justice for themselves. After this both parted ways to go and do their daily things.
——— Border of Hastinapur Kingdom ———
*Swiss* *Swiss* *Swiss* *Swiss*
Four types of invisible to all different coloured light energy orb came from four different directions and entered the Hastinapur kingdom by hiding in the coat of night's darkness. Surprisingly these four light orbs landed in close proximity to each other.
Unknown to all this world long since deviated from its original route and now with these four types of orbs added chaos in this already chaotic world.
(A/N : So guys there will be time skip in next 2 chapters.
Can you guess who those four types of light are? If not, Don't worry about it as you will know soon.
Also you guys achieve more than i expected as now it's crossed 300 power stone mark, so other than 2 (Yesterday's chapter is not counted here) i will give you 3 extra chapters next week. Thank you for all showing this much support.
Please give power stones and leave a review. The same old rule each century power stones will get one extra chapter added to next week's quota.
Thanks for reading and have a good day??.)