The entire royal family of Videha along with the Princes of Ayodhya sat in the dining room, laughing at Shatrughan's jokes, eating, and making merry. Lakshman and Urmila were speaking again, and much to Urmila's relief, he hadn't caught onto anything unusual. She was still itching to reveal her feelings to someone, and she had come close to confiding in Sita, but something stopped her. Was it fear? Was it apprehension?

"Well, now we've all gotten to know each other, it's been a few days since your brothers arrived, Ram, how about a nice horse ride? Around the state, you know, we're known for our green fields and waterfalls, and even our abundant forests, filled with life and teeming with exotic flowers. We get a lot of tourism." Raja Janak mentioned, looking up from his food.

"Ah yes, Ram bhaiyya may be more in love with the fields than Sita bhabhi, honestly brother. You talk about them day and night!" Ram sent a playful glare towards Shatrughan as he laughed, and Bharat and Lakshman both snorted into their food. Urmila, as expected, quarreled day and night with Shatrughan, competing for the title of "Speaker Supreme", much to Lakshman's exasperation.

Flashback

"No, you idiot! I said my room was off-limits to visit! Why on Earth was there a bullfrog there if you didn't do it? I don't keep bullfrogs as pets!" shrieked Urmila, grasping her hair as Shatrughan stood in front of her proudly, beaming.

"Haha, the screams, the best day of my life, honestly! I'm so happy. Besides, I didn't hear your little off-limits speech, sorry, my ears are a little bit quirky, you know? Just like your nose." Urmila was always a little bit self-conscious about her nose, though everybody agreed that it looked perfectly fine, and as soon as Shatrughan had caught onto this little piece of information, it was talked about endlessly.

"Haha. Very funny, you know? I think you're the sleaziest, most self-absorbed prince out there! May the devil shower all sorts of atrocities on you! And you know why I thought immediately that it was you who placed that bullfrog?" Shatrughan started to get angry at this point as well, much to the aghast of poor Bharat, who was trying to break up the fight, and the almost-deaf Lakshman, whom the duelling duo followed around all day.

"No, why? Is it because I'm the only one here who has the capabilities to prank?" he asked snarkily, making Lakshman whirl around and glare at him, reminding him angrily of the prank-war back in Gurukul.

"No, because only you are so immorally and physically disgusting and unapproachable as to own a bullfrog as a pet! I wonder how many people you had to boss around to get that amphibian! Are you attached to it? Did you name it? Oh wow, kya pyaar kahani! Shatrughan aur Mendhak." Shatrughan turned bright red as Bharat started to laugh and Lakshman, anticipating the quick escalation of sound after that statement, tried to run away.

Present

"I think a nice horse ride would be nice, you know, just to get some fresh air. We've been cooped up in the palace for a while, and I would love to paint some birds and trees." Bharat looked wistful, and Mandavi felt a bit of her prejudice softening. "That is, if you want to, Ram." Bharat quickly hastened to add. Ram nodded along, having gotten over his momentary mortification at Shatrughan's joke.

"Ram bhaiyya has his horse, and Bharat and Shatru each have theirs, but I need a horse, please." Lakshman asked meekly, still not having gotten over his little habit of not asking for things until he very much needed them. It was so severe in his childhood that instead of asking for a new sword once his old one broke, he just made along with a fractured weapon for years until the pampering Maa Kaikeyi noticed, and gave him an entire set of swords.

"Ah yes, we brought along Shaurya, your childhood horse. He still hasn't died, you know? A bit old, creaky, but not very dead." Bharat stated nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal, continuing to eat his food. Lakshman dropped his spoon, and fixed Bharat with such an angry look that he choked.

"Um, no, that isn't it at all!" Shatrughan squeaked as Ram furiously thumped Bharat's back to save him from the imminent death of too much food. "We actually wanted to make it a surprise, we are getting Mirch for you from the kingdom. He should be arriving anytime now." Lakshman stood up, seemingly more angry at this sudden proclamation.

"Shatru, please tell me that's a joke." When silence responded to his plea, he let his head drop into his hand. "You know that if anyone other than I handles that horse, it will kick angrily. It has sharp hooves as horse shoes, and it could kill, trample, impair. Come on!" With that, he, followed by everyone else, ran out of the dining hall.

Every step seemed a bit too late, and Urmila discovered that with everything else, Lakshman also could run fast. Very fast when he was desperate. His shoes kicked up dirt as he slowed down in front of the horse cart, where the stormy colored horse, larger than any other anyone had ever seen, was being brought out.

