Into The Storm

36

Two months had gone by since Rosalis was elected queen of Frinnor. She got up from her bed, not being able to sleep. She trudged over to a mirror and looked at her reflection. Her hair had streaks of grey running through it and dark circles had started to form underneath her eyes, her nights sleepless. The stress from all of the political work was getting to her. How on Earth did Edmund do it?

Rosalis attended the execution of a thief. She stood in front of him as he laid on the ground on his knees. "Do you have any final words?" She asked him. The thief said nothing. "By the power vested in me, I hereby judge you guilty of thievery and sentence you to death by beheading."

The executioner put his foot to the thief, forcing his neck on the chopping block. He raised his axe into the air and brought it down, cleaving right through the bone. Rosalis walked up to the severed head and picked it up by its hair. It looked at her, its mouth trembling uncontrollably, its eyes blinking and dashing about everywhere, not understanding what was going on. Some seconds later, it stopped. Rosalis dropped the head onto the ground and turned around, looking at the rows of corpses that were hung by the neck and left dangling. She gave herself a thin smile.

Rosalis awoke once more, her insomnia getting to her. She sat at the edge of her bed and groaned, wiping away an invisible substance from her face with both of her hands. She sighed and stared at the blank space of the wall on the opposite end of the room. Standing up, she walked over to the large mirror and stared at herself. Suddenly, her reflection came to life and grabbed her, pulling her into the mirror. In a flash, Rosalis was transported to a black void, nothingness all around her. Multiple familiar voices began to speak to her, quickly overlapping in a cacophony. Next, came the sounds battle, swords clashing, people dying. Not being able to take it, Rosalis clutched at her head and screamed. Suddenly, the sounds stopped, silence once more. Rosalis looked around the void and then something came out of the blackness. The figure stopped in front of her, a perfect clone of herself. "Who are you?" Rosalis asked it.

"Do you not recognise me?" It asked. "Or, more accurately, yourself? Knight, custodian and herald of Edmund II and Edmund III, queen."

Rosalis stared at the clone, realising that she was talking to herself.

"For the love of God, man up!" It suddenly said sternly. "The kingdom needs someone to lead them, and that someone is you." It began to walk up to her slowly. "You need to learn from your mistakes or, you too, will end up like both former kings." Her doppelganger suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders. "Remember, the fate of the kingdom rests upon your shoulders." All of a sudden, but slowly, its face began to melt away. Rosalis stared in shock, her eyes wide, her mouth open. "If you do not learn," The skin melted away completely, revealing the skull beneath. "then all will be lost."

Rosalis suddenly bolted up from her bed in her chambers, screaming her lungs out. Two knights burst into the room, their swords drawn, searching for the intruder. They looked at their queen. Rosalis groaned, rubbing her face. She looked at them. "Everything is all right. It was just a bad dream."

With no questions asked, the knights sheathed their swords and went back to their posts.

Rosalis sat on her throne the next day, waiting for anything interesting to happen. Suddenly two knights stepped in.

"My queen, we have captured three murderers and we believe that they have been working together."

"Are they dangerous?" She asked. The knight shook his head.

"They are not double agents. We believe that they are just a bunch of lunatics that want to spread chaos. They are now awaiting sentencing."

Without waiting, Rosalis stood up from her throne and followed after them.

Rosalis stood in front of the murderers. A row of knights stood in front of them, armed with arquebuses. "If you have any last words, I suggest that you say them now." Rosalis announced. The lunatics said nothing. "You have been found guilty of murder and in accordance to the law of Frinnor, I sentence you to death by firing squad. Prepare!"

The executioners opened up the flash pans on the side of their guns. They proceeded to pour the gunpowder inside and closed the pan back up again. They all shook their guns, allowing the gunpowder to settle inside and took some more gunpowder, pouring it down the muzzle. They drew out the scouring stick and stuck it down the barrel, ramming down the gunpowder. Replacing the stick, they then loaded the miniscule iron shot inside. They took the fuse and lit it, quickly blowing the small flame out, allowing the rope to smoulder. Sticking the fuse through the match tube, they looped it around the lock and opened their flash pans for the second time, attaching the burning end of the rope to the gunpowder. They aimed at the condemned, their guns prepared.

"Fire!"

The executioners pulled down onto the triggers and fired. Being no match for the iron shot, the murderers all immediately collapsed to the ground, their grubby tunics stained in their own blood. One of the knights closed his eyes in horror, not believing what he had just done. Rosalis stared at the deceased, not one flinch on her face. It was almost normal to her. With the job done, she turned and walked off, whilst the executioners contemplated their actions.