Gwyn

In the cell beneath the castle's grounds, the woman in white hums a tune. It's a sweet, melodic tune that the guards allow her to continue. The date for her execution is approaching and they feel that they can relax their rules because her fate has been sealed. There is no chance of a pardon and her sister, the woman who sits upon the throne next to the king, would not plead for one either.

If you ask anyone within the kingdom, the woman in white deserves to be executed.



She hums the tune again, this time the guards are dozing at their posts as dawn is just breaking. The soft noise seeps towards the guard who is positioned outside of her door, and after a few moments, his eyes open. The humming continues as he stands from his seat and faces the wrought iron bars that keep her confined. Her gazes focuses on his face as his fingers grasp the hilt of his sword, drawing it slowly from its sheath.

There is a glaze covering his eyes and she lowers the tune as he slowly turns around and approaches one of the guards who is asleep on his feet. His sword cuts across his throat before a noise could come from the man and he drops to the floor with a thud. The other guards jolt from the noise and see their comrade with a sword in front of the murdered guard.

What follows is a scene of chaos as there are shouts for help as the men attempt to apprehend the rogue guard. He is quick and nimble, to their surprise, and manages to wound two other men before he is forced to the ground and disarmed. As his arms are drawn behind his back, the humming stops and his eyes fall shut, making his body limp in their arms.

Before the king discovers what has happened, the rogue guard is dead.



The day before the woman in white's execution, the queen paces her chamber in worry. Something does not feel right. There are more guards in the dungeon to prevent what happened only a few days ago from occurring again, and the pyre is almost finished, but still she feels dread when she thinks of what is happening when dawn breaks. Her sister has always scared her, even as a little girl, and even though she is in chains and secure behind bars, she dreads what seeing her will bring. It was unlike her to resign to her fate and though her death was inevitable, she was certain there would be a display when it came time to tie her to the pyre.

Despite not being against her sister's execution, the queen wishes that the method was quicker. She has already suggested hanging to her husband but he declined, reiterating that she has to face the harshest punishment in honour of her victims. While she can see the sense in his reasoning, she was the only one who knew her sister. The fear from her youth plagues her constantly and yet everyone expects her to feel safe knowing that her sister sleeps beneath her feet, waiting for her death without a single care.

She stops her pacing when there is a knock at her door and she hurries over to let in the physician. She has not told her husband of consulting with the physician and once his visit is over, she resolves to tell him after her sister has been executed.

If her sister discovers she is with child, even her husband would fear the result.



The air is bitter as the guards open the cell. The woman in white is waiting patiently as they unchain her from the walls and place her hands in cuffs, drawing them in front of her. Her shoes are returned to her for she has to walk in front of the king before being led to her execution and no one is to disrespect him by being barefooted in his presence. The white gown that she was wearing when she was apprehended is her chosen dress for execution. It bares her arms and has a train that trails behind her, making the guards that walk behind step to the sides so they do not trample it.

She is taken to the king's court and stands silent as she watches her sister and the king step onto the platform before her. Her gazes fixes on her sister and she lets out a hiss, making a guard yank on the cuff chain.

"Today you shall burn," the king announces, addressing the court more than her, "for your crimes. Over seventy girls were put to death and their hearts presented to their families, all by your hand. Your bloody reign persisted against my warnings and now you approach your death with the weight of their deaths on your shoulders. What are your final words?"

For a moment there is silence as she closes her eyes and takes in a breath, her eyes snapping open as she lets the breath out. She tilts her head and looks back at her sister. "It's a girl," she murmurs, producing a gasp from her sister as she stumbles back with a hand on her abdomen.

The king looks at his wife and notices her hand, his eyes widening. There is whispers throughout the court as they watch the scene unfold, and the smile on the woman in white's face is unnoticed.

"You are with child?" he asks, taking the queen's hand over her mouth as a yes. "When did you find out?"

"Y-yesterday," she replies, staring at her sister.

The king looks at the sister before back at her. "You visited your sister last night? After I forbade visitors?"

"No!" the queen exclaims, feeling nauseous. "I did not want her to find out. You don't know what she is like, not like I do. I knew not to tell anyone until she had been executed."

All eyes are back on the woman in white and her smile is no longer in sight. "Did you really think you could hide something like that from me?" she says, lacing her fingers together. "Tell me, how are you feeling? Faint? Nauseous? Sickly?"

