#POV: Jadwiga

[kosmosian-quills]

A Long Awaited Miracle

Hello again! Sorry about the long absence, but I’ve just not been very inspired at all, and thanks to @cirianne​‘s wonderful support after I fell into a rabbit hole, I was able to get this done! I hope you enjoy it!

There's a certain tension in the way Maciej enters our room tonight. In the way he hesitates to remove his hand from the handle as the door clicks shut, in how he refuses to look in my direction as he crosses the room to the drinks cabinet in the far corner, in how his hand trembles as he pours himself a stiff drink.

I can't say it's surprising. It's almost a ritual at this point.

He slowly approaches the bed I'm waiting for him on. I don't speak, or even utter a single sound, not until he's finished his glass of wine. He sits down on his side of the bed, still opting not to face me as he speaks.

"It's humiliating, Jadzia. I have a duty to my family, to keep the Royal line going. And yet, what should be a simple task seems almost impossible."

He sighs, running a hand through his hair, knocking it out of its normally crisp and neat style.

"We've been doing this almost every night for years. And we still seem no closer, do we?" he dares to barely turn his head towards me, just about looking at me.

"And Andrzej - he and Eleonora were married and merely two months later she was pregnant. It feels almost like he's rubbing it in, every time he brings his son here."

"I'm sure that's not true, Maciuś," I move from my position, closer to him, joining him at the bedside. Flicking my dark hair over my shoulders, I move as close to him as possible. "It's no fault of the boy's that he was born."

One thing I'm sure of, is that there will be no one in this world that has seen my husband so upset. Maybe his mother, or his brother, in his childhood, but not now. He wouldn't show them this, what he is showing to me. It will have been years since he cried in front of them.

"Like how it's not your fault we're going through all this." I reach over and hold his hand in mine, and he squeezes back, his other hand balled into a fist.

"It certainly seems like it from my perspective, the doctor said himself that there is nothing wrong with you," his voice trembles ever so slightly, when he says you. I wince inwardly, not quite able to form a response to that.

He isn't wrong. The doctor said that there should be no issue for us to get pregnant, but left it at that. The implications are glaringly obvious to me.

However, the words that he is repeating to me, are words that the doctor said to us years ago.

We have been undergoing regular fertility treatments for three years now, and it has certainly left a strain on almost every aspect of our lives. He feels useless, and I feel overwhelmed in large part due to the various drugs given to me for treatment. And just when I get my hopes up that this time - this time - it worked, the result is negative.

It's exhausting. We wait a few weeks, and the cycle repeats again.

All I have left in me, is the hope that it will work. That all this will be worth it, and I will be able to give him a child that we're both so desperate for.

"My apologies, Jadwiga," his voice is low and hollow, and he looks at me properly, "that was inconsiderate of me. I know what you're doing for this, for us."

I bring his hand, still entwined in mine, up to my lips and plant a small kiss, leaning on his shoulder slightly, "apology accepted.”

"I just don't understand it. Why can't I do the simplist thing that is expected of me?" it's painful to hear how he tries to conceal the tears that teeter on the edge of his voice, threatening to overwhelm him. "What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all, Maciej, you care so, so much, and I want to see you happy again."

Trying to sound reassuring by giving him the ounces of hope I had reserved for myself, is all I can do. I can't blame him for this. Things have to happen, we are just unlucky. Our luck will turn around in our favour one day. It has to. For both of our sakes.

"We're both doing the best we can, and that's all we can do. We'll have our wish soon."

---

I couldn't place the strange, uneasy feeling I had that morning. It didn't help that I felt sick, but I suppose that is to be expected with the chilly weather we had been having despite our recent arrival into spring.

But I suppose the sickening feeling in my stomach was something of an omen to the news brought to us that morning.

I had barely even heard what had happened - the attendant came over and whispered in Maciej's ear. His eyes grew wide, and he leapt up from his seat and rushed to the door without another word. The sombre look on the attendant's face as he looked at me was all I needed to know, all I needed to get up and follow my husband down the corridor, to the room that his mother had retired to last night.

The Queen is dead.

Her Majesty, Queen Helena Janewska Górskanka, passed away during the night, and there seems to be a heavy shadow cast over the inhabitants of the castle now.