Standing taller than any human being, with a large, long head, perked up ears, and eyes that seemed filled with rebellious fire, the horse reared up with a loud neigh, kicking the handler aside, and galloping around in furious circles. It reared up again, only its two hind legs remaining on the ground as its other two went up in the air, mane flying in the air, looking like wisps of smoke licking the clean air with a metallic smell.

"Guys," sighed Ram as Lakshman bound forward, eyes narrowed determinedly. ",meet Mirch." He looked up as Lakshman ran towards the animal, and with a running jump, landed on its back, pulling the reins back, and forcing it into a gainly trot. "Or as Bharat calls him, Lakshman's spirit animal." Urmila burst into laughter as the horse continued rearing up angrily, trying to throw the rider off, but Lakshman, as stubborn as the horse was, refused to let go.

"OH MY GOD, MIRCH, IT'S ME!" he shouted that the birds, chirping in fright, flew away from their places in the trees, a sudden breeze seemed to pass by, and everyone was stunned into silence. Apparently, even the horse, as at the sound of his master, it forgot all thoughts of harm and in silence, began to prance about in happiness at the reunion, having not seen Lakshman since he left Kosala to kill Tadaka with Ram.

"Yep," hissed Shatrughan. "Stubborn, tall, muscular, strong, short-tempered, potentially lethal, and quiet. That's literally Lakshman stuck in the body of a horse." And everyone was forced to nod agreeably and grab their horses to go ahead on the country expedition.

"Wait, let's arm ourselves. Something might happen." The ever pessimistic Lakshman stated tensely, grabbing a sword and placing it in his waistband. Shatrughan rolled his eyes, and just to humor their brother, Ram and Bharat each grabbed something as well.

"We'll be safe, no reason to arm ourselves." Janak laughed, but Urmila agreed with Lakshman, and not just because she was biased in her love. Something felt wrong, ominous, her right eye was twitching a little bit. Would something happen? She hoped not. With that slightly threatening start, Janak began the little tour.

"Those are our plains, large, green, and untouched. A lot of sun beats down upon them each day, but they still don't yellow." Raja Janak mentioned proudly, pausing. Bharat stared at the fields, wondering if he could acquire some gold paint right then and there, if he might convince someone to get him a canvas so he could capture the field in front of him.

Mandavi stared at the prince curiously. It was as if she could read his mind, his yearning to brush color onto canvas, his admiration for the fields. Somewhere in her, a bit of her began to like him, boy or not. She thought she was the only one who loved the golden fields of Mithila, being able to run free without constant criticism in the large, abandoned grasses. To have someone that loved them the same way, enough to imprint an image of them in his brain, it was unusual. Rare. Unheard of. Perhaps she was hasty in her judgment of him?

Bharat felt a pair of eyes on him, and hoped he wasn't blushing. Bharat had an ability to recognize who was looking at him without actually looking back, and knew that the eyes that were gazing at him determinedly and almost quizzically belonged to Rajkumari Mandavi. But why was the lady staring at him? At first sight, what struck him when he looked upon Rajkumari Mandvai was that she was independent and bold. Perhaps the exact opposite of him, she had dusky skin and dark hair, but this didn't deter her beauty. Even Bharat had to admit to himself that he had considered her quite attractive. So how had he, meek and shy, drawn her attention to him like a magnet? What was it about him that caused this sudden curiosity?

"Look at the forest ahead! I love forests, don't you, Bharat? Oh, he's too busy staring. Ah well. Don't you like forests, Ram bhaiyya?" When Ram answered in the negative and continued to converse with Sita, Shatrughan reluctantly turned to the next available person to talk to, which happened to be the girl he considered, and avidly called a goody-two-shoes, Shrutakirti.

"Ah, nevermind." As the horses treaded closer to the path, a faint sound of trickling water hit everyone's ears. Water flowing in a stream. Shatrughan jumped off, and walking closer to the sound, found a mucky stream, nothing like the waters closer to the palace of Mithila. It was filled with brown mud and unclean water, as well as little silver minnows with sharp teeth and slimy bullfrogs who crooked under the cover of the fallen leaves from the trees around. One could step on a frog without noticing, and then forever be guilty of the murder of a poor amphibian longing for a mate.

"Oh no, that's very wide." Shrutakirti murmured, gulping. Nobody's horse, perhaps not even Mirch, could jump over the river. Shatrughan, however, didn't answer, and looked around, his sharp mind racing with possibilities. Perhaps...no wait, maybe...no! Then, the answer struck his head like a flash of sudden lightning, and he shook his head. Where were they? In a dark, cold forest, where no one could save them if they were lost. But that detail didn't matter, though it certainly wasn't reassuring. What were forests full of? Trees.

"Come on Lakshman, Ram, Bharat." he cried out, and said three leapt off their horses. He led them to a corner where fallen trees lay, and Ram and Bharat worked together to pick up one, laying it across the stream with a heave.

