Silence fell on the courtyard as two hooded men stepped forward, one with a thick leather whip in his hands and the other with a sword. Alexander's face turned ashen when he saw the third hooded man that came in the circle holding a cat o nine. The led tipped whip was embedded with nails and glass! Lanie almost fainted in her husbands arms when she saw the weapons they were holding.
The judge stepped forward, and called out, "It is not with a happy tone that I make my announcement today, but it is my job to make sure that justice has been served. We have here today a sinner in the first degree, a young maiden who decided to give her purity to another without taking into consideration the crime in its self! Fornication is something we take very seriously on our lands, and it is important that it is dealt with accordingly, to secure the people of the MacCloud clan their peace of mind and to set an example." The judges face was beaded with sweat, and he pulled out a cloth napkin from his pocket and swiped it across his forehead before he continued with his speech. "It is most unfortunate that this young woman ruined her life and is now waiting to be flogged, or punished in the most severe way possible, by death of a sword."
Gasps from the crowd were heard across the courtyard, and the judge raised his hands in the air to silence everyone. "It will be left up to the people of the court to decide the form of punishment that is to be given. Those in favor of the leather whip please say aye!"
There were only a few who answered to that punishment. The judge continued, "Those in favor of the cat o nine?" He asked, and looked around the courtyard.
"Aye!" Over half of the crowd called out fiercely.
"Those who think her crime should be punishable by death speak now or forever hold your peace!" The judge called out in a loud and clear voice.
The rest of the people called out, "Aye!"
The judge swiped his forehead again with the cloth, and was thankful that there weren't enough votes for the death penalty, but the angry crowd wanted to see justice served, and although they chose not to behead her, they still wanted her to suffer with the cat o nine on her back which was a dreadful punishment in itself!
The tallest of the three hooded men who held the leather whip in his hands, threw the whip to the ground and hooked his fingers inside Katerina's gown by the neckline, ripping the back of the material and exposing her bare back all the way down to her waist. The MacCloud brothers huddled together and felt the stabbing pain in their hearts that their sister had to go through this torture, but it was out of their hands, the law is the law!
The hooded man with the sword in his hand, walked away, secretly glad that the people did not push for the death penalty. The beautiful woman on the ground that was tied to the pole did not deserve to die! He thought, as he disappeared to the back of the castle and cried his heart out. He had a daughter the same age as Katarina and his heart went out to the MacCloud family.
The last hooded man, who held the cat o nine stepped forward, he was a ruthless mean bastard who gained pleasure in his loins with what he was about to do. When he was hand picked to perform this duty, he daydreamed about the day he would use the cat o nine. He knew that once his job was done he will run home as fast as his legs will take him, and masturbate, for pain in others ignited a fire in him that left him weak with desire!
"This will mark the first time on our lands that we will use such a weapon, and because the cat o nine has nails and glass at the tips, and the damage will be severe, there will be only ten lashes unless someone calls out for mercy! The law requires silence throughout the process, anyone steps out of line, three more lashes will be added to the already existing ones! The family members are to be held back by the guards because it will be much too difficult to watch." The judge said.
