A thorny path

She was kneeling on the cold stone floor of the main hall with her hands tied behind her back. Not daring to face the intruders she kept her head low and her gaze fixed on the ground.

She was only wearing a nightgown and her messily tied hair had started to come undone, causing lose strands of auburn colored hair to cover her face. She was thin; way to thin as most would probably say. Her beautiful features were concealed by sunken cheeks, dark circles and a dull complexion.

Beside her was the rest of the family, all of them kneeling in a row with their hands tied back. She hadn't gotten a good look but from the corner of her eye her father had appeared to be badly beaten.

It had been an evening like any other. Amelia had only just fallen asleep when she was awoken by a commotion from downstairs. There were some loud bangs, noices of metal hitting the floor and the raised voices of men could be heard. Instinctively she had wanted to hide but curiosity had gotten the better of her; the mansion was usually kept quiet during the night due to the madams insomnia and whoever was brave enough to make a sound would face severe punishment.

As soon as Amelia had peeked out of her room to see what was going on she had been grabbed by two unknown men in armor. She had been dragged down the stairs, had her wrists tied so tightly behind her back that it hurt and she was made to kneel next to her brother. Next came her father and the madam who had also been forced to their knees. All the servants residing in the mansion had been made to leave by the persuation of armed knights.

Her familys guards had been nowhere to be seen during the entire incident.

If it wasn't for the madams sobbing, the mansion would now probably be so quiet that one could hear a pin drop if they really listned. Most of the knights that had captured her family had stepped back towards the walls and were now just quietly observing them as if they were merely animals at a zoo. Only three knights that stood on guard right behind her and her family still had their swords drawn

It felt as if the time stood still. Amelias knees had started to ache and she was shivering from being exposed to the ice-cold floor. Despite this she made sure to not display any fear or discomfort on her face.

She knew very well why her family were here; she'd recently heard her father plotting against the empires new king along two powerful aristocrats. Although her father was not very high in rank himself he had a big influence in high society and he could've caused great harm to the empire if left to his own devices. This crime of his would most likely result in the death of the entire family considering the kingdoms current political unease. A beheading on the spot would be their punishment in the best case scenario and in the worst case it'd probably be a public execution or torture to set an example for the other rebellious nobles.

Amelia pitied herself when she thought about how this was how her life would come to an end. It had been a pathetic life though, so perhaps this death would be a fitting one for a bastard child like her.

The sudden sound of the front door opening jerked her back to the situation at hand. The air in the room somehow felt thicker, harder to breathe.

Heavy footsteps echoed between the walls and the person that they belonged to seemed to be getting closer, until finally, they stopped. Amelia could see a pair of big feet in the corner of her eye, a man standing right in front of her father.

The man started pacing back and forth and Amelia could tell that he was observing her and her family even though she was unable to see his face. She tried to make herself as invisible as she possibly could, holding her breath and staying completely still.

Her heart dropped when the unknown man stopped his pacing right in front of her, he was so close that he almost stepped on her hair.

It felt as if though her heart would beat out of her ribcage. Her entire body started trembling and she felt nauseus enough to throw up any minute. In order to contain the rapidly growing panic she resorted to biting her cheek so hard that it drew blood.

'Please let this be over quickly!' Amelia shut her eyes, bracing herself for what would follow.

But the fatal blow to her neck by the man's sword that she was expecting never showed. Instead, cold fingertips grabbed her by the chin and forced her to lift her head.

"Open you eyes" a deep voice commanded.

Amelia obeyed.

She came face to face with a pair of grey eyes. The man's face looked as if it was made of stone: cold and unyielding. His skin was tan and his hair was black as a raven. A gruesome scar extended across his face, starting from hairline, crossing the outer part of his eyebrow and ending at the left temple.

She instantly knew the identity of this man. A shiver went down her spine and she had to surpress a gasp. She was dead for sure.

"What is your name?" The man's voice was deep and menacing, making the words sound more like a command rather than a question.

She opened her mouth to answer him, but not a sound would leave her lips. It was as though her entire body had completely shut down unerneath his imposing figure.

The expression on the man's face turned grim. He released the tight grip of Amelias chin and shifted his gaze away from her, instead looking towards her father.

"What is the name of this girl?"

Her father's complection turned completely white. "Y-your grace, please. I don't know why you are doing this, it must be some sort of misunderstanding! Please release us and we'll talk!"

Her father was shivering and appeared to have been badly beaten. His left eye had turned purple and was almost entirely closed up due to swelling.

It was odd for Amelia to witness her father whom she had feared so for so many years look so small.

"What is her name?" The black haired man's tone was even firmer this time. He sounded as if he was ready to kill if he had to repeat himself once more.

"I-it's Amelia. She's m-my daughter!"

"How curious. I did not know that lord Ainsworth had a daughter".

"S-she's a bastard your grace, the daughter of a prostitute. She's been kept out of high society."

The man frowned at her father's words. He paused for a moment, then turned his eyes towards one of the knights that stood on guard behind Amelia.

"Sir Paul, escort miss Amelia back to my residence. Make sure she's well treated."

The knight in question bowed, positioned himself next to Amelia and helped her get on her feet by pulling her upper arm.

She was stunned. Suddenly she stood there with permission to leave with her life intact after being convinced that she would be killed on the spot just moments ago. Her mind did not seem to process what had just accured; she was completely frozen where she stood, stiff as a board with a blank stare fixed to the floor. Even though her only wish was to get away she couldn't bring herself to take even a single step towards the door.

When she obviosly wasn't moving the knight with the order to escort her placed a gloved hand on her back. He managed to force her body into motion by pressing her shoulder blade, and Amelia absentmindedly followed his direction towards the front door.

Even though the walk through the main hall was not very long it felt like they were walking for miles. Her legs were weak and shaky and seemed as if they would give in under her at any second. Every single person present in the hall were observing them when and wondering why her life just had been spared. She herself could not understand it either. Her mind desperately tried to make sense of the situation but the thoughts in her head were nothing but a cacophony. She was scared, scared that the black haired man would take back his words at any second now and call her back for her execution.

The moment they reached the door the sound of a sword being drawn could be heard from behind her, followed by the voice of the black haired man. She could not make out what was being said though, due to a drastic escelation in the madam's pathetic sobbing.

The knight held the door open and repeatedly gestured for her to go outside but Amelias body did not cooperate. Instead of leaving she just stood by the open door like a statue, looking at the safety that the outdoors offered with a blank stare.

The madam's cries turned to shrieks, a sound only overpowered by her father's cussing. The knight started looking visibly uncomfortable.

When Amelia still wasn't leaving, he leaned towards her and whispererd "Miss, you should hurry up and follow me outside. You will not want to witness what is about to happen".

But she stood there firmly. Her frightened mind finally processed what was happening.

She knew that the following moments were going to be gruesome, that she would most likely see it play out every time she closed her eyes from here on out. Yet she did not want to go.

Instead of walking out the door, she turned her head to witness the execution of her family that would now take place.