Aru Shah 3.5 (DISCONTINUED)

Choices

"YES," Kubera's voice reverberated throughout the room. "YOU MUST KNOW WHICH TREASURES TO CHASE AND WHICH ONES TO LEAVE."

The walls sprang up around them again and they stood back in the throne room.

Aru felt like a leaf clinging to a branch--like if too strong of a wind came her way, she would be ripped away. She shoved her hands into her pockets to keep them from shaking.

Kubera raised his brows at the Potatoes. "YOU ARE WORTHY SO FAR. BUT TELL ME, ARJUNA. WHEN THE TIME COMES...DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WILL CHOOSE?"

She heard the unspoken question: her family or her friends?

Aru should have panicked. But instead, she was angry. She was tired of being toyed with. And she had a family larger than blood. And although she didn't remember what she'd wished on Kalpavriksha, she had a feeling they had been on her mind. She glanced at her friends, their faces filling her with courage. "Yes," she said.

"We've passed your first trial. What about the second?"

"IT'S QUITE SIMPLE, REALLY. EVERY PERSON HAS SECRETS BEHIND THEIR HOARD. WHO WILL YOU TELL YOURS TO?"

Kubera blurred from sight until it was only the six of them standing in the throne room. Suddenly, Aru found herself standing next to Aiden. She felt slightly queasy. "What did he--" she began.

Across the room, Mini and Rudy materialized next to each other. In another corner, Brynne and Hira stumbled as they appeared beside a pillar.

"Are you guys okay?"

"I'm good!" Mini reported cheerfully.

Beside her, Rudy groaned and hugged his stomach.

Aru started to sprint towards them but suddenly she hit an invisible wall. She staggered backwards. Beside her, Aiden charged towards Brynne and Hira but met the same problem.

"Hey!" Aru yelled. "Let us go!"

The walls turned opaque. Now, Aru couldn't see any of their friends or Kubera, for that matter.

"NOW, NONE OF THAT," Kubera chided. "YOU HAVE TO PASS THESE TRIALS IF YOU WANT MY ARMY."

Aiden looked frustrated. His scimitars peeked out from his sleeves but he slipped them back in. "What are we supposed to do?"

Aru tried to think. Her heart beat wildly, and not just because she was this close to Aiden. Okay, maybe a little bit.

"'Every person has secrets behind their hoard,'" she remembered. "He wants us to say them."

Aiden understood immediately. "It's like the chakoras. All over again!"

"I don't think a small secret's going to cut it," Aru sighed, dropping cross-legged to the floor. She put her head in her hands. "It's going to have to be our biggest."

Aiden sat across from her. "Well, besides Brynne, I trust you the most. So you won't use it for blackmail or anything, right?"

Aru tried to smile. "No promises, Wifey."

Aiden rolled his eyes. "Promise you won't judge me for it? You know I won't judge you."

"I promise," Aru said immediately.

Aiden took a breath. "Well, you know how we're reincarnations...I feel like I'm reliving a life someone's already written for me and--" He paused, looking at Aru. "--sometimes I don't know if this is genuine or not."

Aru got the feeling he was talking about something more than their being Pandavas. She nodded. For some reason, something deflated in her chest.

Aru stared at the floor, desperately sifting through her head, but she didn't have any greater secret than the one that had the power to destroy her.

"I..." she started. Something cold squeezed her heart.

"It's okay, Shah. Remember our promise."

"Sometimes I don't know...whether I'm--" She fought the words, but some force prevented her from stopping. "--fighting on the right side."

Suddenly, the world blurred. A wave of nausea swept through Aru as she found her friends and herself standing together again.

"YOU HAVE PASSED MY TRIALS," Kubera said, a note of disappointment in his voice. "I WILL SEND THE NAIRRATA ARMY TO THE OTHERWORLD NOW. BUT KEEP IN MIND YOUR CHOICES, PANDAVAS. THEY MAY WELL BE YOUR DESTRUCTION."

- - -

Outside the gates, the sky was sending down a light drizzle of rain.

Mini wiped her glasses. "We need to get back to the Otherworld. Now."

No one argued.

Aru could feel Aiden gazing at her but she refused to turn her head. She couldn't bear to see the disappointment and betrayal she knew must be in his eyes. She couldn't bear to see him looking at her like what she was--a traitor.

"Well," she said at last, "We'd better get going."

A/N So ends Aru Shah 3.5! COG releases in less than a week and it'll be fun to see how much of this actually matches the real version! Thank you all for your votes, comments, and support <3