тнe мaѕqυerade //a roleplay

The Execution

arian was sleeping fitfully on a mat in the corner of her cell when they came for her. when she heard the door to her cell clang open, she sat up, eyes wide with confusion. what was happening? why was someone here? were they finally going to let her go? she didn't move as the guards walked towards her. they grabbed her by the forearms and lifted her up, her tattered blanket falling to the floor. "w-what's going on?" arian asked, wincing as they dragged her towards the door, her slippered feet scraping against the stone floor of the dungeon. no one answered, but arian could tell by the way they kept their eyes cast on the floor, and refused to look at her, tell by the grim set of their mouths that they weren't letting her walk free. not today. arianwen didn't bother fighting. what was the point? even if she did try to escape, they'd just catch her. she was no match for them, not in her current state. not even before had she been. so she let them carry her up the stairs, and drag her down a long, bright hallway. she squinted ahead of her, the light almost too much for her eyes to handle, not when they'd been in the darkness of the dungeon for days. then again, maybe arianwen didn't want to see where she was going. a

after a while of staring at the carpet while it moved under her, arian heard the creak of a heavy door and looked up to find herself in the middle of what resembled a large courtroom. probably because it was a courtroom, although arian didn't know that.

there was a small platform in the centre of the room, and that was where the guards deposited arian. she fell to ground with a groan, nearly screaming in pain from all the bruises which were aching even worse now that she'd been tossed around again. arian looked up through her tangled nest of hair to see the two princes and the selected sitting on marble benches that had been set into the wall above her. arian may not have been educated, but she wasn't dumb. she knew what this was.

"arianwen caldecott." rhian stoof up from his seat and leaned over the railing, leering down at her. "you stand before us, accused of the attempted murder of six girls, and the murder of two, through the method of belladonna poisoning. how do you plead?"

arianwen already knew what her answer would be, knew it as she opened her mouth to speak, knew it as she glanced around and saw all the cameras aimed at her, saw the selected sitting beside each other, knew it as rhian met her eyes with a cold stare of his own and mouthed one word.

"guilty. i plead guilty. i did it."

rhian raised his hand and motioned to the guards who had taken their place at the entrance after leaving arian at the stand. "the penalty for murder is death. guards, execute her please."

arian's eyes widened, and she swivelled around to see the guards walking towards her. this was it, this is how she died. arian could feel her heart thumping in her ears, and fought the urge to vomit in terror.

but no. wait. rhian said she'd live. she'd done what he'd asked, she'd lied. except... except with kenzie. she'd told kenzie everything. rhian couldn't know that, though. could he? no, no, there was no way rhian knew. so she was safe. rhian would call the guards off at the last minute, say he'd changed his mind, that he was going to be merciful and let arianwen go home. she was going home.

"i am a merciful ruler, however," rhian said, glancing at the cameras situated around the room. "and so, i've decided," this was it, arian would be able to go home! she couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face at the thought of seeing her little brother again, being able to hug her sister, and getting to tell her mother everything. oh god, she'd missed them. but it would all be over soon. she'd see them in less than a day. because rhian was sending her home.

"that arianwen will not be executed in the traditional sense, for that is known to be excruciating in pain. instead, she will die the way her victims died. poison."

arian felt her jaw slacken, and the room grew fuzzy around the edges as she tried to understand what had just happened. poison? they were going to kíll her? rhian hadn't stopped them? what, no, this wasn't right. this couldn't be right. he wouldn't actually kill her...would he? no, he was drawing it out. he'd stop it at the last minute, that way it was especially dramatic. that was it. arian wasn't going to die today.

she regained her senses, and watched as another guard entered with a bottle of inky-black liquid and slowly approached her. the two previous guards made her flinch in surprise as they grabbed her from behind and held her in place.

even though arianwen was certain she wasn't about to die today, she still struggled against their grip as the guard brought the small flask to her lips. she pressed them tightly shut in defiance and searched for rhian, desperate to make eye contact, waiting for the moment when he would tell them to stop. except...it never came.

eventually, arian felt the liquid trickle into her mouth, no matter how hard she had tried to press it shut. she gagged at the sour taste as the guards let go of her and walked back to their posts, jobs done.

[ tw: somewhat descriptive death, artistic license ]

black spots swam in arian's vision as she clawed at her throat, almost like she could feel it closing up. she was going to die. oh god. she was dying. not like this, she didn't want to die like this. not when her family needed her. not when they didn't have the money to support themselves without her. not when she'd lied in the letter she'd sent to her mother, told her mother that she'd done it. oh god. she was going to die and her mother thought she was a murderer. oh god.

a gurgling, choking sound bubbles up and out of arian's mouth, and foam lined her lips. her pupils grew dilated, the colour leaving her skin. "you- you-" arian hacked, managing to jab a shaking finger at rhian, "did this, you, you," arian's chest tightened and she gasped in pain, keeling over. her shoulders shook uncontrollably for a moment before they came to a slow, shuddering stop. arian's fingers twitched, jerky, desperate movements as she clawed at the floor, her nails screeching against the marble tiles. and then, all of a sudden, it was silent.
[ tw over ]
grimly, the guards hesitantly walked forwards. one of them took out his sword and prodded arianwen's body with the jolt of it. "she's dead, sir." he said in a gruff voice.

rhian sighed, and glanced away from the ghastly sight, unable to bear it. "take it away." he said in a tight, pained voice. anyone watching very closely would have seen the ghost of a smile foot across his face before he rose and left without a second glance, the other inhabitants of the courtroom trailing after him.

this chapter is a little different than the usual one. there will be no roleplaying on this page, instead, comment your character's reaction and then head over to the new tasks chapter ( which i will publish soon! ). all location chains are now open.