Defender of the king chapter 4

A Chapter by Davy Galloway

Back to King David in the kingdom of Waykin

When King David woke up he kept his eyes closed. He still wanted to sleep off the minor hangover he had, he was used to it though because this was how most mornings were. His life fell in a pattern, wake up at the same time every day, take care of paperwork, then the rest of his day was open. Some days he rode his horse, or practiced his swordsmanship, and very rarely he would pick up a bow and shoot at targets. He was never very the good at archery, when he was little his dad taught him how to hunt, but he never got the hang of it and would always hit about two feet from his target.
This day was different, it was Sunday. The only things he had to do today was church which was held at noon and a little paper work. He usually woke up at eight or nine on Sunday's which gave him about two more hours of sleep. As he laid in bed he started to let his mind wander. He dreamed of meeting his wife again or his unborn child. He smiled a little wondering if it would've been a boy or a girl. His dream came to a sudden stop when there was a screaming in the hall. The king jolted upward to hear a woman's voice echoing through the walls.
"WITCH"
"WITCH"
"THERE'S A WITCH!"
The king groaned as the screaming stopped, probably from guards calming her down and going after the witch. After that the king wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep so he tossed his legs over the side of the bed and got up. He slowly walked to his closet and got his clothes. He wore black pants and a long leather jacket. He normally wore black he couldn't find any color that would bring him any happiness.
The king walked into the hall to be greated by Hadrian. His hair looked greyer today, probably because he was wear a blue jacket that made the grey stand out more. He did a small bow and then began to talk.
"We've captured an accused witch, your highness."
"Set a trial for her at eleven and then an exicution at noon."
The king was tired of dealing with magic, anyone accused of magic was burned at the stake. Anyone with a trace of magic could turn evil at any moment he'd seen it before with an old friend of his, he thought of when they were young and ran around playing in the woods together. He sighed and started to walk back to his room. Soon after he returned a maid brought him his breakfast. He sat at his table with two chairs, he stared at the other chair meant for his wife. He poured himself a glass of wine and stared to eat. When he finished his meal he walked to the window and looked at the town clock and saw it was almost ten, an hour before the trial. He had about about an half hour before he had to head to the court room so he picked up a his favorite book, it was worn and tattered but he started to read it again for the hundredth time.
The king was memorized in this book until there was a loud knock on the door that startled him. It was his guards ready to escort him to the trial. The king closed his book and gently set in on the table. He walked to the door and the guards rearranged themselves so two guards walking in front and two in the back. The walk from the king's room to the court room took about twenty minutes. When they arrived the king sat in his chair and he signaled for the guards to bring the accused witch in. She struggled but didn't say a word. Three guards surrounded her and she had iron cuffs on. Iron prevented a witch from using magic, witches the dead to use their hands to channel their power so with iron blocking her hands she was basically powerless and as a precaution they would often force iron pills down their throats. The king sat in his chair with his elbow on the arm rest and his head resting on his arm.
"What is your name?" The king said. His question was answered only by silence. "Well then, you were accused of using magic. Do you have anything to say that could be used to defend yourself?" There was only silence. He stared at her for a few seconds then continue to speak. "If you have nothing to say then your execution is set for noon. Guards take her back to the dungeon." But then she did have something to say.
"My only regret in life is that I will never be able to see you lose your kingdom to my lord Shade." The witch said as the guards dragged her back to the dark dungeon. After the witch was gone and he couldn't hear the clanging of chains as she struggled to break free, he walked to his room.
When he made it back to his room he grabbed the papers his advisor left for him on his table and sat down by the fire and started to read them. The king always hated reading paperwork, he liked his books and stories but never paperwork. He remembered his dad burning his favorite books because he spent too much time with books rather than work. After reading a couple pages there was knock on the doors that came from the guards who were ready to escort him to the execution. He walked out to the halls and the guards rearranged themselfing into the same pattern and walked him to the balcony.
When they reached the balcony the king stepped forward and watched as the guards led the witch to the large wood pile that had been gathered in the middle of the city. He was glad to see citizens adding to the wood pile and supporting his ban on magic. A man in a black hooded cape with a lit torche stood next to the pile watching for the signal from the king to drop the torche into the dry pile of wood. The guards shoved the witch towards the stake and tied her to it.
"This woman was accused of using magic. Magic leads to evil beings and will not be tolerated in this kingdom. The kingdom of Waykin. Anyone who is accused of magic will be executed." After he finished he raised his hand and the executer got ready to drop his torche. The king dropped his hand and the executer dropped the torche. After the torche dropped the pile went up in flames and through the witches screams she yelled something that the king could hear clearly and it somewhat scared him.
"This isn't the end of this, your kingdom will fall and Shade will rise!" She yelled.

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