Loving You Through Lifetimes

Executed

The magistrate sighed, "I could understand your outrage if rape was being committed against a Rakshasa woman. I don't understand why you had to get so worked up for a Yaksha woman? Is the Yaksha woman more important than your loyalty to your country?" 

Pauruseya opened his mouth to retort, "Gag him" the magistrate said, with a flick of his hand and his instruction was duly carried out. 

"Those sniveling Yaksha women should feel honoured that we Rakshasa men are putting warrior babies into their bellies. They will give birth to strong sons born of brave men" the magistrate said.

"Shut up! Shut your filthy mouth" I screamed, "How dare you?! Can you even imagine a fraction of the suffering of a woman forced to give her body to someone against her choice? You sit there without having even seen what my fellow Yaksha women endured. How did a worthless fellow with zero common sense like you ever rise to such a major position?" 

"This is why I hate Yaksha women!" the magistrate yawned, putting his fingers in his ears, "They screech so loud but they have little to show for it" 

"Untie me, you dirty bastard and I will show you just what Yaksha women are made of! Untie me if you dare!" I growled. 

"Quite a ferocious woman, aren't you?" said the magistrate, "It would be a waste to not utilize you well before disposing of you! I say Rakshasa security forces should have a go at you! You will be useful to birth healthy warrior babies" 

Before I could respond, Pauruseya sprang towards him in one giant leap. I realized that he had severed his chains and spat out his gag too. He used the broken chains to strangulate the magistrate. I used this brief distraction to break off my own chains and seized a scimitar from the nearest Rakshasa guard. 

I lopped off his legs off and he collapsed on the ground with a scream. Using the fallen soldier as a human shield, I charged at the nearest Rakshasa and killed them.

Meanwhile, Pauruseya had finished shredding open the magistrate's throat. With a leonine roar, he leapt to the ground and seizing a battle axe from a dead soldier, he entered into combat mode. 

Sweat, grime and blood coated our bodies in layers but we didn't stop fighting. Back to back, we stood, attacking and defending against our opponents. Despite our best efforts, we were vastly overnumbered. The archers concealed from our sight, relentlessly, fired arrows from their hiding spot. 

At the same time, Rakshasa reinforcements arrived to back up the defeated Rakshasas. We were surrounded on all sides with no room for escape. Jabs from spears and thrusts from swords made their way into our bodies, deeply wounding us. 

The General of the Rakshasas arrived and he knocked us both unconscious with a heavy blow each to the head. 

Two Hours Later

I realized that my injuries had been tended to, I looked at the Rakshasa General. 

"We could have beheaded you when you were unconscious" the General drawled, "but what is the fun in that? Besides, what point is an execution without the applause of an enthusiastic audience?" 

Feeling disgusted at him, I turned my face away. I could hear loud shouts from throngs of audience. 

"You hear that?" the General said, with a grin, "The Rakshasa citizens are here to witness the death of a traitor" 

I suddenly realized that Pauruseya was missing, "Where is he?" I asked, tears pooling in my eyes.

"You will see for yourself" the General said. Throwing me over his shoulder with a grunt, he carried me up an execution dais and dropped me unceremoniously on the ground. 

I raised my eyes to see a sight of horror. Pauruseya was dangled from a height with chains holding his arms up. He was stripped nearly naked with only a loincloth for his modesty. Every inch of his body was covered in deep cuts.

"We have an expert torturer who relishes his job. We asked the man to not kill Pauruseya yet. I ordered the man to cut Pauruseya a thousand times. We won't behead him yet, first we plan to let him bleed" the General smiled. 

I saw that below Pauruseya's suspended body, a wooden tub sat which was already almost filled with his blood. The General gestured and the torturer stepped forward with a sharpened whip-sword. 

I screamed in horror, "Stop! Please, stop! I will do something, anything!" 

"Too late" the General shrugged, thoroughly enjoying my agony. 

The torturer whipped expertly onto the sliced areas, reopening his wounds afresh. While blood slowly trickled past his body into the tub, Pauruseya opened his eyes to gaze at me "Be strong, don't let them break you" he mouthed. 

"I love you" I mouthed back, Pauruseya's eyes widened and he smiled sweetly, "I could die happy now" he mouthed. 

"No..." I shook my head, "Don't you leave me! Wherever you go, I will be go with you!" I mouthed back.

Just as he started to say something, his throat was cut open. Blood gurgled and though it sounded like the voice of a man drowning in a pool, I could see from his lip movement that he said 'I love you too.'

"Behead him!" said the General. I shut my eyes and sobbed louder when I heard the sickening sound of metal cleaving flesh. I opened my eyes only to see that the torturer had dropped Pauruseya's severed head onto my lap. 

I held onto his head and wept as if my heart had shattered into a million pieces. While I looked at that beloved lifeless face in my arms, "Kill me" I said, choking on sobs.

"Not yet" the General said, "You have the duty to birth Rakshasa babies. Men, have fun with her!"

"Never..." I whispered, I recalled my helplessness in being unable to prevent Suketu's or Pauruseya's death. 

I shoved the torturer, making him lose balance and fall onto the ground. I seized the sword from him and stabbed the blade straight through my heart. The world began to slowly blackout. While I lay there at death's door, I thought, Let's go see Yama together, my beloved Pauruseya!