The Kingdom of Jeradua, nestled perfectly between Heaven and Hell, serves as a haven for all creatures alike; supernatural and human .
Creatures inherently evil have a place within the kingdom's gates regardless of the quiet uproars and unapproving stares from the heavenly beings.
The citizens of jeradua have had to calm and silence their morals along with their religious beliefs when Julius Sinclaire, known for his Ruthless conquering and destruction of realms and cities adjacent to the kingdom of jeradua , forced their way into their tranquil monarchy.
Through his tumultuous and tyrant-like behavior , he took a wife that wanted nothing to do with him , leading to further actions that would send the kingdom into impending doom. The profound being the birth of two sons created out of infidelity and betrayal within the palace walls . One son softened the stone cold heart of Julius Sinclaire . Whereas the other brought certain darkness amongst them all that could only be attributed to his father, sending the entire now complacent kingdom into fierce rebellion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
26 Years Ago
She should've known he was a weaver of tall tales when he introduced himself to her as a writer. Instead, she clung to his rope of eloquent and the flawless way in which his tongue would mitigate her doubt and worries.
Despite his beautiful diction and false promises, it
didn't take long for the hard truth to set in "people where liars ….. and I have awful taste in men."she thought . She realized her writer wasn't just a writer , and his rope wasn't just a rope . It was a chain . A chain dragging her into his well of lies so much that she had no way out besides a teasing ladder of hope he'd dangled in front of her before snatching it away and laughing in her face .
"fuck. Julius. Sinclaire ,"she cursed through gritted teeth , stabbing at the salad in the brown wooden bowl crafted by one of the servants as a gift for her . "Yet another two things Julius managed to destroy without touching, my favorite bowl and my love for chicken caesar salad . He ruins everything."she thought . The meal was no longer her go-to when she was feeling down . Instead , it was a reminder that he picked it up on his way home from meeting in the kingdom and sent the servant home early so he could be with his mistress....in our bed .
Feeling disgusted my the thought and insecurities running through her mind , she push the bowl away , making it slide down the barren mahogany table where she sat alone every night unless they had guests over. Yet , even then , she would prefer the company of herself to the superficial characters Julius called his friends .
No longer distracted by the sound of her eating , her ear began to catch onto distinct sound around her . The small pitched voice of the giggling fairies made her roll her eyes , and she sank into her chair . "of course, they will be the one to laugh at someone's despair." she thought to herself , it only fueled their scheme-driven minds .
Her heart descended lower and lower as she listened to their teasing , but then her ear became alert to another sound . A sound that was much closer to her . She focused on it , but as her ears began to get filled with the sounds of moans , she immediately covered her ears and groaned .
"it was bad enough that he was sleeping with another woman , but to not have decency to do it discreetly just further proved that he had zero respect for me." she thought . None at all. The now muffled sound began echoing in her mind until she began to have no reaction to them .
"This.….This was where I felt safe."she said .
A blank space created in her mind where she was utterly sheltered and numb to her surroundings . In here , she wasn't the wife to a king . She didn't have the responsibility of an entire kingdom on her shoulders…..she was just herself. She was who she was before she met him .
The amount of time she remained in the corner of her mind was unknown to her until light filling the room made her wince , uncovering her ears. her hand fell to her lap as her eye moved to the rude disrupter of her thoughts, and of course , it as the same perpetrator as always.
Julius.
His arm was firmly planted around Tara , his mistress, and she giggled with her hand over her mouth as she looked as Genesis "why are you eating in the dark?."She questioned , adjusting the silk sheet around her body. "MY SHEET ."Genesis thought with range filling her eyes .
The handle of the fork in Genesis hand dug into the table , chipping at the glossy finish as she plastered a plastic smile on her face .
"I can see just fine. thank you ." Genesis replied.
Tara and Genesis both exchanged a set of forced smile while staring dagger into one another . Genesis gum began to ache , and she felt the piercing tip of her fangs emerge as it stabbed her bottom lip . "Oh how badly I wanted to let my instincts take over and snuff the life out from her useless body , I have more to lose than a pitiful
husband . who knows how Julius will react if I killed his precious diamond, as he called her." she thought .
Julius released his hold on her waist before taking careful steps to the table towards Genesis . A bold smile played on his lips, and his expressive white brows arched in a challenge for her to show any reaction to display, he exhibited in front of her .
His slow, calculated, and taunting steps circled the table until he was at her side , a crooked smile on his face the entire way. A smile she once used to crave seeing in the morning, now being one she wanted to eradicate from her memory . He perched himself in front of her on the table , making her , in turn, push her chair back, creating a loud screeching noise that made his jaw tick. Of course, he'd be the one to get upset at such a tiny thing.
