The Execution

The Execution is the 13th chapter of Epoch of Disharmony Season 1. The chapter introduces Cirdan Mithrandir a mysterious prisoner being taking to Hyrule Castle Dungeon. However when the corrupt millionaire Stewart Von Jarl crosses his path Cridan will soon find a conspiracy against him. Stewart and his "personal slave" Gli Lambe work to sentence Cirdan to death for crimes he did not commit. With a public execution to be carried out will Cirdan survive against all odds, or shall he soon be condemned to his fate? 
== Sorry Buddy ==
Cirdan/Prison Wagon/Day 1
Cirdan's eyelids felt heavy while he peered through a squint. The blinding light of the morning sun pierced through the imperfections and cracks in the wooden walls of the enclosed prison wagon he sat inside. He tried to examine his surroundings in the darkness, only to recognize that someone was inside with him. The man next to him sat against the door in a rather pathetic manner; for his shoulders were slumped and his head hung limply. Not a sound could be heard other than the creaking squeak of the wheels of the wagon and the jingle of the chains that bound them when they moved even the slightest.
Cirdan licked his dry lips while he rose up to his feet. He shuffled closer to the man with him and gave him two light smacks on his face.
There was no answer.
"Hey.' Cirdan's gruff voice broke the silence, 'Wake up, ya bum."
The man didn't respond. Cirdan stood there motionless for a time, listening to the man's breathing. He readied a hand to attempt to snatch the man's flask, but was interrupted when a hand grabbed his.
"Don't.' The man croaked, '...It's empty anyway."
Cirdan rolled his eyes with a groan and leaned back, shuffling back to his corner.
"...Damn it..."
The wagon jumped as if they had hit a bump in the road. Cirdan knew that bump too well. They had arrived in Hyrule Field.
Later - Hyrule Field
Cirdan picked at his canine tooth with his thumbnail while he sat there idly, his eyes glued on the light that shimmered through the imperfections in the wagon. His eyes wandered over to the man with him, and then back at the light. Several minutes had passed before he finally broke the silence, the lack of action starting to put him to sleep.
"...So what did you do?" He yawned.
The man didn't answer.
Cirdan pried, "...Kill somebody? Steal anything? Did you find a young woman to-"
"I was found with one of the daughters of the guard. I was trying to get information, but I was mistaken for lying with her...With a knife to her neck." The man interrupted, his tone implying annoyance.
"Ah...That'll do it..." Cirdan mused. It grew quiet for a brief moment before he continued the conversation. "...Ya got a name?"
The man didn't answer. Cirdan sighed. He looked at the man long and hard, before he made an observation that had previously kept hidden to his eyes.
"...At least explain those wings."
== Not Your Normal Plant ==
Gli Lambe/Hyrule Castle Town/Day 3
Gli tripped and fell into the mud with an undignified splat. The chain that was bound around her neck was yet again used like a leash by her master, whom seemed to love to yank her around and drag her through the dirt, even when she did what she was told.
"Looks like you had a spill, plant. Get up quickly this time, so I don't do it again." He demanded with amusement.
She obediently rose to her feet, fighting every urge to show anger. Anger meant discontent, and she seemed to have always been punished for even showing the smallest bit of negative emotion. She adjusted the chain locked on her neck, which was hidden under her red scarf. The scarf worked as a paper thin cover for the chain that was wrapped and locked around her throat, but it's warmth was effective enough to counter the cold metal of the chains. She spat mud out of her mouth and dug a rock out of her leafy locks as she quickened her pace to keep up with "master".
"So...What did you find in the prison?" the man asked in an insultingly polite manner.
Gli pulled papers from her shirt and held them up to him. The man snatched it from her hands and placed a single green rupee in its place. He examined the papers while Gli sniffed the rupee. She had a sneaking suspicion that it had either been found in a disgusting place, or at the very least, stored in a equally unpleasant region on her master's person. She wouldn't put it past him to do the latter.
"Excellent, excellent...' The man started, 'That boy Cirdan will get what's coming to him now..."
Gli looked up, and the man responded.
"I'll just switch the names on these two records, and he's as good as dead. Those cowardly guards will dismiss a man who has only stolen a rupee or two, but our friend here Frederic on this other record...He's committed all kinds of destruction. Perfect."
He snickered to himself as he pulled a quill from his pocket, and switched the names on the two records.
"...And...There! Our dear Frederic is but a petty thief on his first strike and Cirdan is a wanted criminal. That'll teach him to steal from me; Stewart Von Jarl!"
