Included within Julia’s thoughts, Blackmain shuddered. Her/their own body was betraying her/them, her/their mind was trapped. How could she/they be freed? He watched in horror as a dream version of Cimon stepped into the clearing and began to taunt her/them, even as Julia’s/their flesh caught on fire. The rape that followed was callous, but well-thought out. Blackmain almost cried out in horror, but as Julia wasn’t, he couldn’t either. The dream Julia lay still and Blackmain felt her/their heart stop for a moment. Then she/they began running again.

Blackmain tried to pull away, but found that he could only whimper within their shared mind.

~ Who is there? ~ The voice had a distinct Julia twinge to it, full of the pain they were trying to rescue her from.

~ It is us. ~

~ Go away. I like it here. I can control what happens. ~

~ You are trapped. You just don’t remember what has happened, that you are repeating yourself. You can’t control anything. ~

~ I can so. ~

Julia wrenched her mind away from theirs. How dare they invade? This was her private place. She would show them. She wasn’t giving up. The pain in the cuts reminded her finally of what it really felt like to be alive. They were right. No, they weren’t. If this was a dream, she wouldn’t have any control. Her mind was so occupied that it didn’t notice when Cimon began raping her again. She clung to her thoughts, not letting go, even as her heart stopped and her body stopped being responsive.

She tried desperately to hold the cuts closed with her hands, but more kept on coming as fast as she could tie them off. Ishton distanced himself from her mind and helped her. Now that she was trying for herself, he could help. She glared at him, but accepted the assistance. Her head bent down dealing with the ones on her legs, she didn’t notice Cimon approaching. When he grabbed her hair, Julia, already weakened by the blood loss collapsed. Cimon raped her again and again, this time she could feel it. She and Blackmain, who was still trapped with her mind, screamed.

Suddenly Blackmain was free. His spectral body formed, and he pulled Cimon away from her, just as he had done in real life. He knelt over Julia, helping Ishton to bind her wounds. The dream stopped. Everything stopped. Julia took a deep breath, and rolled away.

~ Leave me alone. I wanted to die here. It’s my choice. ~

~ You wouldn’t, couldn’t have died. We wouldn’t let you. We need you to be whole and healthy. Please don’t hide from us. We found you to save you. ~

~ I wanted to die. ~

Julia hid her face, and cried. The tears fell down, and sizzled as they hit her still burning flesh. It healed over, and it was as if a flood tide had been released. Cuts and bruises healed over, leaving her whole again.

~ Come with us, Julia. Be with us. We will not harm you. We have never wanted to harm you. ~

~ Tell me the truth. ~

~ We will. Just not here. ~

And indeed, the dream forest was fading away, leaving a clinging mist. Blackmain and Ishton hauled Julia to her feet, she was still weak and relatively helpless. They lifted her out, to return to the real world, where everyone was awaiting the results.

The first speaker was perfect in every way, his glowing brown hair drifting off his shoulders as he spoke.

~ We cannot risk things going wrong. We must wipe him out now, and put our plans into action before this goes too far. ~

~ No. we are not ready yet. We are too few in number, we need more. And Julia is not ready to resume control, is she? ~

Others in charge of her healing agreed.

~ She is not ready. The problems in her are very deep. She is beginning to cycle around, more than being stuck in her own trap, but she still needs more time. We need more time. ~

Ishton nudged Blackmain, inviting him to speak.

~ Julia is not ready. It will take many weeks of preparation to inform her of our plans, yet alone get her to go along with them. She is a strong woman, for all her problems. I am bound to protect her. ~

Blackmain paused. Should he tell them what he had discovered about their relationship? Or was it too early, and what if he was wrong? He decided to take the plunge.

~ I recently discovered that Julia is my daughter. I must look after her. She is my own blood and bone, born of my one love. You understand that. ~

There were murmurs of assent. Elves took the bond between children and their parents very seriously. For Blackmain to not know about his daughter was a sin. Children needed to be protected, because often they were so rare and hard to procure.

~ I say she is not ready. When we inadvertently knocked Julia into this state, she had only just realized that we had plans for her. I am sure she thought of them as sinister. How much she was guessing, and what she knew for certain I don’t know. Her suspicions were raised because we kept her inside all the time. All we were doing was trying to protect her. And now it seems, we cannot even protect her from herself. ~

Blackmain lapsed down into silence, he had probably said too much. Ishton moved closer to him for comfort. Any consequences for their actions would need to be taken together. They had done the wrong thing in trying to avoid telling Julia of their plans, and now perhaps it was too late to save her. Elves could be entirely too optimistic, until Ishton felt Julia’s mind for himself, it would be difficult to ascertain the full extent of damage. They waited patiently while the rest discussed. Clearly, there was a lot of dissent.

