The crowd gathered for their entertainment, swarming around the wooden stage held up high above the rest, spotlight bringing everyone's attention to the stand. Cheering, yelling and cursing sounded through the streets, bouncing off the cobblestone floor and enclosed by the buildings in the distance. The atmosphere didn't fit the occasion.
The royal guards marched; instruments sounded; the Royals arrived; all eyes turned on cue. This was the usual greeting they held for each other with no words or even gestures, nothing more than eye contact and the acknowledgement of their appearance. The law was pretty clear about the rule 'don't speak unless spoken to' when it came to royal, and fear kept it like that.
Oh, the Royals and how hated they were. They owned all the land in the kingdom yet did nothing with it. Poverty, diseases, and crime littered the majority of land. Yet the Royals lived without a care in the world, using taxes to fund their comfortable lives up in the grand palace. The authority who held power were corrupt and the rest lacked authority to correct the issues. It was the Royals who bought this upon the land from their ignorance and greed.
Not all hope was lost with the new generation, starting with the princess.
By no means was she perfect or did anyone know about her kind soul, constantly overshadowed by her bloodline. But that spark was there. That shard of hope that one day her kingdom would thrive. All it would take is a rebellion against her family and her speaking up, but that hadn't happened yet.
One after the other, criminals were brought to justice upon that wooden platform, killed in front of everyone in the middle of the street. The crime could have been anything from as minor as theft, escalating to murder and more. Any criminal offence resulted time on a cell then, and if unlucky, on that stage. Not all trials were fair, either, in fact most were wrongly accused and still put to death/ just the world they lived in.
Mixed within the sinners stood a young man, battered and bruised from head to toe. It wasn't an unusual sight, but it brought the unfairness of trials and how criminals were treat behind closed doors. James Smith his name was. A lively, boisterous lad, well respected for a poor peasant boy. He wore nothing but torn, baggy clothing which was more like cloth hanging off his shoulders. Blood stained and filthy. He could barely stand on his own two feet, beaten so badly and that poorly nourished for the past week or so.
He stood upon the stage, noose already decorating his neck. But enough was enough for the princess as she jumped to her feet. "Stop!" was her words in exclamation, hands balled up in fists and her face scrunched in anger.
All eyes turned once again, even the boy's tired gaze found itself upon her figure.
It was a shock to everyone, seeing a royal speak, let alone at such a time on such an occasion.
YOU ARE READING
Once Ever After
RomanceA wrongly accused criminal gets saved by a princess before his execution, but how will their world's change following that fateful day?
