The Chariot stopped far from the city in the middle of the forest. Sita alighted, eager to walk amongst the trees. The charioteer, Lakshman, remained seated. Sensing he had something to say, Sita paused Lakshman finally spoke, eyes to the ground, 'Your husband, my elder brother, Ram, King of Ayodhya, wants you to know that the streets are full of gossip. your reputation is in question. The rules are clear: a king's wifre should be above all doubt. The scion of the raghu clan has therefore ordered you to stay may not reveal to anyone that you were once Ram's queen.'Sita watched Lakshman's nostrils flare. She felt his embarasssment and his rage. she wanted to reach out and reassure him, but she restrained herself. 

'You Feel your Ram has abandoned his Sita, don't you? she asked gently.

'But he has not. He cannot.

He is God - he abandons no one. 

And I am Goddess - I cannot be abandoned by anyone.'

A mystified Lakshman retruned to Ayodhya, while Sita smiled in the forest and unbound her hair.