Primrose shivered and curled into an even tighter ball, trying to get what little warmth she could from her thin blanket. Spring had just begun, and the forest floor still held onto the cold of winter. This was not the first time Primrose had camped in a forest, but she didn't have her armor's comfort this time. That had been stripped from her, along with her status, her home, and her honor. Dressed in a simple peasant smock wet with the late-night dew, covered by a threadbare blanket cuddling with her sword which served as the last reminder of her past life, Primrose fully felt the full weight of her new position. She was no longer Pink Primrose leader of the 31st squadron of the Surrexerunt Exercitus under the direct protection of Red Cornelia she was just Primrose.
Primrose could barely believe that one mistake could make her lose 15 years of ceaseless labor. She went from a highly respected soldier of the third-highest rank possible to being banished from her home with nowhere to go and no one to turn to. Her eyes stuck as the now familiar feeling of lost filled her body.
Primrose was suddenly shaken out of her pity party by the sound of many loud stomping foot sounds and a man screaming his head off. She carefully bundled up her few belongings in her blanket and followed the sounds. After three days traveling deep into these torturous woods Primrose rushed towards the sound of people. She hoped now she could accomplish her goal in coming into the with dangerous forest where wild beasts ran rampant, and more than half the plants were poisonous. That goal being throwing her life away either defeating a large and terrible beast or saving some lost traveler. Life had nothing left to offer her, but suicide felt like an insult when she thought of her fallen brothers and sisters in arms. IF she could give her life to save someone then she could face her fallen friends in the afterlife with no regrets. Primrose had spent many years traveling the lands in the army and seen many great and wonderous things, she was not prepared for what she saw when she located the source of the screams.
It looked like an entire town was marching in a weirdly silent parade with torches and standing in the front was a man bound at the wrists and ankles with heavy metal chains, and he was being pulled by two other men. The chained man was the only one making any noise, and he was screaming at the top of his lungs, "I didn't do anything wrong! She wanted it too!"
Primrose gritted her teeth as that one sentence reminded her painfully of the cause of her banishment. The Prince shouted those same words at her and everyone believed him, seemingly not seeing her own ripped dress and bruised wrists. She was gratified to see that no one in that group seemed to be listening to him. Primrose decided to follow the group, maybe witnessing some justice would help the ache in her heart.
The group went to an open field where they already had a giant woodpile with a large wooden pole in the center. That gave Primrose pause; burning him alive seems a little excessive. Suddenly a vision of her attack flashed in her mind and how she felt after...maybe death by fire was more than a fitting punishment.
The two men holding the chains tied him to the pole while he struggled violently, and they stepped back. The mob surrounded the pile, and one man and a girl dressed in a long white dress stepped up in front of the group. Primrose was able to get a better view of the criminal as he was elevated above everyone else on the woodpile. The man had a feyish look about him, tall and lean with alabaster skin and long white hair. Despite or maybe because of the strangeness of his appearance, he was incredibly handsome. Primrose, for a moment, wondered why a man who looked like him would have to force anyone to anything but quickly threw such a stupid thought out, the Prince was attractive as well, but that didn't stop him.
The man standing in front of the pile cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and addressed the crowd, "I thank all of you for coming to the execution of this vile, villainous man- No, this monster does not even deserve to be called a man. He came into our town, masquerading as a simple traveler, with the most insidious intentions. Over a few weeks, he defiled several of our town's virtuous women; our daughters and wives. Including my own darling daughter Vanessa,"
Saying that he put his arm a woman in white. She put her face into his neck and wrecked with tears, looking utterly broken. Primrose noticed several of the women in the crowd looked similarly distressed," But we can not blame them for they were victims of this monster's magic. Yes, my friends, this man is not only a dishonorable, immoral swindler; he is a wizard, a user of the dark arts. Taking advantage of our women's innocence, this criminal used his magic to manipulate and exploit our women. He forced them to do horrible unnatural things that they would have never have done without his influence. So together, my fellow townsmen and women, let us end this cretin's miserable life and wipe his evil power from this world."
Together they all grabbed and lit a torch. One by one, the townspeople laid their lit torch onto the pile of sticks. The man screamed desperately, proclaiming his innocence and damning the women as liars and self-serving bitches. As he struggled, his shirt got torn, and his wizard's mark, an intricate moving, magical symbol branded on his skin, was suddenly visible. Primrose's blood ran cold. That man was actually a wizard, not the usual magician with a delusion of grandeur. Primrose had worked closely with the Royal Wizard Juliet on many occasions, so she knew a lot about them. Wizards were rare and mighty beings. Every wizard is tied to a pacific emotion: happiness, sadness, rage, or lust. You can figure out which emotion they are linked with by their wizard marks. They must draw power directly from another person's feelings and then use that power to bend the laws of the universe. Wizards are not different from ordinary people until they reach puberty and their wizard's mark appear on their body. One more thing, Primrose knew about wizards that made what she was watching horrific. Wizards are physically unable to lie, ever, for any reason. Which means Primrose was watching an innocent man burn alive.