Mahabharat: Shiva's Last Variable

(A/N):

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While Indhumati continued speaking with her family, Devara remained beneath the bed in absolute silence.

He had faced warriors who could split mountains, demons who could shake the heavens and creatures that could devour elephants, but none of those battles had demanded the kind of discipline he was using now.

He dared not even breathe too loudly.

Every movement had to be controlled, every shift of his body carefully measured, because the slightest rustle of his clothes or the faintest sound from beneath the wooden frame could bring the entire family’s attention toward him.

His jeweled wedding attire, which had seemed merely excessive when he had put it on earlier, now felt like a collection of tiny weapons conspiring against him.

Even the smallest ornament could strike the floor and betray his hiding place.

So Devara remained perfectly still, one hand resting against the floor while he listened to the conversation above him, silently praying that nobody would suddenly decide to look beneath the bed.

Indhumati, meanwhile, did her best to behave naturally as she sat with her family.

She answered her father’s questions, responded to her brother’s teasing and listened as her uncle spoke about the preparations taking place throughout the palace.

Yet every few moments, her eyes unconsciously wandered toward the bed.

Each time she did, she found herself wondering how Devara was managing to remain so quiet.

The thought nearly made her smile.

The same man who could command armies and stand fearlessly before divine beings was currently lying underneath her bed like a child caught sneaking into the kitchen after midnight.

She quickly lowered her gaze whenever anyone noticed her expression, afraid that even the slightest smile might make her family curious.

Queen Devayani, however, was not entirely distracted by the conversation.

Her eyes slowly moved around the chamber as she listened to everyone speak.

She glanced toward the dressing table, then toward the balcony, the decorated walls and the various ornaments arranged around the room.

Something felt different.

Nothing was obviously wrong, and she could not immediately identify what had caught her attention, but there was a faint sense that something was missing or slightly out of order.

Her gaze returned to the bed.

Devara’s entire body went rigid.

For several heartbeats, Devayani simply looked at it.

Then she looked away.

Devara slowly released the breath he had been holding.

’That was too close.’

Indhumati had noticed it as well.

Her fingers tightened together in her lap, but she continued speaking as though nothing had happened.

Fortunately, Devayani’s attention soon shifted when Padmanabha Varman reached for a small, beautifully carved wooden box that he had been carrying.

"My daughter,"

The king said, his voice becoming softer,

"there is something I wanted to give you before tomorrow."

Indhumati looked at him curiously.

Her father opened the box.

Inside lay a magnificent golden chain.

It was crafted with extraordinary delicacy, the gold links intertwined with intricate designs and set with pearls so luminous that they seemed to possess their own gentle radiance.

Between the pearls were several deep red rubies, each one carefully placed within the golden setting.

It was not merely an expensive ornament.

There was history in it, something far more precious than the jewels themselves.

Indhumati’s eyes widened.

"Father..."

Padmanabha Varman smiled as he lifted the chain from the box.

"This belonged to your grandmother."

The words immediately changed the expression on Indhumati’s face.

She slowly reached toward it but stopped before touching it.

"My grandmother?"

"Yes."

Her father nodded.

"My mother wore this chain for many years. I remember seeing it around her neck when I was a child."

"These pearls and rubies were already precious when they came into her possession, but their value was never what mattered to her. She treasured this necklace because it represented her family."

His fingers gently passed over the jewels.

"After she passed away, I kept it with me. I could have placed it among the royal treasures, but I never did. I kept it separately because whenever I looked at it, I remembered my mother."

Indhumati’s eyes became moist.

Padmanabha Varman stepped closer and placed the necklace into his daughter’s hands.

"I have kept it all these years in remembrance of her. But now I believe it belongs with you."

Indhumati stared at the necklace, carefully running her fingers over the pearls.

"Why me?"

"Because tomorrow you will begin a family of your own,"

He replied gently.

"And I want you to carry something from the woman who came before us. Your grandmother never had the opportunity to see the woman you would become, but I know she would have been proud of you."

Indhumati’s eyes filled with tears.

She rose from her seat and embraced her father.

Padmanabha Varman wrapped his arms around his daughter, closing his eyes for a moment as he held her.

