A Time to Change

Arjuna sank down on the bed, exhausted. Abhimanyu was asleep and so was Subhadra, her arms protectively around the child. Arjuna smiled fondly as he looked at them. Their son had given all of them a scare.

Abhimanyu had hidden in the tree, as they had suspected. And he had slid down on to the wall and had crept along it till he found a safe place to jump down, near the river. He had thought of it as hiding, he explained. He had not expected anyone to be worried. He had run into the jungle, he told them. It was Vikarna who had found him.

Arjuna rose from the bed. He was not feeling sleepy, though he felt utterly fatigued. He looked at his wife and son once more and went out of the room. He had to go to Krishna. Only in his arms would he find sleep tonight.

"Hey," someone called him as he passed an open door. Bheema staggered out, a goblet in his hand. "We were celebrating," he said. "Why don't you come and join us?"

Though his brother made a great appearance of being drunk, Arjuna knew better. Bheema never got drunk. And for all the show he gave, his speech was not slurred.

"Who are we?" he asked as he entered the room and grimaced. A few of his cousins lay scattered all over the room, in various stages of inebriation. Only Bheema and Suyodhana appeared to be sober.

"I should have known," he muttered.

"They all needed a break," said Suyodhana, shaking his head. "But I never expected things would get this bad."

"You seem all right," said Arjuna.

"I don't get drunk easily," said Suyodhana. "And never in company."

Bheema looked at him, "That's something we have in common then."

Suyodhana laughed. "Yes. And that means your little ploy to get me drunk is not working!"

Bheema grinned. "It was worth a try."

"Well, since you have both established that, whatever it is, I think I should be leaving." Said Arjuna.

"You can't leave," said Suyodhana. "You and your brother have to help me get my brothers back to their rooms."

Bheema looked around, "There's only twenty of them. You and I can manage. Why bother Arjuna?"

"It's all right. I'll help," said Arjuna. "I need something to do."

Bheema lifted two of his cousins, Suyodhana got one and Arjuna one and they moved down the corridor, finding the rooms of each one and putting them into the bed and leaving their attendants to care for them.

Vasusena came into the room just as Bheema was directing his attendants to clean the room.

"What do you want?" Bheema's voice held hostility. Arjuna sighed. He could never understand what Bheema had against this man. Vasusena had tried to steal Arjuna's limelight that day at the Rangbhoomi. Why was Bheema bothered so much?

Vasusena's lips thinned in anger and it struck Arjuna that he suddenly looked very familiar. He had seen this very same look before, though he could not place where.

"Leave it," Suyodhana's arm gripped his friend's shoulder. "We are guests here."

"I know," said Vasusena. "I came looking for you. Your father was asking for you."

"Come, then," Suyodhana bowed to them both. "We'll take our leave of you, cousins."

Arjuna looked at Bheema. "You want to take a walk?"

Bheema nodded.