Queen Dawna

028

Pixie: 21
Dawna: 24

The fear of death is only the result of an unfulfilled life - Franz Kafka

Knowing that you will die is bad and unpleasant but knowing that you will not be able to say goodbye to your family is even worse. The judge had indeed found the dotted woman guilty of all charges and had decided to shoot her with an arrow that same afternoon. Her family had not showed up for the trial; something that was probably the best for everyone. However, the Queen had not been there either whereas her aunt Delphinium had been there. She had spoken about the hurt Pixie had caused her niece and how dangerous she was to their society. Despite knowing that all those harsh words were true it still hurt to hear people speak badly about her. Pixie had not gotten a chance to say anything for herself since it was already clear that she would die. Everyone had known it, so no one bothered to waste any more energy nor time on the young woman.

The worst part about it was leaving her son behind as an orphan. Her heart shrunk just thinking about it and it made her even more sick. Self-hate was not something new for the dotted woman, but this time she absolutely loathed herself for what she had done.

'Try to calm down,' the voice of her husband spoke. He had been visiting his wife since she had been locked up in the dungeon days ago. 'It won't hurt too badly.'

'B-But Loöys,' she whimpered. 'I-I can't leave him. He'll be all a-alone.'

'No, he won't be alone. Our son will have your family; your oma, mother, sister and tree brothers to look after him.'

'He won't have us,' the dotted woman cried. 'I-I'm so s-sorry for making this m-mess. I'm s-so so sorry.'

Mathias kneeled down beside her, causing a chilly air to creep through her skin. 'It's okay, my sweet angel. You never meant for any of this to happen.'

'B-But it did h-happen and I disappointed you.'

'You could never disappoint me,' the man spoke while looking at her with great pain in his eyes. 'That's merely impossible.'

A door swung open before four guards entered the cells. They had a deadly look in their eyes and weapons on their belts. Pixie could not help but cry even louder as fear entered her body. Never before had she truly feared death, however, now that she was staring it in the face, she could no longer deny the fear it caused her.

'Let's go,' one of the men spoke with a low voice before he pulled her up. 'Keep walking and don't look at anyone else on our way to the garden. Understood?'

The dotted woman simply nodded before she hoisted herself on her feet with great difficulty.

'Will you wait for me on the other side?' her weak voice whispered, causing her husband to smile.

'I'll be there,' he promised her. 'Put on a great show there, this is your last chance.'

Once again the raven-haired woman started to cry as the guards pulled her with them by her arms rather harshly. Pain pulled through her body, but it was no competition to the pain in her heart. This was all her fault; it was useless to blame her father for joining the resistance all those years ago, it was useless to blame her oma for stimulation her to join the group and it was useless to blame the Queen for her lack of sympathy. This was all her fault since she was the one who had decided to lead the resistance, she had been the one who choose to spy on the Queen, and she had been the one who had gotten too involved. In the process she had not only hurt herself but Dawna, her entire family and most importantly her son as well and for that she would never be able to forgive herself.

A large crowd had formed itself in the garden where a little stage had been created for the occasion. Pixie noticed many the presence of some members of the resistance whose eyes showed their compassion. Delphinium stood on the wooden stage with at least five other guards next to her; the look in their eyes gave away that they did not care about the dotted woman at all.

The young mother got pushed on the stage where she was forced to face the audience. All of a sudden, her eyes found a few familiar ones that caused her heart to ache even more. Her oldest siblings, her mama and her oma had showed up. The pain that lay underneath the surface was clear and it made her cry even louder.

Pixie had never been one to cry in public or to cry at all if not necessary. As a child she would occasionally fall but she never shed one tear, not even if her bones broke. Now, however, the dotted woman was not able to stop the tears from streaming down her face.

'I-I love y-you,' her weak voice shouted to her family who instantly started to cry too. 'I'm s-so sorry.'

'Pixie, you are found guilty of the highest form of betrayal and you will pay for this offense with your life. Do you wish to say a few last words for everyone that is presence here today before our archer shoots his arrow?'

Her dark eyes crept to her familys before tears left them for the very last time.

'I l-love you,' her weak voice sounded again. 'Tell Loöys that I-I love him, p-please, remind him of this every day. Tell him how much he m-means to me and h-how much I love him. T-Take care of h-him. Please.'

No one replied, but that did not matter. She knew that they would take care of her little boy if the Queen choose not to do it. Dawna had not come to visit her after that afternoon which made it unclear whether or not she would take the responsibility of taking care of a little boy that was not even hers. Pixie felt stupid for even asking in the first place, knowing that the other woman would never do such thing.

'Alright then,' the honey blonde-haired woman spoke as the guards made their grip on her shoulders stronger, making it absolutely impossible for the dotted woman to escape. 'Farewell traitor.'

Just as the dotted woman closed her eyes the sound of an arrow that was fired by a bow filled her ears. It was aimed directly at her head where it would create a wound that would be fatal to her within seconds. Everything seemed to be in slow-motion, causing the young mother to be aware of everything that was happening around her. Her family's cries filled her ears as the zooming sound that came from the arrow seemed to come closer and closer. The only thing Pixie could think about was her little boy who would be left as an orphan in an already unfair world. It was her fault; she had dug her grave the same way her father had. She had followed his footsteps, despite always claiming Death came closer the closer the arrow came, until suddenly a heat combined with a red light shone through her closed eyelids. Her dark eyes were immediately opened, only to find the ashes of a burning arrow to be spread by the wind around her.

'That is quite enough!' a harsh voice spoke loudly, causing the soft mumbling to stop. 'Play time is over auntie.'

It was Dawna, of course it was Dawna. The Queen was dressed in a long black dress with wide sleeves and her familiar silver crown on her head. Her bright blue eyes looked between her auntie and the crying woman.

'Like I said, play time is over so let her go. Now,' the pale woman spoke with poison in her voice. It was clear that she was still everything but pleased with Pixies behaviour and that there was still some anger left in her.

'Dawna, dear, what are you doing here? This woman right here is found guilty of treason, therefore she deserves to die.'

The pale woman shook her head as her feet carried her closer. The dotted woman could not decide whether she should feel relieved because she was saved or terrified for what was about to come.

'No, no, no, auntie mine, because I am not the one that has found her guilty that was you, and I am not the one who sentenced her to death that was you as well. The last time I checked I was still the Queen and therefore the most powerful person in this realm. So, pray tell me, auntie dear, is there anything else you want to say?'

The colour in Delphiniums face disappeared when she heard her nieces words, knowing that there was nothing she could say or do to convince the stubborn woman. 'Fine,' she hissed eventually.

'Very well then,' the pale woman spoke before turning to the dotted woman who shivered underneath the look of her eyes. 'Come with me.'

There was a crazy tone in her voice as she forced the other woman to stand up and walk with her. 'Today is either going to be the luckiest or the absolute worst day you have ever had, Pixie dearest. So, be prepared.'

'Where're you taking me?' the dotted woman asked with a weak tone in her voice.

'To my room, dummy, because the two of us are going to have a little chit-chat.'