Burn the witch

Burn the witch - Lethe Creed

It was a normal afternoon, well at least for everyone else. I was stuck in the back of a carriage, my hands and legs bounded up. I watched as people walked by, doing business, gossiping, or just having fun. Nobody noticed us, but sooner or later, they'll see me. I'm not in the greatest situations at the moment. I was on my way to face death straight in the eyes. This was all happening because of a certain blonde that had to make assumptions.

You see, I don't come from the greatest family. My family was born criminals. My uncle is the worst of us all. He destroyed the Ford's castle, otherwise known as Qapis. He's caused so many others harm- and was beheaded by Queen Iz, herself. I remember that day clearly...

Zander came barreling into our cottage, breathing heavily.
"They finally caught him. They caught the bastard. Queen Iz is about to behead him-"
Our cottage froze and we all exchanged looks. My father's face went pale. I could see the panic in his eyes. Then life entered everyone. We didn't have time for horses. We ran. RAN. I didn't know how to feel about all of this. To feel happy or sad. Maybe both? I guess I was happy the bastard was getting what was coming for him, but... I felt sad because I didn't know what my father would do. He loved his brother dearly and would do anything for him. I didn't want my father to suffer again after... the burning. We lived on the outskirts of Luphate. As we got closer to Luphate, we heard the shouts.
"Behead him!"
"Rot in hell!"
"Kill him!"
Insults being thrown at... my uncle I assumed.
We reached the back of the group and stood on our tippy toes, looking around. Finally, we spotted the scene. My uncle, Brennen was smiling at everyone. He already had his head on the chopping block. His eyes were replaying all of the bad things he did. It's like I could hear the suffering from all the people he killed.... Then the axe was lifted and it was Queen Iz. Zander wasn't wrong. After all, my uncle killed her best friend, Markus Ford. The greatest kingdom duo. Luphate took a fall in power since the destruction of Qapis.
I saw Iz's mouth move, "Rot in hell you bastard!"
CHOP
A clean cut. Brennen's head fell into the crowd. Everyone hollered in joy while my family stayed quiet. We watched everyone leave and stood there, taking in the horrific sight. The blood was still pouring out of Brennen's neck, covering parts of the stage in a crimson red. His body laid there, lifeless. My father fell to his knees, bursting into tears.

That day was only the beginning of chaos. Later, my father was beheaded. He was an innocent man... Yet when they found that out, it was already too late. He was beheaded at Luphate as well. He left my brother and I alone. We tried our best to gather dosh. Grabbing every job that opened. In the end, things got worse. My cousin married a prince. She had become queen and left her family in the dust. She later murdered her husband and became a fierce widow. She rules over the most wicked land and has the greatest knights around. She was close to destroying that stupid blonde's castle. I was hoping she would, only a little.

Then the burning sparked into my mind, igniting my emotions. The memory was crystal
clear.

The day my mother was accused of being a witch.... They took her in the middle of the night and dragged her to the stake. They quickly tied her up and then the group gathered. My family was trying to stop everyone but they threatened to put us on a stake too. I was only around 7 at the time. The crowd was chanting, "Burn the witch!" Nobody seemed to realize this was an innocent woman. A mother of two children. A woman who had her whole life ahead of her. Then it lit ablaze. The fires licked at my mother's feet then consumed her whole body. Her skin began to melt and her screams were... terrifying. The flames kept feeding off of her. Minutes passed and her screaming stopped.... She was dead, I was sure of it.

I heard tears fall on my dress. I noticed my tears falling quickly and blurring my vision. I tried to look outside and nothing seemed clear. I wiped my eyes but the tears kept coming.
Stop feeling. Why can't I stop feeling things? Why do I have to be so pathetic?
I shook my head and the carriage came to a halt. I wiped away my tears as best as I could and straightened myself. I took a deep breath and put on an emotionless face. The opened the carriage door and grabbed my shoulder. They threw me out of the carriage, making me collide with the gravel road. I could feel little rocks digging into my face. They picked me up by my arms and dragged me along to death row.

"The little witch seems upset."

"I wouldn't be surprised, she probably didn't get her magic in time to save her."

"Her magic wouldn't save her. I'm sure we'd still find a way to burn her."

"You're probably right."

"Plus, she doesn't have anyone to save her. Most of her family has been beheaded or is rotting."

"Wasn't that Brennen, the killer of Markus Ford related to her?"

"Apparently."

They acted like I wasn't there. When they mentioned my uncle, I wanted to break out of these ropes and kill them with my bare hands. I never wanted to hear my uncle's name again.
As they dragged me down the road, I heard the crowd chanting already.

"Burn the witch! Burn the witch!"

The stake was now in view and I was soon tied to it. I observed the crowd.

I saw nobody I knew except a certain blonde in the front.

Sarah.

Princess Sarah, or should I say Mor?

She was wearing peasants clothing, blending in nicely. Her expression was hard to read. I couldn't tell if it was happy, sad, angry, or confusion? I was surprised she wasn't fully happy, after all this was her doing. She convinced everyone I was a witch. Now I wish I was.

I would love to turn their chanting to screams.

Then I heard a spark, the fire began to feast. It started at my feet then crept up my dress. The pain was terrible but I wouldn't scream. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction they wanted. As the fire kept feasting upon my skin, I looked at the sky. I pleaded with my eyes to give me another chance. Another chance at life. It's not my time. It can't be!

Then everything began to blur. My thoughts, my vision. The smoke was filling my lungs. I knew my last breath was soon, but then I felt cold. I didn't feel warmth anymore. I gasped for air as the smoke disappeared. I didn't know what was happening until I heard it.
A hissed growl. Loud and clear.
Screams filled the air. I looked back down at the crowd. People were running into each other, others seemed frozen to death, others were frozen in fear.

What is happening?..

I couldn't help but ask myself this, then I realized the flames were gone. All I saw was ice.

Ice? But how?

Then I heard the hissed growl again. Frost was launched at the people that were chanting a few seconds ago. Everyone who was wishing death upon me was now... running for their pathetic lives. I smiled slightly. My wish was granted.

The ground shook a little and my savior appeared. A large white scaly creature with black and purple sections on its head, neck, wings, tail, and legs. It's eyes were an icy blue which seemed to glow in its sunken black sockets. Jagged black horns covered its head and back. It's wings were tattered, and its tail looked like a sharp dagger.

It was destroying everyone in their path but me. I didn't know if I should feel fear or happiness.

Its tail swung around and knocked the stake down. I collided with the ground once again but the ropes broke. I quickly got up, shivering. I could see my own breath and it slowly started to snow. My body ached and was suffering from burns. The cold was only making it worse. Once the creature stopped releasing frost on everyone, it turned its attention to me. It watched over and sniffed me. It froze and I thought this was it. I was about to freeze to death but the creature bowed in front of me. It started to flap its wings, making me fall to the ground. It flew off and out of my sight. I sat there, shocked for a moment but got up again. I realized how many bodies were laying on the ground. I had to leave quickly until I heard a familiar voice.

"Le, we have to go!"

~ Thank you for reading! I may add more parts but it all just depends. Hope you enjoyed this short story! ~