Lucky was stealthily checking each room of the mansion. Where could be that record room where they keep all their important documents? Suddenly, a bell rang in her mind. Such a place definately should be near the library or somewhere around it. She could only hope that this outdated royal family had accepted Digital India by now. If all the documents in the record room had been digitized, then geting that file would be a piece of cake for her. In this dark night this mansion was somehow feels like a puzzle to her. Searching for something in this mansion in the middle of night was like finding a niddle in the haystack. Of course  she needs to avoid the guards' eagle eyes too and that was a different level of challenge for her. After walking for a long time, her feet started to ache. To get some rest, she sat down on a platform.

"I don't understand if these royals built this palace to live in or to tire out thieves like us to death? I can't even find a room, how could I manage to get the file?" She mumbled in frustration. But as soon as she looked ahead, all her irritation vanished in an instant.

'Royal Library...'

Lucky's heart was now dancing with joy. Since it was nighttime, there was no expectation of anyone being there. So that's the best time to do her work. Almost running, she reached the huge door with the shining words 'Royal Library' written above it. Now, only this door stood between her and her two crores. She took a deep breath and moved forward.

"Here you are the door of my jackpot ..."  Lucky said as she reached out towards the door. Suddenly, someone placed a hand on her shoulder from behind. Lucky felt as if her heart had jumped into her hand for a moment.

"Why are you wandering like a ghost in the middle of the night?" Hearing the voice behind her back Lucky's heart started to calm down and she gets a sigh of relief.

"Guruji? What are you doing here? I was just... About to leave this palace." She gave him an excuse.

"Oh. I came to inform you there is No need to go you anywhere. They have made your job permanent here." Ghunguru said smiling.

"What??" Lucky looked at him with wide eyes in surprise.

" Yes! You'll get your job letter tomorrow morning. So go early to bed tonight. Tomorrow you have to do a lot of work. If any guard sees you wandering here and there, they'll shoot you thinking you're a thief," Ghungroo said, glaring at her from head to toe. Lucky felt as if her entire system had frozen. She looked around and saw guards everywhere. For now, it seemed best to follow Ghungroo's advice. Having no choice she Silently followed him to the servant quarters.

------
~Next day~

"So, you made that food yesterday? You were lucky that young master liked it. Seeing your skills, we've decided to make your job permanent. From today, you'll help Miss Rajshree and Ghungroo in the royal kitchen." Aniket said glaring at lucky.  They were standing in the kitchen with all the other kitchen staffs. When the rest of the kitchen staff heard this, they all started congratulating Lucky. But Lucky was crying inside. She has now the urge to banging her head against the wall. She kept trying to run away from troubles, but it seemed like troubles were finding her no matter where she went. The biggest shock was that she had to assist Rajshree in the kitchen. KK had sent her here disguised as Rajshree. So, who was this new girl? Just because she didn't showed up in time is it possible that KK had given someone else the task of getting the file? But now the main problem was to getting out of this job.

"Thank you, Sir... for considering me worthy, but... I can't take this job," Lucky replied in a sad tone.

"What? Have you lost your brain? Working in this mansion is no less than a government job. People dream of working here, and you're rejecting such a good opportunity? What's cooking inside your tiny head?"
Ghungroo looked at her in surprise. And here lucky was struggling to give them a better excuse for rejecting the job. I mean What could she tell them? The person they all assuming as a professional chef couldn't even make a cup of tea without mistake. And even if she could any how manage to cook foods how could she manage to hide her identity as a girl? she was currently disguising as a boy. Getting a permanent job meant permanently settling in a boy's disguise. No... no... she had to get rid of this unwanted job at any cost.

"What should I tell you, Guruji(master)... even if I want to catch this opportunity, My consince won't let me do that." Lucky said, literally bringing tears to her eyes.

"What are you talking about? What's the problem with you to do this job?"

"Because I don't want to put Rajshree mdam or all of your lives in danger." Lucky said, pretending to sob.

"Oh my God... what are you saying? How is our life in danger if you work here?"

"It seems the time has come for me to tell you all the truth," Lucky sighed. By now, the rest of the staff had also started whispering among themselves.

"Guruji... I can't work here. Because... because I'm a jinx. My bad luck is terrible, Guruji. I don't know what my parents were thinking when they named me Lucky. you know... when I was born, a great sage came to our house. He predicted infront of my parents that this son of yours is born under the worst star. Wherever he goes, misfortune will follow him. Whoever spends more time with him will also have bad luck. Even..."

"Even what?" a staff member asked in a trembling voice.

"Even their untimely death could happen. That's what the sage said, not me," Lucky sighed again and started to sob. Lucky's words hit all of them so much that all the staff, in panic, stood at least ten feet away from her. After all, it was a matter of their lives now.

"What nonsense is this? Who believes in such things in this era? I'm asking you for the last time. Are you ready to do this job or not?" Aniket asked angrily.