It was almost too sudden, too soon, to be real. She shouldn't have died so suddenly. She was in perfect health before today. In fact, she had been cheerful (well - as cheerful as her majesty allowed herself to be). She had been all smiles and happiness, even Maciej had laughed along with her at the dinner table last night.

My only hope, is that she died in happiness, in the comfort of her eldest son and her daughter-in-law. That she was proud of him.

I suppose I'll never have that answer.

And just like that, everything that was previously her job - became Maciej's responsibility entirely.

He wasn't just my husband, now. He wasn't just Maciej Pawełski Górskanki, eldest son to Helena and Paweł Górskanki, heir to the throne of the country.

No, he was now soon-to-be King, and for the first time in generations...

... he was stepping into those shoes, heirless.

I'm sure he feels that deep, burning shame that I am. That we are seven years into our marriage and still have no child, that his parents wanted to see the future of our country, and we couldn't do that for them.

At least... not whilst they were alive, it seems.

And now, here I am, waiting nervously for the results of the test I just took. I haven't told Maciej, for the fear that this is merely a passing illness, and not what we have been dreaming of for years.

If it's not real, I can keep this to myself and move on - disappointed, of course - but at least Maciej wouldn't be heartbroken at the excitement and then deflation that comes with waiting for these results. Especially today, after the death of his mother.

His father died after the Winter Festival last december. He had been in ill health, and it seemed his time had come without much fuss. Maciej was of course devastated, as was I, yet nothing came of our situation. We had hoped to have a little more time, but alas, we did not.

The pit in my stomach at the thought of this test being negative - like all the rest - is unbearable. The effort we're going through... it's not fair, it's not fair that we've been unsucessful after so long. Even I am finding it hard to stay positive in this matter. After all the hormone treatments and doctor's visits and negative tests, it's all too much now. I don't know how much longer I'll -

My train of thought is interrupted by my prompt to check the results. Here I am, sat on the bathroom floor of my own ensuite, hands shaking as I reach up to the sink for my test.

It feels like the air in my lungs has vanished. The weight on my shoulders lighter. The sickliness in my stomach eased.

That little "+" that looks back at me, seems to have made all those problems go away, at least, for now.

I hold the test close to my chest, and can't help but let the sob escape me.

#my writing #my oc's #my wip #WIP: Angel #POV: Jadwiga #can you tell I am No expert in how any of this works #learning about ivf treatment and stuff #for some context #Jadwiga is Anjelika's mother and the latter was born 8 years into their marriage :) #scandalous I know XD for such an important child to be born so late into a marriage #I wonder why :) #don't mind me #i had to do some rearranging on my timeline for this -.- because deathdays are terrible #also fun fact - autocorrect changed 'son' to 'sin' for me in reference to Emil XD #it's what he deserves #also yet another POV header 🙃

[whumping-newbie]

The Other Prisoner

Something I came up with when talking to @justplainwhump.

POV: Michał

Warnings: torture mention, creepy captor.

The dungeons here aren’t just a temporary home to the useless terrorists that Emil enjoys tormenting. Even though there is a separation and a divide between the two - the terrorist’s cells are not far from the quarantine cells.

The quarantine cells have had exactly two occupants since the overthrow, two prisoners who were initially guarded so very heavily by the General’s own security detail - that’s how important they were. There were two prisoners in those cells for exactly 24 hours, almost a whole year ago, and now there was only one prisoner.

The same one.

I never normally went to the quarantine cells. Even though there is only one guard there now, it’s still not worth the risk to try and challenge whoever is standing guard that day, except I now have an excuse. Emil’s little bird has sung, and he wants the General to listen to what they have to say. This is where I was told he would be.

Anticipation clenched at my stomach, especially after everything he had said to me previously. I wish I didn’t have to do this, not today, not so soon, but Emil would not like to be kept waiting.

The quarantine cells are isolated from the other cells - but I imagine you would be able to hear the echoing screams that always pass through the corridors here, the screeches that permeate through the entire dungeon that only spoke of the pure suffering that was being inflicted on Emil’s unfortunate victim that day.

