The crowd gathered in the courtyard of the castle in front of a balcony. The Queen stepped out with a Black ball gown and veil hiding her eyes. Her hands were one over the other in front of her. The crowd quieted down as the Queen spoke loudly.
Citizens of Cargin, I have terribly sad news today. Our King has been Killed. Murdered by a vile and despicable person! We are grateful to say that we know who the culprit is and that we have her in our custody! I have been sworn in as the new Queen and I have decided that the punishment for this traitor will be public execution at the sun’s highest point today.”
* * *
The sun was exposed: light blue occupied the vast sky. It beamed hard down on the courtyard, scorching the dirt-covered ground. There was a raised platform that housed a large guillotine, which was surrounded by farmers and their wives, journeymen and anyone willing to watch a public execution. Their dirt and oil covered faces lit in excitement from bloodlust when a pale faced young woman in tattered clothing, limped towards the execution site. Adam and a Royal Guard stayed glued to her heels, nudging her along with the hilt of his sword. Dirt flew into the air as she plunged forward into the ground. She coughed, trying to turn over without the usefulness of her hands that were tied tightly behind her back.
“Rise!” Adam yelled angrily. He yanked the slight rope hanging from her arms, pulling the prisoner to her knees. One by one the prisoner’s bare feet paralleled against the dirty, rock filled ground. She kept her eyes fixated on the ground as she approached the sea of faces. A small child suddenly darted from the crowd and hurled a rotten apple towards her face. It splattered adding ruin to her already torn clothes: the rest of the apple resting in the dirt. She stopped, closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and looked onto the child with that powerful anger that the Cargin Royal Family solely possessed. A frail woman kneeled with the child and looked onto the prisoner with respect and fear. The woman slightly bowed her head and moved back in line with the rest of the crowd.
The Prisoner began to step fourth onto one of the three steps until reaching the top of the guillotine. Her back was toward the crowd.
Traitor! Murderer!
Adam stood next to her holding a scroll and looking toward an empty booth.
The booth sat in front of the guillotine partly shaded by the canopy. A line of people dressed in black from head to toe filled the booth. The Queen was among them fanning away with a black lace fan. Her eyes, until her nose, were shrouded with a lacy black veil and her hands in lace black gloves. The Queen’s smooth black dress touched the tops of her shoes and hugged her breast pushing them up.
She looked at the guillotine frowning her mouth in disgust.
Killer! Pest! Demon!
The Queen raised her hand to hush the spectators.
“Guard!”
The Guard nodded, opening the scroll.
“Gina, former Princess of Cargin, you are being executed for treason! You have committed the ultimate crime of killing our late King, your Father. Your punishment has been decided by our new Queen Trina and will be carried out by Guillotine! Our Queen has graciously allowed you to say a last word to this world! Speak!”
Traitor! Witch! Kill her! Kill the traitor!
She began to clinch her fist tightly, slowly turning towards the Queen’s booth. Her eyes began to fill with tears dripping from her dark brown eyes. Her dusty brown hair was pulled to the back: a few strands hanging, caught by the slight breeze. She began to open her mouth, taking in a deep breath her lips quivering.
“I love Cargin and all of its people!” she said as tears began to rush down the sides of her cheeks.
Liar! Traitor!
The Guard began to force the Prisoner to the guillotine. He pushed her body forward against a vertical board that swiveled horizontally just enough to hold her body in place. The Royal Guard grabbed the Prisoner’s brown hair and forced her neck into a semi-circular piece and joining it’s mate by pressing down on it and latching them together to keep the Prisoner’s neck still. The Guard moved to the side of the guillotine where the release handle was. He stood still awaiting his Queens orders.
“This woman killed our King!” The Queen began. “This woman you may recognize as my sister Gina! She was exiled just two years ago from this land because of her violent ideas of war with our neighboring Kingdoms! Our father disliked her ideas and tried to teach Gina peaceful ways of dealing with our issues. Unfortunately, Gina did not learn from our wonderful Father and gave an order that took many innocent lives in the war with Drawten Kingdom. She selfishly took away our King’s life and many other Fathers, Brothers, Sisters, and Mothers. Even children. Gina needs to be stopped and now is when we’ll do so! Here in Cargin where it all began we will bring her to Justice!”
The crowd roared at the Queen’s speech and began to chant, ‘kill her’ harmoniously. Objects flew in the air; the Prisoner closed her eyes and braced herself for them to hit her face. The Queen sat down in her shaded booth and lifted her veil over her head. She nodded signaling the Royal Guard to begin.
The Guard was dressed in a black robe that only his eyes showed through. He pulled a lever on the side of the guillotine and the blade fell quickly severing the Prisoner’s head from her body before anyone knew it. The Queen began to pull down her veil taking one last glance at her sister’s lifeless body with that same vindictive smile.