He pushed the papers back into Gli's possession.
"Put those back before anyone sees. Chop-chop, weed."
Gli disappeared back into the prison's ajar door, and then came back out moments later.
"Done." She responded flatly.
"Excellent work, plant. I'll remember to feed you with two bits of bread tonight for your deeds today...Maybe." He chuckled as he forcefully yanked the chain and began walking.
"Let us go and get ready to watch what you've done."
Evening 3
Gli stumbled when her master kicked a strategically placed rock on the road, which found itself in front of her foot in her stride to keep up with the comparatively monsterously sized man who pulled her chain roughly as she fell behind. Stewart was beaming, presumably at himself as he merrily walked to the execution site. He tried to make small talk with Gli, but her tired eyes stared blankly at the road, only glancing up to know where she was going. Stewart forced her to reestablish diligence by subtly changing his direction so she would end up walking into people in the bustling streets. Embarassed after knocking a woman's groceries from her hands due to not paying attention, Gli's tired gold eyes rose from the dirt and looked to the road ahead.
"Tsk, tsk.' Stewart whispered, 'It's a shame we're in public. My reputation would be ruined if I did right now what I'm going to do when we get home for that clumsiness. Carry yourself like a proud Hylian, weed; though I imagine that's too intricate a task for you to muster."
Gli straightened her gait in silence as her eyes heavily and slowly closed from fatigue, before opening again to stop herself from running into someone else. Stewart noticed this, and smacked the back of her head.
"Wake up, damnit. You sleep when you're dead.' he started as he grabbed her scarf and pulled her head back to look at him, straining her neck 'You'll get the whip too if you do that again."
Gli woke up considerably, and forced herself to remain awake and alert as they approached thier destination.
"Ah good, we're here.' Stewart said, pushing Gli down and using her as a chair. The swiftness and grace of this act made it almost seem as if he rehearsed it, which was the only thing Gli could imagine as she realized what had just happened. She grumbled under her breathe about how disgustingly predictable her predicament was, and bitterly pondered about how cliche her abuse could get that day. Soon though, she decided to occupy her mind with the time of day, concluding that it was just after noon. It was then she realized that the executions only happen after supper. She could tell that Stewart was too excited to budge, as he excitedly whispered to himself about how he wasn't going to miss a moment of that "scoundrel" Cirdan's execution, even if it meant being obscenely early. It was obvious they weren't going anywhere, and this worried Gli greatly.
Hours passed, as Gli's hands disappeared in the mud she was pushed into, and her master did not move his rump from her back, even for her to take a break. She could feel her arms shaking with weakness, as she realized she was running out of water, and the evening sun was not mercifully swift in its departure. Her honey-gold tongue vainly licked her lips as an audience finally appeared at the gallows, and she sighed with relief.
"Thank the Gods these are short..." she spat to herself.
Stewart Von Jarl
Dozens of citizens had gathered to watch the spectacle of death. Many of them stared at the stone on the ground, which had a crudely crafted basket next to it. The stone was covered in the marks of many a strike from the executioners' axe, which showed both its age, and the frequency of its use. The more squeamish of passing pedestrians would instinctively rub their necks upon looking at the slab of rock that symbolized the swift end of criminals of every shape and size. Even children were disturbed by merely walking past it, for the ritual of execution was indiscrimative in its path to bring wanted men, women and children to justice.
Stewart rested his chin upon his bony fist as he sat there thoughtfully; his eyes were fixed upon the basket. It was once yellow as the straw it was made from, but repeated use rendered the basket an unsettling dark orange. He smiled as he reminisced about the many other times he enjoyed the day of death. The executions knew no schedule or pattern in times of war, but Stewart was there for every last one. He had an odd fascination revolving around execution, and it remained a mystery even to him as to why, but he loved every moment so much that he had once found himself trying to pay for an admission that didn't exist. A gleeful smile of anticipation stretched across his age withered face as the prison wagon arrived.
Cirdan/Hyrule Castle Town/Evening 3
Cirdan stumbled from the prison wagon as a guard pushed him when he hesitated to leave. His vision was hazy from the sudden burst of the evening suns' orange glow in the blue skies. As a guard came to assist the previous one, he was escorted forth towards the stone, where he was stopped by a third guard whom held a paper in his hand, and a quill in the other.
"Cirdan...You are hereby sentenced to death...'
"Of course I am..." Cirdan muttered.
