A Series of Aru Shah Oneshots

NOI Chapter 34 from Aiden's POV (+ announcement!)

A/N MAJOR SPOILERS FOR NOI! You have been warned. 

Please read to the end of the fic for an important announcement!

"I have already selected one among you. I want dreams rich with wonder, tinged with sadness, and flavored with hope that will sweeten my land like the rarest of nectars."

To Aiden's horror, Nidra's great eyes focused on Aru. A pale violet light materialized in front of Aru, emitting a soft radiance.

"You, child. I can feel your exhaustion..."

Aru took a slow breath, her eyes fluttering shut briefly. In the darkness, her gold uniform spangled her with a faint glow. She looked like a star where she stood.

Aiden sensed her resignation. She was willing to give herself up. That was one of the things he loved about Aru: she loved passionately and fiercely, and she would not hesitate to sacrifice herself for the people closest to her heart. But he could not let her do that now.

She was a light in the dark, a beacon of hope. She was essential to all of this. Without her, the war would never be won. Aiden knew this in his bones, just as he knew...he did not need to accompany the Pandavas so they could emerge victorious.

He understood, in a flash, what his prophecy meant. The girl you love will be the death of you. He'd thought it was just a death sentence...but maybe it was something more.

"Let me take it from you..." Nidra's voice echoed through the darkness.

"No." Aiden was speaking before he knew it. "Not her. Take me instead."

Aru turned around, eyes wide with shock. "What? No way. I can't let you do that."

"I always knew this was going to happen," said Aiden. "I'm not scared, Shah."

His eyes skipped over Aru's and met Brynne's. Her mouth was a grim line. She gave him a single reluctant nod. She hated that she couldn't share the burden of his secret, but she'd kept it anyway. He was grateful for her.

Aru whirled on Brynne and Mini. Aiden could tell they were having a brief mental conversation. Both Brynne and Mini winced at the same time. Aru's jaw dropped open and she whirled around to look at Aiden.

An ache settled in Aiden's heart. He fixed his gaze on Nidra's eyes to avoid seeing the pain in Aru's face. He wished he had told her he loved her.  He wished he had done a thousand other things differently. Maybe, someday...he could.

"Do you understand what you are doing?" the goddess asked.

Aiden didn't hesitate. "Yes."

"You understand that my realm is its own form of death."

Aru stiffened beside him at the word death.

Aiden didn't flinch. Over the last few months, he'd had plenty of time to get used to that word. He clenched his jaw and nodded. "I know."

Nidra blinked and then closed her eyes in assent. "You have always known, haven't you?"

Aiden didn't reply. He stayed still, not looking away from the goddess. He had to be strong for Aru.

"You understand that you will not be returned to the waking world if there is no world to wake up to."

"I understand."

"What does that mean?" asked Brynne, frantic. "He's going to die?"

"What is the point of returning him if there is no chance of a world worth returning to?" asked Nidra. "Whether he dies or not depends on you, daughters of the gods, for it is your world to save, is it not? And if he does die, that in itself will be a blessing. To die in one's sleep is the hope of all mortals. You should be thanking me....You are now running out of time. Make your choice now or be thrown from my world."

Aiden lifted his chin. "I accept."

The words thundered through the Halls of Nidra. The violet light slipped sideways, away from Aru, and Aiden could finally breathe.

"Aru," he said gently, facing her. He did not know how much more time they had together. He wanted to tell her...he needed to tell her how he felt. That he was sorry for all the pain he'd caused her. That if she could forgive him, he would want nothing else.

Aru looked up, stunned. Tears welled in her eyes. "I can't let you do this!"

"It wasn't your choice to make, though," he said, smiling sadly. "It was mine. You'll find a way out of this. I know it. Watch BB for me, okay?"

Aiden set down his backpack and the firebird. BB nestled into the bag, cooing and chirping. Aiden felt a pang of affection for the firebird.

Aru brushed the tears from her cheeks. "What if I can't?"

Aiden knew she wasn't talking about the firebird.

"You will," he said. "You always do."

The violet light turned brighter, and Aiden instinctively knew he was running out of time. The darkness expanded around them, but despite it all, he never lost sight of Aru.

"I lied, Aru," he said, closing the distance between them. He memorized her face--the softness of her lashes, the curve of her cheekbones, and the depth to her dark eyes. His fingers slipped into her hair, and he drew her closer. He heard her draw a shaky breath. 

"I don't regret anything."

For the second--and hopefully not the last--time, Aiden kissed Aru Shah.

A/N *jazz hands* Wow an update? Who would've thought? 

But seriously, the last two months have been crazy for me. I've been dealing with so many things at once--writing my own book, school, deadlines, studying for exams--and I just couldn't find the time to update. This oneshot is really more like a parting gift--I prewrote it in the days after NOI came out and decided, why not post it now?

I've made the difficult decision to stop posting fanfiction on Wattpad. In the wake of NOI's release, I saw a lot of people complaining about how the TPQ fandom would die. I feel guilty because I'm now contributing to that, but I do have my reasons. One: school is progressively becoming harder now that I'm moving up in high school and I really need to concentrate on it. I genuinely do not have the time to sit down and write oneshots or long fics anymore. Two: as much as it pains me to say it, I've kind of outgrown this fandom. I don't feel the same way writing about fanfiction for it anymore. Don't get me wrong, I love TPQ as much as ever, but I think I've moved on.

Will I ever post on here again? Truthfully, I have no idea, although right now I'm leaning toward no. I won't delete this account or deactivate it, but I will no longer be active in the posting sense. It was hard for me to decide this, but in the end I truly think it's better for me.

I'm immensely grateful for all of my readers. I can't even count all the times you've made me smile or laugh. There are too many of you to name, but I would really like to thank halcyonpeachh and abbizzzz, who were some of my best cheerleaders and two of my favorite writers on this platform. Your support means the world! 

It's been a crazy, fun journey with every single one of you guys and I've enjoyed every second of it. I love you all to the moon and back <3

-Calypso