He is led in chains, bound at the wrists. They ache from the heavy iron, digging into his soft skin.

The guards at his back prod him with their weapons to urge him forward, and he hisses a pained breath through gritted teeth. They have not been gentle, no one here has been kind.

As they should, to a prisoner such as him. A monster, some have called him. One who would slaughter his family, his friends, his allies and acquaintances? How could he be anything more than a beast?

The mask he wears hangs heavy on his head, and his guilt wears at his very soul. This is the last day he will live, and he knows he deserves it.

He is shoved through the door, and it slams shut with an imposing thud behind him. Blood and gore stain the small courtyard’s sandy floor.

The chains slither off his wrists as the guards free him from his restraints, and he does not have time to rub his sore wrists before he is cuffed to the wall. Ten soldiers line up in front of him, though only one points his crossbow at the prisoner.

“Your final words, prisoner!” someone shouts from a parapet high above. He is being made a spectacle, and he knows it.

His voice rings soft and clear through the silence of the execution grounds right before the soldier takes his shot and pierces the beast through the heart:

“Take your shot, stranger. You’ll only get one.”

(wow this was fun to write. based loosely off of sally face because i’m a fuckin nerd and also it just kind of ?? happened ???)