‘No,’ Bri groaned as she rolled over in her bed, mouth stretching wide into a yawn. A new day had arrived and with it, an icy chill that caused her to retreat back under her blankets, pulling them up over her face. Shouts and cries echoed from the village.

‘Hey! What are you doing?’

‘Stop it!’

‘Let her go!’

The anguish in their voices made Bri jump to her feet. It could mean only one thing. The soldiers had returned.

She dressed quickly, pulled on her boots, and ran to her mother.

‘Soldiers!’

‘I heard,’ her mother replied, face grim as she ushered Bri to a chair and placed a thin slice of bread on the table in front of her.

‘What do they want?’

Placing a hand on Bri’s shoulder, she replied, ‘I don’t know, Bri. But I think we may find out soon.’

‘It’s colder today,’ Bri said, changing the subject swiftly in the hope of easing her mother’s mind.

‘It’s the first snow.’

‘Snowfall,’ Bri uttered the word like an expletive. As a child, the sight of the first snow of the year would fill her with excitement, yet now she knew that it would lead to colder days, and, even more worryingly, a higher chance of sickness spreading through the village.

‘You’ll be busy this winter,’ her mother said whilst placing a few thin slices of bread on the table.

‘We’re busy every Winter.’ Bri grumbled.

‘The Mountain will watch over us,’ she responded solemnly.

Tûndir. The great Mountain god hasn’t been much help so far. If he even exists. Bri scoffed aloud.

As if reading her thoughts, her mother said, ‘He has his reasons for not intervening.’

‘Really? I’d love to know what they are, or even if he cares that the people who he is said to protect are starving and living in fear of the King and his soldiers.’

‘Lower your voice!’

‘No-one will hear me over the screams of the villagers the soldiers are terrorising.’

‘Bri!’

‘Sorry, sorry, it’s just —’

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

‘This time of year is hard,’ her mother interjected. ‘For all of us.’

‘I don’t want to talk about her.’ Bri replied sharply.

‘I know,’ her mother’s voice trembled. ‘But –’

‘I promise I’ll go careful.’ She got up and kissed her mother’s cheek. ‘I need to go, Letitia will be waiting.’

As she snatched up her bread and fled out of the door, another cry echoed through the village.

A large crowd had gathered. What were they staring at? Bri tried standing on tiptoes to see over their heads, but stumbled and fell, ripping a layer of skin from her knee.

She yelped in pain, but rose from the ground regardless, forcing herself through the jostling crowd, struggling to keep her balance while she travelled to her workplace.

‘You’re late.’ Letitia said, without turning to look at her.

‘I ran into some trouble.’

At the sound of Bri’s voice, Letitia whipped round.

‘What happened to you?’ She took in her dishevelled state.

‘There’s a huge crowd gathering, I fell.’

‘Of course you did.’ Letitia tutted. ‘Are you hurt?’

‘Not badly, but I want to see what’s going on.’

Letitia sighed. ‘Well, I doubt much work will be getting done before you do.’

‘Aren’t you curious as to why the soldiers are back again?’

‘I’m more interested in staying out of trouble, as you should be.’

‘I have to see!’ Bri insisted.

‘Fine,’ Letitia sighed. ‘But watch only from the window, we don’t want to run the risk of you getting squashed. You’ll get a better view from there, anyway. Five minutes only, then get to work.’

Peering out of the window, Bri gasped as she recognised the figure being pushed to the centre of the village.

‘It’s Gwendoline!’ She said excitedly. ‘They’ve brought Gwendoline back!’

‘No, they haven’t,’ Letitia replied grimly, pointing. ‘They’ve built a gallows,’ she whispered, in pure horror.

‘No,’ Bri said. ‘No, they can’t, they can’t do that.’

‘Bri…’

‘People of Krylla!’ A soldier bellowed, hand grasping Gwendoline’s shoulder.

Slowly, people began to leave their homes and workplaces.

‘Come, Bri, we’d best join them.’

‘No.’

‘Do you want to be swinging next to her?’ Letitia said, more harshly this time. ‘We have to go.’

To ignore a summons from the King’s men would be insubordination. They exchanged anxious looks and went outside to join the rest of the crowd which continued to gather.

‘This woman,’ the soldier jabbed his finger at Gwendoline, whose head was bowed. She looked utterly defeated, and a dread came upon Bri. Even Letitia’s face had turned white.

The man continued, ‘she has committed treason against the King and those who serve him. She has failed to hand over taxes owed, that are charged in order to keep you safe from the sorcery that has ravaged this land for so long. She has insulted the King’s men and resisted arrest. To serve as a lesson to those who would oppose the will of our King, a more… extreme punishment will take place today.

Bri took a step forward.

‘Don’t,’ Letitia hissed, holding her back. ‘Don’t move, don’t say anything, there’s nothing we can do.’

‘Walk.’ The soldier ordered Gwendoline. Silently, utterly defeated, she obeyed, each step heavy and laboured as she took her place on the gallows. Many of the villagers averted their eyes as the loop was placed round her neck.

Bri’s wrath exploded.