She Lays Down ★ JENLISA

15 l QUANDARY

The dress was stunning, but Lisa felt like being a little rebel. So she shut the door to the closet and looked in the mirror.

She was still in the pajamas she had left the house in. Her hair was a mess. Her face bare of makeup.

Dinnertime.

She didn't have time to dress up and look pretty for her own death sentence. There were other things to do. She figured her uncle would give her about an hour or two to "get ready" for dinner. That's plenty of time to put what little of her plan left into action.

In the room, there was one telephone. Lisa's uncle knew that Lisa had no way of contacting the police since he had it rewired to be like that, but she knew there were a few places he didn't think to block.

She punched a few numbers in by memory, crossing her fingers, hoping that even after a year it was the same number and more importantly, hadn't been blocked.

The phone rang. Oh thank goodness. Someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Mr. Collins? Yes, I'd like to ask for a favor..."

When she had told him what was happening, Mr. Collins was surprised at first, but nervertheless agreed to help. He was always such a down-to-earth kind of guy. It's why everyone loved him.

When she had said goodbye, she disconnected the phone call and within half a second her fingers were putting in another set of numbers.

"Hello, Im residence."

"Nayeon! I need your help."

All in all Lisa had called three people and discussed her plans with them. Her plan was ridiculous and might never work, but it was worth a try. Her uncle was probably going to kill her anyway.

And just as she put down the phone, footsteps sounded outside her door and it was unlocked. Lisa quickly scrambled to sit up on one of the sofas and presented herself with as much dignity as her one-year of training as princess could muster.

"Princess," one of the palace guards bowed, his suit in impeccable condition. "Dinner is served and your presence is needed."

"Oh, yeah," Lisa stood up to her full height, easily intimidating the guard but he showed no sign of it. "Of course."

The guard raised a brow at her current state and outfit, but didn't say a word as he led her through the long and vast hallway. Pictures of the generations of royalty were hung up and Lisa ignored them all. She had memorized their names, the years of their births and deaths, and even who they married. All of that and more were jammed into her one-year training as princess. Heck, she even knew of her uncle's family.

In a moment, they were standing outside the door that would lead into the dining room. She didn't realize she was holding her breath when the guard opened the door for her.

She almost slumped in relief to find that Jennie's parents, Jennie, Rosé, and Jisoo were seated at the mahogany table. At the head of it, sat a handsome bald, burly man with a beard that was impeccably cut to his liking. His green eyes were dark as he regarded his niece. He wore an Armani suit that was tailored to fit his tall, fit height. Many people would have imagined him to be an evil, fat, short french man eager for the throne. In reality, he still had the handsomeness of the Manoban genes. But the evil in him due to his thirst for power was unspeakable. He had murdered so many.

What Lisa found odd was that no one was cuffed to their chair, and were all sitting in a relaxed manner. As if this truly was another dinner with close family.