aru shah fan fiction

love: s i x

     Aru sat on the grassy earth, gaping like a fish and touching her lip, as she watched Aiden tease the Sharakada.

     Freak out later, fight now!

     Aru gripped the single scimitar tightly as Aiden danced around the terrifying beast. The Sharakada repeatedly swiped at him with its deadly claws, giving Aru a near heart attack each time.

     Aru crouched behind a nearby bush, close enough to see the action, but far away enough to stay hidden. Each time Aiden tried to elevate the Sharakada, it sunk even lower to the ground, aware of its weakness. 

     Suddenly, in one quick swipe, the Sharakada slashed at Aiden with its claws, this time successfully making contact with his body. In an instant, he collapsed to the ground like a helpless rag doll.

     No Aiden! Aru thought. Dang it. I will personally destroy that beast and I'll do it with my bare hands.

     Her gaze fell upon a sharp rock beside a nearby bush. She scrambled over and gripped it in her sweaty palm. Aru swung her arm and released the rock upon the Sharakada.

     The snarling beast turned around, snapping its claws at Aru.

     Crap, Aru thought. What do I do now?

     How about some good ole talking and procrastination, Aru decided. I'm great at annoying people, so why not monsters?

     "You work for the Sleeper, don't you?" Aru blurted.

     The Sharakada growled.

     "Yeah. I've heard of him. In fact, I almost trapped him once," Aru continued. "Ah, good times."

     The monster advanced on Aru at a deceivingly slow pace.

      Aru could feel her pulse humming in her ears, and it had nothing to do with physical effort.

     Just keep it away from Aiden, Aru thought. Keep him safe. Well, as safe as you can be after getting clawed at by a life-threatening monster.

     "Did you know I'm the Sleeper's daughter?" Aru subtly stepped away from the approaching Sharakada. "He would never hurt his own daughter, would he now?"

     Aru knew it was a complete lie, but she had to keep it up. The plan seemed to be working so far. The Sharakada shifted about uncomfortably, unsettled about Aru's inside knowledge. 

     "You know, the Sleeper tells me stuff all the time," Aru said. "In fact, he told me that you're his most useful minion."

     The Sharakada abruptly halted. It stared at Aru with beady eyes, suspicious of the factuality of her statement.

     "Yeah. He personally told me that," Aru said. "He also told me that your strong spot is your underbelly, right?"

     Aru prayed to the gods that she get what she wanted ONCE and that the Sharakada believed her. Sadly, she didn't get what she wanted often. ESPECIALLY during life threatening situations. Funny, things never seemed to go her way during those.

     The Sharakada planted itself even more firmly to the ground, growling at Aru.

     Great, Aru thought.

     "I'm not lying," Aru lied. "The Sleeper told me your strong spot is your underbelly. He told me that if you lifted it off the ground, your 'powers would increase tenfold.' Those were his exact words. Unless you WANT to be weaker and go against what your boss says, then that's completely fine."