That night, sleep refused to come.
The palace was silent, but my mind was anything but.
I lay awake staring at the ceiling, replaying everything Grandfather had said.
The twins.
The kidnapping.
The ocean.
The sharks.
My chest tightened painfully.
I couldn't stop imagining two tiny babies crying for help.
My brothers.
Brothers I had never even known existed until today.
A tear slid quietly from the corner of my eye down my cheek.
How could someone be capable of such cruelty?
Revenge was one thing.
But hurting innocent children?
I turned onto my side and buried my face into the pillow.
The palace was supposed to feel like home.
But tonight it felt like a place haunted by ghosts.
Ghosts of memories.
Ghosts of pain.
And ghosts of secrets.
After a while, I finally sat up.
Sleep clearly wasn't happening tonight.
The room was dimly lit by the soft golden glow of the bedside lamp.
My eyes drifted toward the small table beside the bed.
The silver pendant lay there quietly.
For a moment, I simply stared at it.
Something about it felt... different tonight.
I reached out and picked it up.
The moment the metal touched my palm, it felt warm.
My breath caught.
It was the same warmth I had felt earlier.
But this time it was stronger.
Almost like it was alive.
"What are you?" I whispered softly.
As if responding to my voice, the pendant suddenly glowed faintly.
A soft silver light flickered across its surface.
My heart began beating faster.
I quickly stood up.
The glow grew brighter for a second, then dimmed again.
But the warmth remained.
I stared at it, confused.
"I don't understand..."
Why did I feel so attached to this pendant?
Why did it feel so important?
It was just a piece of silver... yet it felt like something much more.
It felt like my father was close to me.
Like a part of him was still here.
It was the only thing he had left behind for me.
I held it tightly for a moment before placing it back on the table.
At some point during the night, sleep finally welcomed me.
I fell asleep sitting against the headboard.
Morning arrived quietly.
But the rest I got hardly felt like sleep.
The night had passed in fragments—memories, silence, and the faint echo of the funeral flames still burning behind my closed eyes.
When I finally opened them, golden sunlight streamed through the tall windows of the unfamiliar room.
For a moment, I didn't remember where I was.
Then everything came rushing back.
Papa.
The funeral.
The palace.
India.
A heaviness settled in my chest again.
I slowly sat up, letting my eyes wander around the room.
The place looked even larger in daylight.
My fingers instinctively reached toward the silver pendant resting beside me on the bedside table.
For a moment, I simply stared at it.
In the daylight, it looked normal again.
Just a simple silver pendant.
But I clearly remembered the faint glow from the night before.
A strange uneasiness settled inside me.
Was I imagining things?
A soft knock on the door broke my thoughts.
"Come in," I said quietly.
The door opened, and a young maid stepped inside respectfully.
"Good morning, Princess Aaradhya," she said with a small bow.
"Your grandmother asked me to inform you that breakfast is ready whenever you are comfortable. She also asked if you would prefer to have breakfast in your room or in the dining hall."
"Is everyone present?" I asked politely.
"Yes, Princess, except your brother, and your cousin's" she replied.
"I'll have breakfast in the dining hall," I said.
"Very well."
She smiled politely and quietly left the room.
For a few seconds, I sat there in silence again.
Then I sighed and stood up.
If this palace was going to be my home now, I might as well start getting used to it.
After getting ready, I stepped out into the corridor.
The hallway stretched endlessly in both directions.
Sunlight streamed through tall windows, illuminating polished marble floors and ancient portraits hanging along the walls.
I walked slowly, studying the paintings.
Most of them showed men dressed in royal attire.
Kings.
Warriors.
Rulers.
Each painting carried the same last name written beneath it.
Rawat.
A strange feeling crawled up my spine.
This was my family.
And yet they felt like complete strangers.
As I continued walking, distant voices suddenly reached my ears.
Someone was arguing.
"Kiara, you're cheating!"
"I am not cheating, Kiran! You just don't know how to play!"
Curious, I followed the voices until I reached a large sitting room.
Inside, two teenagers stood facing each other across a chess table.
A boy and a girl.
They looked almost identical.
Same dark hair.
Same sharp eyes.
The girl noticed me first.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Oh."
The boy turned around.
For a moment, both of them simply stared at me.
Then the girl suddenly smiled.
"Good morning, Aaradhya."
"Very good morning," I replied softly.
Kiran gave me a friendly smile.
The girl pointed at him.
"Don't worry about him," she said.
"He's a donkey who doesn't know how to play chess."
Kiran scoffed.
"Wow. That's rude. I was the one who taught you chess, remember?"
"How generous of you," Kiara replied sarcastically.
Then she stopped arguing and looked at me more closely.
She stepped forward and studied my face.
"Wow," she said softly.
"You really do look like Uncle."
The mention of Papa made my chest tighten slightly.
Kiran noticed immediately and cleared his throat.
"So.." he said casually.
"First time in the palace?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
Kiara suddenly brightened.
"Then we have to show you around!"
Before I could respond, she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the hallway.
"Kiara, slow down!" Kiran groaned while following us.
