Alina

Castle of Nordenvania

Alina did not know how long had passed as she lay in the dark cold cell. It could have been a day or two, perhaps even a full week. But she could not tell. All she could do was wait, and wait. But what she was waiting for, she did not know. Perhaps death, she thought. How much she longed for death, but she remembered that Bernard had promised her that she shall live to suffer. What had he planned for her? She did not know. 

Guards had come and gone, leaving her mere scraps of bread and water just enough to keep her from perishing. Perhaps Bernard planned to keep her locked here forever. She turned to stare at the spot where Julian had been killed, the dull ache of loss devouring her inside out. Julian... Even if Bernard planned to lock her here forever, she would shortly die out of grief anyway.

She heard approaching footsteps, and she knew that it was time for another meal. The door flew open, and she squinted against the sudden light. That was when she realized that it was not time for another meal as Bernard himself entered the cell, followed by four large guards. Alina forced herself up and she trembled as they approached her without a word. She barely had time to wonder before she noticed one of the guards was holding a large pincer shaped, double-bladed weapon in his hands. Her eyes widened in horror, and her heart stopped. She had never seen this weapon before, but she knew very well what it was used for.

With all the pain and horrors she had suffered in this cursed castle, Alina had thought that she would be ready for whatever awaited her. She had just watched her lover brutally killed before her eyes. And before him, her only friend cruelly buried alive. Anymore pain would not matter now. That was what she had thought. Yet, she could not help the tremors and squeals of horror that escaped her as the guards held her down. She was not ready. She was terrified.

Her body shook terribly as four guards pinned her to the ground, pushing her face down against the cold floor, before ripping her clothes off her back. She screamed and tried to struggle, but she felt the chains being pulled tighter around her wrists and feet. One guard held her arms, the other secured her legs, and the third held up her chained wings. She smelled something burning and her heart raced as she slightly raised her head to find the fourth guard standing before her with a fire torch in one hand and the double bladed weapon in the other hand. The fire crackled threateningly as it made contact with metal. Alina trembled and whimpered as the weapon continued to scorch, until it glowed in an ominous shade of burning red.

"No!" Alina could barely gasp in a hoarse panicked voice as the guard approached her with the scorching wing clipper.

The next moment Bernard simply nodded to the guard. Alina squirmed and screeched as the towering guard brought the wing clipper closer to her wings. The other guards tightened their grasps to hold her still, and suddenly, the sound of burning metal making contact with flesh hissed within her ears, before she was blinded by a searing pain that cut through the base of her right wing and shot through her whole body. She gave out a long tortured scream before her mind slipped into darkness...

***

Her eyes opened slowly. She did not know how long she lay unconscious. The sickening smell of scorching metal and burnt flesh still filled her nostrils. And an unbearable and terrible pain that spread below her shoulders brought her back to her senses. Tears spilled down her eyes before she could utter a sound and she gasped out for breath. Still lying on her front, she tried to move her wings, although she knew what to expect. She knew she could not move them. Not because they were chained. But because they were gone. She cried out as full realization hit her. She wailed as she struggled to push herself up from the damp floor with trembling hands. She looked behind her back, but she found nothing. She knew that already. But seeing it with her own eyes only confirmed the horrible reality, and she could no longer deny it. They had cut off her wings... She screamed.

A long while later, she was quiet, her voice mostly lost after screaming for so long. A dying lamp hung at the wall opposite her, giving her barely enough light to see her surroundings. But other than the rough stone walls that enclosed her, there was nothing else to see in the barren cell. Her eyes wandered towards the floor where Julian had been killed, a large dark spot of dried up blood marking where he let out his final breath. More tears fell as she looked longingly at the stained floor, and she reached out with her hands towards it. His dried blood was all that was left of him now...

She still did not know how long had passed, when the cell door opened again. She stiffened as the sound of footsteps approached her, and the pale light showed her two guards walking straight at her.

They raised her up to her feet without a word, and she did nothing to resist. But even if she wanted, she did not have the strength to resist. The riding clothes she wore had been changed into a long brown woolen dress, like that of a common servant, and she grimaced as the coarse wool scratched against her wounded back. Cold shackles enclosed each of her ankles, joined by a chain that was long enough to make her walk in short steps. Similar shackles restrained her hands, and a large collar enclosed her neck where a long metal chain hung from a ring at the front. She trembled anew. But she did not try to ask what was happening. She did not want to know.

One of the guards held up the chain that hung from her collar and tugged her forward, giving her a silent order to follow them. Alina complied, following the guards towards the door, and finally, she was outside the cursed cell. But to where? Perhaps remaining in the cell would have been better after all...