'...For theft, resisting arrest...'
'Guilty.'
'...Vandalism...'
'Didn't mean it.'
'...Kidnapping, adultery...'
'...Wait...'
'...Rape, assault...'
'...No, that's not right...'
'...And murder." the guard finished.
'...Murder?' Cirdan was stunned, "Wait...I haven't killed anybody...Did I?"
"That's what it says." the guard responded dimly.
"I haven't ever done half of those things. There has to be a mistake! I mean, I know I'm going to die anyway, but there's no way-"
"Silence!' the guard barked, 'We wrote the record ourselves and checked it thrice, four times in fact. This record is as close to the truth as it gets, and we made sure of it. Would you like your last words to be senseless blubbering about your past 'deeds', and how you feel bad about them?"
"No..." Cirdan growled.
"Good. Now, have you any last words?"
Cirdan stood there for a long moment. The way his hands were bound made it so he could not reach the new trinket around his neck that had been given to him along the way to this moment, much to his regret. There was no escape this time, it seemed.
"...No...I haven't a thing to say to you."
"Very well.' the guard responded, 'Come forth then."
Gli Lambe
Gli looked through from the legs of the nearby citizens as she watched the execution from afar. She boredly watched as the man quietly stepped forth to his fate, until Stewart made a sound to catch her attention.
"You know what to do..."
With that, Stewart finally rose to his feet, relieving Gli's sore back. She crawled through the mud to the front of the crowd, and waited. Her lips were chapped and her throat was dry to the point that it was distracting. She wasn't sure if she was going to be able to muster tears, and she wasn't about to eat mud to gain moisture. She had little time to figure it out, as the axe came down with a sickening crunch.
"1...2...3." She whispered before lunging at the beheaded body, blubbering and sobbing bitterly. She grabbed and hugged the corpse, while calling the guards monsters and murderers for taking her brother from her. The people nearby were shocked, and even the guards hesitated from the sudden event.
The guards moved to apprehend her, but Stewart intervened, excusing Gli in the hysteria of the moment before dragging her away from the scene by her leg. As they were out of sight from everyone else in the nearest alleyway, Stewart dropped Gli's leg and turned to her in a crouched position.
"So...What were you able to get?" He said expectantly.
Gli wiped the fake tears away and stretched her hand out, revealing three blue rupees, which glistened despite the mud they were coated in.
"Excellent!' He responded as he snatched them from her hand 'That's all of what he stole from me too...Good thing he didn't use it on anything before they caught him. I hope he learns to not steal from me in hell."
"Why just fifteen?" Gli said with a glare of disbelief.
"Just fifteen? JUST FIFTEEN? Plant, you best learn your place and how to hold your tongue.' he snapped as he violently smacked her cheek, 'It doesn't matter that I make hundreds of rupees a day, every last one of them counts! I'll be damned if I lose even fifteen of them from a mere scoundrel!"
He rose to his feet as he finished and began to walk with Gli's chain in hand. He was already reaching his quick stride before Gli could even get up from her prone position. She tucked Cirdan's necklace into her boot as she was forced to stand before her knees were dragged ragged through the mud again. They still stung from the scratches she had attained from her last spill, and it only burn more as mud was rubbed abrasively into her small wounds. As she stumbled to her feet, Stewart muttered bitterly under his breath. She couldn't pay attention to what he was saying, as she had realized that Stewart used his ringed hand to smack her. She rubbed her cheek and looked at her hand. Her hand was slightly covered in the sweet sappy liquid that flowed through her veins. The slap had managed to draw blood. Son of a bitch.
Before they reached Stewarts home, he stopped and hailed his wagon. His butler appeared from behind his home with the wagon; the one only big enough for one passenger.
"Watch the residence while I'm gone, me and Gli dear are going to go to the farm. I realize we're low on milk."
The butler bowed and disappeared into the house as Stewart got into the wagon.
"You best keep up, plant. You need the exercise and to do the heavy lifting.' He chuckled as he tightly gripped the long chain, and prompted the horse to trot. 'It's a long trip, so rest if you need it. We won't get there until sunrise."
Stewart pulled a bottle from his coat, which was filled with water.
"I got this water from a rather nasty puddle the other day...' He turned with the opened bottle and dumped it all on Gli, 'I figured you'd need some moisture for the trip."
"...Thank you, master."
__FORCETOC__
Category:Cirdan Mithrandir
Category:Silverslate
Category:Gli Lambe