That evening, a great feast was arranged inside the palace.
The grand dining hall glowed beneath hundreds of oil lamps while silver plates and golden vessels covered the long royal tables. Musicians played soft melodies in the background while servants moved continuously, carrying dishes filled with fruits, sweets, milk preparations, roasted fish, grains, and countless delicacies from across the kingdom of Anartha.
Yet amidst all the lively atmosphere, Ratnaprabha remained extremely quiet.
She barely spoke to anyone.
Whenever servants approached suddenly, her fingers instinctively curled tighter around the edge of Karna's clothing as though she feared being separated from the only familiar presence in this strange human world.
She drank mostly milk mixed with honey and quietly ate fish while avoiding many of the other dishes placed before her.
Even during conversations, she remained silent.
If someone asked her something directly, she answered only with short, polite words before lowering her gaze again.
Subhadra silently observed this behavior throughout the feast.
At first, she thought the Naga princess appeared cold.
But slowly she realized the truth.
Ratnaprabha was simply afraid.
Every unfamiliar sound made her eyes shift nervously.
Every burst of laughter from nearby nobles made her shoulders stiffen slightly.
She stayed close beside Karna the entire time, almost unconsciously, like someone standing inside an unknown forest during a storm and holding onto the only steady tree nearby.
Later that night, after the feast finally ended and the palace grew quieter, Ratnaprabha entered the chamber prepared for her and Karna.
The room itself was grand, decorated with soft curtains and ocean-blue fabrics gifted by the Yadavas. Moonlight entered gently through the open balcony while distant waves crashing against Dvarika's shores echoed faintly through the silence.
Usually, kings and queens visiting foreign kingdoms would sleep separately. The King will sleep in the royal guest room while the Queen has her own chamber, but in the Antahpur, the inner quarters of the palace where royal ladies typically stay.
But tonight was different.
Ratnaprabha was too unfamiliar with this human world.
Too unfamiliar with these stone halls, these servants, these customs, these people.
The thought of sleeping alone inside a strange chamber frightened her far more than she wished to admit.
So she quietly remained there beside Karna.
Hours passed.
But sleep never came to her.
Karna, meanwhile, lay calmly with his eyes closed, his breathing steady and composed like a meditating sage.
Ratnaprabha hesitated several times.
Her fingers nervously tightened over the blanket.
Finally, in a soft voice barely audible above the sound of the sea, she whispered,
"Hus… husband?"
Karna slowly opened his eyes.
He turned his head slightly toward her.
"Yes?" he asked calmly. "Do you need something?"
Ratnaprabha avoided his gaze instantly.
"I…" she hesitated, embarrassed by her own nervousness. "I cannot sleep."
A small silence followed.
Then quietly, almost shyly, she added, "Can you… stay awake and talk?"
For a brief moment, Karna simply looked at her.
Then slowly, he shifted his posture and turned toward her properly.
Moonlight reflected faintly across his golden earrings while his calm smile appeared gentle rather than teasing.
"Alright," he said. "Then let us talk. We did not even properly speak today."
Ratnaprabha looked slightly surprised.
Karna continued calmly, "Your life changed in a single night. One moment, you were inside your kingdom beneath the ocean, and the next moment, you entered the world of humans beside a stranger you married through duty. Anyone would feel nervous."
Ratnaprabha slowly nodded.
After a pause, she spoke softly. "Humans are scary."
Karna stayed silent for a moment after hearing that.
The ocean waves outside continued crashing rhythmically against the shores below.
Then he slowly asked, "Do you still blame me for your father's death?"
Ratnaprabha immediately shook her head strongly.
"No," she answered without hesitation. "What I said back then was completely true. My father was not a good father. He did not love us. To him, daughters were like jewels stored inside treasure rooms. Pretty to look at… useful for power… but never truly cared for."
Her voice lowered slightly afterward.
"I do not hate you."
Karna quietly listened.
After some more conversation, curiosity appeared in his eyes.
"By the way," he asked, "when I was inside your kingdom, I noticed many warriors had Nagmani upon their foreheads. Even your mother possessed one. But as an icchadari nagin, you do not. Why?"
