63 Neela Palace

Neela Palace,

Aditya stopped the vehicle in front of a huge arched entrance with full of ornamental design as he looked at the person who seemed to be waiting for them and grinned, "Yo, Raghav, why are you waiting for us here? it's too polite of you."

Raghav rolled his eyes as he looked at Faizal sternly and said, "Why did you idiots tag along? didn't I specify that only Aditya could come?"

"Elder brother Aditya was the one who said that we should also co..." Faizal murmured but before he finished Raghav cut across as he scolded, "What right does he have to decide if you could come or not? Or are you planning to form a new gang since you are so proficient in destroying puny mobs?"

Faizal shut up immediately when he heard these words as the other three in the back trembled. No one thought that Raghav would speak such harsh words. Aditya looked on with amusement as he mulled over the real reason Raghav was angry as this reason was really childish.

"Okay, now you people get lost, Aditya, follow me," Raghav roared as he turned to walk inside but before he could take a step, he heard Aditya say, "No."

Raghav whirled around as he looked at Aditya with doubt, "What did you say?"

Aditya smiled as he leaned back in his driver seat and said, "I said 'No',"

"Why?"

"You see elder brother Raghav, we five people have fought together, ate together, shared difficulties together for the past few days. They have long become my brothers, if I go with you now and I leave them here, wouldn't I become a fickle person in their hearts? So, I will only go with you if my brothers could accompany me otherwise, tell Ms Taarini that I am sorry." Holy light almost radiated through every pore of Aditya's body as he expounded this righteous speech.

The three people in the back had red eyes as they tried to stop themselves from crying while even Raghav had a dumbfounded expression. Faizal was the only person, who knew and travelled with Aditya the most, who had a sceptical expression as only one thought was running in his head, 'What evil scheme was this fellow plotting today?'

"You think that it is some personal event of celebration where we can bring as many people as we like? The chief minister of this state is celebrating his son's birthday. Many noted officials, politicians and business elites are going to gather. Even I am not going to go inside. I still don't understand why Taarini little miss wants to take you with her. Don't make any over-the-top demands and follow me, Aditya," Raghav tried to control his anger and explained as patiently as possible.

"Okay, so let's do it like this," Aditya also relaxed his demands a little, "let Phani, John and Dhanush follow you while I take Faizal with me. If even this is not possible, let's call it a night and let us go back to our respective homes."

Faizal who was looking at Aditya with disbelieving eyes also changed his attitude as he started looking at Aditya with a grateful expression on his face. Aditya clearly stated that he attached more importance to him than the other three and here he was doubting this great elder brother's intentions. He felt very guilty in his heart. The other three in the back also looked at him with envy which satisfied his vanity.

"You," Raghav almost burst out but controlled himself in the end as he nodded and said, "Okay, now can we go?"

"Sure, but there is a problem," Aditya said with a hesitant expression.

"What is it?" Raghav bellowed as he was not able to control himself anymore. He started to regret when he offered to take up this job when Taarini little miss asked.

"There is a poor fellow who is passed out in the back of the car right now, is it okay for us to leave him there? Didn't you say that the Chief Minister was coming, there is bound to be tight security, it would not appear nice if someone found him." Aditya said with a wronged expression on his face. Several days of living together with Tya seemed to have rubbed off on him as his expression right now along with his immature young face was pretty cute.

"I will take care of it. Now, you and Faizal follow me while the other three stay in the car. You can come when I call you again," Raghav also calmed down and started leading them inside.

Old memories surfaced in Aditya's mind as he looked at the wonderfully elegant hotel which was designed in accordance with the medieval royal architecture of India. Neela Palace was a chain of luxurious hotels located in all the major metropolitan cities in India. It was a Five-star Deluxe rated hotel which was the highest gradation allocated to any hotel in India. His mother who owned a chain of popular Flower bouquet shops in Bangalore had once got the contract to supply fresh flowers every day to this hotel.

Aditya had accompanied his mother once to this hotel and was also treated to a complimentary meal by the friendly manager. He did not know if that manager was still working here or not. He was truly floored by the hotel look which was filled with grandeur and serene aesthetics. The old, rustic look along with antique style lavish decorations really put one in a mood as if one had gone back hundreds of year in time.

But Aditya experienced a desolate feeling when he roamed the wide halls and the broad corridors as he found very few people. Anyone who knew anything about Aditya knew that he did not enjoy these places so he rushed his mother to take him back home where he could play with his friends or elder sisters.

Tonight, when Aditya had come back to this hotel but the situations had changed unbelievably. His parents are missing, he did not have a fail-proof idea on how to save them. He was trying a bit of this and that but was really not sure if he would succeed in the end. Now, Sameera also seemed to be taken away and he was practically as clueless and powerless as he was when he found out his parents had been missing. No visible solution could be seen on the horizon.