The sternness expected of a king disappeared completely, leaving only a father holding his little girl before she stepped into a new Chapter of her life.

Devayani watched them with a warm smile.

Dhumakethu looked away for a moment, pretending to inspect one of the decorations because he did not want anyone to notice the emotion on his own face.

Even Kumara Varma smiled quietly.

Beneath the bed, Devara listened to everything in silence.

He could not see the necklace clearly from where he was lying, but he could hear the emotion in Padmanabha Varman’s voice.

The gift was not simply gold, pearls and rubies.

It was a memory passed from one generation to another, something the king had protected for years because it carried the presence of the mother he had lost.

Devara found himself smiling faintly in the darkness beneath the bed.

He understood why Padmanabha Varman had chosen that particular gift.

And somewhere beneath the amusement of hiding from his future mother-in-law, Devara felt a quiet respect for the king who had preserved a piece of his mother’s memory for so many years, only to finally place it around his daughter’s neck on the eve of her marriage.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Devara, the conversation began to wind down.

Padmanabha Varman gave his daughter a final affectionate look, Devayani reminded her that she should get some rest before the long ceremonies of the following day, and Dhumakethu and Kumara Varma exchanged a few final words about the arrangements being made throughout the palace.

Devara, meanwhile, remained beneath the bed without moving even an inch.

His patience had been stretched to a level that no battlefield had ever managed to test.

His legs were beginning to ache from remaining in the same position, yet he dared not shift them.

When he finally heard the king say that they should leave his daughter to prepare, Devara nearly smiled in relief.

Beneath the bed, he quietly released the breath he had been holding and thought that at last he could come out of this ridiculous hiding place.

Padmanabha Varman walked toward the door first, followed by Dhumakethu and Kumara Varma.

Indhumati stood beside them, offering her family a smile while desperately trying to appear completely normal.

She had spent the entire conversation living with the fear that someone might discover Devara beneath her bed, and now that the danger seemed to be passing, she could finally feel her shoulders beginning to relax.

But Queen Devayani did not immediately follow them.

She remained standing in the middle of the chamber.

Indhumati’s smile instantly became strained.

Devayani slowly looked around the room once more.

Her eyes moved over the dressing table, the balcony curtains, the cupboards and finally the bed.

She seemed to be searching for something, although even she could not quite say what it was.

There was still that strange feeling in the back of her mind that something was out of place.

She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked around one final time, as though making absolutely certain that whatever she had been looking for was not hidden somewhere in the chamber.

Under the bed, Devara’s eyes widened.

He became completely motionless.

Not even a breath escaped him.

Indhumati watched her mother anxiously, her heart pounding so loudly that she was certain Devayani could hear it.

For several tense seconds, Devayani simply stood there.

Then, apparently satisfied that there was nothing unusual, she turned toward her daughter.

"Good night, child. Try not to worry too much. Tomorrow is going to be a beautiful day."

Indhumati nodded quickly.

"Good night, Mother."

Devayani smiled, stepped through the doorway and finally left.

Indhumati immediately closed the door behind her.

The instant the wooden door shut, she locked it.

Click.

She leaned her back against it and released an enormous sigh.

The tension that had been trapped inside her for the past several minutes finally escaped all at once.

She closed her eyes and placed one hand over her chest, feeling her heart still racing.

"They nearly caught us," she whispered.

For a moment there was silence.

Then, from beneath the bed, Devara’s muffled voice emerged.

"Nearly?"

Indhumati opened her eyes.

"You have no idea how close that was."

A faint movement came from beneath the bed.

"I think I have a very good idea," Devara replied.

Indhumati covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

She had been terrified throughout the entire conversation, but now that the danger had passed, the absurdity of the situation finally began to sink in.

Her future husband, the mighty King Devara who had faced some of the most terrifying beings in the three worlds, had spent the last several minutes hiding beneath her bed while her entire family stood only a few steps away.

She shook her head, a smile slowly appearing on her face.

"What am I going to do with you?"

There was a brief pause beneath the bed.

"First," Devara said, "you could help me out of here."

Indhumati finally laughed, the sound filling the chamber as the last traces of her panic disappeared.

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(Author note:)

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