Twenty years ago...

Svetmala slammed the door to her room shut. Staggering upto the couch, she flopped onto it. Her whole body was trembling.

How she had wished to see Lord Arjun again after that incident-- to see him the way everyone describes the Lord! Divine, elegant, kind and approachable-- someone who can rid your agonies with his mere presence. But was she so ill fated that every time she happened to meet him, it would be after a fight!

That year....things hadn't been much different.

She was expectant with her first child. The entire palace had been decked up. Her father-in-law, King Chandrasen, had organised a lavish fire-sacrifice to appease the Gods and pray for the well being of the child to be born. Well known priests from across the land had been invited to participate in the yagna (fire sacrifice).

It was two years after the Second Deadly Plague had been crushed in Shankhet and a little time after the Charuvanshi clan had been wiped off-- her sister, brother-in-law and their baby boy-- everyone had been killed. Yet she had to celebrate, without a single tear leaking from her eyes.

Svetmala remembered how amidst all the guests invited, she had caught sight of a very different man, one whose eyes were bright as the sun, and yet calm like a lake on a windless day.

"May your child be born healthy, and live a long and prosperous life! May the blessings of Lord Shiva, the Mahadeva, always be with you and your family!"

It was the well-known priest Subhanu, the eldest son of Pandit Bhanu of the Vindhyas. Subhanu was young in comparison to most other priests, but even then he had reached a level in spiritual practices that could hardly be reached by most of his of his kind. They said he could understand a person flawlessly just by looking at him. People also said that he and his wife, Devi Kuntala, had once performed severe penance to please the Goddess Adi Shakti, who had blessed them with prosperity. Svetmala knew that at the time she was expectant, Devi Kuntala was also expecting a child. It was said that their child to be born would be a mortal incarnation of the Great Goddess herself.

"May your child be prosperous as well!" She had wished him then.

Subhanu had come with his younger brother, Bhadrasen, and the duo were completely different from all the rest present. They had an aura about themselves that set them apart, even if they walked with thousands of people.

Everything had been alright, until the yagna ended.

When the priests were about to return, they were all granted with gold coins as tokens of thankfulness. But Subhanu and Bhadrasen refused to accept them.

"Why don't you take these, Priest?" Bajrabaahu had asked.

"Forgive us, prince! But we cannot accept anything from the current royal family of Sailam."

Bajrabaahu's brows arched. "Why is it so? Did we offend you in some way?"

Subhanu shook his head. "You know everything, yet you act as if nothing concerns you."

"What do you mean?"

"Prince Bajrabaahu, you and your companions of the Old Alliance disposed of the poison you created during your research in Shankhet-- not once but twice-- leading to the two Deadly Plagues. Your actions have cost the lives of thousands of innocents. We are extremely sorry, but we cannot accept what you give us unless you have atoned for your sins and cleansed yourselves."

Bajrabaahu seemed to have flown into a fit of rage. He threw the bag of coins to the ground. "How dare you accuse me! How dare a powerless person like you try to school me. This is pure insult!"

"Prince Bajrabaahu, please hold your temper." Subhanu didn't seem affected in the least bit. "I am telling you what the reality is. If you cannot accept what you have done, you won't be able to repent your deeds and will repeat them again. The cycle will continue. In the end, it will be you yourself who will have to shoulder the responsibilities. So, you must mend your ways when you still have time. Getting enraged with me is never a solution."

"People like you defame Sailam!" Bajrabaahu roared, turning a deaf ear to the priest's words. "People like you create these flying rumours! What evidence do you have to accuse Sailam of dumping the poison in Shankhet?!"

Subhanu shook his head. "I don't need evidence to convince myself of the reality. I know other people might not believe what I say, so I haven't enforced my thoughts on anybody. But to myself, I am clear. I know what you have done, and I can never accept anything from a person who has caused so many innocents to die."

"So you know it, don't you?!" Bajrabaahu hissed. "Good, then listen! Priest Subhanu and Bhadrasen, you are nobody to defame me. Even if you shout your lungs out, trying to expose the Old Alliance, nobody will listen to you."

"Someday," Subhanu smiled, "you will pay for your arrogance."

The duo walked away, leaving a fuming Bajrabaahu staring at them. But they had barely stepped out, when a man came running up to them.

"Subhanu!! Good news! You are a father now!!"

Immediately, Subhanu's calm features sparkled and an overjoyed expression made its way to his countenance.