Alina followed quietly as they descended the long winding stairs that led all the way from the Sky Tower down to the great hall below. It was a lengthy descent, and with her burning back and chained feet it seemed to take forever. She must have slowed down for a brief moment, for the guard had given her chain a sudden tug, and next, her feet slipped and she tumbled with a loud thud, her body sliding down a couple of steps. The guard had turned to her quickly with a dark scowl while she cried out in pain. He tugged at the chain again, forcing her up, and she obediently complied, doing all she could not to fall again.

Her heart sank as she almost tripped again, and that cruel guard was not making her situation any easier as he almost dragged her down by the chain. She tried her best. She really tried her best, but still unaccustomed to her unbalanced wingless body and the restraining chains at her feet, she slipped again, this time her fall harder and longer. She cried out in pain and frustration. The other guard turned around at her fall, and without a word he took the chain out of his partner's hand.

The second guard helped Alina up, and as she looked up at his familiar face and his warm hazel eyes, she realized he was the same kind guard who had allowed her to see Lucian the night before he was killed. Her eyes teared up as he gently held her by the arm and carefully helped her walk down the stairs. It was very rare, almost impossible, to meet a guard who was so gentle and kind. Guards were trained to blind obedience, which required them to be cold and heartless. But this one was definitely different. Perhaps she could ask him to help her. Or at least ask him what would become of her. But she knew that he would probably not tell her anyway, no matter how kind he was. She only held on closer to his arm in silence, focusing on the endless winding stairs before her.

They finally reached the great hall. It was ominously quiet and empty, void of any winged one or human alike. There was no sign of life or movement, all the way from the ground floor up to the highest point of the Sky Tower above them. Even the long benches and swings that hung down from each floor were perfectly still and silent. Alina trembled as they walked past the vast hall and approached the courtyard. And a few moments later, they were outside.

Alina's eyes were shut instantly as the flashing daylight shot into them. She had spent a few days in complete darkness and it seemed her eyes still needed time to adjust. She could barely squint beneath the strong light, and finally she could somehow see her surroundings. That was when she realized that the light was not a problem at all, compared to the ominous crowds that stood facing her.

Bernard stood at the opposite end of the courtyard, with Vilfred standing next to him. Sir Maarten, Sir Sigurd and Lady Greta were there too. And all the castle residents as well, both the winged and wingless. And many other faces, some familiar, belonging to neighboring castle Lords, and others she had never seen before.

She trembled at the long stares and glares she received from both friends and strangers. And before she had time to wonder she found herself being pushed forward as the cruel guard had got hold of her chain again and started dragging her towards the crowds. Her heart pounded hard inside her chest as she followed him, looking around her frantically with wide eyes. She flinched and gave out a short cry as something sticky was hurled at her.

"Whore!" someone shouted. Her whole body shook and sudden uncontrollable sobs escaped her. No... This could not be happening!

"Whore! Whore!" More people shouted, and more waste was thrown at her as the black clad guards dragged her through the courtyard amid the angry mob. She screamed and cried, cowering to avoid the pain and humiliation. She kept stumbling, the metal cuffs bruising her wrists and ankles as she tried to keep up with the guards. She tripped and fell, and for the few moments she took to get back up to her feet, the crowds took the opportunity and an onslaught of mud and stones rained over her. Alina's legs shook terribly and her eyes were blinded by tears, yet she quickly resumed walking, almost running, to escape the horrible attacks. She did not realize her torturous march had ended until she found herself being pushed to her knees. And as she looked up, she found Bernard towering above her with his signature ice cold stare.

"Alina Nordstrom. You are accused of committing adultery and sinning with a human slave."

"No!" Alina screamed. "We didn't do anything!"

"And as a punishment for the offences you have committed, you have been stripped of your wings, and of all titles and rights passed to you through birth or marriage." Bernard continued decisively, wasting no time and giving no room for interruptions or arguments. "Alina the wingless, you are sentenced to be sold into slavery, and banished from Nordenland."

Alina froze as she heard her sentence, and cold dread crawled up her spine. The sound of her own pounding heart rang within her ears, drowning out the chaotic side talks that rose throughout the courtyard. Unable to utter a single word, she looked around her in horror at the countless faces that surrounded her, the staring eyes that bored into her, devouring her very soul. For a moment, she felt this was all just a dream. It was too hard for her mind to accept that this was anything but a bad, bad dream. First Julian, then her wings, and now...

But as her eyes found Juha, the slaver, approaching her with a wide gleeful smile that revealed his infamous shining gold tooth, she knew very well that this was not a dream.

************

How do you feel about Alina's fate? Did you expect that kind of punishment? 

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