Here's the first chapter of "Prevail and Rise"! I'm going to be calling it PaR for short.

I would also like to say that this is an AU. An almost completely alternate universe. The facts are not going to match perfectly, neither is it going to be true to the actual storyline of the series. I am (sadly) not Roshani Chokshi, meaning I don't have the same writing style as she does. Please don't go commenting " THat'S NOt HoW iT WaS iN THe BoOKs" because this is not the books! This is an AU that I made up, and most of the events in the story are mine, and I made up the plot, and I was inspired to make this.

Now, on that note, I'm not saying you shouldn't offer grammatical advice and/or feedback because there is probably going to be a lot of those. Just don't tell me what to write in terms of the events and plot details themselves.

Other than that, I have nothing to say!

Enjoy the chapter!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Solaris, I hear them!" Aru called out to her sister. "I see troops too! We got to go Lightning," Kara called back. Aru quickly ran through the woods and mounted her horse, Thunder, a gray stallion. "Portal or Hoverboard?" Kara asked as she caught up with Aru on her Mare, Solar. "Maybe a Hoverboard. Vajra's got some new tricks. It's a bit excited," Aru replied. Vajra shocked her in anticipation. Aru's hair rose and she took one hand off the reins to put it back before it could throw her hood off.

Just as the duo were about to reach the cliff, a voice called out from beside them. "Halt in the name of the king!". The horses stopped on command.

"Send the horses back to base," Aru whispered. Kara nodded. They jumped off their horses and Aru directed hers to the side and Kara quietly created a portal for the horses using her trident in its ring form.

They turned around to face the person who called out. "Prince Aiden. What a pleasant surprise," Aru said, sarcasm dripping like honey off of her words. "Save the talk for your trial," The prince demanded. "A trial? Hmm, Lightning, I don't think we'll have time for a trial," Kara told her sister, putting a finger on her cheek. "I don't think so either, Solaris. We also don't have time to talk to you, Prince Aiden" Aru said back.

"I suggest you let us leave," Aru threatened. "I don't think I can allow that," Prince Aiden said, signaling for the guards to surround them. "Well, your highness, like we said before, we don't have the time," Kara said.

"You don't have anywhere to go," He remarked. "Are you completely sure about that?" Aru asked him. "Yes. Remarkably sure, so unless you want to fall to your death, you will come with me" He said "And you would be insane, to do so,".

