Genevieve

Chapter 19: Freedom

It was night time when the women of the Northern Kingdom gathered with the goal to leave the kingdom forever. But unfortunately, they got caught. They felt like prisoners as they were being brought inside the pack house. They were all disappointed and upset that they couldn't escape, but they knew that it was a hard feat. But that wasn't their main concern at that point. What they were really worried about was what was to come- facing the consequences of their act.

Tristan stood in front of his throne and watched the women lower their heads. He was distraught but tried to remain calm. He decided to hear what the women had to say in their defense.

"It is the third quarter of the night. The time when everyone should be asleep. You were gathered today in a large number and also carried your belongings. You must have a good explanation for this." Tristan probed.

The women remained silent in response. No one dared to utter the truth in front of the king. Tristan waited for a while, but then his patience began to wear out.

"I need an answer. I will not let anyone go without an answer." He threatened. The women stood like statues without uttering a single word. The room fell silent, and Tristan began to lose his temper.

"They were evidently trying to escape!" A man shouted and broke the silence.

Just the thought of the women escaping made him furious. Why would they do such a thing? How dare they?

"Is it true?" He asked for confirmation, giving women one last chance, so that Tristan might be lenient with them.

"I am sure they have a reason for it!" A voice spoke from amongst the crowd. A familiar voice.

"Genevieve?" Tristan questioned, and then his eyes met hers from within the crowd. What was she doing there?

"She must have instigated the women of our kingdom to leave! Who is she?" A man roared and doubted Gen, who felt attacked and scared.

Tristan roared back even louder, offended that someone was trying to blame his potential mate. "Watch your mouth. She is our guest, and you better treat her with respect. Besides, you cannot frame someone without proof." He spoke, and he knew that Gen was with him the entire day, it wasn't possible for her to influence or instigate the women in any way.

"Genevieve, please go back to your room. I will come and have a word with you later." Tristan told Gen, who became nervous hearing his last sentence.

She went back to her room, but she still had a number of questions roaming around in her head. Why did the women want to leave? Why did they call this place hell? Why was it their only chance? She knew it was bad to intrude and that she should mind her own business. But she was curious, and now she understood the saying 'curiosity killed the cat'. Bella woke up when she heard Gen enter the room.

"Where were you? And what is all this noise and commotion? Is something wrong?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Bella, something is wrong. The women of the kingdom were trying to leave..." Gen tried to continue, but Bella was sleepy and not in a mood to listen.

"Gen, Tristan will manage everything. You go to sleep." Bella insisted. But Gen wasn't able to sleep the entire night. She dreaded the conversation with Tristan, and she was also worried about the women. She felt restless and needed answers.

When morning came, Gen went on a mission. The first part of the mission was to avoid Tristan, and the second part was to find a woman who could brief her about the entire situation. But strangely all the women began to avoid her. They would leave the room if Gen would enter, change their direction if they saw Gen approaching, and wouldn't stop when Gen would call them out. It began to frustrate Gen, but now she became even more determined to get to the root of this issue.

Gen noticed a bunch of women in the kitchen, entered abruptly, and locked it before they could leave. Their eyes widened when they noticed Gen, but then started to ignore her and focused on their work. Gen recognized one of them as the one she met the previous night.

"Hey, do you remember me? We met last night." Gen tried to strike a conversation but got no response in return. The woman didn't even bat her eyes towards her. "What is wrong? Why do you want to leave? You can tell me; I'll try to help you."

The women scoffed and now Gen was left with no other option. She had to confront Tristan to learn the truth. Tristan sat with his council members discussing the same issue, but he stopped when he noticed Gen walk his way. He dismissed the rest and gestured Gen to sit.

"I hope you slept well." He began and Gen nodded in response. Before Gen could utter a word, he continued, "I am sure that you have a lot of questions about what happened last night. I assure you that I have everything under control. I apologize for any inconvenience caused."

Gen was surprised to see how he didn't scold her, but instead cared for her. So, she went on and questioned. "Would you mind if I ask what is was all about?"

"The women are just unhappy about some of the laws and practices that we have been following for centuries. What they don't realize is that the laws and practices are for their own good." He confessed, but Gen was not satisfied to hear his response. She felt like what he was saying was one-sided and there was more to this.

She noticed a woman eavesdropping in the corner and decided to follow her. "What the king said, is it true?" Gen questioned.

"What do you think?" She questioned Gen back, and Gen's gut said that it wasn't true. "The king is trying to paint a beautiful picture of our kingdom. Something which it is not. The women of this kingdom are living in hell. We're beaten, lashed, used, and discarded. Not allowed to step out. Not allowed to work. We wanted just one thing: freedom. Freedom from this mundane life. Freedom from the sufferings and pain. Freedom from this hell we call our pack."

It was a tough pill to swallow for Gen. She hadn't imagined this in her wildest dreams. She felt upset, deceived, and heartbroken. She had sensed something fishy in her conversation which Tristan, but this place was much worse. She absolutely hated patriarchy and misogyny. She couldn't just sit and watch the women suffer. She couldn't do nothing after hearing all they had been going through. She had to live up to her name.

Genevieve- woman of the race.