Drisana ran to Kunti and hugged her tightly as she came inside the room. She missed her.

"How have you been, Putri?" Kunti asked.

"I'm fine, but I missed you Mata." Drisana said with teary eyes.

"Now that I've come, I'll take you with me. You won't have to miss me anymore." Kunti said smiling at her.

"No one missed me it seems." Draupadi sighed. Drisana turned to her and hugged her too with a smile.

Drisana introduced them to her sister-in-laws and Subhadra. Then Kunti and Draupadi were led to their rooms for taking rest. Drisana thought to meet the rest especially Nakul. But Nakul had to wait because her brothers were guarding him. She went to meet Krishna, Karna and Arjun then. They were seated in Krishna's room.

"I'm so happy to see you here bhrata Karna. Finally you've come at the right time. How's Radha kaki?." Drisana said to Karna. Her excitement was clearly visible.

"She's fine." Karna replied smiling at her.

"And me? You're also seeing me after years." Arjun said pouting.

"How can I forget you bhrata Arjun? Even though I'm seeing you after years, your stories travel far." Drisana said smiling mischievously.

"Yes. Yes. I'm born to create stories only." Arjun said matching her smile.

"Someone look at me too. I'm also here." Krishna said.

"What's new there? You're always there when I need you." Drisana said as Krishna's jaw dropped.

"Meri to koyi kimat hi nehi hai. (I've no value.)" Krishna said pouting.

"Bilkul. Aapki koyi kimat nehi hai bhrata Krishna. Aap to anmol hai. (Absolutely. You've no value bhrata Krishna. You're priceless.)" Drisana said smiling at him.

"Waise bohot chamak rahi ho Drisana. Dravida ki hawya-pani ka asar hai, yea Nakul ke aane ka? (You're glowing by the way. Is it the effect of Dravida's weather or Nakul's arrival?)" Arjun asked teasingly.

"Dravida ka hi hai. Sakal to dekhi nehi maine aab tak aapke anuj ka. (Must be Dravida's weather. Because I haven't seen your brothers face yet.)" Drisana said.

"Why? How can that be?" Arjun said gasping dramatically.

"My brothers are keeping watch on him." Drisana said with a pout.

"Bechara Nakul. Pata nehi kya haal hoga uska. (Poor Nakul. Don't know what'll happen to him.)" Arjun said with fake sigh.

"Jo bhi hoga, majedar hoga Parth. (Whatever happens, it'll be fun Parth.)" Krishna replied. Drisana narrowed her eyes at them as the three laughed.

Nakul was on the verge of sleeping. For the past three hours, Rajkumar Dhritimat was talking about some philosophy book passionately. He tried to get up many times, but in vain. He hadn't even met Drisana yet. Where the hell was Arjun when he needed him. He finally got freedom when a dasi came to inform them about dinner. Dhritimat took him with himself towards the dining hall, his eyes were searching Drisana only. As he saw Arjun, he immediately went to him.

"Where were you bhrata Arjun? You left me alone with them. Did you meet Drisana?" Nakul asked.

"We didn't wanted to interrupt between you and your would be in-laws. And yes. I met her. She was looking very happy." Arjun said earning a scowl from Nakul. Not only he deliberately left him with Dhritimat, but he also met Drisana while Nakul was starving for one glance. Dinner was pretty much uneventful. Nakul hoped to see Drisana at dinner. But she was nowhere. Nakul was in a foul mood by the time he was escorted by her another brother. As Dhikshit left Nakul to sleep, he looked at Daiwik who was hiding in the hallway.

"Done?" Dhikshit asked.

"Yes. Maine aapne sainnya chor dia hai. Aab kal pratakal lal-nile hoke niklenge hamare hone wale Jijaji. (I've released my army. Now tomorrow morning our would be brother-in-law will come out in red and blue shade.)" Daiwik said giving a smirk.

"What are you two doing?" Dhikshit and Daiwik straightened as they heard Dwijendra's voice. They turned smiling sweetly.

"Nothing Jyesth." They said in unison. Dwijendra looked at them suspiciously.

"Okay. Keep watch on him. And don't trouble him. Much." Dwijendra said. Dhikshit and Daiwik nodded in unison again. Dwijendra left after giving them another glance.

Here, Nakul was pacing around the room. Drisana's brothers were keeping watch on him. He couldn't meet her like this. Not when it was already nighttime. And he was too impatient to wait till morning. Looked like he had to meet her secretly even though their marriage was fixed. With that thought in mind, Nakul sneaked out through the balcony.

Drisana's state was similar to Nakul. She couldn't meet Nakul because of her brothers, who had given her a clear warning to stay away from him until their marriage. She asked Dwijendra why and got the answer that even though she convinced them for the alliance, they didn't trust Nakul to give her hand in his. So, he would have to prove himself worthy of her and until the marriage took place, there was a chance to change her mind. As Drisana was immersed in her thoughts, someone sneaked behind her and covered her eyes with one hand.

"Nakul!" Drisana said smiling brightly. Nakul released her and she turned towards him.

