The Haunted Fortress of Bhangarh: Book 1

18. Inside the palace

The fort was initially built across seven steps, but only the lower three stories remained while the four others had collapsed a long time ago because of natural calamities. The stairs leading up to the main palace complex were quite steep and antiquated, the edges having been chipped off while boulders and stones littered every plinth. Careful they needed to be to ensure they wouldn't slip, fall, and injure themselves on the jagged ends of the rocks and the height of each stair was living proof of the sturdiness and the fitness the people in the olden days were boastful of.

The main palace had most of the walls intact, but the ruins were an exquisite sight to behold. Attractive they were as tales of the yore appeared to be imprinted on every crevice, every fissure. An arched doorway led them inside the palace's ground floor while a set of stone stairs curving at every plinth took them up towards the second and third floors of the edifice. A narrow path littered with gravel and boulders meandered toward the backside of the main complex, opening up into a small clearing where a natural stream formed an ancient pond filled with cool water to the brim while verdant grass—untrimmed and unkempt—grew wild in its vicinity. Beyond the estuary lay a series of smaller palaces—each belonging to the multiple princes, queens, and princesses of the kingdom. However, the guide warned against exploring those beyond the pool because they were highly unstable and were on the verge of collapse, thereby making it risky to venture deep inside.

Rudra was barely paying attention to what the guide was saying as the hallucination from moments prior had him rattled still. The same boundary, the same stone walls, perhaps younger and devoid of mosses but it was the same he had a vision of, narrating the tale of how Raghuveer had received the gash on his chest that always pained Rudra quite acutely despite it being just a random nightmare his psyche conjured from time to time.

The guide led them all back to the main palace—the only stable structure remnant in that area. Though it was devastated, the stone walls chipped off due to nature's onslaught on the roofless ruin, the sheer beauty of the edifice was on par with the anecdotes about the exquisiteness of the most famous princess of the kingdom—Princess Ratnavati.

"It is said that Ratnavati still haunts this place," the guide said. "One of the many ghosts who swarm this fortress."

Ranvir's brows shot up. "Isn't she bored of living here? The same house for so many centuries."

The guide pursed his lips at the way the clique sniggered. "Not a joking matter, young boy. If they could, they would've passed on. But as I said, this place is cursed, and there is no way they can leave the premises."

Surbhi chuckled, taking her phone out to shoot a couple of videos and snap numerous pictures of the ruins. A set of stairs that led them up had a thicket of wild growth, hindering the rays of the sun from flitting through, rendering the steps and the platforms sans natural light. Surbhi and the others darted up the stairs in order to explore every inch of the palace, but Shravani, Rudra, and Ishita stayed back on the lower floor, each lost in their own train of thought. Rudra had his back leaned against a pillar while he twiddled with the sleeves of his jacket. Ishita was busy roaming her palms over the walls and the windows to feel the architecture before jotting down important points in her notebook. Shravani had a fond smile on her lips as she gazed at every nook and cranny perceptible to her.

"Look at the condition of this place." Shravani's face fell. "It used to be so beautiful back in the day but is now a set of ruins. Nothing else."

Rudra didn't miss the despondency in her cadence. "I am sure it was indeed magnificent."

"The other palace behind the rose garden used to be more so." Shravani giggled, clapping her hands in ebullience. "Her palace, you know!"

His brows creased. "Whose?"