Untitled chapter
With hearts filled with fear and anticipation, the people of Wheler lined up in the palace courtyard in front of the speech balcony, obeying the palace’s orders, which demanded them to gather. Their bodies froze because of the cold. All their senses were paralyzed by their preoccupation with the latest royal terror orders that would soon be issued.
Princess Claire (the king’s favorite granddaughter) looked at them from the balcony of the palace. She stood alone at the top, preying on everyone with her harsh gaze that struck terror into their hearts. With a graceful movement of her hand, her grandfather, the king, was dragged along and brought in front of them a few meters away from the first rows standing below. So, everyone seemed surprised.
He was brought out in chains and led by two men in black; they were black shadows moving with faces covered by frightening red masks that gave them a terrifying look. Their king (King Anjin), the king of cruelty, injustice, and tyranny, was being dragged by a group that called itself “Shadow Men.” Those men are the ones who fought the king and declared rebellion against his authority, monitored and fully supported by his beloved and dear granddaughter, Claire.
The two men looked up, awaiting her orders, and with a nod from her, the king was pulled up and ascended to the top of the palace to be thrown down from there; the screaming of the crowd started to go louder. The same scene was repeated six times. Then, she asked them to stop and to bring the others.
Saffin, Jacker, Williama, and ten others of the most brutal, cruel, and loyal guards of the king were monsters unleashed by the king to savage his people. They were stopped, shackled, in front of shreds of blood and flesh, which was an hour ago their cherished king. Saffin let out a cry of indignation and pain and began directing his words towards her:
“Claire, the wicked and traitorous, do not be overjoyed. You will never enjoy your crown as the fate of those like you is known. May you burn by the fire of your revenge and your anger, you are...”
But the sword of one of the Shadow Men was faster than his words; the melodies of swords hitting the necks of others followed drawing a painting titled (Loyalty between yesterday’s executioner and his men till the last moment in their lives) combining their rotten blood together.
Then, the crowds could now breathe out, as if the ugliness of what had happened had suppressed their breath and stopped it. In a state of mixed feelings between fear, panic, and joy, they could not believe that the tyrant’s era and his men ended, forgetting that the new era was staring at them intensely from the top of the palace balcony. At that moment, she made a few”word speech that shook the tranquility of their young souls and ignited terror in their hearts:
“I am Claire, Claire, the daughter of Lusito, Claire, the daughter of the mountain fox. I am from the Mahon, and these are my tribe.” (pointing towards the Shadow Men who were flocking in large numbers to the yard, and to those who started to appear on the balcony: Their faces were known to the people; they were men of the previous king and were pillars of the kingdom or so they deceived everyone).
She was silent for a while, letting her people swallow the amount of poison reaching their ears. She continued:
“I’m your worst nightmare, and you’re all now at my mercy.”