The queen stumbles, her hand flying back to steady her against the seat behind her. She feels as if she's suffocating, as if there was something creeping into her throat. A sudden pain hits her. "No," she whispers, drawing both hands over her abdomen. "No, no, no!"

A shout is given to find the physician as the king rushes over to his wife, trying to get her to look at him. The guards are dismissing court when a figure rushes in and kills a guard, running a sword straight through him. Screams erupt from the members of court who witness it and there is panic as those people begin to run, attempting to escape the scene. This hinders the guards and the figure manages to kill two more before he reaches the woman in white, who is patiently watching what is unfolding.

Sheathing his sword, the figure unwraps a pendent from its hilt and fastens it around her neck, stepping back as she breaks the cuffs that bind her hands together, drawing attention back to her. The king, who is crouched with his wife, rises to his feet and stares at the intruder angrily. "Seize him!" he shouts.

Before his command could be obeyed, the woman in white gives a flick of her wrist and all the guards fall to the floor, lifeless. Another flick slams the doors shut, sealing them in the room. "That's better," she says, looking between the king and her sister. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

Unwilling to step down, the king takes a step forward. "There are more guards on their way. You will pay for this," he threatens.

She laughs and walks towards the window, having her first look at the outside world in a long time. "That is where you are wrong. It is not I that will be paying for my actions," she says, turning to look at the three in the room. "But first I must thank my dear Alduin for keeping his oath. Without him I do believe I would be tied to the pyre right now. Not that I would have burned, but he saved me from unnecessary trouble. "

Alduin sinks to his knee and bows his head as she steps towards him. "As promised, I shall reward you," she continues, gently touching the top of his head. "You once asked for the ability to remain by my side for as long as I shall live. Is that still your wish?"

"Yes, My Queen," he replies, and she taps his head three times and a flash of white runs from her fingertips and onto him. A chill runs through the air as she steps back and he rises to his feet, his reward fulfilled. It is then that she turns her attention back to her sister and the king, both of whom are watching her.

"Now, sister. Is that blood between your legs?" she says, taking a step towards them. "Can you feel it?"

The queen let out a cry as she slips a hand up her dress and touches a warm liquid that is running down her thighs. Her fear was coming to life. She knew that if her sister ever found out she was with child while alive, her child would end up dying. "Why?" she cries, holding up her blood covered fingers.

"Why?! You want me dead, sister. How many times have you tried to have me killed? Was it six or seven times? And let us not forget how you are a traitor to your own kin, for what? A chance to become queen? How despicable." The woman in white curls her lip and touches her pendant. Instantly the king falls to his knees, clutching at the wound that has appeared on his arm. The queen is unable to move towards him as she doubles over with pain as more blood touches her thighs.

Alduin steps up to the platform and looks back at her. "Would you like me to finish him?" he asks, and his answer is a shake of the head. He retreats a few steps but stays close enough to her to help if needed.

"I feel as if I should at least let your husband know what is happening," she muses, tapping her chin lightly. "I suppose he is already aware that the child in your womb is leaving your body as we speak, but does he know why?"

The queen shakes her head. "Please, sister..."

"Oh! How delightful. He does not know that I cursed you!" She gives a laugh and turns her gaze onto the wounded king. "Your darling wife crossed the woman who nurtured my gift and attempted to hinder me for yet another lifetime, but she was caught. The woman voiced what her punishment was to be and I was the one to carry it out. I cursed my sister that for as long as I shall live, should she ever get with child, it shall rest in her womb for but a month until it perishes. As I was the curse-giver, the life essence of the child enhances my gift and weakens her," she explains as her sister cries in the background.

A bell sounds in the distance that makes her look back at the window as the king looks at his wife, unable to know what to believe. "It is time," Alduin says, drawing the king's attention to him.

"Yes," the woman in white confirms, giving him a nod.

He steps forward grabs the queen, hauling her to her feet as the king shouts at him to stop. She has tears on her face as she faces her sister, the front of her dress bloodied as she hugs her abdomen. "I do not believe this is your final lifetime, so I bid you farewell until we meet again," she says before she flicks her wrist and watches her sister's neck snap and her body drop to the ground.

She places a tender hand on Alduin's cheek as the king's scream is cut short by the same way his wife lost her life.