Genevieve

Chapter 9: Rules

The moment Gen opened her eyes, she struggled to adjust to her surroundings and recollect her memories. She was traumatized by what she had seen. That helpless man and that wicked smile. She couldn't believe at what she had gotten herself into. When Bella realized that Gen was awake, she rushed to her side.

"Gen, are you okay? Do you need some water?" She asked and Gen nodded. As she gulped down the water, she could sense that Bella had a tense expression.

"Bella, are you okay? You're probably shocked after seeing that man and I was too. It was wrong, cruel and-" But before Gen could complete her sentence, Bella put her finger on her lips and gestured Gen to remain quiet.

"We have to forget what we saw Genevieve. This place is not as it seems. It is far more dangerous. I could tell that Luci-, I mean His Majesty, was very angry to see us. But since it was our first offence, he let us go." Bella disclosed.

"Offence? What do you mean? We didn't commit a crime. It was all his fault." Gen countered furiously.

"We just have to let it go and not get on his bad side. Trust me on this Gen." Bella tried to console her, but her efforts went in vain. "Also, I'm sorry I got you in this mess. I feel awful." She talked about her diamond earring.

But Gen couldn't take the image out of her head. It was stuck. She was horrified. And she had to confront Lucius anyhow.

Lucius was also surprised to see the two human girls making there way inside the dungeon. He was surprised to see their bravery, but angry at the same time since they were not supposed to come down there. No matter what sort of a monster he was, not in front of his mate. His mate was his soft spot. To watch one of the girls faint was alarming. But they were new to this place and unsure about the rules so he couldn't really do much.

The housekeeper had to hear an earful in their stead. "Your Majesty, I had informed the girls that they must not go there, but I admit my fault that I should've been more careful. I accept any punishment you see fit."

"I'll think about that soon. For now, you need to inform our guests about the rules. They seem to be unfamiliar with them." Lucius ordered and she complied.

The housekeeper knocked on the door before entering.

"Esteemed guests, His Majesty has sent me to inform about some important rules that you must follow while you are in the Eastern Kingdom." The girls' jaws dropped as they heard these words.

"1. You must address the king by "His Majesty".

2. You must not raise your voice in front of the king.

3. You must not steal or lie.

4. You must not speak ill about His Majesty or his mate.

5. You must not cause any sort of damage or harm any object or individual in the kingdom.

These are the five most important rules. The rest are in this manual. Failure to abide by these rules can result in punishments such as fines, detention, losing your tongue, cutting off your hands, or beheading etc. Please read the manual and feel free to ask me questions."

These rules were extremely disturbing, and they made the girls feel stressed out more than they already were. They couldn't believe their ears and felt like they were imprisoned.

"I have a question. How are the people okay with this?" Gen questioned in a concerned tone. They couldn't even imagine living in such a place.

"We are accustomed to them. Please don't worry too much. As our guests, His Majesty will be fairly lenient when it comes to you." The housekeeper tried to make them feel better.

"Why were the guards being punished?" Bella spoke out of curiosity.

"His Majesty is very particular about his guests. The guards acted rashly and imprisoned the two of you, so they are just paying for their mistakes." Gen was dumbfounded to hear the housekeeper and even more upset after sensing their mentality. How can they just tolerate and accept such things?

"Today there is an open house at the packhouse. People can come explore and buy whatever they like. You can find everything you like, from handicrafts to jewelry. I hope you can grace us with your presence." She spoke before she left the room.

Gen was in a sour mood after hearing and reading all the rules. Some of them were absurd and the punishments were way overboard. But Bella really wanted to go to the open house since the housekeeper mentioned jewelry.

"Please Gen! I'm too afraid to go alone. If you'll be by my side, I'll feel safe." She urged. Initially Gen hesitated but then eventually gave in.

The open house consisted of various stalls and there was a huge crowd which included buyers and sellers. There were beautiful ornaments, cutlery, pottery, crockery, perfumes, candles and what not. But Bella's eyes zeroed on the shimmering diamonds in the corner. To their surprise, Lucius was also there.

"Bell, I heard you lost a diamond earring in my kingdom. I wish to compensate you with this brand-new pair. I hope you like it." He revealed a pair of diamond earrings which were bigger and better than Bella's previous ones.

"I love them! Thank you so much Your Majesty." She spoke and hurriedly put on the new pair which looked stunning on her.

"Vee, is there anything you like which I can get for you?" Lucius approached Gen. But she was in a sour mood, so she politely refused.

There was in fact something which caught her eye. A beautiful vase. It was one of a kind. It had an intricate design and details which would be difficult to replicate. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. She tried to move closer to have a better look, but before she could, she heard a loud sound, and the vase was shattered into a million pieces.

This immediately caught Lucius' attention who began roaring in anger. "Who did this?!"

No one dared to speak. But Gen knew. It was a little girl who accidently broke it and was now hiding under a table. She was evidently scared, and Gen could understand why.

"Whoever did this, step forward and reveal yourself." Lucius demanded. "Or else-"

"Or else what? What will you do? Fine it was me who broke the vase." Gen stepped up and everyone stared at her as if she had committed a major sin. She didn't realize it, but she had spoken in a higher tone in front of Lucius. And that was no less than a sin for the people of the Eastern Kingdom.