Subha asked while stuttering,
"W-why are you here?"
The room was still dark.
The Gandiva wielder looked confused and said,
"You… know me?"
He was genuinely unsure why someone he had never met was this scared of him.
His confusion made her relax a bit.
She asked again,
"You don't know me?"
He shook his head and said
"Then I will take my leave. I don't know what terrified you from me, so I won't stay here."
He turned and started walking toward the gate.
Subha looked conflicted, unsure if she should tell him where she had seen him before.
Finally, she spoke:
"I saw you at Yaksha Mountain… underground… fighting someone six months ago."
The man stopped.
He had reached the door—already one step out.
Subha's heartbeat spiked. She immediately felt she shouldn't have said that.Her mind filled with every possible worst outcome.
The man slowly turned and looked straight into her eyes.
That alone sent a chill down her spine.
Then he asked something.
Subha had already begun chanting a mantra, expecting a serious confrontation.
But when she heard his question, she was dumbfounded.
"I won that fight, right? That damn Yaksha interfered at the last moment, but I still dominated… right?"
Subha was so caught off guard that the only response she managed was,
"Yes."
The man continued,
"I arrived late at night. I didn't know the direction and didn't want to wander around the whole night. So I was asking… can I stay here for the night?"
Subha thought for a moment.
"Yes, fine. But there is a condition."
Hearing the word condition, the man became serious began walking towards the gate again, as if he found it offensive for asking a condition for a simple stay at night.
Subha quickly said,
"To teach the students archery!"
He stopped, turned and nodded,
Wondering how difficult teaching a bunch of kids would be.
He thought it would a easy task.
But he still asked,
"Are you sure I'm qualified?"
She replied,
"I've seen your power. You're more than qualified."
The man looked slightly proud after hearing that.
Subha continued,
"You won't get a personal room. There's only a common room. You don't have a problem with that, right?"
He said,
"No."
He looked relaxed now, as if he could finally rest.
"I'll send someone to show you the room. And tomorrow morning… you have to take the class."
An hour later.
It was the backyard of the Gurukul.
Dim moonlight fell across the ground.
There were darkness all around only the Many diyas that were placed around the gurukul light up the area.
The weather, which was perfectly fine earlier, now had a slight cold breeze blowing.
The Gurukul was the sole structure near the forest.
The forest behind it could be clearly seen.
The echo of animal noises carried through the quiet night.A lot of fireflies rushed out of the forest.
Many children were sitting on thin cotton mats.
Among the short-heighted kids, a big man was also sitting there.
He was the Gandiva wielder.
He was sitting there because he got invited for the meal, and he couldn't refuse it.
He had noticed everything from the moment he entered.
His observations were:— two big dormitories for sleeping, one for boys and one for girls;— a small room where he had met the girl;— a washroom in the backyard;— and a few other rooms that might be used for storage.
A sudden thought hit him—he had forgotten to introduce himself, and he hadn't even asked the girl's name.
He laughed a little after realizing that.
He got served the food.
It was on banana leaves.
Eating on banana leaves was very common in the Gurukul to save money, since the clay ones were expensive.
He also got a kulhad.
The kulhad had a beautiful engraving of the Sudarshan Chakra.
He wasn't shocked to see this engraving, because the founder of Dwarka was the very first user of it.
He was served steaming khichdi—a blend of soft cooked rice and lentils, with some spices and a pour of ghee on top.
Simple, yet a nourishing meal.
The kulhad contained buttermilk, making it a good combination.
Before everyone started eating, they prayed together by saying:
"Brahmaarpan."
It was the prayer people used before eating.
After eating, he walked toward a small fountain.
Water came out continuously, flowing down a slight slope.
He washed his hands and decided to go back to the room designated to him.
A kid who looked around fourteen or fifteen appeared in front of him, bowed, and touched his feet to show respect.
"You will be teaching us archery," the kid said. "We are all very excited."
There were a few kids standing behind him, looking at the man with eyes full of admiration.
The rest of the students, who didn't know him earlier and had just learned that he would be teaching them archery.
They surrounded him in seconds.
Every child was saying something, some introducing themselves, some asking questions, some just excited to speak.
Their continuous talking made him feel irritated.
He was happy to get the attention—a feeling of belongingness he hadn't felt for a long time.
But he was exhausted.
The precise control of the Panchya Pada mantra he used to swap positions with the arrow,
and the whole journey to find Dwarka by walking on water, had drained him.
To be exact, the exhaustion was of the mind rather than the body.
He slowly raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
A small burst of shakti spread out.
Not strong enough to push anyone back, but enough to make them quiet.
"We can continue in the morning," he said politely.
Half an hour later, when everyone was on their beds, a few children were whispering.
"Wasn't Arjun bhrata coming to teach us?" one asked.
"I heard a message was sent to him, but no reply came," another replied.
"I heard he has a cool astra," a third added.
The Gandiva wielder, trying to sleep, was forced to hear their chattering.
He murmured, "Arjun…"This was the second time he had heard that name today.
The night fell
Somewhere far away, the night was dark, but because of many lights, a figure was seen clearly.
His hand was holding a whip-like blade.
He seemed to be training with it.
This whip-like blade was called Urumi
,and the one training with it was none other than Arjun.