Fate stay/BERSERK (Book 2)

Ch 37

"I'M TELLING YOU I DIDN'T DO IT, I DIDN'T KILL ANY PRIESTS!!!!"

A middle aged man with a long black beard that was unkept, and loose clothing with missing articles struggled against his binds. He was being pulled by Jeanne, who was atop her horse and had two of her knights help with escorting the man. Jeanne didn't like doing this kind of work, but the Queen has tasked her with finding any heretics among the populace that had arrived at the tower of conviction. Even now as she pulled the man through the camp, the innocents watched in silence as he was being dragged away. Crows and ravens sat upon the tents and trees, wondering if the man would be their next meal.

"There was an eyewitness testimony." Jeanne spoke in her commanding voice, but didn't want to startle the man more than necessary. She gave the binds some slack, so the man wouldn't be dragged along the muddy ground. She needs him to trust her. "Nothing is set in stone, we will investigate this rumor soon as possible but right now we need you to answer some questions and if you are innocent you will be released."

"CUT THE BULLSHIT!!" The man yelled as he looked up at Jeanne, startling the young woman. He struggled, pulling at the chain link as if he could overpower the virgin. "NO ONE HAS COME BACK AT ALL! WHENEVER WE'ER TAKEN IN, WE CAN NEVER LEAVE!"

"That isn't true." Jeanne tried reasoning with the man. She felt her anger rising as the man continued fighting against her. "Your innocent till proven...........?"

"Alms........"

Jeanne and the onlookers turned to the side and saw a woman walk forward. Her eyes were puffy red from crying, her face pale as a corpse. Tears still poured down her face as she came to a stop. Jeanne looked down at what the woman held and felt her heart skip a beat. A corpse is what she held. The corpse of a young, malnourished boy who had to be no older than ten years. Flies flew around his open mouth as the scent of decay radiated off of him. Jeanne nearly puked, the sight reminding her of the Misty valley and the dead children she had seen. Looking closer, Jeanne could spot a stab wound on the naked child's stomach, the wound now infected as flies began laying their eggs. The woman holding the child stared at the bounded man with teary eyes, trying to bare her teeth as her lips quivered.

"GODDAMNIT!!!!! WHO DID THIS?!?!?" The man shouted, looking over the crowd after seeing the dead child. The onlookers only stared at him in silence, the same depressed look upon their faces. "WHO SET ME UP?! I'LL KILL YOU, I SWEAR ONCE I GET OUT I'LL KILL YOU?!"

"........." Jeanne listened as the man ranted on. She then looked around the area, spotting several wagons of corpses being tolled off to dump or bury somewhere, most likely to be burnt so the plague couldn't spread. The man's rant of vengeance was cut off as Jeanne pulled on the chain and made her way forward, nearly dragging the man with her. She looked over at the crying mother before giving a small nod. "Sorry for your loss......"

.
.
.
.

"That guy lived off the fears of other people around him. It's because he didn't fit in with the rest, so it's good riddance for him. Damn, both the rats and the scapegoats make me want to vomit."

"Hey, about focusing on this a little?"

"OH! Whoops, oppsiey daisy."

The woman stopped peeking out of the crack of the tent and looked back up at the man she was having sex with. He was a rather handsome man from Orleans, short black hair, medium build, a rather handsome fellow.