~ We are decided. You are correct, she is not ready. We shall wait, and prepare for battle. Task-forces will be required to strengthen the shields, and you, Ishton will be part of those. Blackmain, you will drill the others in human warfare, remind them of tactics to use. We remember the last time we fought. Many lives were lost, and we wish to prevent this. Perhaps you will prove more useful to us than your master. You have new thoughts. ~

Blackmain sighed in relief – too soon.

~ Your other actions must be punished however. The pain which Julia is going through must be siphoned off, you will assist with this also. It will be especially uncomfortable for you, Assassin, because you have never been female. You will be put in her mind, and you must change the rules there until she is free. ~

Cimon was standing at the head of the group, looking suitably dark and morose, even though his pale robes were reflecting the watery sunlight. The royal blood was diluted further by the last king’s death, so the royal blue was getting paler. Cimon began speaking.

“It is clear to me that no-one of us could have done this. The queen was well loved…”

Some of the courtiers sniggered at this; her maids alone would have hated her enough to poison her off, given enough incentive.

Cimon continued, staring down the others. His deep voice took on a more sonorous tone.

“It is clear to me that this must be revenged. My agent, my agents think that it was Wayland, in revenge for Julia’s betrayal and death. Others still think that it is the work of the elves again.”

Blackmain reeled back in shock. No-one he knew had been around to do it and in any case, as if any elves would associate with the Queen and her sort. Elves did not care to interfere too often. What they had seen before had confirmed that it was indeed Cimon who had killed her. He almost lost his grip on the vision as Cimon continued.

“We are going to war on all those that harmed us, have harmed our kingdom. No more will we put up with the inferior races. Our blood will once again be pure. When I am stated king, I will bring fortune and glory back to these people, make things better. Send out the heralds, proclaim the coming of a new age, under my rule. No more will we be sullied with elves, or strange neighbors. We shall crush all in our path to greatness. In my world, all humans will be free to walk without fear from the dreaded elves.”

The vision ended abruptly, as if the elven leader had decided that enough rubbish had been heard. Blackmain returned to his surroundings with a jolt. This couldn’t be right, no-one in their right mind would take on the elves. Sure, the elves were never seen, and this tended to breed the assumption that they were shy and weak apparently. Wayland wasn’t exactly an easy pushover either, however weak their current monarchy was. Their people were united, and there was less bickering in the streets to start off with.

He wondered how long Cimon had been planning this, it hadn’t been long yet since the Julia had been rescued. He hoped Julia was safe, the fact that all of the elves had come to the meeting meant that she was alone. Not to be worried about now though, murmuring was beginning to break out in his head as the others discussed what they had seen.
It was usual for them just to retreat further, but the patches of forest strong enough to change into the homes was growing smaller. This clan had not yet been affected, it was far enough into the forest that expansions didn’t matter.

With Julia on their side, perhaps it was time to make an offensive move. A meeting of the other clans would need to be called, because this would affect all of them. Cimon seemed determined to wipe their race out. Although the prophesy said that everything would be successful, the loss of too many elves would be disastrous, they had to maintain their place in society. Equality would be welcomed.

Even the elves’ tortures could be worked into society, there was always some humans, just like Blackmain who would be interested in fulfilling their masochistic desires. Others would just be curious. It wasn’t as if elves needed torture or anything like that, except as a past-time to make their long lives go faster. Things wouldn’t change so much. The humans would probably benefit more from the alliance, healing from the elves and eventual spell work, should they choose to offer it. Peace was best, always.

Collectively, they were beginning to adopt listening poses and far away gazes, as each hooked into the main memory of the room. That was the beauty of having such a room as this, it was relatively easy to network, there was no need to re-create it every time you wanted to talk. The room remembered everything. If it was asked, as it was occasionally, it could name those who had used it, and indeed, this one could name who was nearby at the time, who hadn’t attended. It had been in existence for a very long time, the lives of these elves had shaped it from the very beginning. The meeting house was the central meeting point of the clan, and it was a point of pride to have the best in the area.

