"ℑS IT DONE?" he asked his second-hand man who was smirking profusely.

"To the best of my ability," he answered, raising a toast.

"Good. They should be kept in the dark in all ways, I don't want them to find anything out," he murmured with a sinister chuckle escaping his lips, wet with wine. His plan was gradually taking its shape, the shape of a dark cloud which will drain out all the colors from the Nirags. Before his hatred was kept hidden, well hidden, but now his antagonism was leaping from its cage to be audible.

He was going to be their nightmare.

Their wildest nightmare.

A dream that they don't want to see.

He will be their Grey Storm.

⇜⚕⇝

Before Ash could blurt out another order, a guard came running in, giving his phone which was ringing with the ID- Divit. Ash frowned as he lifted the call to hear Divit ramble desperately, "Ash, we have a huge disaster here. The news just broke free."

Confusion stirred through before quickly restoring anger in its place as he murmured grumpily,"Leave."

"But, look-" the official started to reason, completely unaware over the urgency of the issue.

"If you don't get out of my place, you will have to go around limping," he snapped hotly, extremely irritated by the irrelevance of the official's talks.

He saw the official nod his head obediently before exiting the area. Ash made sure the official was far away from the palace before making his hasty move to Divit's room. The hot volcano that just went out a few hours ago, began to explode once again. Sweat prickled down his entire body as the news sent shivers down his spine wondering what was happening to the stability of the country.

"Is this true?" he retorted, sucking a deep breath, expecting the worse. All of the boys were seated in Divit's room which had a similar layout to his, with apprehension evident on their faces.

Divit sighed loudly before speaking up in a raspy voice, "There are people talking about it outside the-"

"How?" Ash cut him off which made Divit roll his eyes at his urgency.

"That is what we have to figure out. How did the news leak out?" Divit answered with a sympathetic shrug.

"Who all did you inform regarding this?" Rey questioned agitated while Ash massaged his temples.

"All the family in the palace. The message hasn't even reached some of the officials, but it reached the damn people,"Ash mumbled in a heavy, displeased tone as he ran a hand through his hair with exasperation sparking inside him.

As Ajax opened his mouth to make a comment on the situation, Tanya walked in, a very stern, disapproving look masking her face as she whispered, blocking her phone with one hand, "The foreign affairs official is asking whether the loss of the gem is true."

"Hang up," Ash blurted in a monotonous voice while Tanya frowned, staring at him for a good minute before finally speaking.

"I'll talk to you after confirmation."

"Ash! How can you be so freaking careless? The gem is lost. THE GEM IS LOST and you don't know how!" Tanya wrathfully screeched as she pointed an accusation at him.

Ash sighed, he knew sooner or later the news would reach Tanya and he would have to deal with her immense vengeance. As much as his dad's words mean to him, they meant the world to Tanya, a daughter who would go overboard to please her parents.

"I get it. I get it, can you all stop rubbing it in?" Ash yelped with a rise of rushing anger illuminating his hidden flame.

"Ash, this is not a game to rub in your loss. This loss can cause a war and that might destroy the entire country,"Tanya snapped brutally as she crossed her arms.

"It is not going to happen. I am not going to let it happen," Ash promised in a persistent tone.

"Guards might have overheard us. There is no other logical explanation for this matter leaking in such a short span,"Ajax spoke up, easing the tension between the siblings and diverting the topic back to the original quandary.

"This premises is banned for guards. I don't see why they would be here, leaving all their work, to come to hear our conversations," Ash interjected in a critical tone.

"If they could hear such news then why not?" Rey countered, siding with Ajax while Ash glared at them.

"That just doesn't make sense,"Ash retorted lamely, thinking of a more reasonable explanation.

"You keeping the precious gem in the necklace doesn't either," Tanya bantered from behind as she shook her head before slamming the door shut.

Ash furrowed his eyebrows, barbarism washing over his face, as he let his thought reform in his brain. He was the man of devising and power. Even with one of them missing, his control will be put at stake. Thousands of calculations and clues began to work their way through the mystery. He growled lightly as the hints began to form an image in his brain. The image of vulnerable eyes, draped with extreme devastation forged through the fog of his brain making it glow in the limelight.

