Chronicles of Panchali - The 100th Selection

Chapter 12: Some Plot Convenience

Aru spent nearly the whole day trying not to shake or cry, because that was all it seemed her body could do anymore. At one point, she banged on the door to be let out, feeling trapped in the small, cold room. There was no reply. It was only during the sunset that it opened, and only for a split second to just give her a blanket and pillow. The blanket was extremely soft, but Aru threw it away to a corner of a room. She didn't deserve that luxury.

Once she had somewhat calmed down, she took in the room properly with heavy-lidded eyes. It was dimly lit, even more so thanks to the four thick stone walls surrounding the main room. Off in one corner was a small table with history books laid on top. There was a door that led to an extremely small bathroom and hanging from the ceiling with a ladder was her bed. It was soft and comfortable, but Aru didn't even care about comfort.

Aru didn't get a wink of sleep in the night, probably because she spent the whole time trying to lasso the window with the blanket to try and climb up there. It was only when the sun broke through the darkness that she finally succeeded. Aru took a deep breath and held on to the gray blanket firmly and pulled once to make sure it wouldn't fall on her. It didn't.

She planted her feet on the wall and strained her muscles to pull her upward. As soon as she was a few feet off the ground, however, she fell down, landing with a thud on the hard marble floor.

"Hey, is everything alright in there?" A guard shouted from the outside, the first sign that someone was actually guarding the house. Aru mentally shook her head.

Mother should have left no guards and made this bunker outside the castle, preferably connected to an abandoned house. No one would check there. If guards were necessary, she should have made them seem like gardeners or random passerby, or preferably have none and keep the bunker in an isolated spot with equipped food and water along with basic necessities.

"I'm fine!" Aru called back, surprised at how hoarse her voice sounded, probably from the crying. The situation that she was in seemed to press down on her harder, and panic began to overwhelm her again. What was she doing?

Aru took a deep breath again and held the blanket with all her strength, to no avail. At least I made it half way up, she mused to herself. The same practice continued and by the end of the hour, Aru's hands were callused and rough-looking, and it was a miracle her bones weren't broken by how many times she'd fallen down. All she had to show for her dedication were the few bruises on her legs and hands, but they barely showed on her brown skin, something she was thankful for.

Aru grabbed the blanket, ready to go again, but just then, she got a mind message from Mini.

Hey, she said in Aru's head. We're right outside the door. We're coming in as soon as the guards open it.

Aru barely had time to wrap her head around that because she heard a series of small clicks. Not knowing how to properly disguise what she was doing, she pulled the blanket down, threw it in a corner, and clumsily put on a long sleeved jacket to hide her arms. By the time she made it to the bundle of blankets and sat down to make it look like she was like that the entire time, the door opened.

"Aru!" Mini cried out, running forward to wrap her in a large bear hug.

"Uh, Mini," Aru choked out. "I need to breathe."

"Oh right," Mini said sheepishly before letting go. Her eyes scanned Aru worriedly. "Are you okay? You don't look like you're hurt, but your mom didn't even get you checked up for any internal bleeding whatsoever."

"I'm fine," Aru reassured, pulling away. She forced herself to keep some cheer in her voice as she stood up and turned to everyone else. "I really am. And how did you guys get permission to even come here?"