Genevieve

Chapter 13: Beware

"Two kingdoms down, two to go." Gen spoke as she wrote in her diary about the incident that occurred the next day. She would write an account about every day and then ponder over it before sleeping. She always wrote about what she liked and disliked. Before entering a kingdom, she would write down her expectations and then tally them in the end.

The next kingdom was the Western Kingdom. The west as it was categorized in the central kingdom was very modern and reformed. So, Gen had a picture painted in her mind that it would be advanced and sophisticated. When she thought about King Damien, his name meant 'to tame' and she imagined a very calm and collected person. Someone very sweet and very kind.

"Considering that we were able to befriend King Lucius, these other two should be much easier to tackle." Bella spoke. But she had spoken too soon.

As they reached the border of the Western Kingdom, they were told to stop and show their identification.

"You cannot go forward. Your access has been denied." The patrol guards spoke, and the girls were confused.

"We were supposed to come a few months ago, but due to a misunderstanding we went to the Eastern Kingdom instead. King Lucius must've communicated with your king. We're here for the renewal of the treaties." Gen clarified.

"Our king does not wish to renew the treaties. You may go back." The guards answered and the girls were speechless. First the dungeon incident in the East and then this rejection in the West. What was going on?

"What does this king think of himself? We travelled such a long distance and now they tell us to go! Forget it Gen, let's go." Bella was annoyed since she hadn't slept well, and Gen wasn't in a mood to argue with the patrol guards either.

Suddenly Gen could feel eyes on her, and she knew she was being watched. She felt uneasy and scared. Through the side of her eyes, she saw a brown wolf with a huge scar on his face, and it was running towards her, so she thought it was going to attack, and she screamed. Soon their carriage was stopped, and Gen braced herself for the worst. Bella woke up and asked what was wrong, but the wolf was gone, and a man appeared in front of the carriage.

"Are you two the representatives from the central kingdom?" He questioned and Gen nodded, still too scared to reply. The man wore a cloak, so his face wasn't visible, and the girls didn't know whether they could trust him.

"I am the king's second in command, my name is Maed. I would like to welcome you two and apologize on behalf on the king. There seem to be some misunderstandings and the king was a little busy so he couldn't come to receive you two today. Please follow me." He instructed and the girls hesitantly followed. They went in through a secret passage, which the girls found peculiar.

"Would you mind introducing yourselves?" He questioned in his deep voice.

Gen stayed quiet. This could be some kind of trap and this person could be dangerous.

"I promise that I pose no threat and I will not harm you in any way. You can trust me." He insisted, as if sensing Gen's discomfort.

"My name is Bella, and this is Genevieve." Bella disclosed, as she thought there is no harm in revealing their name. But they stayed cautious the entire time and maintained their distance with Maed.

"There are some things that you should know. King Damien spends most of the time in his room, so you won't see him too often. We have some issues going around in our kingdom, so I would advise you not to leave your room. You can come to me if you need me, and I will protect you. Always stay on guard and avoid red heads in the kingdom." Then he paused. "Most importantly, if they ask whether you're a human, say no."

This sounded so strange to the girls, and they had so many questions. The king seemed like a mystery. The kingdom had problems. They had to beware of red heads which made no sense to them. But having to hide their identity? Humans were obviously very different from werewolves so it would be easy to distinguish between the two. But before they could voice out their concerns, they reached the packhouse. They didn't enter from the main entrance, but instead from the back door.

They noticed how there was pin drop silence and nobody else inside. They crossed many rooms, but this one room caught Gen's eyes and she decided to peek inside since it was slightly open. Inside there were multiple canvases with portraits of various different faces. They were drawn so perfectly that it looked almost real. It really showed that the artist was really talented because he/she drew every feature so carefully. But strangely, every portrait had paint smudged or scribbles on it, as if the artist wasn't really satisfied with his/her work. Another common aspect was that they were all females, which made Gen think whether the person was a professional or commissioned artist. As she was busy admiring the artwork, she didn't realize when the door flung open, and Maed pulled her out of the room.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have entered the room without permission, but do you know who made those? They are incredible! I love them." Gen spoke excitedly, but the excitement died a few seconds later.

"Please don't enter this room ever again. Forget that it exists. Forget whatever you saw. I'll show you your room." Maed spoke. Her room was far away from the room she had just visited, and she was so bummed at Maed's reply. Why was he acting so cold and rude?

Their room was average. There was a single bed and no cupboard, no dressing table, nothing. Maed left without a word and the girls felt bizarre. They were instructed not to leave their room and so they complied. But soon after, they got hungry, and snacks did not suffice. They waited for Maed to come with food, but they saw no hope. Thankfully, they weren't locked up, so they decided to leave their room and sneakily go get food.

They located the kitchen and checked the fridge, which was filled with delicacies. Their mouth watered and they hoarded as much food as they could.

"Who are you and what do you think you're doing?" They turned around and noticed a red head staring at them. They had been caught.

Gen had to think fast on her toes and come up with some good excuse. But Bella intervened and spoke first.

"Who are you? Bella asked her confidently thinking as if she was just some kind of housekeeper who wouldn't be able to ruin anything.

The red head raised her eyebrows and laughed hysterically before she spoke the following.

"I am Clara. The queen of this kingdom."