"Aren't you going to help too, Laksh, Shatru?" called Bharat, sweating, and leaning over to catch his breath. There was no sound except silence, and Bharat stood up, his face paling as Ram also looked up, ears perked in alarm.

"What's taking them so long? It's just a tree? I'd have thought they could carry one easily, perhaps even quicker than us. Maybe they're caught arguing about something, the twins never work together that well unless it's something related to food or humor. What on Earth?" asked Bharat, trying to steady himself as Ram began to get alert.

"Laksh, Shatru?" he called. "Where are you?" A faint rustle of leaves, and nothing else. Even the birds had stopped chirping, and Raja Janak looked around himself for something, as Sita and Rani Sunaina began whispering urgently to each other. Urmila's heart began to race as she swallowed. Where was Lakshman?

"W-we had better turn around." stuttered Raja Janak, with trembling fingers. " My map must have fallen somewhere, or I lost it, but I know this is monster territory, either we cross this river, or we turn around. Lakshman and Shatrughan should realize that, once they come out." Ram and Bharat looked at each other quickly, and Urmila began to step off her horse stubbornly. She was going to look for her friend in that forest! Best friends didn't leave each other behind, and that was exactly what Raja Janak suggested they do.

She was cut off, however, by a loud scream, followed by a roar. Bharat dropped to his knees as Ram tensed, going back to his horse, and tying his endless quiver around him, grasping a bow quickly. Little thumps could be heard, as if from all around them, echoing like footsteps. Red eyes poked from the darkness between the green leaves of the bushes. Monster Territory indeed.

"Come on, we need to leave." muttered Raja Janak, breathing heavily, his chest rising up and down quickly as he looked around in alarm. "Come on, Lakshman and Shatrughan will follow us, they'll know, come on!" But as soon as they looked around, the path behind them was blocked by a rolling boulder. The only way out was forward, but the tree trunk was too thin for the horses to walk upon, the river was too wide to leap over, and the boulder behind them was too large to be pushed away, the forest too thick to ride through.They were trapped. Another scream, another roar. A loud thumping sound, not enough for the fall of a giant, but enough for the fall of one of the rather tall twins. Ram tensed even more, and Bharat drew a spear. Everyone else was unarmed.

Another roar. The jungle seemed to whisper to them incessantly, little hisses like pythons in the trees. "Where are they?" Ram asked desperately, looking around as if one of the twins would peek out, yelling "PRANK" at any moment. "Where are they?" Bharat shook his head, as little growls could be heard.

"I don't know bhaiyya, but look. Wolves. They'll tear us apart. Lakshman is armed, but not Shatrughan. They'll be eaten alive, bhaiyya! I-we, we shouldn't have ventured into the forest, we shouldn't have! Stupid, stupid, so stupid of us." Another loud rustling, the steps grew closer. A howl of the wolves, even in the day. The branches on the strongest trees began to shake, as if a giant was approaching.

"Shatrughan always said that Lakshman's horse was his spirit animal, Lakshman always could detect monsters. Let's see if he-" Bharat looked around, only to see that Mirch was calmly grazing, nibbling on the ends of grass poking out of the fresh earth, not showing any signs of detection, alarm, or possible alertness to run at the first second. "Argh, Lakshman's horse has gone mad, bhaiyya, never mind."

Perhaps stated too soon, as Mirch looked up, eyes gone comically wide, and started acting hysterically, neighing in confusion, and trotting in place. "Bharat," whispered Ram hoarsely. "Mirch only acts like that if his Master is hurt..." Urmila's heart stopped. She squared her shoulders, but it felt like her body had no more energy left in it as her head began to droop as if a weight was placed on it. Hurt? No, he could defend himself. She wanted to jump off the horse, stalk towards Ram, and shake his shoulders.

She wanted to say that No, nothing could hurt her Lakshman, that he was fine, somewhere in the forest, having a good quarrel with that Shatrughan, unawares that they were worrying about if they were alive or not. She wanted to say that he was on his way back, having a good laugh about how easy the monsters were to defeat. She wanted to say that they would surprise them at any moment now, that they would drop out, Shatrughan laughing at the prank, and Lakshman rolling his eyes at their bewildered expressions. But none of that made any sense. Because the twins wouldn't quarrel at a time like this. Because if he laughed, they would hear it. Because even Shatrughan wouldn't do such a heartstopping prank.

"No-" Ram whispered as Sita's jaw dropped. "They can't be hurt, they aren't! I know Laksh, and he isn't hurt. He isn't, I know it! He wouldn't let me be this sad, he just isn't like that! And Shatrughan, I know him very well too. He is talking, spending his time unknowingly. He doesn't know that we worry." he finished strong, his voice not breaking.

