"No!" Elizabeth exclaimed, her voice piercing the air as her legs carried her forward involuntarily.
At that very moment, the executioner's weighty blade hung suspended, and all those present in the palace grounds turned their gaze toward Elizabeth. She hurled herself toward Aurora, trembling and desperate, using her own body as a shield.
"What is the meaning of this folly?" King Murdoch, seated in his designated royal place, abruptly rose, his brows furrowed in clear displeasure. "Seize that girl."
Immediately, the soldiers rushed toward Elizabeth and forcibly separated her from Aurora.
"No, no... I beseech you, let her go. My lady!" Aurora cried out to the soldiers, attempting to cling desperately to her princess. However, one of the soldiers pushed her roughly to the ground, causing Elizabeth to emit a piercing shriek.
They dragged Elizabeth and placed her on the ground before King Murdoch, who was flanked by Queen Clara on the left and Prince Nicholas on the right. Prince Jack was also seated next to his elder brother, Prince Nicholas.
"It appears you have forgotten your place as a slave," King Murdoch spat at Elizabeth. "Do you desire death?"
"I implore you, Your Majesty," Elizabeth struggled to her feet and knelt, clasping her hands desperately. "I beg you, spare her life."
"Silence," King Murdoch pointed his scepter at her. "Another word from you, and I shall end both your lives." He then turned his attention to his eldest son. "Have you not taught your slave any decorum?"
"My apologies, father," Prince Nicholas bowed his head slightly before turning to face Elizabeth, his eyes burning with anger. "This transgression shall not be repeated."
"Guards," he rose abruptly, his gaze never leaving Elizabeth's pitiful form. "Remove her left arm."
"No!" Aurora leaped up and approached the motionless Elizabeth. She knelt before the king, making sure to shield Elizabeth. "I implore you, Your Majesty. Forgive her, I beg you. I was the one who attempted to escape. Punish me instead." Tears flowed freely from her eyes.
The crowd erupted into a sound of loud debate, with some supporting and the majority opposing the cruel orders.
"Silence!" The crowd fell silent immediately. "Guards!" Prince Nicholas paid no heed to Aurora's loud lamentations and gestured to the guards to carry out his command.
They pushed Aurora aside and seized Elizabeth. Elizabeth's eyes remained unmoving and devoid of expression as she held her head high, prepared to face death if necessary, for she had grown weary of it all.
The soldier took hold of her arm and positioned it carefully, raising his hand, poised to deliver a brutal strike, when a voice intervened.
All eyes turned to Prince Jack, who promptly rose, directing his attention to his father.
"Father, if we were to sever her arm, she'd be ill-suited for her servitude as a slave. Moreover, this marks her first transgression. Why not instruct the guards to administer a flogging instead?" He exchanged a knowing glance with his brother, who responded with a disapproving scowl.
"Uhm...ummm," King Murdoch cleared his throat, and Prince Nicholas shifted his focus to his father. "What say you? The final decision rests with you, as she is your slave."
"I shall spare her this time and order a flogging," Prince Nicholas replied to his father with a hint of unease.
King Murdoch, however, noticed the sudden tension in his demeanor and the unspoken communication between his sons. He wondered why Prince Nicholas had yielded so readily to Prince Jack's suggestion.
"Flog her, twenty lashes," he commanded the guards, who promptly got ready to carry out his directive.
Elizabeth observed the exchange between the two brothers in silence, occasionally locking eyes with Prince Jack, who perhaps held an interest in her.
"But before that," Prince Nicholas spoke again, a cruel smirk on his lips as he regarded Elizabeth. "Execute the runaway slave. Now!"
Elizabeth's heart plummeted as she processed the orders. She watched helplessly as a sobbing Aurora was dragged back to the executioner's stand.
"No...no, please," Elizabeth pleaded frantically, but Prince Nicholas's gaze remained cold and unyielding.
She turned to Nicholas's brother, but he averted his gaze. Prince Jack seemed indifferent to the fate of some inconsequential slave girl. Elizabeth didn't bother to implore Queen Clara either, for her expression was one of disdain as she regarded Elizabeth.
The executioner raised his blade high, preparing for the grim task with a ritualistic dance. In that heart-wrenching moment, Aurora's pained eyes locked with Elizabeth's. She silently mouthed, "Stay alive, my lady."
Elizabeth's heart shattered into countless pieces as she witnessed the executioner swiftly sever Aurora's head, in a cruel and unjust demise.
Her body quivered with the intensity of her sobs, and tears streamed down her face like an unending river of agony. The pain she endured was nearly unbearable as she watched her beloved servant meet such a cruel and unjust fate.
Before she could even collect her thoughts and recover from the shock of the gruesome event, the situation took a darker turn. Prince Nicholas ordered the guards to flog her mercilessly, and Elizabeth's body tensed in dread as she prepared for the impending torment.
She was dragged and forced to lie on the floor, while a burly soldier stood behind her, whip in hand. She tightly shut her eyes, bracing herself for the lashes.
The first strike of the whip felt like a searing blade slicing through her skin, causing Elizabeth to emit a piercing scream as agony engulfed her. Each subsequent lash surpassed the previous one, an unrelenting onslaught of suffering that made her body contort and writhe in torment.
She wondered if they had reached twenty lashes yet. She struggled to endure, to resist the pain, but it proved too overwhelming. Eventually, the world around her faded, and Elizabeth descended into an abyss of darkness and suffering. The last thing she remembered was a final, bone-shattering lash before losing consciousness.