September 4th, 1615
The summer felt long this year. Not simply because of the heat, which could be oppressive in the heart of Pomerania, with no coastline to draw cool breezes to the people; but also because of the anticipation. Not only were the people eager to see the grisly outcome of the trials that had dragged on for weeks, but everyone was anxious for news that the Crown Princess had delivered her child. She had been sent into her confinement earlier than most had been expecting, forced to rest and keep away from exertions, but today was not a usual day.
As the summer began its gentle spiral down into autumn, the sentences for the five lords convicted of treason were announced - death by beheading. There could have been no other response. Crowds gathered at the place of execution, eager to see these traitors done to death, and offered a surprise that no one could have foreseen. There, on the wide balcony of the castle itself, was gathered the entire royal family and their entourage - not only the High King and Queen, but the Crown Prince and his brothers, and the Crown Princess, come out of her confinement for this one moment in time. It had been the worst threat to their security House Hasperan had ever faced; they would be there to see that threat ended.
The High King's brother was there, as well, along with his son and daughter, Henry and Elspeth, and their friends, Jane and Thomas Montague, all of them looking grim. There wasn't a smile among them, none of them happy to witness the traitors' punishment, but expected to attend so that all could see that the threat to House Hasperan, if anything, had only made them stronger and more resolute. The Crown Prince stood tall and silent beside his wife, who was seated, one hand resting gently against her shoulder, as if to remind her that she was not alone.
Of all those who were to be executed, there was only one whom a few of those royal watchers were glad to see die. They knew, as few did, of what Ferdinand Maverly had done to the most vulnerable of their number, and they wanted him wiped from the face of the earth. At a nod from the High King, the Lord Chief Justice gave the signal, and the jeering began as the five men, stripped of their finery and denied water for washing for over a month, were escorted from the gaol to the scaffold placed at the center of the square.
Behind the Queen's chair, Elspeth's hand gripped Jane's as she looked on what had become of the man who had hurt her, shocked by the part of herself that wanted him dead.
Jane gripped Elspeth's hand tightly, well aware of the pair of brothers who stood behind them in case their sisters were unable to stomach the executions that were about to take place.
Harry had tried to convince Elspeth not to come, but she had insisted on seeing it through, insisting the man who had violated her needed to see he had not destroyed her, though Harry thought it was more about what Elspeth needed than Maverly.
It seemed to take a long time for the prisoners to reach the scaffold, jostled and insulted by the common people and the nobles gathered there to watch their deaths. The noise did not abate, no one willing to listen to the gallows speech of men who had dared to threaten their king. Garet was first, defiant to the last, speaking his piece to the jeering crowd and kneeling to place his head on the block without even a flicker of fear. The axe rose and fell, and the body keeled away from the block, cleanly cut and spraying blood from the neck.
"Good Goddess," Marianne breathed, reaching up to grip Stephan's hand as she fought down the natural desire to retch.
Jane had gone pale, gripping Elspeth's hand tighter, and even Harry was looked a little peaked from where he stood behind them, but he remained where he stood, in support of his family.
As for Stephan, though executions were grisly business, he had been to battle enough that he had seen far worse than this. It was Marianne who chiefly concerned him, as well as the other women, especially considering how far along with child she was. He leaned close, whispering softly in her ear so that his voice did not carry. "You do not need to watch this, love," he reminded her gently, not for the first time.
She drew in a deep breath, the hand not holding his laid over the wide rounded belly she was supposed to be resting. "I know," she breathed back to him. "But we should show a united front."
Down on the scaffold, Garet's body was pulled away from the block, the blood mopped up with straw, and Maverly's name was called. There was no brave defiance in this one; he sobbed and fought as he was brought to the block, earning the crowd's ire for his cowardice in the face of his own death.
Beside the King's seat, Maksim stiffened, his jaw clenched in anger at the fact that this man could so casually assault a girl, and yet had no courage to be a man when it mattered most.
