OPENING SCENE
[INT. ROYAL BEDCHAMBER – EARLY MORNING]
Aryan's stunned face as he stares out from the palace balcony. The golden city stretches below—vast walls, stone towers, temple bells in the distance.
ARYAN (softly)
No way… this can't be real.
SERVANT
Rajkumar Aryaveer, the king awaits.
He turns to see two attendants bowing. A young male servant holds out princely sandals. Aryan stumbles back.
SCENE 2: THE REFLECTION
[ROYAL BATHROOM – MOMENTS LATER]
Aryan stares at himself in a polished bronze mirror. Gone are the jeans and T-shirt. In their place: a dhoti, golden shawl, beaded jewelry.
ARYAN (confused)
This is a dream. Has to be. I read that book and… maybe I fell asleep?
He splashes water on his face. Still here. He pinches himself. Winces.
ARYAN (whispers)
Nope. Not a dream.
He picks up a dagger laid on a towel rack. The metal is warm, the carvings ancient.
SCENE 3: THE THRONE ROOM
[THRONE ROOM – DAY]
Guards swing open giant wooden doors. Aryan walks down a red carpet toward an ornate golden throne. Courtiers whisper and bow.
On the throne sits King Samudrasen—old, sickly, regal.
KING SAMUDRASEN (weakly smiling)
Come, my son. Sit beside me.
ARYAN (hesitates)
Y-Yes… Baba.
The word slips out naturally.
KING SAMUDRASEN
You were restless in your sleep last night. Perhaps the ancestors were speaking to you?
ARYAN
I… think someone was.
Courtiers murmur about "omens." One minister scowls.
SCENE 4: A STRANGE NEW LANGUAGE
[COURT HALLWAY – LATER]
Aryan walks with a servant. Passes scrolls written in ancient script—but he can read them.
ARYAN (to himself)
I understand this… how?
A guard bumps into him. Aryan instinctively replies in fluent medieval Hindi.
GUARD (bows)
My apologies, Rajkumar.
ARYAN (alarmed)
I didn't try to say that…
SCENE 5: RANI DEVIKA INTRODUCTION
[PALACE LIBRARY – EVENING]
Aryan wanders into the massive library. Books, scrolls, maps.
A sharp voice cuts through:
RANI DEVIKA
You're not as confused as you pretend, are you?
Devika (mid-30s, elegant, commanding) steps into view, eyes narrowed in curiosity.
RANI DEVIKA
You read ancient manuscripts like they're bedtime tales. You speak the tongue like a court poet.
Either you're the cleverest imposter I've ever seen… or the gods have sent you for a reason.
Aryan doesn't know how to answer.
SCENE 6: NIGHT THOUGHTS
[BEDCHAMBER – NIGHT]
Aryan lies awake, staring at the carved ceiling.
NARRATOR
The world he knew was gone. But what lay ahead… was more than a story.
He pulls a piece of parchment from under his pillow—it shows a map of Kaligarh and a name written in glowing ink: "Aryaveer."
ARYAN (softly)
I don't know why I'm here… but I need to find out.
Flute music plays softly as the we see the palace.
FINAL MOMENT –
Cut to the edge of the kingdom. A band of riders crosses into Kaligarh's border under moonlight.
RIDERS (whispering)
Tell Raja Varundev… the boy prince is awake.
[TITLE CARD]
THE LAST PRINCE OF KALIGARH
Episode 2: "The Shimmering Script"
[TEASER - FOR NEXT EPISODE]
"Next time: A dying king. A broken court. And a warrior who trusts no one.