As Geral walked towards the main square, his mind raced with thoughts on how to persuade Olomuc to give up on guarding Anabella and instead help set her free. He understood that the orc, with his high level and a dragon to help him, could be the key to Anabella's freedom. He had the power to free her if he wished. But how could he convince him? And when and where could he have this conversation? He wondered what made the orc loyal to Grackak and what the gnome had done to win his allegiance.

At first, he did not see her. As he reached the center of the square, he scanned the crowd, searching for Anabella. He saw several scattered groups of people and guards, but she was nowhere in sight.

He knew she must be here somewhere; he felt her proximity.

As he turned around and approached the group with the guards, he finally spotted her silver hair hanging down from a plank. Fear gripped him, and he wondered if it was her scalp or her head up there. Had they already killed her? But then he saw her frail white hands on either side of the wooden plank and her legs behind it and breathed a sigh of relief mixed with anger.

His heart sank as he took in the sight before him. Anabella had been put in a pillory, her hands and head trapped between two wooden planks. His hand searched for the sword that was not at his waist. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Dalia's worried face.

“Don't make a scene!” - she whispered – “you'll just make Stella happy and maybe give her reasons to further punish you.”

“But this is medieval torture! I thought we had those days behind us!” - he protested.

Dalia sighed.

“We are a medieval society Geral!”

He gasped at her comment and then sighed at his turn.

“Can I go talk to her?” - he wondered.

Dalia nodded.

“It should be OK, but don't go up there on the scaffold, or you'll have trouble with the guards.”

He protested again: “But she needs to eat and drink and...”

Dalia shrugged but didn't dare look into his eyes as she spoke: “She'll be executed tomorrow, and she is not allowed to eat or drink until then. She already had her last meal.”

Geral's eyes went wide in shock. “Tomorrow! But I was told...”

Dalia cut him short again.

“Tomorrow it will be. It is the twin brother's day" - she made a gesture towards the sky - "Go and talk to her as long as you still have time.”

Geral wondered what did she mean by the twin brother's day, but he could ask that later. For now, Anabella was the only person he could think of.

As he approached the scaffold, she raised her head, and their eyes met, and at that moment, he was sure that he loved her. It was such a simple, clear, pure sentiment that washed over his heart that he gasped!

God, how could he have been so blind all this time? Tears found their way out of his eyes and ran slowly down his cheek. People parted from his way, but he did not even see them. It was only her face that he was seeing. Her hand moved a little, trying to wave at him, and a light shone in her eyes.

“Hello, Geral”

Even this close, her voice was barely audible.

“Hi, love!” – he answered, resting on the scaffold and looking up at her.

She let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes, then when she opened her eyes again, a small smile appeared on her lips.

“Sorry that I cannot greet you how I should.” - she murmured.

“That's only your fault!” - one of the guards said, then turned towards Geral – “You're close enough!”

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They ignored the guard looking at each other for a couple of moments, then Geral spoke:

“The girls are... gone!?”

He was not sure what he should convey and what not. Anabella smiled, then raised a brow.

“You'll take care of them?”

“Sure” - he nodded.

Her face lit hearing that.

“They should meet you in Hexopolis.”- she said.

“Is it not dangerous to tell me anything?” - he wondered.

“No, Grackak has no power over there. May I ask you something?”

“Anything I can do!” - he answered eagerly.

“Please do exactly as I tell you. Once I am dead...”

His eyes widened, and he seemed to want to protest or say something, but he held back. He realized how hard it was for her to even speak and knew that protesting would only tire her out further.

She continued.

“Can you please bring my body to Hora's temple in Hexopolis to be burned there? According to the legends, that would ensure you can meet my spirit when you visit the temple later.”

He nodded.

“For the travel, please embalm my body. I have some embalmment material in my luggage; please wrap it immediately so that it does not decay; the road will take a week. In my carriage, there are also Noviel's and Awa's belongings. I guess the girls would like to have them back for their sentimental value. Please take the carriage with everything in it and let them choose what they want to have from my things. Will you do that?”

“Sure. How would I meet them?”

"Promise, please!"

He wondered why is she asking him to promise? Does she not believe him when he just says he will do it? But it was not the time to discuss things. He nodded:

"I promise!"

Her face lit, and a smile spread on her lips. She continued:

“There is an inn, the Red Cock, in the market with the temple. Take a room in that inn; the girls will find you.”

He nodded. “OK”

She gave him another tired smile.

“That's all from me.” – she looked at him – “Do you have any questions that I may answer before they kill me?”

He gasped. Questions? He had a lot. Where to start?

“I... I... I want first to apologize.”

She raised a brow. She didn't seem to want to hear apologies.

“Apologize? For what Geral? You are pardoned for whatever you may have done!”

He smiled, understanding her, but as he had thought to apologize about Sarah, he remembered that he had not seen her yet.

“Did you free Sarah? I haven't seen her!”

A shadow flew over her face.

“Sarah is gone.” - she said.

He sensed that Anabella was not willing to discuss Sarah any further. There seemed to be an unspoken meaning in her words, but he didn't want to pry and exhaust her. Though he wanted to come clean about his relationship with Sarah, he knew it wasn't appropriate to do so in front of everyone. Revealing the truth would only make things worse for Anabella, and he didn't want to hurt her any further. Despite his desire to ease his conscience, he wouldn't do it at the expense of her well-being.

“Oh” – he said and changed the subject – “You think the girls would still want to stay with me? Noviel is almost a grown-up!”

Anabella shook her head as much as her constraints allowed.

“No, no, no! She needs you now more than ever. Please think about it. She had been raised in that camp since she was a small child. She does not know anything about family, and she does not understand privacy. In some areas, she is an old fighter; in others, she is a naive and childish little girl. They were sixty in one dormitory and had a couple of common toilets and a common lavatory. She needs to learn and understand that the world is different from that military camp.”

He nodded, listening to her. Oh, that might explain some of Noviel's eccentricities. Anabella continued:

“Awa and Zera are still children. They'll need guidance for another six or seven years at least.”

He nodded, realizing suddenly that he was fully booked for the next years, and that did not disturb him.