]]> http://darkthorn.sorrowfulunfounded.com/2008/09/24-death/feed/ 0 http://darkthorn.sorrowfulunfounded.com/2008/08/17-dreamers/ http://darkthorn.sorrowfulunfounded.com/2008/08/17-dreamers/#comments Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:00:42 +0000 darkthorn http://darkthorn.sorrowfulunfounded.uni.cc/?p=50 Julia fell back into the dream. She ran, her legs barely carrying her into forest. She tripped and fell, breathing heavily. Escape. She couldn’t escape. She crawled towards the base of a tree, noticing that her skin was weeping blood from the scratches on her arms. She couldn’t remember opening the cuts. She felt a sticky wetness running down her legs as well, the blood was flowing from her crutch. As she watched more cuts opened on her legs. She was going to bleed to death. She couldn’t even remember what she was running from. Maybe it would be better to give in, give up, accept whatever was chasing her, claim death as her own. The last thing she had power over. Her own body was betraying her, her mind was trapped. She could hear something crashing closer, amplified in the stillness. She pulled herself upright with difficulty, swaying as dizziness caught up with her. She was so tired. Better to sleep. She heard breathing, fast and uneven. It was her own. She tried to calm herself, this was what she wanted wasn’t it? An end to all the pain. Still some part of her quailed at the idea of being ripped to pieces by whatever wild beast was out there.

She saw movement, and she shrank back into the shadows. Cimon stepped out into the clearing. She screamed, and tried to keep moving but now her hands were tied, she couldn’t move. He came closer leering at her and feeding from her panic. She let the scream die to a whimper. She knew what would happen now, he would rape her, and torture her, he wouldn’t kill her. She smelt burning flesh, her chest was on fire. Cimon came closer to watch her combustion. He didn’t seem to feel the heat. Slut. Waste. Deserve to die. He drew back his cloak, it was the same color as the hidden one. He let it fall to the ground, his swollen member seeming to get bigger as he approached her. She was trapped. She prayed for anyone, anything to take her out of it. She gave herself to the pain, but she could still feel Cimon’s flesh pressed against her, rocking rhythmically as her body cried out in pain. It felt like an eternity, her nether parts crying out in greater pain even as she burned and blood fell from her wounds. Cimon withdrew, and Julia was still…

She ran, her legs barely carrying her into forest. She tripped and fell, breathing heavily… Julia was trapped in a prison of her own mind’s making.

Back in the real world, Blackmain and Ishton also slumbered. Their dreams were combined, sleep was for the body, but the mind could still communicate.

~ How long will she be out for? When will she wake? ~

There was no doubt as to who ‘she’ was.

~ It is hard to tell. I can not find her mind in this plane. She is not in ordinary slumber. Her mind was as tired as her body. I think I overreached. I will be slumbering. Will you watch for my body? ~

~ My friend, of course I will. It is not as if we are in the wars again, and there is no free minds to watch over you. What of the vision? ~

~ I will not speak of it here. The ban on the memory is great. It could be set off at any moment. Neither of us is strong enough to defend against it now. ~

Ishton’s mind-voice grew weaker.

~ I must rest now. You keep watch in the way I have taught you. ~

~ I will. ~

Blackmain felt Ishton’s presence waning from his mind. It gradually faded out until all that was left was a thin line of contact, even more tenuous than usual from the strain Ishton was under. Julia was merely a black spot in his vision. He wondered at that, normally other people, awake or asleep were bright balls, their color depending on the mood of the person. Never black however, that was unique to Julia. Whatever it meant, he didn’t think it could be good.

He settled comfortably into his mind-chair, and prepared himself to wait. The way things were looking, both Ishton and Julia would be out for a couple of hours. Blackmain allowed himself to relax, and let the memories flow.

His legs are painted black and blue

His eye is swollen, bottom lip huge

His face looks beaten and his ribcage bruised

His fingers are thin and nails ice blue

Yet he runs, he sings, he jumps and he

Plays in the park with the

Others of his own age

But when its time to leave

His smile fades and

Deep within his heart you can

See fear and pain for now

He goes home and faces punishment

Of a crime unknown

“Hi,” said Blackmain softly, ‘You have been asleep of two days now, how are you feeling?”

His voice was raspy, rather like Cimon’s. Julia was going to get up and run past the man but found that she could not feel her legs. She fell back onto the bed and the man called to his friend. As the owner of the lyrical voice came in Julia realized that he was an elf. She felt frightened from all her childhood tales of elves killing the people they found in their woods. Blackmain came closer and Julia settled down – he was not Cimon and neither was he an elf.

