Chapter 4: The golden rules

THE GOLDEN RULES

Immediately Ragaleon stepped into the dining arena; everyone seated rose to their feet and acknowledged him. Ragaleon was always the last person to sit at the huge dining table.

He did this because he wanted to give everyone enough time to be at the table before him. Once he was seated at the table, no one was welcomed to join the table.

Ragaleon took his seat at the head of the table; immediately after he did that, the rest of the royal family took their respective seats.

Not many words were said during breakfast; it was a golden rule that no one must make any comments while eating unless it was crucial.

Everyone had a recognized sitting position at the table. Seated by Ragaleon's's right-hand side was Selena. Johanna was seated at Ragaleon's left-hand side; beside her was her son William, and next to him was her daughter Leah.

Seated beside Selena at the right-hand side of the table was her daughter, Helen. Seated next to Helen were the five queens of Decreash: Racheal, Jazell, Jia, and Tamina. Today Katie's seat was empty; it was a sour thought, and no one wanted to discuss it. After her death, things had returned back to normal.

Racheal's son, Amilek, was seated next to his mother.

Seated beside Leah at the left-hand of the table was Gideon, Ragaleon's uncle; next to Gideon was his wife, Charlie.

Giddeaon and Chami were only present at the table because they had come to pay their homage for the death of Harris.

When Ragaleon's father, King Harris Von Clegane, gave up the ghost a month ago, there was a lot of commotion in the kingdom of Decreash. Mournful utterance and constant wailing became the food for the royal family.

His death was unexpected and was a big blow to the detriment of the royal family. But luckily he had an heir, so there was no altercation about who would rule after his death.

Harris had gotten married to two women, but he loved his first wife, Selena, the most. She was given special treatment and was the only woman allowed to venture into his chamber without any restrictions.

When she gave birth to Ragaleon, there was reveling and celebration throughout the kingdom. Everyone but Joanna was happy. In fact, a scornful glare was all Joanna could give when she had heard of the good news.

Definitely, none of her children will ever be the heir since Selena gave birth to a baby boy. She was filled with contempt, and about a month later she gave birth to Prince William. She felt euphoric and wished that he had come earlier; then Selena's child wouldn't have had to be the heir. That was years ago.

When the news of Harris's death got to her, Johanna really shed tears of anguish. Nothing would be the same without him. As if it wasn't enough that when he was alive she wasn't treated well, now that he is dead, what will become of her and her children?

These two queen mothers were rivals; although they fought a lot while Harris was still alive, now that he was dead, things were sure to take a drastic turn.

Ragaleon was made king three months after his father's death. Immediately after he was crowned, his first duty was to pick a wife who would rule by him and lead the supreme kingdom of Decreash to greater heights. Everyone was speculating that he would pick two wives just like his father, but damn, they were wrong. Haron went overboard and picked five wives! To the astonishment of everyone, and to the detriment of Selena.

Selena felt that with many daughters-in-law in the palace, her authority was sure to be challenged, and she was not wrong. It was conventional for every ruler of Decreash to pick as many wives as they wanted without being questioned.

But Ragaleon exceeded the heist of everyone's expectations. "Five wives! Oh wow, how pathetic." Johanna had cursed under her breath when her daughter Leah had revealed the amusing news to her.

Frankly speaking, when told to pick a wife, Ragaleon was baffled by the straightforward advancement. His coronation had just ended, and now he was to pick a wife? Sparing a glance at all the names on the roll of paper, where the different names of prominent princesses across the estate were written, he arched his brows.

Their features and special information were made known to him. After accessing them for two days, Ragaleon finally made his choice. When these princesses were brought to the kingdom, they were filled with joy at how lucky they were to have been picked out from the numerous noble ladies in the states.

Each of them was taken to their royal chamber, and a personal handmaid was assigned to each of them. They were all escorted by their royal guards, and Ragaleon deemed it fit to spoil them with gifts.

They were all affectionate and curt towards one another, but after a month they couldn't hide their contempt anymore; they despised one another. Each one had what the other couldn't get… But that was what made them special.

The tranquility in the dining room couldn't be underrated, but the silence soon broke when Tamina glided to the dining table with a moody countenance. Everyone was stunned by her attitude; she simply sat down and ordered the maid to serve her breakfast, disrupting the serene atmosphere. Tamina was the fifth queen of Decreash; this lady here could kill a man just by winking her eyes.

Often referred to as the queen of seduction, Tamina's creator definitely took his time trimming her shape. Her chest alone was screaming lustrous; she was curvy and would definitely look stunning in any outfit.

Tamina had long red hair with black obsidian eyes and thick short lashes; her eyebrows were full, and her pink lips were plump and enticing. Tamina doesn't need any makeup to look good; she was blessed with immense beauty, but somehow Katie still surpassed her, only she wasn't as curvy as Tamina.

