He was the son of Death. Born into a family of executioners, it was his duty to bring to the gates of hell the miscreants who terrorized the population. He did his best to keep a distance between the people he killed and his feelings. Taking a life wasn't easy and his people knew that and both felt relieved and disgusted by the work of this man and his family. They were called all over the country in order to execute felons and murderers and for a while, the young men were able to push back the emotions that threatened to fill their heads. That worked until they couldn't. The younger one, our main character, broke down the day he had to kill a young girl whose crime was to steal two gold coins from her lord to feed her starving siblings. He didn't even want a trial nor did he want to give the child a second chance. They were starving and helpless and still the lord had her killed and the kids punished even more cruelly. The executioners were revered as the doers of God's Will, but was it God's will to take the life of an innocent? Of a child? He didn't think so. It broke him down so hard that the young man couldn't pick up his ax or even tie a noose in the following weeks. So his brothers did his work and he was forced to stay home.
It wasn't an issue for him. Instead, the young man started to work the land and took a liking in growing things and life rather than taking it. He met a young woman, he discovered was actually a slave, and the two of them would very often interact. She was beautiful and kind. She was radiant and proud, kind towards children and animals but fierce. He saw her tame the wildest horses, he watched as she healed the chickens and cows. She really was good with animals and knew her way around medicinal herbs and unguents. If she wasn't wearing a collar, he'd never suspected that she was a slave. Her owners might have tried to keep her terrorized, The young woman had a strength he never saw in anyone before. He realized that while it was forbidden for him to fall in love with a slave, he couldn't help himself. He fell in love with her. How could he not? One night she was in town for the sake of her owner, the young man broke the law of the land and claimed his love for her. She responded in kind, claiming that she fell in love with him a while ago and she chose to come to town that night because she knew they would be alone. She made the first move, let him know that she wanted him and both became one. That night, they sealed their fate.
She wanted a way out, she wanted to escape slavery and he tried to prevent her from doing so. If she tried to escape without a very tight plan, she might be caught and might be killed. They argued a lot and she told him that he didn't understand how she felt, how she had always felt. Trapped in a situation she never asked for, born from slavery, her ancestors kidnapped from their motherland and stripped of their identity. Their humanity denied and their lives repurposed to serve the needs and desires of unscrupulous monsters. She told him that her body wasn't even hers and the only decision she could take for herself was the one that led them to become one that fateful night. She told him that while he could to some extent understand how she felt because he was forced to take a job he didn't want to do and forced to kill people and be as desensitized as possible, he still was far away from understanding the way she felt. She was nothing, less than an animal in a world she knew shouldn't have been hers to live in. She would never know where she came from and would never be able to visit the place. Her life wasn't hers, her body wasn't even hers. How could he understand how it felt to be property and valued as such rather than a human being with emotions and a plan for the future? He stopped fighting her over her need to escape after their argued and decided to do his best to help the woman he fell in love with.
His family learned of his plans and decided to move him away from the town and force him to return to work. Once again he was an executioner sent across the country to eliminate felons. Once again he was thrown into a life he didn't want to live. He went from creator of life to destroyer of life in a matter of days and here he was doing his job with a bitter mood and a broken heart. He couldn't even see his sweet lover who wanted to set herself free. Every day he thought of her, of how she handled life without him by her sides, like she did before. He thought of what she decided to do once she learned he wasn't in town. Was it her cue to start moving? was it her cue to eventually take her destiny into her own hands? What could be the outcome for her attempt at freedom? He knew the law, he knew she would be killed if she tried to escape and was found. He had hope, however, that she might survive the ordeal and fly to the North of the country and eventually meet better people than the ones in the South. But what if she fell in love with someone else? He would accept that too. He was away, far away from her and wouldn't be able to protect her or ensure her a happy life. She would be stuck with him, to a job he hated, to a family who would never accept her. She deserved better, she deserved more. So the hope of seeing her happy in the future kept him going. He decided that the price for her freedom was his commitment to his job.
