Strife & Deception: An Aru Shah Royal AU (ON HOLD)

1 | This Land Is Your Laaaaaaand- Ow, Maybe Not

"I can't find anything!" Aru exclaimed in frustration, after looking through approximately 61 different maps.

"Keep looking, Aru," her mother, Queen Krithika, calmly said, unfurling another map. "There might be something." She scanned the map, then with a sigh, set it down and picked up another one.

For the past 4-5 hours, they had both been looking non-stop for some land unclaimed by their rival kingdom, Brahmaand. They have a lot of resources, which makes it easy for them to set off on many journeys to claim territory. The kingdom of Lanka, on the other hand, only had just enough to make sure the kingdom gets what it needs, making it harder for them to go out and find land. Aru was the princess of Lanka, so it was her duty to make sure her people got what they needed. And as a kingdom that's overpopulated, what they needed was more space to expand the kingdom. And you might be thinking, well go and get it then! The thing was, Brahmaand always got there first.

"We've checked all the maps on the table. Mini, could you get some more?" asked Uncle Boo, who was also the army general Subala. He had gray hair with a streak of white, and a face that reminded you of a pigeon. He may look funny, but he was pretty serious.

Aru's handmaiden and best friend, one could even say they were sisters, Yamini Kapoor-Mercado-Lopez (AKA Mini), paced around the walls of the circular room as she looked for maps they hadn't searched yet. She picked out a few from the small cubbies in the wall, and set them on the big table in front of Aru. "Try these. They might have something." Then she went back to searching for maps.

Aru had known Mini since they were three. Her family died in a raid by Brahmaand when she was only a few months old, and she was taken in by her uncle, who didn't like her very much. Two years later, he said he had some important business to do, and he left. According to Mini, her uncle never came back. A few days later, Queen Krithika came back with her, saying she found her on the side of the street, shivering under a thin blanket. Mini was then assigned to be Aru's handmaiden, and the queen even threw a party for her. Ever since then, Mini and Aru had been best friends.

Aru picked up another map, trying to find something. Mini peeked over her shoulder. "See anything?" she asked. Aru shook her head, reaching for another map. Mini took one as well, pulling out a chair to sit on.

"Mom, is there really anything left?" Aru complained, dropping the map. "We've basically checked the entire library, and there's nothing."

"Just keep checking," her mom said, although she could hear the strain in her voice from working so long. "I'm sure we'll—"

"WAIT!" Mini exclaimed, putting her map on the table and pointing to a small section of land. "I think I found something!"

Queen Krithika, Uncle Boo, and Aru literally jumped out of their chairs and rushed to her side, knocking their chairs down in the process. "What did you find? Where is it? How big is it?" Aru asked, questions flying out of her mouth like a speeding train.

Mini slowly traced the area with her finger. "It's about 25 miles to the north, around 10 square miles." She turned to look at them. "It's not much, but it'll be enough for the people. We can figure out who's moving there after we get the territory, so we don't get everyone's hopes up."

"This is great! Thank you, Mini," Aru's mom said proudly, making Mini blush a little.

"It was nothing, really," Mini said, gesturing to the open map. "I just looked for something, that's all."

"And that something may be a great opportunity to expand the kingdom. You did a great job, Mini. No need to humble yourself," she said, giving Mini a hug. Her mom always acts like Mini's her daughter, so Aru and Mini always called themselves sisters, and it fits since they were so close. You never know, they could even be soul sisters . . .