Will it be forever?

Chapter 19: The Execution

Astrid's POV

"Get up, prisoner, it's execution day!" A guard announced loudly as he slammed his fist against the iron door to my cell.

My eyes fluttered open as I was met by the lovely sight of the ceiling. I kept my gaze on it for a while as a million thoughts swiveled through my mind.

368 days. I had spent 368 days of my life in captivity, and it was going to end in captivity as well. How I wished I could be free again, how I wished I could feel the wind blowing through my hair as Stormfly and I soared through the skies, how I wished I could feel that rush of adrenaline I got from cliff jumping just one more time, how I wish I could feel my heart race in my chest as I laid eyes upon the one person in this world I cared most about.

I glanced over at the markings on the wall, they barely filled half of it. I let out a sigh as I got out of bed, already in the final stages of accepting my inevitable death, as I made my way over to the heavy, iron door. As soon as I stepped close to it, the door flew open, revealing two guards who were waiting to escort me wherever Dagur had planned to execute me.

The two guards took a tight hold of my arms as they forced me forwards, leading me through the many halls and doorways of that made up the Berserker Fortress before we eventually came up on a large courtyard. Tall and thick stone walls surrounded the courtyard, which looked just as bland as the dark dirt that covered the ground. The only thing that stood out in the massive courtyard was the large wooden platform in the middle of it, where Dagur had gathered with his men beside an executioner's block, which for seemed to have my name written all over it.

I gulped as my eyes were glued to the short wooden block with carved in dents both in the front and the back. Just a few short minutes later, my head was going to be rolling off that block, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I glanced down at my hands, which were shaking violently as my legs refused to move. I admit it, I wasn't as ready to die as I thought I would be.

It was impossible not to notice Dagur's wicked grin as the guards pushed me past him and forced me down on my knees before the block. One of the guards forcefully grabbed a hold of my neck before forcing it down on the block and flipping my hair over my shoulder, as to allow the executioner a cleaner cut. The other guard tied my hand up behind my back as he made sure I stayed down.

I took a deep breath as the sound of an axe grinding against a whetstone filled my ears, which sent my heart racing in my chest as my cheeks were beginning to feel damp. I blinked away the tears that welled in my eyes as I desperately tried to catch my breath, so that I could at least have a small chance of enjoying my final moment.

After I had a second to calm down, the sound of an axe being sharpened behind me still filling my ears, I glanced up at the sky above, which had been filled with ominous dark clouds that shielded for the sunlight I so desperately craved. But it was as I was busy watching the sky that the sound of an axe being sharpened, seized, and I was forced to face reality yet again, it was officially time for my death.

Heavy footsteps came up behind me as I could feel my entire body trembling with fear. Gods, how I hated the thought of going out like some coward. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed large, black boots stop beside me, followed by the sound of a heavy and presumably large axe being raised.

I bit down on my quivering lip as I tried to pull myself together, if that was how I was going to die, on an executioners block as Dagur the Deranged and his men watched, I sure as hell wasn't going down a shivering and shaking mess. So I steeled myself, a determined look in my eye as I calmly rested my neck on the block.