He was good at it, at swinging the ax, at tying the noose. He was an expert even, an artist. He was the son of Death, the one true heir and he started to take a liking at what he was doing. After all, it was his destiny or so he thought. It was so much easier to believe that than to actively try to stop doing this job. Could he even escape from this life, he thought one day? He wouldn't. People knew his face, knew his family. They knew their business was Death and they would never trust him. His grandfather tried at some point, to change his life when he met his wife but society never let him to it. They would constantly remind him that they needed someone to be God's executioner and that job fell onto his lap and he couldn't refuse to do it. It was a curse, really, a curse more than a blessing. He wasn't free, just like his beloved, he was forced to keep on going. It didn't last long. Someday, Fate cruelly reminded him that he wasn't free. He was called in the South of the country for a quick judgment. An exception because the perpetrator should have seen private justice but the crime was too grand to be ignored by the public eye. God's justice had to fall upon the criminal so the young man was sent to execute it. It was a slave who killed her master after the latter purposely tried to use her body. It wasn't uncommon for masters to rape their slaves, -it wasn't even considered as such since slaves were denied their humanity- but it certainly was punishable by death any sign of rebellion, let alone the murder of an owner. She killed him and had to face consequences. In order to make an example out of her, her execution would be public. It wouldn't be swift like a beheading or a hanging. It would be more gruesome, fitting to the crime she committed and the life she took.
Already, the young man wasn't feeling well. He hated the fact he had to kill women and even more when the death had to be a slow and gruesome one. He hated the fact he had to kill a slave, especially since he fell in love with one. What was his shock when they brought the culprit to him. It was HIS beloved. He saw her skinny body and the bruises he guessed were inflicted upon her by her captors. He noticed traces of whip he hadn't seen when they last were together, fresh traces of fists on her face. They tried to make it disappear so she would look her prettiest on the day of her death. They would use her charms against her, strip half-naked in front of an audience to justify the lust of the master. How could he resist such a creature? with perfect curves and a perfect skin tone? How could he resist such a beautiful female who was flaunting -according to them- her charms to him to get some favors from him? How could he? he was just a man. It sickened the executioner who tried his best not to react. His family was watching him among the crowd, the lord of the place was also there, he couldn't defy them. She knew it was him and stayed regal, defiant and proud. She held her chin up, put her hands on her waist as they tried to humiliate her but she didn't flinch. When asked if she regretted her action, she said she should have cut his cock and throw it to the swines who were more deserving than her master was. She spoke her mind, talked about the god that was forced upon her people and how she found his grace and misericord while praying for him. That God told her she was human and should be seen as such and not like property or a beast.
The master forced himself on her, he brutalized her and she refused to let him get away with him. She had already lost so much from the hands of those barbaric white men that she refused to let them get away with that outrage and pain. He had what he deserved and she would die with her head held high. She then went on about her last regret, which was to not have been able to go through with the love of her life, the kind and noble man who treated her as a woman rather than as an object. She said that Fate brought them together once more and she would be able to feel his gaze upon her as she dies. It shut the mob's screams for a while as people were confused. She wasn't kicking or screaming or begging for her life. She was standing there, accepting death and lecturing them about their own barbaric nature. How dare she? A servant? A slave who had more humanity than them? They encouraged the executioner to proceed with the law, after all, she was a murderer and nobody, especially not a slave should be excused for what she did. So he did. His heart was heavy, his throat was tight and his eyes were filled with unshed tears. He held her hand for a minute, holding it tight as much as he could before she smiled at him and patted his shoulder. "Go ahead, love, I am ready." He nodded but his shaky voice told her. "I am sorry about what I am going to do to you. I just can't.."
He looked into her eyes, lost and confused. It was so certain, the minute he saw her his heart skipped several beats and it became clear that she was his future. She was the promise of a better life and if he really loved her, he would at least die alongside her but he didn't. He was a coward. He just couldn't die, not even for love. So he placed her on the wheel that he would use to stretch her lips, a little more every half hour while she would have her hands broken, her feet broken and would be flogged and cursed by every priest of the small town. She would be insulted by the crowd, thrown rotten fruits in the face as a way for all of these peasants to channel their anger and misery. She knew it from the start but dying by the hand of her lover was still a better fate than life as a slave. So she didn't make a sound, she didn't cry but allowed herself to express her pain through her facial expression. He was caught stroking her cheek and talking to her, saying how sorry he was that her death wasn't clean and quick. He talked about how much he wished she wasn't a slave so he could marry her, have children with her and make her happy. He talked about how empty it made him feel and hopeless too. She was his beacon of hope, a flower found in the concrete that his life was. She told him that he was naive if he thought that they could have had a happy ending. In this time and age, they couldn't have been more than they were. He couldn't have given her more than he already did. A little bit of respect, some decency and love. It was more than she ever thought she would have.
