In the Shadows~zayn au~Completed ✅EDITING

~Chapter 16: Contingencies~

A/N: As I said, a double-update!! I might be late for work, but I did as I said.

She spent the entire next day going over the paperwork she'd been neglecting. It was her least favorite part of ruling, but she understood the necessity of it.

Eventually, evening rolled around and it was time for the council meeting. She'd been dreading it. She knew that her father wouldn't give her the floor this time. She'd been too quick to insist that Hayden stay in jail and he wouldn't want her spouting such things around the Ambassador. There was nothing she could accomplish at this meeting. Little did he know how many things had changed; she hadn't even had a chance to tell him about the Ambassador, or the resistance, or the letter she'd received from King Naseer. It was his fault though; he'd been an imbecile to consider letting Hayden go and other things had taken a sideline in importance comparatively speaking. Now, she wasn't so sure how she'd tell him. He'd probably chastise her for agreeing to something so momentous without his input.

This time she decided to go early, be there before many of the others. As she approached the council room, however, she noticed something strange, her father's personal guards standing on either side of the door, which was closed. When she grew close they side-stepped, blocking the doorway.

"Vermes, Elias, what is the meaning of this?" she snapped.

"Our pardon, Your Highness," Vermes said, "but your father has ordered a closed meeting solely between himself and the ambassador."

"By the blood of the gods!" she swore. The only sign of surprise they showed at her language was a widening of eyes. "Men, I order you to stand down."

"Your father's authority supersedes your own," Elias replied, "and he specifically stated that you were not to be allowed in and I quote 'no matter how many tantrums she throws'."

"You bloody prick!" she cried, scowling. She'd never liked these men. They believe themselves better than others simply because they were picked by her father to guard him.

"I'm simply repeating your father's words, Your Highness," Elias soothed, failing to conceal his smirk as he gave her a low bow.

"I would have thought my father had taught you when to hold your tongue, but apparently his judgment lacked both at the time he appointed you and when he instructed you in proper etiquette." The men gritted their teeth, but they weren't allowed to talk back to someone of the royal family. "Ah, there, see?" she said sarcastically. "At least he taught you your place."

Only a second later she realized the futility and detriment of taking her frustration out on these men. She sighed.

"I apologize for my insults, Elias, Vermes," she said, gritting her teeth this time. Her prideful streak made apologizing to these despicable men a chore. "I have foolishly taken my frustrations out on you. You have my most sincere apology."

The two seemed mollified at her words, so with a nod, Kalysta moved away, determining to accost her father when he had finished this "closed meeting". He had placed her as the ruler of the country in all but name. But here he was going behind her back. He was simply blind to the severity of this situation, blind to the problems that could arise from releasing Hayden. He couldn't see that releasing Hayden would be just the first in a long line of compromises with Mullingar. She hated to see where that would leave them.

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An hour later, she received a messenger telling her that her father wished for her presence in his study. She went immediately. She'd get to the bottom of this.

When she arrived, she stopped in front of his desk and simply stood silent.

"You're dismissed," he said to the guards.