"How did you enjoy your salad?" He asked, making no effort to hide the edge in his voice.
"Well, I didn't eat it,?" His eyes moved off of her to the barely touched meal, and he sighed, running his slender fingers through his snowy hair.
"I went out of my way to pick this up for-"
"Don't bother next time," she snapped, her fingers digging into her palm and tearing her skin. A pain minute compared to the rage bursting within her.
He sighed once again and glanced at Tara before studying Genesis. Under his stare, her anger momentarily settled, and she shifted in her seat, avoiding his eyes. She hated how perceptive he could be in the worst moments. Instead of paying attention to what she had said, his gaze shifted to the fork in her hand , and he gently set her arm on his lap.
He removed the fork from her hand, throwing it aside with a loud clatter, and rubbed the now red spots in her palm. " You need to be more careful, Genesis."
He lifted her hand to his mouth, placing a tender kiss onto her sore skin. " Why couldn't he stay like this ? I remembered this version of him luring me in with his tender kisses and comforting smile. If he had stayed this way. I would've looked past his lies and his past. Regardless of how reckless it may have been. " Genesis thought.
She moved her hand away from his before he could do anything else and she immediately stood up from her seat to leave. "Wait." Julius gripped her arm before she could walk past him and turned her in his direction. "Tara and I have news."
"What is it ?"
His grip on her remained as they exchanged looks, and her frown deepened. Tara remained standing a few feet away from them, but Genesis could distinctly see her glances directed at where Julius was holding Genesis. The wrinkle in the fabric from her grip was enough to see how affected she was.
" You might want to have a seat for this," Tara said as her eyes made their way back to Genesis eyes. As if springing into action, she pulled out another chair on the long table for Genesis to sit , which was few feet away from where Julius was.
Denying her gratuitous offer, Genesis sat back down in the chair she was previously in and crossed her arms, silently waiting for their news. "What could they possibly have to tell me….and why was it together?" She thought to herself .
"Well," Julius began, sneaking another momentary glance at his precious diamond, who looked like a rabid raccoon wrapped in white silk. Her silver hair was flying in every direction, but the one leading to the exit…."Tara is pregnant."
Genesis froze at his words, and her throat began to heat. She looked between them in confusion as her ears became fiery, but neither of them seemed to care much. They celebrated in front of her as if they hadn't already done it in private and weren't just rubbing it in her face.
A needle, followed by another, and another….pierced her heart as if their news replayed in her mind. "She's pregnant. She had been able to give Julius the one thing I had been trying to for years." She thought.
Her eyes moved back to Julius to see a giant grin on his face as he kissed Tara hand, just like he did to Her.
Tears stung her eyes as she watched them, but she didn't dare let them fall for fear that he would enjoy seeing them. "We are naming him Felix!!" Tara said as she bounced up and down in her spot, a pig-like scream escaping her lips.
As if Genesis couldn't be broken anymore, there was yet another needle-no, not a needle….this was an axe. Sure, "Tara wanted to name the child Felix, but I did first. It was the name Julius and I discussed after my grandfather death."Genesis thought
"Are you serious?" She directed at Julius, her voice not much higher than a whisper.
"Very." He sighed. " Unfortunately for you, this is a bad news. I need to marry Tara, and you are aware divorce will make me lose support from your people."
That will definitely would. One of the focal reasons Julius targeted Genesis was because she was already the princess of jeradua . After marrying her, the kingdom calmed their pursuits of trying to dethrone him. So long as she was happy with him, the kingdom was delighted…. She wondered what they'd think now if they knew the truth.
"You deserve to lose support," She spat. "After all you've done to me and my family…"
"Your family is fine,and they will remain fine," he assured her as his eyes focused on hers with seriousness and intent. "So long as you remain in other."
"Julius-"
"Genesis." His voice was stern and held no room for argument, making her bite her tongue. "You don't understand. For me to marry Tara, I need you to be gone."
"You are asking me to leave?!"
"No, I'm asking you to die."
"What….."
"You heard him-"
"Tara," he called in a softer tone than the one he used for Genesis. "I'm speaking to my wife. She won't be here much longer, so I urge you to hold your tongue."
Her face fell to the word "wife" , and Genesis wasn't so shocked about everything thing else, she would have laugh. She firmly held her lips together and looked back to the ground, obeying his request. "What a tool." She thought .
"You want me to die…." Genesis sniffed, still not allowing herself to shed any tears in front of him.
"It's not that I want it, but it is necessary. Think of your family, my love. How would you feel if they were to die because of your selfishness?" He tucked a black strand of hair behind her ear, and she flinched away from his touch.
"The kingdom wouldn't allow it. Heaven would ally with jeradua, and you would surely be destroyed if you were to harm them or me."
"Not if they believe that you took your own life , my love."
