Iris in a painting

Iris found the huge bathing tub which can fit ten people at once. She noticed that it is filled with warm water. Slowly she let her body submerge under the water and closed her eyes. Everything that happened in the past two days began to play in front of her eyes again. It still feels like a dream. But her encounter with that creepy man turned it into a nightmare. 

Iris is an independent 21-year-old woman who used to run her grandfather's antique shop in Seattle. Two days ago, when she was cleaning the shop, she stumbled upon an old painting that her grandfather gifted her on her 18th birthday. She became emotional looking at the painting. That was the last gift her grandfather gave her before he died. 

Her parents died in a car crash when she was 10 years old. Since then, her grandfather took her in and he became her guardian and parent. But she lost him too after she turned 18. Since then, she was all alone, until she slipped on a wet rag and fell on the painting. To her horror, instead of falling on the painting, she fell into it.

When she woke up after a few hours, she found herself surrounded by a couple of strange women who dressed in silk tribal knee-length skirts and silk sleeveless blouses, which leaves their midsection bare. They are wearing thin metal bangles around their wrists. 

Iris found their dressing style interesting. She thought she is being played by these women, who kept asking about how she is feeling. Iris thanked them politely and left their small modest hut and walked outside. The moment she stepped outside, she was hit by a sense of confusion. There are huts all around, some small and some big. The roads are dirt roads, unlike the cement roads, she is used to. 

She heard loud noises and she headed in that direction to see what it is and where she is. She found herself in the middle of a street, watching a fight between two bulky men, who all of a sudden shifted into a werewolf, right in front of her eyes. 

Until that moment, she was under the impression that this might be a prank on her, but when she saw two werewolves fighting in front of her, she began to panic. Her eyes widened and she looked all around her to find out where she is and how she ended up in this weird place. At that moment, a creepy man came up from behind her and pulled her towards him by pulling the back of her t-shirt. 

Iris pushed that man away with a frown. He is bulky and looked like he is in his early 40s. But despite his age. everyone in this weird place is fit, just like this creep who is ogling her body shamelessly. She took a step back when that man tried to grab her again.

"Your dress is weird, but you are so beautiful. What are you doing here all alone without your master? Who is your master? Who bought you from the human compound?" that man asked. His eyes are fixed on her breasts, and he refused to move his gaze away from there.

"Hey you, my eyes are up here" Iris snapped at him.

That creepy man looked at Iris with a smirk. He pulled her towards him by pulling her by her forearm. Iris struggled to release herself from that man, but he refused to let her go.

"Your face is beautiful, but your body is what interests me. I have never seen so many curves in a woman before. You are not fat but have curves in the right places. I wanted to squeeze your breast.." Iris didn't let him finish his nasty comment. She slapped him right across his creepy face for touching her and talking to her like that.

That man left her forearm which is now bruised. He looked at her with shock. Iris didn't notice that now they have several people's attention. Slowly crowd began to gather around them. That man felt insulted when everyone began to laugh at him. 

"You bitch, I will teach you how to behave with men" he lunged for her, but Iris kicked him between his legs.

Belatedly Iris noticed that the people gathered around them are all men. Women are peeking from inside their huts by standing behind curtains.

Slow murmurs began to raise from among the crowd.

'She is so reckless'

'She kicked a man?'

'A woman actually raised her hand and even kicked a man?'

'She should be taken to the royal court'

Apparently, a woman should not raise her hand at a man. It is a severely punishable offense. Its frowned upon if a woman raises her voice, but Iris kicked a man, which is a crime in the WERE kingdom. Iris was roughly taken to the Royal prison and a guard pushed her inside her cell. 

"She kicked a man. She would be severely punished. I am sure she is going to rot in this cold cell for years. Then we can show her what a man can do to a woman like her" the prison guards were discussing Iris among themselves. They know she can hear them, so they even cupped their manhood suggestively, which made Iris disgusted.

"Where the hell am I? How did I end up in a weird male-dominated dog world" Iris muttered to herself?

Her cell is so dark and cold, she didn't notice another human woman sitting on the far corner.

"You kicked a man?" a femine voice asked from the darkness, which startled her. Once her eyesight adjusted, Iris saw a thin and a very pale woman sitting on a cement block.

"Ya, apparently its a crime to defend yourself in this stupid place" Iris muttered angrily.

The other woman giggled. Her voice is scratchy, as it has been two months since she spoke to anyone.

"You came from the compound?" the woman asked Iris.

Iris frowned. She remembered that the creepy guy asked her the same question.

"Compound? I don't know what that is. But i came from Seattle. A place where defending yourself is not a crime and men would not magically transform into huge dogs when they are angry" Iris replied.

The other woman giggled again. She never saw a blunt woman in her life. But she felt it is refreshing to talk to someone who opens up easily with out hiding their true intentions.

"They are not dogs. They are Werewolfs. Compond is the place far away from here, where humans reside" the woman supplied helpfully.

Iris frowned. She definitely did not come from that compound. She came from her world. Where only humans live. she never know that people can change into dogs or wolves. She only saw that stuff in movies. She thought its just a myth.

"Whatever, their behaviour is disgusting. You see a woman and all they think about is s*x" Iris muttered. 

The other woman smiled sadly.

"This is the WERE kingdom. Here only werewolves reside. These people have some rules set for woman. Woman should not come out of their houses until they reach the age of 18. They should not have an opinion about who they should marry and who takes away their innocence. After they reach the age of 18, they are sold to a man who pays higher amounts of money for them. That man is their master. He can do whatever he wants with that woman, and no one has a right to question him. Woman should not raise her voice or hand, or in your case kick a man. They are just used by men for pleasure. Few men treat their woman better than the others. They are a few men, who will hit or even kill woman" that woman revealed.

Iris is feeling like she fell into a rabbit hole. 

"What a stupid kingdom and its stupid rules" she muttered. 

The other woman sighed. This is where they are born and bought up. Even though they feel inferior to men, the love their men shower on them is enough to forget about everything. 

"What is your name?" Iris asked her cell mate.

"Diandra"