“Today, April ninth, is the day this unholy witch shall burn!” A guard yelled these horrible words, making sure all of town square would have to hear. Dom and I stood far away from the stake. We hated being forced to attend these horrid events. “The witch was found long ago, doing evil things. In this kingdom we do not stand for evil, we stand for peace, and magic only brings chaos and anarchy. In our past the only thing that repeats itself is witches. Witches have always caused distress in the kingdom, but that is no more.” The guard finishes his speech. The guard held a torch in his hand, along with other guards on the stand. We stood silent as the flames erupted.

Dom and I kept our heads down, trying not to see the bloody massacre. Soon the crowd parted, I lifted up my head, for just one second, and I still cannot unseen the woman. She had deep brown hair, freckles covering her face, along with the ash and sweat. From what I could tell her body was covered in scars and scratches. Something about her was strangely familiar.

Soon the woman’s face disappeared into the cloud of fire. Smoke hung above our heads. I heard her screams as she was devoured by the flames. She screams out something, but I couldn’t understand. Dom seemed to know though. Her mouth was gaped open.

Her scream whispered throughout my mind, she sounded familiar as well. Perhaps I had heard her at the market?

I looked over, her face was red, and she was beginning to sweat. I want to say something, but I could be punished for such things. Dom held my hand tight. She hated these kinds of things, like most should, but not many do. Most people in this sick kingdom enjoy watching it, because they praise Lord Avalon for what he does.

I noticed some people from school looking back at us. They looked even more confused than me. I noticed Tommy, a friend from school, was looking back at us. Do you know her? He mouths, I shake my head. He turns his head back to the burning. I don’t understand his question.

“Today shall be a reminder to never disregard Lord Avalon, and you shall be reminded of the awful punishment given to those who go against the Lord's ways.” The guard shouted. The man seemed so devoted to his job that he was actually mad about the disrespect. But then again, one of the laws is to never disrespect Lord Avalon. “As we all know, magic has been illegal since 1609, The Day of Holiness, it seems that the witches cannot remember a simple fact. A fact that shall be remembered for hundreds of years from now, and until the end of time!”

“Anyone else know a witch? We are a few minutes early from when it is supposed to end. We have time for another.” He spat the words out of his mouth. Who knows where that woman had been from. She could have a family, she could have been forced to leave her children motherless. I can’t stand the thought of another child being put into the orphanage, just like I was.

The guard continued to taunt us, like they usually did. The guards always seemed to enjoy doing these horrid things. They are disgustingly evil. But then again, if someone was to know I had these opinions, I would be known as the evil child, just like a child who had died last year for sharing his opinions. I don’t remember his name, nor did I like him when he went to our school. He was rude to teachers, and he always had a foul mouth. I do, of course, feel bad. But he also didn’t understand our rules in the kingdom. Keep your opinions to yourself. It may not be a true rule, but it may as well be written on the rule boards plastered around the kingdom. From then on, everyone had fear whispering in their mind for hating this.

No one said anything, we all just stood uncomfortably waiting to leave. The last time someone had said anything, the ceremony became even more horrid, to say the least. It also lasted much longer than usual if you said anything.

I don’t remember my mother, but I do hold a grudge against her. She left me and Dom without a mother. Dropped us off at the orphanage, with a smile on her face, at least that is what the workers had told us. My father, from what they told me, was gone long before we were dropped off. I assume that my mother gave up because she couldn’t handle me and Dom without our father.

We stood there for several minutes, waiting to be dismissed from town square like usual. A headache started to burn through my head, and I wince. Dom looks at me confused, but doesn’t talk. We can’t talk unless spoken to at these events.

“You are dismissed!” A guard yelled. All of the guards seem to have the same deep angry voice, it was frustrating because you can’t tell who is talking behind the mask most of the time. Each guard wore the same exact thing as well, apart from a few badges. The guards at this event wore a formal black jacket with a tail. They wore pants with a belt that held a sword on their side. They also wore black work boots.

The whole crowd began to walk back to their homes. Dom walked in silence behind me. She looks over at me with fear in her eyes. She leaned in and whispered in my ears “She said our names.”