Her composure was sturdier than the strongest of barriers. She was the epitome of peace and control. No wind could shake her, no storm could harm her. Even the sea itself could not wage war on her.
She matched the character of a patient predator. Alluring, beautiful, and lethal. And indeed she was all of those things. But on the inside, she was screaming. Tearing through her bones with an ear-splitting force and gnashing her teeth in anguish. Her heart alone could shake the earth in a mighty quake, her mind could put even the most powerful to shame with her wit.
Yet she sat at her place at the grandeur, circular table. It was wooden which boasted of a deep auburn color and it was encased in a layer of polish, making the surface of it reflective and shiny in the light.
Her reflection was skewered, it stared back at her with a jagged frown.
The crown on her head was golden with crystal jewels engraved into it. Each kingdom had a jewel to represent their nation, and all seven rulers who sat around her had a different colored stone sitting just on the frontal surface of their crowns.
Five kings and two queens - one being Asheria, sat around the table. Each member stood in place to represent their own kingdom and testify in the deeds of Kyros. The reasoning behind bringing the case to national trials was because not only was the crime severe, some of the victims had been from outside of Asheria's kingdom of Winterfest.
Some of the victims were visiting and were citizens of the outside kingdoms.
And the world wanted justice.
The burly king of the Sommersol kingdom stood up from his chair.
The light stubble on his chin sparkled in the light and he tucked his muscular arms behind his back.
"Today we have gathered to discuss some important matters. A beast has been captured and we all have slightly differing views on how to handle the situation. As you know, he is an inhabitant of the kingdom of Winterfest, but he claimed the lives of members belonging not only to my packs, but some of yours as well. I will let queen Asheria speak first, as Kyros belongs to her kingdom." He nodded his head in her direction and before slowly sitting back down.
Asheria stood up, her own robe spilled down her back in lavished purple waves, and the dress in which she wore for this occasion was an icy blue color. It represented her kingdom.
"Kyros is being held in my prisons. He awaits a trial in which I wish him to attend, and I request that he is brought in so that he may tell his side also. Too long we have been in the unknown and masked the monster. But now, it is time to unveil him and unmask the man behind the beast." Asheria stated, voice unwavering and sturdy.
"If I may speak," Queen Atya, ruler of the Deserta Kingdom said, "Why is it that you wish to hear him speak? Were his actions and intentions not clear when he committed those monstrosities ten years ago?" Her sparkling brown eyes bore into Asheria's and her black hair was kept short and fanned out in kinky curls around her.
"My kingdom rules with a just, fair hand. I believe all prisoners - whether they've committed a small crime or a more serious one, deserve to be heard, too. I make judgments based on gathering logic, and I listen. I listen to their side, I analyze it, I investigate it. I like to make sound decisions, and I wish to make sound decisions in any way I see necessary." Asheria replied.
"That's preposterous!" The king of the Nether kingdom exclaimed as he aggressively rose to his feet.
His black hair matched his eyes and the obsidian stones he wore in his crown, making his skin look especially pale. "You will excuse the actions of a man simply because he deserves to be heard, too?"
"No, I will not. I never said anything about excusing his behavior, king Athros. I wish to hold him accountable, just as you. I simply want to hear what he has to say, and you should, too. Is it not what we want? Do we not want him to speak the words that have been hidden to us for so long?" Asheria questioned.
A silence encased the atmosphere. It fell into the room like a cold gust of air and Asheria shivered in her place.
King Athros sunk back down in his chair, narrowing his eyes at her.
The king of Sommersol stood up once more. "No matter how we go about this, I think we all agree on one thing. The death penalty is something Kyros will face-"
"Not exactly, king. I have made a.....startling discovery about Kyros, and I wish to share it with you now." Asheria interrupted.
All eyes were on her. Shock and disbelief were written on their features. Judgment raided down upon her, she could feel it. It was heavy and thick in the air, and it fell against her shoulders like heavy weights.
"Kyros is my mate." Her voice came out as confident and strong. But she was nervous.
And the silence that fell into the room when she spoke those words made her even more anxious. She had expected this type of reaction and yet she couldn't bring herself to be comfortable in it.
"And I fear an uprising will ensue - I struggle to manage how to handle this situation. I wish to find a way to punish him in a non-lethal method and yet somehow manage to sate the bloodthirst in my kingdom and keep the peace." She said, her voice now softer than it was before.
King Athros scoffed. "He doesn't get to live just because you two are mates. How can you even dare to think to let a man such as he rule by your side, become king?"
"This is why I want to bring him into the trials to hear him speak. If he truly is as evil as he is said to be, then death should be granted to him. And if he is not, if his actions were a result from another force, then I believe he shall be punished, but not put to death." Asheria replied.
The other rulers in the room seemed to be deep in thought. They sat back, rubbing their faces in dismay as they felt torn over what to do.
One thing was clear.
Kyros would be facing punishment. Likely severe.
"Bring him in." The king of Sommersol announced. His voice deep and powerful.
The guards at the door fell back and heeded the command at once. It would only be a few moments to fetch Kyros, as they were in Asheria's castle. But the wait felt like an eternity for Asheria.
