Aru Shah and the Chamber of Lies

The Aftermath

A/N: Hey guys! So this fanfic takes place after NOI, and basically the Sleeper is defeated and they stopped the amrita from falling to the hands of evil, and all that. Btw, in this fanfic, Aru and Aiden are together, and Mini and Rudy are in like the flirting stage (hehe :) )

These chapters are gonna most likely be really short because I'm also working on my other fanfic (Aru Shah and the Soul Trident- if you haven't checked it out already, please do!). But because they're short, I'll probably update really quickly. Anyways, that's the end of my little author's note, and I hope you enjoy this fanfic!

It had only been a couple of days since the Sleeper was defeated and the amrita was prevented from being taken by evil. There were celebrations going on throughout the Otherworld. But not for Aru. For her, it was just days of mourning for a father she never got the chance to have. A father who had loved her, but then succumbed to the cruel twist of fate. Her sisters had offered to stay with her, but Aru knew they wanted to join in on the festivities. She couldn't blame them either. After all, they had spent nearly three years trying to defeat him. They deserved it.

Kara, at the last moment, had joined their side and turned against the Sleeper. Towards the end of the fight, she finally regained her memories, and was exposed to all the lies the Sleeper had told her. But she wasn't at the festival like the rest of them either, like Aru. Instead, she had gone to California to be reunited with her adoptive family. Aru was happy for her, but at the same time, she wished that she was here with her. Although Kara annoyed her a little, she was comforting to be around with, like a soft, warm ray of sunshine. But things were still a little tense between Kara and their mother, so she decided to take a break and visit her old family.

The only good thing that happened was that Aiden had refused to join in on the celebrations, in consideration of her. In fact, as of this moment, she was snuggled up against him while a movie played in front of them. Aru, for once, was too preoccupied with her thoughts to even bother watching the film.

"Shah?" Aiden asked, tilting his face towards her.

"Hm?"

He hesitated before asking, "Are you okay? You're not paying any attention at all, and we're re-watching Lord of the Rings."

Aru glanced up at him. It was dark, so she could only faintly see his brows furrowed together in worry. She hugged him and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just...tired. And I'm worried about Mom."

He nodded. "Is she doing any better?"

Aru sighed. "Still the same." After they had defeated the Sleeper, Krithika Shah was a complete mess. She remembered her mom hugging her and sobbing once she had returned home. She had now temporarily closed the museum and confined herself to her room. Aru couldn't exactly blame her, but it made her upset to see her strong mother break down like that.

Aiden gave her shoulder a squeeze. "She'll be okay soon. She just needs some time to herself, that's all."

"Yeah," Aru sighed. Soon, the ending credits rolled and Aiden gently untangled himself from her and reluctantly stood up.

"Sorry, Shah, but I've gotta go." He glanced at his watch. "I promised Mom I would be back by 11, and it's already 11:15."

Aru stretched and got up as well. She smiled and said, "Sure, go ahead. I should start cleaning up anyway."

He nodded, and before leaving her, he told her, "Aru? Will you be okay? Like, I can stay if you want me to..."

Aru, who was starting to fold the blankets they had used, looked up. She saw concern radiating off his dusk-colored eyes. She wanted to give some sort of assurance that she'll be okay, but the words didn't come to her. Instead, Aru averted her eyes and shook her head furtively. "I'll be okay."

Aiden sighed and bent down, and lightly pecked her cheek. Startled, Aru stared at him, and blushed. Then, he took her hand in his and led her towards the front door. He put on his shoes and stepped out, but didn't leave without hugging her good-bye.

Aru watched as Aiden made his way back home, reluctant to go back inside the museum and drown in her loneliness. She eventually closed the door and made her way to her room. Before going inside, however, she paused and walked towards her mom's room. She put an ear against the door, and could hear her mother's soft snores. Well, at least she wasn't crying anymore.

Aru went inside her own room and snuggled in her bed. She didn't even bother to try and go to sleep. So instead, she picked up a book and started to read.

Eventually, however, as all books (except LOTR ones) do, Aru's eyes skimmed through the pages as much as she could before she finally gave in to the lull of sleep.