Without a second thought of conformity, he zapped through his desk, barging out of the door, averting his mind from all the cries of Tanya, Rey, and Divit over his shoulder. He hurled open the door to his room to see that it was immaculate, his mind searched frantically for those hazel eyes, confining him in the world of ambiguity. Questions lingered in his thoughts about her past constantly, in a such a relentless manner that it became impossible for him to think without her eyes flashing every other minute.

He scowled as his eyes landed on a sheet of paper, he lunged over the bed to grab the note that was information about the defense squad and the list of some names. Why would Naira have so much information about the defense squad? His jaw clenched tightly as his fists crumpled the sheet of paper, a new flood of savagery was surging in his blood as he heard an engine roar in his ears. He sauntered over to the balcony to contemplate his black sports car  speeding away from his sight. Ash dropped the piece of paper in the balcony before hurtling out to get his other grey car out. He didn't miss seeing the dark brown curls flying out of the driver's seat and he very well knew who it was.

"Pull over, now," he commanded in a rigid, tight voice, hoping he wouldn't explode the minute her fiery eyes met his.

"What? No!"she carelessly brushed off the idea and rose the speed of her car.

"Naira, don't make this more difficult then it already is. Pull over to the side," Ash ordered mercilessly after catching up with her, sending daggers her way.

"I can't. There are people behind me and I can't just pull over without any notice. Seems like the only stop I am going to make is my destination," she smirked, winking at him before driving off, neglecting Ash's stinging anger.

"Very well then," Ash declared darkly as the compulsion of control swallowed all his senses as he pressed the accelerator resulting in the car to viciously race behind Naira's.

The madness of power and control was back again, intoxicating his sense as his mind turned back into its primitive form. The form of pure savagery. The route to the defense gates, established at the other end of the city, one must pass through the menacing rocky cliff. The part that was dangerous about this cliff was that at few ends, the fences surrounding the roads were not stable due to the steepness of the cliff. It wouldn't take more than a jerk for the fencing to break apart and cars to drop like a terrifying thunderstorm. Due to the fact that the road was rarely used, unless someone from the palace needed to go to the defense gates urgently, it was a deserted path meant for daredevil stunts and horrific tales for bedtime stories.

Ash could tell by her driving that she was in haste and he was too. All his work and dedication were flowing out of his hand like sand. The minute his car hit the cliff, a low wobbly noise rang in his ears as he felt the rocks beneath his tires crush vigorously. The road was the most precarious road in the country with hardly any room for a car and a person walking beside it. Ash smirked as he let the car dash lightly against the metal fences, careful to not fall off himself. This action caused the fencing of the entire cliff to vibrate and he saw Naira, a few meters before him, slow down her speed, wary to not cause any more damage to the fencing.

Ash took this opportunity to speed up his car, only halting when he bumped into Naira's. He heard her hiss with an inward breath as he saw her glare at him, horrified, from her back view mirror. The game is just starting dear, he thought as he moved to the side, scooting Naira dangerously close to the fencing as he made room for his car to go side by side with hers.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked horrified as Naira's car stumbled a little, settling on the complete edge of the cliff.

Naira flipped her head to the side to some rocks falling into the pits of the extremely low sea below. One mistake, one stop, one crash and she would never be seen again. She gulped hard as she clutched the wheel tighter, her knuckles turning the palest color to keep the car moving correctly. She was tired and frustrated of Ash's new tricks to kill her. First the choking and now he wanted her to fall off a cliff?

"Can't you see? If you don't pull over, I will make you," she heard him blurt out in a sinisterly, mocking tone.

"I am going to die," she stated bluntly as she kept her eyes focus on the edge while her heart was beating against her chest.

"Pull over then."

"Are you crazy? If I stop the car, the car is going to skid at the edge and fall off."

"You should have just followed my order."