"I would never…."
Julius's hand flew to his face, his shoulders immediately slouching as weeping noises sounded from him. "I had no idea she was feeling this way…. I- it's my fault that my wife's beautiful soul no longer belongs to this realm." His hand dropped, the previous sad facade now gone, and now looking straight at Genesis with a blank expression. "I should have paid attention to the signs…."
"No one would believe you."
"I think I'm believable." He shrugged. "Wasn't I Tara? The precious woman who nurtured me back to life after my wife's untimely death."
"It very believable." Tara replied .
"Kiss ass." Genesis thought.
"As annoying, pathetic, obtuse, man steal-… she was right in a way." She thought again . Julius was a writer. Meaning he could concoct a story from top of his mind and make anyone believe it. It wouldn't take much brainpower from him to spin a narrative such as this one to the kingdom. He was just good at what he did.
"After you die." He spoke. "Maybe your family was in such despair that they one by one…..took their own lives as well?"
"Don't bring my family into this." Genesis mouth ached once more to attack the both of them. But Julius, being a much stronger vampire than she was, would kill her even before she got the chance to stand.
"You family is very much in this." he said, leaning closer to her until she could feel the breath against her cheek. "Your family is the only one thing tying this kingdom to a world before me. With them gone. I could create a very new legacy. A new era. One where-"
"I don't give a fuck ," she whispered, stopping his overzealous monologue before it had a chance to bore her to death. "Kill me if you must, but leave my family alone. I'll tell them to leave jeradua and you can have your legacy. Just-"
He sighed. "That's not good enough for me. I consider you all a package deal, meaning when you die, they die."
"Why? I don't even speak to them anymore because of you."
"I'm aware. And how sad that must be for you." His small smile was full of sympathy, but he was the only person she knew that could switch it off as quickly as he wanted. "Such hatred for my kind-well, our kind now…."he chuckled."…..leading them to abandon their only daughter."
Genesis eyes looked to the floor and all the life drained from her body at the mention of her parents. They were no longer in contact, but she still loved them more than words could explain. Even if they didn't feel the same about her anymore. Like most of the kingdom, they where vehement followers of God and his angels and didn't have any room in their heart for underworld we such as herself. It took her years to earn her back the hearts of the kingdom, yet She couldn't do the same with her mother and father. Even if she was their only child.
Regardless of their feelings for her and how much it wounded her, they wouldn't be dying any time soon. Not so long as she had any power in it. Julius was a spinner of lies, but that wasn't a title that was exclusive to him. Just as he mimicked her actions to lure her into his web, "I could do the same." She thought.
"You cannot kill me, Julius." She stared at her hands in her lap, pushing down her nervousness.
He bellowed, throwing his head back dramatically."And do tell me why that is."
"I'm pregnant." She lied. His laugh came to a halting screech and a loud gasp from Tara echoed in the large dining room.
"She is lying!" Tara yelled.
"I am not."
"It's not a coincidence that she's saying she's pregnant after I just did. She's only saying it so that you won't kill her!" Genesis was truly surprised by Tara quick deductive skills, "I believe she could be smart." Genesis said inwardly. Her mind began to mentally praise her for how quickly she figured it out until she remembered whose baby she was pregnant with . "Stupid girl." She cursed inwardly
"I'm pregnant," she repeated, in a clear and stern voice this time. A voice lacking any doubt or room for question. "I would have told you sooner, but I was afraid." Genesis added
"Afraid of what?" Julius questioned in a small voice, crouching on the floor beside her in the chair she was seated. He looked up at her with inquisitive eyes and she cleared her throat before meeting his eyes. She knew he was only doing this to fluster her and find out if she was truly lying or not, but he wouldn't succeed. This time she more than just his anger to fight against.
She needed to fight for her life, and the lives of the people in her family.
"Afraid that you'd be upset?" She looked deep into his eyes. "You've been busy with Tara and I-I didn't want to interrupt.
His eyes shifted as he searched hers for a few long moments, and she kept her eyes on his. "Shit," he cursed. Genesis ignored the swell of victory in her chest that she had been convincing enough and exhaled her nervousness.
"She is lying to you!"
"Tara, that's enough."
" We had a plan, Julius," she whined.
"Tara, enough!" He snapped at her.
"We will go to a warlock tomorrow and check on her pregnancy. Until then, your fate remains undetermined, Genesis."
"Wait, a-a warlock tomorrow?" Genesis asked.
"Yes, is that an issue?" Julius interrogated, taking a step toward her with a raised brow. "If you are pregnant as you say, then it is not an issue at all, right?" He questioned.
"Right."
"If you are lying to me , I won't hesitate to kill you and everyone you love," he threatened. "You know this, correct?"
"Of course."