The royal sanatorium was echoing with huge wails and sobs of women standing around seeing their sons and husbands hurt, soldiers who were injured during the war were brought here as the nearby village's sanatorium halls were too small to accommodate many men. Several men lay on cots and clothed floor senseless, while few lost their arms and legs the others were severely hurt that blood was flowing through every part of their body.

Vikram was actively helping, trying to medicate soldiers with small wounds which might not require a physician's complete presence. Though he was physically present here his heart was somewhere deep inside the palace chambers where his sister lay unconscious, even the healer stood shocked seeing the queen of this great Kingdom in such a delicate state.

The sun has decided to set back and the all around the palace huge oil lanterns were being hung, when the guards around the royal gardens were lighting the lamps, that was when they saw this as they stood rooted and speechless as for the first time they happened to see this, Rajamatha Padma was running with a tensed expression on her face with handmaids tailing behind her.

This day could not be any worse they thought, winning a war comes at a price, a price of the soldiers life and unexpectedly for Abhiras it came at a price of their queen's life.

"Open the doors!" Rajmatha's loud and strained voice commanded the maids who stood on the other side of the chambers.

The doors opened with an immediate flung sensing the familiar royal voice and Rajamatha almost fell to the ground, staggered seeing her daughter-in-law, the queen of this kingdom who lay unconscious and bleeding from neck on a bed with a healer trying to examine her. The sheets around her were pooled with Chitra's blood.

She sobbed hysterically as she walked to her son who stood in a corner expressionless.

"Oh Arjuna," She cried loudly, clutching his son's shoulders pulling him in a hug, "How did this happen to our Chitra?"

And those words melted his strong built walls around his heart. He sniffled a cry as he hid his face on his mother's shoulder, "Ma.." His voice came out broken as the fear of losing Chitra was still alive in him.

"M-my lord." The healer called for him as she was done with her examination.

Rajamatha patted loudly on his son's back rubbing it trying to comfort him.

"How is she now and were you able to heal that wound?" Arjuna asked, running his kurtha's sleeve around his eyes wiping off those tears and sweat on his face, standing near Chitra.

"T-that." She hesitated as she stepped backwards,

"Do not hesitate, healer. Please tell us what is bothering you?" Rajamatha Padma asked, her tone was no more emotional, she can't let her emotions carry her away.

"It seems like qu-queen Chitra is around six weeks pre-pregnant." She whispered the last part, gulping visibly in fear.

Arjuna's eyes twinkled with happiness as a small smile made its way to his face, he is going to be a father! Was Chitra aware about this? She would be ecstatic about this!

"Oh sweet lord! You will be awarded for delivering such sweet news! At Least-"

"But there is an issue, Rajamatha ji."

"What?" It was Arjuna who stepped forward frowning, what now?

"Queen Chitra has already lost a lot of blood and the cut on her neck is very deep, it will be impossible for the child to survive this and it seems like I won't be able to stop this miscarriage from happening." She replied timidly, taking a step away from the king in fear.

"What rubbish! There will definitely be a way to save my child-" Arjuna's angry voice boomed through the chambers making the healer shiver in fear.

"There is a way my lord, my sister is also a healer but her house is a two days travel away from our kingdom.She has the knowledge to transfer blood to a person and is an expert in dealing with early pregnancy problems."

She bent down forward in fear as she spoke slowly.

"Then call for her, we-"

"We don't have much time, your majesty! We can't even wait for an hour anymore, the cut is very deep and has slashed a few veins, the more she loses the blood the more we lose our queen. But if in case you order for my sister to treat our queen, then we will have to wait for a day which means we will be losing both the mother and child." The healer spoke in a distressed voice, she can't let the king have any fake hopes about the child.

Arjuna looked at his sick wife on the death bed, he had never seen her in such a state, Chitra's face was as pale as milk and her usual pink lips were now turning into a light shade of black and when his eyes fell on the wound on her neck he closed his eyes in reflex unable to imagine the pain she would facing.

A single drop of tear rolled down his cheek as he closed his eyes making up his mind, neither he can wait for a day and lose her nor let go of his innocent child whom he couldn't even hold in his arms once, how will he ever tell her this? How will he face Chitra again?

Arjuna could see Chitra's fluttering open a little as she frowned in pain as a small groan left her lips.

He felt a sharp slicing pain in his heart as those heavy cruel words left his lips, "Save your queen." Saying he strode away from there with deep hatred for himself.

The healer has requested Rajmata to wait outside the chambers so that she could concentrate on the treatment and she quietly walked out standing stiffly, there was a chilly air making her shiver but it was nothing she could handle.

From there she could see a silhouette of their defence minister and Vikram running towards her.

Vikram was utterly shocked to hear the news of the miscarriage, Rajmatha couldnt see in this darkness but she can tell that his were wet from tears, he truly treated Chitra as his sister.

"Rajmatha, should we make an announcement about this?" Asked Gopinath, usually births at the palace were grandly celebrated and this was the first sad news of death of an infant.

