Effie wasn't certain exactly how much time had passed while she sat arm-in-arm with Anise, awaiting the inevitable arrival of the royal soldiers. Though the sun hadn't even begun to rise in the east yet, still somehow it felt as though she'd been waiting for an eternity. And neither Effie nor Anise said another word to each other for the duration of it. They were just... waiting. Waiting in utter silence save for the gentle, rhythmic breathing of Silas's un-labored breaths as he lay sleeping on the table. That, at least, was some solace. Knowing that he had been saved by their magic was enough to let Effie know that their sacrifice wouldn't be totally in vain.
Yet Effie's stomach still roiled with dread, her insides twisting and turning until she was nauseous. But her face remained as hard as stone, not letting it betray the fear that threatened to swallow her whole. If it wasn't for the strength she got form the the woman sitting next to her, Effie wasn't certain she'd be able to hold herself together at all.
In time, the inevitable finally did come.
Effie sensed them first.
Then the sound of their footfalls followed closely after, voices echoing through the empty streets of Evanore as they neared the apothecary. The little bell above the entryway screamed as the door burst open, nearly being ripped off its hinges, and several soldiers dressed in full armor forced their way inside.
"You two, come with us," one of them commanded, signaling for Effie and Anise to follow them outside.
At the sight of them, Effie was reminded of a very similar situation. She was suddenly thrust back in time, forced to re-live every moment of the horrors she had suffered at the hands of the royal soldiers many years ago. She remembered each second of it with perfect clarity, as if it had just happened yesterday. And it took everything within her not to let that white-hot rage in the center of her chest spread, and take control. She refused to repeat that moment. She would never kill with her powers again if she could help it.
But when Effie and Anise refused to get up as the soldier had commanded, the man who had made the order quickly grew annoyed. "I don't have time for games. Drag them outside," he commanded.
And at his command, two soldiers stepped forward at once, each grabbing a handful of the women's hair to drag them out by. Effie's scalp screamed in pain, and the rest of her body followed suit as she was roughly pulled through the apothecary, her limbs and torso ramming painfully into chairs and table legs as if she were nothing but a rag doll.
In the next moment she was outside, her skirt tearing into tatters along the ground, exposing her bare legs to the burning sensation of the gravel rolling beneath her. Then the world was sent reeling as she was thrown down, her face slamming painfully onto the ground below, her head bouncing off the dirt so hard her ears rang. But despite the pain, she was still burning with tenacity.
Effie scrambled to get off the ground the second she had been thrown down, determined to make her escape. But before she could, a large boot slammed into her back, and pain exploded through her spine, the action pinning her back down onto the ground. This time, there was too much pain to move again. Her arms were jerked back hard, being pulled so far behind herself that she was certain they would be ripped from their sockets. And then someone tied her wrists together tightly with a rough piece of rope that rubbed and tore at her flesh. Next, her ankles were tied, and after that her capture was complete. Now she found herself in the same exact position that she had seen her mother in fifteen years ago. The irony of it nearly made her laugh bitterly despite the pain.
Panting, and tasting a mixture of dirt and blood inside her mouth, Effie turned her head to look for Anise. And sure enough, she saw her aunt laying on the ground next to her. And judging by her appearance, it looked as though she'd been treated in a similarly rough manner.
"Erect the pyres!" A soldier commanded, and Effie's stomach heaved dry bile in response. This was really it, wasn't it? This was where she was going to die.
And as the soldiers got to work assembling the two pyres, stacking wood and kindling high around each of the stakes, the apparent commander of the group began to circle Effie and Anise on the ground, working his way slowly around them as if he was taking in the sight of them.
"A wrinkly old hag, and a scrawny young woman," he observed out loud with disgust, rubbing his beard thoughtfully.
His circling motion finally stopped before Effie, where he squatted down, grabbing her by the hair again, and roughly jerking her head back to get a good look at her face. Effie's scalp burned with renewed pain, and it felt as though the delicate bones in her neck would snap, but she didn't cower away. She looked the soldier dead in the eye, making sure he could see the flame of defiance and indignation burning in hers.
"This one's not even that attractive," he frowned with dissatisfaction. "What an unsightly mop of short brown hair. A plain face with freckles that ruin her nose, and a body built like a boy's. I couldn't even enjoy having my way with her before the execution even if I wanted to. Though I must say, it'll be a shame to burn a girl with eyes as usual as hers. I don't think I've ever seen eyes like those before. Such a rare shade of purple. Like a pair of precious amethysts. And so piercing too. It's like they're burning a hole straight through my soul... Or they would be if I had a soul, that is."
'Good,' Effie thought. 'I'd hoped you could feel all of my bitter loathing through these eyes.' And as she stared him down, she resisted the urge to spit straight into his face. The last time she'd done something like that, she couldn't breath properly for weeks.
