The Price of Magic

Chapter V

“Clara! Come quickly!” Clara awoke to loud pounding on the door to the pottery shop and the sound of Sir Matthew’s voice.

            She hurried downstairs to open the door and found him looking panicked. “What’s going on?”

            “It’s…Christopher,” Sir Matthew said. “Prince Simeon is having him publicly executed. Today.”

            Clara stared at the knight in horror. “He can’t do that! Christopher is innocent!”

            “Innocent or not, the Prince thinks he’s a sorcerer, so he’s going to have the poor man killed,” Matthew said. “Now look, I volunteered to come here and collect you and Donna. Simeon wants both of you to attend.”

            “So you’re here to arrest us and force us to watch Christopher get killed,” Clara said.

            “More or less, yes.” Sir Matthew looked behind him nervously. “Now come on, I did this to make sure neither of you got hurt.”

            Clara nodded. “Thank you,” she whispered. She let Sir Matthew come in the house, then shut the door. “We have to do something.”

            “There’s nothing I can do, Clara,” the knight said regretfully. “I’m sorry. I have no power over those types of things.”

            “You saved me,” Clara said. “You can save him.”

            “I’ll do what I can.”

            Just then, Donna came down the stairs, and froze when she saw Sir Matthew. “What are you doing here?” She demanded. “Haven’t you lot done enough to our family?”

            “I’m here by order of Prince Simeon to escort you and the girl to the village square for the public execution of the potter known as Christopher,” Sir Matthew said.

            “For the…what?” Donna looked horrified.

            “You didn’t tell her?” Matthew whispered to Clara.

            She shook her head slightly, then approached Donna. “We have to go with him, or they’ll kill us too.”

            Donna nodded, and she and Clara followed Sir Matthew outside. They walked in silence to the village square, with a soft but threatening breeze trailing behind them. Sir Matthew turned and gave Clara a look, warning her to control her powers. Clara glared back at him, telling him that she couldn’t. Not now. Not for something this extreme.

            The village square was packed with people, and each excited face Clara saw made her feel sick. She was disgusted that people thought executions were entertaining. Sir Matthew brought them to the front of the crowd, instructing them to stay there until the entire ordeal was over. He glanced at Clara, then turned and left.

            Clara grabbed Donna’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly. She hoped that Sir Matthew would be able to do something, anything, to save Christopher.

            The bells in the tower on the castle began ringing, signifying a public event going on in the square. A few moments later, Prince Simeon entered the square, flanked by two knights. He stood opposite the crowd, looking as conceited as ever. “Bring in the prisoner!” He ordered.

            Two knights came in, dragging Christopher. Clara could barely look. He looked awful, like he’d been in the dungeon for a month rather than a day. The knights shoved him against the execution block. Clara looked around for any sign of Sir Matthew. He was nowhere in sight.