"Why didn't you come to meet me sooner?" Drisana asked in a complaining voice.

"If your brothers had let me, then I would have come. They were watching me like hawks." Nakul said complaining back.

"Then you should learn to escape hawks. Because this is going to continue till marriage." Drisana said. Nakul sighed. He didn't need to be told why as he understood her brothers point of view.

"Hai to tumhare hi bhai. (They're your brothers after all.)" Nakul muttered as he remembered how difficult it was to impress Drisana.

"What did you say?" Drisana frowned.

"Nothing. Come with me." Nakul took her to the far corner of her room where a ladder was placed under the window. With the help of that ladder they climbed outside the window and went to backside of the Palace garden. The trees were denser there so no one could spot them. They had done this previously too when Nakul used to come at Dravida to meet her. They came afar under a Nandi flame tree. Flowers were scattered under the tree. As they reached there, Nakul looked at Drisana. Though it was not a full moon night, he could make out her features. After so long he was so close to her. Only he knew how he stayed away from her all these times.

Drisana felt Nakul's stare on her. She looked up at him and smiled. Nakul smiled back at her and got out a pera (sweet). He hold it out for her. She took a bite and fed the rest to him. It had become kind of a tradition between them. Whenever Nakul came to Dravida, he would bring some sweet or fruit and both of them would share it, eating from each others hand.

"I have something special for you." Nakul said after wrapping his hands around her.

"What?" Drisana asked.

"Close your eyes." Nakul whispered in her ear. Drisana shivered feeling his breath brushing against her ear. She did as he asked. After closing her eyes, she felt him placing something on her head. As he attached it with her hair, she understood it was a maang tikka (hair jewellery). Nakul kissed her forehead after placing it and rested his head on hers.

"This will save you from evil eyes and negative energies and also its a symbol of my trust and belief in you. This symbolises that I'll always remain with you as your power. This is the symbol of my trust on the will you hold, that strengthens our relation and belief on your wisdom that you'll forever protect our love. Together we will handle the new journey of our life." Nakul said, his voice heavy and just above a whisper. When Drisana opened her eyes, it was glistening with tears.

"I promise I'll never let your trust and belief be untrue." Drisana said smiling at him and embraced him tightly.

Drisana came back to the palace later. As she was seating in her room, Draupadi and Subhadra came to meet her. Draupadi wanted to chit-chat with her. As she lost her way, she found Subhadra and Subhadra led her to Drisana. Draupadi had taken an instant liking to Subhadra as she was her Sakha's sister and also so bubbly and cute. Drisana watched the two nervously when Draupadi started to talk about Arjun.

"You know, my Arya is known as the greatest archer of Aryavart, but he can be so childish and ignorant at times. In one moment I get angry on him and at the next I melt watching his adorable face." Draupadi said with a chuckle.

"Yes. I've heard about him from bhrata Krishna. Bhrata admires him so much, sometimes I get envious of him even though we never met before. Now that he's here, I'll meet him for sure." Subhadra said.

"I can't believe you never met him. But once you do, you'll always remember. He's just like that." Draupadi said and added the last part with a slight blush. Did she want a second wife for Arjun? Draupadi clearly didn't see Subhadra as a competition, might be because of her young age. Drisana was feeling uncomfortable. She had decided not to meddle between and let it take its own course.

"Tell me about Devika jiji. I heard she's pregnant." Drisana said.

"Yes. We received the news just before leaving Indraprasht. I'm so excited." Draupadi said enthusiastically. The discussion of Arjun was thankfully stopped as Draupadi proceeded to tell them about Indraprasht.

Nakul entered his room happily after meeting Drisana. Now he could sleep peacefully. He was tired from the journey. If it wasn't for Drisana, he would have slept well before now. As he removed the blanket to lay down, he saw the bed cover ridden with poisonous red ants. He frowned watching those. Though their poison wasn't life threatening by any means, but being bitten by those could cause rashes and uncontrollable itching. Where had those come from? He followed their trail and found a box near the bed. He smelled lemon also. To confirm his suspicion, he smelled the blanket. Yes. He was right. It smelled of lemon and sugar. He sighed as he realised, someone had deliberately spreaded lemon and sugar syrup on the bed and left a box full of red ants beside the bed.

So, this was the first welcoming of Drisana's brothers.

Subhadra rose from bed. It was past midnight. She had talked for hours with Drisana and Draupadi. Coming to bed much later than the usual time. Now she couldn't sleep. She thought to go to the garden. One dasi followed her with two guards, but stopped as she said them to stay put. When she came outside of the Palace to go to the garden, she saw something at a distance. Being curious, she went there. A man was practicing archery. He was throwing arrows one after another with precision. His concentration only on his target. His muscles bulging with exertion, sweat trickling down his hard chest, eyes sharp and the divine glow in his face was something of every girls fantasy. Subhadra smiled. Finally she got to meet the best archer of entire Aryavart. His skills spoke loud who he was.

"Rajkumar Arjun?" Subhadra called him.