♚ Ruby Red✦KNJ ♚

Chapter Seven

╔═════ °• ♔ •° ═════╗

"How would you like to join the Queen Claiming, Ruby?"

The metal bars were cold against your hand. You willed yourself away. Away from everything. What was this craziness? Why did it have to happen to you? And that too, so close to your college application results . If you couldn't see your results from Harvard, you would practically die inside. But now, on top of that, some psychopathic 'king' asked you to join a Queen claiming. Was this really just some twisted way of killing you?

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Trapped. Rats squeaking. That handsome, chiselled, crazy face with the dimpl-

"NO!" You screamed, sweat dripping down your forehead. You opened your eyes hesitantly. A green blob on a block stared back at you. You sighed, relieved. Still alive. For now. You blinked a few more times to clear the blurriness in your eyes. Now, in the place of the blob on the block, a massive jade lion stared back at you from a gold plated table. The soft silk sheets covering you were suffocating.You shoved them off, and then jumped down from the queen sized bed. The pillow covers and sheets were pure white, without a speck of dust. The jade coloured blanket had golden lions embroidered on it. The golden thread almost glittered in the first rays of sunlight, coming from the huge Palladian windows to the right side of your room. The gigantic crystal chandelier hanging down from the high ceiling of the room also glimmered, casting faint shadows on the wall. The two tall, wide, gold flecked marble pillars framing the windows were also carved with lions, who looked down at you menacingly. Geez. Chill. it's not like I want to be here anyways. You said to the carvings.

Lions...what an odd choice for room decor. You traced the intricately sewn patterns on the blanket with your finger. When you picked it up, the blanket pooled in your hand and flowed, almost like quicksilver. It was definitely the most exquisite material you had felt in your life. You looked down, staring at your matching silk lion pajama pants. The pajamas were ridiculous, and looked utterly out of place on you. Way too fancy.

You groaned, clutching your head in frustration and jumped back onto the bed, burying your head into the impossibly soft pillow. "First a freaking jail, and now the grandest, most grandiose palace room in history? What have I gotten myself into..." You muttered, voice muffled by the pillow. You thought about the events that had happened to you the previous day. That asshole, General Kim had somehow drugged you, and locked you in a jail. At least you had thrown a few punches at him. Then, a murderer that everyone called King- no wait, 'Crown- Prince' Namjoon, threatened to hang you if you didn't join some weird claiming thing. Of course you agreed. Korea, more specifically Seoul, was where your grandmother was from. And here you were, even if it was under a different name-Hanyang. Still, you wanted to feel close to her. You missed her.

As soon as the Prince, his 20 guards, and General Kim had left the dungeon, a prisoner guard had hauled you up from the cold dungeon floor. His face was covered by a large, black, straw hat? Bamboo hat? He had looked like the creepiest farmer ever. But you couldn't laugh. He had been dressed in a long, silky looking blood red hanbok, and looked even scarier than General Kim. Even his beard looked terrifying. He had forced you to stand, threatening you with some Korean words you were unfamiliar with. Probably some olden day swear words. You got the message, and stood up without a fight. He then bound your wrists together with surprisingly sturdy rope that chaffed your skin. And then he proceeded to blindfold you. You had almost screamed and thrashed, but at the last minute you held yourself back. You weren't risking going into the dungeon again.