“You are not captive, you are severely injured. The men you were with burnt you and you nearly died from exposure. We’re here to help you, not finish the job.”

Julia looked around. It was a wooden cabin, simple, similar to the one in which she had grown up in while her mother was exiled. The shelves on the wall contained herbs and yet more hung from the rafters above her. She was obviously in the home of a healer then. They were known for their immunity to the King’s wishes, she would be safe here. Suddenly she realized that the King was dead. And Cimon, what had happened to the general?

Julia’s voice was husky and she had to clear her throat before she could continue. “What happened to the men who had taken me? Are they dead?”

Blackmain responded, “All but one. The leader I left.”

Julia knew Cimon would be looking for her. This man obviously didn’t know who she was, or who the General was. She was safe as long as she was anonymous. There had been no clothing to identify her as noble, she could be whoever she wanted. Her childhood name and life would do. “I’m June.”

“And I am Blackmain. You are in my house. You are safe here, no-one else comes this way.”

The elf stepped into the light and Julia cowered back. His face was disfigured by a scar down the side of his head. He was just like in the tales, more perfect than anything carved by a sculpter except for the scar. As he reached towards her she saw the scars running up his forearms, matching those of Blackmain. He lifted up the covers and Julia feebly tried to hold them down.

The elf spoke to Blackmain in a different language.

“It’s ok June, he just wants to check your wounds. He won’t harm you.”

Julia felt uncomfortable, but it was said that elves were never interested in other races. Blackmain noticed her watching him, and he turned away, feeling her discomfort.

As the elf lifted off her bandages Blackmain spoke, obviously trying to distract her from the pain.

“Tell me about yourself. My history is inconsequential, I have no life. I do not exist. This house does not exist. Iston does not exist.”

Julia realized that the elf’s name was Iston. “I grew up in a place similar to this.” She winced, the padding was stuck to her chest.

“My mother was poor, my father left her to travel. She was exiled by her own family when it was found that she was pregnant with me. I am nothing. I have no other past.”

Blackmain looked quizzically at her, surely there was more to this beautiful female. Her face, drawn with pain and swollen, still reflected her nature. No woman of common background could look like this: slender, with pale blonde hair and piercing green eyes. Yet behind that façade, Blackmain could sense her unhappiness.

“There is nothing to fear here. We will be safe from prying eyes and ears. The King himself wouldn’t have the power to intrude.”

At the sound of the King, Julia shuddered, and Iston shook his head at her.”

“Do not move. The pain will get worse if you do.”

Julia visibly restrained herself, trying to avoid looking at herself. She could tell from the large patches of numbness on her torso that large areas must have been burnt. Or perhaps the elf had some kind of power.

“What have you done to me?” Julia asked. “Why can’t I feel anything?”

The elf spoke to Blackmain, and Blackmain translated.

“You have extensive burns to your breasts and thighs, internal damage and you almost lost your toes. Your mental state is worried, and you are keeping something back from us that might assist your healing.”

Blackmain trailed off. Julia looked away. How could they tell what she was thinking? What else did she not know? She tried to clear her mind, but the thoughts kept on bombarding her. She wondered if they could tell she belonged to the King. Whether she was noble-born or not. The elf cringed back, her thoughts tumbled far too quickly for him to process them.

“Rest. Heal. We will talk then.”

Blackmain and Iston left Julia alone.

As he moved closer Blackmain disturbed a small lizard which made an echoing call into the forest. Even the young man raping the woman noticed the eerie noise and stopped.

“What was that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Go and have a look.”

“Garth, with me.”

Two of the men separated from the others and came towards where Blackmain was standing. He had already given away his position so he jumped up with throwing dagger and crossbow in hand.

“Let her go!” commanded Blackmain.

At this, Cimon laughed out loud, a deep rumbling belly laugh. “Why the hell should I listen to you? You, just one man with a dagger and crossbow. You could only kill two at most before my men brought you down.” He paused, and as if that wasn’t enough insult said “Little man.”

Blackmain let out a blood-chilling laugh of his own and spoke “If you let her go, I will not kill all of you.”

His voice was cold enough to make the hair on Cimon’s neck stand on end but he was not going to show it to this arrogant man. “Now Garth, kill this fool before he wastes anymore of my time.”

The young man leapt straight for the kill but Blackmain was ready and merely swatted the man to the ground like a fly. Garth jumped up, “Thats it, you don’t make a fool of a Helhard.”