She gave him an appalled look before focusing her vision on the edge of the road to save her life. She felt her heart  almost spring out of its cage when her car striking a rock, bumping even more to the side. Her breath hitched in her throat as she felt the car bump vigorously, only to see Ash jerking it from the side. 

"You need to learn to swallow up your ego if you want to get anywhere in life, Look where your ego has led you: Death," she heard him murderously say with a bloodthirsty snarling

"What do you want?"

Ash smirked when the words flew right off her mouth. Naira knew he was doing all this for a reason, he wouldn't just let her die like that.

"You will follow my commands, my order, and my rules. You will live your life exactly how I wish. I am going to control every damn aspect of your life."

Naira's eyes widened at the statement as she watched the madness of control flash in his eyes which grey into a darker shade of grey. She let out a low, amused chuckle before fiercely retorting, "Sadly, I am not a toy for you to toss around and control. I am the Heartless Queen, Naira Shah, you can never gain control over me."

"You don't want me to give you a demonstration of my capabilities, now do you?" he snorted as he banged his car once more, earning a sudden cringe from her.

Ash unlocked his car and carefully opened her door while keeping a watch for the road and tentatively grabbing her waist. Naira straightened under his touch while her hands were still on the wheel, driving guardedly, while she saw Ash move his car a little away from hers from the corner of her eye. Was he planning on leaving her? Before she could estimate his plan or bark at him, a sudden force exerted around her waist and she was picked up and tossed on Ash's lap. She gulped hard as she saw the black sports car fall off the cliff and a splash of water rose through the deep sea.

That was close. A little too close. 

She let out a sigh of relief as the sweat started to evaporate into the thin air from her forehead while she stiffened realizing her position. She saw Ash attempt to reach the accelerator to fasten the speed, but her leg was blocking it. She sighed before stepping on it herself, earning her an amused glance from Ash as he let go of the steering and placed his warm hands on Naira's waist, trapping her in this uneasy position. Ignoring his lingering breath on her shoulder and arms around her waist, she drove hastily to their destination. Naira was never comfortable with physical contact from anyone, she preferred to maintain her own space bubble and strictly banned people from invading her space. This man was a pure exception, ever since day one, he made sure to come way too close to her liking.

"Just try. I dare you to just try to control me as in your control lies my freedom," she blurted out before abruptly stopping near the gates.

"You will regret your choice," he whispered huskily in her ears.

"Trust me, I already do," she responded, her eyes indicating to her uncomfortable position before jumping off the hood of the car to finish her work while she saw Ash fume with rage.

This was going to be one interesting relationship.

⇜⚕⇝

"What do the people know?" Ash asked the first question popping into his mind.

He had come back from the gates a few hours ago after the warning with Naira. From then on, he had done nothing, but talk to different officials in and out of the country, alerting them to the situation. When they did figure out there was something wrong, might as well inform them the genuine state of the country.

"That a vital object is missing, which could lead to a war," Rey announced, suppressing a groan as Ash flipped through the pages of the protocol once again.

"Who is this bastard that leaked this news?" Ash mumbled with exhaustion at its peak.

From the last two nights, since he got the news of the missing gem, he had no sleep. He spent the time trying to sort out issues or workout, the heavy bags underneath his eyes were his evidence. Now that he was completely sure that all the guards were thoroughly checked and the hints are under investigation, sleep was pricking into him, causing a lazy haze to wander through his body.

"We could deny all this and declare it is a rumor," Rey murmured as he let out a yawn. With him, everyone was up for the past two days, even Tara.

"Yeah, but the problem with that is declaring it was a rumor will not stop the controversy, due to such less information, it might be possible for some people to investigate further. Don't declare anything. Ask the guards to spread the news that they all heard it wrong. The vital object is Tanya's earrings and it will cause a war between her and Tara, who she claims to have it stolen. Knowing how our sister's sarcastic fights, they public should assume it was a joke and the matter should be closed then and there."

"Sounds good."

"What happened to the guard check?"

"Oh that, it was a disaster. In a guard's room the window broke which caused some repairing people to come and all. But we did manage to check all the other guards after the repairing is done, we will check that room. We did manage to the guard's stuff, just the room is not properly checked."

