Antithesis

Lover has Humour

        With her shovel in my hand, I could finally see the trail in the grass marking where she'd been. I followed it, gasping when I saw it open up wider. They found her. My Katherine was going to be burned...No. I stood up straighter. I will not let them lay a hand on her. 

        I started jogging, following the blindingly obvious trail. And why wouldn't it be? It was well-known that if you break the rules, you're punished, so why hide it? Why hide the fact that you are going to tear someone's heart into a hundred thousand pieces, why hide the fact that you are punching a hole in someone's soul? 

        I could see another distant flame, bobbing and weaving along the trail ahead. I pushed myself faster, hoping they didn't hurt her yet. My body was screaming in agony, but I held on to Kaherine's shovel and wrapped the shawl tighter around me and went on, following the erratic light. 

        When the trail was about to open up into a clearing, I stopped and hid behind a tree, watching as they lit up a bonfire higher than my head. A dark shape was outlined against it, holding up a box. Three more shapes were outlined, two standing and holding on to a third, kneeling, one. Katherine. Even from here I could recognize her profile, sharp cheeks and deep eyes, the profile of a true artist. Her hair was tossed about by the wind, dark wispy strands creating a black halo around her. 

        I crouched, breathing lightly so they would not hear me. A deep voice boomed out, the dark tones of the Establishment leader echoing around me until I thought I was going to suffocate.

        "Katherine Heiress, you kneel here convicted of treason." He said, holding the box up like some kind of holy object. "You have disobeyed the laws of natural love, and have committed an atrocity. Do you dare deny this?"

        She raised her head high. "No." Her voice rung like silver bells. 

        "Do you have any objections to me opening the box?"

        "No."

        "Very well then." He passed the box to someone behind him, the edges of his shape blurry enough for me to not get a good look at him. I squinted anyways, but gave up. He worked his way through the locks on the box, and then handed it back the to Establishment leader. He started reading the letters inside. 

        Dear my love, I could see the letter in my mind's eye, I must confess I love you to the ends of the Earth and back. I've written a song for you, one that I'll play in the village square tonight. The men will think it's for them, but you know better, don't you? I miss you, even though it's only been a few hours since we last saw each other. I'll see you tonight, my sweet, and we will revel in decadence with our little secret. Good bye, my love. 

        My body was frozen as he read the letter out-loud, the first of a dozen that we wrote between us. After we broke up,I stuffed every single one of them in that box and sent it to Katherine.She must have kept it all this time, maybe even rereading each one over and over again the way I did for three days after she left me, memorizing each swirl and dash in each written confession. 

        "It is clear to us all here, that she has broken the law." The leader boomed out again. "So what shall we do now?" He paced in front of the fire, his shoulders crossing in front of Katherine, blocking my view of her, and then going back and forth. Blocking, distracting. What was he doing?

        My breath stopped as I realized, and I turned around right before a pair of hands grabbed me roughly and forced me up. Another pair wrapped a shirt around my eyes, and I recognized the scent. Thomson. His voice whispered in my ear, "I'm so sorry." before he pushed me into the clearing. Blind, I stumbled, my world disoriented.