When Aastha met Veer, she knew they had a connection.
However, the connection would be from two centuries ago, she never could have imagined.
A love story that remained unfulfilled, broken by evil, and destroyed to ashes - whose reference hide...
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Aastha sighed leaning against the wall and sipping her mocktail. When she had convinced her father to let her join them earlier in the day, she had hoped for a fun-filled day ahead. However, what she was left with was a crowd who were more interested in chit-chatting than touring the Shakti Mahal palace.
Despite belonging to the lineage of the royal family that once ruled Malavar and lived in that same palace, Aastha had still not traversed through the nook and corner of the vast 700 acres of property. A small portion comprising ten acres of the front yard, the royal darbar, and a couple of guest quarters converted into a museum filled with artefacts and collectables were accessible to the public. There was also a portion of the palace that was accessible only to VIPs - the courtroom, ballroom, courtyard and the royal stables that housed horses and elephants. The other half of the property was used as the royal residence. Aastha had seen them all, except the portion on the southwest side that was closed off for decades.
Aastha vaguely remembered how Saanvi was grounded for a week for wandering towards the forbidden territory when she was only 5 years old. Gouri Devi, their grandmother had flipped and had created a ruckus because of Saanvi's explorations. Back then, Aastha didn't know what the fuss was all about. Much later during her teens, her mother had explained that Aastha's grandfather had sealed off the portion because they had attempted to do some renovation work which resulted in a disaster. Some of the renovated structures had fallen, severely injuring the construction workers.
The incident had left Aastha's grandfather in distress causing a mild heart attack and a few months later, he suffered a cardiac arrest. The family astrologer had announced some lingering bad omen in that corner of the house and requested a long list of rituals to ward off the negativity. Post which, Gouri Devi dropped the renovation plan and made some changes to ensure that the southwest wing of the palace is off-limits for everyone.
Aastha recalled that it was also at the same time, that Gouri Devi's fears related to Rudragarh had increased tenfold. Without her husband to calm her down, Gouri had harboured deep-rooted hatred and anxiety towards the dead city that she didn't want to be anywhere near it. It had been more than a decade since Gouri Devi had stepped foot in Roopgarh. According to her, 'Rudragarh's bad omen will soon reach Roopgarh. Before you know it, it will consume our family. I can see the future.'
Since then, Gouri Devi had been engrossed in every known ritual she could find to ward off whatever dread that was looming above the Pratap Singh family.
"You seem bored." Veer's voice cut through Aastha's thoughts. Startled, she almost dropped her mocktail glass.
"Careful." He smiled, wrapping his hands over her fingers that were clutching the glass. Aastha shook her head, "Stop sneaking up on me."
"Oops, sorry. You looked like you would dig a hole right here and disappear."
Aastha rolled her eyes, "If I dig a hole here, I will reach either the dungeons or secret underground chambers that must be infested with reptiles and rats."
