Up For The Test (Aru Shah AU)

Chapter Seventeen

AN: Sorry for the long wait. This chapter is mainly dialog just for a warning. 

"Aru, are you sure this is the right decision?" Mini asked. 

"I'm sure. It's too late to turn around." She turned around to everyone. "If this doesn't work and for some reason, he doesn't bring the King and Queen, you must rule Byburn together. You will all have equal power."

"Aru," Fischer started. "This plan has to work. We can't lose you."

"And you won't. It will work." She turned to Mini. 

"Take this. Brynne doesn't like her crown, so you may have it." She took the crown off of her head and placed it on Mini's. "You deserve this and so much more, Yamini. Wear it with pride and stand tall. Wear it like I have the past three days."

"Aru," Mini cried. "Don't leave us."

"I'll be back." 

They all had a giant group hug, including MIni even though she hates hugs. Aru let go the second she heard hoof steps.

She turned around and saw Sebastian, Suyodhana, Hanuman, and Urvashi. 

"Aru, don't do this," Urvashi said. 

"I don't have a choice. I vowed that I would protect Byburn, and that's what I'm doing. He would kill our country and everyone in it. Just let me do what I said I would."

Hanuman and Urvashi stepped off of their horses and ran over to the group of kids. 

Aru went to take a step forward when she paused. 

"Aru, I've done my end of the deal, now come," Suyodhana said warningly. 

"No, no, you haven't. All you do is break deals and promises. You promised me you would stay with me forever. You promised my mother that you would always love us. You promised that you wouldn't become the stories you told me," Aru replied, her voice breaking. 

She stood up straight and looked directly at her father. All the words she had always wanted to say started to flood out. 

"All you do is break people. You broke my heart the day you left. You left me with my broken-down mother, who I was then forced to take care of at the age of twelve. You broke the people of Cata. They sit in dispair and mope around. They put on a fake smile so that you don't kill them!"

"Aru, watch it," he warned. 

"No, dad. You watch it, because who knows? Maybe I won't keep my end of the deal. But, you won't be able to stop me. I will rule the kingdom. Who will you be to me? Nobody. You will be nothing. Now, get out of my way."

Suyodhana stepped to the side and allowed his daughter to climb on a horse. 

"You'll ride behind. I can't look at you," Aru said. 

Aru's horse started to walk away, so she didn't cry in front of all of her friends. Sebastian rode up to her. 

"That was inspiring," he said quietly.

"Shut up, Sebastian. What makes you think I want to talk to you?"

"Fair." There was a moment of silence before he started to talk again. "I hope you know I had to choice but to betray Byburn. I love that country, but I couldn't stay there, Aru."

"What do you mean you didn't have a choice? Everyone has a choice."

"I didn't. Four years ago, Cata was going downhill. The economy was failing, people were losing their jobs, and houses got foreclosed. My parents couldn't keep the country going. Then your father came into the picture. He had a lot of money; enough to save Cata from going under."

Aru looked over to the dark-haired boy. 

"You know, some kids get sold into an arranged marriage, some get sold into being a slave for life, but I was different. Your father wanted two things in return for giving the money to Cata."

"What were they?" Aru asked, continuing to go at a steady pace. 

"The throne and me. He wanted a child to take his place if anything were ever to happen. He knew you wouldn't comply, so he asked my parents for me. They would do anything for Cata, the blue-skied, bright country, so they allowed him to take me under contract. The contract said he would keep Cata going, no matter the cost."

"It's obvious he did it his way," Aru mumbled. 

"It also said that I would be heir to the throne, and I was always supposed to do as he said, or else I would end up like my parents."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"In the dungeon, in the very last cell, that was my parent's new home. They passed two years ago. Their skeletons lay in the corner. Suyodhana wouldn't allow me to have a proper burial for them."

"I'm so sorry, Sebastian, but where does betraying Byburn come into this?"

"He said that you lived in a nice little house in Byburn, the place I had always begged him to let me go. He allowed me to on two conditions. One, I watch over you. Two, I deceive Byburn, which would allow him to ultimately take it over."

Then Aru realized what he meant. He was bound to comply with her father. He had no choice. Well, he did but if he disobeyed, that would end in him dying a brutal death. Aru had never thought of why Sebastian actually betrayed her home country. 

She always had assumed he had no actual reasoning behind it all. Why had it never occurred to her that she had never met his parents? He had always spoken so highly of them. She only felt guilt for assuming that he had wanted to be the villain in her story. 

"I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Don't. I just thought you would want to know the full story. But, please allow this marriage to go through. I just want a proper burial for my parents and Cata to be reformed to its previous beauty. You can do whatever you please."

"I just want for Cata to be how it was before, Sebastian. If it includes getting rid of my father, so be it."

"Thank you, Aru. We can get divorced whenever, as long as Suyodhana doesn't get back the throne."

"Don't worry. He will never see power again." 

They got to the dark castle and Aru just happened to ride past a small royal cemetery. She saw one name that stuck out, Krithika Shah. 

"Sebastian?" she asked. "What is this?"

"I have no idea," he said, just as confused. 

They both got off their horses just as Suyodhana rode up behind them.

"Oh. I see she had the chance to tell you before I did. Your mother died. It was brutal really." He got off his horse and Aru faced him. 

"What did you do?!" she yelled.

"Me? It was all her. She tried to escape and one of the guards caught her. They mistakenly killed her."

Aru felt her eyes well up with tears as she made the rashest decision she had ever had run through her head happen. 

She smacked her father then kicked him to the ground. 

"Don't act like you had nothing to do with her death!"

"Aru, come. Let him live in his own misery," Sebastian said. 

Aru turned to Sebastian. "Did you know?"

"Of course not! Who's side do you think I'm on?" he whispered so Suyodhana couldn't hear. 

"I don't know anymore, Sebastian," she said, walking away.

AN: Yes, this chapter is short. I'm sorry. But, the next chapter will be out soon and it is the second to last chapter. I'm sad this book is coming to an end, but it was a great experience so : )