CHAPTER 13.

Earsplitting screams were made from the mob of folks, who gathered at the square of Londinium. Protesting against the organized execution of Axel Embers Pendragon. A line of guards mounted on horses blocked citizens from passing through and reaching the Palace.

The rows of homes and buildings on each side began to feel suffocating. Citizens were pressed up against each other, screaming at the guards to call off the execution. The guards stood quiet, expressionless, and emotionless. One hand on the reins, the other hovering over their swords.

Within the castle a large line of guards entered the dungeon, swords were drawn as if they were sent to slay a beast. Cautious and slow movements, one guard fished through a ring of keys.

Two guards followed behind, Axel's head hung lowly, and her focus swallowed the stone floor below her. Dry copper decorated her skin, and fresh lashes on her back. Her posture remained stiff, while the guards fought the rusted shackles to unlock. The feeling of drowning in despair began to feel like a nightmare to her. Both her body and her mind remained ill. Her pride was stripped from her with a dagger by the hands of someone she knelt to. Axel's hair was overwhelmingly short, chunks on the sides were absent.

Axel was forcefully ripped off from the ground beneath her. Axel's body ached, the smallest gust of wind kissed her back, creating a dull pain.

Axel hissed in pain, the guards shackled her wrists once again, but this time behind her back. The chain trailed from her wrists and down to her ankles.

Her tear-swollen eyes locked on the brunette-haired guard. The same guard that was fooled by Axel's deception at Seabass bay. His hair was combed back and greasy. She gave him a look that would haunt him. The guard pretended to ignore her.

"Maxwell! I'm assigning you with our prisoner. Keep her in line. Any funny business and I'm sending you on the next ship out. Are we clear?" the guard questioned. It seemed like the guard's voice was as rough as sandpaper.

A raven-haired boy pushed his way through the small group of guards. He had a kind and gentle expression on his face, the total opposite of the rest of the guards. He looked around sixteen.
The Commander held out the chain to the young boy. He looked familiar to Axel, she couldn't determine where she saw him from.

Maxwell gave a simple nod and took the chain from the Commander, "Yes, sir." he answered. The second the commander and his group spun around to leave the cell. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I'm sorry."

His kind words didn't do much to ease her fear.

Her legs shook like jello beneath her. Maxwell his left hand gripped the chain, firmly. The other propped underneath her upper arms. He kept her balanced and followed the guards. Shadows danced on the walls with the smallest amount of light from their torches.

 Axel's chest tightened, while her stomach spun into a tight knot. Her bones felt fragile and weak, but she continued to walk at a decent pace. She followed the guards through endless doorways and hallways. The dungeon was like a maze, impossible to map out for the people imprisoned there.

Axel pieced together the series of events, from Vortigern sending her off to doing her knight's jobs, to being held accountable for fulfilling the prophecy. She reviewed all the events in her mind, searching for where she went wrong.

They soon entered a massive hallway, decorated with architecture, and stone floors.
The silence never managed to cease between the guards and her. Further and further, they passed by a throne, shading a current absence from Vortigern.

"Kneel," Maxwell whispered to Axel, warning her ahead of time.

Maxwell balanced Axel as she obediently did what he ordered. Her right knee kissed the cold stone beneath her, making goosebumps scatter along her skin. She stared at the absent spot on the white-coloured throne. She wanted to scream at both Vortigern and the guards for being so foolish.

She was willing to bet some were against the Queen but afraid to take action. If only she could plead her case. Her thoughts were pulled away by the faint sound of 'clicking' from the distance. Soon enough, it became louder and louder. Forcefully it sent chills down Axel's spine.

Vortigern ascended the staircase beneath her throne. She took a seat and sat there silently, after being escorted by her guard. The massive guard stood close to the lower level of the stairs. He kept both eyes on Axel, after witnessing the previous attack.

 Vortigern's cold gaze met Axel's, and Vortigern remained calm.

"After the reverence of my name. I would've asked God to bless your soul. But you've broken a fist full of divine laws. And for this, I salute you, Axel Embers Pendragon." Vortigern informed her.

Axel's began to seeth in fury, her jaw locked, her gaze locked on Vortigern's. Disrespectfully staring into the depths of her soul. It was almost as if she was ready to accept what was going to happen to her. And she refused to give Vortigen what she aspired to achieve.

 Axel promised herself not to show any sign of weakness to the Queen, but to remain humble and strong. The current leer Axel sent to Vortigern made her chuckle in amusement.

Vortigern hardly blinked, her stare shifted from Axel and to her left. She waved her hand as a signal. Axel's gaze snapped when she heard a struggle. Two guards escorted a man with a bag over his head. Maliciously, one strikes his heel against the side of the man's knee. The man collapsed onto his knees. 

Axel's heart refused to calm down, she recognized his clothing. The guard ripped the bag off his head. Gavin's dark locks hung on his face and his right eye was swollen. Even though it harmed him to lift his head to get a quick glance at Axel, he still had that perfect smile.

She felt herself scream inside, she premeditated exactly what would happen next and it proved to be true.