“It really is rude to ignore me, you know,” a hauntingly familiar voice said as I was about to enter the corridor. I froze, thinking that it was him talking to me, but I came back to my senses when they spoke again, and I knew that they were not talking to me, “I thought you would have learned manners by now.”

There was a response, but they spoke so quietly that I could not hear them properly. I knew who it was. I wrenched the door open and stepped inside, hurrying along because I knew that the guard still there was probably scrutinising my hesitation.

The General was stood facing in to the farthest cell at the end of the corridor, and I proceeded towards him. He didn’t look up at me, he didn’t even seem to notice. He had his full attention on the prisoner in there.

“All this stubbornness really will get you absolutely nowhere, Jadzia,” the General continued.

This time, I heard the response the voice gave him, “you take pure delight from seeing me like this, and yet you expect me to respect you,” the voice was scratchy and yet oozed such a volatile tone that I was almost taken aback when I remembered just how this person used to speak and act when I saw them previously. They sounded unwell, dehydrated, compared to the grace and eloquence from before. “I am giving you the respect you deserve - considering everything you have done so far. I am afraid I will have to decline your offer for dinner tonight, my solitude is far better company than you are.”

I came to a stop just aside from the cell, staying out of sight of the prisoner as I saluted to the General. There really was no point in me being out of sight. The prisoner will recognise me anyway when I open my mouth to speak.

“Your excellency.”

“What is it, Jelen?” the General turned his head to face me, almost irritated that I had interrupted him.

“I have been sent to fetch you, Captain Górskanki has new information regarding the Princess,” I explained. Emil’s little investigation will probably lead to nowhere - it has so far - but I still felt my heart race in my chest at the idea that the prisoner could actually be leading them to her. I wanted to hear this information just as much as the General did.

The General’s displeased expression morphed to a sickly grin as he turned back to the prisoner, crouching down onto his knees as he continued to address them.

“Do you hear that, Jadzia?” he asked, his voice dripping with a chilling malevolence, “I am getting closer to finding her. I will find her, and when I do, I will be bringing you to see her. You’ll see your precious daughter on my arm, sitting right beside me as I wear the crown that comes with her. You’ll see me finally turn this country into just what it used to be - turning it into the strong presence it once was, ready for my heirs to take over.”

He stood back up, straightening his jacket as he did so.

“I should thank you, really, for providing me with such a wonderful future bride,” he sneered, “you’ll see her again soon enough, don’t worry.”

As I stood aside for the General, who proceeded to make his way down the corridor, the prisoner came close to the bars, leaning against them. I only caught a brief glimpse of them before I turned away to follow the General myself, but seeing their face was still enough to send a fresh wave of agonising guilt at my actions from the last few weeks.

The Queen’s face remained neutral, but even I saw the agony behind her sunken brown eyes.

The eyes she shares with the Princess.

#my writing #my oc's #michał #the general #torture mention #ok so Jadzia is actually the Queen #it's a diminutive form of Jadwiga (her real name) #diminutives in their country are only really used between friends so he's being patronising af when he calls her Jadzia #I didn't think it would be appropriate for her to call him out on it #he'll have been doing it for so long that she won't care at all at this point #creepy captor #I guess #I feel like I haven't really explained much about the immediate aftermath of the takeover tbh #Might to a General POV and explain it a bit

[kosmosian-quills]

The Other Prisoner

Reposting from my other account because this scene, and a later one, are some of my favourites. There is a mention of torture, but none shown. 

I hope you enjoy!

The dungeons here aren’t just a temporary home to the useless terrorists that Emil enjoys tormenting. Even though there is a separation and a divide between the two - the terrorist’s cells are not far from the quarantine cells.

The quarantine cells have had exactly two occupants since the overthrow, two prisoners who were initially guarded so very heavily by the General’s own security detail - that’s how important they were. There were two prisoners in those cells for exactly 24 hours, almost a whole year ago, and now there was only one prisoner.

The same one.

I never normally went to the quarantine cells. Even though there is only one guard there now, it’s still not worth the risk to try and challenge whoever is standing guard that day, except I now have an excuse. Emil’s little bird has sung, and he wants the General to listen to what they have to say. This is where I was told he would be.

