‘My Ladies,’ he said, bowing, ‘the sons of Pandu leave for Hastinapur tonight. Lord Shakuni has moved up the trial date. Mother Kunti has requested Princess Draupadi to swiftly pack everyone’s belongings, and be ready to leave at first light tomorrow. Since the river is swollen and in spate, we will have to travel by road to Hastinapur.’

Draupadi was silent for a while, then said, ‘Tell her I will stay in Mathura a while longer. Tell them to go forth without me. I will join them later.’

The colour faded from the page’s face at the mere thought of communicating this message to Kunti. Helplessly, he turned to Satyabhama for support.

She sighed and said to Draupadi, ‘It will be messy, child. The boys will not agree to go without their wife.’

Draupadi pondered this. Be a wolf. She turned to the page. ‘Tell Prince Bheem I have requested him stay back with me in Mathura. I am sure he has no role to play in the games Sahadev has planned in Hastina. Tell Bheem I wish to spend some time alone with him.’

Satyabhama allowed herself the faintest of smiles as she turned to the page. ‘You heard the Princess.’

I

‘We were almost caught by the Silver Wolves! Have you heard the tales? They don’t kill you. They string you up and use you for shooting practice with blunt arrows.’

Eklavvya shrugged. ‘Do not preoccupy yourself with such concerns, Shishupal,’ he said, handing his companion a skin of water. ‘Water calms frayed nerves, friend. The Wolves howl only when the moon is high. During the day, foxes rule.’

‘I don’t know which forest you come from,’ Shishupal said, taking a deep swig from the flask before returning it. ‘But wolves eat whenever they’re hungry. Now where are you taking me?’

‘To get a room and change into a new disguise. It was pure luck that Lady Satyabhama was not present herself to interrogate us. Eklavvya thinks he left a lasting impression the last time he met her, and she would have definitely recognised Eklavvya.’

And so, they had spent a day under covers in the lodgings of a lousy inn. Alone with his thoughts on the bed, Shishupal wondered at the apathy the Emperor displayed against the unsavoury methods in use to breach the city. Eklavvya could have got into Mathura and killed Krishna in his sleep thirty times over using the goat trail path Anayasa had guided them to. Honour, the best disguised plague of the world.

Anayasa had surprised him with the wealth of secrets she hoarded. She had surprised him more with how easily she had parted with her wealth. And not for money. But from fear. Fear of Eklavvya. Whatever her motivations, she had proven useful. They learned many grave tidings. One of which was that Krishna had sided with Yudhistir in the Hastina succession crisis. If Yudhistir became the Hastina King before the Armistice ended, it could pose a real thorn in the Emperor’s side. Curiously, they also learned how Anayasa had been sent to inspect the burned ruins of the Kaurava Mansion in Varnavrat. Despite informing Shakuni, who was famously on the side of Duryodhan, that the sons of Kunti had escaped the blaze, he had chosen to say nothing. It appeared the Hastina Union was embroiled in a war of its own, a war without bloodshed.