The last swordmaster's heir (BL)

Chapter 1 S2

Under a sky of ashes, a huge crowd had gathered at the foot of the cliffs that lined the plateau behind the town. All eyes were riveted on the half-height mound overlooking the assembly. A platform had been set up on this outcrop of flat ground amidst the vertiginous rockfalls that plunged into the ground on either side. A huge wooden pole was planted in the middle of the platform.

The glowing sun made the scene seem like the end of the world. A gust of wind blew away a few tufts of dry grass that stuck to the rock walls. The crowd murmured, impatient to witness the highlight of the show they had come for.

They didn't have long to wait. Appearing on the narrow path that had been carved out of the rock to reach the natural platform, a procession appeared to the clamour of the cheering crowd. At its head was a bearer of a yellow and red standard with a dragon symbol on it. Behind him followed a richly dressed woman, followed by two children dressed in the same high-quality fabric. They made their way to the dais where they were seated ceremoniously on the thrones provided for them. The maids who followed them trotted up to stand behind them, their heads bowed so that their faces could not be seen.

The crowd applauded vigorously before coming to a halt when the noblewoman raised her hand. Silence fell immediately. A few seconds passed before a group of guards appeared, flanking a woman dressed in a torn and dirty dress, her hands clasped in irons that she could barely wear. Suddenly, the crowd began to boo. Stones fell on the path and the woman tripped over one of them. With a violent blow to the chain that linked him to the prisoner's irons, he propelled her onto the platform. The young woman fell and scraped her knee, unable to resist the force of the blow.

The crowd rejoiced. Lifted by force, she was dragged to the wooden stake to which she was firmly tied, her hands behind her back. No sooner had the guards moved to the side of the platform than a scream ripped through the air, which was too thick for the early afternoon. All heads turned towards the creature that had done it. A huge dragon with grey-green scales flew through the air and landed at the other end of the platform. There it let out another shriek so powerful that the ears of everyone in the audience twitched.

The woman smiled a cruel smile that showed how much she was enjoying the spectacle. The dragon sniffed at the woman tied to the post before growling loudly. The prisoner did not flinch. It was then that the noblewoman rose and approached the front of the platform, passing between the dragon and the prisoner.

She calmed the jubilant crowd who were demanding games and blood. Raising her hands to her shoulders, she spoke in a loud voice to be heard by all.

-Today is the day we punish the sinner! She has committed the intolerable, she has touched the royal family! This woman must be punished!"

The crowd cheered her words like an unleashed monster.

-You will all be witnesses to her judgement! After falling from grace, her life will be taken from my hand as it should be for daring to mislead my husband, the late king! And to conceal her actions, she took his life with her own hands! This traitor must die for the atrocity she has committed!"

Again, as if magically activated by the speaker's words, the crowd howled their agreement and hatred as one man.

-Our family does not tolerate lies and murder! The serious crimes of which she has been duly found guilty by our court must be paid for with the maximum sentence. She lived in perversion, she will die in shame! I offer her death to you, who have called for her death to be made public! It is here and now that the life of Lycanthe d'Ensra comes to an end, and to complete the punishment, death will be given by the dragon of the fallen dragonrider, Feyïrs!