The moment he asked that question, Ratnaprabha froze completely.
Then suddenly her cheeks turned deep red.
She lowered her face instantly, almost hiding beneath her hair.
"The men of our clan receive Nagmani naturally," she answered shyly after struggling for words. "But women can only form one after… after marriage consummation."
By the time she finished speaking, her face had become completely crimson.
Even her ears had turned red.
Karna looked at her quietly for a moment. Oh... is that why...
Then his voice remained calm and straightforward as always as he said, "I married you, Ratnaprabha, and take you in as my wife. Therefore, it is my duty to do everything within my power to be a good husband toward you."
Ratnaprabha slowly lifted her eyes toward him.
"You do not need to hurry," Karna continued. "When you are ready, you can tell me directly or through hints. Until then, there is no pressure."
His words were simple.
Direct.
Almost painfully honest.
There was no playful teasing, no romantic charm, no dramatic affection.
But precisely because of that honesty, Ratnaprabha's nervous heart strangely calmed down little by little.
Karna could not pretend emotions he did not yet possess.
Unlike his other marriages, where there was prior friendship and talks, there had been no time here for companionship to bloom naturally. No shared memories. No gradual affection. Only battle, duty, and sudden fate.
So at this moment, all he could truly offer her was sincerity.
How she chose to receive it…
That was entirely up to her.
*
The night slowly faded into dawn.
Outside the palace of Dvarika, the distant sound of crashing waves echoed against the fortified sea walls while faint orange light began spilling across the horizon little by little.
Inside the royal chamber, silence rested peacefully beneath the soft glow of dying oil lamps.
The curtains near the balcony fluttered gently under the salty ocean breeze, carrying with them the scent of the sea and wet stone after the previous night's storm.
Karna slowly opened his eyes.
For a moment, his mind remained calm from meditation-like sleep. But then, almost instantly, his body stiffened.
Something was wrong.
He could not move.
A heavy pressure wrapped tightly around his chest, waist, arms, and legs, restricting every inch of movement with surprising strength. His breathing itself felt slightly constrained as though thick ropes had been wound around his entire body again and again.
Karna's warrior instincts awakened immediately.
His eyes snapped fully open.
And what he saw made even him freeze for a brief second.
A massive serpent had completely coiled around him.
Its dark, bluish scales glimmered faintly beneath the morning light while the powerful serpentine body tightened possessively around his limbs and torso. The serpent's hooded head rested directly upon his chest, unmoving, almost peacefully asleep against him. However, there was no jewel on this serpent's head.
For one dangerous instant, Karna's first instinct surged forward.
Kill.
His muscles tensed immediately despite the restraint.
Divine energy instinctively stirred beneath his skin while his mind prepared itself for combat faster than thought itself.
His body shifted sharply.
The serpent's head jerked slightly from the sudden movement.
Then realization struck him.
Karna blinked once.
The bluish scales.
The familiar faint fragrance of ocean lotus.
The lack of jewels on the forehead.
And the marriage that happened a day ago.
"Ratnaprabha?" he called out slowly.
The serpent immediately lifted its hooded head and looked directly into his face.
Those violet slit-like eyes widened.
Then the serpent looked downward at its own coils wrapped tightly around Karna's entire body.
Instantly, panic filled its gaze.
The giant serpent hurriedly loosened itself and recoiled backward so quickly that Karna suddenly felt all the pressure disappear from his limbs at once. The serpent slipped awkwardly off the bed onto the floor with a soft thud before divine energy shimmered around its body.
Slowly, the serpent transformed back into Ratnaprabha.
Her long black hair spilled loosely over her shoulders while embarrassment spread across her entire face faster than sunrise light across the sea. She kept her head lowered completely, unable to even look at Karna properly.
Karna immediately got down from the bed.
"Are you alright?" he asked first instead of scolding her.
Ratnaprabha looked startled by the question itself.
Karna gently grabbed her arm and helped her stand properly. Her fingers trembled slightly while avoiding his gaze completely.
"I…" she spoke softly, her voice filled with shame. "I am sorry. Last night… I had nightmares."