PROLOUGE

ADVIT'S POV

I woke with splash of ice cold water on my face, i jolted awake as if I stuck by lightning but the thing i saw as i looked around was worse than being stuck by lightning

My mom was glaring at me with a hot spatula- how do I know it was hot , STEAM WAS COMING OUT OF IT- in one hand

And a glass-which probably had the ice cold water-

I gulped hard but before I could even swallow my saliva she yelled 'YOU ARE LATE, GO GET DRESSED BEFORE I RECONSIDER AND SMACK U WITH THIS SPATULA.'

and trust me, I've been with her all my life, she. Will.

What a way to start a new day , right?

I got out of the bed soo fast I stumbled and almost fell on my face on the way to bathroom

I did my morning routine, and by that i mean brushing and facewash ,im already late I don't have time to bath, I won't have brushed my teeth too if my mom didn't slammed opened the bathroom door and stand there until I was done -not that I was trembling. no. haha-

I took my bag, did not infact check if I had what i need, and ran out the door

And yess it's Mumbai. A bitter chuckle left my lips

Let's play a game, it's called 'guess what ditch of a problem im in again'

Dan dan dan

Its Mumbai and no auto's are available!!

Its been 10 min since im standing on the sidewalk looking for one and still no available ride

You are probably thinking ,advit use Uber, Dumb of u to amuse I've not

There are no uber available also!

Fuck my already fucked life

I was just done cursing my fate when an auto came in front of me and the driver said 'bhaiya kahi jana hai' [mister, where do u want to go?]

I was soo happy I felt like I could kiss the auto driver's cheek. But I wouldn't because its disgusting and creepy

I sat in the auto and told the auto driver address of my uni

Soon the auto slowed down and I spotted my uni

I jumped out of the auto before it even stopped 'arey bhaiya samhal ke' said the auto driver [mister, be careful]

U can never not embarrass yourself, can u?

I gave him a nervous smile as i balanced myself since i almost rearranged my face and paid him

Before continuing my 'marathon' to my class

When i reached my class i was draped In sweat with heavy breathing as my jewelry

All the students where looking at me as if I was dancing naked with a veil on my head

I was confused as my social anxiety started acting up

Is there something on my face

It started low

Am I looking weird

Why are they staring at me

Am I weird

I should just di-

Before i could complete my thought i felt a hand on my shoulder and fliched

It was only then I realised I was breathing heavily, not because of the running , and my feet were already numb

I took a deep breath calming myself before looking behind

It was my best friend,vivaan ,my only friend

But what he said after made me hate him

'Bro are u ok? Also didn't u get the notice, our classes for today are canceled'

His words felt like someone hit my head with a hammer

I fell down to my knees, why? Why!!!!

I cried internally looking up at the ceiling as vivaan sat beside me

'Its okay ad, atleast we can spend sometime together' he said as he patted my back

I gave him a glare and retorted 'shut up and let me grief'

He raised his hands as if serenading 'got it, chill'

He picked me up as i walked with my whole body support on his

He deserve it, hmph, he could've told me , OK I know its my fault *pouts*

I looked at him as he carried me out, getting flashbacks of how we meet , it was funny

I let out a chuckle , he looked at him and hissed 'what is so funny'

I shaked my head and saw his eyes rolling from the corner of my eyes

I was in 8th grade, no friends, I was just a nerd and a geek to them

I never cared until one day vivaan sat next to me in lunch and talked to me , I was soo happy, we hang out the whole day at school

The next day I saw him with someone else, another friend , and got jealous

So I didn't talked to him and he cried

He literally cried

We dont talk about that now because someone has a big ego

☆

We are now sitting in a cafe near our uni,

'I mean , u know my mom was really angry , if only she knew classes were canceled and, and-' I swallowed the sandwich i was eating and continued my yapping session

Vivaan was sitting opposite listening to my rants, even tho he looked annoyed but I don't care

'Dont speak while eating, ad' he scrunched his nose and a snarl appeared on his lips now wait and watch

I looked him straight in the eyes and took a huge bit of the sandwich then started talking about the weather

What can I say I love ragebaiting him for fun

His hands pinched the bridge of his nose

And I smirked with food still in my mouth obviously

Nevermind I choked

Vivaan rushed towards me and handed me the water

'Idiot, i warned u'

This bastard won't admit but he cares for me

I smiled a little as i drank the water

☆

The Sky was in it's pretty girl era like

Stokes of orange and purple mixed with a flat brush

I stared at it before opening the door to the research lab i intern in , as soon as I opend the door I was greeted with my mentor rushing

What is going on?

I was just done finish thinking when he said 'ADVIT! Go take your bag , we are going to research on a place'

I was about to ask what before he took my bag from my desk and handed it to me ,as i hanged my uni bag on the hanger , he pulled me out to the car

As we sat in the car i finally asked 'but what is it?'

