Outside of Sotherglen
A few weeks after the incident in town
It’s a harrowing couple of weeks, after Astarael leaves Sotherglen. She spends the days hiding as best she can, and traveling under the cover of night, down the road, hiding whenever she encounters people. It’s exhausting, and one evening, she stops to rest, and falls asleep, slumped against a tree.
In the morning, she wakes to someone prodding her with their foot, and opens her eyes to find herself surrounded by Painted Swan soldiers. She recognizes Oliver among them. He looks at her and nods- and one of the soldiers behind her knocks her unconscious.
Astarael wakes up chained to a wall, her head pounding. She can see a room lit by a candle on a table, next to a guard outside the door. Her hands are bound. Everything hurts. The guard notices her stirring.
“Ah, you’re awake. About time. I thought you were going to be out until your execution. That’s no fun.”
A tear rolls down her cheek. She tries to draw on the power. Feel its energy. Nothing.
STUPID.
SO STUPID.
You could have just minded your own business. But NO. Look where we are now.
The night passes slowly. She dozes off and on, but it is a restless sleep. In the morning, a guard comes in and gags her. A sack is placed over her head, and she’s pushed out the door.
This is it.
She tries again to access the storm. Still, nothing comes.
Nothing I can do now.
After a few minutes of walking, she finds herself being lifted onto a wooden platform. The sound of metal squeaking, a clang, and a locking noise.
Where am I?
Suddenly, the platform lurches forward. She’s in a cart. The voice of a man next to her says, “Guess it’s your lucky day.” There are sounds of a crowd nearby. It sounds like they are passing close to the square.
“Burn her!! BURN THE WITCH!!!”
The crowd is calling for someone’s execution. Astarael isn’t sure how she’s not the person about to be aflame. Her hands are behind her back, but she manages to wiggle the sack off of her head with her shoulders. Just in time to see a horrific sight.
The Painted Swans have a young woman tied to a stake in the square. A woman with pale skin and dark hair. She can just make out someone lighting the pyre. The cart pulls further away, and a building blocks her view, but Astarael can hear the screams for some time after.
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