The Execution Order
1221 Words
Rain battered the narrow windows of the prison when Veyra woke.
For a few seconds, she didn't remember where she was.
Then she saw the iron bars.
Her stomach tightened.
The memories returned all at once.
The Black Moon.
Her father's rejection.
Celestia's cruel whisper.
Cassian ending their engagement.
Veyra sat up slowly.
She had cried until exhaustion finally took her, but the tears were gone now. Something inside her had become strangely quiet.
She no longer wanted to beg.
The prison door suddenly opened.
Three guards entered.
The one in front carried a sealed parchment.
Veyra immediately stood.
“What is that?”
The guard avoided her eyes.
“An order from His Majesty.”
He broke the seal.
“By decree of King Aldric Lunareth, Princess Veyra Lunareth has been sentenced to death for the practice of forbidden magic, conspiracy against the Crown, and endangerment of the kingdom.”
Veyra stared at him.
The words seemed impossible.
“Death?”
The guard continued.
“The execution will take place tomorrow at sunrise in the Royal Square.”
Veyra's fingers slowly curled.
“You didn't even give me a trial.”
“The evidence was deemed sufficient.”
“What evidence?”
The guard handed her a copy of the charges.
Veyra scanned the document.
Her name appeared beside accusations she had never heard before.
She supposedly entered a forbidden chamber beneath the palace.
She supposedly attempted to curse members of the royal family.
She supposedly used dark magic to manipulate Prince Cassian.
Then Veyra noticed something that made her blood run cold.
The document claimed the incidents had happened before the Black Moon appeared.
She looked up.
“Who wrote this?”
“The royal investigators.”
“That's impossible.”
The guard frowned.
“Why?”
“Because the first accusation says I used forbidden magic three nights ago.”
She pointed at the page.
“Three nights ago, I was at the northern village.”
The guard remained silent.
“I was there with the royal physicians. The village had an outbreak of fever. I spent the entire day helping them.”
“I don't know anything about that.”
“Then ask the physicians.”
“They have already given statements.”
Veyra's eyes narrowed.
“What did they say?”
The guard hesitated.
“They said you never visited the village.”
Veyra felt a chill run through her.
“That isn't true.”
“I know.”
The guard's eyes flickered toward the other two soldiers.
Veyra noticed.
“You know?”
The man immediately looked away.
Before she could question him, another voice came from the corridor.
“Leave us.”
The guards straightened.
A royal investigator entered.
He carried another folder.
Veyra recognized him immediately.
“You.”
He stopped in front of her.
“You were here yesterday.”
“Yes.”
“You showed me those forged documents.”
His expression tightened.
“They aren't forged.”
“They are.”
Veyra stepped toward him.
“You expect me to believe that I was in two places at once?”
The investigator opened the folder.
“No.”
He pulled out a small piece of parchment.
“We expect you to explain this.”
Veyra took it.
Her face changed.
It was a letter addressed to Cassian.
The handwriting looked exactly like hers.
The letter claimed she had discovered Cassian's secret relationship with another woman and threatened to curse him if he ended their engagement.
Veyra looked up in disbelief.
“I never wrote this.”
“The handwriting has been verified.”
“Then someone copied it.”
“Your seal is also present.”
“My seal can be stolen.”
The investigator studied her.
“You're accusing someone inside the palace?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Veyra hesitated.
She thought of Celestia.
Then she remembered the words whispered against her ear.
You should have stayed dead.
Her eyes hardened.
“My sister.”
The investigator's expression barely changed.
“You're accusing Princess Celestia?”
“I don't know what she has done.”
“But?”
Veyra looked directly at him.
“But she knows something about this.”
The investigator closed the folder.
“Interesting.”
“Why?”
“Because Princess Celestia gave us a statement this morning.”
Veyra's heart sank.
“What did she say?”
“That you threatened her.”
Veyra stared at him.
“When?”
“The night before the coronation.”
“That never happened.”
“She claims you told her that if she ever tried to take your place, you would destroy her.”
Veyra felt anger replacing her fear.
“I would never say that.”
The investigator moved closer.
“She also claims you became increasingly unstable in the weeks before the coronation.”
Veyra suddenly laughed bitterly.
“So that's the story?”
“Apparently.”
“She wants everyone to believe I hated her.”
“I didn't say that.”
“But you're going to use her statement against me.”
He didn't deny it.
Veyra looked down at the papers.
Everything was connected.
The forged letters.
The false witnesses.
The altered records.
Cassian's accusation.
Celestia's testimony.
Someone wasn't simply trying to destroy her reputation.
They were building a case designed to make her death look justified.
The investigator turned toward the door.
“The execution remains scheduled for tomorrow.”
“Wait.”
He stopped.
“If I am going to die tomorrow, at least tell me one thing.”
He looked back.
“Why is everyone so afraid of the Black Moon?”
For the first time, genuine uncertainty crossed his face.
“You really don't know?”
Veyra's heart began pounding.
“Know what?”
The investigator stared at the mark beneath her collarbone.
Then he quietly said,
“The last person who carried that mark didn't die.”
Veyra froze.
“What happened to them?”
The investigator's expression changed.
“They disappeared.”
Before Veyra could ask another question, he walked out.
The prison door slammed shut.
Veyra stood completely still.
The last person.
Someone had carried the Black Moon before her.
And someone in the palace knew about it.
She looked down at the dark crescent beneath her skin.
For the first time, she wondered whether the mark wasn't the reason they wanted her dead.
Perhaps it was the reason they were afraid to let her live.
A sudden metallic sound came from beneath the floor.
Veyra frowned.
She stepped closer.
Another sound.
Clink.
Something had been pushed through a narrow gap between the stones.
Veyra crouched and pulled it free.
A small black envelope lay in her hand.
There was no name on it.
Only a symbol.
A crescent moon surrounded by three claw marks.
Veyra's breath caught.
She opened the envelope.
Inside was a single sentence.
“If you want to know why they fear you, survive tomorrow.”
Veyra stared at the message.
Then she heard footsteps approaching the prison.
Not the guards.
There were too many.
The execution preparations had already begun.
And somewhere beyond those walls, someone was waiting to see whether Princess Veyra Lunareth would die tomorrow…
or finally discover why the entire kingdom wanted her dead.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD