I am Reborn through Revenge

My execution

I was woken up by the rattling and disturbing sound of iron clashing together. I squinted my eyes open, I saw that it came from the door to my cell. I was surprised that I had been sleeping throughout the night (even though I least expected it) and I couldn’t tell how long I had slept.

I knew it was time for my execution. I saw like five guards outside my cell and the large bearded warden who had been looking after me since the previous night was among the five men who were trying to open my cell to drag me out. I couldn’t recognize any of the other four men but they looked somewhat like the bearded guard, but the only difference was that they varied in heights smaller than the guard.

The door to my cell swayed open and they grabbed my hands. They lifted me like a child, holding me like I had planned to escape. I wouldn’t even try to run if I could because I wasn’t even prepared for it. I was so tired and useless at the moment. So, escaping was the last thing I was worried about. I was dragged through the long lobby until we got outside my quarters. I could feel my knee, it was so tired and worn out. I couldn’t keep up with their paces. I had to struggle to maintain my balance and follow them up immediately because I didn’t want to be dragged on the floor. I simply didn’t want to die before I could reach the stake.

I was expecting that I would be killed publicly because that would be more embarrassing, or rather more humiliating. I knew they would also want my death to serve as a deterrent to other citizens of Zahrin as well. If a Prince could be killed publicly, then what about an ordinary citizen?

I was never a popular figure in Zahrin but I guessed I was about to be popular on the day of my death. It was kind of funny to me. I wished it wasn't going to happen. But I realized that it was the reality and there was nothing I could do about it.

While I was being dragged away by the guards, we took a different route. I became very confused. Instead of taking me outside the palace, it was the total opposite of what I had expected. I was dragged to some kind of place within the palace. I wasn’t exactly sure where I was being taken to and I wasn’t in a position to ask any questions. A thought jumped into my head immediately.

What if Nightwinder had instructed the men to kill me somewhere isolated? Why would I be taken to another place that wasn’t the public stake if he wasn’t planning to kill me secretly?

If not that it was useless to ask the guards where I was being taken to, I would have done it. But it would be a waste of time so, I had to conserve the little energy I had left. I was taken to a place I believed was the investigation unit department of Zahrin.

The complex was surrounded by a tall fence around it. When we came inside the compound, I saw few more guards stationed in a brilliant position everywhere. Just opposite me was somewhere like a stage where I saw around four-five empty seats. Then there were like two guards, one at the far end of the left side of the stage and one at the other end. The seats separated the distance between them. I was dragged through the middle of the compound and all eyes were on me. I was dragged until I was brought to the front, just on top of the roofed stage. I saw some guards closing the main entrance from which I had entered. The investigation unit was in the palace but it was in the outskirts so if the gates were closed, you can no longer come in from the outside except you are inside the palace— there would be a door that would lead you there.

Everything now began to make sense to me. Even though Nightwinder wasn’t expecting witnesses but he wasn’t willing to take any chances. If I had been taken to the stakes instead, of which would be more open than this private execution. A witness might even appear who could testify on my behalf. But Nightwider doesn't want this to happen and as he said, the only thing that could save me was if I had a witness. But if I was to be executed in the investigation unit where few and selected persons would be allowed to enter then where would the witnesses come from?

I immediately became aware that my death had been properly planned and Nightwinder would make sure that there would be nothing I would do to escape from the current predicament. I was kneeling when I saw Nightwinder and five more Knight emerged from a side door along the fence on the right side of the spacious compound. I was able to recognize Knight Brant among them. The whole soldiers in the compound including the ones that dragged me bowed as Night appeared. He went straight to the seat, made himself comfortable at one armchair in the middle. Then I saw Prince Young and Princess Diane coming through the same gate Nightwinder came out from. They also walked straight to the seats and made themselves comfortable. I looked at Diane first, she shot me a gleeful glance as my eyes caught hers. She then smiled and blinked at me. I knew exactly what that meant so I didn’t need any explanation.

I shifted my glance to Nightwinder. He had changed from the Knight's uniform to his royal robe. While the colour of his long robe was green, that of his brother was red and Diane was purple. After a while, he stood up and looked at me and I also looked back at him, I didn’t want to look away. He nodded and then looked away.

“Great people of Zahrin, I greet you all,” he said.

People of Zahrin? Or was it the soldiers of Zahrin? Maybe it was the slip of the tongue, I thought. Because all I could see were soldiers, no ordinary citizens.

“I have brought in your midst today, a killer who murdered one of the finest Knight Zahrin had,” he said, pointing at me. “Some of you may not know him. He is my half-brother, Prince Anon Fred Daz.” Then he stopped pointing. “Yesterday, when we were hunting in the forest of Zahrin, Knight Simon's life was cut short by this murderer of a Prince. It was. . . it was a shameful thing that a citizen of Zahrin would have the heart to murder another citizen and not just an ordinary citizen but a knight for that matter for no just cause.” He stopped and looked at me again but I still didn’t want to look away. He then closed his eyes and swallowed his spit. He developed a long, sad face set in an expression of regret or anger, I couldn’t exactly tell. Maybe he was seeking sympathy, I thought.

