Chapter 26 26. Pour Molten Gold
Karna pulled out of his thoughts as he felt that cloth snatched from his hands. This made him anxious. He thought they would again put that cloth on her eyes.
He turned in Gandhari's arms just to see Dhritarashtra holding that cursed piece of cloth.
He didn't know much about Mahabharata but knew one thing, That piece of cloth is one of the reasons for that catastrophic war. If that cloth is again put on her eyes, Then that means that war too happens and So does his end of dying in it. After all, he thinks no one power to change fate.
*Sizzle*
But fortunately, contrary to his imagination, Dhritarashtra put it in Gandhari's eye but with his spiritual power burned it to ashes.
"..."
There was pin-drop silence in the hall. No one knows what is happening. Even Gandhari who knows him so much, At this point, was stupefied.
No one understands the meaning of his action.
"Gandhari, How much do you love and respect me?"
Out of nowhere, He asked her that question. This caught Gandhari off guard but she quickly answered.
"The same amount of water in the ocean, The same amount of stars in the sky that's much I have love and respect for you, Arya (Husband)."
Gandhari answered genuinely, If she has not had love and respect for him, She will never choose to blindfold herself. If she was not genuine in her commitment gods will never grant her a boon. So What she was saying is not a complete lie and indeed her true feelings.
It's just that she also has resentment. How could she not? She had to watch her own family getting massacred right in front of her eyes. Their agony, helplessness, and bitter war cry are always ringing in her ears, It is always in front of the darkness of her eyes.
She knows she can't blame her husband for that incident as he didn't know about it but this can only convince the wife in her, She was helpless in front of the daughter of that king, Who died protecting her happiness, The sister of those princes who for their sister's honor give up their lives, The princess of that kingdom which loved her deeply, They still urns for justice. They still want someone to pay the price of their loved one's blood.
That's why she always holds herself back from fully giving heart to him, Truly loving him, After all, if she does that she can never face that daughter who was showered with love by her father, She can never face the sister who was spoiled by her brothers, and she never faces the princess whose kingdom was taken away from her. She might win as a wife but will fail as a daughter, a sister, and a woman.
"If that's how you truly feel about me then I have a request, Can you do it for me?"
Dhritarashtra takes her sentence with a grain of sand. He always felt her restriction, As if she was holding herself back. Now he has a request that might change their life.
"Your wish is my command, Araya. As your wife, I will try to fulfill every request you have to my utter capabilities"
Gandhari didn't know what was going on with her husband but she didn't care as she was engrossed in seeing her husband. She didn't if, after today, she will ever get another chance to see her husband again. This was her fortune that she got this chance.
"Okay, So Gandhari you will never wear that blindfold again."
As the vice of the blind prince fell, the Court no longer sat still.
"Stop, Prince, you can't do that to her."
"Yes, How can a wife enjoy her life, While her Husband suffers."
"I suggest, We should put molten gold in her eyes and make her blind too."
"Yes Yes, Let's do that, That is the Dharma."
"Right? Isn't it the wife's Dharma to share her husband's pain?"
"Okay, servant, go and start molting the gold."
Court finally couldn't take it anymore and decided to oppose the blind prince. After all, He can't punish all of them together, could he?
'What kind of weird fetish is that? Why do these guys want to put gold in everyone's body?'
In Gandhari's arms, Karna witnessed everything. What struck him was that this court member has a particular weird fetish. They are also the ones who suggested pouring molten gold on his hand and now this? In anger he looked at these court members, If he can, He wanted to tear them into pieces with his own hand.
*Shivers*
The court members who were in high spirits suddenly felt cold all over as if they were targeted by some fierce best. A weird sense of dread comes to them as telling them something bad is going to happen.
"I wanted to see who dared to touch the single hair of the queen of Hastinapur Kingdom."
*Bang*
*Tremble*
*Cracks*
Dhritarashtra roared like a lion. In his extreme anger, he struck his leg on the solid ground. Just as that leg makes contact with the ground it splits open and cracks spread out covering all the ground of the court.
Seeing this Court broke out in cold sweat. They just realize this blind prince holds the might of a AtiRathi rank warrior, Second only to the Maharathi the strongest rank.
So if he wants to he can cause carnage in this court, As they can only watch him doing it, Because no one present here has any strength to even put up a fight with him.
"This will be you people's first and the last offense, If this happens again, You all lose your heads."
Dhritarashtra was fully enraged. He knew of their disliking and contempt for him, Which he chose to ignore for the well-being of his subjects but no one can disrespect his wife.
"We apologize, O great queen, Please forgive us."
The court realized the grave mistake they made. Usually, both the prince and queen don't have many appearances, So they had forgotten about the status held by Gandhari. There this act is indeed considered to be treason, Which is punishable by death. They were just glad they were let go with just some warning. So they hurriedly apologized to Gandhari.
'That's it? Is he not gonna punish them?'
Karna couldn't help but become disappointed in Dhritarashtra. Someone said they wanted to blind your wife and you just let them go with a warning? What kind of husband is that? He felt it was too bad for a woman like Gandhari to be with him.
Gandhari on other hand was neutral. She is actually ready to blind herself, If her husband says so. She even thought that this is what he wanted as to why he should restrict her from blindfolding herself but now she was not sure.
But it didn't matter, She knows even if she is a queen it does not hold any power. If it does no one here has the guts to even think about touching her. She was just a royal victory trophy for Hastinapur royals, Which was won by their pride Mahamahim (Excellency) Bhisma
"So prince we should take our leaves now."
"Yeah, Prince, The matter of blessing is passed, So we should go now"
The court stood up intending to leave the court as soon as possible, They did not feel safe here. They wanted to go out of here before the prince change his decision.
"Wait, Who gives you permission to go?"
Dhritarashtra said these words in a very cold voice, Sending shivers to those court members.
"We apologize, Prince but the reason for the court has to be fulfilled, So it's better to take a leave as respect for the court."
Some brave members make up a flawless reason out of thin air. Have to say they are indeed politicians, Ancient or not their nature is the same cunning and treacherous.
"That's why I asked, Where are you going because we didn't give him a blessing yet, That was his punishment."
The blind prince has a rare smile on his face now. He seems like he was happy but when this smile falls on the eyes of court members, It sends shivers to them. A very bad feeling arose in their hearts.
They know that blessing is not complete but they can't stay here anymore. Just as they were about to argue, A servant came carrying a pot of molten gold.
"Molten gold is a ready master."
That servant came and announced it to the court.
"You came at the right time, So now hear my decree, This court member did a crime of insulting the queen and planning on harming her, So the court hereby decided their punishment as to pour molten gold on their nondominant hand and in their opposite side eye, If anyone shows any resistant, Just kill it as that act will consider as an act of treason."
Dhritarashtra has a very mild voice but the coldness in it penetrated the hearts of the court members.
(A/N : I apologize for not uploading yesterday as I was stupid enough to start to argue online. I didn't know how time passed and I missed my deadline. So tomorrow you will also receive one extra chapter, Enjoy.
New rule: For every hundred power stones 1 extra chapter will be added in that week.
Don't forget to leave a comment and Power stone.
Not much to say here, So thank you for reading and have a good day😁.)
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