Never Judge

Cedric sat behind the one way mirror as he watched Ian enter the room with one of the two would-be attackers they had caught, it was the woman by the name of Bella.

The past three days she had been asking the guards to speak with Cedric, and in those three days her requests had been ignored.

At least it was ignored until she was dragged out of her prison and taken to an interrogation room. She had been sitting there for thirty minutes while Ian and Cedric observed how she reacted.

"Do you think she was trained for something like this?" Cedric asked Ian, as his friend moved to speak with the woman.

"I guess we'll find out when I speak to her." Ian shrugged as he walked out of the room and entered the next.

"I asked to speak to Mr. Reyes!" Bella was furious, but due to her exhaustion, her voice cracked and faltered as she glared at Ian.

"Cedric is busy." Ian simply answered, making her shift in her seat.

"I'm not speaking to you." Bella tried her best to sound cold, confident, and aloof.

She was shocked when Ian suddenly laughed, stood up, and made his way to the door.

"Wait!" She called out as she pulled against the restraints that held her tied to her seat.

Ian stopped as he smiled, he knew that she wouldn't let him walk away. She needed something and she had waited long enough for this opportunity.

"So you're willing to settle on speaking to the assistant?" Ian asked as he turned around, downplaying his importance in Cedric's organization.

"We were taught about you, or at least told who is important and who isn't." She said as she looked Ian in the eyes, waiting for a reaction from him.

She was surprised to see that Ian didn't falter at her words, he remained calm and didn't seem surprised at the news.

"You aren't just an assistant." She told Ian.

Ian smiled and shook his head.

"Of course I know I'm not." Ian chuckled as he sat back down. "Are you ready to tell me why you asked for Cedric?"

Bella nodded.

"I'm ready to tell Mr. Reyes everything." She bravely declared.

"Everything?" Ian asked, unable to believe her words. Why would she suddenly turn around and betray the Rajas?

"Yes, everything." She said with a nod.

Ian looked her in the eyes as he tried to detect hesitation or a lie, but he could see none.

"Why?" Ian asked, curious to find out her reasons.

"You'll think I'm silly and that I'm lying, but I did it for love." Bella said as she looked down at her hands not wanting to meet Ian's eyes.

Ian couldn't help but roll his eyes at the irony. It could be a lie, but what did she have to gain from lying? If they did their research they would know that Ian didn't have a soft spot for these things.

"I- I didn't know that the Raja's meant more to him than I did." She said as a sob escaped her lips. "This was never what I wanted, I wasn't like this, I had a chance to walk away but I stayed because of him."

"And here I thought you were a loyal soldier of the Raja's." Ian said as his voice turned cold, the emotion gone from it.

Bella's head snapped up as she looked into Ian's unfeeling eyes, he looked down at her as if she was a disappointment, a reaction she didn't expect from him.

"I was, I am, but I can't take it." She said, practically sobbing.

Ian smiled and took the ring that hung on a necklace around his neck and placed it on the table in front of her.

She trembled at the sight of the ring, every foot soldier of the Rajas knew what it meant.

"Impossible, how?" She asked as she struggled to find her words.

"I would watch your next words, Bella." Ian said as he leaned back against his seat.

"Won't Mr. Reyes find this as a betrayal?" Bella asked in a shaky voice, unsure on how to act or what to say.

"He would, if he ever found out, and by then I plan for it to be too late for him to feel or think anything of my betrayal." Ian said confidently.

The level at which he lied and acted, sent shivers up Cedric's spine. Ian was so good in acting that if Cedric had not known better, he would have believed Ian had betrayed him.

"The cameras. . ." Bella said as she looked up, only to notice that it didn't have the red blinking light that signaled that it was recording.

"Switched off on my orders." Ian answered her.

"Won't anyone find that suspicious?" Bella asked as she slowly became braver to speak.

"They know who I am, they know that Cedric trusts me with his life." Ian told her. "Would you question me if I said Cedric wanted to move you to a different prison, one where you would see no light. A place where you will be tortured?"

Bella bit her lower lip, Ian already knew the answer, she wouldn't. No one would question any of his orders, an order from Ian was like an order from Cedric himself.

"You are lucky that the message of you pleading to speak to Cedric reached me before it reached him." Ian continued to speak. "Now, do you still plan on betraying the Rajas?"

Bella shook her head.

"Of course you do, if it means you get to leave this place." Ian told her.

She had no choice but to admit the truth and nod. She would still do it if it meant getting her out.

"I can forget that you wanted to betray the Rajas, Bella." Ian said, much to Bella's surprise. She never thought Ian would be so forgiving, not after she had heard what he had said.

"Swear loyalty to me." Ian commanded in a booming voice that echoed in the room, making Bella shudder. "The Rajas may betray me too, just as they betrayed you, but for now work for me and I promise you this will be your last night here."

Bella slowly nodde, knowing that Ian was her only way out.