Prologue:
The cries of the baby echoed through the palace. Vikrant Singh Rajawat looked up, his eyes
filled with hope as he looked at the door of the room awaiting one of the midwives to exit the
room and finally break the news.
After ten long minutes , one of the older midwives came outside with a wrinkled smile on her
face.
“Congratulations Maharaja Vikrant, it’s a girl” her words echoed throughout the corridors. The
other family members waiting, stood up from their seats, their mouths hanging open in shock.
“A d-daughter?” Rajmata Shakuntala breaks the silence “T-This is a miracle. It hasn’t happened
in-”
“100 years..” Vikrant Singh Rajawat says, his face not betraying any emotion “A hundred years
since a girl was born into our family”
Vikrant turns around and a hint of smile forms on his face. He enters the Queen’s room where
she sat, supported by pillows.
Vikrant approaches her and looks at the little girl with his eyes sparkling. The girl opened her
tiny brown orbs and blinked.
Vikrant finally smiled.
“Avyanna Rajawat” Vikrant says looking at his wife “That will be her name. The sister of Avyan,
Avyanna…”
Among the joyous moments, the words engraved on a tapestry remain forgotten.
No one knew. This moment of ecstasy, will bring an end to the empire.
The words engraved on the wall of one of the restricted areas of the palace remained unknown.
Nobody knew about the age old curse.
A day will come, when your doom begins. I curse you, I curse the whole Rajawat Dynasty, there
will be no girl child born into this family and if a girl is born, She will be the end of your legacy.
History will repeat itself. You’ll forcefully marry her to a king, and ruin her entire life but in turn
she’ll put a end to this dynasty
Chapter 1 : Doomsday
23 years later..
Avyanna’s Pov
Raindrops pattered on my window as I stared outside lost in thought. I sighed looking down at
the piano.
For some reason I wasn’t able to play.
I tucked the loose strands of my curly brown hair behind my ear.
My fingers hovered over the keys but it seemed as if the music was not able to flow. I have been
sitting there for over an hour and I haven’t played even a single piece.
I pushed my stool back and stood up, rubbing my hands together. I drape the shawl kept on the
couch over my shoulder.
Glancing at the ancient wall clock, I cursed under my breath after seeing it was almost midnight.
The palace was silent, even though twenty other members lived under the same roof.
There was no sound in the corridors. All was dead silent. It’s not like I haven’t tried sleeping, I
have but I couldn’t sleep for some reason.
Suddenly I hear footsteps approach the piano room. I wonder who the person might be at this
time. There is a knock on the door.
“Enter.” I say to the person
One of my mother’s maid enters with a respectful bow and I give her a small nod.
“Princess, Your mother requests your presence in her quarters” She says and leaves with a
bow.
A frown appears on my face. My mother calls me at this time ? .
I slowly make my way to her quarters, the frown never leaving my face.
I was never involved in any political matters and there would be no guests arriving as far as I
knew. As I reach in front of my mother’s quarters, taking a deep breath I knock.
“Enter” my mother, Sulekha Rajawat ,calls out from inside.
I enter and bow to my mother.
“You called me, Maa?” I question
My mother nods and gestures to me to approach.
I sit beside her, and look at her with my head tilted.
“Avyanna. You’ve turned 23” she says, her hand on my head “And I have something to tell
you..”
“What is it, Maa?” I question, my mind filled with curiosity “What is it that made you call for me at
this hour?”
“Me and your father have decided to marry you, Avyanna” Maa drops the bombshell as if she’s
telling the weather.
“W-What?” I question, shocked “What are you saying-”
“It is for our family’s good, Avyanna. You are our star. You are the first girl born after a hundred
years! You should be happy that you would be strengthening our alliance with Jodhpu-”
“Jodhpur?” I cut her off “You aren’t marrying me to Ranvijay are you?”
“That’s exactly who you are getting married to” Maa says with a smile “You should be happy,
Avu”
“Sadly I’m not” I snap and get up “Am I just a pawn in your game of politics Maa?”
Tears welled up in my eyes , as I tried my best to hold back.
“Avyanna it’s not like tha-” before she can finish her sentence, my father, King Vikrant Singh
Rajawat, and my eldest brother, Avyan Singh Rajawat enter the room.
“Did you tell the exciting news to Avyanna, Sulekha?” My father asks, his voice full of authority.
