The Resurrection of the executed Crown Princess (2)
Your Majesty.”
“I’ll never forget the kindness and support you’ve shown me, even when I die. Now, please stop crying.”
Stroking the hair of the crying empress, I raised my head towards the guards.
“Go ahead and tie me up.”
The prison guard bowed down towards me and then shook his head.
“… I won’t take charge here, I owe you a favor for the last time.”
I felt the shadow of death looming over me, with only a small ray of sunlight shining through the dark dungeons corridors.
I can’t escape my fate, I accept that. But my family, what will their fate be?
As I exited the dungeon, the guards put a hood over my head and shoved me in a wagon. As I left the area, I heard the mournful cries of the empress, desperately calling out to me. When we stopped, I overheard the mumbling voices of people.
(T/N: Hood in this case refers to the bag placed over a criminal’s head to lessen the shock of the audience.)
“It’s the devil behind a mask! The murderer!”
“Kill her!!”
It wasn’t until someone removed the hood from my head that I could truly get a grasp of where I was. It was the Town Square in Reynos. There were hundreds of Reynoldian citizens gathered at the square to witness my execution.
The citizens acted as if they were looking at something more terrible than anything else in the world, their eyes full of hatred and contempt.
“Kill the Crown Prince’s murderer! Off with her head!”
“The Princess of Burdan is a witch! Kill her!”
The angry mob threw stones at me. Not even a week ago, I was loved by the hundreds of people here, and was honored as the crowned princess.
Now, I was seen as a terrible monster who killed her husband, and was being stoned by the very people who once praised me.
In the center of the square, the emperor and empress were looking down at me with a relentless gaze, and beneath them, the body of my husband, Karzan, was wrapped in lilies, as if he were merely asleep.
I wasn’t me! I didn’t kill him!
I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream out, It wasn’t me! I’m innocent!
However, I couldn’t say anything because of the gag that was firmly placed in my mouth. I wanted to raise my head proudly, but I was afraid to make eye contact with anyone, amongst the harsh gazes of the people.
Executioners shackled my ankles with thick, large chains, making any escape attempt useless.
Another executioner dragged a wheelbarrow covered with straw that dripped with blood in front of me.
“Walk!”
I could guess what it was, so I turned my head as the guards pulled off the cover. However the guard next to me grabbed my head to prevent me from looking away.
“Don’t you dare close your eyes, or we’ll cut your eyelids out so you’ll have no choice but to look!”
On the wheelbarrow, layed my father and mother. My brother laid with his eyes closed peacefully, as if he was asleep, however, the turrets stained with red told me that they were no longer alive.
The moment I saw the miserable state of my family, the tears I desperately held back started to pour out.
I recalled the voices of my father and my mother, whom I won’t be able to call ever again, their final words from before the wedding, ringing vividly in my ears.
[Vennita. Our daughter. You will be the crown princess tomorrow. Let us call out your name while we still have the chance, Vennita.]
For my wine-loving younger brother, I quietly made a custard and put it at the front of his door. My family’s only sin was sending me to the imperial family.
Was it such a great crime, that my entire family deserved to be eliminated?
The sound of a blade unsheathing came from behind me, as if to announce my death. The executioner’s sharp blade flew towards my neck.
I clasped my body with both hands as I was holding the musical partition of the witch that the empress gave me.
If I am to be born again, I won’t ever live a life like this again.
If life gave me another opportunity… I won’t ever live as a victim of betrayal and conspiracy again.
The moment I closed my eyes, I began singing the song of the witch who was unjustly executed.
Everything was a dream.
A long one, harsh and bitter
Now I will wake up from this long and cruel dream, leaving behind all my sorrows and woes.
***
“Lady Vennita!”
Tasha! This is definitely Tasha’s voice. As soon as I jumped out of bed, I saw Tasha’s distressed face.
“Lady Vennita, do you know how much you made me worry when you wouldn’t wake up?”
“Ta- Tasha?”
Am I dreaming? This was too good to be true, so I must be. I’ve never used magic before, nevertheless, I hugged Tasha, cheek to cheek. Even if this is a dream, I’m happy.
“W-Why did you do that, Lady Vennita?”
The embarrassed voice of Tasha rang out, but I was relieved.
