The air would have been cold today, if Nery did not wear such thick clothing. The streets of the capital were emptied as everyone moved to the spectacle at the main town's square. A noble family was about to lose their heads. Such a thing sparked joy into the hearts of the poor. They saw it as a kind of cathartic turn of events. They had to live on stale bread and lesser life, so seeing someone they saw as above them in chains brought joy to jaded hearts.

But it also made traversing the city easier. Most of the guards and enforcers assembled where the execution would take place, making the streets clear of even them.

Nery managed to reach the citadel without any resistance. Not that she expected any, she was the only one without a warrant for her head after all. Even if she had to limp her whole way through, she was ahead of schedule.

Now came the harder part, she was tasked to reach Aviana Veron, a princess, and deliver her a message. She had protested that Obscurno would do the job just fine and that it would be a lot easier, but he had a different part to play and she had to acknowledge that it was crucial. Even if her legs had been shaking and twitching as she stood before the giant gate.

"Identify yourself." said one of the two guards wielding giant halberds.

"I-I am here to deliver this basket of alchemical odds and ends to the princess. For her studies." Nery replicated an old woman's voice. She did not understand the need for camouflage. None of the people in the capital had ever seen her face, but Cormac insisted.

The guard looked her up and down, calculating something. He obviously came to the right conclusion, as he shook his head.

"We were not informed that you are to arrive, I am afraid we cannot let you in." The guard replied, his gaze raw steel.

"But her majesty herself had issued this order to me!" Nery 's voice rose in frustration as she clenched her fists. She imagined the old herbalist woman would have a temper.

"Unless you have her majesty's sigil, or other form of recognition, we cannot let you in."

"Oh my heavens!" Nery sighted. She could feel there was something unsaid in the air. The guard knew about something, was questioning her. "Such a long way I've travelled, for naught! Wait until her majesty learns of this. Her own guards prohibiting her daughter from further studies! Especially when I have a batch of such precious ingredients." Nery turned around and started limping away.

"Wait!" One of the guards shouted as he ran towards her. He leaned over and whispered to her ear. "Is it that delivery?"

"Yes. Precisely."

"We are sorry. Of course you are clear to enter. Rudolf, open the gate for her."

"Are you sure? She should have a-"

"Open, Rudolf. It is an order."

The gates opened before Nery and she quickly wobbled her way through.

The citadel halls were big, wide enough for a full-squad of soldiers to move through, high enough for their long weapons to move through the air without any difficulty. But they were surprisingly empty. There was a bench here a flower pot there, but it was obvious that this place was made only for efficiency. It felt cold.

Nery found herself wishing to be back home when observing the chilly stone. She missed the warmth of their house. The scent of it. She missed her father, though she knew he had much important things to do. She missed her mother. When she was home, she felt like she was still there. A kind of presence hovering over her.

She felt the exact opposite in the citadel. As if a watchful eye waited for her to make a mistake, to show herself. She felt the gaze on her. She was sure it was more than just anxiety. There really was a charm cast onto this place. Or something alike it.

She sped up, deciding to stop faking the limp. She had to find Aviana as soon as possible. Cormac and Carl had to wait for the opportune moment that she would succeed and she could not fail them. But there was also a familiar danger present, the kind she wanted to avoid as much as possible.

Every turn seemed the same, but Nery followed the scent of something hidden. The reek of things wanting to stay away and unseen attacked her nostrils. It was terrifying, yet exhilarating. Nery had never went into contact with so many concealed things at once. The most she ever felt was when her father prepared a secret birthday present for her. It was overbearing even then, but this was a league of its own.

The essence of secrets and shame flew through the air, thick and paste-like. Something in Nery was attracted to such things. She wanted to find out, wanted to feel the secret's covers be blown away. This thing was enough to distract her from her goal. It egged her on. It was only natural for her to listen to the voice promising to uncover all those filthy secrets. So much so that she did not even look behind her, when she passed the door a certain enforcer was guarding.

Had she asked his name, he would call himself Darius.

Cormac watched the last wooden beams be put into place from underneath his hood. He might have been dresses suspiciously, but these days, his real face would have garnered even more unwanted attention.

The people around him were as joyous as they were cruel. Coming here to watch a beheading of a whole family, out of spite. Hating people for being lucky.

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He could understand the hate to a certain extent. When he reminded himself of the dream he had before everything fell apart. He was full of hate then too, even if he had much more than the people around him now. The hate of envy. It was a poisonous feeling, the kind that is ever-growing. Slowly but surely, eating away at everything that is really valuable.

Instinctively, he looked far to the east. He could not see the shore of Salvatoris, but he could see the skies. He could still feel the black smog flying through the skies. The impending doom. Somehow, the vision was as terrifying now, as it was before. Maybe Cormac really was not prepared for all this.

The caw at his shoulder took him from that pit of thought before he fell into it. Cormac smiled at his bird, who replied with a certain look. The reassuring kind.