“Oh yes I did” Maa says her frown still etched on her face.
“You cannot get me married just for political reasons, Baba!” I protest, tears falling down my
cheeks “I am not a deal!”
“Lower your tone, Avyanna” Avyan says sharply, his voice cold “You cannot like that to Baba”
“Oh please, Bhaiya” I snapped back at my elder brother “You have no right to interrupt these
things!”
My brother clenches his jaw and is about to say something again when my father puts an arm
on his shoulder, gesturing to him to be silent.
“I AM SICK OF YOU ALL!” I wipe my tears , and turn around rush out of the room , ignoring their
calls.
I ran through the deserted corridors, overwhelmed by the news and the sadness and despair it
brought.
There have been many kings I’ve admired and every time I mentioned any of them, my family’s
emotions quickly changed.
But what has happened now?
Why Ranvijay?
Ranvijay was not a bad person as far as I knew but I did not know him well enough to say that
with confidence.
I barely knew him, though our families knew each other well. But wait, that would be an
understatement.
Our families had been friends ever since my great great grandfather.
Everyone in Rajasthan knew about the friendship between the Rajawat and the Rana’s.
But still. I met Ranvijay only twice in my life. Once during a big Rajput event, when I was eleven
and he was fifteen and at a family dinner when he was twenty and I was sixteen.
According to my calculations, he would currently be twenty seven.
Lost in these thoughts, I walked through the empty corridors mindlessly until I finally realised.
My inattentive mind has drifted me to one of the restricted areas of the palace. Baba made it
clear never. Never to step inside the restricted section, especially this one.
Though my brain said not to enter this restricted area, my curiosity won.
I stepped inside the region, my footsteps echoing on the dusty floor. A cough escapes my throat
due to the age old dust.
The lamps glowed softly, and I pondered who tended to them daily.
Walking inside the restricted area, I just found locked doors which might have led to the rooms. I
wondered who’s quarter this might have been. The walls boasted a majestic royal blue hue,
adorned with intricate gold designs, a striking departure from the palace’s signature gold and
green element.
Just as I was about to give up, the wind blew open a door that had been left unlocked.
My eyebrows flew up. Who has left this door open? Curiosity won once again and I entered the
room without thinking much, despite the many superstitious stories spread among my family
about the restricted area.
As I stepped in, I found the room to be an art room. Vrisha, one of my younger cousins, had one
similar to this but this held a different kind of magic.
My eyes met with a portrait, free from the sooty dust unlike the other parts of the quarter. The
portrait displayed a woman, in her early 20s, her face not betraying any emotion, her brown
curly hair, very similar to mine, gave her a royal and regal look, she looked like an absolute
goddess who just descended from the heavens above.
Her blue eyes shone brightly, and her smooth skin radiated elegance.
Somehow, I felt deeply connected with her. Like she was someone I should definitely know
about. But I never saw her or met her. Never. And this was the first time I saw this specific
portrait
Who was she?
Next Day…
The portrait never left my mind through the entire night. I rarely slept well, but yesterday I did not
sleep at all. As I dressed up and went downstairs, I found my grandmother sitting on an
armchair reading a novel.
“Dadi-sa” I hug her from behind.
“Avyanna, my dear” my grandmother caressed my cheek “I heard my little granddaughter is
getting married”
Oh No…
I forgot about the whole marriage thing.
I put on a forced smile, just for my Dadi’s sake.
“Yeah I am, I suppose” I say kindly “But I’m here to ask you a question, Dadi-sa”
“Ask my child, what is it?” She asked, her face curious.
I took a deep breath.
“Promise not to tell Maa and Baba about this?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
She nodded reassuringly, her eyes locked onto mine.
I took a deep breath and continued, “I snuck into the restricted area on the same floor as my
room. There’s a portrait of a stunning woman with curly brown hair. Who is she?”
My grandmother’s smile vanished, her face turning grim and her body turned stiff.
“Dadi sa?” I asked concerned, my lips pressed together.
“Narmada Singh Rajawat” she says turning to look at me with a serious expression “The last
woman born into the family before you. The last woman born a hundred years before you were
born”
“Oh I see” I finally got the answer I wanted but somewhat felt more disturbed after listening to it.
“Listen my dear. Forget about the portrait. For your ownsake” My grandmother says as she
stood up and walked away.
Narmada Singh Rajawat.
What mystery are you?