He attacked more slowly but as he came into contact with Blackmain Blackmain thrust his dagger into Garth’s stomach before he had time to yell. Garth fell to the ground clutching his belly and was still.

Cimon spoke, “Damn you man. Now we will have no choice. But to kill you.” It sounded as if he was relishing the words.

Blackmain was a more than capable swodsman, and without breaking a sweat killed all the men but Cimon. Something told him that this man was important, and he merely disarmed him. When Cimon noticed his men were dead he turned and ran for his horse. Blackmain though of running him down, but saw that the girl was in a terrible state and would require medical help urgently.

Blackmain turned to untie her from the tree and heard Cimon riding off to his left. Blindly he sent a throwing dagger in his direction and heard a yelp as it connected. That would slow him down while Blackmain headed for safety for them both. He rode back to the cabin cradling the girl in his arms, marveling at her natural beauty, so like Kolark’s. He laid her on the bed, covering her with warm blankets ensuring they did not touch the weeping wounds on her breast and thigh. It was not long before he was back with his healing friend Ishton. Ishton was the local doctor but he was also a hunter, as all of his kind were. He was well equipped to deal with battle-like wounds and it did not take him long to bandage and treat her wounds. The two men sat down to wait – only time could tell how Julia would survive her traumatic experience.

“So bitch, how does it feel to be going to your death, with no one remembering your name or face. A blank nobody.”

Julia was in shock, she could say nothing. She could see the horrible thoughts of the general reflected in his greedy eyes. Her life was to be cut short just as the King’s had, she was worthless.

“You don’t have much to say. Let me tell you what I’m going to do. First I’m going to strip you of those rags and bloody you just enough that the bears and wolves will come.”

Julia righted herself and spat in his face. The general ripped some cloth from the bottom of her night dress to clean his face, displaying her upper thighs. With his right hand, the general knocked Julia unconscious with a blow to her head.

The long climb down from the tower was novel for the guards. More used to the rounded saucy wrenches of the local taverns, this lithe young woman with her body thrown over the general’s shoulder was a feast for the eyes of the lustful guards. The general had promised that their loyalty would be rewarded by the quenching of their inner desires. When they reached the stables, the guards held Julia willingly as the general mounted his horse, then threw her over the pommel of the saddle, the air causing the remains of her skirt to fly upwards.

The ride to the border lands would be long and hard, they would reach the woods soon after midnight, even with a stop at the little village just on the outskirts. It was made up of farms, and the villagers would not question men dressed in the king’s colors, even with a semi naked woman in tow. The trees followed the bottom of a valley to the hills, where the woods ended. A swath had been cut down to show the borders. The woods carried on for many more miles, most never having been seen by human eye. It was said that they contained a city of elves that would kill any man that was found on the wrong side of the border.

Julia had been out cold for most of the ride, but woke when she heard the soft lowing of cattle. Her view was distorted, she was almost upside down on the horse and one of her eyes was swollen shut from the force of the earlier blow.

“You say a word, and I’ll make things even more unpleasant for you.” Said the general.

Julia wondered how things could get any worse as she lay across the saddle, the jolting movement making her feel sick. When the horses stopped, she noted blearily that there were only three riders, the other two must have stopped in the village for supplies. They were in the woods now, Julia knew that even if she screamed, no one would hear her. The general dismounted, gesturing that the guards could remove her from the horse. Her hands and feet were tightly bound with rope, and she was propped up against the tree, the men leering at her from the shadows cast by the moon. She struggled to remove the rope with no avail. The general and his two men sat by a small fire they had made, waiting for the other men to get back. Their quiet discussion and frequent glances in Julia’s direction lit a fear in her heart that pierced through the numbness that had held her through her week of solitude. Julia wondered what the other men had been sent to collect, by the position of the moon it was getting on towards midnight. She drowsed for what felt like a moment, waking to the sounds of the others returning. The five men huddled around the fire but Julia was far from the warmth. She was cold and at this rate was not going to make it through the night without catching a deadly flu. She shivered, drawing the attention of the men.

One of the men spoke to the general in a soft voice, Julia could just make out what he said, “So Cimon, which of us should go first?”

With a sly grin Cimon moved closer to Julia, “I think I will have the pleasure of being first and last with this bitch.”

