The air in the over-crowded square was rife with the cries of a people who had been wronged. Cheated. Betrayed. People pushed, shoved, and fought to find a better place so they would be able to get a better visual.
Men, women, children, old, young, commoners, and nobles, from all five Kingdoms of Alam stood shoulder to shoulder, to see what was to be done with the Betrayer.
To witness the final punishment, that would befall the man who had broken their faith.
Amongst the crowd, two figures darted through the bodies. Their hands were in a tight grip so as to not lose one another as they to fought to get a better viewpoint.
"There." One of them cried, spying a large column that stood at the very edge of the square. The column hosted a marble statue, and though it was difficult the two of them somehow managed to find spaces wide enough to host their feet.
Now that they could see past the sea of heads filling the square, a sight, the likes of which they had never seen before, greeted the two young ones.
On a wide platform stood a number of official-looking people. They had to be, given the way they were dressed, and seemed to hold themselves. Even from this far, the pair could make out the look of complete arrogance and conceit that etched their faces. But what truly caught their attention was a man kneeling on the ground. His hands were tied behind his back, and he was clearly a prisoner.
Despite the demeaning position he was in, his back was straight, his shoulders thrown back and his chin held high as he gazed out at the sea of people all assembled to watch his demise.
From a small door in the wall behind the platform, emerged a tall figure. Dressed in black from head to toe and carrying a wicked-looking axe, the sight of him only made the people bellow and howl louder.
"The Executioner." One of the two young ones whispered, their innocent eyes never once straying from the sight in front of them.
The crowd was truly in a frenzy now, shouting words of insult of all manners and tongues at the prisoner. Finally, one of the figures on the platform stepped forward. He raised a hand and the crowd grew silent until eventually, all that could be heard was the breeze.
"This man turned his back on his Kingdom." His words rang loud and clear in the square and beyond. He turned slightly to point a finger at the still-kneeling man. "And there is but one punishment fit for a man who betrays their people, and that is death."
His words were received with the reaction he had been hoping for if the look on his face was anything to go by.
The crowd was screaming for blood.
His blood.
They had not even stopped to comprehend that spilling the accused's blood would spell the doom of the entire world as they knew it.
With a nod of approval from the Speaker, the Executioner strode forward, gripping his axe firmly as he went to stand behind the man he would be beheading. The man didn't even flinch, instead, he seemed to straighten his posture even more, his eyes fixed on the people before him.
His people.
Who thought he had turned his back on them.
The executioner raised his arms, the freshly sharpened axe glinting in the mid-morning sun. The screaming horde reached its crescendo, the vile sound echoing in the ears of the two young ones who were still watching.
A brief pause where the executioner adjusted his grip and his stance to better his aim. A frivolous matter to him, but what provided a few precious seconds more to the man about to be beheaded.
And then the axe fell.