My banished heart

Chapter two

"Darcee! Darcee wake up!" I felt someone's gentle but urgent hands shaking my forearm. "Darcee it's important." His deep voice bringing me back to reality.
"Aaron?" I said my eyes opening slowly. "What's wrong?"
"Darcee, it's me Archer. You need to come with me." He said his rough hard working hands slid into mine and he pulled me from the ground. "It's your dad, something has happened." He let go of one of my hands and started to run pulling my limp body behind him.

The sun was setting as we approached the castle, the warm wind from earlier had gone cold and harsh against my skin. Archer noticed the goosebumps along my arms and was quick to shunt his jacket off and wrap it round me. I was more alert now and I started to question why Archer was so panicked.
"Archer" I said my voice raspy from all the running. "What's going on?"
"I uh... He saw a girl in town being mistreated by some guards, he wanted to help her, he was just doing the decent thing but now he's been arrested for assaulting guards, he's on trial now with your so called lover, everyone in the village has been called to the courtyard." Archer looked at me straight in my eyes he knew what I was thinking and he knew what I was thinking was probably right.

The courtyard was filled with people, all of them screaming words of hatred.
"Archer, is he going to be okay?" I said in a low tone and I pressed my body close to his so I wouldn't get lost in the sea of hatred surrounding us.
"I don't know Cee, let's hope your Aaron sees some sense."
"Bring out the prisoner!" A deep voice cut across the crowd it was Aaron, I wanted him to look at me, for his eyes to tell me it was going to be okay but they didn't, he looked above the mob of people. "This day, the 13th day of July in the year of our lord 1226. This man, having been tried under law and being found guilty. Alan Scarlet has been sentenced to hang by a rope," he looked at me and then he quickly looked away and said "sentenced to hang until he is dead." I felt my heart drop to my stomach, my knees gave way and I fell to the ground. Archer was trying to help me up but I didn't respond to him trying to lift me, I lay on the floor, hearing the pounding of the drums, or was it my heart, both had increased in speed dramatically, but one of them came to an abrupt end, this triggered gasps and cries from the crowd, while the other kept beating so fast, I felt as if it were going to burst.

The noise started to fade away, in the corners of my vision things became blurry, my breath got shorter and slowly my eyes closed.