Snigdha and Prabhasha stood like stone statues in front of the massive palace gate. Both were speechless, their heads bowed. Prafulla's patience had finally shattered. He roared at the top of his lungs, "Why are you two standing here staring like jokers? Go! Get out of my sight this instant! Go to your rooms, both of you! Do you intend to turn this palace into a battlefield just because Mother and Father aren't here? Must all the responsibility fall solely on my shoulders?"
Prabhasha burst into muffled sobs. Her tears glistened like pearls in the harsh midday sun. In a voice choked with emotion, she approached Prafulla and said, "Why are you getting angry with me, Brother? Truly, I am not at fault here. Think about it, Brother—am I so foolish that I would lie to you despite knowing everything? I was the one who ran to you because Didi wasn't in her room! If I had known where she was, would I have gone searching for her with you like that? Just use your logic for once, Brother; Didi is simply trying to prove me a liar in front of everyone!"
Hiccuping between her tears, Prabhasha added, "When you asked if I had eaten, I told the truth. When you asked if Didi had eaten, I said I didn't know where she was. If she had told me before leaving, why would I have lied and said I couldn't find her in the whole palace? Didi wants to belittle me in everyone's eyes, Brother! She can't stand me at all!"
Prafulla stood still for a moment, pondering. Prabhasha's logic struck a chord in his mind. He realized she had indeed been worried from the start. Taking a deep breath, he turned toward Snigdha. His eyes were now blazing with fire. Prafulla bellowed, "Speak, Snigdha! Why did you blame your sister like this? How do you have the audacity to trap such a young girl in such a foul web of lies? Have you truly lost your mind? And who will give the explanation for where you disappear to every afternoon?"
Snigdha's face was dark with fury. It felt as if balls of fire were about to erupt from her eyes. She glared at Prabhasha with a gaze that seemed capable of tearing her apart. Snigdha screamed, "Prafulla, you shut up! Have you gone mad that you're dancing to the tunes of this wicked girl? She isn't even worthy of being our sister! She is secretly trying to drive a wedge between us, and you can't even see it?"
Prafulla kicked the floor violently and said, "Close your mouth, Snigdha! Don't forget that we are twin siblings. Why are you talking without logic and framing this child? I didn't give it much importance earlier because I was angry, but now I see that you are lying intentionally, Didi! Why are you doing this?"
Losing all sense of right and wrong, Snigdha began to spew vile and hideous words. Gritting her teeth, she hissed, "Child? She's no child; she's a total devil! A venomous snake! She is not of our blood, Prafulla—why won't you understand that? She carries the blood of that wretched Sushila, my mother's rival! The blood of a rival's daughter will always be like this—always causing rifts in the family! She isn't the true child of our parents; she's just a stray nuisance!"
Hearing these harsh and ugly words, Prabhasha felt completely broken. It felt as if the ground was slipping from beneath her feet. As she began to sob uncontrollably, Snigdha mocked her further, "Look! Look at her drama! She is intentionally acting out this crying scene so that you believe her and misunderstand me! She is a high-level actress, Prafulla; you still don't know her true colors!"
In that afternoon at Junagarh Palace, the hatred in the hearts of the two sisters was far more intense than the scorching heat of the wind. Prafulla's helplessness and Snigdha's taunt about being a "rival's daughter"—together, they spread a poison into the sacred royal bond that might take generations to erase. After the toxic atmosphere of the quarrel, when Snigdha and Prabhasha marched out of the courtroom, Prafulla felt the ground vanish beneath him. Losing his bearings, he slumped onto the cool floor of the palace. Clutching his head with both hands, he whispered to himself, "What am I witnessing? Has a curse fallen upon Junagarh Palace? How could Snigdha, my own twin, become so disorganized and cruel? She doesn't care for royal duties, and worse, she just said such hideous things to the little sister she once loved more than her parents?"
Prafulla recalled Prabhasha's bravery. He muttered, "Prabhasha is acting so much more responsibly. She was the one who dragged that corrupt guard to the court by his hair. She even wanted to go on patrol with me this morning. But Snigdha? She seems lost behind some fog. Just as a hen pecks at the soil for grain, Snigdha's strange behavior is pecking away at my mind. Why did she become like this? Why did she insult her beloved sister as a rival's daughter? I understand nothing!"
Meanwhile, leaving the courtroom, Snigdha rushed into their bedroom. Prabhasha stood frozen outside the door. Her heart was thumping with fear and insult. She knew Didi's rage was terrifying, but she had never imagined the consequences would be like this. When Prabhasha stepped slowly into the room, what she saw made her heart feel like it was being ripped out.
She saw Snigdha, like a madwoman, pulling all her royal garments and jewelry out of the wardrobe and laying them on the bed. Snigdha began sorting and packing her belongings. Prabhasha realized that Didi would no longer stay in this room with her. She was preparing to pack everything and move to another room. The room that had been filled with laughter for years was now falling victim to the stubbornness of two sisters.
Prabhasha stood at the corner of the door like a statue. Tears flowed incessantly from her eyes. She thought, "Did Didi truly cast me aside? The sister on whose lap I grew up—that same sister can't even stand my shadow today? Will our rooms be separate from now on?" Prabhasha wanted to clasp her sister's feet and cry out loud, but seeing Snigdha's vengeful avatar, she didn't dare approach. It felt as if the walls of Junagarh Palace were turning into mountains, standing between them. Seeing Snigdha pack her bags, Prabhasha's heart began to burst with resentment and agony.