A Lighter Cradle

Chaya had a tough time sleeping. After a few minutes tossing around in the bed she woke up. Chaya went to the babies room. There was no maid around and there was pindrop silence.Chaya sighed,'I wonder where those maids went'. Chaya had a sip of water. About five seconds later a copper cup crashed the carpet. Chaya stared in shock at the cradle. It had only Aadhya, Subhadra's child was gone. Chaya yelled for the maids in anger. "I left  you maids for ten minutes with the babies and you dare to loiter around?!". The maids were shocked as much as Chaya,"But my queen ,lord Shaurya arrived ten minutes ago and asked us to leave".Chaya knew what this meant,either Shaurya's hatred has finally reflected or the child has been kidnapped. But if Shaurya hated kids why didn't he take Aadhya. Chaya ordered the royal guards to search for Shaurya and the child. Chaya  set out to the garden ,she could hear the feeble sounds of a cry somewhere. It was coming from one of their abandoned chambers by the lake in the garden. Chaya followed the sound. She found herself within the chamber. Surprisingly it was well kempt. There was a cradle, clothes for a child,a bath area and the room smelled soothing with sandal fragrance. Chaya reached the balcony to find a shocking event. Shaurya was feeding the baby and cradling it in his lap. Chaya found it extremely fishy. Before she knew it Chaya stumbled upon a table attracting Shaurya's attention. He was so engrossed in taking care of the baby that he did not even notice her. Shaurya starts to stammer for the first time in his adult years," The maids are horrible!!...The babies are in for real danger! .. especially that maid with a mole and a birthmark.. she looks exactly like a witch! ". Chaya burst into laughter. She always had a guess that Shaurya was a gentle giant but by God he was softer than her. Shaurya blushed , his face deep red in colour. Chaya tried to control her laughter," This is the last time you shall do such stupid things...it's a good thing that you are taking care of the baby. But always inform me before you do these things!". Shaurya had the same face he made  when his mother caught him stealing sweets as a child,"I was trying to help you with the kids. Technically I protected the kids from those witches". Chaya smirked," Are they witches or a  part of your former fandom in the Gurukula". Shaurya had a grim face on. Chaya sighed ," Alright don't repeat it Shaurya. I'm taking the baby to the room now". As Chaya left, Shaurya stared into the sky rethinking about his times at the Gurukula. He was a naive boy with no concern over other's feelings. He had the charm of a manmatha(handsome messengers from heaven) and had a pride in making girls fall for him one by one. He even had a tally mark to keep up on a bet with his classmates. He felt sick of that version of himself now. 'What on earth was wrong with me? ' , Shaurya used to think for hours together nowadays.Even though he could recollect everything there was one memory he wanted to erase from his mind. Shaurya sighed,'Oh!The Gurukula days'. The memories brought him happiness, pride,courage,pain ,agony and grief. Shaurya opened a wooden box embedded with ethnic carvings. It had a piece of shawl in it . Shaurya held the shawl against his cheeks ,and recollected his past with agony filled with pleasure. Meanwhile, Chaya decided to keep this incident from Chandruhasa's notice . But Chaya wondered why Shaurya took the baby to the abandoned chamber,'Was he planning it all along?How long had he planned to bring the child there?'. Chaya rested her eyes for a while. The next morning,the sound of swords clashing woke up even the birds . Charithran was standing with great eagerness in the sword arena. The fight was between Chaya and Shaurya. This was the most impossible fight ever. It always ended with Charithran ending the fight with a draw after hours of heat exhaustion. Chaya wanted to tease Shaurya," So , did you sing any sweet lullabies with that soothing voice of yours?". It was no joke that Shaurya was 5'9" tall , was built like a war god and had the most aggressive , dominating male voice on earth. Watching him babysit was like watching a giant do embroidery on a tiny shawl. Shaurya made a low growl," You are going to pay for this Chaya". He attacked her aggressively and tried to stop thinking about the child while fighting. That baby was one of the most adorable creatures he had laid his eyes on. He kept imagining himself teaching the child how to swordfight. He was interrupted by a sound, "clank". Shaurya's sword flew out in the air. Chaya smirked," I know what you were thinking about". Shaurya growled, while Charithran smacked Shaurya hard on his head. " You moron! How dare you get distracted during a fight!". That morning ended with an aggressive banter. Chaya couldn't control her curiosity about the abandoned chamber. She set out to the chamber. She pondered around to find a table with a book on it. She read through it and chuckled,'Its Shaurya's personal diary. I can blackmail him more now'. So Chaya sneaked out with the diary. That evening Chaya , Shaurya, Chandruhasa met with Charithran. It was to discuss a date for the naming ceremony of the babies. While they were discussing Chaya pointed out,"We have not yet named the other baby.. what should we name her?". Chandruhasa got excited,"How about a name that merges Chaya and my name?". Shaurya interrupted with an annoyed tone," That is a horrible way to name a baby . !". Chaya and Chandruhasa smirked,"Somebody has started to love babies. Then why don't you suggest a name?!". Shaurya had a sincere but Adorable expression,"I shall name her..."

To be continued