A sight of ash, dust and blood reaching far beryond the horizon. the quivering, young blonde girl surrounded on all sides by pointed spears held by guardsmen ready to turn her into mincemeat at a moment's notice. By men with tattered clothing she was dragged toward the town square she saw her family lined up, with pleading looks in their eyes that were met with disdain by the people as their heads got locked in place under the guillotines. The pupils in the eyes of her father, mother and brother all shifted toward her as she got dragged into the square.

A priest in dark, somber clothing stood next to them. He was an old man with a balding head and sophisticated glasses. Clearing his throat, he opened a heavy book that he was carrying, and recited the passage he had bookmarked.

“Under the gaze of the stars we gather, beseeching the gods to hear man’s plead to let the souls of the martyrs rest, a solemn reminder of man's own suffering, brought on by the foolishness of humanity. For the lord we beg, ‘Oh great father, hear our cries and our shouts, hear the suffering from us; we beg in utter defeat, let the sins of the one that lived in greed be trialed upon. We ask of you to bring divine retributions upon these poor souls that brought our misery, and let their sins be cleansed in eternal suffering.’ for we stand here today to witness the trial of those that protected themselves in vain of the lord's name, that pretended to be our allies as they betrayed us time and time over.”

As he finished his speech, he closed the book, and while gazing at the angry crowd shut his eyes and clasped his hands together in silent prayer before leaving the stage.

One of the guards touched her shoulder gently, pointing in front of her, to her family with looks of utter despair in their eyes. Her brother teared up, loudly sobbing in front of the crowd, who jeered at him.

“Weren’t you the ones that let us suffer?”

“My husband and kids died because of you!”

“Finally get to feel how we did all this time! Not laughing now are you!?”

such comments could be heard from the crowd, filled with anger, sadness, grief and hatred.

She couldn’t understand why the people felt this way. How had her family ever wronged them? How could they put the blame to us? However, she did not find the courage to talk back, neither did her family.

“Down with the king, no mercy for the royalists!”

One man shouted at first, before a few others joined in, and eventually the whole crowd yelled out, spoken as if a warcry.

A few men checked if everything was in order with the guillotine, before giving the okay, and letting the executioner make his appearance on stage.

A silent, short man with a bent over posture walked on. With silent mumblings he grabbed his axe before uttering the words solidifying their demise.

“Any last words?” he said to her father, looking at him with a sadistic snicker.

“Wh-why have you done this? H-h-haven’t w-we treated you fair? W-we have even protected you all these years!”

But those words fell on deaf ears, the people were not the slightest bit convinced. However, as a final courtesy, the executioner decided to respond.

“You have left us to rot and wither, we owe you nothing.”

With that the executioner bellowed at him, lifting his axe to chop down on the thin rope holding the sharp blade from chopping down on her father’s neck. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly as he waited for his death to arrive. Tears streaming from his eyes as he gritted his teeth, he squeezed out a few words the little girl couldn’t hear before the guillotine swiftly lopped his head off, with the head rolling off the stage leaving a stream of blood.

The little girl wanted to rush to her family, who had their faced filled with terror and shock, their bodies started to quiver at the sight of the blood spurting out from the dad's neck.

“It isn’t fair!”" her brother cried out, "It's not our fault! We did nothing wrong!"

The guards chuckled at themselves.

"The brat sure is scared now that someone can lay a hand on him."

"This time he's the one that can't do anything about it, the poor bastard."

They laughed at her family like the death of them was a moment of comedic relief. The ones that were once revered as owners of the land they lived on turned into a joke.

The executioner with an annoyed look walked over and cut the rope in one swift swing, the boy's head being cut off in the middle of his rant.

The crowd burst out in laughter and cheers, but she had no idea why her brother was hated so much.

Thus the only one that remained was her mother. Now looking pale and seemingly having snapped, she vomited violently onto the stage as the executioner lurked nearer.

"Bring her to me." A familiar voice said, one with the same gentle intonation as before. It was the duke's son, and her future husband, Ferdinand Krowaldt.

The girl in a soft voice said "W-why are you here?" confused by his appearance. 

"To witness a great moment for the people, who will thrive off after the old rulers are wiped off the face of the planet."

Ferdinand had a rich vocabulary, even if he was only a year older than the girl. He flaunted it readily when he spoke.

"A-a great m-moment?" the girl panickedly asked him, not understanding fully what he meant.

"Your family lineage is utter filth, today it shall be cleansed. For a brief time, you will be the final bearer of the Lizette family name."

Annabella Lizette was the youngest of her family, it was possible that in a final show of pity, she was chosen to be executed last, to make up for her short life.

"After the execution of your mother, you will spend your final months in the lock of sundel. Consider it a favor from my father, you may write a letter later to thank his benevolence."

She was unsure what he meant, all she knew was that he didn't want to save her, which threw her into despair.

"W-why d-did-"

"I despise you for all you've done, you have thrown our lives in utter disarray because of your selfish wishes. The engagement is long over."

with those words being spoken she heard a scream coming from the podium.

"PLEASE DON'T!!! I'LL DO ANYTHING! SAVE ME, SAVE MEEEE!!!"

Her mother screamed out as the axe swung down on the rope.

the little girl could hear a sickening bone crunching sound, seeing the distorted face of her mother in agony in her final moment, before shooting awake covered in cold sweat.