TALES OF TAJ

CHAPTER XX

PLOT STORY:

Ruby is alone in the palace when she senses an intruder. As she investigates, she finds herself in a life-threatening situation. Just as all hope seems lost, Ava appears and saves Ruby from the intruder.

*Conflict:*

1. Ruby's fear and vulnerability as she faces the intruder alone.

2. Ava's mysterious past and her true intentions.

3. The tension between Ruby and Ava as they navigate their complex relationship.

*Plot Twists:*

1. Ava's sudden appearance and her ability to defeat the intruder.

2. Ruby's discovery that Ava is not Dwan, but her sister.

3. The revelation that Dwan is dead, and Ava's emotional breakdown.

*Character Arcs:*

1. Ruby: learns to trust Ava and confronts her own fears.

2. Ava: reveals her vulnerable side and her past trauma.

*Themes:*

1. Trust and loyalty

2. Fear and vulnerability

3. Complex relationships and secrets

MAIN STORY:

Ruby sat alone in her room when she sensed someone downstairs. Since she was the only one in the palace, Ruby wondered who it could be. She thought to herself, "Could it be Ava?" Just then, the person downstairs began to make their way up. Ruby's heart pounded with fear, but she mustered the courage to grab a sharp object and hide behind her door.

The person from downstairs reached the top and began to head towards Nikolas' room. Ruby didn't hear any further movement, so she decided to investigate. She slowly made her way out of her room but found no one. Suddenly, she heard a loud noise coming from Nikolas' room, followed by the sound of something falling. Ruby's fear intensified, and she rushed back to her room, locking the door behind her. However, in her panic, she didn't realize that the door wasn't properly locked.

The noise she made while slamming the door echoed throughout the palace, alerting the intruder to her presence. He began to make his way towards Ruby's room. Unaware that her door was unlocked, Ruby hid under her bed, holding her breath.

The intruder stood outside her door, and with one push, it swung open. Ruby's heart skipped a beat as the man spotted her hiding under the bed. He seemed to be a menacing figure, and Ruby realized that he wasn't Ava. The man had initially intended to rob the palace but now had other plans, having found Ruby alone.

As the man reached for Ruby, she lunged at him with the sharp object in her hand, causing him to bleed. The man yelped in pain, clutching his injured hand. Ruby saw her chance and tried to escape, but the man grabbed her leg, pulling her back. Ruby fell, injuring herself, and cowered in fear, closing her eyes.

Just as the man was about to harm Ruby, someone suddenly appeared, grabbing him by the hair and flinging him across the room. Ruby lay there, frozen, until she finally opened her eyes to find Ava sitting in front of her, her legs folded.

Ruby was shocked to see Ava and asked, "What happened to that man?" Ava smiled and replied, "Don't worry, Ruby. I told you, if anyone lays a hand on you, I won't spare them." Ruby asked if Ava had killed the man, but Ava reassured her, "No, I just threw him out the window."

Ruby flashes back to the moment when Ava enters her room through the window and sees Ruby lying on the ground, with a man trying to harm her. Ava's eyes blaze with anger as she grabs the man by the hair and throws him out the window.

Ruby confronts Ava, asking, "How do you have so much power?" Ava smiles and says, "Ruby, you should be thanking me instead of asking useless questions." Ruby retorts, "We don't thank our enemies; we kill them." Ruby picks up the sharp object from the ground and attacks Ava, but Ava is prepared and grabs Ruby's hand.

Ava's face is inches from Ruby's as she says, "Ru, don't do something that will hurt you later." Ruby looks at Ava and says, "Your death won't hurt me." Ava takes the object from Ruby's hand and throws it away. Ruby's leg is injured, and Ava helps her up, making her sit on the bed.

Ruby asks Ava, "Why did you come here?" Ava replies, "You're talking as if you had no idea I was coming. I sent you a letter saying I'd meet you soon." Ruby denies receiving any letter. Ava says, "I know why you sent the staff away; you were scared of me." Ruby turns her face away and says, "I didn't send them away; they left on their own because of you."

Ava gently turns Ruby's face towards her and says, "It's good that you're alone now, and I'm with you." Ruby says, "There's nothing good about this." Ava softly places her hand on Ruby's head and says, "Ru, I love you, and I always have."

Ruby confronts Ava about her lies, saying, "You told me you were Dwan, but you're his sister. You didn't tell me Dwan is dead or who you are and why you're here." Ava holds Ruby's hands and begins to explain.

Ava reveals that when her parents died, Dwan was running away from the man who killed them. Ava had come to India with her mother for a success party, but when she arrived, she saw her parents' dead bodies on the road. She also saw Ruby's parents' dead bodies. Ava was devastated, having lost her parents and her chance to be with them. Sir had gone to look for Dwan but found his dead body instead. Ava had lost her sister and her parents.

Ava breaks down in tears as she tells Ruby about her past. She says that before the accident, she and Dwan had never met. Ava lived with her mother in the same house where she took Ruby after the bike riders attacked her. Ava's mother loved her and used to sing songs for her, but after her mother's death, Ava is scared of songs. Ava says that everyone lost something that day, but she lost everything.

Ruby asks Ava, "Do you know exactly how Dwan died?" Ava wipes away her tears and replies, "I don't know anything about that, but I do know that Sir has been hiding something from me for years. What did Nikolas tell you?" Ruby says, "He only told me half the story. Our plan failed."

Ava suggests, "Now we need to think of something else. By the way, when Nikolas told you I was Ava, not Dwan, weren't you angry with me?" Ruby admits, "Yes, I was angry, but I also knew that we're both trapped in this situation, and we need to deal with it together."

Ava thanks Ruby for trusting her. They both reminisce about their time on the beach. Ruby asks Ava, "Ava, will you forget your parents' death so quickly? I won't be able to forget." Ava asks, "What do you mean, Ru?" Ruby expresses her suspicion that Maskman is hiding something from them and that they haven't considered Grandpa's perspective yet.

Ruby says, "I think I need to go back to Grandpa's place and find out what's really going on." Ava objects, "No, I won't let you do that. They won't let you come back to me again." Ruby reassures Ava, "Don't worry, Ava. We'll meet again, and if I don't get a chance to meet you, I know you'll create one."

Ava says, "Ru, I need to tell you again that I'm not Dwan." Ruby smiles and says, "I knew that from the beginning, Ava. When you told me you were Dwan, I was angry, but I trusted that you'd tell me the truth eventually." Ava asks, "How did you know I wasn't Dwan?" Ruby replies, "Dwan was left-handed, but you're right-handed. Dwan wasn't afraid of the car crash, but you are."

Ava asks, "You know that Dwan is dead, right?" Ruby is shocked and asks, "How did that happen?" But Ava doesn't reveal anything. They both return to the present moment.

To be continue....