My mentor, adhiraj, sat next to me as the car started moving

'You remember that one king from 1700bc?' He hit me with a question

'You mean, yuvan kasya rajputa? Isn't the information about him limited and we only know that he was the most cruel king of 1700bc if not the whole Indian history'

'Yes, we found something related to him in that old palace in the forest'

Curiosity got the best of me and my eyes widen, i always loved history, and the honor to find some information about something so mysterious is huge

Yuvan kasya rajputa, I learnt about him in one chapter as i was working on an essay for uni

And I know one thing , he don't know what mercy is

Even tho the info is limited, it's enough to know

A man who killed his mother without hesitation, and watched as she lived her last moments

If I remember correctly, he had 2 wife -ugh! I never liked the fact that in past kings married more then one woman, tell me one king or anyone who did, bunch of cheaters- anika varna and arvi gotra

There are no info about them except that they were the most beautiful in the kingdom, no other could compare to thier beauty.

They were tortured to dead by thier husband, yuvan kasya rajputa-

My thoughts came to a halt when the car stopped, i looked out the window, there was a deep forest on the other side , the sky was slowly drapped in the void of darkness

Adhiraj was the first one to get out, I watch him come over to my side as I tried to decode if what I was feeling was anderline or my gut saying something terrible was about to happen

And I don't even get gut feelings

I opend the door and stepped out 'took u long enough' adhiraj said as he moved towards the forest and I followed him

As we went deeper in to the forest it was getting darker , more quite despite it being near a highway

'Do u have a torch?' Abhiraj asked me making me flich

'No! Weren't u suppose to take it?'

'I forgot' he deadpan

O wow I didn't knew

God gracious where were u

We used our phone, yes , we Finally used our brain cells

Even tho we have two. collectively.

I was thrown out of my reverie as my gaze landed the palace Adhiraj was Talking about, my jaw dropped

It was majestic even while being covered in climbing vines and creepers

'U go that way, and I'll go this way'

My head snapped to him soo fast I almost cracked my nape

'U better be joking' I smiled sarcastically

'Im not going alone ,no-uh' I sat down on the ground

'No salary this mont--' I cut him off as i stood up

'This way , right' I pointed at the right side , it was dark , more darker then the left side for some reason , I gulped and continued 'Im going'

I took one step and looked back 'im really going' he waved his hand at me

I took another step 'im serious' I gave up and ran back to him and hugged his leg ,kneeling to the ground

'Plzzz have some mercy' I cried

'Two mont-'

I knew he was about to say something not so good so I got up and ran in the right direction

I love my money

After 2 minutes, I regretted my decisions

It was night , darkness already embraced the sky ,

I moved my phone's touch around to look at the surroundings

Not that I can do anything if something attacked me ,but at least I feel a lil safe with my phone

Suddenly I heard a creak and fliched soo hard I stumbled to my left and my back hit a solid something, it felt as if my back snapped into two pieces, a groan left my throat

I got my balance and realised the creaking was a leave i stepped on

And the fucking thing that almost snapped my fucking soul out of my body was

I turned and moved my phone to let the light fall on the object

It was a fucking door handle, wait, door handle?

I removed the vines covering the wall and saw a double door , u can guess just by looking at it that it was of ancient times

Not in a bad sense tho , the boarders shined gold. wierd.

There were some letters engraved on it, I squinted my eyes to make somthing out Of the letters

I couldn't, i gave up

Stepping back I notice the door more properly as the light from my phone fell on it better

It was probably the back door , Curiosity got the better of me and I tried to open the door, keyword: tried

The handle was fuckking rusty and tight,

But I was more stubborn , I used all my strength and it finally opened

Not bad for 1 week of gym. Hehe

I took a deep breath before pushing the door so it would open reveling something

Something i never thought could be this majestic, but just when I was done admiring the beauty, terror raised in the back of my spine, hair standing in ends

The sight in front of me of a stepwell, vines and climbers, hanging from the opening above, like jewelry around a bride's neck, but that was not the thing that made me have goosebumps, it was the fact that there was light coming from the opening, liting the inner interior with moon lit rays

Fireflies flying just below the opening, but even if the whole interior looked like it came straight outta historical drama

I know it is bad news, I know it

But apparently but my legs dont as they go against my will and started moving towards the stepwell

Stop.

My subconscious yelled as my legs took another step forward

Not matter how hard I tried to stop and run backwards,

My fucking legs don't listen, as if they were out of my control

Stop!

My subconscious yelled again as my legs reached near the stairs,

No, no, no,

I cried internally as my legs descended down the stairs,

Suddenly my eyes landed on the center of the stepwell

There lied a letter..

A LETTER!!??

I was now near the letter, thanks to my fucking legs,

I hesitated a bit as i kneeled down, I don't know if Curiosity killed the cat but it will definitely kill me, but despite myself i picked up the letter

It was...surprisingly new

Well, after all these shit I dont think anything else is left ,is it?

Guess what I was wrong, the fucking letter was as if written just a few hours ago, the paper, crisp, and clean

I hands went to touch the wax...

And surprise, surprise IT WAS WET

I just came to the conclusion when suddenly, my head was pushed backward in such a force,my head almost snapped, my body suddenly heavy, something wet surrounded me...

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