"Just don't forget to do it."

"You are planning something," Rey declared as he noticed Ash's lips quirk up at the edges to form a smirk.

"Aren't I always?"Ash commented dryly.

"What is it?" Rey asked, sudden curiosity-igniting in him as he chose to ignore Ash's previous comment.

"If the gem is lost, wouldn't the person be offering us deals or demanding money by now? Why isn't anything like that happening?"

"Are you thinking that," Rey trailed off as his gaze narrowed, pinpointing the solution.

"The gem is somewhere in the palace. It has just been misplaced by someone to prove something to me," Ash firmly completed the thought process.

"I am going to act like I know what you are talking about."

Ash rolled his eyes as he saw Rey look at him with a bored expression which caused him to quickly form a plan, "Where is Naira?"

"She is in the investigation room."

"Spread the word till I get back," Ash ordered in his authoritative voice as he leaped out of the room.

⇜⚕⇝

"You were here for the hidden gem weren't you?" Naira belligerently, shoving the criminal to the glass wall.

He gave her an innocent look but she knew better, "Stop acting like you don't know anything. If not for the information hiding in you, I would have killed you this instant."

Ever since that stupid gem was lost, she was constantly being pestered by accusations from so many different people. Even while walking through the hallway, she would get those incriminate glances from the guards, like they knew something she didn't. Who cared about a gem anyways? It is not like the loss of the gem would lead to entire country's demise but it did lead to her failure. She was currently in the investigation room to get answers from the criminal responsible for the mini invasion of something hidden.

"I am getting blamed, my plan is in a complete mess because of you and you think I am going to let you hanging in there?" she continued to vent out her vexation at the pale man before her.

She let out a merciless laugh before shoving him back to the floor as she said to the guard in an infuriating tone, "Inject the serum."

"M..Ma'am?" he asked her, trembling with fear after seeing her aggravation.

She frowned when she saw the beginner on his badge before ordering"I mean give the serum to me. I'll inject it myself."

He hesitantly stood before her with her words trembling in his mouth while Naira yelled, her patience ticking away, "What are you waiting for? Go!"

The young boy scurried away to find the truth serum while Naira lets out a victory chuckle.  Everything should be out now and it shouldn't be hard to gain Ash's trust hereafter.

The boy rushed back inside, holding the serum, causing a wicked smile to devour Naira's face as she mumbled to her personal guard,   "Keep a watch outside."

"Now you are going to spill all the information like you did last time," Naira said in a cunning tone as she strolled forward to inject the serum.

Just as she about to inject the serum on his arm, he grabbed her hand tightly, making her shriek,"What are you-"

As Naira's blinked her eyes, got ready to punch him in the face, the criminal moved his head, the serum injecting in his throat. In the spur of the moment, she was too stunned to think while the criminal began to move his head from side to side causing a great amount of cuts in his throat. A drop  of cold blood bought Naira back to reality and she snatched the serum back while he started to cough vigorously, a satisfied smile veiling his face.  His face was pale, hardly gulping any air while the blood was flowing down his throat rapidly.

"Oh no! Call the doctor, I need him alive," Naira called out to the boy, barging back to the control room as she rubbed the stains of her hand.

"He knew something, he freaking new something," she screamed with helplessness streaming through her body as she glanced at the coughing man.

The truth serum was supposed to be injected in an appropriate way so that the serum doesn't travel to the neck. The serum might be poisonous if it comes in contact with too many different substances in the body. She can't risk losing such vital information by such crazy mishap.

She heard a deep chuckle from the corner of the room making her turn around to see the tyrant gazing deeply into her eyes, an amused look on his face while Naira scowled, "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to see all the things that you caused," he answered back, detaching himself from the wall

"I was trying to gain information and he slit his throat-"

"You just lost me the only source of information I had,"  he interrupted with a devilish smirk on his face.

"But, he-"

"I am appointing someone else in your place," he viciously informed her with a deep smirk which caused Naira to choke on the air.

⇜⚕⇝

How was the update?  Ash's tyrant behavior and Naira's irritation?

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