Chapter 29

Zarabeth's every attempt to keep her hands from visibly trembling seemed to be in vain, the girl resorting to burying them in the folds of her skirt as she tried to sit up a little straighter, unable to avoid the burning stares of all the eyes in the room. She didn't know where to look. Jim's gaze was among the others concentrating on her, but his look was warm and reassuring in contrast to the intimidating glare of the judge above her.

Flashes of memory were flooding through her jumbled thoughts as she remembered all too painfully how it felt to be in the witness' seat. It had only been a year ago when she'd been made to testify against the pirate lot that had kidnapped her. Evanna, Camellia, Damian, Logan. She remembered how exposed she felt beneath their deadly glares. But today was different. The eyes of the guilty party standing opposite her were kind and understanding. After all, they were Silver's eyes.

"Would you please state your full name for the record?"

Zara's attention was redirected back to the judge's seat as she attempted to ignore the evident annoyance in his tone. He was doing nothing for her nerves.

"Zarabeth Jane Hawkins."

"Relationship to the defendant?"

"I-I've known Mr. Silver for six years now. He was the cook aboard a ship I worked on."

"What is the nature of your relationship to John Silver?"

"He's like a father to me. He's been there for me and my husband since we first met."

"A pirate? Like a father?"

Zara found herself stiffening a little in the chair they'd placed her in, feeling more like the one under conviction from the way the man was leering down at her, clearly wondering if he shouldn't be clapping her and Jim in irons as well. He wasn't any good at hiding his suspicions or his annoyance.

"It's not like that. Silver has been guiltless from the moment he saved us from Treasure Planet. You all know the story. Surely you've heard it. He gave up the treasure he bargained our lives for in order to save us in the end. Since then it's only been him running and hiding to stay alive. He just wanted to be there for me and Jim. He's no more a criminal now than you or me."

The judge seemed more than a little unconvinced, his plump fingers tapping in irritated thought against the arm of the high-back chair he was lounged in.

"Mrs. Hawkins, I was told that when the officers of Rhitan rescued you that you claimed Mr. Silver to be innocent, but he was found at a sight clearly being prepared for a trade of illegal weapons to covert rebel leaders. How do you account for the intentions of his presence?"

Zarabeth knew she was failing at keeping her look from revealing how sickened she was by the man above her, the girl's tone frightfully even and calm to keep her from displaying the loathing emotions she truly felt towards him.

"William and I were held hostage by the smuggler Ewen McCoy. Silver had no part in that. I sent word to him in the hopes that he could rescue my husband, but he came after me once he knew Jim was safe. McCoy and his men are set to be hung or in prison because of his intervention. I can safely say that I would not have been left alive if the officers got to us before Silver had, and you certainly wouldn't have the smuggler lot incarcerated now as we speak. John Silver did not plan a rebellion. He stopped it. The only reason that angry refugees are not massing at the royal gates is because that courageous man chained there endangered his life to save all of ours."

"Tone, Mrs. Hawkins. This is my court you're sitting in, not some afternoon women's club."

One could almost touch the tension seething between the two, the momentary break in the stifling silence most welcome as the prince casually stepped forward once more.

"I'm sorry, your honor, but if it pleases the court, I'd like to request that I continue the questions from here. I consider myself adequate enough in all things law and justice, being future king and all. Allow me to be lawyer and you to be judge? We don't expect you to carry this trial all by yourself."

It was made perfectly clear by the way the judge's lip curled in annoyance at this interruption that he was fighting to keep from saying the thoughts clearly on his mind, the man finally sitting back in a huff of resignation as he briefly motioned for the young prince to continue. There was no point in objecting from the tone carried beneath the prince's words.

"Thank you, your honor." Prince Delaford was clearly satisfied with himself at his newly procured foothold in the proceedings, his confident smirk softening as it was directed back toward Zarabeth. His every step was long and assured, bringing him to quickly stand before her as he clasped his hands behind his back in an attempt to appear somewhat professional.

"Mrs. Hawkins. On the day which you were rescued, did you know what McCoy was planning?"

"Y-Yes your Highness."

"Care to elaborate?"

"He was going to deliver guns and ammunition to a refugee leader called Gantry. We got to the meeting place, but Mr. Silver had made it there first. He told McCoy that he'd convinced this man Gantry to stand down and call off all the plans."

The longer she spoke, the more at ease Zara felt, taking comfort in the young man's gentle tone towards her as her hands gradually released their iron grip from her dress.

"Mrs. Hawkins, do you know why I'm here?"

"W-Why you're here, Highness?" Caught off guard by the casual familiarity with which he coined his question, Zarabeth found herself looking in near confusion between the royalty standing before her and Jim's unwavering gaze just at the edge of the floor. "I-I really couldn't answer."

"Relax, Mrs. Hawkins, this isn't for a grade. No pass or fail. I just wondered if you knew how the officers of Rhitan found you and the smugglers."

"Silver mentioned that he'd told the officers, but I didn't even think to question how."

The alien prince seemed pleased with her replies, his steps beginning to slowly pace in front of her as he explained himself, clearly more than a little proud at his slow-building explanation, vague though it still was.

"He did contact us, or not me specifically, but someone else. Someone reliable. They trusted that he told the truth, so we acted. But never did anyone expect Mr. Silver to stay put. Why do you think he did that? Out of curiosity."

She knew why. She knew exactly why. The thought of it still made her look away in guilt, remembering how she couldn't convince Silver to run, how she was the reason he was now chained to the floor.

"For me...He stayed behind to be arrested. He didn't want me to lie for him, because he knew I would have. I...I would have done everything to keep from letting anyone find him. So he waited for you instead."

She'd hardly finished speaking before the room was filled with the judge's impatient interjection, his face steadily growing red with the anger he'd fought to bury beneath his expressionless facade, more than a little frustrated by the turn this trial had taken. "Was Mr. Silver also aware that I could have you arrested here and now on charges for obstruction of justice? You've tried to protect him all this time, you and your husband, but from what? From us, the law, from the royal family, your sovereign lords. You can no longer be allowed to make a mockery of this. I will have justice for this murderer's life!"

"Is that the act of a criminal, your honor?"

The rantings of the man sitting above her were cut short by Delaford's words, too calm for the situation at hand as he looked between her and the fuming judge. "Would a man, guilty of a crime such as rebellion, kidnapping, and attempted murder try to protect anyone but himself? Not John Silver. No, he tried to protect this young woman, the victim of a crime which nearly escalated to the point of no return. He chose to hand off his freedom, even possibly his own life, in order to shield one girl from harm.

Your honor, I would even go so far as to say that Mr. Silver has done a far more commendable act than we might understand. He's the reason we are still standing here and not fighting for our lives to beat down an uprising. A man with no rights in the eyes of most, a criminal, a pirate even, was willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of peace and the lives of others, even if he only appeared to be saving one. Can you, in good conscience, sentence a man to hang who has shielded this system from war?"

If even a pin had been dropped, the entire room would have heard it, all eyes on the judge as he sat with a blank expression masking over any other emotion he could be feeling. He was clearly not accustomed to being crossed, by a member of the royal family no less.

"I ask again. Is that worthy of death?"