Harry, too, stiffened, though for reasons different from Maksim's. He wouldn't have minded gutting Maverly himself, if he'd had the chance, though Maksim had reminded him that public execution was a far better fate for the coward. He, too, clenched his jaw, eager for the man's death and hoping he would not dare say anything to Elspeth before the axe severed his head from his body. No apology was good enough for what he had done and what he had attempted to do. He had done enough damage, and now it was time to face his fate.
As for Elspeth herself, she was pale as a sheet, holding to Jane's hand as though it were the only thing keeping her upright. As she watched the man who had ruined her dragged bodily to the block, she felt her lip curl in a disgusted sneer, hate flashing in her eyes as he blubbered his way through what few words he could make out. But Maverly's torment was not done with a single blow of the axe. It took three blows to sever his head from his shoulders, and there were not many ladies or gentlemen present who were not sickened by it. Marianne gasped sharply, wincing as she looked away.
Stephan was there to clutch her to him, allowing her to hide her face against his side, if she so desired. It was a grisly sight even for a man who had seen battle, but he thought it important that these men men publicly punished and humiliated, not only for their crimes but to deter anyone else from considering the same. "Almost over," he whispered, though they had hardly begun.
She closed her eyes, pressing her face against his doublet for a long moment, tense and uncomfortable. When, finally, she raised her eyes, it was to whisper back to Stephan. "I do not think it is almost over," she murmured reluctantly. "I think it is just beginning."
On her other side, the Queen looked sharply at them, experienced eyes seeing what the inexperienced princess was only groping toward. Catherine turned her head. "Elspeth, Lady Jane ....please help the princess to her chambers, and have someone send for the midwife," she said calmly. "Stephan, you will stay here. There is no need for all of us to go."
Stephan's gaze slid from his wife to his mother, eyes narrowed in puzzlement for a brief moment before realizing what his mother was saying. "It's too soon," he whispered back, a worried expression on his face. If she went into labor too soon, the child or children she was carrying might not survive, and he wasn't sure either of them could manage the heartbreak.
The summer felt long this year. Not simply because of the heat, which could be oppressive in the heart of Pomerania, with no coastline to draw cool breezes to the people; but also because of the anticipation. Not only were the people eager to see the grisly outcome of the trials that had dragged on for weeks, but everyone was anxious for news that the Crown Princess had delivered her child. She had been sent into her confinement earlier than most had been expecting, forced to rest and keep away from exertions, but today was not a usual day.
As the summer began its gentle spiral down into autumn, the sentences for the five lords convicted of treason were announced - death by beheading. There could have been no other response. Crowds gathered at the place of execution, eager to see these traitors done to death, and offered a surprise that no one could have foreseen. There, on the wide balcony of the castle itself, was gathered the entire royal family and their entourage - not only the High King and Queen, but the Crown Prince and his brothers, and the Crown Princess, come out of her confinement for this one moment in time. It had been the worst threat to their security House Hasperan had ever faced; they would be there to see that threat ended.
The High King's brother was there, as well, along with his son and daughter, Henry and Elspeth, and their friends, Jane and Thomas Montague, all of them looking grim. There wasn't a smile among them, none of them happy to witness the traitors' punishment, but expected to attend so that all could see that the threat to House Hasperan, if anything, had only made them stronger and more resolute. The Crown Prince stood tall and silent beside his wife, who was seated, one hand resting gently against her shoulder, as if to remind her that she was not alone.
Of all those who were to be executed, there was only one whom a few of those royal watchers were glad to see die. They knew, as few did, of what Ferdinand Maverly had done to the most vulnerable of their number, and they wanted him wiped from the face of the earth. At a nod from the High King, the Lord Chief Justice gave the signal, and the jeering began as the five men, stripped of their finery and denied water for washing for over a month, were escorted from the gaol to the scaffold placed at the center of the square.
Behind the Queen's chair, Elspeth's hand gripped Jane's as she looked on what had become of the man who had hurt her, shocked by the part of herself that wanted him dead.
