Arcania

Muktha's pov

Muktha POV
   “Yeah? Tell us” I said. “So, yesterday the kidnapper who held me told me something..” Kanchana said as she sat on her bed. “What did he tell?” Chaitra asked. “He told me that we shouldn’t trust anyone here and that this place isn’t safe for us” “ Oh my god” Chaitra exclaimed. “And what’s the second thing you wanted to tell?” I asked. “When I was sleeping in Derek's room last night, I woke up randomly, maybe at midnight. I saw him holding my hand firmly and started to wonder how he ended up in this world. Then all of a sudden I saw visions of him” “Visions?” me and Chaitra asked in unison. “Yes. I saw how he entered this world. I even saw his best friends, warning him not go inside the DEATHTOMB, but still he went inside. Then he saw the note with the riddle and wrote man 2 and then he was pulled here. I even got his friends names right” she said with confidence. “Oof, what if it was just a coincidence. See, in the past you had so many dreams. And maybe this was one of them too” I commented. “Noo, I asked Derek how he came here and he said the exact same thing” she argued. “Dude, I think Muktha is right. You are just overthinking” Chaitra added. “Really?” she asked with frustration. “Ok, we’ll do one thing, let’s test this” I suggested. “How?” Kanchana asked. “Hold one of us and see if you get the visions again. If you do get them then we'll believe you, but if you don’t then it’s just a coincidence. Ok?” “Ok. I’m ready to do whatever it takes to prove it to you both” 
     She held my hand and closed her eyes. We were sitting on the bed from past 15 minutes almost. “Did you guys plan a surprise party for me on the day of book launch?” she asked with a sad look. We both were startled and glanced at each other. “Whoa, this is really amazing! You do have a special power dude” I tried to distract her from the party topic. “Yeah, so now what do we do?” she asked. “We have to tell this to someone. Even though that kidnapper said that we can’t trust anyone, but now he’s dead. We have to tell this to someone to know more about this” Chaitra suggested. “Yeah” we both agreed with her. “So, whom do we consult?” Kanchana asked. “Mask?” I suggested. “Ok we’ll go right now. I can’t live with curiosity” Kanchana said. We laughed and started heading to find mask.
   “Don’t worry. It’s nothing serious. The thing is we didn’t tell you that before” Mask said after we explained everything in detail. “What didn’t you tell us?” Chaitra asked him. “Ok so, anyone who lives here has some or the other ability. Like you can see I handle magic. There are not only humans in this kingdom. There are witches, vampires, werewolves and many other magical creatures. Don’t worry, they are all living happily together” He answered by looking at the terrified look on our faces. “So humans have some special powers, including our kings. Nolan has age and time manipulation, Ryan is good with handling any kind of weapons even for the first time and he can change into any kind of dangerous creature for few hours and Derek can manipulate darkness and aura reading. So this way you all will also discover your powers soon. Kanchana has already discovered her power. You can see anyone’s past by just holding their hand” He said by looking at Kanchana. “Oh. This is too much to take in. So even they both have powers and will discover them soon?” Kanchana asked. “Yes” he replied with his usual smile. “Oh ok. Thank you so much for your help Mask. But will you get to know our powers before we get to know it ourselves?” I asked out of curiosity. “No, it’s only you who has to find out. But there is one person who can help you with it, but he’s not in the kingdom right now. He usually meditates underwater for few months. So at present he’s there. If you guys didn’t discover until he returns then for sure I’ll take you to him” he said. “Ok mask. Thank you so much” we all told and we were about to leave and he called us “ Ladies?” “Yes?” “Your combat training will start from tomorrow, so by the end of today try to select the weapon you want to master” “Oh ok. Thank you” we said and went back to our room.
      “Guys I can’t take this anymore. I’m having a severe headache. I’ll sleep for a while” Kanchana said. “Ok.  I need some fresh air, so I’ll go roam around for a while. Want to join?” I asked Chaitra. “I guess I’ll pass. I just want to sleep for a while. You carry on” she replied. “Hmm ok” I said and left.
    I was roaming around in the corridors of the palace for 15 minutes. I reached the 4th floor. Apart from the library I had just noticed the stairs leading upstairs and never been there. So I took them to see what’s there on the fifth floor. The corridor was so big. There was only one door in that whole floor.  I hesitated initially but then ended up entering inside. Whoa. There were many old chairs, tables and antique pieces related to the Royal family. Maybe few centuries old. I remembered learning about their old designs of the furniture in class, traditions. There were many portraits of kings and queens who ruled this kingdom. There was also a photo of an old man. He was short and lean with long white beard. He was wearing some white robe and also has a wooden stick, which was twisted on top, which was actually longer than him.
    While randomly looking at the portraits, something caught my eye. Nolan? I removed that painting out and saw the name clearly.  It was a painting of a royal couple with their son. The boy looked similar to Nolan. Same chocolate brown eyes with messy black hair. What does this mean? And moreover his name was specifically mentioned. I heard some footsteps. I kept the portrait back and started at the portrait of the old man. “Muktha? What are you doing here?” Nolan asked. Oh my god! I calmed myself and turned to face him. “Hi. Just roaming around. Is this a store room?” I asked. “Yes, something like that. I don’t think you should be here Muktha” he warned. “Why not? This is just a store room. And moreover pretty useful for me” I said while glancing around. “Useful? How?” he asked while narrowing his eyes. I could sense some sort of fear and anger in his eyes. “ Did you forget what major I am in? Traditions. And things here will help me understand and remember the culture more vividly” I answered. “Oh yeah. But remember, don’t come here again. Mask will get angry if he gets to know that you were here” he cautioned. “But why?” “Some things shouldn’t be known. There are better off staying in the dark. And if you ever get bored again, we can go for a long walk and get to know each other well” I just smiled and went outside the room. He locked the door and held me by my waist, “Shall we leave?” I just nodded. It felt like he held me so that I couldn’t go back and find out more about that room. It was very clear that he was trying to hide something from us. He dropped me near my room, “Good day lady” with that he left.
     “What?? So you think Nolan is the actual successor and not from earth?” Chaitra asked. “Yes. Something is suspicious for sure” I said. “Hmm yeah. He is kind of reserved and doesn’t talk much” Kanchana said. “ Yeah” I agreed. “Oh and when you had gone Mast’s sister had come. Her name is Raveena.  She seemed kind of cool, and not intimidating like Nolan or Mask” Chaitra said. “Oh, what did she say?” I asked. “Nothing much. She just came, told us about herself and then left saying that she had some work” Kanchana said. “Oh ok” “She said she’ll meet you some other time” “Hmm ok” “Guys I want to go somewhere outside for a while” Kanchana said. “Ok let’s do one thing. We haven’t visited the outskirts of the city yet. Shall we go there? We still have rest of the evening” I suggested. “Yes please. Thanks” “ DON’T” I almost screamed. “Ok ok” Kanchana said as we started heading outside.