Six years ago.

  Laurel was sitting at her desk reading a book when her maid stormed into the room. The woman's face was pale with fear and her voice was unsteady with the exhaustion of somebody who had just been running.

  “Lady! You must come quickly! They've taken your husband!”

  Laurel dropped the book and rose to her feet with alarm.

  “Was there a satyr raid?! I didn't hear the alarm.”

  The maid shook her head as she panted for air.

  “It’s not the satyrs, the governor is here and he's taken your husband.”

  Taken? What could the governor possibly want with the mayor of an insignificant border town. She rushed out the room and then down the stairs so quickly she nearly stumbled. Normally she would’ve dressed herself up to meet with a noble of the governor’s status but the alarm on her maid’s face told her something bad was about to happen. She rushed out the door without even stopping to pull on her boots.

  A large contingent of armoured men were standing in the middle of the square. A few hundred villagers had come out to watch and they all looked confused by what was going on. Laurel closed the distance and saw that her husband’s hands and feet had been shackled. He was surrounded by armoured guards who kept Laurel back as she tried to get to her husband. She was about to demand to know what was going on when a young man with blonde hair raised his hand and spoke loud enough so that the crowd could hear him.

  “Derrek Roseway, you stand accused of theft and corruption. How do you plead?”

  Her husband looked at the young governor with an expression of complete and utter bewilderment.

  “Theft? I’ve never stolen anything in my life, what are you talking about?”

  The governor made a hand motion, and a familiar man approached. Kerill had entered her husband’s service several years ago and had become a vital piece of his administration. Laurel considered the affable man a friend of the family and was shocked to see him play a part in whatever this was.

  Kerill handed the governor what looked like a ledger and Laurel recognised it as the tax collection ledger, a book which her husband hadn’t touched for years thanks to Kerill’s help. The governor made a show of opening the book and reading trough it although he obvious already knew what it would say.

  “My clerk has examined this ledger and has determined that the records of tax collected in Willowford does not match the records of what the throne has received. Thousands of gold pieces have gone missing over the years and you Derrek Roseway are responsible.”

  Derrek was gaping at Kerill and had no doubt reached the same conclusion as herself, Kerill was the real thief, and he was pinning it on her husband. Laurel finally managed to break trough the guards and raised her voice.

  “My husband has not used that ledger for years! His clerk, Kerill is responsible for collecting and recording taxes, he is the true thief!”

  One of the guards moved towards her, no doubt intending to remove her, but the governor waved him away. The man smiled at her and then pulled out a sheaf of letters.

  “When this case was first brought to my attention I was unwilling to believe that a man of such good standing as you husband was guilty of such a base crime. Which is why I demanded proof from the accuser.”

  He opened a letter and then held it up side by side with the ledger.

  “As you can see, this is a letter your husband sent me just a few months ago asking for soldiers to help defend Willowford from the satyr menace. As you can plainly see the handwriting matches that used in the fraudulent ledger.”

  A cold shiver ran down Laurel’s spine as she looked at Kerill. The man had somehow managed to forge her husbands handwriting and had been doing so for years while pretending to be their friend. She couldn't help but wonder what exactly Kerill was getting out of this this plot.

  She ignored the questions turning in her mind and tried her best to turn the tide.

  “Handwriting can be forged, what other proof is there?”

  A man with an ugly face with a scar running across it stepped up to play his role. The governor indicated the man in question.

  “Jacob here is a knight in the service of the crown, he is responsible for the security of the coin collector who brings the collected taxes from Willowford to Lordon. He has sworn upon his knighthood that he personally overheard your husband bribing the coin collector to keep quiet about shortfalls in the amount collected. The man in question was arrested and admitted to everything when he was put to the question.”

  Poor Merill, she wondered how long they’d tortured the gentle old man before he’d told them exactly what they wanted him to say. She looked around at the crowd and much to her sadness saw that several were looking at her husband with hostility now. Laurel could feel her chances of saving her husband slipping through her fingers and a voice in theback of her mind said what she didn't want to hear. A man like the governor was far too important and busy to travel to Willowford a trial, no, he had come here for an execution.

  Her worst fears were confirmed moments later when the governor pointed at the final actor in this little play. A man with a black hood over his face approached the governor. He carried a wooden stump in his hands which he placed down before her husband. Moments later a young boy handed the hooded man a giant axe. The guards pushed her protesting husband down onto his knees.

  Laurel tried one last time.

  “Governor I am beginning you! Please give us the chance to fight these lies in a proper trial. I swear upon my life and title that my husband is innocent of these charges.”

  The governor shook his head with a sad look on his face.

