Through the Shadows (A Keeper of the Lost Cities Fanfiction)

Prologue

April 3rd

Alden gripped the arm of his chair as they led a dark haired girl to the table across from the judge. Her almond shaped eyes were wide, frightened, as she glanced at him, begging mentally for help. All he could give her was a slight encouraging smile, though he didn't think it helped much. His eyes fell on the handcuffs locked around the girl's thin wrists. Frowning, he continued to watch them march her around, forcing her to stand next to her lawyer as if she were no longer a person.

She peeked over her shoulder. Alden was sitting directly behind her and he could practically feel the fear radiating off of her. Not that he blamed her. Trials were scary, but with her track record so far, she had a right to be terrified.

He could remember back to when she first stepped into the courtroom, not only a year ago, crying and begging everyone to listen to her. Unfortunately, many of the people in the room were already against her and the evidence really hadn't helped her, especially her parents, who hadn't even shown up for the trial. Even still, Alden knew the truth.

Linh Song was innocent to the first crime they had her pegged for.

He just couldn't prove it yet.

Not to mention, it wasn't really his case anymore. The only reason he stuck around was because he wanted to get her cleared, even if that meant having to do things creatively. According to their, slightly backwards, law, once proven guilty or not guilty of a crime, the person could not be tried for the same crime if it was found later on that they were the opposite of their results in court. That meant, Alden would need to figure out how to help her some other way.

On the other side of the room, to Alden's right was Tam, Linh's twin. He was glaring at the judge, his black hair falling into his eyes. Sometimes Alden couldn't read him. It was as if Tam was nothing but a ghost. The only time he saw emotion on the boy was if he was furious—furiously trying to protect his sister. Much to his frustration, there was only so much Tam could do against the law.

So, when it had been decided that Linh would simply receive probation in Exillium, Tam had been quick to follow. Alden respected his protectiveness. Besides, it had helped Linh. Well, until it hadn't been all that helpful at all.

Again, there was only so much Tam could do.

The stigma was already in place and, even if Linh was innocent, the rest of the city—and world—had pinned their opinions to the opposite. Poor Linh was left with everyone, except Tam and Alden, against her.

That was why they were in the courtroom yet again.

Linh had been struggling in Exillium. Most people knew that the place was not exactly well thought of, and for good reason. Plenty of the students there were people like Linh, except they had actually done the crimes. The rest were regular students. However, after spending so much time either gaining favor or avoiding petty child criminals, many of the other students weren't as friendly as one would think. The small chunk of nice ones were the kind of students were the kind to lock themselves away and keep away from the drama.

Linh, unfortunately, was not only considered a criminal, but one that many of the students wanted a piece of. She wasn't small, although she did have a shy disposition and people could see that. The students could see that. They spent the next few months after her arrival trying to figure out ways to get Tam away and corner her for some 'fun'—as one of the students had claimed it as. Then, for the last three months, Linh had been struggling even more.

On probation, she needed to keep to some rules. She needed to have a good system of people, she needed to keep her grades up, she needed to show up to class. None of those were achievable if the school's population, and even her parents, were against that.