Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 124: Flog Her!

Chapter 124: Flog Her!

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While Samantha was forcefully led to the outer part of the Palace, her whole body had developed a strange sense of fatigue along the way. Unable to keep up with the guards that continuously pushed her forward each time she made an attempt to slow down, it got to a point her system could no longer keep up with the harassment, whilst her frail body eventually went limp as she dropped motionless to the ground, unconscious... but what awaited her the moment she regained consciousness would make her wish she never woke up to experience it.

Feeling an abrupt splatter of ice water on her face, Samantha’s heavy eyelids were forced to flutter open. The icy water coming in contact with her skin almost left her numb to the aching chill, she could feel the collar of her dress had gotten drenched, but when she lifted her blurry eyes to see who it was that had decided to wake her up in such a cruel manner, in front of her stood Claire who held an empty bucket in hand. A vicious smile curved her red lips upon taking note of Samantha who had returned from her slumbers to finally face the reality fated for her.

"Did you sleep well?" Inquired Claire as she handed the bucket to a guard who politely took it from her grip. "I’m hoping you enjoyed your peaceful slumber? I was considerate to stop the guards from waking you up since today will be your last day of reckoning." She maliciously hinted with a delightful sparkle in her eyes.

The early afternoon sun that warmed her skin from the coldness of the water, had Samantha taking it into notice that she was no longer anywhere near the Chevalier Palace. When she tried to wipe her face and clear her vision, just to confirm she wasn’t seeing things, it brought her attention to something else; both her hands were shockingly tied to a pole at each side, and as if that wasn’t enough traumatic shock for the day, she was standing on a raised platform that was located right in the heart of EmptyHollow’s Town square, also known as the capitals.

The sudden murmuring sounds of people had Samantha looking behind Claire to see that passersby had now stopped to witness what was going on. The shocks on their faces as they whispered to one another, curiously contemplating on what the human had done, had them shaking their head in pity, although some of the crowds hadn’t bothered to figure out the reason why she was brought here, whilst they began their insensitive judgements.

"What- what is happening? What are you doing?!" Samantha tried to tug her hand free from the ropes, but unfortunately, they were bound so tightly that even the smallest wriggle felt as though the roughness of the ropes were tearing into her skin. Wasn’t she meant to be facing actual trial in the royal Courtroom first? Why is she.... Why is she being publicly humiliated??

From a corner, Eamon stepped onto the raised platform so he could get a good look at the maiden who appeared disoriented with what was going on. When Samantha looked away from the gathered crowds to meet his crimson eyes, Eamon simply averted them elsewhere as though he couldn’t bear the sight of a low repulsive human looking at him with no respect, and then he turned to the crowd, concealing his emotions with a smile before proceeding to make his announcement.

"People of GreenHollow, I know everyone must have questions considering why the royals have decided to step out of their shells and... make this entrance in the busiest town squares in the capital? Well, justice must prevail on our late King who had been assassinated wrongly, don’t you think?" He questioned the crowd that continued to gather before turning his resentful gaze to Samantha who seemed to have lost her breath.

"This young woman here is accused of treason against our lovely kingdom. How do you plead?" Eamon directed the query to the green-eyed maiden whose voice wavered slightly.

"Not guilty." She said with no hesitation, her gaze remaining defiant, and it was this uplifting spirit of hers that always angered Claire. Just when she assumes she’s got Samantha in a terrible spot that was bound to shatter her soul in two, somehow, her spirit keeps rebuilding regardless of how many times they crumble.

"Not a single respect for your future king! How dare you look at the future King with those eyes?" Demanded Claire, "are you planning to cast some sort of spell on him? Are you a witch? Do you need me to gauge them out?" Shifting her attention to the crowd, Claire proceeded to say, "this human you see here has brought pain and suffering to our kingdom– an unpardonable offense if you ask me. She is a witch that has messed with the Kingdoms missing Orb, and that isn’t her only offense. She stepped into the Palace claiming a false identity, deceiving the royal family, we cannot overlook such crimes or else, she won’t be the only threat we face, so we must set an example for others to see and be aware of the consequences."

The crowds fell into a hushed silence, transfixed by the events unfolding before them. Meanwhile, Samantha’s eyes darted nervously between the faces of the crowd, and she could feel her heart sink.

"As punishment, the royal court has decided that this traitor shall receive the strokes of a whip on her back, for all to see until she reveals where she hid the Mystic Orb." Claire declared firmly to the crowd.

"Oh no!"

"That’s terrible."

My goodness! Does she really have the orb?"

Collective gasps and whispers circulated within the crowd, whilst Samantha’s face blanched upon hearing the punishment she was going to receive. The crowd erupted with a mix of anticipation and anger, their voices blending into a cacophony of judgment and murmured conversations.

"So, are you going to reveal to everyone where you hid the orb? Or do you demand we flog it out of you?" A disdainful smile curved Claire’s lips, but she made sure only Samantha could see it.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about, and this is not a fair trial." Samantha said to Claire without even blinking. "What you’re doing is all the confirmation I need to know that my Father got murdered without a proper investigation. And why? Cause your family has some personal beef with humans working alongside you?"

"She’s starting to talk nonsense! Guards, do not stop until she spills the truth about what she knows! Flog her!" She gave the command.

Samantha, who knew there was no way to escape her fate, simply braced herself for the impact. When the leathered whip came down hard on her back, no matter how she had prepared her system to receive the torture, Samantha couldn’t stop herself from reacting to the pain of the whip landing on her back.

It came again, and again, and again, and again.... With no signs of the guards stopping.

Samantha could feel her hands tremble despite being binded to the two poles so they could keep her still. With each lash of the whip, she bit down on her lower lip, stifling the cry that threatened to spill from them as she closed her eyes. Everytime, she was always punished for something that had nothing to do with her.

"Are you ready to speak?" Eamon halted the guards, and he looked at the maiden whose lower lip was currently bleeding. The scent of her blood was undeniably tempting, but when she lifted her eyes to look at him, she remained defiantly stubborn.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Resume beating." Claire gave the orders before glancing at her brother. "You have only just returned, you don’t know this conniving maiden as much as I do, you can ask Mother. She deserves every lash she’s getting."

As the beating continued relentlessly, Samantha could feel her dress rip behind her back, and when the whip met her bare skin, the cry she had been fighting so hard to suppress eventually left her lips. The beating didn’t stop, and Samantha could no longer hold back her cries as her back was being decorated with red welts.

"Harder!" Claire commanded the guard as she wanted to hear Samantha cry out even louder. She wanted the maiden to plead for mercy, crying alone will certainly not do.

Brandishing the whip, the guard was about to land it on Samantha’s back when someone caught the end of the whip from behind, stopping him. When he turned his head to see who had intervened in the punishment, the guard’s expression froze in horror upon recognizing Lord Ivan who was staring right back at him with a gaze that could burn him to ashes.

"Let go of the whip, now!" He ordered, and at his command the guard immediately let go off the whip.

Ivan’s crimson eyes that shimmered with undying fury, moved to the crowd who stared back in wonder, and a terrifying chill crawled against their backs as he ordered darkly.

"Get.Out."