Cormac nodded at him and sent Obs to his station. He would be the one to announce whether the prisoners really were the La Bors or not.

Carl was surprisingly calm. His eyes did not twitch and his gaze was steel. Cormac could feel his friend through their bond, but even then. Carl held no fear for today in his heart. How he managed that, Cormac did not know. But he would have to ask him sometime.

The platform fit for execution has been built and the executioner took his place, along with a dozen enforcers. There were even more hidden amidst the crowds, as Obscurno found out.

It was a very big event to be sure, Cormac expected a number of enforcers to be present, but this exceeded his expectations by a mile. He could not order them all, even if he really wanted to.

But what scared Cormac much more than common rabble and officers, was the person that just made an appearance.

The queen wore a high and long green dress. Long enough for two pairs of servants to carry behind her, as to prevent grime from reaching the exquisite fabric. She had her hair put into a sophisticated bun, prickled with golden pins of various symbols. She had her crown, gleaming golden and reflecting light with it's gems. Lavishness incarnate.

And even though it seemed ridiculous to Cormac, the woman still radiated danger. She was there, looking for him, her eyes surveying the crowd.

He was never as thankful to his small stature as in that moment.

"Good folk of the Mountain Basin." she started, her voice booming across the square for everyone to hear. "We had gathered here today, to mourn and watch over a shameful end of a once respected family. They were tasked with your protection, they were blessed by your loyalty, yet they betrayed it all." Three figures emerged from the shadow of the citadel, each wearing a sack over their head.

It was clear who they were supposed to represent. The man in front was weak and his frame beaten, but he had long white hair reaching down to his knees. The woman behind him was smaller, but her hair was as blood red as Melissa's. The third person was obviously young and his constitution was very similar to Eamon.

They all looked very much alike to the La Bors. Enough for Cormac to believe it was them. But Nery's words still resonated through his heart and he did feel like something was off.

Obs flew high up around the platform, surveying the likeness of the people before them.

They did not utter a word, nor did they try to run. They accepted their fate fully.

And Cormac realized it could not be them.

Leon was ashamed of his trickery, he hated himself for doing such underhanded things…but he did them for his family. He would not walk slowly onto the platform and let himself and his family be killed off. Even if the queen herself was here, he would try to beat the unbeatable odds.

"Today, we will see justice delivered. Today, we will see the great white lion be put to death as the lie that he represented. We will tell them, that royalty is more than a being born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but rather a duty! It is a mission of utmost importance, to look over the numerous folk you have the power to protect! The folk you swore to protect! Yet they did nothing but bring rot to our kingdom! Bring rot to your doors! Good people of the Mountain Basin I ask you, are they guilty?"

The crowd erupted into a massive roar. Yells of acceptance and agreement returned to their queen. The 'good' people of the Mountain Basin decided unanimously and their verdict was death.

She was ready and the time for her to make a move has come. The speech has already been delivered, but executions were always a weirdly prolonged affair and Aviana took a look at the speech the guard would have to make himself. Thanks to Darius, she had access to such things.

And thanks to him, she could get her mother's attention off of the execution.

"Go to her majesty and bring her to the throne room, no matter what you need to say or do, you need to bring her there and keep her there." Aviana turned to Darius and pointed a finger at his face. "She cannot realize you act under my will, understand?"

"Yes, of course my queen."

"Eh, do not call me that." Aviana's face cringed. Then she shooed Darius away on his mission.

Aviana hoped that Cormac at least had some sort of a plan. She could only imagine the number of enforcers down there, not to mention the crowd hungry for blood. She would do all she could to help him, but there was little she could realistically do. She could not go there and help him fight, they had no chance to fight of such a number of guards, not even taking enforcers into account. But she could distract her mother long enough for her to be out of the picture.

She made her way towards the throne room. It was off-limits for her, she was forbidden from going inside, as was everyone.

But the doors were never locked.

Aviana entered the room she as she did numerous times. The high throne, built upon a flight of stairs towered over the room, the power of those sitting on it evident for all that would be present. The destroyed remains of the other, lesser thrones laid on both sides of the giant throne. A keepsake of how things were before the assassination of Aviana's grandmother.

She heard the story many times and always believed her mother's side of the story, up until now.

The name of the assailant then has been scrubbed from history books, as was the norm. No mention of him existed, other than him being the murderer of the great queen. The bringer of the darker age.

Aviana always hated the fact that she never met her grandmother, or at least never met her when she was capable of thought. From the stories, the woman seemed to be a very interesting person, a just ruler. Something that seemed impossible with the way things were now.

Aviana walked up the stairs to the throne and made herself comfortable. The throne was of stone, so it was rather cold, but it was surprisingly nice to sit in.

There she sat when Darius came into the room and there she was when her mother looked up at her.

"Interesting. So, my daughter, have you decided to betray me?"