The Execution

The town square was utterly packed, preparing for the execution of Ichabod Swann. I stood on the city walls, watching things unfold from a distance with Zeya. There was nobody else standing near us.

Cassel, Jovik, and Cordelia said it was an emergency, and so the regular laws didn’t apply. I frowned a little. Even if everyone agreed with the situation, I didn’t want to join in with the crowd’s cheering.

The guards dragged Ichabod out of the palace, and the people in the streets started hurling abuse.

“Kill him!”

“Death to traitors!”

“We’d all be dead if he got away with it! Kill him!”

The soldiers dragged him down the steps slowly, and he yelled back at the crowd. “I don’t deserve to die! I didn’t do it! Please!”

He was dragged along further, and then pulled down to a chopping block. The guards pushed him to his knees, and Cassel turned to the crowd.

“Yesterday, we enjoyed a great victory! We risked our lives to defend each other and this glorious revolution!”

“However… This was only possible because we had trust. Trust that the soldier next to us would have our back. Trust in our leaders. Trust in our cause.”

Cassel unrolled the charter, with Archmage Audra’s seal stamped on it.

“Ichabod Swann, militiaman, cafe owner… and traitor? The cannons that brought down the Black Knights very nearly didn’t get made in time. I wonder, how many other tricks have you played on us?!”

“LET ME GO!”, yelled Ichabod.

“Oh, are you innocent? Do you think this charter is a fake? We’ve had our finest scholars analyse it. Nobody could have done this but Audra herself.”

“I, I,-” Ichabod mumbled.

“Do you have any defence to make?”

Ichabod paused, staring at the charter in disbelief and shaking his head. As if something had possessed him, a great calm washed over his body.

“No. I have no more defences to make. I am ready to face my death.”

Cassel smirked, raising an eyebrow. “They all go quiet once they see the evidence.”

Cassel then roared to the crowd. “Ichabod Swann! For the crime of treason against Queen Cordelia and the people of Leyth, I condemn you…”

Guards shoved Ichabod’s neck onto the execution block. From the distance, I frowned, even if I knew the evidence was damning.

I held my breath. Cassel raised an axe.

“...to death!”

There was a loud chop, and I closed my eyes. All across the town were booming cheers, louder than even during the festival. The people of the town began to cheer.

“DOWN WITH THE TRAITOR!”

“LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!”

“LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!”

I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder, and opened my eyes. Zeya was looking at me with an almost motherly affection.

“People will tell you that to be a good leader, you need to throw away your emotions and look at the cold hard logic of the world. But I’ve done that for too long, and it’s only made me end up in the same old situation.”

She smiled a little.

“Keep your heart, Seraphine. Even if you can’t stop your own friends from going astray, you need to hold the truth in your heart. If after that battle you still feel bad for killing someone like this without a trial, even if it was in a time of crisis… then you might still be able to save everyone.”

I turned to Zeya.

“What do you mean? Aren’t you going to help save everyone?”

Zeya stroked the hilt of her sword somewhat affectionately, and smiled a bit. “I don’t think I’m going to stick with this revolution much longer. Just like last time I joined people I thought had a good heart… it all ended up like this.”

“Zeya, don’t give up! I need someone to help me stand up to this! Together, we can convince everyone that we don’t need royalty to listen to, and that the people can make change without having to resort to mobs!

Zeya shook her head. “Fine, fine, you really are insistent. I’ll give you time to find a replacement at least. I’m sure some other person like me will join once they hear the news that half the Archmages are dead. Xiulan’s pretty smart, isn’t she?”

“She’s a general, not a governor! Please, Zeya!”

Zeya sighed. “I’ll think about it.”

She walked off, and I started to feel very alone. I couldn’t help but realise that Cordelia, Cassel, and Jovik had formed something of a faction together. Before the battle, Jovik had always been making small digs at Cordelia, but now he was a true proponent of monarchism. I wanted a revolution, and Cordelia was a good rallying figure… But I felt bad seeing everything come to this.

I decided to seek out Xiulan, who was relatively detached from the whole affair. After asking the guards where she was, I was led outside her room in the palace. Part of me felt almost angry that she wasn’t taking a stance on the politics in the rebellion, but then I remembered how recently I had invited her… I suppose she still felt a bit like an outsider.

“Come in,” said Xiulan, before I even knocked.

I slowly opened the door, and saw Xiulan sipping some tea, making some sketches. She turned to face me, and smiled.

“Sera! What’s up?!”

“What’s up?! What’s up?! There was an execution outside!”

Xiulan shrugged. “Executions are pretty common things.”

“Yes,” I replied. “But we promised we’d give people trials before we did them… It feels like we’re going back on our promises as revolutionaries.”

Xiulan sipped some tea, and paused. “It’s not really my place to comment on Leyth’s politics. You only invited me as a general. Think of me as a mercenary.”

“Then I’m asking you as a friend, what do I do?! Zeya doesn’t even want to be part of this anymore because of the rifts between us!”

Xiulan paused for a few moments, and then frowned. “It’s a diversion strategy, Seraphine, and I fear you’ll come to see what I mean soon. What’s done is done. All I can tell you is to try harder to protect Cordelia from bad influences.”

“W-what?! Is somebody going to hurt her?”

Xiulan raised an eyebrow. “If the charter is undoubtedly real, then why do you think Ichabod was innocent? Or do you just think we just needed to blame the most convenient man when the traitor rumours got too loud?”

I frowned. “I… I think we need to keep our promises about giving guilty people trials. But when Zeya got so angry, so upset… I got the feeling she knows something I don’t, but is too afraid to say.”

“You think she’s figured it all out?”

I nodded meekly. “But then who made the charter…? Was Ichabod a spy for one of the others?”

Xiulan shook her head. “Or maybe he’s innocent. That would mean you’ve all played into Audra’s hands either way. And what about that Bloodletter? Why did he leave the battlefield when he could have marched in on you, saved the Black Knights, and defeated us all?”

“You know, don’t you?”, I asked.

“I have theories, and if they were wrong, I’d surely be beheaded for treason!” Xiulan laughed heartily, and put down her pen. “Besides, don’t you have people you can ask?”

I frowned. “Well, if the idea of a traitor is back on the table, I can’t really talk to anyone but you.”

Xiulan smiled. “No, not me, Sera! Those knights you arrested earlier!”

I hit my forehead, realising that I had totally forgotten about them. “Of course! I could have interrogated them! They might know something… Even if I can’t expect them to be totally honest. Do you think we still really have a traitor walking around freely?”

“Of course we do, Sera. And I think you’re probably too late. Ichabod’s been blamed, the people are cheering them all as heroes… and the battle has already been won. I get the feeling whether or not we do an investigation, we’re going to be on the back foot,” Xiulan replied.

“Damn it! Why didn’t you say? Who is it? Cordelia, Cassel, and Jovik both wanted the execution to happen!”

“The fact that nobody sabotaged the battle means that they wanted the rebellion to be strong before betraying everyone. Perhaps they wanted a stronger bargaining position… Or they just needed to prove that they were a serious actor,” Xiulan pondered.

The clock struck twelve, and the town bell began resonating through the building. Xiulan rose to her feet, and put down her writing materials.

“I guess it’s time for our lunchtime agenda meeting. Don’t tell anyone what I told you… and try to smile a bit more, alright?”

I nodded a little, and stopped frowning. “I guess when it comes to finding the traitor… we’re back to square one.”