As the grueling night in the forest came to an end and the first light of dawn touched the spires of Junagarh Palace, the surrounding environment appeared calm, but a cataclysmic storm was waiting to erupt inside the royal court. Prafulla and Prabhasha—both having spent the entire night without a wink of sleep, burning with resentment and humiliation—arrived at the palace as soon as dawn broke. Their clothes were smeared with dust and mud, and dried blood clotted over the injuries on their heads.
The moment he entered the palace, Prafulla asked the guards, "Has Princess Snigdha returned?" The guards bowed their heads and informed him that no, the Princess had not returned to the palace since yesterday.
Prabhasha's blood was boiling with rage. Holding Prafulla's hand, she said, "Brother, don't worry so much about that vile girl. She hasn't fallen into any danger; she is out there enjoying herself somewhere after saving her own skin. Just watch, she will return shortly pretending to be breathless."
Prabhasha's words turned out to be entirely true. As the morning sun climbed a bit higher, Snigdha stepped through the main gate of the palace. There was no remorse in her eyes; instead, there was only the fear of getting caught like a thief. But seeing Prafulla and Prabhasha standing before her completely intact and alive, the ground slipped from beneath her feet. She had thought those two would rot and die inside the cave!
Prafulla took a step forward and roared like a tiger, "Well, Snigdha? Where were you all of last night? And from which hell are you returning now after blackening your face at this hour of the morning? Have you completely lost your mind, you witch? Will you only learn your lesson if you are kicked until you bleed?"
Though startled, Snigdha maintained her arrogance and shrieked, "Watch your tongue, Prafulla! Who are you calling a witch? I went to save you two..."
Without letting her finish her sentence, Prabhasha screamed from the middle, "Stop! Don't you dare utter a single lie, you wretched, shameless girl! You went to save us? You are an absolute devil! To save your own life, you abandoned us in that death snare and fled like a dog! Brother, do not let her off easily at all. Slap her hard across that pretentious face of hers! She is a traitor within our own walls!"
Hearing words like 'wretched' and 'slap her hard' from the mouth of her younger sister, a rival's daughter, the ogress inside Snigdha seemed to awaken. Casting away all her decency, her eyes widened as she lunged toward Prabhasha.
Gritting her teeth, Snigdha hissed in a vile tongue, "What did you just say? You have such nerve! Last night, I pampered you, placed wet cloth strips on your forehead to cure your fatal fever, and today you stand in my own palace and ask him to slap me? You slut, you daughter of a rival! Your wings have grown far too big!""I will pull and tear those wings of yours today. Today, I will break your legs and hand them over to you, only then am I Snigdha! If I don't grab you by the tuft of your hair and smash your head against that stone wall until it splits open today, then I am not a daughter of the royal dynasty! Until blood gushes out from that filthy head of yours, I will not let you go! You have crossed all limits!"
Prafulla stepped into the middle and pushed Snigdha away with a hard shove. Trembling with rage, he said, "Shut your mouth, Snigdha! The language of nobility no longer suits your mouth. You are an absolute two-faced snake! You are a blood-sucking ogress! You claim you went to save us? Then when our hands and feet were tied, why didn't you free us and take us along with you? Why, you didn't call out to us even once while leaving! You just fled like a thief to save your own backside! Has your brain completely rotted away?"
Turning his face away in disgust, Prafulla said, "Shame on you! Today I feel ashamed to even call you my twin sister. It disgusts me to think that our father's blood flows through your veins! You are no one of my blood, you cannot be! You are a venomous serpent who can bury her own brother and sister alive. Go, get out of my sight! I cannot tolerate you for even another second. Looking at you makes me want to vomit!"
Unable to bear this shove and humiliation from Prafulla, Snigdha became even more ferocious. Breaking all the rules of the royal palace, she indulged in an utterly vile brawl, the toxic language of which was shaking even the very walls of Junagarh Palace. This primitive and hideous feud between the two siblings began to march toward a new destruction today.