Chapter 27
WARNING!!### (Violence, Language, and Graphic Dark Death scene.) ######WARNING
Adira sat quietly in her room. With a sigh, she thought of what things would have been like if she had never found Duncan. She doubted that she would still be alive, or wishing she was dead, anyway.
Still, who would have thought that the road would lead here? It was a dark and gloomy day outside, perfect for how she was feeling about the upcoming event. It wasn’t going to be pleasant, and she didn’t relish the part she had to play.
The Prince made his own bed; now he will have to sleep forever in it. The saddest thing was all the victims he would be leaving in his wake. The poor King, to have to face this not only as the King, but as a father as well.
The Prince was awakened by a servant, a cute little thing dressed all in black. She put the tray down at the table in front of him. He slapped her butt as she tried to get out of the way and giggled at her. "You're gonna have to get faster than that if you want to get away from me."
She said nothing and opened the door so the King’s personal butler could come in, carrying garments for the prince. He said not one word as he attended to his bath and helped him get ready, making sure the Prince was properly dressed in his formal black uniform. When he was done, the butler walked out without showing any respect, not a nod or a bow.
Adam swore under his breath, "That stuffy old codger. He will be the first to go when I am king. That old fool has seen too many of Adam’s sins, always looking down his nose at him, always trying to warn his father about what he liked to do. Father would brush it aside, though."
Prince Adam looked outside. It was a dark, cold, dismal late fall day. The rain was removing the last of the fall leaves. It was positively gloomy, perfect weather for him to bend the knee to repent his sins. "They were all such dull and useless fools, his father the King of fools. When you all least expect it, I will kill you all in your sleep."
The Prince looked at the garments but didn’t give them much more thought. The somber look will only help in his defense. If they think he has learned his lesson, then all the better. He would be the picture of the most perfectly pious of princes. He did notice that none of his royal decorations were on his uniform, probably part of his punishment, to try to humiliate him.
After the Prince was washed and dressed, he was left alone for about half an hour. Then two guards, dressed in their finest, escorted him out of the room. The Prince walked with his most high and mighty gait.
Head held high in the air, he had perfected the walk and was proud of himself. He did wonder why the halls were so empty. Asking one of his guards, they told him that the King thought it was best to close down the court and send everyone home during this time.
He thought that was clever of his father; that way, there would be no witnesses to this farce of a trial. They will think he got his just punishment, and that is that.
When the two guards stopped in front of the black and silver double doors of the High Council, Prince Adam was taken aback a little. Why were they taking him here instead of the royal throne room?
When they opened the doors, the room was filled with all of the High Council, something the Prince had never seen, except in books about war. The guards took him to the circle in the center of the room where he was supposed to stand.
He looked around, but his father, the King, was not in the room. His chair stood empty. He looked all around, but to his horror, the only other person on the floor standing was the executioner. Adam couldn’t see his face; it was covered by a heavy cowl. Under the cowl, he wore a long black robe.
“Prince Adam…”
Adam was bored hearing his name and all his titles. Blah, blah, blah, blah… He rolled his eyes in annoyance. It wasn’t until the end that he was unsure he heard what the Head Council said; there was no way he heard that right.
“…you stand before us accused of treason, misappropriation of money from the people’s treasury for use in a variety of criminal acts, murder of several young men and boys, conspiracy to commit murder of the King, sexual acts with minors, and unlawful selling of forbidden drugs.
“Prince Adam, how do you plead?”
The Prince just stood there speechless. He looked again for his father, but saw nothing but an empty chair.
"High Council, I request a representative to stand with me, as is my right."
"Very well. We searched and searched; however, no one wanted the job, until one person asked for it."
The Council Member waved his hand as the double doors opened once again. Standing on the other side was none other than Lady Adira, "the little bitch that caused all this to happen to him." He wanted to beat her senseless and rip out her heart. How dare this little nobody come to his defense like this?
She walked up to him, stopping just outside of his marked circle on the floor, standing before the High Council.
“All I ask of you, members of the High Council, is that you do not make the Prince’s execution a public spectacle, not for the Prince’s sake, but for the King’s.”
After saying those words, she turned and left, not looking back. Her head held high as she walked back out like a queen.
The Prince stood there in his circle, enraged. He tried to go after Lady Adira, calling her all kinds of filthy names. The guards restrained him and held him in place, facing the Council once again. As if remembering he had to be perfect, he stopped resisting the guards and stood up tall, looking at the council members as if they were beneath him.
“It is the ruling of the High Council Court that you will be taken from this room and executed in the private garden of the King. There will be three appointed witnesses to your execution. These witnesses have been ordered not to speak of this after this day.”
“As is also law, if the pup commits a crime, the father or mother must also pay for their failure to not teach the pup the right way. Therefore, the King’s punishment has already been decided and will commence at the time of your death.”
“You will be buried where your head falls, with no marker. Also, your name will be removed from all documents, census records, and history books. Nothing of yours will be left; all will be burned.
“Your personal bank account and any money that was allocated to you by your mother will now go to help the victims you left behind and give restitution to the families of those you murdered.
There will be a royal decree throughout the pack lands that your name is never to be spoken again, nor used to name any children born after your death.”
“This judgment is made upon this day in the year of the goddess 2021. May she show you mercy as you go to her realm.”
“Guards, take the condemned to the executioner.”
Adam was in absolute terror and shock. "His father was supposed to get him out of this. Where is he? NO, NO, NO, THIS IS NOT HOW IT IS SUPPOSED TO GO! YOU ARE TO LET ME GO THIS INSTANT!!"
Adam was screaming like a madman as they dragged him out of the hall, calling everyone every bad name he could think of. "You will all pay for this! How dare you treat me like this! I am your Crown Prince, unhand me this instant!!!"
His screams became whimpers until finally he lost his voice entirely. He had pissed himself in fear. The servants had lined the hall as, one at a time, they turned their backs to him in silence, while the guards dragged the Prince to his death.
They placed his head on the chopping block and held him down as the executioner raised his sword. It gleamed dully in the grimness of the day. For a moment, it shook just a little as it was held high, and then, in one final swoosh, the blade swung down, taking the life of the Prince. His head rolled down along the wall under a small oak tree.
The three witnesses, Duncan, Jack, and Adira, stood silently, heads bowed in the gloom of the falling rain. The council members stood in front of the executioner. Servants were already digging a hole for the grave in the muddy, cold ground.
"Your Highness, our King, you have completed your punishment. You are free from any guilt now." The three witnesses gasped in unison as the executioner took off his cowl, and there, in the falling cold rain, stood the King. His eyes were empty; his wolf was there as well, giving his friend strength.
He threw the sword into the distance as he fell to his knees, letting out a deafening, painful howl. The Council members hung their heads in sorrow. Duncan, Jack, and Adira knelt down beside him, as their King and friend deeply grieved in the cold, falling rain.