  “I’m afraid your husband has already been tried in Lordon and found guilty. All that remains now is to see justice carried out. I will however permit you to say your farewells.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Laurel rushed forward and hugged her husband of 30 years. He started sobbing into her shoulder and when they finally broke the embrace he looked and sounded resigned to his fate.

  “I truly didn’t do this Laurel, I promise you.”

  She smiled at him and then kissed him.

  “I know that my love, I promise that I will clear your name and avenge you, no matter how long it takes.”

  Her moment was apparently up because a pair of guards yanked her up and forced her back. Then they forced her husbands head down on the block. Laurel couldn’t watch, instead her eyes were full of hatred as she watched Kerill and the faint smile on his face.

  Present day.

  “So, this Kerill not only stole taxes but also plotted to have your husband murdered?”

  Her guest had listened to her tale without interruption. His fine features, polite manners and aura of command did much to convince her that he truly was a noble of some sort. She nodded.

  “Kerill and the sheriff planned it together. Once my husband was dealt with Kerill was given the post of mayor and the sheriff got his current posting. Together they ran this town like their own little fiefdom. I don’t know the exact amount of gold they’ve stolen but I fear its a lot.”

  “And all this time you’ve been plotting your revenge?”

  He sounded impressed but Laurel shook her head.

  “To be perfectly frank I’d given up on the matter years ago. You see shortly following my husband’s death I did everything in my power to clear my husband's name. I sent letters to the capital explaining in detail how I thought the plot had gone down, and i even travelled to the capital to petition the king in person. I was certain that if they came to Willowford again and truly investigated the matter they would find incriminating evidence against Kerill.”

  “Let me guess, Kerill saw it coming?”

  “Indeed, I used every sliver of influence I had and all but begged the capital to send somebody. But by the time they arrived too much time had passed and Kerill was entrenched. He’d long since gotten rid of anything incriminating and I am almost certain the new coin collector like the sheriff is getting a cut from what Kerill steals. I convinced a few of the villagers who had been bullied into giving up gods or money to the sheriff to speak up but by the time the investigator arrived they had been threatened into silence.”

  “I think I heard one of the villagers shout something about a rape?”

  Laurel’s face darkened.

  “Indeed, once the investigator finished his task and declared Kerill and the sheriff innocent of all charges everything took a turn for the worse. I was labelled a delusional old lady and every letter I've sent since has been ignored. The sheriff started showing his true colours short afterwards and over the years at least a dozen young women have been raped at his hand. The first times it happened their families would turn up at the mayor’s office and demand justice, but they were ignored. A few tried to challenge the sheriff to duel but they stood no chance against a trained knight. He also started charging the farmers who live outside the town palisade to protect them against satyr, but whenever the alarm is sounded for a raid, the sheriff is always late to the scene.”

  “What about the guards? Were they in on it?”

  “Most, but not all, Jack was made captain of the guard by my husband and was always fond of him. I don’t think he ever bought the story, he also had a first hand seat to the sheriff’s crimes.”

  “Which he did nothing to stop.”

  “Jack is certainly not completely innocent in all of this, but I do believe he truly feared for his own life and that of his family. Over the years the few guards who have gone against the sheriff somehow always seem to end up dead.”

  Her maid entered and offered her guest a tankard filled with water. He accepted the drink with a smile, but his eyes never left her. When he spoke again his voice was curious.

  “So, this trial of yours, what exactly is it that you expect to happen?”

  The implication was clear, this man was more than happy to offer her whatever outcome she wanted. What he was really asking her was ‘what are you willing to pay?’.

  “I want Kerill to openly admit what he did and suffer the same fate as my husband. If you can make that happen, I would be in your debt.”

  The man looked over at the only female member of his party. The woman in question had been watching Laurel’s every move like a hawk since they entered the house. Her blood red eyes shone with intelligence and Laurel guessed she was some sort of spy. Her voice was neutral when she answered the unasked question posed by her leader.

  “It’s possible, none of us are experts in torture but there’s a good chance I can get the mayor to admit his sins in exchange for a quick death. Something tells me a man like him would do anything to avoid being drawn and quartered.”

  A shiver ran down Laurel’s spine at the casual way in which she spoke of such a gruesome act. Still, she was committed now. The man named Milo nodded and then moved onto the final piece of their deal, his price.

  “We’ve established what we will do for you, now we need to figure out what you can do for me.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I want Willowford, my domain is as of yet rather small, and this town is exactly what I need to expand. I could of course take it by force, but I’d prefer not to.”

  Laurel licked her lips, she decided to be honest with him.

  “My respected position in this town is largely a result of the brutality with which the mayor and sheriff ruled over them. I have a lot of pull, but you are talking about seceding from the kingdom. King Lorian is not a forgiving man, and he will not tolerate even a whiff of rebellion.”

