In rajgarh palace

Aarohi hadn't spoken since reading the note. Her fingers trembled long after Aviraj had left her alone with the locket. The words kept replaying in her mind:

> "Protect the blood. Even if it costs your crown."

That night, the palace felt heavier - like it was watching her.

She lay on her bed, eyes open, as moonlight filtered through the jaali windows. Sleep wouldn't come. Something inside her knew... danger was close.

At exactly 2:03 AM, the power went out.

Aarohi sat up. Her breath caught.

Faint footsteps echoed outside her chamber - soft, calculated.

She stepped out slowly, heart hammering, candle in hand. The corridor was pitch dark except for flickers of moonlight. The guards at her door - gone.

Her voice wavered. "Hello...?"

No answer.

She turned back to rush inside her room - but it wasn't the same.

Everything had been shifted. Her pillow turned. Her wardrobe cracked open. And the locker drawer left wide with the locket... missing.

Her blood ran cold.

Just then, something brushed past her shoulder - invisible, fast, like air being torn open.

A whisper slithered in her ear:

> "You were never meant to survive here, Maheshwari."

She screamed.

But by the time the guards returned, the candle was shattered on the ground, the locket gone, and a single note had been left in its place.

> "Stop digging graves, Aarohi. One might be yours."

---

Later that morning...

Rajmata sat silently in the puja room, holding her rosary tighter than usual. Aviraj burst in, eyes wild.

"Why weren't the guards at her door?" he snapped.

Rajmata didn't answer.

Instead, she looked at the ancient haveli painting hanging on the opposite wall and whispered,

> "She is becoming the flame that will burn this palace down... Just like her mother."

Aviraj froze. "So it's true, isn't it?"

Rajmata turned to him, eyes cold.

> "Truth is only powerful when you can survive it, Aviraj. Can she?"

Aarohi hadn't stepped out of her room since the night of the warning. The locket was missing. The whisper haunted her. And the way the note was written - like the ink itself had bled fear.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror, touching the faint burn from the candlewax. The palace walls felt like a cage now, not a home.

A soft knock at the door.

She turned. It opened slowly.

Aviraj.

He was dressed in a dark maroon angrakha, sword loosely hanging from his hip. His jaw was tight, his voice sharper than usual.

"Tum theek ho?"

She nodded.

He walked in, scanning the room like a hawk. "Kya kisi ne kuch kaha?"

"No," she said softly. "Par mujhe lagta hai... main yahan saaa.....ffffffeeeee nahi hoon."

He stepped forward, his voice low.

"Tum jahan hoooo main wahiii hoon, jahan tum hamesha safe ho."

She looked up. "What if it's someone inside the palace?"

Aviraj's fists clenched. "Toh wo palace mein zinda nahi bachega."

His tone sent shivers down her spine.

She moved to the window, eyes searching the silent courtyard. "Aap mujhe yahan kyun laye, Aviraj? I don't belong here..."

He walked behind her, placing a hand on the wall beside her, leaning in - not touching, but close enough that she felt the heat of his anger.

"Kyunki aap ki jagh yaha iss mahal mein hai

Or is mahal ki har cheez sirf meri hai. In sab par sirf Aviraj raghuvanshi ka hak hai. Aur jo mera hai... uske paas duniyaa ki koi taaqat nahi aa sakti."

Aarohi's heart skipped. She turned, but he didn't move.

"Even if the palace burns?" she asked.

He leaned closer, eyes blazing.

"Main jalne doonga... lekin tumhe kabhi khone nahi doonga."

Silence stretched between them, thick with emotion.

Suddenly - a sharp sound echoed. A window cracked.

A bullet.

Aarohi screamed - Aviraj pulled her to the ground, shielding her with his body as the glass shattered above them.

Seconds later, the guards stormed in. Aviraj stood, roaring like a storm:

"Mahal ke har kone ki talashi lo! Ek ek darwaza kholo! Usse dhoondo jisne ranisa ko nishana banaya!"

She looked at him, breathless, shaking.

He turned back to her

"Fikar mat karoo jab tak Aviraj raghuvanshi hai tab tak ranisa par ek aanch tak nahi aane dunga"

---

The palace was locked down. Every guard was on high alert, but whoever had fired that bullet-vanished like a shadow.

Aarohi hadn't slept in two days.

