Princess of the Underworld

Chapter 10 - Returning Home

Once they were back in the underworld, Diamon finally placed Livana on the ground. All Livana did was glare at him and shove him away with an annoyed expression on her face. Diamon found it funny, but he rolled his eyes before grabbing his sister's arm and dragging her towards the palace.

Livana struggled to break free from his grip, but he tightened his hold every time she tried. Finally, Livana sighed and glared at him, saying, "I can walk on my own, Diamon. As your future queen, I demand that you release me this instant!" Diamon stopped and turned to face his stubborn sister. They stood there, glaring at each other for a few minutes, neither of them backing down until he let go of Livana's arm and continued on in silence.

Livana watched as Ellerosé came and stood by her side. They continued following Diamon. Livana rubbed her arm and held onto it for a bit, not happy with her brother. She was upset about how he treated her and how he was treating one of her best friends, who is basically like family to them. As they continued walking from the open space towards the crowded underworld city, they stayed close to each other to ensure nothing happened. Of course, all these people knew not to mess with the underworld rulers, and they respected us a lot.

Some people even feared the rulers of the underworld, as they would hear stories of what could happen to them if they ever crossed or threatened them; as they passed them, they all stepped to the side to make a clear path and bowed their heads in respect, Livana watched them and observed every one of them until she saw and heard some females start talking about her brother and how they would fantasies being with him. "Isn't he dreamy?" one said " I can so see US together" another said.

Livana turned to look at her brother, who heard every word the females said. He just snickered before turning to face their direction with a 'dreamy smile' look on his face, which every female would swoon over as if they were in love. Livana could not believe her brother shook her head, glaring at him, before speaking to him in telepathy, "Really, bro? Can't you, for once, stop playing with their feelings?" "Come on, sis, what fun would that be? Besides, I love to make them all think they have a slight chance with me." Livana just rolled her eyes at him while folding her arms as she was about to walk past him. "Well, that is downright wrong, and you know it."

Ellerosé followed closely behind her best friend, paying no attention to Diamon's flirtatious behaviour with the woman. Diamon quickened his pace to move ahead and ensure that no unfamiliar person would try to distract them from reaching our destination.

As they walked away from the crowd, Livana noticed a few homes in a quiet area. she looked at the windows and saw that they were dusty. Livana then noticed a few people who were working barely getting by with their lives. Livana felt sorry for them and wanted to help them in any way that she could. Surely, there was a way. Diamon slightly turned to look over his shoulder towards his sister, who was looking around. "Livana, we can't do anything for them," he began to say. Livana turned her focus onto him. "And why not!? I am sure there are ways that we could help them," Livana replied with a slight frown on her face. Diamon could hear the pain yet determination in his sister's voice when she said those words.

"Livana, I know you want to help everyone you see who may look like they need help. But face it, who here in the underworld would ever help or want help from anyone?" Livana sighed, feeling her frown fade to sadness. Livana had then turned to look at her brother, who was now walking beside her, putting his arm around his sister's shoulders, pulling her close to him for a side hug as they continued walking towards their destination.

"w- what do the people in this region of the underworld do?" Livana said while looking at the both of them; Diamon and Ellerosé both stayed quiet until Livana got annoyed and demanded them to tell her; that was then when Diamon spoke up "they torture you in the most disturbing ways that will haunt you for the rest of your life... some survive and escape; others don't even have a chance."

As Livana looked at the homes in the distance, she could not help but feel saddened by the living conditions of the people residing in them. "That's awful," she said, with her voice reflecting her mood. It is disheartening that nothing has been done to improve their situation. As they continued passing through, they caught sight of the palace on the horizon.

Livana took a deep breath, trying to regain control of her thoughts. Livana's mind shifted from thinking about the people's struggles to figuring out how to confront her parents, knowing they would be angry and demand an explanation for what had happened. Upon their arrival at the palace doors, two royal guards welcomed the two and opened the doors for them to enter. As soon as the doors were open, they stepped inside. Diamon looked at Ellerosé and said, "You can leave the luggage here for now; the royal maids will take care of it. You'll need to come with us as our parents will also want to speak with you."

Livana turned to look at Ellerosé with a sad, apologetic expression. Ellerosé took a deep breath, nodded, and walked up the stairs, following behind Daimon. Livana followed quickly up the stairs to walk beside her. The three of them were quiet, not talking until they reached a set of doors leading to a private palace area. Diamon knocked on the doors, indicating that they had arrived. "Enter," they heard Livana's father say in a cold, dead-toned voice. 's**t, I knew my father to be angry at times, but not this angry before,' Livana thought to herself while they walked inside.

They saw King Zadimus and Queen Kamra sitting on one of the big lounge chairs as they entered the room. Zadimus ordered us to have a seat, and we sat down. Livana sat in the middle next to Ellerosé, who was on my left with her hands clenched at her skirt, not daring to move. Meanwhile, Livana's brother Daimon stood beside the lounge where their parents were sitting, not saying anything. The tension in the room was unbearable. Livana looked at Zadimus, whose eyes were a dark pitch coal-black colour with a very deep highlighted red around them. Livana thought to herself, 'Yep, I am so dead...' as she waited for her father to explode in anger.

"You both know why you have been brought back here, don't you..." Livana looked at Ellerosé when she heard her father begin to talk before turning her attention to him. "Yes, sir," Ellerosé said in a soft, frightened tone as if she was about to tear up, not daring to lift her head to look at Zadimus, as she felt like it was all her fault. "Since what happened, there should be some sort of punishment," Zadimus continued, looking directly at Ellerosé as if he were saying it to her. Livana had then spoke up, "Father, this isn't Ellerosé's fault; it's mine. If anyone should be punished, it's me." Livana glared at her father in the eyes, seeing his attention shift onto her. At first, she was taken aback by his cold stare but stood her ground. "Let Ellerosé go; it wasn't her fault, it was mine. I was the one who knowingly knew it would be a dangerous risk to leave out of her protection, but I went anyway on my own."

After a long silence Zadimus finally spoke, saying "very well... Ellerosé, you may leave. We have a family business to discuss with our daughter." Ellerosé looked up and turned to face Livana, and Livana nodded at her with a reassuring smile. Ellerosé stood up, bowed her head, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Livana watched her leave, taking a deep breath before then turning to look at her parents. Livana's brother Daimon walked over, sat beside her in Ellerosé's former spot, and waited to hear what Zadimus would say.

I pondered to myself, "What could this be about? Is it a punishment for me? For Ellerosé?" I had so many thoughts racing through my mind, trying to figure out what my father meant by "family business." I sat still, looking directly at my father while holding my breath, eagerly waiting for him to explain what needed to be discussed.