Aiden Acharya. Heir to the throne of India. If Aiden snapped his fingers, servants would bring him ice cream on golden platters. He had good genes and a beautiful voice. When he sang, he hypnotized everyone in the room. It was a trait passed down by his late mother. So Aiden was happy right? Wrong. For starters, Aiden was democratic. His motto was: For the people, by the people, and of the people. If Aiden was to rule India, he would make it a democratic country. His father and step-mother did not agree to this. Their motto was: For me, by me, and of me. So, as you can see, Aiden had totally different views than his family. Aiden never asked anyone for anything. He insisted that he could get or do it by himself. He hated singing. And he never smoldered if he could help it. Aiden was smart, he loved nature and animals. He had a camera which he loved taking pictures with. He liked to wear black casual clothes and blend into the shadows, his cousin often teased him for that. And yes Aiden cried during the Titanic, but if you did not cry when Jack died then you are a cold-blooded monster. Back on topic, Aiden was a guy who would do anything for his people, his parents thought he was crazy for this. Aiden's mom had died when he was young and Queen Annette took her place right after Former-Queen Malini passed away. Aiden hated her, but there was nothing he could do. His life just seemed to be getting worse and worse.

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When Aiden was sixteen, he had his debutante ball, since he had come of age. The ball was terrible, it started with many people boasting and trying to impress him and a bunch of girls flirting with him, though he had no idea why. However, Aiden did see one girl apart from the rest wearing a two-piece dress. The skirt was high-waisted and dark gold with a pattern of gold-foil lightning bolts. The top was black velvet studded with gold pearls, and it had ballooned sleeves that cinched delicately at her wrists. She had long, thick black hair tied in a fishtail braid over her shoulder that gleamed in the light. Her almond- shaped eyes were a warm brown and she had a slightly evil smirk that played naturally on her lips. But when she genuinely smiled, her whole face lit up and it seemed to be contagious because everyone looking at her, including Aiden, could not help smiling back. The girl seemed around fifteen and was talking to another girl with shoulder length hair and glasses. Before Aiden could go up and talk to her, his father sidled up to him and whispered in Aiden's ear:

"It's time."

Aiden nodded and the King turned to the guests.

"The moment has come where my son shall visit the Oracle!"

Everyone cheered half-heartedly. Anyone who had imperial blood coursing in them got a prophecy when they turned sixteen. But the prophecies were usually stupid, like, You shall get food poisoning from cake! Aiden felt sorry for that guy. Point is, Aiden thought visiting the Oracle was useless but he decided to visit it anyway. What could go wrong? Looking back, Aiden had probably jinxed himself right then and there.

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Aiden was led down a long hall with only his father for company. The King blabbed on and on to Aiden so much that Aiden felt sure his ears were bleeding. At the end of the hall were thick obsidian doors, doors that led to the Oracle. King Acharya unlocked the doors with a key that seemed to be made out of the same stone as the doors, and opened them. Aiden stepped inside and heard the doors close and his father's footsteps fading away. The room was almost pitch black with mist that seemed to cling to the darkness. Aiden walked to the end of the room and saw...nothing. Absolutely nothing. Aiden turned to leave, disappointed, when all of a sudden the mist swirled around and formed the barest suggestion of a woman's face. On closer inspection, she slightly resembled the girl with the fishtail braid Aiden had seen earlier, except the woman in the mist seemed a bit older. Aiden held his breath as the woman opened her mouth and spoke:

"Beware, Aiden Acharya. . . . The girl you love will be the death of you."

The mist dispersed and Aiden stood there, shocked. What did that mean? What girl would be the death of him? Aiden remembered everyone was waiting for him and made his way through the doors and out into the hall. The doors shut on their own and Aiden walked back to the celebration, a million things racing through his head. He went inside the ballroom and felt everyone's gaze shift on him, the noise came to a halt. His father, who was talking to a woman and a girl that looked Aiden's age, looked at him expectantly. Aiden took a deep breath and hesitantly spoke.

"Uh...there will be rain tonight."

Aiden could have smacked himself right then and there. Just then it started to shower. Everybody looked unsurprisingly up at the sky, meanwhile Aiden was flabbergasted. His father looked disappointed. Annette rolled her eyes. The King immediately changed the subject and announced it to the crowd.

