Chapter 3: "Is It Supposed to Make That Noise?"

The sun peeked shyly through the cave mouth, sending golden lines across the stone floor.

Birds chirped. Snow was beginning to melt. Bhima was in the corner humming as he ground herbs for Draupadi. Yudhishthir sat cross-legged, eyes closed in calm meditation, as if trying to pretend he couldn’t hear Bhima’s off-tune humming.

And in the middle of the cave, little Agnika crawled with full determination—straight toward the feet of Nakula and Sahadeva.

The twins froze.

“Bh—Bhima!” Nakula hissed. “It’s loose!”

“It’s not an animal, Nakula,” Bhima said dryly, not even looking up.

Sahadeva cautiously leaned away from her crawling hands. “What if it bites?”

“She doesn’t bite,” Draupadi replied from the back, her tone dangerously calm. “Unless you're hiding food.”

Agnika had now reached Sahadeva’s feet and sat upright with a triumphant baby noise.

“Did… did it just squeak?” Nakula whispered. “Did anyone else hear that?”

“She cooed,” Draupadi corrected, standing and walking over, arms crossed.

The twins watched as the baby grabbed a fold of Sahadeva’s dhoti and tried to chew on it.

He yelped and stood up like he’d been shot.

> “Why is it wet?!”

Bhima burst out laughing. “Because she’s a baby, fool!”

Draupadi sighed, picked Agnika up, and looked at the twins like a mother tiger ready to scold her cubs.

> “She’s a child. Not a wolf cub. Can you stop acting like she’s going to explode?”

Nakula raised his hands. “We’re not used to her! We’ve never… you know… seen a girl this small!”

“She’s smaller than Arjuna’s bow!” Sahadeva added.

“And yet smarter than both of you put together,” Draupadi muttered.

Agnika giggled loudly in her arms, as if she understood.

Sahadeva squinted at her. “Why does she keep looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like she knows my secrets.”

Nakula narrowed his eyes too. “Yes… she does stare like that. Like she’s judging us.”

“She is judging you,” Bhima called from behind the grinding stone.

“She hasn’t blinked in a full minute!” Nakula protested.

Draupadi sighed and bounced the baby in her arms.

> “You two are warriors who’ve fought demons and lifted chariots. And now you're scared of a crawling child.”

“We’re not scared!” both twins said together.

Agnika suddenly sneezed—one tiny, squeaky burst.

Sahadeva screamed.

Nakula jumped behind Bhima’s bedroll.

Bhima laughed so hard he nearly spilled the herbs.

Draupadi gave up and collapsed onto a rock, laughing too.

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Later that day, as peace returned, Nakula cautiously approached Draupadi.

“…So what does it eat?”

“She,” Draupadi said firmly, “eats soft rice, mashed fruit, and kindness.”

He nodded slowly, then asked, “Does it sleep upside down?”

Bhima nearly choked on laughter again.

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By sunset, the twins had finally dared to sit near her.

Sahadeva poked her soft cheek once and whispered, “It’s… kind of squishy.”

Nakula frowned. “It smells like goat milk and flower oil. Is that normal?”

Draupadi rolled her eyes.

> “If either of you ever become fathers, I pray to the gods your children are exactly like her—so you suffer.”

Bhima grinned. “And I’ll be there to laugh.”

Agnika giggled again.

And that night, all five Pandavas slept just a little closer to the baby girl who’d started to stitch herself into their strange little family—one coo, one sneeze, and one awkward stare at a time.

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🌸 End of Chapter 3