The guard took out a dagger and aligned it with Gavin's windpipe. Axel's eyes widened, and her breath began to shutter in fear of her friend's life.

"When death takes my hand, I will hold onto yours with my other, and promise you I'll find you in each lifetime. There isn't a better person I could call Queen-" 

Vortigern curled her open palm into a tight fist. Signalling to silence Gavin. The light in Gavin's eyes left. Blackness took over Gavin as a pool of crimson formed around him. Axel jolted towards Gavin.

"NO!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Tears threatened to spill, and her throat tightened. Her vision burned, as hot tears began to spill. Her lip trembled in agony as she cried out. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and allowed it all out. He left too early, his goals unfinished, and his life barely reached its peak. She was unable to comprehend what was next. Whether it was worth meeting someone that saved her so many times.

And she couldn't even repay the favour and save him...

Maxwell dragged her back forcefully when all she wanted to do was hold him. A faint glance at Maxwell, she saw tears welled up in his eyes. Maxwell wasn't used to seeing death and the death of a leader he followed. 

Maxwell was that man that sat in the corner of the room at Chancellors Inn. After an argument with Gavin that he regrets deeply. He joined the Queen's forces, years earlier, and trained for years to receive a wage, so that he could provide for his mother and his little sister.

Maxwell felt almost as if this was his fault in some way, that he was a part of this madness that broke out in the throne room.

"The rest of the people you care about will follow. Unless you do what needs to be done. Have we found common ground yet?" Vortigern questioned Axel.

Axel kept quiet, rebelliously deciding not to answer the Queen.

"When your ashes stain the center of Londinium, a legend you first become will disappear just as quick as the reverence of your name."

If this was what living felt to Axel, with everything she wished she never existed, or that she had the ambition to discover what was real or not. To her, this was truly the weight she'll carry when living. Scenes will flash through her mind like pages in a book. 

If only she could take everything back and save Gavin. The pain she felt was unbearable and that pain would never ease. It would remain there for the last couple of hours she had left.

The Queen signalled the guards to remove her from Vortigern's sight. Which remained quite a contradiction since the Queen followed Axel outside. To be present for the fall of the false Queen. Axel flinched as bright sunlight greeted her. The cussing and the screams began to die down as Axel, the company of guards, and the Queen strolled down the long, cobblestone pathway.

The guards began to chant the Queen's name, like a ritual in these dark hours.

"Hail Queen Vortigern!" the guards chanted several times or more. The citizens copied the guards in pure fear of their lives, knowing the Queen was self-centred and cruel.

The Queen took a seat at the top where the stairs descended from the palace. She took a seat on a comfortable wooden chair, departing from Axel and the rest of the guards. Axel felt numb, not knowing what to think at this point. Vortigern killed one of her good friends, tortured her, starved her, and stole her pride.

Her life was the final thing that Vortigern could steal from her. Axel shook her head and thought about how the Queen felt, knowing that her own niece was going to die. And she was supposed to accept that?

Maxwell lead her to the massive, wooden, stake that saluted the skies. It stood over 15ft tall and grounded to the stone. Stacks of wood and oil were in the hands of most of the guards.

Maxwell replaced her chains with thick, braided leather, and attached the stake. She watched the expressions of the people, that gathered to see the burning of the heir to the fallen King. 
Vortigern held up her hand and the crowd became silent. 

The commander of the guards approached Axel and began to speak to the crowd, "Behold, your born Queen. The woman who pulled sword from stone, instead of a man in the prophecy. You wanted a prophecy, here's the final chapter." the Commander messaged to the mob of people.

Axel kept her focus on the ground below her, her back ached dully as it was pressed up against the stake.

"Declare yourself, false Queen. Take your sword and show the power you wield." the commander mocked Axel, holding Excalibur in its sheath. Her hands were bonded, it became impossible to take the sword of legend.

"I said take it!" the commander hollered, while he stepped into her space. She remained at a loss for words.

"As anticipated, we can not allow such dishonour to our fair nation!" the commander continued to shame Axel.

Men began to stack wood around Axel. They stacked it neatly like a professional campfire. Axel felt sick to her stomach. She watched three men stride closer to her, holding a torch in one hand. Her throat was raw and in pain. Her entire body froze, then began to shake. She continued to look downwards, only recalling the cruel image of her friend's death.

Vortigern smiled and reclaimed victory over such a spiteful afternoon. She looked up at the sky and watched a dark rain cloud around a couple of miles out, travel directly into Londinium.

Axel felt her strength disappear. The three men waited eagerly to pour oil and enrage the oil with flames. They waited for their commander's call. Vortigern continued to await, impatiently for the Commander to represent her in a speech. 

Vortigern's eyes kept snapping from Axel and to the dark cloud that was closer to Londinium. It continued to travel at a fast pace. The guards mounted on horses began to act strangely. The hounds began to bark and snap at their owners, Axel hardly focused her attention on the animals. Knowing the nature of different species were different from Humans.

"In the shade of dusk, I will rise again," Axel whispered.