Aru and Kara looked at each other. "Maybe we are truly insane," They said in unison. Then they tipped over the edge. "Get something under them!" The prince called out to his guards. Aru closed her eyes and concentrated. Then she turned Vajra into a flat, floating platform. "Welcome to your very own, Aladdin carpet!" Aru said. A purple shield started flickering around them, and wind started pushing them upwards. "Okay, we got to go," Kara decided. "Yup!" Aru agreed and sat down, Kara following suit. They flew away back to the base.

~~~~~

"Are they dead?" Aiden asked. "No, they aren't. My shield caught them, but it flickered off. Which only means one thing-" Mini began. "The Sleeper has his hands on Celestial Weapons," Brynne finished. "Do we even know what the weapons look like?" Aiden asked. Mini shook her head. Aiden buried his face in his hands. "This is bad. Really bad," He muttered. "Oh gods. We'll probably want to get out of here before he starts cursing everyone," Brynne muttered. "Your highness, we're at the castle" The driver informed them.

"Aiden! Are you alright?" Aiden's mom, the queen called out as he stepped out of the carriage. "I'm fine, mom. But we just found out something bad," Aiden said. "The War Council is meeting. Announce it there. Your father is in there,".

Malini started dusting off Aiden's clothes. "What even happened? You're a mess!" She remarked while walking through the corridor. "It's fine Mom, I swear," He said, turning around and grabbing his mother by the shoulders to look at him.

Aiden had grown taller than his mother in the past few years. She was wearing a teal gown that trailed behind her when she walked, and the queen's crown was perched on top of her head. Malini was the heir to the throne, but when she married Aiden's father, he became the king. They'd been fighting a lot. Enough for almost the whole castle to hear. They were going to get a divorce soon. But Aiden's dad didn't know that if they divorced, Aiden's mom would get the crown. Aiden was getting tired of these fights, though. 

But the maids... they loved to gossip. from what Aiden knew, nearly half of the Otherworld knew about his parent's relationship.

"I get you're worried, but I'm fine. I love you, and I am okay," Aiden reassured. Malini nodded and hugged her son. She pulled away. " Go get 'em Ace-cakes,". Aiden looked at Brynne and Mini, who were behind them, and they seemed to be torn apart between absolute laughter and sentimental aw. Aiden knew neither was good. "Come on guys, let's go," Aiden said. The two girls followed behind Aiden to the war council.

"Your majesty! Your father is waiting for you inside to start to war meeting!" A guard told Aiden as the trio approached the room. Aiden nodded and the guard opened the door. " My son! I see you're finally here! May we start the meeting?" The King asked. "Yes Father, we may. I have some threatening information on the Sleeper and his crew," Aiden said. "Oh please, do tell. Anything is helpful." The King said. Aiden took a deep breath. "You know Mini and Brynne are the head of the guard because of the boons they got from Dharma Raja and Vayu? Which got them their celestial weapons and abilities, right?" Aiden began.

"Yes, we know of your friends, but what does that have to do with the Sleeper?" A nobleman, asked. Aiden was pretty sure that his name was Suyodhana.

"You know the Sky Duo? Lightning and Solaris? We saw them today. Chased them through the woods. Father, they have Celestial Weapons, though we don't know what they are like,".

The hall fell quiet. "They threw themselves off a cliff, to escape us. They're alive. Their horses disappeared in the woods. No trace of their tracks after 20 feet. Gone. Just disappeared." Aiden added. A shiver ran through his spine thinking about when the two tipped off the cliff.

"And we are no closer to finding out who they are? Gender? Age? Nothing?" The Sheriff asked. Aiden was sure his name was Takshaka. Aiden shook his head. "Well, we know they have a sense of humor. Both of them," Brynne volunteered. Aiden glared at her. Brynne gave him a look that said What? You know I'm right.

"Father, that is all the news we have. If the meeting may be adjourned?". Aiden's father nodded. "Meeting adjourned. Aiden, please, I need to talk to you. Yamini, Brynne, you may wait outside," The King ordered. All the noblemen walked out of the of the meeting hall. Mini and Brynne hesitated, but Aiden looked at them and nodded. Brynne flashed a reassuring smile, and Mini showed a quick thumbs up before the two followed at noblemen out the hall.

"What did you want to talk about, Father?" Aiden asked. He silently prayed for it not to be about his mother. "Son, we have received a proposition," Aiden let a silent sigh of relief. "From whom? What it is about?" Aiden inquired. His father took a deep breath. "We've already excepted it. It was a very... How do I say this?... exceptional proposition, and since you you're turning 18 in a year-"

"Father, get on with it already, you're making me nervous,"

"We know you don't want to do it at this age but-,"

"Father!"

"We've arranged for you to be married,"

Aiden froze. "What?"

"We've arra-"

"No, I heard you the first time! You didn't even check with me! I probably don't even know her! Does Mom know? Did she accept it?".

"Your to-be-bride is very exceptional. She's educated, and she knows how to fight. Both your mother and I decided that this was best.".

"But Father-"

"No buts Aiden. It's already been decided,"

Aiden stormed out of the meeting room. "Hey, what happened?" Brynne called after him. Aiden then yelled out the longest, loudest string of Gujarati, Hindi, and English curse words and curses, ever known to the existence of mankind as he stormed through the corridor to his room.

"I really, really don't want to follow him," Mini confessed, wincing after a loud door slam. "I don't either, but I think it's our job to. I really don't want to get fired," Brynne said. "You're right. I wonder who's went to. He didn't say any name," Mini wondered. Brynne shuddered. "I don't even want to think about that. His curses are harsh," Brynne said. "Yup,". And the sisters ran after the prince.

The two got to the door. Brynne knocked on the door. "Aiden, open the door!". "Go away Brynne!" Was responded. "Open the door and quit acting like a kid!". The door was thrown open so fast that Brynne barely had time to jump out the way before the door hit her in the face. "You'd be acting even worse than I am," Aiden said. "What happened?" Mini asked. Aiden let them inside before flopping onto his bed. "Father... he... got me into an arranged marriage," Aiden explained.

"Oh well. Shit. I see what you mean now," Brynne realized. "Maybe she won't be that bad?" Mini suggested. "It's not that. Well, partly, but that's not the main reason I'm upset," Aiden confessed "It's just... you know what's going on between my parents,". Mini's face showed that she understood. "You want true love, don't you?".

"You've seen the consequences of an arranged marriage. Oh my gods, Aiden, I'm so sorry," Brynne hugged him.

Little did Aiden know, his to-be-bride was experiencing almost the same exact thing.

~~~~~

Aru and Kara jumped off the flying carpet. "That. was. awesome." Aru said. Kara chuckled in relief, holding up a hand for a high five. Aru smacker her hand against her sister's. "Daughters." A voice said from behind them. The sister's eyes widened as Aru retracted Vajra back into a bracelet on her hand. They turned around carefully.

Behind them, was their father, a.k.a. The Sleeper. "Congratulations. You've made the council confused and clueless." He said spreading open his arms to welcome his daughters. They both took off their hoods and rushed into their father's arms to hug him. "Welcome home," he said, hugging his daughters back. The trio pulled away. "How do you know what we did?" Aru asked curiously. "You took 30 minutes to get back. That's enough time for a war meeting to take place. Speaking of time, we have to get back home before your mother kills us for being late for dinner,"

"And suspicious where we were, because the ports close at 7, and it takes 30 minutes to get home. It's 7:15. We got to go," Kara informed. Aru raised her eyebrows at her dad, with a smirk on her face. Suyodhana looked at Aru with a matching smirk. "TO THE VIMANA!" The two yelled. Kara face palmed. Apparently, she had gotten all the serious and calm genes from mom.