The soldier's laughter was spine-chilling as he released Effie's head suddenly, letting her face slam hard into the ground again. And she tasted a fresh trickle of blood on her lip.
"But over-all, I think I'm going to enjoy watching these two burn," he chuckled, making his way over to examine the pyres as they neared completion.
At some point during the ordeal, all of the commotion in front of the apothecary had drawn a few curious on-lookers from their beds who shuffled out into the streets that early morning to witness the event. Her execution. Men in their long-johns and nightcaps held out dimly lit lanterns to try and get a better view. Women pulled their robes modestly over their nightgowns, pretending to be shocked by what they were witnessing.
But Effie heard their whispers and felt their disdain. She could feel their hunger for the scandal of it all. They were enjoying the excitement. And it was in that moment that Effie realized the very people of Evanore, who's wounds and ailments she'd treated for so many years, had turned their backs on her and Anise. And the betrayal of it was far more painful than any of cuts or bruises that the soldiers had inflicted on her up till now.
"Is that Anise and Effie Barlow from the Apothecary? Seriously?"
"I'm shocked!"
"I simply can't believe they were witches this whole time."
"I'm horrified that I ever let them near me. I feel violated."
Was this exactly how her mother had felt in the moments leading up to her own execution? If Effie had known how much pain must have been tearing her mother's heart into pieces back then, she wouldn't have been able to bear it.
Soon, the make-shift construction of the pyres was complete, and the two women were dragged up onto them, collecting more scrapes and splinters along their skin, though Effie thought it hardly mattered now. In a few short minutes they would be nothing but ash. Unless...
For one brief moment, she realized that should could make this all go away if she wanted. She didn't have to die here. She could make all the bad men disappear in a spray of blood and viscera. But could she really live with herself after having done it? Would she even be herself anymore? Most likely not. Most likely, the black shard in her heart would finish its take-over of her, and she would be a witch gone rogue.
The soldiers read out their crime, and punishment to the small crowd gathered below, but their voices rang hollow in Effie's ears. She couldn't even make out the words, not that they mattered now anyway. Nothing mattered anymore.
But for some reason, the last image that entered her mind before the soldiers readied the torches was that of the white haired man she'd met and saved in the forest days ago. The blank stare of his golden yellow eyes, mostly devoid of feeling but so very beautiful. Then she wondered why she was thinking about him at a time like this. She wondered why her heart called out to him now? What would he even do if he could hear her silent cries? Appear out of thin air to rescue her? Yeah, right. If he was here now, he'd probably be one of the soldiers that threw the torches at her pyre.
Effie's ears had gone so hollow, she almost didn't hear the shout of a man's voice echoing across the street.
"Stop!"
The soldiers with the torches in their hands paused mid-swing, only fractions of a second away from having released the fire onto the kindling. Effie's sigh of relief was nearly audible, but that sensation didn't last long, for her breath caught in her throat the moment she laid her eyes on the person who had interrupted her execution.
"I order you to stop in the name of the throne!" Commanded the voice of a soldier sitting atop a familiar white horse.
In that moment the air was sucked out of Effle's lungs until she could scarcely breathe. Was she dreaming? But peeking out through the soldier's helmet was a pair of golden-yellow eyes fringed by long white lashes, their burning stare directed at the soldiers surrounding the pyres. Those eyes answered all of Effie's questions. Somehow, the man from the forest was before her now, looking much like a white knight coming in to save the day.
But he was a soldier, so why was he going against the king's orders to stop this execution? And why were the rest of the soldiers, including the commanding officer, all following his orders? Something wasn't adding up here.
"What is the meaning of all this?" The golden-eyed man demanded.
To Effie's surprise, the soldiers bowed their heads before the man on the white horse, making her start to think he wasn't just some ordinary soldier after all. He must be very high ranking for the rest of the men to treat him with such respect.
"They're witches, your highness," the commanding officer said. "And as such, you know that they must be punished according to the law."
Wait... did they just call him 'you highness?' As in... this man might not be a soldier at all, but royalty?! Effie was so floored, she almost didn't follow the rest of the conversation.
"Well that's plain to see," the man on the white horse said coldly. "But why are you about to execute the girl who saved my life?"
Effie's head was spinning now. How on earth had he known she saved his life? She sneaked away before he even woke up to recognize her. Not only that, but his wound had healed so completely that there should have been no way for him to tell that he had ever been hurt at all. So did that mean... somehow he was conscious? And if so... he must have been aware of her using her magic to heal him! Panic now clawed its way up her throat at the thought. This whole time she'd been such a foolish girl. Not a wise, mature woman, but a child.
Though somehow, all of this seemed much too convenient. Like fate had played its roll in saving her life. Effie hardly understood how it happened herself, but if she had never met the man in the woods, would he be here now stalling her inevitable demise? Perhaps everything still would have played out in this manner no matter what had happened back then. Or perhaps... perhaps she would be burning right about now.