A growl from a wolf, and suddenly they could see the pack, nearing the clearing where they were. The horses all became alarmed, even Mirch, who still trotted in place. The largest, fattest wolf in front of them drew his lips up in a snarl, pacing closer and further away as Bharat pointed his spear. Ram got over his momentary hysteria, and drew his arrows and bow.

Suddenly, on the opposite, two wolves leapt for Sita and Mandavi. Ram and Bharat both defended, pushing them away and spearing one to a tree. The other side was left unwatched, and as they turned around, the alpha made a mad jump for Urmila, who, it seemed like, in her last moments, held her chin up in a look of pure defiance, spirit, and anger.

Not her last moments. The footsteps suddenly grew louder, and with a loud crash, the alpha was crushed by a thick tree trunk. As the dust cleared, a tall, muscular figure stood (OMG, who is it?!). A silhouette of Lakshman, who stood there, scowling simmering.

"Don't hurt Mila." he hissed, arms crossed across his chest. From behind him, Shatrughan came out, angavastram slightly torn, but very much alive, and very excited, jumping from foot to foot.

"Where were you?" cried Bharat. "We heard silence, screams, roars from monsters, crashes, and Mirch was acting all over the place, acting like you were hurt, Laksh. What on Earth? Thank goodness you're okay, Thank the Gods!" Shatrughan sighed, wiping a bead of sweat from his face, but still managing a smile, somewhat.

"As for the silence, we couldn't find any trees large enough, so we went deeper into the forest. Eventually we found one, and Lakshman carried it all on his own, as I held the map." He looked in apology towards Janak, who shook his head in amazement. "Yeah, sorry. Stole it, figured we might need it. Anyways, on our way back, we encountered a few monsters, bat-like creatures. Lakshman held the tree with one hand a sword with another as I wielded a branch. Pew Pew, dead, all of them."

He took a deep breath, then continued. "Anyways, we heard your words as we came closer, aided by the handy map, though I'm sure I could have found my way. When we found wolves, I killed most of them except the alpha. That's when we found that the alpha tried to attack Rajkumari Urmila, and so Lakshman, acting fast, dropped the tree, which he was carrying." He looked around impressively. "Oh, and Lakshman's horse always acts crazy, that's nothing new, is it?"

Lakshman glared at him. "No, Mirch was completely correct in his assumption that I was hurt. I sprained my wrist while holding that tree with one hand!" he held up a swollen hand, which Urmila immediately wrapped around in a cloth, and Bharat looked at it too, grabbing some herbs.

Urmila was relieved, her face unfroze, her heart started beating again, like an ice cube thawing, she could breathe. He was alright, and he had saved her from that rogue wolf. She was alive, but more importantly to her, he was alive.

"You shouldn't be so careless, you idiot." she muttered, kicking his shin, making Lakshman jump. "You could have died, and then I'm sure your mother would have been very sad." When she thought he wasn't listening, she said to herself. "And I would have been too." And, after turning around and hiding his face, Lakshman's lips curved up slightly in a tiny smile at her quiet utterings.

As Shatrughan and Bharat lifted the fallen tree and laid it across the river, Shrutakirti felt something change as well. He was quite crafty, that Shatrughan, and though he was mischievous, he also found them a way out of the forest, where they could be killed by wolves. And for some reason, for the few minutes he was gone, she missed his constant smiles, knowing teasing, and boisterous laugh.

Mandavi hated manly men who pretended to know more than they knew, acted stupid while trying to show off, and svaed the day. She didn't, however hate Prince Bharat, who was humble, kind, shy, and painted, loved to craft, and even knew some healing! Perhaps her initial thought that all boys were bad was a little off after all.

A/N-This might be the longest chapter yet, 3500 words! You know, I think that long chapters might not be so terrible after all. I mean, they force me to come up with a plot, which makes the experience more exciting for you guys. You all also like long chapters, so double win! Or rather, a win-win, eh?

The next chapter will be very exciting for some, and maybe not so exciting for others who love angst, not romance, and you know what that means.....Or maybe you don't. That's fine as well. I think all of you are pretty smart though, and very loyal too. And for that reason, I probably am not updating tomorrow unless I have finished editing that very-important chapter. Don't be maaaaad, it's all for the best. More days means better-quality chapters! That's why, even though I update daily, most of my chapters are plot-less, without-plot, plot what plot? However, since I have faced no backlash, we continue, mi amigos, towards the land of freedom, or, the marriage. Ah, the marriage. I wonder when that will happen. At this pace, maybe not for another 5 chapters.

Shoutout to:@Ridhima123 Thank you for the comments 😙😙😙