"You may tell all of these nonsense Sir. But all of my words were true. If you don't believe me, you can check for yourself. At very young age started working at a hotel. The owner loved the food made by me so much. he ate so much and at the end he got fat and then one day he died of a heart attack." Lucky started to babbling anything that comes first to her mind.

"One customer even died while eating because the chicken biryani made by me got stuck in his throat, and he couldn't breathe. And then yesterday, when I was working here, there was a fire. Thank God there wasn't too much damage, but there was still some which can't be ignored right? No Sir, I am not a selfish person. For my own benefit I can't risk others life. So i can't take this job."

"What rubbish... it's just an accident. Hukum Sa and Kunwar Sa both praised the dishes made by you. Are you trying to take advantage of this? Look, we'll pay you more than your five-star hotel. You don't need to worry about that."

As soon as Lucky opened her mouth to say something, Ghungroo grabbed her hand and pulled her to the corner.

"Are you out of your mind? What nonsense are you talking now? You gave me 20,000 rupees as a bribe to get you this job, and now you're refusing to take it?"

"What?? I gave you so much money?" Lucky looked at him in shock. Who knows what more that Lakhwinder Singh had done which Lucky didn't even know about.

"Look... you're lucky to get a direct opportunity to work for the royal kitchen and for Rajshree. Her father was once the top chef here. And I've heard that Rajshree and Virat are getting engaged soon. Just think... she'll become the mistress of this palace soon, and you'll be her personal chef. Your status will increase so much." Ghungroo whispered. On the other side, Aniket was anxiously watching them. Now His entire plan was depended on Lucky's final answer. He was just hoping that Ghungroo would somehow convince this chef to work in the royal palace.

After calculating Ghungroo's advice, Lucky's mind started racing. He was right. Being with Rajshree meant having a free pass to go anywhere in the mansion. It would also make it easier to find the file. Once she will get that damn file, she wouldn't need to keep up this act.

"O... okay, Guruji. Since you're insisting so much, I have no reason to refuse this." Lucky replied, showing her perfectly white teeth.

"Thank goodness you've come back to your senses." Ghungroo said, giving her a pat on the head. Aniket also breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Lucky was ready to work here. He completed all the formalities and instructed them to take care of all the preparations for the evening party before leaving.

------

All the guests started to gather for the evening party. The entire mansion was shining with lights to celebrate Virat's return. Everyone in the hall was busy talking to each other. The entire responsibility of cooking for the party was on Lucky and Ghungroo because Virat had specially invited Rajshree, aka Menaka, to the party.

"Mom... Don't you feel it suspicious that Rajshree suddenly come back after so many years? I mean if she was alive why didn't she showed up all these years? But she came exactly when virat returned to india. And I heard that Urmila Aunty is thinking of getting her married to Virat. What will happen to me now?" Anusha looked at Sulochana with a tearful face. Both mother and daughter were shocked to hear about Rajshree's return. Sulochana was Urmila's childhood friend, so Virat and Anusha had almost grown up together. It was a different matter that Virat never considered her his friend. Sulochana had always dreamed that one day her daughter would step into this mansion as the daughter-in-law. But now it seemed like all her hopes were being dashed.

"I also don't understand what urmi is thinking this time. She cares so much about her social status that she never let Virat talk to the servants' children. Then how did she agree to get her only son married to a servant's daughter?" Sulochana said with clenched fists.

"But where is she? I didn't get any chance to see rajshree." Anusha said looking everywhere in order to find rajshree.

"She hasn't even married Virat yet, and she's already coming late to the party. This girl has so much attitude." Anusha is now getting impatient. So shse picked up a glass of wine.

Suddenly, everyone's eyes in the hall turned towards the entrance. Menaka was walking in through the door, with Aniket and Lucky by her side. Menaka was wearing a beautiful traditional dress with matching jewelry. She was already beautiful, but Aniket made so much efforts to make her special today, and that makes everyone’s eyes fixate on her.  Seeing this, Anusha burned with jealousy. She had come dressed in flashy clothes, hoping to impress Virat, but now it was clear she had tough competition.

"Listen... if anyone asks about any dish, give the correct answer, okay? And remember, all the food today was prepared by her, not you," Aniket whispered to Lucky. By now, Lucky had realized that this girl was also brought here as a fake Rajshree, just like her. She smiled and nodded.

"Don't worry, sir... I'll definitely praise your cooking skills in front of young master virat.  And I am sure after tasting the foods he will kiss your hands as appreciation. Lucky chirped in excitement. Menaka was nervous until now but after listening Lucky's Inspiring words  she smiled for the first time.

"Aniket, dear... you didn't tell me who this is?" Sulochana came and asked, looking Menaka head to toe.

"Sorry... I forgot to introduce you. This is Miss Rajshree Vohra, daughter of Chef Sanjeev Vohra. She will be staying here in the mansion from now on. Hukum Sa has specially invited her to the party."

"Oh... so you are Rajshree. And who is this man with you? Your boyfriend?" Anusha laughed, looking at Lucky, "Poor Virat... his heart will break."

