I finished quickly and turned to face the door. I decided the quickest route into the courtroom and then took one final breath before throwing the bathroom door open, sprinting through the lobby and bursting through the double brass doors.
“Lilly Mason is innocent!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, adrenaline and nerves getting the best of me.
Chapter Forty
The courtroom was silent, all eyes turned towards me; mouths fell open, a pin drop could be heard. After my outburst, I found myself speechless; I was disoriented. This was not at all what I had expected.
I took in the unexpected sight quickly, unsure what to make of my surroundings. I didn’t know what I thought I would find, but the courtroom looked more like a cathedral than a place for judge and jury. The ceiling was vaulted all the way to the top of the castle spire; large stained glass windows extended two of the walls with elaborate and colorful designs reaching from floor to ceiling. The other wall, not containing the entrance doors was made of stone and practically bare, except for a large tapestry hanging in the center.
At the front of the room was a large imposing throne, at least twenty feet tall and made of what looked to be solid gold. An extremely good looking man of maybe thirty, sat straight edged, staring at me; his crown of more gold was slightly cockeyed on his head. The crown adorned with rubies and emeralds glistened on top of short golden locks, and matched his closely cropped goatee.
I stood there staring at him, wondering if I should bow or curtsy or continue with my testimony. He was obviously the King; unfortunately, I couldn’t remember anything I had practiced to say. He jumped up suddenly and I took a step back; his simple gesture frightened me. He wore a long crimson robe and swept it back as he moved to stand. The entire room of people sat silently, waiting for him to say something.
My eyes finally fell on Lilly who was positioned in the middle of the room, surrounded by rows and rows of people forming a type of octagon around her. She was wearing a simple black robe with a hood, and her vibrant red hair stood out in stark contrast. She was boxed in on every side by what looked like a witness box, sitting on a stool in the middle. Our eyes met for only a second, but the gratitude she relayed to me in those brief moments made my entire trip worth it.
“Excuse me,” Kiran’s familiar voice nearly shouted his apology and all at once he moved from his place next to his father and towards me.
I looked back over at the King, whose expression I couldn’t read; something like anger, or surprise or a mixture of the two, but then there was something much deeper in his eyes. Kiran practically ran to me from his throne that was barely a smaller version of his father’s. He too was wearing a golden crown adorned with colorful jewels and sitting crooked on his head. His longer locks, a little unruly underneath, gave him an almost wild appearance, but one I was infinitely attracted to.
“What are you doing here?” he whispered fiercely in my ear. He grabbed my arms firmly in his and shoved me forward to the base of the throne. “Curtsy,” he whispered again even harsher and half pushed me into the position. I was confused enough not to fight him, although this was not exactly what I had planned. “Excuse us,” he said loudly again, only this time he addressed the entire courtroom.
He turned to walk purposefully past the rows of people and through a side door, dragging me along with him. I tried to fight him off my arms, after all, I hadn’t finished my testimony, but his grip was so tight I realized there was no use. Once we were through the wide brass door, he threw me out of his arms roughly. I struggled to regain my balance and when I finally was able to stand strongly I turned directly to give him a piece of my mind.
“Don’t even start with me!” he spoke softly, but his voice was full of venom. “I told you not to come, I ordered you not to come. What the hell are you doing here?” he began to pace frantically, glancing at the door every several seconds.
“Somebody had to stand up for Lilly!” I felt like shouting, but I used the volume example he set instead, although I filled my voice with as much irritation as I could muster.
“Well you did that, didn’t you? And made a fool of yourself! And now you’ll probably be sentenced to a worse fate than she would ever have been! How could you be so reckless?” he continued to pace, and glance at the door, but eventually he added a nervous glance in my direction. His eyes were filled with fear and anxiety and the way he looked at me made my anger melt away despite the verbal lashing I was receiving.
“All because of a stupid interruption?” I asked, finally taking the situation seriously.
“Because of who your parents are and because you look exactly like your bloody mother!” he finally stopped pacing and walked over to me, bringing me into his arms. I let him, confused once again, but comforted by his affection.
The door opened and he pulled me tighter into him, shielding me from the intruder. I could feel him hold his breath and when I looked up at him his eyes were shut tight, but as soon as the door closed and it was clear the only person that entered the room was Amory, he relaxed and exhaled. I was so confused by his behavior; I had no idea what to feel.
“What are you doing here?” Amory whispered, clearly enraged. “It doesn’t even matter now. What are you going to do with her?” he turned his attention to Kiran, practically pleading with him.
“I can’t….” Kiran’s voice broke and I heard the emotion in his voice. Tears came to my eyes as my emotions were so tied up in his, I couldn’t bear to see him so upset. “You have to take her; you have to get her the hell out of here. You have to save her, Amory,” Amory stared, wide eyed and clearly in shock at Kiran’s demands. “You can’t let him take her. Please…. I can’t lose her,” his voice broke again and I saw that his eyes were full of tears.
“I don’t know what to…. I won’t. I won’t let him anywhere near her,” Amory’s confusion disappeared and I watched him mentally set his mind to a plan.
“Do whatever Amory says, Eden,” Kiran turned his attention back to me, gazing into my eyes and hugging my tighter. “You have to get as far away from here as possible.”
“No,” I said simply, unwilling to be as melodramatic as these two.