She died several hours later, he lost the count. All he knew was that she died slowly and from an agonizing pain. A pain he could have prevented her from feeling. Her death impacted him deeply, to the point that he just couldn't sleep anymore. He stopped sleeping, he stopped eating, he just couldn't perform anymore. The blood he had on his hands, her blood was the last he could take. It gave him nightmares, horrible nightmares where her ghost followed him and accused him of killing her and not doing anything to save her. His silence made him an accomplice of the system that killed her and he very much did, literally but also by doing nothing. Guilt started to eat at him, making him lose his mind, to the point that he was forced into a mental institution. They kept him with the lunatics and the mental ills. They kept him among thieves and murderers who pretended to be sick and he felt at home for a while. He felt that he got the right punishment for not doing more to save the love of his life, but it was vain. His guilt ate him more and more and he missed her. Her laughter, her scent, her kindness and candid smile. He missed her fierce attitude, her honesty and everything he should have preserved instead of lost.They found him someday in his cell, hanging from the roof with an elaborate rope made of clothes. They said he died with a smile and seemed at peace after years of agony. His family buried him in the cemetery of criminals and sinners where was buried his beloved. They finally reunited after so many years spent away from one another. And finally, in peace and in death, they found each other.
Together at last.
Together forever.
His family learned of his plans and decided to move him away from the town and force him to return to work. Once again he was an executioner sent across the country to eliminate felons. Once again he was thrown into a life he didn't want to live. He went from creator of life to destroyer of life in a matter of days and here he was doing his job with a bitter mood and a broken heart. He couldn't even see his sweet lover who wanted to set herself free. Every day he thought of her, of how she handled life without him by her sides, like she did before. He thought of what she decided to do once she learned he wasn't in town. Was it her cue to start moving? was it her cue to eventually take her destiny into her own hands? What could be the outcome for her attempt at freedom? He knew the law, he knew she would be killed if she tried to escape and was found. He had hope, however, that she might survive the ordeal and fly to the North of the country and eventually meet better people than the ones in the South. But what if she fell in love with someone else? He would accept that too. He was away, far away from her and wouldn't be able to protect her or ensure her a happy life. She would be stuck with him, to a job he hated, to a family who would never accept her. She deserved better, she deserved more. So the hope of seeing her happy in the future kept him going. He decided that the price for her freedom was his commitment to his job.
He was good at it, at swinging the ax, at tying the noose. He was an expert even, an artist. He was the son of Death, the one true heir and he started to take a liking at what he was doing. After all, it was his destiny or so he thought. It was so much easier to believe that than to actively try to stop doing this job. Could he even escape from this life, he thought one day? He wouldn't. People knew his face, knew his family. They knew their business was Death and they would never trust him. His grandfather tried at some point, to change his life when he met his wife but society never let him to it. They would constantly remind him that they needed someone to be God's executioner and that job fell onto his lap and he couldn't refuse to do it. It was a curse, really, a curse more than a blessing. He wasn't free, just like his beloved, he was forced to keep on going. It didn't last long. Someday, Fate cruelly reminded him that he wasn't free. He was called in the South of the country for a quick judgment. An exception because the perpetrator should have seen private justice but the crime was too grand to be ignored by the public eye. God's justice had to fall upon the criminal so the young man was sent to execute it. It was a slave who killed her master after the latter purposely tried to use her body. It wasn't uncommon for masters to rape their slaves, -it wasn't even considered as such since slaves were denied their humanity- but it certainly was punishable by death any sign of rebellion, let alone the murder of an owner. She killed him and had to face consequences. In order to make an example out of her, her execution would be public. It wouldn't be swift like a beheading or a hanging. It would be more gruesome, fitting to the crime she committed and the life she took.
