Everything around me happened really fast from then on. Alicia was made acting Queen until all the chaos settled and the King's burial was completed. I was held accountable for what happened to the King and the Baron; Sylvester Monroe. I stood trial and was sentenced to death before it even began.
My death was to happen the day after the King's burial was completed and every ruler of Xander was mourned for a moon, that is a score and eight days. So I spent my days wasting away in an underground dungeon, counting how many more days till I died.
On the morrow of my execution, Alicia came to the dungeons, personally accompanied by a few guards. I was sat on hay which filled the floor of my cell, apparently meant to serve as a bed for me. I tilted my head upwards and glimpsed her before lowering it back again.
"Ha." I let out a forced chuckle. "Finally come to take my head, have you?"
"Soon." she replied. "I can tell you're anxious and raring to go."
"But that's not why I'm here." She bent as if to take a seating position and one of the guards quickly lowered hisself on all fours to act as a chair for her. I could feel her cold gaze on me even without lifting my head. I waited for sometime to speak but, nothing; so I looked up: stared right at her. She smiled.
Her smile was, to every other eye; alluring and beautiful. But to me, it felt like I could see a demon grinning right at me. She spoke at last.
"How did you do it?" she asked.
"I didn't kill them."
"Not that. I mean, how did you heal yourself?"
"What do you mean? I wasn't born with the gift."
"I know. I had someone find out all about you. Which is why it came as a surprise, see: that you were able to heal yourself twice without any help."
Hold on now, let me explain something
The gift, basically, is the ability to do magic. Yes, you heard me right (or read). Magic, I said. Only one in a hundred people are born with it, others have to live without it. It's rare and even still, random. I was taught basic history and other stuff about the world since my Father was a Baronet.
There are, according to myth, nine gifts. But only seven had ever been possessed by humans. These gifts, as they were called, were originally gifts from the gods to mankind. There were five common: Air, Earth, Fire, Water and Lightning, also called elemental gifts; and four uncommon: Light, Darkness, Space and Time.
Space and Time had never been possessed by any human, as the records go. Those who had the gift were called mages and only those who could use Light magic had the ability to heal. But they were as rare as one in a hundred thousand mages, and the Princess, or Queen rather: as she was already crowned; was one such person.
I, however, was not born with the gift. Every human is tested when they are five years old. This is how we know who has the gift or not. So it was a bit confusing when she said I'd 'healed' myself. Twice.
"Oh, gods! Has the Princess run mad? Or I suppose I must refer to you as Queen now, no?"
"Treason!" One of the guards shouted. He moved to draw his sword but 'Her Highness' raised her hand to stop him.
"I have an idea." she said. "How about we test you again. See if you really have the gift, hmm?"
"Waste of time. Best just to kill me and be done with it."
"Oh, my." she started as she put her hand over her mouth to express a faking concern.
"Did you think that we would just kill you off so easily? You murdered my father! The King! A simple death would be mercy." Her tone was getting higher. Seemed to me as though she were faking her anger as well.
"But no! We will make you scream and beg for death. And when you do, I will be right there staring right into your eyes and I won't grant your wish."
"Just, if I may; why don't we conduct the test first? See if I have the gift?"
"Oh, we will. Just you wait. You'll feel the pain from every part of this 'test'. That I can assure you." She stood up and turned to leave.
Some minutes after Alicia left the dungeons, two armed soldiers came and unlocked the door to my cell. They bound my hands and feet and dragged me out of the dungeons.
I was stoned with all sorts of things as we made our way to the very centre of the town square. There was a man clad in a white, now reddish brown apron; apparently bloodstained, who held two butcher's knives and scraped the sharp edge of one against the other. All I could think in that moment as the soldiers left me on my knees was: 'Do all butchers have to be so fat?' But of course, I didn't say it out loud.
The Queen began her long speech which I didn't even get anything out of. All I listened for was the final verdict. Eventually it came and I zoned in, as though I knew it was time for something important to be said.
"... will be killed slowly. Very slowly. First, every hour, we will remove one of his fingers for ten hours today. This job I leave to the trusty butcher here with us."
"Tomorrow, I will pass another verdict after deciding what next to do with him." At first, I had my back to her but after the announcement of my verdict, I turned to face her. Some woman stood beside her who looked the part of an official adviser. She stepped forward and whispered something in the Queen's hearing.
"And from today onwards, the Xilmoa family is no more. Their title is stripped and their lands will be divided amongst neighbouring nobles. Sovereignty, however, over that territory will be given to the Monroes, because they were hurt most in this dreadful tragedy."
"I shall witness the beginning of this sentence as also shall I witness the end. Sir Butcher, do carry on." The two soldiers beside me took my right hand and forced it onto the butcher's table. The butcher took my smallest finger off my right hand when as I screamed for help and pleaded mercy.
This continued on and on until I lost all my fingers. One an hour, and whenever I fainted, they'd pour me water all over so I would awake and feel the pain as the next digit was removed.
I was thrown back into my cell fingerless. I couldn't sleep because of the pain. It was just enough to keep me awake and prevent my going unconscious at the same time. It seemed there was some sort of feast going on at the square. The reason was oblivious to me, but I focused on the noise to ease the pain.
Far into the night, I felt the same invigorating feeling I got on the night of the Princess's birthday party. It was actually so good that I fell asleep. When I woke up the next morrow, I understood the test the Queen talked about the morrow before, but I wasn't sure if it was successful or not. Because while all my fingers had regrown, I didn't remember casting any magic.
'Does this mean? Do I have the Light gift?'
'Oh gods! If I do and this digits removal test is everyday, then doesn't that mean... ?'
As I contemplated all that while staring at my miraculously healed hands, the Queen walked up to my cell. Alone.
"There's my healer mage. Now tell me, how did you do it?"