"It's not hero....It's heroine!"
Arundhati Shah is the grandaughter of Lord Indra, a prestigous noble. She is the second born in the family and has five sisters. She never knew her father. Aru is also about to get married off to Rudy, the cousin of...
A/N: I forgot to put this last chapter but Aru, Aiden, Mini, and Brynne look like this in the cover, this is the cover I was talking about:
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Just older (again) XD Another thing is that in the first chapter, I explained the army suit of India, to add to that I decided that the lieutenant will not have the chakra pin. Anyways, continuing...
A couple of days had passed since the engagement ceremony and Mini and Rudy were constantly flirting. Aru had thought it was super adorable and was thrilled that her ship was sailing officially (and she was the captain) at first. However, it started getting super cheesy after a while. Once Aru had caught them rubbing their noses together, she had gagged and ran away. Her other sisters were just as grossed out.
"Get a room!" Brynne had barked at Mini and Rudy once when they had started kissing in the main area. Kara was furious that Rudy's fiance was not Aru, but she had to keep up her sweet and innocent facade. Aru laughed whenever Kara tried to keep a straight face while she watched Rudy and Mini being all lovey dovey. One Saturday, while Aru was lazing around in her ancient spider man pajamas, someone knocked at the door. Rudy was doing a serenade for Mini on the balcony, Nikita and Sheela were at the community garden, Brynne was at Lady Hira's house, Aru's mom was on an errand, and Kara had gone to meet Lady Urvashi again. Which left Aru all alone with only her grandfather, Indra, in the house. Aru slowly got up, annoyed to be disturbed during her weekly couch potato training session (It's a real thing!), and opened the door. One of the imperial messengers of the king stood there.
"Can I help you?"
"Is this the house of Lord Indra?" Aru raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, it is."
"This is for him." The messenger handed her a letter and left. Aru eyed it curiously then went and knocked on the door of her grandfather's bedroom.
"Come in." Said a voice inside. She did what was told. Aru opened the door to find her grandfather sitting up in his bed, looking frail. He usually was in bed due to an injury in his left leg. It was nothing but a scar now but the injury still sometimes pained him.
"Grandpa! A letter came for you! What is it about?" She handed the note to her grandfather.
"Let's find out together. Shall we?" Aru nodded her head vigorously and sat on the floor, next to the bed. Indra cleared his throat and started reading aloud.
"An oncoming threat named the Sleeper is terrorizing all of India. The Sleeper is a powerful man who is gathering asuras and planning to seize the throne. He is destroying villages and minor kingdoms at this very moment. The Sleeper also seems to be using black magic and can control shadows. It is an order that one man from each family must join the army to fight the Sleeper..." Indra trails off. Aru is too stunned to speak. "It seems...like I will have to shake off some rust." he jokes. Aru finally manages to say something through all her fury.
"But you can't go! You will die!"
"I will have to do it!" He gets up using his cane and goes outside to the training grounds, Aru right behind him.
"There are plenty of men in India! Why do you have to go?"
"Aru please! At Least I will have the honor of-"
"You are Lord Indra for god's sake!"
"Aru-"
"You can just tell the king 'no'."
"Aru, this is a warning! Stop-"
"You are too weak"
"Aru!"
"You need to stay in bed and-"
"ARUNDHATI SHAH! Enough is enough! I have to join the army and I will! Leave now! I must practice!"
"But-"
"I said now!" Aru blinked back tears and ran back to her room. She slammed the door extra hard so people knew not to disturb her. She looked out the window to see her grandfather attacking a dummy with his sword. His moves were clumsy and Aru could see him wincing. Aru fell onto her bed and cried herself to sleep. She woke up around midnight to the sound of a knock. She got up, prepared to tell someone off for disturbing her, and opened her door. But no one was there. Aru frowned, this was very strange. The knocking sound came again. Aru turned to the window and saw a milk-white elephant tapping on it. She smiled and opened the window.
"Airavata!" The tiny elephant floated inside. He was a present from Indra to Aru on her 14th birthday. Airavata could make tiny clouds that popped when touched. He started doing this now, making clouds in different shapes and sizes. Aru could not help but laugh despite herself. Airavata trumpeted in triumph and continued his weaving. As Airavata made a cloud sword, a plan formed in Aru's head. Aru was going to do all she could to stop her grandpa from risking his life, even if that meant she had to risk hers. She takes out a dagger from underneath her bed(she used it to teach herself how to fight when she was 10) and uses it to cut her hair. The strands fall to the ground. Aru's hair used to go to her waist, now it just reaches her shoulders. Airavata looked on, puzzled, as she tied her now short hair in a man bun. Aru then swiftly makes her way to her grandpa's room, slowly opens the door, and peaks inside. She sees Indra snoring. Lucky for her, he is a heavy sleeper. She opens his cupboard and finds his suit from the time he was in the Indian army. He was a lieutenant but his cape and sash were taken away after he resigned. She puts on the uniform, it fits her because Indra was 16 when he joined the army. Aru sees the letter on her grandfather's bedside table and reads the rest of it. "The location of the army is at Champa near the Ganges river." Aru whispered. Great! It was only a 2-day ride on horseback from the mansion and she knew the easiest and safest route to get there by heart. Now all Aru needed was something to defend herself with. She has the dagger she used to cut her hair in her scabbard, but Aru knows she will need more than that. So Aru heads downstairs to gather supplies and to find a new weapon. She leaves a picture of a lightning bolt in place of the letter, knowing her grandfather will understand, and leaves the room. Airavata is waiting outside the door. Aru smiles, she knows that she will have to take the small elephant along with her, he is just as stubborn as she is. Aru stuffs the letter, some food and water, and some coins in a sack along with Airavata. He is not pleased with this. Aru holds back a cackle and heads to the armory to pick her weapon. The armory is a very dark place. As she searches for a match to light a torch, Aru feels someone's breath on her neck. She whips around her hand resting on the hilt of her dagger.
"I'm no Sheela, but I foresaw this coming a mile away."
A/N: So sorry that this took some time to update. I am trying to add more quality and I'm also rereading this to add more so I do not forget anything. If there is anything wrong with this, please comment your dislikes so I can make this a better story. I will update less often as this is where the rising action starts and I cannot forget to add anything. And yeah thats it!