Already, the young man wasn't feeling well. He hated the fact he had to kill women and even more when the death had to be a slow and gruesome one. He hated the fact he had to kill a slave, especially since he fell in love with one. What was his shock when they brought the culprit to him. It was HIS beloved. He saw her skinny body and the bruises he guessed were inflicted upon her by her captors. He noticed traces of whip he hadn't seen when they last were together, fresh traces of fists on her face. They tried to make it disappear so she would look her prettiest on the day of her death. They would use her charms against her, strip half-naked in front of an audience to justify the lust of the master. How could he resist such a creature? with perfect curves and a perfect skin tone? How could he resist such a beautiful female who was flaunting -according to them- her charms to him to get some favors from him? How could he? he was just a man. It sickened the executioner who tried his best not to react. His family was watching him among the crowd, the lord of the place was also there, he couldn't defy them. She knew it was him and stayed regal, defiant and proud. She held her chin up, put her hands on her waist as they tried to humiliate her but she didn't flinch. When asked if she regretted her action, she said she should have cut his cock and throw it to the swines who were more deserving than her master was. She spoke her mind, talked about the god that was forced upon her people and how she found his grace and misericord while praying for him. That God told her she was human and should be seen as such and not like property or a beast.
The master forced himself on her, he brutalized her and she refused to let him get away with him. She had already lost so much from the hands of those barbaric white men that she refused to let them get away with that outrage and pain. He had what he deserved and she would die with her head held high. She then went on about her last regret, which was to not have been able to go through with the love of her life, the kind and noble man who treated her as a woman rather than as an object. She said that Fate brought them together once more and she would be able to feel his gaze upon her as she dies. It shut the mob's screams for a while as people were confused. She wasn't kicking or screaming or begging for her life. She was standing there, accepting death and lecturing them about their own barbaric nature. How dare she? A servant? A slave who had more humanity than them? They encouraged the executioner to proceed with the law, after all, she was a murderer and nobody, especially not a slave should be excused for what she did. So he did. His heart was heavy, his throat was tight and his eyes were filled with unshed tears. He held her hand for a minute, holding it tight as much as he could before she smiled at him and patted his shoulder. "Go ahead, love, I am ready." He nodded but his shaky voice told her. "I am sorry about what I am going to do to you. I just can't.."
He looked into her eyes, lost and confused. It was so certain, the minute he saw her his heart skipped several beats and it became clear that she was his future. She was the promise of a better life and if he really loved her, he would at least die alongside her but he didn't. He was a coward. He just couldn't die, not even for love. So he placed her on the wheel that he would use to stretch her lips, a little more every half hour while she would have her hands broken, her feet broken and would be flogged and cursed by every priest of the small town. She would be insulted by the crowd, thrown rotten fruits in the face as a way for all of these peasants to channel their anger and misery. She knew it from the start but dying by the hand of her lover was still a better fate than life as a slave. So she didn't make a sound, she didn't cry but allowed herself to express her pain through her facial expression. He was caught stroking her cheek and talking to her, saying how sorry he was that her death wasn't clean and quick. He talked about how much he wished she wasn't a slave so he could marry her, have children with her and make her happy. He talked about how empty it made him feel and hopeless too. She was his beacon of hope, a flower found in the concrete that his life was. She told him that he was naive if he thought that they could have had a happy ending. In this time and age, they couldn't have been more than they were. He couldn't have given her more than he already did. A little bit of respect, some decency and love. It was more than she ever thought she would have.
She died several hours later, he lost the count. All he knew was that she died slowly and from an agonizing pain. A pain he could have prevented her from feeling. Her death impacted him deeply, to the point that he just couldn't sleep anymore. He stopped sleeping, he stopped eating, he just couldn't perform anymore. The blood he had on his hands, her blood was the last he could take. It gave him nightmares, horrible nightmares where her ghost followed him and accused him of killing her and not doing anything to save her. His silence made him an accomplice of the system that killed her and he very much did, literally but also by doing nothing. Guilt started to eat at him, making him lose his mind, to the point that he was forced into a mental institution. They kept him with the lunatics and the mental ills. They kept him among thieves and murderers who pretended to be sick and he felt at home for a while. He felt that he got the right punishment for not doing more to save the love of his life, but it was vain. His guilt ate him more and more and he missed her. Her laughter, her scent, her kindness and candid smile. He missed her fierce attitude, her honesty and everything he should have preserved instead of lost.They found him someday in his cell, hanging from the roof with an elaborate rope made of clothes. They said he died with a smile and seemed at peace after years of agony. His family buried him in the cemetery of criminals and sinners where was buried his beloved. They finally reunited after so many years spent away from one another. And finally, in peace and in death, they found each other.
Together at last.
Together forever.
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