Chapter 296: Execution
The Queen had fallen, but Evanna did not feel victorious. If anything, more weight crushed her chest, significantly when her eyes fell on the boys. After sealing Eleanor’s fate, the rest of the process went far too quickly. It was a blur, and she was no more than a spectator now.
The days following the trial made the servants busy. Evanna watched in a darkened haze. The weight of her decision was heavy, one she wished wouldn’t affect William and George. Isabel acted differently around her as well. Whenever they saw each other at opposite ends of the hall, Isabel would turn in the opposite direction. It was a little maddening.
Evanna would prefer it if she screamed all sorts of profanities in her face, not this silence. She didn’t think Isabel would scheme anything. The girl was not a schemer like her mother. She merely bullied Evanna, and while she might not have cared if Evanna was assassinated, her interest lay in her reputation and looks.
Now Evanna stood beside Arawn on a temporary dais overlooking the village square. Days before, word spread to the commoners about their Queen and those involved in assassination attempts on Lady Loraven, Princess Evanna and the truth behind former King Selvin’s death. Many were gathered for Eleanor Roth’s execution. Fortunately, William and George remained inside the palace walls. They may have been allowed to stay in the trial, but this day was not for their eyes to see.
Some peasants of similar ages were still gathered, but it was a different story for William and George. It was their mother who would lose her head. Besides, they were not traitors and did not need to see their mother’s death as a warning.
Evanna sighed, shifting slightly on one foot. There was a slight chill in the air now, and her furred cloak wrapped around her snugly. Her long black locks fell down her shoulders, an emerald and diamond band fitting across her brow and wrapping around her head, strands of her hair weaving in and out of it. She kept her head tilted up as many eyes flicked back and forth between the once-missing princess and the ethereal with white hair by her side.
On the other side of Evanna, Osian also remained standing instead of sitting on the throne. Loraven stood to his side, and with some space between them, Isabel watched from the side, her features masked as she looked upon her mother. Evanna heard her father visited Eleanor in the coming days, and though he may have felt conflicted, none of those emotions were expressed on his features now.
To see the former Queen stroll to the guillotine, stripped of her title and her jewels, bare-faced with a haunted look on her face, is something Evanna can never unsee. This woman who caused so much turmoil in her and her mother’s life, killing her father, was now facing death.
"*How are you feeling?*" Arawn whispered. He wasn’t watching the scene before them but her. His only concern was Evanna. He was aware she’d attended a few executions before. This time, it was someone she knew.