This was the moment of truth.
His fate would be decided today.
And then the doors burst open. Guards flanked Kyro's side, each one held a strong grip on his arms. Chains held his arms behind his back, they were strapped tightly and dug into his skin and wounds.
He wore pants made from scratchy, baggy cloth and they barely clung to his hips. He was too skinny. His hair was its usual messy, oily, and knotted self and the limp he had was extremely noticeable.
He even looked uncomfortable breathing.
The guards brought him over to the front of the table and forced him down on his knees. They collided with the solid floor with a painful crack, but Kyros didn't flinch.
He had faced worse pain.
He hung his head low, keeping his eyes to the ground and he was hunched over. His black, curly hair, grown longer from being unkempt, brushed against his cheeks and hung around his eyes. Most of his visible skin was marred in some way, and his ribs pushed against the pale skin stretched tightly around his structure.
The rulers observed him for a moment, and Asheria became agitated. Her wolf was becoming unhinged at the ever-present scent of her mate's blood and so was Asheria. Though many of his wounds have healed, his pain brought on a new wave of emotion to Asheria.
"Rise to your feet and speak." King Istavan spoke for the first time. He had a gentler appearance to him, he was younger than the others in the room, and his features weren't as harsh as the other kings in the room, and he was more calm stoic.
Kyros seemed to be frozen in his spot. He slowly and hesitantly looked up, revealing wide, green eyes. He seemed to look at everyone in the room, but when he got to Asheria, his eyes stayed locked on hers.
"Did you not hear your command? He said to rise and speak." King Athros said impatiently.
Kyros looked at the floor once again and stood up slowly. He was feeble and shaking, and he nearly stumbled and fell upon getting up. He was weak, his muscles had quickly deteriorated from lack of food and use.
He could barely stand on his own.
Kyros didn't know what to say first. What did they expect him to say? "Greetings everyone! My name is Kyros and I murdered nearly my entire pack in cold blood because my wolf controlled me! I would prefer it if you didn't separate my head from my body, thank you!"
He internally scoffed at his thoughts and took a deep breath to compose himself.
He looked at Asheria for reassurance and began to speak aloud.
"I....my wolf, from an early age, he was strong. Even b-before I had shifted, my parents were concerned because I would shake and have seizures." He said, voice rough sounding and dry. He looked around the room, nervously and hesitantly.
He didn't like talking about it. It brought up painful memories.
"I was in the forest with my friends when I shifted for the first time, and I..." His voice trailed off and he looked to be in despair. Kyro's heart was pounding hard in his chest and his breathing became more frequent.
Distress was written on his features.
"I remember being trapped in my mind. I-I could see and hear everything but I couldn't do anything. I was caged in my wolf's mind and..."
He looked around the room cautiously taking in the scene around him.
He was a nobody in front of so many powerful, intimidating people. He felt like a single step out of place could send them into a frenzy.
"No matter what I did to break free and take control, my wolf easily overpowered me." Kyros spoke, voice calm and collected.
"So, because you couldn't control your wolf, because of your irresponsibility, you murdered many. It's your responsibility to control your animal, and you failed to do so." King Athros accused. Bitterness coated his voice and he looked like he was ready to fling himself across the table and finish Kyros off.
"I didn't know....I didn't mean to." Kyros whispered, looking down.
"Ignorance has deadly consequences," The king scoffed once more, "We don't even know if he's telling the truth. His last mate claimed he was abusive, remember?"
Murmurs broke out amongst the room and Kyros couldn't breathe. Candie had reported he was the abusive one because that was believable.
Kyros shook his head, bewildered. "N-no, my mate abused me. I never touched her."
King Athros laughed. "Then why did she come to queen Asheria? She was covered in blood when she arrived, beaten and wounded from an obvious attack. You did it."
Then he remembered he had indeed touched her. But he was defending himself for once, his wolf had had enough.
"No, she attacked me and I did what I had to do to defend myself," Kyros stated calmly.
They would never believe him.
Asheria had had enough. "I was brought the note Kyros had written to Candie. I have it here with me right now. " She said, pulling out the crumpled note she knew she could use as evidence and read it aloud.
"Do not try to find me. If you have a conscious, may it rot in despair for what you've done to me."
They disregarded the note. At first.
"I say we carry on with the trials. Intentional or not, he needs to pay the price for the lives he took, that is what I know." The king from Sommersol said, "We can investigate what may have caused his rampage later, but right now, he needs to be punished. Our people can wait no longer, they've waited long enough."
Murmurs of agreement sounded through the room and Asheria dug her nails into her hands. She bit her lip from anxiousness and kept herself from lashing out. She knew what the punishments consisted of, and the punishments could be enough to kill him.
She rose to her feet once more. "These punishments that are to be administered are not to kill him. That I will make sure of."
"Oh, really?" King Athros said, "Get Kyros out of here." At once Kyros was grabbed roughly by the guards and escorted away. He could only stare helplessly at Asheria as he was taken.
And then the doors slammed shut.
Asheria watched the cold, dark eyes of Athros gleam. She knew he was plotting something that the majority would likely agree on.
And then he spoke.
"I have an idea."