#i flipflop between conquered gandhari and courted for her boon gandhari in terms of backstory

[avani008]

An Alphabet of Legendary Ladies - ग for  गांधारी/Gandhari, for @chaanv!

When news comes that Subala’s forces have fallen on the battlefield, the princess does not weep. Instead she holds her head high, and greets Ganga’s glorious son with quiet courtesy. 

“Certainly I shall come to Hastinapur,” she concedes, “but as honored bride, not anyone’s captive.”

And here Bhishma himself smiles, for if there is one thing he appreciates in this world, it is fearlessness.

What has the princess to fear, anyway? Already she has seen her people made vassals and mourned along their wives. Already she has won the favor of the Great God, enough to guarantee her a hundred strong sons. Already she looks upon the dusty plains of Gandhar with dry eyes, fixing the vision in her memory for the days she will see it no more. 

She has had enough of defeat to last her an eternity. She can endure no more.

She steps into the chariot beside the conqueror of her clan, and leaves her home behind.