The other men stepped into the moonlight and Julia became frantic. The village had supplied some branding irons, and their red-hot tips glowed. As Cimon unbuckled his belt the others gathered close, untying some of her bonds. As Julia took all this in she couldn’t help whimpering although it was muffled as the gag was still firmly in place. Her arms were still tied, but as Cimon moved closer she realized her legs were free and quickly brought her foot up. She pounded it into Cimon’s crotch as hard as she could and he fell back in agony, clutching his man-hood.

“You slut, I’ll kill you for that!” Cimon reached for his blade, tears forming in his eyes from the pain.

“Hang on Cimon, we still want to have our fun first.” The young man with the iron whispered.

Cimon, still holding fast to his crotch said in a quivery voice “Ok, just a little then, I want her dead.”

Julia was fighting for her life, but the other men were too strong. They grabbed her ankles and splayed her out onto the tree with the ropes. Julia was helpless. One of the soldiers bent over her and placed a sharp knife to her throat. Julia thought this was it, but to her dismay the man pulled it along the lining of her dress. He picked it up and placed it in the fire, leaving Julia completely naked and very cold. It seemed like she was surrounded.

The man holding the iron stood over Julia and in a menacing voice that chilled her soul said “Where do you want it, slut?”

Julia was crying now as the man moved in and placed the iron on the soft skin of Julia’s right upper thigh. The smell of burning flesh mingled with the sweet night air. Then the man placed the iron on her pert breast, covering her nipple. The other two men began to kick her. Julia could hardly control herself, the pain was so great. She tried to yell, managing only a weak murmur. Cimon came back into Julia’s pain-narrowed view, he positioned himself against her, pressing her tender flesh into the tree. His elbow clipped her head and she mercifully passed out.

Blackmain walked out into the night, pausing to remove his cloak and crossbow and hide them under a small bridge. He headed for a small tavern, where light and noise spilled out, the people blissfully unaware of the search that was wracking the castle. The music was low, but still people danced with the fluidity often granted by a long night of drinking. He sat in a corner and ordered some soup and beer, the night having tired him more than he would like to admit. Perhaps it was time to take an apprentice. Blackmain regretted now that he hadn’t married his love while he had had the chance, but his life was no life for a noble lady. He was sitting quietly contemplating these thoughts when a woman came over and asked him to dance. There was no chance for him to say no, he was pulled onto the dance floor and into a smooth ballad before he knew it. He relaxed – these people meant him no harm, there was no way they could know what he had done, the new blood staining his hands. The feeling was short lived as a tall man pushed him aside to grab his lady. He was going to stand up to the man but thought better of it. It wasn’t worth it, he could feel that his strength would required later. Anyway, his winning was best done in stealth. He left as soon as he politely could, and started the long journey home.

+++++

“Wake up you!”

Julia found herself surrounded by guards, and sat up instantly, clutching the sheet to her chest.

“What has happened now?” she whispered softly.

Soldiers were looking through her clothes drawers and tossing all her neatly pressed clothes onto the floor.

“Get out of there! What right have you to search my belongings? Who gave you permission?”

They took no notice of her and kept looking. Julia attempted to get out of bed, but was pushed back down. She felt surprised that she was calm.

“Ah hah! Found it just as a thought! I knew she was good for nothing, take her to the tower.” The general said, brandishing a crossbow.

Julia was allowed to sit up, but as she turned to face the general a sweet-smelling cloth was forced into her mouth. She fell, sweeping towards the floor, caught by the young guard.

+++++

The general had of course planted the crossbow in Julia’s drawer during the night when she did get some sleep. He and the queen had originally planned to frame Julia for the killing of an official, but as the king had been murdered it was more convenient to place the blame for that on her shoulders. The two conspirators were willing to go to war on Wayland, just to get rid of her.

The general had planned everything beforehand; the council had been paid off and offered prime farming land in the countryside. The guards who had seen the king die were given healthy sums of money to forget what they saw, an act a young woman such as Julia could not have committed.

Julia was to be taken out into the woods, tied to a tree and left to die. The council had been told to say that because of Julia’s position in the household she would not be given a public execution. Within days, the announcement had been given to the people about the king’s death and Julia’s role. Quietly, the people could not believe what they were told. Their mousy, but beautiful queen had killed the king? Their other thoughts were less benevolent, the king was dead and good riddance.

The general was to have his revenge on Julia, the glorified whore who thought so highly of herself. He and his four most trusted men would wait until night, and then take Julia to her painful death in the woods. When he finished this job he would be free from Julia forever.