Once upon a time in a vast jungle, there lived a herd of deer.
They were happily grazing on the green grass of the mountains and jumping around the lush green forest, idling around the river beds.
Life was never better, It was ideal for them.
But one day, the king of the forest came before them and demanded.
"I need one deer per week to satisfy my hunger, I am too tired of hunting"
What do you think happened next?
Did the deer herd band together and attacked the king?
No.
Instead, they sent one among their family as a sacrifice to the King per week.
Why do you think they did that?
Because they thought they should obey the king? No, it was because they were too afraid of the King.
They were afraid that if they denied the king, their entire herd may get slaughtered.
The exact same thing was happening here.
Even though Sage Vyasa knew that giving his daughter to the emperor was no different from putting shackles around himself, he had no choice but to do it.
Chandra, being the filial daughter she is, agreed to be the concubine of the Emperor without Sage Vyasa needing to say something more.
"I am really sorry, Chandra"
Sage Vyasa couldn't bring himself to say anything more than that.
A month after that, the Emperor took Chandralekha as the Royal Concubine.
Since she wasn't the official queen there was no special ceremony or anything.
And a year after that, Chandralekha got pregnant.
And as to care for her pregnancy she was sent to the 7th magic tower, where Sage Vyasa resided with his wife.
Time passed like drifting wind...
.
.
"Calm down, you are too nervous Sage Vyasa"
Pingala, the Royal Physician, said to Sage Vyasa who was walking back and forth in the hallway, outside of a room.
"How can I? I don't know what's taking so much time"
Sage Vyasa said, still as nervous while holding his both hands together.
"Giving birth takes time," a gracious woman replied. "And stop walking around, you are making me nervous as well."
"I'm worried about our daughter," Sage Vyasa replied. "W-What if something happens to her and the children? What should we do, Vatika?"
"Nothing will happen" Vatika glared at her husband in annoyance. "Get a grip, will you? Sir Pingala is here to make sure nothing like that happens isn't he?"
Sage Vyasa glanced at the white-haired old man who just consoled him before. He was leaning on the wall at the corner of the room. He had his arms crossed over his chest and he was standing still like a statue. His eyes were closed and seemed to be resting.
Although he looked like a pretty common Oldman, he was the royal physician who had served the throne for more than 40 years, and the physicians inside who were in charge of the delivery were his personal disciples.
With such figures like them being present, there was a very small chance of anything going wrong.
Sage Vyasa finally calmed down and sat beside his wife. Both of them held each other's hands and prayed to the Gods to keep their daughter and her children safe from harm.
————
Inside the delivery room…
"My lady, I can see the baby's head," the female physician said with excitement. "Just a little bit more. Just one more push!"
The beautiful lady lying on the bed, gave a guttural grunt as she obeyed the midwife's pleading. Her long black hair stuck to her skin, and her black eyes were tinged with fatigue.
She had been in labor for more than three hours and was already feeling very weak.
Only her unwavering determination to see her children kept her sanity from losing control.
After much hardship, the babies were finally born into the world.
That's right!
Chandra was pregnant with not just a baby but twins!
The Physicians held the newborn babies in their hands.
They checked its gender and were about to congratulate Chandra for giving birth to twin boys when she noticed that something was amiss.
After giving it a thought, the Physician realized that one of the twins didn't cry when it was born.
A frown appeared on her face as she used magic to clean up the baby's body. She paid close attention to the baby's breathing and heartbeat.
For a brief moment, the Physician thought that the baby had immediately died after it was born. She had seen such cases before and it made her very anxious.
Fortunately, she noticed the newborn's chest rise which was a clear indication that he had started breathing. However, the baby's breathing was very slow and labored.
"What's wrong?" Chandra, who was very fatigued by just giving birth asked.
"Did something happen to my babies?"
Her question brought the midwife out of her daze. She hastily presented the babies to his mother and congratulated her.
"Congratulations, My Lady. Both are boys!" the Physician said.
"However, the one baby is very weak and I'm afraid…"
Chandra ignored the Physician and held both her newborn sons close to her bosom.
All the exhaustion she had felt during her labor was washed away by the happiness she was feeling at that moment.
One of the twins was still crying with its cute baby voice, while the other...
It looked like it was completely confused about something.
"They sure are different for twins" Chandra teased them as a tear slid down the side of her face.
Both of them had different appearances.
The crying baby had blond hair and red eyes just like the Emperor, whereas the other confused baby had black hair and black eyes resembling Chandra.
She caressed both the baby's cheeks softly and channeled healing magic to her hands.
After casting two consecutive spells on the baby that was silent, it finally moved and started to cry.
Sage Vyasa and his wife who were anxiously waiting outside the room glanced at each other.
Vatika, who seemed to be staying strong until a few seconds ago, burst into tears and buried her head in her husband's embrace.
Although she kept on telling her husband that everything was going to be fine, she herself was feeling anxious.
The Oldman who was leaning on the wall finally opened his eyes.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the ceiling of the room. His aged eyes were tinged with happiness and sorrow.
Happiness because the prophesized child had been born. Sorrow, because the child would have to carry so much burden on its shoulders.
Suddenly, the door sprang open and the old couple entered the room.
Sage Vyasa immediately checked his daughter's condition.
His heart ached when he saw the exhaustion on his daughter's face. However, he could also sense happiness and pride inside her beautiful exterior.
Vatika went to her daughter's side and kissed her cheeks. "Congratulations, Chandra."
"Thank you, Mother," Chandra replied with a faint smile.
Seeing the mother and daughter pair, Sage Vyasa felt left out and decided to scrutinize the babies who were nestled in his daughter's embrace.
"Why is this child so quiet?" Sage Vyasa asked pointing at the black-haired baby.
"We don't know, but the baby seems healthy", The female physician answered hesitatingly which made Sage Vyasa turn to Pingala.
"Silence is the source of great strength"
Sir Pingala answered playing with words. "Don't worry, the baby is perfectly healthy", but also assured them of the baby's health.
"One who doesn't cry, huh?" Sage Vyasa thought.
"A....shoka"
Sage Vyasa muttered.
"huh?"
"Let's name this baby as Ashoka"
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