God's Game

CHAPTER 5: Punishment

CHAPTER 5

**

Kanna's crying echoed around the thick walls of the temple. Of course, she would tell her father what happened and her father would tell our father and we'll get scolded. She always does that.

She is holding her right hand where the dog bit her, which didn't even make a scratch, just a small wound. Arlette wrapped a bandage around it as if the wound was that big.

"I just wanted to play with them and then she told the dog to bite me." Kanna said in between her cries.

"Not true! She called us a cow!" Ahry tried to defend herself.

"That's not true! You called me a b***h when I just wanted to play with you." Kanna said in a pity-me-please tone. Everyone in the room gasped, they couldn't believe that a member of the holy family could say such a thing.

"Stop the lies! You started it!" Ahry yells to Kanna.

"Silence, Ahry!" Father's shouts resonated around the temple causing the Hustasians to whisper and Ahry to form her mouth in a line. The room was filled with whispers and Kanna's whimper.

"What happened?" Kanna's curly red haired mother, Naima, cuts through the crowd and inspects Kanna's hand. The worry in her eyes was soon replaced with anger once she saw what has happened to her precious daughter's hand.

"Who did this to you?" She said between her gritted teeth. Kanna points at Hibiscus who has her tongue out the whole time hiding behind Ahry, completely oblivious about the situation.

"I want that dog be dead meat and Ahry punished in the streets!" Her anger heated up the entire room. Her hands were white as they were curled up in a knuckle. Kanna momentarily loses her acting and smirks but when I saw her she went back to crying. She's enjoying this. "Punish your daughter now otherwise I will!" She demanded to my father. My father raises his eyebrows in surprise.

"Now, now there's no need for that, Naima." Kanna's father butts in.

"No need?" Her eyes swiveled to the long and curly haired and bearded man beside him. "Our daughter was just attacked, Leonas! You think I can just let it pass without having some form of vengeance?"

"Both of their stories are conflicting. Our Lord is the Lord of Justice after all so let us be fair here. Aegon," he looks at my father "why don't we ask Nicolous here what has happened so we can tell the verdict of what we'll do with your daughter and the dog."

"Nicolous," my father looked at me. "tell us what really happened."

All eyes were at me. My eyes scanned the room, unsure of what to say. I look at Ahry, then to Kanna and back to Ahry. My eyes met my father's and mother who remained silent through all of this. I looked at Mrs. Hudson who was comforting Kanna's hand while her eyes were fixated at me anticipating my answer.

"Well," I looked at Kanna's eyes again that were red from all the crying and back to Ahry who was waiting for me to tell the truth. "Ahry and I were playing with the slingshot father gave us when Kanna came in and called us a cow for playing in the dirt."

Gasps filled the room. Of course this would fill the empire with gossip, the richest family in Hustasia's daughter calling the holy family's siblings a cow, who wouldn't gossip about that?

"LIAR!" Kanna repeated that word over and over with her voice being an octave higher every time until becoming a high-pitched scream. Everyone in the room covered their ear as the scream resonated the room.

"Kanna, shut your mouth!" Mr. Hudson's deep voice managed to over power Kanna's scream and finally forced her to stop.

With a disappointed look and still a very heated gaze, Mrs. Hudson takes Kanna away through the still whispering crowd.

"Aegon, see to it that your daughter is disciplined and do something about that dog of yours. Obviously, she still isn't trained." I wasn't sure if he was talking about Ahry or Hibiscus or both. "I will see to it that my daughter is discipled as well. Apologies for the disturbance."

"Apologies, Leonas." With a nod, Mr. Hudson follows Kanna and Mrs. Hudson's path. "Show's over. You all can go. The council meeting isn't done and we'll continue tomorrow."

The crowd slowly evaporated and father stood in front of us. His eyes were fixated to Ahry or the dog behind her. "You two are grounded."

A loud 'what' escaped both our lips and protests from us erupted in the room. "Silence!" Father yelled. "I entrusted you two that you will only play outside and not cause any trouble but you broke it."

"Hibiscus didn't even bite hard! She merely made a scratch!" Ahry protests.

"Why am I included? I didn't even interact with Kanna!" I say trying hard to wiggle out of the punishment.

"I don't care. And now that you brought up Hibiscus, she will be locked up in the chambers below the temple."

Another loud 'what' boomed across the room and once again our protests nearly deafened our father.

"Enough! Both of you, go to your rooms! You're grounded until the council meeting is over. Understood?" Father's authoritative voice reverberated in my chest.

Crestfallenly, Ahry and I went up to our room not before saying goodbye to Hibiscus. The dog's whimpers echoed through the halls up to our room.

——

"I hate Kanna" Ahry said as the ball hit the wall and bounces back to her. She has been repeating this ever since sun down which was two hours ago.

"I hate Kanna" her monotonous voice is now getting into my head. I couldn't stop thinking about Hibiscus. She's probably down there locked up in a cell with nothing but torch fire to light and warm her up. It's terrifying.

With a puff, Ahry laid on her back and throws the ball upward. "I want Hibiscus back." She said in a same monotonous voice. I smiled when I thought that we were probably thinking the same thing.

"Hey." I pulled her from her trance. "Let's get Hibuscus back." I smiled to her and her face immediately lit up.

"I have been thinking of a plan when I was throwing this ball for two hours. I was just waiting for you." Ahry said in an enthusiastic voice and I nod.

Ahry jumps from her bed into mine and whispers me her plan. I nod and smile in agreement to her plan.

We are so going to get in trouble for this.