The Revenge Chronicles: Short Story (CH 1 updated - page 3) - Page 2

Interesting start, keep on writing please

HEy thts a nice start...very intriguing
continue soon
and thnx for the pm!!!!

Intresting...! Can't wait to read

AN: Hello dear readers. I am very grateful to the response and I realize that I am way lucky to have such enthusiastic readers. Thank you all for giving this a chance.

Without further ado, I present the first chapter of The Revenge Chronicles!

Chapter 1

"To know your enemy, you must become your enemy"

- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Slender fingers lathered with wet clay gently drummed on the table. The finger tips left imprints of the clay every time they touched the once white surface of the table which appeared rather blotted and shaded after years of repetitive abuse heaped on it.

A bust sculpture lay in front of him standing upright on the table, the recently molded clay held strong by the armature it was made onto.

For any sculpture, an armature is an integral part. It gives support to the clay and provides the basis to form a shape. However when a sculpture is completed, the people drawn by its beauty, celebrate the attraction, praise it fervently. No one however wants to know of the ugly, thimble like armature that holds up the creation. The inner strength of the armature remains unrewarded, its efforts unrecognized and beauty neglected.

A bitter smile spread on his face. The case of the armature always somehow reminded him of his brother.

The drumming stopped as immediately his thoughts led him to pondering about his brother. Rarely does it happen that a person is there with whom one can share each and every facet of himself. For him, Shivaay was that person.

It was no secret in the family that he loved his brother, how much was something improbable to measure. In a life cloaked with ever increasing darkness, his brother was the solitary Sun that managed to edge out the beams of light onto his life.

His brother like an armature held up his broken life and joined it piece by piece to provide it some semblance of normality and beauty.

For the world they shared a strong bond but that was just the understanding of the shallow waters.

No one could ever begin to understand what Shivaay meant for him. What Shivaay's presence did to his life had consequences that one could not perceive to imagine, forget his blind money loving family members who would not understand brotherhood if it hit them straight on the face.

He sighed at his caustic thoughts. These days he had gotten bitterer in nature. Perhaps it had to do with the loud preparations downstairs for Shivaay's engagement which was supposed to be held the day after the next.

To a woman named Tia Kapoor.

A feeling of anger and frustration rose in him as his mind flashed to her; a woman who had the courage to prod her fiance for rescheduling the engagement to two days after he is discharged from the hospital after a life threatening attack.

His hand clenched at the scalpel as a hot flare of rage spread in him.

That woman and her disgrace of a mother circled Shivaay like vultures unable to control their excitement at finally having a piece of him.

He wondered why Shivaay was so blind to them. He wondered why no one could notice the nefarious gleam in their eyes that would come forth whenever their eyes fell on his brother.

It made him feel edgy, nervous, and uneasy; as if something was going on underfoot and it was sure to hurt his brother.

But what?

It was that very thought that had seemingly taken a root in his psyche. There were two questions that dominated the scenario.

Why were attacks focusing on Shivaay and why was no one doing anything about it?

It was quite a ridiculous thing that despite being the richest of the rich, their best security net is easily breached to hurt the members of the family. Those idiots needed to be fired and yet Mr Oberoi had not acted on it.

His thoughts cooled to a chamber of coherence.

Mr Oberoi, his dearest father was a powerful man. No matter how much he despised him, he knew that he had power and one of his greatest duties was to protect the family.

But then again, a voice inside him piped up, a man who could not fulfill the vows and duties to his wife cannot be trusted to keep up with his other duties.

Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought to focus on the crux of the matter.

Why was Mr Oberoi not doing anything to strengthen the protections? Why isn't the security team fired yet?

His mind drifted to Mr Oberoi's proposition of him signing for the heir position in Shivaay's absence and uneasiness sat in his stomach like lead.

He hadn't wanted to think on this. Every time his mind took him to this arena of thought, he would divert it with a thorough push but this time it refused to move.

The scalpel clanked onto the table as he got up from the chair and made his way to the washroom.

