"Mother!" A strained voice called desperate to stop the woman in her tracks.
"Mother!" She called again, "Where are they taking you?"
Sibyl was panicked as she caught sight of the group of guards escorting her mother heading her way.
She had not seen her mother since the strong woman had stabbed her brother and they were rushed out of court. Sibyl had been in a frenzy never witnessing death or even someone being physically harmed to that extent before.
It does a lot to a person who has never experienced something like that first hand. It had taken a toll on her mind completely shaking her up.
Sibyl both wanted and needed to be comforted by her mother, the one person that she trusted the most.
"Mother!" Sibyl called again.
"It's alright Sibyl." The Countess turned back giving her a sad smile.
"What is happening?" Sibyl scrunched her brows together in worry.
"They are taking me to a far-away place..." The Countess began to walk again, "You will not be seeing me for hopefully a long time."
Sibyl did not understand her mother's words. The tone of her voice made her worried.
"Do not worry Mother, I will search for you no matter what it takes, but first I will get revenge." Sibyl seethed out the last words.
"No." The Countess halted again, "Do not seek revenge nor search for me. You will get hurt in the process. Trust me child, it is not worth it."
"But -"
"Promise me Sibyl. Promise me that you will not do either of those things."
"I cannot -" Sibyl swallowed her words when she met her mother's firm gaze, "I... I promise."
A lone tear ran down Sibyl's cheek.
The Countess Alvore watches her daughter, her heart slowly breaking. All she wanted to do in that moment was wrap her arms around her and comfort her dear daughter one last time but the annoyed looks from the guards prevented her from staying a moment longer as the prodded her on.
"I love you so much and do not want to see you get hurt. Make sure to take care of yourself," The Countess glanced back, "Goodbye Sibyl."
Something about her words and departing figure completely broke Sibyl. She knew that deep in her heart this would be the last time she ever saw her mother.
Her eyes strained on her mother not daring to even blink before the woman completely vanished out of sight. Sibyl's eyes began to water as she allowed herself to fall to the ground against the strong metal bars.
Her tears began to flow down her rosy cheeks and onto the cold stone floor.
Goodbye mother.
Sibyl allowed herself to completely succumb to her tears. This was the first time she had ever experienced such pain and it hurt so much.
Sibyl's weeping was silenced by the large crowds gathering nearby in the market square.
A public execution was about to take place and it was a noble no less. Just the thought of it was madness.
It was incredibly rare if not unheard of for a noble to be face an execution of such manner. The noble must have done something truly vile for his Majesty, King Aleric, to order such a thing.
The chatter was silenced as the man himself made his entrance with his royal guards, the crowd parting ways for him and his cousin Louis. They bowed in respect as their ruler brushed by making his way to the temporary podium at the back.
There was complete silence as the crowd nervously waited for the King to address them, but he did not. Instead, he waited patiently keeping his intense eyes on the freshly tied noose right at the front of the crowd.
It was not long before the Countess was escorted in. Her appearance was rugged and dirty as a result of her time in the dungeon.
The once noble woman who carried herself so nearly and proper now looked no lesser than a homeless peasant.
It was truly a shock.
The Countess seemed unaffected by the judgemental eyes taking her filthy appearance in as she still carried herself with grace as she made her way up the stairs towards the noose.
Her expression was blank and hollow. It was if her body was already lifeless and just moving on its own.
Before the crowd stood a shell of a once powerful woman as the noose was placed around her neck.
It felt unsettling.
Louis stood forward taking this moment to address the crowd listing all of the Countess's crimes and wrong doings which resulted in the verdict of her trial being that of an execution.
The crowd were perplexed, and many were left in dismay.
One person even managed to throw a half-eaten apple at the Countess. The hard fruit hit her in the cheek. The impact was strong enough to leave a bruise.
Suddenly there was complete silence. Everyone was suddenly nervous that the King might reprimand the individual for such an act, but their powerful ruler seemed unbothered.
This spiked a spark amongst them and before long many were now throwing things at the once noble Countess.
It was harsh.
It was like a public stoning and King Aleric was tempted to allow it to continue but it was not how she was to die so it needed to stop.
They had already managed to draw first blood and it wouldn't be long before the Countess would suffer from severe blunt trauma.
King Aleric slowly raised his hand giving a silent command. The crowd immediately stopped their harsh onslaught.
He then gave a nod to the executor signalling him to pull the lever.
The hooded man bowed his head in acknowledgement and slowly pulled the wooden lever.
The floor beneath the Countess's feet gave out as she dropped down.
It all happened so quickly yet so slowly at the same time.
The Countess was afraid.
She had been afraid the moment that her death sentence had been announced. Death was the unknown and that scared her as she did not know what to expect.
She knew that she deserved it especially after what she had done to her son. Her dear Walter.
She truly was a detestable woman.
She only carried three regrets as she was about to fall.
The first being that she would not be there to see her children get old and build their own families. It was truly heart breaking.
Her second regret was her husband, the Count Alvore. She regretted allowing herself to yearn for his love and affection, she regretted allowing herself to become twisted from his words or rather lack of and lastly, she regretted what she allowed herself to become because of him.
Her last regret was her son Walter. Her child who she had wrongfully stolen his life from. It broke her heart.
As she was falling, she prayed for her death to be quick, that her neck would break from the fall and that she would not suffocate. She prayed that her death would be painless although she knew that she did not deserve it.
It was unfortunate that this was not the case. She dangled a metre from the ground gasping for air as it was unable to reach her restricted throat. Her heart was pounding as her body desperately jerked about fighting for survival.
Her fear from earlier had nothing on this moment. She was truly terrified. The fear and panic consumed her as her body fought to live.
Her eyes darted around desperately looking for someone to help when she was met with the very familiar eyes of her son in the distance.
Walter stood, a bow and arrow in his hands as he strung it back aiming at her chest. He almost hesitated for a moment when he met his mother's eyes before releasing the arrow.
The Countess momentarily forgot about her suffering. She was overjoyed to see her son.
He was alive.
A tear fell down her cheek as the arrow met her chest ending her suffering.
She felt relief and no longer could feel any pain.
Her son was alive...
Slowly the life faded out of her eyes and her body hung limp.
She was gone.
King Aleric did not have to look back to know that it was Walter who had shot the arrow.
He did not mind that Walter had done that. The Countess's death had been cruel, and he ended her suffering.
The King just hoped that Walter would be okay with this. He was worried about his dear friend after all.
Walter slowly lowered the bow his eyes still trained on his mother's limp body. A hollow feeling settling in his chest.
He may have disowned her but even after all that she was still the woman who had raised him. She was still his flesh and blood.
He hated how conflicted he was, but he knew it deep down in his heart.
She was still his mother...
She would always be his mother.
Nothing in the entire world could change that fact.