Elwanda

Chapter 21 - Misguided Heroics

Four days passed in the Raegrosian dungeon. Four slow and lonely days filled with dissatisfied looking backs, angry afterthoughts, and lamentations that made Elwanda begin to want the day of her execution to come so she could finally be put out of her misery.

True to her wish, on the evening of the fourth day, she spied activity from her window. It seemed that great logs of wood were being piled together in a part of the massive courtyard by a bunch of soldiers. She watched with palpitating horror as her stake was set up - the platform on which she would be burned.

When? She had no idea.

Her hands grew cold and she cupped them together to trap some warmth in between then became conscious of the idea that sooner than she thought, not only would her hands be warm, the rest of her would be as well. Following the horrendous realization, she separated her hands. Her sentence had not felt so real since day one, that is, until she witnessed the stake slowly take shape.

Suddenly, death felt inescapable and certain.

The sliding door startled Elwanda into spinning in its direction. Lord Housley walked in accompanied by a different figure, the latter bearing a scroll in his hands. Both men looked grim and exhausted.

"Hello, Elwanda." Andrew greeted, sparing a short-lived smile.

His company turned to him very gently. "That's what she's called?"

Housley ignored him.

The man unfurled his scroll. "I've come to read the King's decree on your sentence."

"Spare your breath. I'm already aware of it." Elwanda said blankly.

"It is customary that the decree be read to the accused before their slated day of execution." Andrew explained in a calm tone. "Let Sir Lionel do his duty."

Elwanda gulped and gave a consenting nod.

"By the laws of the land of Raegros and by the authority of its judicature, you are hereby sentenced to death by public incineration for the following crimes; treachery against the Throne of Raegros, deception against its sovereign ruler and affiliated household, and self acclaimed involvement in spellcrafts and sorcery. You have been sentenced to be executed publicly at dawn tomorrow."

Lionel rolled up the scroll and bopped on his feet. He looked at Andrew. "That will be all then."

With a meaningful nod, Andrew turned away.

"Lord Housley." Elwanda called, causing him to halt. "Would anyone from Rauloring be present tomorrow?"

"Certainly." He nodded again and traipsed out with Lionel in tow.

She returned to window and found that the soldiers were still preparing the stake. It looked tall despite the distance, though a good part of it was hidden from her sight because of the trees surrounding the courtyard and the angle of the window itself.

She lowered to sit down and toy with her fingers, trying to steady her own wild heart beat and the tiny sobs that came out of her while she muttered. "I'm sorry, Miri. I'm sorry, papa. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I never wanted to be a burden to any of you. I wish I'd been better. I wish I'd never gone to the palace in the first place."

Quivering, she laid sideways and watched the dim daylight turn noticeably darker, until she did not know when her own eyes closed in sleep.

The noise of a great bell or a gong of a strange and sinister kind woke Elwanda. She blinked with a frightened gasp, feeling disoriented as she sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking around the empty space. Weak daylight streamed into the eerie room and told her it was not yet dawn, but would be soon. She knelt up to look outside, glimpsing the already finished pyre amidst the fog of morning. Her heart rate seemed to slow as she stared at it, pondering how the flames would feel and how much pain there would be until it finally ended. Water spilled out of her eyes. There was no escape this time. She realized her pounding heart had not stopped since the previous day.