In the Shadows~zayn au~Completed ✅EDITING

~Chapter 9: Equally Guilty~

A/N: Dedication to exquisites because she was the first to really read my story and give me feedback. She always comments and she's stuck around with me this long! Thanks so much, girl!

At the top is the girl I picture as Kalysta, Maia Mitchell.

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James had no clue what he was in for when he entered the room, escorted by William's muscle man Elliott, a broad, tall man that was soft-spoken, but not afraid to use his considerable strength to achieve desired results. James was confused upon walking in and his confusion grew when he saw her. It was obvious he didn't recognize her.

"Who are-"

"Elliott?" Kalysta interrupted James.

Elliott stepped forward, grabbed James around the neck with one arm, and kneed him in the back of the legs. James gave a grunt of surprise as he lost his balance.

"What the bloody he-?" he gasped.

Elliott tightened his grip, cutting James off once more.

"You and Hayden have confessed to the assault and rape of a young girl in Westtown last week," she continued, "a crime punishable by death whether you be native to this country or not."

James' eyes widened and he struggled against Elliott's grip, whimpering when his escape appeared futile. Kalysta couldn't believe his apparent cowardice.

"How do you plead?" she snapped.

The pathetic man simply cried.

"Answer me!" Kalysta shouted.

"It-it wasn't me!" he complained, his face contorted into a self-pitying pout as tears poured down his cheeks.

"Really?" she asked snidely. "Then why did you confess to it in the common room?"

"I didn't do it!" he wailed. "Hayden did it. I was just there! I didn't touch her! I didn't want to! It's Hayden's taste that runs that way, not mine! I didn't do anything"

"You mean, you did nothing?" Kalysta hissed. "How is that any better? Do you realize that witnessing a capital crime without going for the guard or actively seeking to prevent it is considered equally punishable under the law? You are as guilty as he is, you selfish rat."

The man sobbed.

"Please, don't turn me in!" he begged. "I'll pay you! I can't die!"

"Turn you in?" she laughed mirthlessly. "I'm the Princess you sniveling whelp. You can't get more turned in than that. I heard you agree to Hayden's putrid words out there, so don't play dumb with me either."

The man stared at her, his face beyond horrified.

"Please, no," he whispered. "I-I have a family back home."

"You should have thought of them before you strutted your way into my country and watched as a girl's innocence was ripped from her by another man," Kalysta answered coldly. "The sanctity of human life cannot be overstated and you have irreparably destroyed that for someone else.

"You say you have children?" she continued. "Perhaps you should have thought how they'd feel of such actions while you watched that poor girl being savaged. You dishonor your family by bringing them into the same breath as your putrid acts. Save your begging."

The man gave a cry of anguish anyway.

"N-no!" he whined. "I'll do anything!"

She paused as if to consider, letting him suffer as he waited for her verdict.

"Anything?" Kalysta asked. "Really?"

"Yes!" he cried. "Please, I don't want to die!"

"Would you be willing to testify that it was Hayden?"

"Well-I- he's the Prince's-"

"Take this slime out of my sight, Elliott," she commanded, turning away.

"No!" James cried. "I'll do it! I'll-I'll do it."

"You'll testify to being there and to the fact that Hayden was the only perpetrator?" she clarified. "Because if I find out someone else was involved, yourself included, I will make sure your remaining life is short and filled with more pain that you could imagine."

"J-just him," James whimpered. "Please. I can't leave my family alone."

"I promised not to execute you, I never promised to let you return home." Kalysta shook her head. "You'll rot in my prison before I will even consider letting you free."

"Wh-what?" he sputtered. "But I agreed to testify!"

"And I agreed not to have you executed, as a sign of good will. Which would you rather, the noose or the dungeons? At least with the latter you'll be able to see your family when they visit."

She watched as the man before her broke down and sobbed once more. It was a difficult thing to watch a full grown man reduced to this blubbering mess, but Emily deserved justice. He deserved so much worse for standing by while such a crime was committed.

She walked forward and crouched to his level. "I understand the difficulty of your situation, but everyone must learn at some point that there are consequences for their actions, or lack thereof in this case.

"Your King and Prince may be on the track to destroying your country, but I won't let the same happen to mine," she continued. "In return for your statement, I will offer your family asylum in this country where they will have a better chance of making it without your help. Women are able to own land here, unlike in Mullingar. She'll be able to start a legitimate business if she chooses and bring the children for visitation if she'd like.

"I am not heartless," she said, standing. "I simply wish for a battered young girl to receive the closure she needs to recover and for your countrymen to learn that Elysium is not without power. Your sentence and Hayden's execution can serve to remind your King Murdoch of that."

She moved back and went to the door, slipping her hood up to cover her face and hair.

"Elliott, find William and the palace guards and have this man taken to the prison to await the official trial."

"Yes, your Majesty," the man said, pulling James into a standing position.

Kalysta left under the cover of her hooded cloak and returned to the castle via the passage in the garden. She'd broken her cover as "Lyra" when she had exposed herself to Hayden, so she wouldn't be able to use that again. But she deemed the situation well worth it.

Now, it was time the Ambassador learned a lesson. The thought made her smile in anticipation.

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger.  Confrontation next and I'm excited for it! I love feedback, so please let me know what you like about the story, don't like about it, and what you think could change to make it better!

Also, votes make me happy too. Still trying to have someone do a review of this, but I'll need it to be a little longer and have more votes.

Thanks everyone! #muchlove from me and eternally grateful that you've read this far! :)

~Kari~