"Did the horses make it back safe?" Kara asked her father. He nodded. "They are back at the pasture at home,". "Can I drive the Vimana?" Aru asked. "No! We would get arrested, Aru! You have to at least be 20! You're 17!" Suyodhana said. "I could pass as a 20-year-old!" Aru retorted. "You could sure pass as a 10-year-old," Kara budged in, referring to Aru's short height. "Betrayal!" Aru shouted playfully.

The family got into the Vimana, and within 15 minutes, they were home. "Welcome!" Krithika P. Shah said. "Hey mom!" Aru said. "Come, sit. I've made your favorite Kara," Krithika said. Kara's eyes widened as she asked, "Chicken 65 biriyani?". Their mom nodded. Aru's eyes widened as well. The sisters looked at each other and raced inside. They quickly sat down at the table.

"Wow, relax, I know my cooking is good, but you three have to freshen up and change first. I'm not having this level of stink at my table,". The sisters rolled their eyes in unison as they got up, and then burst into laughter at the other's reaction. Krithika smiled at her daughters. "Now go, before the food gets cold!" She ushered them. They raced upstairs to change.

"Kara! Where are my Spiderman pajamas?" Aru called out. "Incinerated!" Kara called back. "They're in the wash?" Aru called back. "Yeah!" Kara said.

Kara came out in sleeveless camo top and shorts. "You done yet?" Kara called into her sister's room. "Yeah, one sec!" Aru called back. Then she came out in Iron Man pajamas. "Wow Aru. Just wow," Kara said, looking at her sister's wardrobe choice. "Look, I'm not someone who somehow magically never get's cold! This is necessary for me to live!" Aru retorted. "It's not even cold!" Kara said as they started back down the stairs. "See, proves my exact point. It's the middle of winter for goodness sake!" Aru said. "It's Sunny. How she's warm. She wears Sunny all the time, even during dinner!" Krithika budged into their conversation. "Makes sense," Aru agreed.

"Now, Now, let's settle this like the ladies we are," Suyodhana said. "What?" All three of the girls head turned toward him. "You are. The ladies you are," He corrected. The girls sat down at the table. "Pass the Biriyani," Kara told Suyodhana. He gave the biriyani to her, and after giving herself some rice, she gave it Aru who did the same thing and gave it to their mother, who then gave it to their father. Then they dug into their food.

"Okay, I have announcement to make," Suyodhana said, "Aru, pay attention, it means something to you,". "Well now I'm worried," Aru said jokingly. "So, I've come to a... how do I say it? Proposition!" Suyodhana started. Aru looked up at her father. This was something important. Code words and such. It had to do with  

"What does this have to do with me?" Aru asked.

"I'm getting there! So, yesterday, I brought this up with the king-" Aru choked on her Biryani. Kara pat her back until she stopped choking. "Please don't tell me this is going where I think it's going," Aru whispered to Kara. "I really hope not," Kara said. 

"I set up a marriage between Aru and the Prince."

"What!"

"No!"

"You can't just do that!"

"Aru's staying here!"

"You didn't even tell me!"

And many more to your imagination. 

Aru was speechless. Her father was a person who had a plan for everything, but she was a little concerned what was going through Suyodhana's head when he made that decision. She looked up at him, a questioning look on her face as more protests sounded from Kara and their mom. He made a look that said I'll explain later.

 "Mom. Kara. It's fine. I talked to Dad about it. I'm fine with it." Aru lied, shooting a look at her Kara. Kara's eyes widened in realization and shrunk back into her chair. "It's really good for our political state.". Aru's mother stared at her. "Oh." Krithika P. Shah knew something was off. Aru was definitely one to do things for a cause like that, but an arranged marriage with Royalty? Even Aru wouldn't do that.

"A carriage will come tomorrow. Aru will be picked up then. She'll stay in the castle," Suyodhana said. 

"Can I go with her?" Kara asked. "No," Aru said after a slight shake of her father's head, "I'm going alone,".

"But I want to!" Kara said. Aru shook her head. Someone needed to stay back. "Girls, let's try to enjoy this dinner," Suyodhana suggested. They nodded. But the rest of dinner just wasn't the same. It never was going to be again without Aru at the table with them, cracking jokes, making everyone smile and laugh.

That night, neither of the sisters could sleep. "Hey Kara?" Aru had opened her sister's door in the middle of the night. "Come on, get in," Kara said, shuffling in her bed to make room for her sister. Aru got into the bed and hugged her sister. Kara hugged her back.

"I'll miss you," Aru told Kara. "I've already made a pact to sneak out every night into the castle," Lara informed her. Aru laughed. "Neither of us would get any sleep then,". "Every two nights then," Kara negotiated.

"Three nights. Every three nights would be fine by me,".

"And you would sneak back out with me sometimes, and then we would steal for the orphanage like always,"

"Yeah. That would be nice."

"At least you'd be a queen,"

"Yeah, married to our practical sworn enemy,"

Kara laughed and Aru laughed with her, until they fell asleep finally.

So there lay the sisters in each other's arms, neglectfully waiting for the day the would be separated.