Royal Secrets (Shhhh)

Chapter 36[1] ~ Where is My Home~

At Mussoorie

It had been two days since Dhara stepped into the prestigious campus of Mussoorie International Girls School—a place where hundreds of girls dreamed to belong.

A place full of freedom, beauty, and opportunity. But for Dhara… it felt like just another prison, only with prettier walls.

Nothing felt right. Nothing made sense.

Even the lush green mountains that surrounded the school—once symbols of peace and freedom—looked lifeless and dull to her. The cool, fresh breeze that brushed against her skin felt strange and unfamiliar.

The sound of the other girls laughing, talking, and moving on with their lives only reminded her how far she was from theirs. She couldn’t relate to them. She couldn’t feel any of it.

Maybe it was true…
When someone spends too long in a cage, they begin to believe the cage is their home.

Maybe that’s what was happening to Dhara.

She had lived all her life behind the grand walls of Rajgardh. A golden palace to the world—an invisible prison to her. Fifteen years spent in silence, in service, in fear. That life may have been harsh, but it was familiar. It was the only life she had ever known.

And then one day, someone came. They unlocked the cage. They told her, “You’re free now.”

But what does freedom even mean to someone who has only ever been taught to obey?

Dhara didn’t know how to live in this new world. She didn’t know how to breathe in this open air. She didn’t know how to exist outside the palace walls. She felt like a bird that had spent its entire life in a cage—and now, suddenly released, had no idea how to fly.

She felt lost in this so-called freedom.

Other girls around her smiled, made friends, joined clubs, laughed over lunch. They were like birds flying confidently in the sky—while Dhara was flapping her wings helplessly, unsure of how to move, how to stay afloat.

And when a bird doesn’t know how to fly, it becomes an easy target.
That’s what the world does.
It doesn’t wait for you to learn.
It devours you.

Dhara’s heart ached deeply. Every breath in this new world felt heavier than the last. She missed the familiar silence of Rajgardh, the cold stone corridors, even the cruel routine. She missed knowing her place—even if that place was far below everyone else.

Because Rajgardh was not just a palace to her.
It was her world.
Her truth.
Her identity.

Without it, she didn’t know who she was.

Her eyes wandered across every corner of the school campus—hoping to find something, anything, that felt like home.

But nothing did.

Because for Dhara, home had only ever meant one place.

Rajgardh

With its strict rules, cold silences, and heavy shadows—that was the world she knew. That was the place where she had grown up, served, and survived. It wasn’t perfect. In fact, it had often been cruel. But still… it was hers.

Rajgardh wasn’t just a palace to her—it was her life, her identity. Every corner, every sound, every silence there reminded her of who she was… and what she had been through.

Now, away from it all, in a world full of freedom and light—Dhara felt more lost than ever. She didn’t know how to fit in. She didn’t know how to feel safe in this open space.