"This is my assistant. Hukum Sa himself hired him. Do you doubt his decision? He helped me a lot in preparing for today's party. He's just doing his job here. I don't think virat will see anything wrong with that," Menaka replied with a smile, and Anusha was forced to swallow her anger.

"Ladies and gentlemen... I am very happy to announce that my son Virat is among us today. After completing his studies in London, Virat has been managing our business abroad. But now he has returned to his home and will stay here with us to manage all the business. Please welcome... my only son, Virat," Yashraj Ji announced, stepping into the middle of the hall. Everyone clapped happily. Virat entered the hall. The girls were trying to catch a glimpse of him, standing on their toes. Virat was wearing traditional royal clothes today, looking like a true prince. As he passed by Lucky, her heart skipped a beat for a moment. After all, she had given him a hard time the previous night. But thankfully, Virat didn't recognize her and moved on.

"Thank you so much for coming to this party. I may have been abroad, but my heart was always with my country and my people. And finally, I am back here... among you all. Dad has already managed everything here excellently. I will try to manage everything as well as he does. But for that, I need your support."

"We are always with you...Young master." happy voices started coming from all around.

"Cheers for my son... enjoy the party," Yashraj Ji said, raising a glass of wine. Everyone started eating and drinking. Virat got busy meeting his business partners at the party. Then he noticed Menaka standing on one side, talking to someone. When Virat saw her, he made his way through the guests and came to her.

"Raji... I've been looking for you. Actually, I wanted to tell you something," Virat said, approaching her.

"Yes, Kunwar Sa... what did you want to tell me?" Menaka looked at him with her big eyes. This was exactly what Virat never wanted. He had always considered Raji as his friend. But in the end, she too saw him as just a prince not as her friend.

"You can call me Virat..." he replied in a somewhat dejected voice.

"Hi Virat..." Suddenly, Anusha's voice drew Virat's attention.

"Hi..."

"We're meeting after so many years, and you didn't even look at me."

Before virat could speak anything a voice got there attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, to make today's party even more special, we have arranged a special dance performance. I hope you all enjoy it." Aniket's voice echoed through the hall. Virat also moved to the side with Menaka and Anusha, where special arrangements had been made for them to sit. Aniket had indeed made excellent arrangements. The group of dancers was a troupe of Banjara girls, consisting of six girls and four boys. The boys were playing the iktara and dafli with great skill, creating a lively rhythm, and the girls were dancing to the beat. All the guests at the party were completely absorbed in the performance. The waiters were busy serving juice and mocktail and other refreshments to the guests. However, one of them seemed restless, constantly glancing around nervously. He was holding a large tray with only one glass of juice on it. He glanced at the group of dancers and one of the boys caught his eye, giving him a signal. He nodded subtly and moved towards Virat. Virat was watching the performance with Menaka and Anusha. All of them were holding out the glass of wine. The waiter came near virat and offer him the juice. Virat took the glass and went back to watching the performance. The waiter get back to his position again and started looking around nervously again.

Virat made Menaka sit next to him, which made Anusha jealous again. She secretly added extra chili to her food and handed the plate to Menaka. Unaware of Anusha's intentions, Menaka took a bite and her mouth started burning due to the extra pepper. She began to cough violently.
"Are you okay? Here, have this juice." Virat said, quickly handing her the glass. Menaka took the glass from him and drank the entire juice in one gulp. After drinking the juice, she felt some relief. However, the waiter who gave him the juice gets panic as he watched all the drama.

"Sir, please try this dish. Rajshri madam has made it with her own hands. You'll definitely like it," Lucky offered some dishes to virat in order to make him happy. Anusha's anger and jealousy had been simmering since Virat had gave Menaka his juice. Now when Lucky started to praise Rajshri's cooking skills, she gets out of her mind. As Lucky approached Virat, Anusha deliberately blocked her path, causing Lucky to lose her balance and fall onto Virat. But what happened next was unexpected. The boy playing the iktara suddenly pulled out a large knife from his instrument and threw it at Virat with all his might. However, Virat showed incredible agility and caught the knife in mid-air, saving himself from certain injury. Although his hand was badly injured in the process.

With this sudden movements The parry hall erupted into chaos. Yashraj called the guards, who rushed in from all sides. Lucky was still holding onto Virat, frozen in shock.
"How much longer do you plan to stay on my lap?" Virat scolded her. Lucky finally came to her senses and scrambled to get up. Just then, a loud gunshot echoed through the hall, followed by a blood-curdling scream. Virat's eyes widened in horror as he saw Menaka clutching her left shoulder, blood pouring out of the wound. Anusha had already fled the scene, running to Sulochna's side. The sight of Menaka's injury gave Virat shock and the memories of past started to haunt him again. 15 years ago the moment when Raji had fallen into the abyss in front of his eyes and he was not able to save her. The same fear gripped him once again. He pushed Lucky away and rushed towards Menaka. Aniket tried to catch the person who had fired the shot, but in the ensuing scuffle, another gun fire echoed, and Aniket fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.

To be continued...