“But I am going to be neutral in my judgement. I am going to play by the rules and I will be fair. Therefore I am going to offer him the chance to clear his name. If he can be able to convince us or provide us with a CONCRETE reason why he did what he did then we might be able to reconsider his punishment but if not, then I will proceed with the pronouncement of his death sentence.”

I was surprised he said this but would that even make any difference? What can I possibly say to convince him? Asking me to convince the crowd was like giving a blind man a mirror to check if there is a speck of dirt on his face. Wouldn’t that be mockery?

Nightwinder looked at me and caught me smiling, almost chuckling. I could see the confusion on his face. Maybe it wasn’t what he had expected. Maybe he expected I would whine and cry like a baby. Maybe he expected that I would beg him to spare my life. To be on the safe side of history, I would have begged him only if begging him was going to save my life. But I was so sure that there was nothing I would do that would save me from his hands, just like what I told Brady. Begging him would even worsen the whole thing and I might be laughed at or made an object of ridicule.

“Don’t you have anything to say?” he asked, his voice was soft. Diane looked at me too, I knew she was wishing I wouldn’t even say anything. Young seemed like he wasn’t even bothered, he was just there to witness my death and nothing more. Then I looked, Brant, there was this look on his face that caught my attention. I didn’t know what it was but it just struck me. His eyes were just fixed on me and he wasn’t even looking at me when I looked at him.

I looked back at Night. “I have told you before. I didn’t plan to kill Simon. He is not my enemy, not my friend, not even closely related to me in any way. So why would I kill a man who had never done anything wrong to me? Why would I kill a man I barely knew? A man who I recently met and have no connection whatsoever with him? Does that sound reasonable?”

“Murderers aren’t reasonable. They don’t do reasonable things either. None of the things they do is justifiable.”

I chuckled. “Are you saying that I am a murderer?”

“Of course, that’s what the evidence is saying.”

“What evidence? Where is the evidence?” I asked him.

“C'mon Anon, you are going about this the wrong way.”

“No, answer me first.”

There was an unusual movement from the guards close to the fence. The side door along the fence wheeled open and then four heavy-looking strong palace guards emerged and then following them was Queen Veronica. She glanced at me from there and her eyes glittered darkly and she steadied it for a while before she peered away. Everybody present at the moment stood up. I also saw the maid who had lost her lost finger (Thanks to Veronica). I couldn’t remember her name or the name she had told me. Perhaps, it might be because of too much pressure on my head.

Then who was the third person? Who was the beauty behind the maid?

I saw Marie following the maid at the back. Her face was like that of someone who was stoned in the head. She frowned. Her gaze was just fixed, she didn’t bother to look at me. I thought I asked her not to come?

Everyone stood up except me until she went came to the stage. Nightwinder excused himself from the middle seat and Veronica went there and sagged down comfortably. The guards she came with circled her while Marie and the maid went to the far side. She gestured to Night with her head to continue.

Seeing her there gave me goosebumps. I became unnecessarily scared. My heart began to flutter in my chest. My mouth began to shake uncontrollably. My breaths became faster. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that my death sentence was not official and most probably certain.

“You haven’t been able to convince us that you aren’t the murderer of this fine Knight.”

“I. . . I never said that I didn’t kill him but I am saying that I didn’t try to kill him first.”

“Do you have any witnesses?” Queen Veronica asked. She still maintained her calm voice. I looked at her, there was a small line at the corner of her mouth. It appeared to me that she loved what she was seeing— it was no brainer to decipher.

But then, I didn’t know what to say to her. Who would be my witness? I noticed that the only thing that could save me was having a witness but where can I possibly get one? “I don’t think you have any witnesses, Prince Anon. I hope you understand how this works. If you have any witness who was present at the forest that yesterday when everything happened, then we might sort out something.”

“Mhh hmm.” Prince Anon agreed with her, nodding.

Since I knew there was no witness and there was nothing I could do to save myself from death, I decided to do one last thing— see the last thing I wanted. I ignored everything around me, instinctively blocking every background noise around me. I focused on Marie. I began to look at her until she looked back at me. She wasn’t smiling. I saw her cat eyes, they were looking more like an angry fox than they used to be. I wish what I saw in her eyes could be unseen. She looked horrible and I knew that was how it was going to be. And that was the reason why I asked her not to come here. I wouldn’t have been able to get hold of myself if Brady had been here too. The worst kind of feeling is seeing someone you love but yet there is nothing you can do to help them out.

I heard my name mentioned, I didn’t exactly know who called my name. Maybe because I was too busy thinking about Marie. “Didn’t you hear what my mother said or are you ignoring the Queen?” Nightwinder asked, I could almost hear him growl.

“Pardon?” I raised a brow. My knee was increasingly paining me. Kneeling and answering questions at the same time and for a long time was way more difficult than anyone would think. Because you have to be squinting up your eyes each time you want to reply to a question. Unless of course the person asking you questions squatted down to your eye level.

“In the absence of no reason for killing knight Simon and nobody to defend you, then I guess I. . .” Night was still saying when a voice chipped in.

“He has a witness.”

Who could say that? Everyone, including the Queen, glanced warily to the angle the voice came from. Then Knight Brant walked forward to the front, just opposite the Queen, and took a bow. “I, Knight Brant, the first son of Lord Nico would stand in the defense of Prince Anon.