"So... um, we have another announcement! My son is also getting engaged to Kara Shah! Oldest granddaughter of Lord Indra!"

What?! Everyone applauded as the woman and girl, who King Acharya had been talking to before, glided over to him. The woman was elegant and beautiful and smelled faintly of jasmine. The girl had long, chocolate-brown hair, high cheekbones, and honey-brown catlike eyes. Both of them looked very similar, dipping an elegant curtsey. The girl smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Prince Aiden. My name is Kara Shah."

Aiden nodded meekly. He quickly excused himself and walked over to the King.

"Father." He hissed. "You never told me I was getting engaged!"

The King looked at him lazily.

"You were going to get married anyway. The sooner the better."

The King shrugged and walked off. Aiden was a bit agitated by this, but he was not too upset. After all, this could be a way to avoid the prophecy. Soon the woman and Kara left, the fishtail hair girl was nowhere to be seen, and all the other guests started to depart too. Many of the girls stared at him longingly, before leaving. Why? Aiden had no idea. But one thing was for sure. The party had sucked.

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Months had passed after the celebration and Aiden had met Kara frequently during those times. Kara seemed okay, but there was always something that seemed off about her. Plus Kara was not his type, she was just not for him, he could feel that in his gut. Something told him this was wrong. Which was exactly why Aiden was okay with the engagement. Aiden would never like Kara like that, so there was no way she would be the death of him. Everything was going smoothly. And then, the Asura attacks started.

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The attacks had started small at first. Then the leader, he called himself The Sleeper for god knows why, really upped his game. He went from plundering villages to taking over kingdoms in a blink of an eye. One day, Aiden was called into the throne room. Annette was smirking at him, making Aiden feel uncomfortable.

"What's up?" he asked.

"You know how the Sleeper is starting to attack this country?" His father asked. Aiden nodded, unsure of where this was going. "Well," The King continued. "Annette has told me we should send you to the army camp to train to defeat the Sleeper under the guidance of General Hanuman! So pack up! You are leaving in a few days."

Aiden was appalled by this but he quickly gathered his wits.

"What happens if I die? I'm your only heir." The King laughed.

"Annette is pregnant! The baby is currently one month old."

Aiden looked at Annette, horrified and furious while she smiled back wickedly, malice glittered in her eyes. Aiden's father, oblivious to all this, continued.

"Besides, you are doing this for your country!" Aiden sighed. He could not argue with that, he would do anything for his people. Plus the only other guy that could join the army in his place was Rudy, and that would be catastrophic.

"Fine." His father looked approvingly at him, which disgusted Aiden.

"Great! Now shoo!"

Aiden left and started packing. A couple of days later and Aiden was off. Kara was miserable and jittery when she heard the news and begged him to stay. Aiden could do no such thing. After arriving at the army camp, Aiden was trained intensely by General Hanuman, but Aiden was a quick learner so it wasn't bad. Five months passed and Aiden worked non-stop without brakes and he soon surpassed everyone there. Because he was better than most, Aiden became lieutenant. The spot was mysteriously vacant and the General would not tell why, but it was clear that there were painful memories surrounding that subject. So Aiden became a lieutenant and trained harder than ever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~One month later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The attacks were getting more and more severe. Aiden fought in many battles and saw how brutal it was. He hated fighting. It was also very hectic. Aiden was also busy with documents and following commands from General Hanuman that most times he did not have time for a proper meal. One day, Aiden got an urgent message from Hanuman. On his way there Aiden forgot to look where he was going and bumped into someone, making them fall.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" Aiden immediately said, feeling guilty. The boy he had bumped into looked up. Aiden stared at him, stunned. This guy looked exactly like the girl with the fishtail braid Aiden had seen on that fateful night. He quickly rearranged his expression and held out his hand.

"Are you okay?"

A/N: Okay so I finally posted, very sorry for the wait. So many things are happening right now AND Aru Shah NoI is finally out! And I loved the book, it was one emotional rollercoaster. The ending was chef's kiss and now I'm super depressed since it is over...I really need a sequel. Anyways hope you enjoyed the chapter, thank you so much for reading, words cannot tell how greatful I am for you guys, and I hope you have a nice day!

P.S. If you have any ways I can improve my writing, please comment!