Ragaleon didn't raise his head to see who had just walked in; whoever it was had just broken a golden rule. No one was fit to sit at the table when Ragaleon had taken his seat; it was a sign of lack of etiquette. That was why everyone was present when he walked in, everyone but Tamina.

Tamina didn't bother to comment; she ignored the weird glances that were cast at her and ate her food gently, savoring every taste of the sumptuous meal.

Leah, Joanna's only daughter, wanted to comment but got a kick from her mother from under the table, so she kept quiet. But there was also someone at the table that couldn't control their itchy mouth.

"It looks like you have formed a habit of arriving to the table late, Tamina. Have you suddenly lost your manners?" Jazell retorted with disdain, but the glare she got from Tamina almost made her choke on the spicy soup she was drinking.

"What's with the attitude?" Jazell muttered under her breath, frowning.

Her plan was to put Tamina in trouble, but since Ragaleon was mute on the topic, she restrained from saying anything further.

As Tamina ate in silence, she was seething with pent-up exasperation. She raised her gaze and glanced at Ragaleon, but the latter didn't even spare her a glare.

She tried to concentrate on her food, but as the flashes of what transpired played in her head, she found it more difficult to eat.

Ragaleon's rejection hurts. Tamina got lost in her thoughts as she elegantly poked a piece of beef in her mouth. Last night she did it again; she had gone to Ragaleon's chamber but wasn't let in.

She had made so many attempts to seduce Ragaleon, but the guard didn't even let her go near his chamber. What was so bad about a wife asking her husband to make love to her? Absolutely nothing, but Ragaleon s perpetual habit was making her sick.

She had gone to try her luck again last night. She did everything she could to make the guards see reasons why they should let her in, but they stood unswervingly adamant about their master's command.

"I am your queen; do you realize that? Tamina said to one of the guards.

"The king told us not to let anyone into his chamber." The royal guard cautioned that the slightest mistake from the guards could end their existence.

Tamina's heart burned with exasperation as she turned to walk away;one of the guards whistled in a catchy manner. Tamina halted in her tracks, then turned around to gaze at the guard who had whistled.

The guard was quivering; he didn't mean to do it; he was ogling at the king's wife.

Tamina understood it was because of her curvy and protruding backside.

"Bunch of idiots! She muttered under her breath, then turned around and walked away, making her way to her chamber. While on her way, she bumped into Racheal, who also seemed to be heading to Ragaleon's chamber. She eyed her in mere contempt and scoffed as she walked past her.

But Tamina didn't actually leave; she hid behind one of the pillars in the hallway leading to Ragaleon's chamber to see the outcome of Racheal's advancement, but to her utter dismay, the guards didn't even let Rachel get to where they stood before giving way for her to go in.

Tamina's heart exploded as she bit her lips in anger, clenching her fist. Turning swiftly, she made her way to her chamber, and when she got there, a lot of things ended up being broken. Tamina vented her anger by sweeping the things on her dressing table to the floor.

"Ahhh!! She yelled as tears almost threatened to drop from her eyes.

Taking a good look at herself in the mirror, she pouted her lips and struck a sexy pose. "What does she have that I don't? She asked rhetorically. She doesn't even have half of what I have, but still..."

She didn't finish her sentence before taking an expensive perfume and thrashing it on the floor. Her royal maids shrieked in terror at their mistress's behavior.

Tamina ended up getting a headache; she could hardly get her beauty sleep. Immediately a new day dawned; Tamina had made up her mind not to leave her room.

"Bring my food to my chamber." Tamina had ordered her personal handmaid, Celin.

Celin, who was aware of the golden rules, became nervous…. "My lady, no one is allowed to have their breakfast anywhere except at the main dining arena with the rest of the royal family."

Tamina was surprised by Celin's words.

"What kind of stupid rule is that? She said rhetorically.

"And what if I decide to eat here in my room?" Tamina dared to ask.

"Then you will be punished." Celin said with her head hanging down.

"What if I decide not to eat at all? Tamina pushed further.

"Then you will have to wait until lunchtime, my lady. No food in the palace goes to waste; the leftovers are given to the widows and orphans or even the priest at the temples." Celin answered precisely.

Tamina clenched her bedsheets and removed the first layer of the bedding, then threw it on the floor before falling on her bed lightly.

That was how she ended up at the dining room late.

After rounding up his meal, Ragaleon wiped his mouth with a fancy handkerchief and slowly raised his gaze. This was the first time he was raising his gaze after sitting down to eat his meal.

"Mother does well to enlighten my wives on the golden rules in this household." Ragaleon finally gazed at Tamina, and at that moment her breath became etched.

Tamina suddenly lost her appetite; she elegantly dropped the spoon she was using to serve her soup on the table.

Taking hold of the handkerchief neatly folded beside her food, she wiped her mouth and stood up to take her leave.

"Sit!

Ragaleon sounded like he was going to pounce on Tamina.