My Princess

Chapter 24

Myra Pov

The sun has finally risen. Men retrieved me from my cage, they bind my hands behind me and put me into another cell being pulled by horses. People scream obscenities at me, throwing rotten fruit at me. I keep my head down.

We soon reach the gallows, a relatively new way of killing people here. Being strung up by the neck, some get lucky and snap their necks and die quick. While others flail around, choking to death.

The one thought comforting me is that Clara is safe and hopefully far away. All too soon I am pulled from the carriage and dragged up the steps towards the noose.

Once I am in the center of their stage the king comes and approaches me. He pulls out a piece of paper and begins to read.

"Myra, you have committed many crimes against this kingdom. This includes thievery, desertion, and even murder of the men that seek to protect you. Today you will answer for your crimes. As the king, I sentence you to death by hanging. Any last words?"

"Yeah. See ya in hell." I say. He scoffs.

The king then paces the noose around my neck and then tightens it. He walks away and sits on his throne. The executioner awaits the kings signal. The king then gives him a nod. The man then yanks the lever and I begin to drop.

But at the last second, someone had managed to cut the rope. So instead of being hung, I fall to the ground a few feet below me. Screams can be heard as an arrow flies through the air and pierces the executioner's eye. He falls to the ground, dead. People start to panic and knights start to come after me again. Then a couple dozen starts to charge them. The man who cut the rope then jumps down to me.

"Cronus. What the hell are you doing here?" I ask, furiously.

"Saving your ungrateful ass. Again." He replied. He takes the noose off my neck and cut the rope off my wrists.

"I gave my life so you and Clara could have yours. Why couldn't you make your peace with that?" I scream at him, hitting him in the process.

"Make my peace with that? How could I?" He looks me dead in the eye. "A while back, after I found you in the forest after saving Clara. You told me I had to choose who to fight for. That it was either you or my kingdom. I chose you, Myra. It has always been you."

I can feel tears pool in my eyes. I nod. He then hands me the dagger that I promised to kill the king with.

"How did you get this?" I ask him.

"I would do anything for you. " I reach out and hug him. I hold him close to me. He puts his arms around me. Then we break away from each other.

Cronus takes off fighting. I travel back up the steps towards the king. I fight off the men standing in my way. My rage taking complete control over my body. As I defeat the last one the king points his blade at me. This is the fight I have waited my whole life for. I tuck my dagger away and grab one of the dead knight's sword.

The king is skilled, he seems to easily deflect my hits, but I can manage to the same to his. But I can tell the king fights to survive while I fight to save everyone I love. I have the advantage because I can be more reckless.

But in a moment of my own poor judgment, he manages to disarm me. He brings his blade down on me but I grab it with my hand. The sword painfully cut into my skin and I can feel my own end coming.

I guess it's true when they say, that your life flashes before your eyes because in a second images start to appear in my head. Pictures of Althea, a kind lady that took me in when I had no one. My grandparents who offered me kindness before even knowing who I was. My real parents who died trying to give me a better life. Cronus, a boy who has continuously shown me his love, by saving me and always, no matter what having my back. And Clara, the girl that I had fallen in love with the first time I saw her, she went against her father, her kingdom, everything she held dear just for me. The one person who truly knew me inside and out and for some reason still loves me. The girl I will always try to save. My princess.

These people have gotten me so far, given up so much for me. They gave me the strength at this moment to keep fighting. As hard as I could I rammed my head against the kings he stumbles back to the ground. I kick the sword from his hand and stand above him. Circling him like he is my prayer.

The fighting has died down as people noticed the I have the upper hand on the king. They all look up to me. And Clara runs up to stand next to me.

"What are you waiting for?" The king asks. "Kill me."

"No," I say. He looks at me confused. "You were never mine to kill."

I pass over the dagger to Clara. She looks up me. I nod, reassuring her.

"Come on, Clara. I'm your father. You don't want to do this."

She grabs him by the collar of his shirt. "Oh, but I really do."

She punches him. "That was for staging the invasion." Punch "That was for having me kidnapped." Punch. "That was for killing Myra's parents." Punch. "That was for hurting Myra."

Then she plunges the dagger deep into his chest. "And that for killing my mother and this kingdom."

The king gasps for breath. I grab Clara pull her to my chest. I hold her as she sobs.

"It's okay. Everything is okay now." I reassure her. Stroking her long hair.

"Myra, I love you." She says and presses her lips against mine. We continue kissing until I see movement out the corner of my eye.

In the king's dying moment he managed to grab his sword and he charged right for Clara. I push her behind me at the last second. The king finally falls to the ground dead. But as I look down I see that his sword has buried itself into my chest.