He pushed the door with his arm and walked to the wash-basin. The water gushed out as his hands placed themselves in front of the tap. The cold water on his skin distracted him to some extent that the thoughts in his head felt clearer and the gloomy daze he had been lugging on receded.

He splashed some water on his face waiting for his uneasiness to drift down. Clutching at the sides of the sink, his eyes gently moved upward in its own rhythm to meet his reflection.

Time slowed.

He stared at his reflection in a semblance of some startled deer. For a second it was him staring back.

Next second it changed.

The glass glinted as the light fell on it. Blood splattered!

A panic overtook him, sweat beads glittered on his forehead. His heart thudded loud.

The ridges were lined red, the essence dripping slowly...drip...drip...drip...

His breathing heaved.

Pieces of glass stuck to his hand, the glittering edges shimmering with the liquid of life.

Drip...Drip...Drip...

"Om Bhaiya, where are you? Dadi is calling you."

The voice felt as if it was reaching to him through a long tunnel but it was enough to jolt him out of his thoughts.

His knees buckled and he felt forward barely clutching the sink to gain his balance. His heart thudded to a whole new pace and he closed his eyes.

He took slow deep breaths and opened his eyes.

Remembering his sudden vision, his eyes swivelled around. The glass was intact and there were no sign of anything red on the glistening white marble sink.

He swallowed.

"Om Bhaiya!"

He took a deep breath. "I am washing up. You go, I will come soon."

Priyanka answered back in her soft tones. "Ok Bhaiya, I am going. Come soon."

He waited till her footsteps receded and then relaxed.

He lifted his head and looked back at the mirror.

And all of a sudden, a thought struck his mind.

His dark eyes gleamed.

The man ran.

There was a certain decisive gait that propagated that he definitely had some idea of a destination in the deserted forest.

He panted as he leaped across a large boulder and ducked sideways to miss a lowered branch.

He raced as if death followed him, huffing and heaving when all of a sudden there a swift whir. The noise filled his ears and his legs slowed down to a jog to make sense of the matter as his eyes darted around suspiciously.

He slowed down to a stop and realized that he had reached a clearing. Huffing he turned around towards the source of the sound which seemed to reach him from his right.

There was nothing there, only trees and darkness.

Something inside him squirmed in nervousness and all of a sudden the whirring noise began to sound eerie in the deserted echoing silence.

His heart thudded and his hands began to tremble. There was something

Something sharp hit him and he toppled down like a puppet whose strings were abruptly torn away.

He hit the ground hard and the smell of soft wet smell filled his nose.

Dazed, he tried to lift himself up only to find that a sharp pain sheared through him anytime he tried to move.

All of a sudden the dim light travelling through the dense canopy was cut off and a large shadow loomed over him.

He slowly lifted his head and gulped as bright violet eyes stared down at him with a predatory look.

"W-Who----" he began only to be cut off as something heavy pinned him down.

The figure leaned down. "Oberoi sends his regards!"

A choked horror filled him and before he could even beg, something silver flashed.

And darkness claimed him.

"Is it done?"

"Yes sir. The chapter is closed."

"Good. And you better be sure about this. I don't like reopening closed chapters."

The call was cut off with a click and Shivaay leaned back into the pillows.

The hustle bustle from the hall fell into his ears and he sighed.

The engagement was to be held three days previously and everything was ready. What he didn't understand was that as the engagement was postponed how come incomplete tasks still seemed to crop up putting the whole household into the same case of disarray it was three days back.

How much more extra preparations did a postponed engagement need?

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Shivaay started at the sudden noise.

"Come in."

The door opened to reveal a figure in baggy cargo pants and a casual shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. His long hair was tied behind with a clasp, indicating that he had been working on his sculptures.

"So how did Omkara get away from his best friends today, that too so early," Shivaay inquired gesturing towards the wall clock that showed half-an-hour past six.

Omkara gave a shrug.

"Dadi called. Apparently she wants to have a puja before your engagement."