Jane gripped Elspeth's hand tightly, well aware of the pair of brothers who stood behind them in case their sisters were unable to stomach the executions that were about to take place.
Harry had tried to convince Elspeth not to come, but she had insisted on seeing it through, insisting the man who had violated her needed to see he had not destroyed her, though Harry thought it was more about what Elspeth needed than Maverly.
It seemed to take a long time for the prisoners to reach the scaffold, jostled and insulted by the common people and the nobles gathered there to watch their deaths. The noise did not abate, no one willing to listen to the gallows speech of men who had dared to threaten their king. Garet was first, defiant to the last, speaking his piece to the jeering crowd and kneeling to place his head on the block without even a flicker of fear. The axe rose and fell, and the body keeled away from the block, cleanly cut and spraying blood from the neck.
"Good Goddess," Marianne breathed, reaching up to grip Stephan's hand as she fought down the natural desire to retch.
Jane had gone pale, gripping Elspeth's hand tighter, and even Harry was looked a little peaked from where he stood behind them, but he remained where he stood, in support of his family.
As for Stephan, though executions were grisly business, he had been to battle enough that he had seen far worse than this. It was Marianne who chiefly concerned him, as well as the other women, especially considering how far along with child she was. He leaned close, whispering softly in her ear so that his voice did not carry. "You do not need to watch this, love," he reminded her gently, not for the first time.
She drew in a deep breath, the hand not holding his laid over the wide rounded belly she was supposed to be resting. "I know," she breathed back to him. "But we should show a united front."
Down on the scaffold, Garet's body was pulled away from the block, the blood mopped up with straw, and Maverly's name was called. There was no brave defiance in this one; he sobbed and fought as he was brought to the block, earning the crowd's ire for his cowardice in the face of his own death.
Beside the King's seat, Maksim stiffened, his jaw clenched in anger at the fact that this man could so casually assault a girl, and yet had no courage to be a man when it mattered most.
Harry, too, stiffened, though for reasons different from Maksim's. He wouldn't have minded gutting Maverly himself, if he'd had the chance, though Maksim had reminded him that public execution was a far better fate for the coward. He, too, clenched his jaw, eager for the man's death and hoping he would not dare say anything to Elspeth before the axe severed his head from his body. No apology was good enough for what he had done and what he had attempted to do. He had done enough damage, and now it was time to face his fate.
As for Elspeth herself, she was pale as a sheet, holding to Jane's hand as though it were the only thing keeping her upright. As she watched the man who had ruined her dragged bodily to the block, she felt her lip curl in a disgusted sneer, hate flashing in her eyes as he blubbered his way through what few words he could make out. But Maverly's torment was not done with a single blow of the axe. It took three blows to sever his head from his shoulders, and there were not many ladies or gentlemen present who were not sickened by it. Marianne gasped sharply, wincing as she looked away.
Stephan was there to clutch her to him, allowing her to hide her face against his side, if she so desired. It was a grisly sight even for a man who had seen battle, but he thought it important that these men men publicly punished and humiliated, not only for their crimes but to deter anyone else from considering the same. "Almost over," he whispered, though they had hardly begun.
She closed her eyes, pressing her face against his doublet for a long moment, tense and uncomfortable. When, finally, she raised her eyes, it was to whisper back to Stephan. "I do not think it is almost over," she murmured reluctantly. "I think it is just beginning."
On her other side, the Queen looked sharply at them, experienced eyes seeing what the inexperienced princess was only groping toward. Catherine turned her head. "Elspeth, Lady Jane ....please help the princess to her chambers, and have someone send for the midwife," she said calmly. "Stephan, you will stay here. There is no need for all of us to go."
Stephan's gaze slid from his wife to his mother, eyes narrowed in puzzlement for a brief moment before realizing what his mother was saying. "It's too soon," he whispered back, a worried expression on his face. If she went into labor too soon, the child or children she was carrying might not survive, and he wasn't sure either of them could manage the heartbreak.