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*:･ﾟ☥･ﾟ:*
THE STALE, WARM AIR OF Cairo prison did little to calm Alexandria's nerves as the Carnahan siblings followed the prison warden deeper into the yard and onto the stalls overlooking the dreaded wooden post.
She had never seen a man die, and quite frankly, she hoped today would not be that day either.
The guards mustered the rest of the prisoners behind the fence to watch justice being delivered to the American prisoner they met only minutes before, like a flock of sheep on a gunpoint.
Hundreds of filthy prisoners stared down, cheering and spitting as the hangman's noose was draped over O'Connell's head and cinched tight around his neck. Every gust of sound continued to turn Alex's stomach.
Feral and wild, those were the only words with which she could describe the morbid ecstasy in which the prisoners called for the demise of one of their fellow inmates. Alex never abhorred the human nature as in that moment.
The sisters followed the warden onto a balcony above the gallows, ignoring the preying eyes watching their every move. Suddenly, the unpleasant man stopped and turned around, screwing his face in a grimace.
"No women allowed," the warden crossed his arms, hoping to get rid of the two. Though they were beautiful to look at, the women proved to be a nuisance and far too nosy for his taste.
They rolled their eyes almost in unison, pushing past the warden with determination. "We are English women."
Though confused and annoyed, the warden shrugged in exasperation, sitting down next to them.
"How about we make a deal? I will give you one hundred pounds to spare his life," Evelyn offered, glancing ever so slightly at the commotion in the lower parts of the arena. They were this close to a great breakthrough and she'd be damned if she'd allow anything, even a death sentence, stand in her way.
The Egyptian simply snorted, dismissing her offer with a wave of hand. "I would pay one hundred pounds just to see him hang,"
"Two hundred pounds," the librarian pressed on. What was the cost of human life? It seemed the things that mattered the most held the least value in the eyes of people.
Alex craned her neck, looking down into the pit. The hangman was tying a noose around O'Connells neck, but the American stood still. She watched as his eyes scanned the faces in the crowd before they finally landed on her own. I will not let you die today, she wanted to tell him, and all her determination and hope she tried to pour in that look, cut short by the warden's command.
"Proceed!" The vile man waved his hand to his hangman, sealing the American's fate.
"Three hundred pounds!" Alexandria snapped back into reality, almost chuckling painfully as the hangman turned to the condemned with one last question.