  The woman with the blood red eyes leaned forward.

  “My sources tell me that the Lendorian kingdom is preoccupied with a war somewhere in the north.”

  Laurel might be a social outcast, but she still had a few friends who kept her up to date.

  “Indeed, they are currently dealing with a massive orc incursion. But once they deal with that Willowford will be next.”

  The woman leaned back and then pulled Milo’s hand dragging him out into the hallway. A few minutes of awkward silence followed as the two of them spoke in the hallway while Laurel and the rest of her guests waited. When they returned Milo simply nodded at her.

  “The risk is acceptable, my army is growing every day and by the time this king finishes up in the north it will be too late.”

  There was clearly more to this than he was willing to tell her. The Laurel of six years ago would’ve told this man to go to hell, that Laurel had believed in the kingdom. Since then, the kingdom had murderer her husband on false charges and had allowed a pair of tyrants to abuse the people of Willowford for their own profit and entertainment. She didn’t want to see Willowford burned to the ground but right now her need for vengeance was stronger than any concerns she might have for the town and its people.

  “Very well, I will do my best to hand you the town once our bargain is complete.”

  Milo looked at the woman with the red eyes and she shook her head. When he next spoke his voice was slightly awkward.

  “I’m afraid we need a little more than that.”

  He turned to the doorway and shouted.

  “Crystal! Please enter.”

  A woman Laurel barely recognised entered the room. Despite having a maid Laurel would occasionally go to the square to buy things she needed. There were a few bakers in Willowford but none of them made bread half as good as Crystal. Still this woman looked nothing like the Crystal in Laurel’s memory, her brown hair and eyes had turned completely black. She also looked much younger than she remembered her.

  “Crystal? What has happened to you?”

  Crystal looked distracted and kept glancing at the front door. Laurel vaguely remembered a rumour going around about an abusive husband.

  “T…they rescued me.”

  Laurel pointedly eyed her black hair.

  “It looks like they did more than that.”

  The woman with the blood red eyes sat forward with a smile.

  “Crystal is one of us now, she has undergone the ritual and has reaped the rewards.”

  “What rewards?”

  “As you can tell she looks younger, but she is also stronger, immune to disease and will live far longer than any normal human.”

  Laurel’s eyes narrowed on the other woman.

  “I see, and what was the cost for all these gifts?”

  Their leader waved Crystal away and the woman left the room. Once the door was closed behind her he spoke.

  “She has entered my service and once that happens there’s no going back. My enemies are now her enemies, my cause is her cause.”

  “That’s it? She entered your service and now she gets to live for hundreds of years?”

  He looked pleased by her reaction.

  “Will you accept?”

  Laurel stood and then offered him her hand. He reached out and shook it and looked about to say something when a shout came from outside. Laurel heard the front door banging and moments later her maid rushed into the room.

  “Men at the door!”

  Her guests rushed out the door and Laurel followed behind them at a slower pace. She could hear angry shouts and a loud cry of pain. When she reached her front door she was greeted by a scene of chaos.

  Four men were laying on their back on the ground and several had bloodied faces. Beside they lay Crystal, the woman was clutching her stomach in pain and half her face was purple with a giant bruise. The one named Milo had drawn his sword and judging by the murderous glare on his face it looked like he was about to start killing people. Laurel rushed forward and shouted.

  “Don’t!”

  The one named Milo halted mid swing. He turned and scowled at her.

  “These men attacked one of my followers.”

  Laurel recognised the men as Crystal’s husband and his brothers. It looked like they had broken into her house and tried to drag Crystal out. She had obviously resisted. Crystal’s husband tried to rise and spoke in a snarl.

  “This is none of your business you freak!”

  Milo put his boot on the man’s chest and pushed him back down onto his back with ease. Then he turned to Crystal who was being helped to her feet by a broad shoulder man with pale red eyes.

  “Haldor, take Crystal inside, I’ll deal with this.”

  The big man nodded and then lifted Crystal into his arms as if she weighed no more than a child. They were nearly back inside Laurel’s house when her husband shouted.

  “Get your hands of my wife you freak! Crystal! Come back here you whore!”

  Laurel groaned, Crystal’s husband had always been bad at knowing when to shut his mouth. She watched as the one named Milo beat him into unconsciousness while his brothers watched with wide eyes. By the time he finished Jack and the rest of his small band of guards had arrived. Laurel pointed at Crystal’s husband and his brothers.

  “Jack, put these fools with the mayor, they’ll stand trial tomorrow as well.”

  Jack looked like he might protest for a moment but one look at the murderous glare on Milo’s face convinced him otherwise.

  “Yes mayor!”

  Laurel sighed and turned to adress Milo.

  "Thanks for not killing them, as for your offer, I accept."