Claudia

Claudia didn’t know how long she was held hostage. All she knew was that she was underground somewhere. The bag over her head never came off. She was fed twice a day and was allowed water whenever requested. The first day was full of screaming where she demanded her release and unharmed return to her husband and children, but no one answered her cries, and she wept for days after.

She first kept track of the days by counting her meals, but after about a week, she lost count. She slept most of the time on the cold dirt, and when she wasn’t sleeping, she was still on the ground, pretending she was.

A day came, however, that was unlike any other. She heard distant yelling from every direction. She demanded to know what was happening, but yet again, there was no answer. It seemed as if there were a million men marching through the tunnels. Dirt fell from the ceiling, chairs shook in place, and all the while Claudia was still. She had perfected the art of using as little energy as possible. She moved with the vibrations with the only independent piece being her mouth as she demanded what was going on.

She hooked onto one person’s footsteps. She isolated them through the unknown number of tunnels in between them and followed wherever they went. It seemed like the man had no sense of direction, bouncing from one place to another, and at some points stopping another. That was until the footsteps stopped some distance away, but directly in front of her.

She waited as echoes of the footsteps came closer and eventually, he pounded on what seemed to be a wooden door. The man in the room opened the door and conversed in Borzor. Before she could have a hint of what was happening, she was brought to her feet and rushed through the tunnels. She continued to demand what was happening, but the man yelled, screamed, and for the first time, hit her.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Claudia lost her footing at various points but was quickly brought to her feet before being dragged off into a crowd where she seemed to hit every person that she could. As she continued to be dragged, the air changed. It was becoming drier. The humidity of every person’s breath no longer dominated the air. Claudia began to shiver as it got colder and before she knew it, she was outside.

Claudia began to become hopeful. Was she being returned? Had Maximus pressured the People’s Lord into giving her up, or worse, negotiating with them? No matter what it was, it seemed there was no bloodshed. There were no screams, swords, or arrows flinging in the air; and no bodies on the ground as they walked further from the tunnels.

Claudia began to question the commotion. Why would there be a mass panic if the dispute was resolved peacefully?

However, all that hope was ripped out as she was forced to her knees. She asked one more time what was happening. The man who dragged her outside didn’t answer but a voice she recognized did. It was the scarred man, the man who took her, and—as far as Claudia was concerned—was the People’s Lord. He stepped within centimeters of her and squatted down. She could only tell by where he was based on the location of his voice. “Your husband has violated our terms. It seems there is no other choice but to follow through on our end.” He stood back up and backed away.

Claudia stayed silent as she knew what that meant. Gusts of wind blew past her and what Claudia assumed was a group of people around her, but everyone was silent. The only noise was from the commotion back from the tunnels. Claudia continued to demand what was happening, as they stayed silent. She wanted to know if her husband was safe if her children were safe, and why she was brought outside, but any hope of her questions being answered disintegrated as she heard the sound of a sword swinging out of a sheathe.

She fell silent as footsteps came from behind. The scarred man spoke once again. “Claudia Qar, you are charged and found guilty of treason, fraud, and conspiracy to murder. You have been sentenced to death. Do you have any last words?” His voice was too calm for the execution of a royal. Any respectable citizen of the Kingdom of Qar wouldn’t be able to bring themselves to say those words.

“May Mydrazan be forgiving and let you repent for your sins,” Claudia responded. She could barely have enough time to fully fear her situation.

There was no response for a moment before the scarred man spoke again. “Commence.”

Her head would be on its way to Gatherstorm that night.