"No minister!" Rajmatha exclaimed, as she looked straight in his eyes, "Abhiras is already mourning the deaths of minister Ratan and martyred soldiers, the citizens will be completely disturbed if they hear this news so see to it that this news will never come out." Saying Rajmatha walked away from there unable to control her tears.

* * *

A long day of dread and hatred passed away for Arjuna as he immersed himself in drinking, trying to intoxicate himself in numbness at the loss of his unknown child. Was it a son or daughter? If it was a daughter, did she have her mother's features?

While Arjuna was floating in a pain of mourning for his unseen child locked up in his room, there at the healers chambers Chitra woke up with a sudden startle as she slowly sat up and was greeted with an immense stinging pain at her neck which made her drop back to the bed.

Chitra was struggling to pick up the glass of water which was placed on a wooden nightstand near the bed and Apsara stood near the window, outside the room smirking to herself seeing Chitra in this state.

Her eyes burned with rage for the death of her lover Baldev and her brother's defamation by this family and she will avenge them, she will show this world what this great princess of Devampura could do.

Like a chameleon her facial expressions and body language changed in seconds as she ran hurriedly inside the chambers and took that glass of water in her hands.

She smiled sadly and sat beside Chitra and helped her slowly sip the water.

" My queen, please just sip on the water. Your wound is still fresh from the stitches." Apsara whispered lovingly as she brought the glass to Chitra's lips.

Chitra felt weird receiving such care from a young woman like Apsara, it was her first time to see her at the royal court on the day she was abducted but she never knew that Apsara was such a sweet human.

Chitra opened her mouth to speak but the pain held her words back.

"M-my hus-husbad." She stuttered out gathering up some strength, Chitra had to see Arjuna, she just wanted to lay her head on his hard shoulder and breathe in his musky smell and only then would she feel better.

"Oh." Aprasa said that word with a deep emotion and narrowed her eyes to the floor as if she was hiding something.

Chitra noticed the sense of nervousness on Apsara's face so she shifted slightly in her position waiting for her response.

" King Arjuna is busy at the moment." Apsara's tone was filled with anxiety and fear as if she was making up a lie.

"You are l-lying." Chitra narrowed her eyes in annoyance as she spoke, she knows this much that though Arjuna never uttered the words of love he will never leave her side knowing that she was this weak and sick until and unless something terrible had happened.

All of sudden Apsara fell to the ground sobbing, she kneeled down and pressed her head to the floor apologizing like a crazy woman and that reaction made Chitra's heart race with fear, was something wrong with Arjuna? Was he severely injured in the war?

"Wha-what happened! T-tell me!" Chitra got up scared and her wound started to bleed now due to the force.

It's working, Apsara smirked inwardly.

"My queen, I am afraid it's not my place to tell you this-"

"Speak the truth! It's an o-order!" Chitra stressed on those words as her hand went to her neck trying to stop the bleeding. Blood sticked to her hand but first she had to know what was wrong.

"Ra-rajmatha and king Arjuna had killed your child, my queen." Apsara uttered those words and sobbed loudly hitting her head to the ground.

Chitra felt the world stop as she slowly placed her hand below her stomach. Her child, "What n-non-sense! Why will-"

Apsara raised her head slowly and looked straight in Chitra's eyes as her expression changed to the one of disgust, "They thought that you were no more pure, rajamatha had doubts that this child was not our king's but of Baldev's and King Arjuna didn't cross out his mother's words. I myself heard Rajamatha ordering the ministers, warning them to bury this matter so that no one will even know."

Chitra blocked her ears with her hands, unable to hear that rubbish. Her heart quenched pain, did they actually think that she can drop this low?

"N-no Ar-arjuna will never-" Her words came to a halt as a faint memory flashed in her brain.

A loud conversation woke her up and she felt that stinging pain near her neck as if someone was stabbing, she groaned pain wishing that someone could stop it.

And she heard a heavy voice, a familiar voice of her husband, "Save your queen."

Chitra felt as if someone was stabbing her dead heart again and again, how can this be possible? Did Arjuna really kill their child because of a bugging doubt? Tears flowed down her face as she cried for her child, how can Arjuna kill his own child? How can he?

"My queen!" Apsara stood up running to Chitra, " Please rest, your condition is very weak as of now, Please." Saying she laid her down and covered Chitra in blankets which lay on the bed.

Chitra cried her eyes out ignoring the pain and the blood which was flowing down her neck, her whole body shivered from her heavy cries. Apsara slowly walked out with a sad expression on her face and closed the doors behind her.

God! Her face felt sore from all the crying she did. But whatever, looks like the plan worked anyway.

Smiling to herself she slowly rubbed away those fake tears on her cheeks. Apsara slowly raised her head to see Rajamatha standing near the balcony looking sad about her lost grandchild and her sick daughter-in-law, Apsara laughed to herself as she shook her head, keep crying old woman, never again will you hear any laughter in this palace.

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