"Puja?" Shivaay furrowed his eyebrows giving a questioning glance at his brother who settled into a chair after dragging it to his bedside.

"Yes," he nodded swiping an apple from the fruit basket, "it is for you. To negate negative energies surrounding you and your engagement."

"Dadi!" Shivaay shook his head. "She is worried for nothing."

"No she is not," Om retorted.

"Not you too." Shivaay turned to look at his brother who held his gaze seriously as he bit into the fruit.

"Om, all this is ridiculous. There is no negative energy surrounding me, no matter how much Dadi believes. And Tia is not a demonic Entity either."

Om raised his eyebrows. "Demonic Entity?"

Shivaay huffed. "Rudra!"

Om nodded. "He is wrong."

Shivaay glanced at him thankfully. "Exactly."

"She is a witch, not a demon."

Shivaay face palmed. "What is it with you both? Why are you guys after Tia?"

Om ignored him taking another bite of the apple.

"She is just in a hurry to get engaged because of the social repercussions. If we cancel the engagement, it would send a signal to our enemies that the Oberoi's feel threatened. It would increase their confidence and we cannot let that happen. Tia is thinking for the family."

Om nodded. "Oh Tia is definitely thinking of the family name, I will give you that," he muttered in a sarcastic tone. "Anyway, at least you agree that someone is trying to attack you."

Shivaay closed his eyes in exasperation. "Not me, US! The Oberoi's! They are trying to threaten our empire, botch up our name, hurt our reputation, and shake our confidence----------"

"Hurt you!"

A silence followed. Both brothers looked at each other.

"Why don't you try to understand?" Shivaay spoke and there was a weariness weighing his tones.

Om who was very well attuned to every aspect of his brother felt his concern double. He stared at the profile of his brother as his brain whirred up with questions.

"I have a question."

Shivaay looked at him bemusedly. "Will you not ask if I tell you no?"

Om slowly chewed his bite. "You already know the answer."

Shivaay tilted his head. "Ask away then Omkara. What is it?"

Om leaned forward, his eyes pinning him down and all of a sudden there was a certain heaviness lingering in the air.

Shivaay stared at his brother's sudden serious composure and a sense of unease spread in him.

"Why were you going to the office on the day of your engagement?"

Shivaay froze.

Memories of the phone call and the video flashed by him.

He swallowed and forced out a chuckle. "Is that even a question? I had a meeting."

"But," Om focused on the blue bedspread, "didn't you promise Dadi to not schedule any meetings on that day?"

Shivaay balled his hands into a fist. "I did. But work is work, right? And there were some clients who came to meet me. I had to go. It was just for half-an-hour." His heart beats increased.

Om leaned back.

"Of course," he cocked his head at his brother and smiled broadly dispelling the tension in the air, "you and work are married to each other. Tia is actually the other woman."

Shivaay relaxed at the jovial tone and smiled. He looked at his smirking brother and snatched away the half-eaten apple, quickly biting into it.

"Hey! That was mine."

"It is mine now," Shivaay smugly replied gently cuffing him on his head.

Om grumbled at the loss of his fruit. "Abusive."

"That I am," Shivaay drawled and promptly cuffed him again.

As Om made his way to his room, the soft smile on his face disappeared. It was just as he had suspected.

Shivaay had lied to him.

There was something his brother was hiding.

And that something was the first clue to unravel this web of conspiracies.

But first it was time for some research.

That was extremely good and I am excited for what is going to happen next
'

Nikki am late today 😭
Ohk first of all 🤗
Need I tell you that I love your writings.
Ohk still I will say I simply loved it and I can imagine every thing.
It shows how both Om and Shivay care for each other sorry live in each other.
Waiting for the next one

I expected that you will unravel the previous mystery element but you introduced a new one 😆. You write so so well 👏 This was so freaking intriguing 👏 Loved how you explained Omkara's Pov and the bond between shivaay and omkara ❤️ Tia is indeed a witch and not a demon 😆 . Waiting for next part eagerly.

well written👏
loved the convo of om and shivaay
update soon