Before the crack of dawn, the Queen Mother entered Arohi's bedchamber. Arohi was still deep in sleep, but her mother woke her with an air of frantic urgency. Rubbing her eyes in confusion, Arohi asked, "Mother, what happened so early in the morning?" The Queen, masking her face with a facade of false worry, replied, "Arohi, look at what your Aditya has done! The boy is so stubborn! I pleaded with him, telling him his health was poor and to rest today, but he wouldn't listen. Out of respect for you and our lineage, he set out with the wedding invitation before the sun even rose. I tried to stop him, but he galloped away into the forest on his horse." Looking out the window at the fading darkness, Arohi felt a surge of pride. She thought of how much Aditya must love her to ignore his own physical suffering for her sake.
While Arohi sat on her bed, smiling at the thought of her beloved, a horrific nightmare was unfolding within the secluded chamber in the North Wing of the palace. Aditya's body was no longer under his control. It felt as if molten lava was coursing through his veins. One by one, his bones were snapping with sickening cracks, reshaping into a monstrous form. He tried to scream, but no human sound escaped his throat; instead, a demonic growl echoed through the cavernous room. His fingernails grew into sharp claws, and his eyes slowly began to glow with a blood-red intensity.
The Queen Mother left Arohi's room and walked slowly toward the locked door of that hidden chamber. Hearing the sounds of breaking bones and the beastly cries from within, a diabolical smile of victory touched her lips. Thinking of the Magic Mirror and the key locked in her vault, she whispered to herself, "The night is almost over, Aditya. Now, it is time to see your true face." Arohi believed her lover was far away carrying a message of love, while just a few rooms away, Aditya was transforming into a cursed Dracula.
Standing outside the chamber door, the Queen Mother listened to those demonic sounds and smiled to herself. But in an instant, she smoothed her expression and returned to Arohi's room with a calm face. Arohi was sitting by the window, lost in thought. Stroking her hair, the Queen said in a sweet voice, "My dear Arohi, Aditya has gone far to deliver the invitations and it will take him several days to return. Why sit here all alone and melancholy in this vast palace? Instead, go spend a few days at your maternal home with your grandparents. You will feel better there and can spend your time happily." Initially, Arohi hesitated, but seeing her mother's persistence and thinking of Aditya's absence, she eventually agreed. As soon as Arohi departed, the Queen's face twisted into its true, cruel smile.
Now, the Queen Mother walked slowly back to that cursed room in the North Wing. She knew the transformation within was complete. With a steady hand, she pushed open the heavy door. Aditya, who was huddling in agonizing pain, saw the open door and stumbled out onto the balcony with shaky steps. But the moment he stepped out, a sliver of morning sunlight hit his skin, and something horrific happened. Aditya felt as if a ball of fire was scorching his flesh. He screamed in intense agony as his fair skin began to burn and char into a dark, blistered mess. Terrified, he scrambled back into the darkness of the room. Gasping for air, he thought, "Why can't I bear even a little sunlight? Why does the light feel like it's burning me to ashes?"
At that exact moment, the Queen Mother stepped into the room and slammed the door shut behind her. In the darkness, her eyes shimmered with a demonic delight. Groping along the walls, Aditya managed to stand before a large mirror. In the dim light of the room, the sight of his own reflection made his blood run cold. The creature staring back at him was not human. Aditya saw that his once beautiful eyes had turned a piercing, blood-red hue. From the sides of his mouth, two sharp, vicious fangs had emerged. His bones had twisted, warping him into a terrifying specter. His once handsome face was gone, replaced by the hideous form of a 'Dracula'—a bloodthirsty monster. Horrified by his own reflection, Aditya collapsed onto the floor, while the Queen stood over him and declared, "Welcome, Aditya, to your new world!"
Aditya lay huddled on the cold floor, his body trembling violently. It felt as if waves of fire were erupting from within him, and every time he caught a glimpse of his bloodthirsty vampire reflection in the mirror, he shuddered in pure horror. With great effort, he looked up at the Queen Mother and asked in a broken, choked voice, "Why did you do this to me, Queen Mother? I truly believed you had forgiven me. I thought you had accepted me for the sake of Arohi's happiness. How could you commit such a monstrous betrayal?"
The Queen Mother stood in the center of the chamber and let out a diabolical, piercing laugh. The sound was so powerful that the heavy palace doors rattled and the glass windowpanes trembled in their frames. She looked down at Aditya with pure loathing and spat, "Forgiveness? Love? You are nothing but a lowly flute player, a common beggar of the streets! How did you ever imagine that I would accept you as the son-in-law of my royal bloodline? Your audacity to reach for my daughter's hand is unforgivable. Do you think I would ever allow the life of my princess to be ruined by a pathetic creature like you?"
Aditya groaned in agony, whispering, "But... Arohi loves me..."
"Shut up!" the Queen thundered, her voice echoing like a curse. "Do not dare utter my daughter's name with that demonic mouth of yours! Arohi loved Aditya, the flute player. But now? Who are you now? You are a cursed Dracula! If she were to see you now, you would find nothing but terror and hatred in her eyes instead of love. From this day forth, you are no longer human, Aditya. You are but a shadow of the dark world. You shall rot within this darkness forever."
Crimson tears, the color of fresh blood, rolled down Aditya's eyes. He realized then that he was trapped in a sinister, inescapable web of conspiracy. The Queen Mother walked toward the chamber door and delivered her final blow, "From today, this dark room is your world. You will crave the blood of humans, and the moment you touch the sunlight, you will turn to ashes. This is your destiny!" With a resounding thud, she slammed the heavy door shut and fastened a massive iron lock from the outside.