The palace seemed even larger as we walked deeper inside.
Hallways turned into courtyards.
Courtyards led to libraries.
Libraries opened into grand halls.
Every corner felt like it carried centuries of history.
The paintings looked ancient.
Dust covered parts of the floor as if this area hadn't been used in years.
Suddenly...
I stopped.
At the end of the corridor stood a massive wooden door.
It looked ancient.
Much older than the rest of the palace.
Dark red wood.
Heavy iron handles.
Strange carvings covered its surface.
A large carving of a girl sitting with a buck resting its head on her lap was etched into the wood.
The same symbol as my pendant.
Only much larger.
I frowned.
"What's this place?"
Kiran and Kiara exchanged a quick glance.
Kiara spoke first.
"That... is the old royal chamber."
"Royal chamber?" I repeated.
Kiran nodded slowly.
"Yeah. It's been locked for years."
"Why?"
Neither of them answered immediately.
Then Kiran shrugged.
"Family rule."
"Grandfather says no one should open it."
My heart began pounding loudly in my chest.
At that moment, the silver pendant around my neck suddenly felt warm.
I instinctively grabbed it.
Before I could stop myself—the pendant began glowing again.
My breath caught.
The metal burned hot against my skin.
Then—it glowed.
Bright silver light spread across the metal.
"What...?"
Before I could react, the massive door suddenly trembled slightly.
A faint metallic sound echoed through the corridor.
My eyes widened.
The lock had moved.
Just a little.
But it had definitely moved.
And nobody noticed.
Except me.
My eyes remained fixed on the door while the twins were busy staring at the glowing pendant around my neck.
Kiran's eyes widened.
"Wait..."
Kiara stared at it in shock.
"How is that possible?"
My heart started pounding.
"What do you mean?"
Kiran looked at me seriously.
"That pendant..." Kiran said slowly, his voice almost a whisper.
"It only reacts to people from the original Rawat royal bloodline."
For a moment, the corridor felt colder.
The air itself felt heavy.
My heart began pounding so loudly I was sure they could hear it.
"What do you mean?" I asked quietly.
Kiara looked from the pendant to my face in disbelief.
"That pendant..." she said slowly,
"...shouldn't even exist anymore."
My brows furrowed.
"What are you talking about?"
Kiran ran a hand through his hair, clearly unsettled.
"Our grandfather once told us a story," he said.
"About the royal seal of the Rawat family."
Kiara nodded slowly.
"It belonged to the true heir of the royal bloodline."
My fingers tightened around the pendant.
"And this," Kiran said, pointing at the glowing silver metal,
"looks exactly like the symbol he described."
Before I could ask another question—
the pendant suddenly burned hot against my skin.
And suddenly, an unknown image of a person flashed in my mind.
A deep burning hatred rose inside me... along with an overwhelming desire for revenge against him.
I was shocked.
My mind couldn't even process my own emotions.
Before I could think any further—
I gasped.
The silver light flared brighter than before.
Much brighter.
"So it's reacting again?" Kiara whispered.
But before anyone could say anything—
The sound of door shaking echoed through the corridor.
All three of us froze.
Slowly... very slowly... our eyes turned toward the massive wooden door.
The door had shook again.
This time louder.
Much louder.
Dust fell from the ancient carvings as the door trembled slightly.
Kiara grabbed Kiran's arm.
"Did you see that?" she whispered.
Kiran nodded stiffly.
"That door hasn't moved in decades..."
My breath became shallow.
The pendant was burning in my neck now.
And the light pouring from it was growing stronger.
Then suddenly—
something inside the carvings on the door flickered.
A faint silver glow appeared between the carved figure of the girl and the buck.
I stepped closer without realizing it.
"What is that...?" I whispered.
The twins followed my gaze.
Kiara's eyes widened.
"Oh my God..."
Hidden inside the ancient carving—
a symbol was slowly appearing.
The exact same symbol engraved on my pendant.
It glowed faintly from inside the wood.
As if the door itself was responding to the pendant.
The corridor fell completely silent.
Kiran took a step back.
"That symbol..." he said quietly.
"...I've never seen it before."
The light from the pendant suddenly flared brighter.
Then—
"CLANK".
The lock shifted again.
This time the entire door trembled.
For a brief second—it looked like it was about to open.
Kiara whispered nervously,
"Maybe we should stop this..."
But it was too late.
The pendant was glowing brighter and brighter.
The symbol on the door now shone with the same silver light.
The entire corridor felt alive.
Then suddenly—
"Aaradhya!"
A deep voice echoed down the hallway.
All three of us turned.
Grandfather stood at the end of the corridor.
His expression was darker than I had ever seen before.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded.
Kiara whispered nervously,
"We're in trouble..."
Grandfather slowly walked closer.
His sharp eyes moved from the ancient door...
to the glowing pendant around my neck.
And the colour drained from his face.
"That pendant..."
he whispered.
"Where did you get that?"
The silver light flickered again.
Behind us—
the massive door let out a low, ancient creak.
As if something inside it...
had finally awakened.
To Be Continued...