章節 3: Days of the witches
"Your highness!... Your highness, we have to go now, you have just fifteen minutes, there's no time to waste." Caroline was slightly shaken awake from her thoughts by the court bailiff that would take her to where her daughter was held.
"What?..." She asked, looking at the bailiff with confusion like she has just been woken from a deep slumber. She looked around the hall and saw the prime minister was no longer in her seat and people were already moving out of the hall, including her father and his aids. He didn't even talk to her, he must have been too angry to even want to be near her.
She wished she could make him understand the reason why she couldn't divulge who was responsible for her pregnancy all those years when he asked. Caroline knew her father would have insisted she aborted her pregnancy if he had known his daughter was impregnated by a werewolf. He might have even put the baby to death himself immediately after she was born
"They are done?" She asked with surprise, wondering how she could zone out under such circumstances.
"Yes they're done and you have just fifteen minutes to see the princess, so we better hurry and make every second count." The bailiff said and hurried towards the door hoping Caroline would follow behind.
Even though he felt the cabinets were right to sentence the princess to death because of her dangerous nature that posed a threat to Whitevamp and the neighboring human island, he still felt compassion for the crown princess. His heart went out to her when he saw the tears that slide down her face. He knew how much anguish she was in because he had been in a situation similar to hers before.
It was a long time ago, when vampires and humans finally decided that witches were no longer welcome amongst them and therefore shouldn't be allowed to live anywhere within the vicinity of Whitevamp and the human islands because of their practice of sorcery, invocation of supernatural powers, and controlling of people's will, weather and events.
The witches who were known to meet secretly at night to indulge in their rituals, cannibalism, and orgiastic rites before suddenly became so brazen in their attacks, on vampires and humans. One day at midday, when the sun was at its highest point, a vampire and human children, a girl and a boy that looked to be around the same age were found with their hearts freshly cut out of their chests.
That incident brought about a great purge. It was during the purge when all witches were either burn at the stake or driven out of town that he lost the love of his life. His fiancee who he never knew was also a witch, if not for the test that was carried out on her was not so lucky to be among those driven out of town.
He watched with great pain as she was burned alive on the stake alongside other witches. The pain of watching the person you love most in the world die such a gruesome death, knowing there was nothing you could do about it was excruciating, it was an experience that he wouldn't wish on anybody, friend or foe. That was why he would make sure the crown princess have more than enough time with her daughter during the last moment of her life.
.
.
It was difficult for Caroline to look at Marigold and not think about her father. Especially when the similarities between father and daughters were not limited to their physical features alone. It was one of the reasons why she found it difficult to forget about him. Marigold was Caroline's everyday reminder of Roman, the man she loved and has now come to hate.
'Stay focused Caroline! This is not the time to get distracted! Think about your daughter and not Roman!' She constantly say under her breath as she followed behind the bailiff till she was finally able to push Roman far to the back of her mind. She needed to focus because the next few minutes were paramount to her daughter's life.
They got outside the hall and she called the attention of the two women that were seated alone inside the hall's waiting area, waiting for her to come out
"Rose... Lilly... Come!" Caroline called. Rose and Lilly were Caroline and Marigold's twins personal maids. They've been sitting with grim expressions on their faces because they already heard people who came out of the hall talking about the princess's death sentence. They stood and walked on both sides of Caroline, when they heard the Crown princess called for them
The three women followed briskly behind the bailiff, down a corridor till they arrived at an iron door. The bailiff opened the door and stepped aside for them to enter inside.
Caroline gave a heart wrenching wail when she saw her daughter laid curled up on the jail's bare dirty floor. Crying, the three women hurried to Marigold's side and squatted beside her, removing dirt and tucking strands of wheat blond hair away from her tear stained face
"Goldilocks..."
"Princess..."
"Gold... Baby are you okay?"
They all called softly while sobbing at the same time.
"Gold... Please baby, wake up!... Mommy's here now wake up... I'm sorry this has to happen to you. I'm so sorry baby..."
Caroline's voice woke Marigold up from her exhausted sleep. The girl's eyes widen and immediately welled up with tears again when she saw the women squatting besides her. She sat up and threw her arms around her mother.
"Oh my God! Mom... I'm so glad to see you!..." She cried hoarsely and immediately started to explain the situation she suddenly found herself in to her mother as best as she could...
"I promise you mom, I didn't do anything wrong. I don't know why I was arrested, why they brought me here... They thought I was a witch... Why would they think me a witch?... And, and... What the the prime minister said..."
"Shshshshs... Shshshshs... Shush baby, don't cry... I know you didn't do anything wrong. It's all mommy's fault... Shshshshs..." Caroline cried as she soothed and consoled her daughter who was also crying. It was a sad moment between mother and child and very distressing for Rose and Lilly, their maids to watch.
The bailiff cleared his throat loudly. Not only to get the women's attention but also to stop himself from letting the emotional display gets to him
"I'm sorry your highness. I know it's hard but the prime minister gave just fifteen minutes for you to say your goodbyes. But you can take as long as you want, just keep it in mind that everything is already being arranged and the sentence will be carried out in thirty minutes..." The bailiff said and paused for some seconds "I'm so sorry." He finished and quietly left the room, closing the door behind him
"Sentence!?... What sentence mom!? But I haven't done anything wrong I..."
"Shush baby... It's okay. It's going to be fine. I know you've don't nothing wrong. Mom will take care of everything don't worry." Caroline helped her daughter to stand and led her to sit on the concrete slab while the maids remain standing. Saving her daughter's life would mean a big sacrifice but no sacrifice is too big for her daughter's life.
"Honey... I want you to listen to me very well this one time because I might not be able to repeat myself. We don't have much time left before they come for you..." Caroline said looking deep into her daughter's eyes
"Okay mom..." Marigold replied, all her attention now focused directly on her mother.
"Your life is in danger and this is the only way out..."
After Caroline finished talking to Marigold and exactly fifteen minutes later, the crown princess and her maids hurried out of the holding cell. They went past the bailiff who immediately stood when he saw them passed him by without even spearing him a glance.
'Where's she hurrying off to? Another woman might need to be dragged away from her daughter but not her. Where would she rather be that is more important than being with her daughter during the last hours of her life?..' The bailiff thought and shook his head pitifully, criticising the crown princess in his mind.
He went to the holding cell and saw the girl that was sitting on the floor with her legs drawn up to her chest. His heart felt heavy when he saw her tears poured down her face. Her mother must have told her her faith he thought to himself.
Some few minutes after, he heard the heavy footsteps of the military police come down the corridor. 'Is she that dangerous?' He wondered to himself when he saw they were four hefty men with heavy shackles against one tiny girl
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