Chapter One - Execution

At night, at Lord Garrick's garden, I was weeding and had blisters all over my hand and thunder rumbling in the sky like it's about to rain.

A guard came to me and said, ''Lord Sir Garrick wants to see you now.'' Then he left. ''He wants to see me after telling me to work in his garden all night. That's odd.'' I thought

Lord Garrick is the well-known, respected noble knight of the Lykos kingdom.

I went to his chamber, bowed my head, and greeted him. ''You sent for me, Lord Garrick,'' I said. Without saying a word, he stood up and went behind me.

I heard a heavy wooden door slam behind me, the iron lock clicking into place. The wind blew as the candlelight flickered, stretching long shadows as the wind blew.

I swallow a heavy gulp, fear gripping inside me.

I could smell him before I even turned and saw him coming closer, then I started moving backward till I felt the bed behind me. My pulse pounding like war in my ears

He was already closer, then I fell back to the bed, its silk sheet feeling like chains waiting to bind me.

He leaned down to me. ''Don't worry, Liora; sooner after this, I'll make you mine,'' he murmured in my ears. Why after this? Why not before this? He must be lying.

His hand was working all over my body, about to take off my dress, and then I felt hatred swallow my terror as he struggles with me. I quickly reach for a cold metal goblet on the table and hit his skull hard.

He stands back, groaning in pain.

He reached for me again, and this time he held me without mercy, holding my neck against the bed, removing my clothes while I was struggling with my breath.

I ducked low and grabbed the dagger from his belt and drove it up beneath his rib.

His breath hitched. His hand went slack. He looked down at the blade buried inside him, then looked back at me, eyes wide with disbelief.

''You…'' he choked as blood rushed out from his mouth onto my body.

I twisted the blade deeper, then he slumped.

I was fidgeting as I saw the blood all over my body. ''I need to get out of here.'' I wash the blood out of my body and jump outside through the window. A guard saw me coming, “Seize her," then the other guards came out.

I fell down to the ground, hurting my leg. I whimpered and groaned in pain. I couldn't make a move anymore, and then the guards caught me.

Two strong guards gripped my hand with force, pulling me through the palace corridor forcefully as I tried to remove my hand. I actually give up since they are stronger than me.

They chained my hands together at my back and took me to where the king and his subordinates are, and I kneel in front of the King, sweat dripping all over my body and my heart beating fast. Facing down, regretting what I did.

One of the guards stepped forward and bowed, then said, ''She's the one, my king. She killed Lord Garrick, the noble knight.''

''She did what!'' Alistair, the king's first son, exclaimed.

''How can you have the audacity to kill a noble figure of this kingdom? Do you know the consequences?'' the king said angrily.

''This is a heavy crime you have committed,'' the prime minister said. ''Even as a slave.'' The Duke said

'At least you should hear from me why…'' The king interrupted me. '' Silence!… At once. After committing such a great crime, you still have the courage to speak! You are just a slave, and we have nothing to hear from you.

''She has to be killed for killing Lord Garrick, by execution,'' Alistair said. The subordinates agreed, cheering him up and some throwing things at me.

The king gave me a cold glare. I think he doesn't recognize me so well. He killed my parent when I was ten and exposed them that they were witches, and my parents helped him a lot.

Although I come from the bloodline of witches, both of my parents were witches. Since my parents died, I ran to live with my aunt and her daughter, thinking she would take care of me and hide me. Instead, she beats me a lot and calls me a witch because she chooses not to practice any witchcraft and live a normal life and is always concerned about her petty business.

The time she ran out of money to training her daughter, she sold me out to Lord Garrick when I was eighteen for a handsome price.

I worked for him for two years always giving me hard labor and punishment and today I want to be executed for violanting the law of killing a noble figure.

There's no way I would kill him for no reason or intentionally, I killed him out of fear. He tried to rape me, through my process of struggling I pull a knife through his chest.

No one wants to hear me out because I am a slave. They ignore the law of sexual violence and self defence all because I am nothing to them just a helpless slave.

The guards pull me up to take me to the place where I would be executed. The people were throwing trash at me, yelling, It's not surprising my aunt isn't here; even if she's here, she will do nothing but make things worse for me.

As we were about to move, the king said, ''Wait…'' and everyone was quiet to hear him out.

''I have a greater punishment for her.'' The guards pushed me to the floor. ''She would get married to the second prince,'' he said, and then the crowd gasped. ''DAD!'' Alistair said.

The crowd murmured silently among themselves that I couldn't pick a word they were saying.

''That's my final decision,'' the king declared and left, then Alistair exhaled. ''Fine then, let's see if he accepts this decision or if she would still be

alive after the marriage,'' he said.