Her hands still trembled, not from fear, but from the weight of the truth pressing down on her chest. This wasn't just about a royal marriage anymore. This was about secrets so old, they had been buried alive.

That night, while pacing in her chamber, she noticed something strange.

The full-length mirror-slightly misaligned from the wall. She tilted it.

Click.

A tiny crevice opened behind it.

A hidden compartment.

Her fingers reached in, pulling out a thin, dusty book wrapped in red velvet.

A diary.

It was worn, pages yellowed and brittle. The initials carved on the cover read:

"swadintha maheswari."

Aarohi's breath caught. She sat down, opening the first page.

> "They promised me love. But gave me a crown laced with poison."

The entries were full of pain. Betrayal. Mentions of forbidden love. Whispers of rebellion.

And then one line-

> "If they find out I'm pregnant... they'll kill me."

Aarohi's hands flew to her mouth.

Her mother.

Before she could process the truth, the door slammed open.

Aviraj.

He strode in, eyes scanning her panic-stricken face. "Kya hua?"

She held up the diary with shaking hands.

He took it slowly, flipping through the pages, his expression turning from confusion to shock to rage.

"Tum... swadhinta ki beti ho?" he whispered.

Aarohi nodded, tears in her eyes. "She was betrayed by this palace... by your blood."

Aviraj dropped the diary to the floor. For a moment, he just stared at her - torn between centuries of loyalty to his throne and the woman standing before him.

"Aarohi..." he said slowly, stepping closer. "Tum sirf is rajmahal ka raaz nahi ho. Tum is rajmahal ki vaaris ho."

She backed away, confused.

"But I don't want a throne, Aviraj... I just want answers."

He nodded, jaw clenched. "And you'll get them. But first-"

Suddenly, the lights cut out.

Darkness.

A loud thud downstairs.

A scream.

Then silence.

Aviraj pulled out his revolver. "Stay behind me."

"No," Aarohi whispered. "If they're coming for me... I won't run anymore."

He looked back at her - eyes wild with both fear and pride.

"Toh aarohi aviraj raghuvanshi bankar chalogi ya ek ranisa bankar chalogi....Aaj se jung shuru hoti hai."

---

Aviraj and Aarohi moved swiftly through the palace's shadowy corridors.

The power outage wasn't a coincidence - it was a message.

Aarohi's hands clutched the diary of swadhinta maheswari tight against her chest. Her mother's truth had started to crack the walls of the palace, but no one knew yet how deep the rot went.

Downstairs, the silence was unnerving. The guards were... missing.

"Aviraj," she whispered, "this isn't just an attack. Someone is pulling the strings."

He didn't answer. His jaw was locked, his gun raised, eyes flicking through every dark corner like a beast hunting prey.

They reached the old armory - long unused, sealed after a palace fire decades ago.

But tonight, the lock had been broken.

Inside, a small lantern flickered.

And sitting in the center was an old man in a royal servant's robe, whispering to himself, rocking back and forth.

Aarohi stepped forward cautiously. "Kaun hai aap?"

The man looked up, eyes glassy, but aware.

"Aap... swadhinta madam ki beti ho?" he croaked.

Aarohi froze.

Aviraj raised his weapon. "Tum kaun ho?"

"I was her guard... long before the Raghuvanshis erased her name."

The man held out a folded piece of silk - a torn page from the diary, hidden all these years.

It read:

> "The Rajmata said she would protect me. But the next morning, my room was on fire. I knew then... the crown only protects itself."

Aviraj snatched the page, his hands shaking.

Aarohi stared at the man. "Why are you helping me?"

He smiled faintly.

> "Because I served your mother... and she was the only one who saw me as more than a servant."

A noise echoed outside - heavy boots. Swords drawn.

Aviraj cursed under his breath. "They're coming."

The old man stood up slowly. "I can buy you five minutes. Go... to the temple chamber. There's a door behind the Shivling. Use it."

Aarohi hesitated. "But-"

Aviraj grabbed her wrist. "No time, chalo!"

They ran.

Behind them, the old man turned toward the doorway, arms raised.

"Raghuvanshi blood hides many sins," he whispered, "but tonight... one will come to light."

As Aviraj and Aarohi disappeared into the hidden passage, a single tear rolled down the old guard's cheek.

And from the palace towers, Rajmata watched the scene unfold, veiled in shadow.

She turned away coldly.

> "Let the girl keep running... the deeper she goes, the closer she comes to her own end."

End of chapter

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