Legend of the White Witch {#Wattys2016}

Chapter 35

Her soldiers are quickly able to control the afraid with the threat of death. Several have already fallen, cut down with cold unfeeling as they tried to escape. The floor quickly becomes slippery with blood and the air filled with the pained cries of those grieving the newly dead.

"I am not here for you; I am here only for the White Witch. Attempt to keep her from me, and you will die. Attempt to protect her, and you will die." Anabella's smooth voice projects easily over the frightened crowd. "But those who do not fight back will be allowed to live. I think that is a fair deal, no?"

Frightens murmurs spread throughout the room, almost louder than the sound of my heart. Thump, thump, thump. I'm going to die.

Those near the soldiers and the bodies strewn at their feet move back, away from the danger pressing close. No one moves then, save for one. The woman steps out from the crowd, toward Anabella and certain death, with her head held high. A breath catches in my throat when I recognize the long, brunette curls I've envied Mariena for.

"Do you expect us to watch as you butcher her?" Her voice carries to me, sure and unafraid. The words echo in my head, making it hard to think. "Edlyn, our last hope to defeat you and put an end to the destruction and pain that you have caused us. Edlyn, the one who will save us. Edlyn, the one who will protect us from you!" Now Mariena turns to us, to the crowd watching in thick silence, too terrified to even breathe. "How can we ask her to protect us if we don't do the same for her?"

More whispers ripple throughout the room and Anabella's confident smile falters a bit as the whispers turn to defiant outcries. I look to Alec with wide eyes, but he is watching Anabella's every move with stiff anticipation. The hand that isn't holding tightly to mine is ready to draw his sword.

"What is your name, little girl?" Anabella asks. Her voice is sickening, as is her smile. Her lips are blood red in contrast to her pearly white teeth and skin.

"Mariena Len, my lady. I am a servant in King Cassius' court." She spits at the evil witch's feet.

Anabella tsks at the girl before her, taking several steps closer to her. "I'd say, by the looks of things, that Cassius is no longer the king. Wouldn't you agree, my dear Alston?"

She turns to him for a moment, smiling when he nods. Not a shred of guilt haunts his face. It makes me sick. Cassius was a kind man and his brother, yet Alston murdered him without so much as a second thought.

Anabella turns back to face Mariena, flowing black dress billowing in a wind that only touches her.

"If you think any of us will accept him as our king—"

"Oh, I don't," Anabella interrupts. "At least, not yet. Not until I show you what happens to those who defy me."

She nods at two soldiers standing near Alston, each of them wearing different armor with a red sash across their chests. They must hold higher ranks than the others.

"Kill this Mariena Len and anyone else who dares to speak against my rule from here on out," Anabella orders. The soldiers nod obediently and step towards the unarmed girl with such ruthlessness that they can only be fatoris.

One grabs Mariena by her shoulders and forces her down onto her knees while the other holds his sword out in front of her face.

The room falls into complete silence.

My grip on Alec's hand tightens and my entire body stiffens to the point that I think I might shatter if someone were to touch me.

The soldier holding Mariena down grabs a fistful of her hair and forces her to look downward, exposing her neck to the sword about to be brought down on her.