“Tasha, is this a dream?”
“What are you talking about? Princess, did you have a nightmare last night?”
“Nightmare?”
“you have cold sweat. Was the nightmare that scary…”
Was that really a dream? All those years of life? I wonder if I could’ve dreamed for so long that I couldn’t even call it a “nightmare”.
I hugged Tasha as if to confirm that this moment was real.
As the empress said, the music score of the witch gave me the chance to turn my life back around.
“Vennita!”
My brother Bahrain opened the door and came in with a desperate look on his face.
“Vennita! Are you okay?!”
“Brother!”
I released Tasha and jumped out of bed, ran toward Bahrain, and hugged him. My brother was embarrassed by my sudden behavior, but I didn’t care. There was nothing more important to me than the fact that I had a living brother.
Bahrain pulled me off his neck and started looking at my legs. My ankle was wrapped in a tight bandage.
“Vennita. You fell off a horse yesterday. How are your legs? Are you okay?”
I fell off a horse?
Tasha shivered at the mere thought of it, as if it were horrible.
“Don’t even talk about it. I haven’t been able to sleep since Miss fell off yesterday, and she just woke up… I think the lady had a nightmare.“
“A nightmare?”
“Yes.”
Suddenly, he just hugged me and cried.
Bahrain nodded, as if he understood.
“The shock from falling off the horse must have been pretty big.”
When did I ever fall off a horse…
“Tasha, what year is it today?”
Not only Tasha, but Bahrain looked at me with a surprised expression. In a flash, their expressions darkened.
“Tasha. Didn’t you say that Vennita fell and hurt only her leg? Did she fall on her head, as well?“
“Oh no. Well, I’m sure she’s okay, except for her sprained ankle…”
The two seemed unwilling to answer my question.
Suddenly, I got up and felt a slight pain in my ankle.
I remembered that I was 17 when I fell and sprained my ankle, while riding a horse. It was a week before the arrival of the first captain, who was on the list of fiancee candidates, from the imperial family.
I checked the calendar and found that today was September 2nd, 502, in the Ray Northern Empire, when I was 17 years old.
“Vennita. Your ankle might not be healed yet, so sit down. Now, Tasha. Would you bring a wheelchair for Vennita?”
“Yes, of course milord.”
“Bahrain. What about father and mother? Where are they?“
“Father’s out there talking to a congressman. Would you like to go see him?”
I slowly turned my head and looked out the window. I could see my mother and father sitting on a bench outside, talking to the congressman. When I saw my parents’ faces, I felt emotional all over again. My room was on the first floor, so I went straight to the window, ready to leap outside.
“Vennita! Are you crazy? Your ankle is injured! Come back, Vennita!”
“Oh my gosh. Lady Vennita!”
Tasha, who was pushing a wheelchair, had no idea what to do and grabbed the wheelchair.
Bahrain followed me, but failed to catch up with me, due to his now sore ankle.
I missed my parents so much that I couldn’t even feel the throbbing pain in my ankle.
I ran on the grass and kept running, to see the faces of my parents, which I was longing for. I had to confirm whether this moment was a dream, or not.
“Mama! Papa!”
My mother and father were surprised to see me running barefoot, shouting at them.
“Vennita! What the hell is going on here?“
“Vennita!”
I ran in tears and opened my arms, as if to hug them. My father immediately opened his arms and hugged me as I dug my face into his arms.
“Vennita. What’s wrong with you? What’s going on?”
“Vennita! What would we do if you hurt your ankle more than you already have!”
I buried my face onto my father’s shoulders, stealing tears from my hands.
“I just… wanted to see you.”
“What?”
“Vennita! The Duke’s daughter running around in the garden barefoot is unheard of!“
I reached out to my mother as well. She looked at me with a stunned expression and embraced me, as if saying she could not win.
“Vennita. What happened? I was surprised to hear that you sprained your ankle yesterday.”
I embraced her, while pledging again and again in my mother’s arms.
This time, I won’t live a miserable and pathetic life in the shadow of Karzan, as his woman, who he had treated coldly and tormented, and above all, I will find the culprits who wiped out our family and punish them.
Then, I will find them and pull them out from upon their roots in order to reclaim everything, to fulfill the request the empress asked me to accomplish.