"A beautiful daughter has been born to you!" The man, who seemed to have come from the Vindhyas as well, shouted in joy. "Bhanuji checked her fortune and said that she had every trait of being great! He also said that she will end all bad in this world, including the perpetrators of the Old Alliance and the ones who caused the Deadly Plagues!! Isn't that ..."

His words had barely left his mouth when an arrow pierced through his chest.

"Bhaskar!!" Both Subhanu and Bhadrasen shouted in horror as the limp body of the man collapsed to the ground. Everyone was shocked beyond words! Svetmala remembered clasping her mouth with her hands in bewilderment. Bajrabaahu had shot him-- shot him dead.

"Arrest them!!" he shouted as soldiers circled the two brothers. "I have heard that your father, Bhanuji's predictions never go wrong. If so, then it's better to ensure his words don't turn into reality."

Subhanu stiffened. Beside him, Bhadrasen had still not recovered from the shock of seeing his childhood friend being shot to death. He dropped to his knees, trying to shake the corpse back to life.

"That's right," Subhanu replied, his fists clenched. "My father's predictions never go wrong. But what do you plan on doing, prince?"

"That sinner!" Bhadrasen stood up, growling as tears streamed down his cheeks. "He killed a Brahmin! His sins are beyond forgivance!"

The situation was so tense that people could hardly breathe. Killing a Brahmin was considered as one of the gravest sins!

Suddenly, Bajrabaahu burst out laughing. "So I have already killed a Brahmin, eh? Fine, since I am already unpardonable, why don't I kill a few more and at least safeguard my life from a fatal newborn?"

Subhanu's eyes reddened. His entire body was shaking, but not a word escaped from his lips. Such self control was indeed difficult to be seen. Bhadrasen didn't have his brother's tolerance. He shouted, "What do you want to do, you sinner?!"

"If I kill that baby girl now, will she be able to carry out the prophecy?"

Svetmala remembered that at those words, her head seemed to have started reeling. She shouted from her stand in the balcony overlooking the scene, "Your Highness! Please calm down! This is just a..."

"Escort the crown princess back to her place!"

Bajrabaahu's command resounded through the air. Immediately, she was surrounded by maids. Ever since King Chandrasen had fallen sick, Bajrabaahu had been in charge of every proceeding in Sailam. No one dared to defy him or challenge his decisions. Svetmala knew the situation could only worsen. Only King Chandrasen could intervene now.

She had rushed to the old king's chambers to tell him all that was happening. When she had returned shortly with the king himself, she was greeted with the sight that would be her nightmare for all her life!

Bajrabaahu was no where to be seen. Neither was Bhadrasen. Instead, there lay Subhanu's dead body in a pool of blood, a sword piercing through his chest.

All she remembered was everything going dark before her eyes, and herself collapsing on the spot.

When she had woken up a few days later, the situation was not good. Due to the trauma, the unborn child's health had been seriously affected.

"Where is Prince Bajrabaahu?" she had asked one of her maids.

"He is... injured."

"Injured? What...what exactly happened then? Why is he injured?"

"The prince...slaughtered the entire Bhanu family on the Vindhyas..."

"What?!"

"Your Highness, calm yourself or you will hurt the baby!"

"He...he killed so many Brahmins! And the girl? The newborn baby girl?"

"She was saved."

"Saved? Tell me clearly! What happened?"

"Your Highness, we don't know much. But it seems word of the massa...massacre reached Lord Arjun..."

"Lord Arjun?! My goodness!! Did he...did he reach the scene?"

"Yes! He seems to have intervened before the girl could be killed. Prince Bajrabaahu wanted to kill the baby even in his presence. They say she was named... Mallika. Eldest priest Bhanu was also saved by the Lord. But...His Highness still wanted them dead. So...so Lord Arjun gashed a wound on his arm."

"Is it only a wound on the arm, right? I thought it was something much serious. Did the royal physician treat him?"

The maids fell quiet. "What happened? Why are you so quiet?" Svetmala urged.

"Yes," one of the maids spoke up. "The royal physician told...told that...that Prince Bajrabaahu won't.... won't be able to use his right arm again for holding a sword all his life."

"What?!" Svetmala clutched her head. It seemed she would pass out again.

"Lord Arjun's blow crippled His Highness."

"Queen Svetmala!"

An agitated yell brought the queen back to the present. It was Ashwin, his eyes red and puffy with all the crying that he had done. He slammed on the door hard.

"Mother, my sister? She...she is gone?!"