Raghav who was observing Aditya closely found him a little absent minded as he walked in a daze without paying much attention to this grand hotel. They had passed through the elegant Porte Cochere, the vast, huge lobby where a beautiful female commissionaire clad in a traditional Indian saree welcomed them.

"You should have done some preparations, right? You don't expect me and Faizal to go to the party like this?" Aditya asked Raghav as he came out of his daze while simultaneously smiling politely at the woman.

Raghav snorted when he looked at Aditya's and Faizal's looks. Aditya grinned while Faizal rubbed his head awkwardly, Raghav gave a room card to a porter and said, "Follow him, everything is prepared for you."

"Come Faizal, let me show you how the rich live their lives, this hotel is so much better than that Vivanta (Taarini's Five- star hotel which is not deluxe rated) cough cough" Aditya blamed himself for his loose mouth when he saw the look on Raghav's face.

"Only you can go, Faizal will use another room, we will meet you at the party" Raghav interjected impatiently.

"Oh, why? it's not a problem, we both can use one room."

"Just go."

"Okay," Aditya shrugged as he followed the porter who was looking at the card and Aditya back to back as if something was not matching but did not voice out his thoughts. Aditya was not in the mood to talk much as he was immersed in his memories as he looked at the antique paintings and mainly the flower decorations on the wall as they walked.

Aditya understood why the porter looked at him weirdly when he was given the room card the moment he saw the room, sorry, he should call this a royal suite which turned out to be his temporary home for tonight. Why was it necessary to book a royal suite which was one of the most expensive suites in this hotel for the matter of refreshment and changing clothes?

The suite had its own lobby, private library and a lavish private dining area. Opulence was lurking in every corner filled with sumptuous furnishings. The patterns on the carpets were quite eye-catching and fit well with the bright colour scheme of the suite. Aditya looked at the sophisticated bedroom which enticed him to forget everything and sleep in luxury instead of refreshing himself, one had to know that he was super tired today. It took a lot of will to regain his composure as he rushed to the bathroom.

The bathroom was exquisitely furnished with marble and gold features and also contain a spa bath with all kinds of body products as he inhaled Hermes fragrances. He knew that there was not much time so he trimmed his facial hair, adjusted the temperature of shower water and took a quick bath. He applied some gel on his hair and fashioned it into an angular fringe style which was easy and practical for his hair which was less on the sides and long on the top.

Aditya had started a rehabilitation program for himself as he did not want to end up becoming a kid like Tya and so he would practice singing nice, hot, teen love songs to himself to resist the psychological invasion of Tya. So, That's what Aditya did now…

Hello Doctor, My heart is missing,

My pulse beat is increasing ♫ ♫ ♫

I can't eat anything anymore,

I can't sleep anywhere anymore ♪ ♪ ♪

My college books are teaching me about love,

the movies I watch are full of love♬ ♬ ♬

Hollywood, London, Paris,

everywhere is filled with love♯ ♯ ♯

Even if I go to the moon,

I think it will also be filled with love♩ ♩ ♩

Aditya came into the bedroom wearing a towel while continuing to sing this song. He saw a pair of white trousers, a blue checkered shirt and a Dark blue blazer placed on the table accompanying a pair of pure leather shoes. He held the clothes as he nodded with a satisfactory smile on his face, "Whoever bought these clothes have a very good taste, maybe I should have them buy clothes for me every time."

'Ahem'

Aditya froze when he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. He looked back to find a queenly figure wearing a purple coloured mermaid flounced chapel train formal gown which was made of Jersey fabric. The dress was of floor length with a natural waist, it had a sweetheart neckline and off-the-shoulder strap which exposed her exquisitely toned and open shoulders. Her thick black hair was sleek as big curls and sexy, voluminous waves of hair fell on her shoulder. Her face was youthful but mature at the same time, her eyes shimmered as if they contained stars within them as she looked coolly at Aditya and said in an icy tone, "Get ready quickly, I will be waiting in the lobby."

Aditya did not recover even after Taarini left for a few minutes. He had always seen Taarini in her training clothes or normal western informal clothes which seem to have done a gross injustice to her beauty. He looked down to find that his shaft was poking out of the towel, his face reddened as he covered it with his hands instinctively which was not necessary as it was already late.

"Don't these women know that the blood of a teenager is similar to that of a Hydrogen fuel? It is very easy to get it burning and very hard to extinguish it. One woman ends up hugging me tightly and now this one..." Aditya tried to repeat some moral poems taught to him by his mother in an attempt to cool down his fiery heart.

This might work immediately when you encounter a somewhat good looking woman but it seemed to have been rendered ineffective when challenged by Taarini's picturesque figure. After some time, Aditya walked into the lobby as he smiled at Taarini, "I didn't think you would also come here, mentor."

Taarini looked at Aditya's young face for some time without speaking. After a few seconds, she nodded and walked along with him to the venue. No one knew what she was thinking.