Sea of Lies

Chapter 5

1726

A jingle was heard as a knight walked through the hall. He stopped in front of one of the cells and shuffled through the bouquet of keys he had. He stuck one in the lock and the steel bar door swung open.

He walked towards the person curled in the corner. The prisoners in the cells beside them sat close to the bars that separated them. They stayed near the blue glow to see better.

The knight stood above them and sighed. He bent down and grabbed their long, knotted hair. Elijah immediately woke up and his hands darted towards the knight's. Quiet muffled sounds came from his mouth, blocked by a cloth.

"Jeez," The knight muttered as he pulled at Elijah's bright yellow hair more. "When was the last time one cut your hair?" Elijah squirmed to get him to let go.

The knight pulled a sharp dagger out from his belt. "Move your hands. If I cut you, the king is gonna kill me." He said. Elijah slowly lowered his hands. As soon as he moved his hands, the knight sliced the dagger through Elijah's hair. The rest of it fell back down over his face as he fell forward slightly. The knight took what he'd chopped off and threw it out.

He grabbed Elijah's wrist as he tried to feel how much hair the knight had cut off. He pulled Elijah up. There was the sound of metal as Elijah stumbled. The knight groaned as he looked down at the chain on Elijah's ankle. After he took it off, he tied Elijah's hands with a rope and pulled him along.

The knight brought him down the hall. The prisoners behind the bar reached their hands out as Elijah passed to try to touch him.

They went into a room filled with all kinds of contraptions and machines. There was a group of guards around the king with a man kneeling in front of them. The knight stopped and took one cloth away from Elijah's eyes.

Elijah looked at the man on the floor. He was hunched over, sobbing. There were bruises and gashes all over him. The king turned to Elijah and smiled.

"This man has committed an unforgivable crime against this country," The king began. "He attempted to poison my drink this morning." The man's head shot up.

"Please, Your Majesty!" He screamed. "I'll do anything you want! I have a family! Please! Let me live!" The king turned back to Elijah.

"No one knows of it so a public execution is unnecessary." He smiled. "So, please make this clean and painful." The king turned and left with one of the knights. The others stayed.

They untied Elijah's wrists and used the rope to tie the man to a pillar. Afterwards, they stood off to the side and waited. The man's head hung as he sniffled and cried. He looked up at Elijah through his foggy eyes.

"Please," He whispered. "Please l-I don't want to die." Elijah jumped as he heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed behind him. One of the knights stepped forward with his sword drawn. He pointed it at Elijah.

"Hurry up. We don't have all day." He muttered. Elijah looked back at the man. His hands began to shake as he stared at the man's fear struck face.

There was a sudden, piercing pain across his back. He spun around to the knight as he cleaned the blood from his sword. He felt the warm sensation of blood oozing from his skin and dripping down his back.

The knight's eyes narrowed and he pointed to the man. "Just kill him already." He grumbled. Elijah turned back to man. His head shook back and forth as he mumbled 'please' over and over again. The knight slashed at Elijah's back again. Elijah crouched on the ground and held his head.

The man let out a scream. Elijah covered his ears as the screaming got louder and louder. He opened his eyes briefly and felt himself gag.

The sound of loud cracks and snaps was heard as the man's limbs bent in unhuman positions. Blood leaked from his mouth, ears, and eyes.