Anticipation clenched at my stomach, especially after everything he had said to me previously. I wish I didn’t have to do this, not today, not so soon, but Emil would not like to be kept waiting.

The quarantine cells are isolated from the other cells - but I imagine you would be able to hear the echoing screams that always pass through the corridors here, the screeches that permeate through the entire dungeon that only spoke of the pure suffering that was being inflicted on Emil’s unfortunate victim that day.

“It really is rude to ignore me, you know,” a hauntingly familiar voice said as I was about to enter the corridor. I froze, thinking that it was him talking to me, but I came back to my senses when they spoke again, and I knew that they were not talking to me, “I thought you would have learned manners by now.”

There was a response, but they spoke so quietly that I could not hear them properly. I knew who it was. I wrenched the door open and stepped inside, hurrying along because I knew that the guard still there was probably scrutinising my hesitation.

The General was stood facing in to the farthest cell at the end of the corridor, and I proceeded towards him. He didn’t look up at me, he didn’t even seem to notice. He had his full attention on the prisoner in there.

“All this stubbornness really will get you absolutely nowhere, Jadzia,” the General continued.

This time, I heard the response the voice gave him, “you take pure delight from seeing me like this, and yet you expect me to respect you,” the voice was scratchy and yet oozed such a volatile tone that I was almost taken aback when I remembered just how this person used to speak and act when I saw them previously. They sounded unwell, dehydrated, compared to the grace and eloquence from before. “I am giving you the respect you deserve - considering everything you have done so far. I am afraid I will have to decline your offer for dinner tonight, my solitude is far better company than you are.”

I came to a stop just aside from the cell, staying out of sight of the prisoner as I saluted to the General. There really was no point in me being out of sight. The prisoner will recognise me anyway when I open my mouth to speak.

“Your excellency.”

“What is it, Jelen?” the General turned his head to face me, almost irritated that I had interrupted him.

“I have been sent to fetch you, Captain Górskanki has new information regarding the Princess,” I explained. Emil’s little investigation will probably lead to nowhere - it has so far - but I still felt my heart race in my chest at the idea that the prisoner could actually be leading them to her. I wanted to hear this information just as much as the General did.

The General’s displeased expression morphed to a sickly grin as he turned back to the prisoner, crouching down onto his knees as he continued to address them.

“Do you hear that, Jadzia?” he asked, his voice dripping with a chilling malevolence, “I am getting closer to finding her. I will find her, and when I do, I will be bringing you to see her. You’ll see your precious daughter on my arm, sitting right beside me as I wear the crown that comes with her. You’ll see me finally turn this country into just what it used to be - turning it into the strong presence it once was, ready for my heirs to take over.”

He stood back up, straightening his jacket as he did so.

“I should thank you, really, for providing me with such a wonderful future bride,” he sneered, “you’ll see her again soon enough, don’t worry.”

As I stood aside for the General, who proceeded to make his way down the corridor, the prisoner came close to the bars, leaning against them. I only caught a brief glimpse of them before I turned away to follow the General myself, but seeing their face was still enough to send a fresh wave of agonising guilt at my actions from the last few weeks.

The Queen’s face remained neutral, but even I saw the agony behind her sunken brown eyes.

The eyes she shares with the Princess.

#my writing #my OC's #WIP: Angel #POV: Michał #the general #torture mention #ok so Jadzia is actually the Queen #it's a diminutive form of Jadwiga (her real name) #diminutives in their country are only really used between friends so he's being patronising af when he calls her Jadzia #I did not think it would be appropriate for her to call him out on it #he'll have been doing it for so long that she won't care at this point

[kosmosian-quills]

A Royal Announcement

A little something I wrote ages ago, still riding the “events of Anjelika’s birth” train that I started a few weeks ago XD

I hope you enjoy!

POV: Jan (Anjelika’s grandfather)

---

The King and the Queen have a new daughter to introduce to the world, and the new Crown Princess is already causing quite a stir.

It was officially announced this morning that the Queen has delivered a healthy baby girl.

A flurry of rumours swirled the capital this morning, claiming that the Queen had gone into labour in the early hours of the morning. These were unconfirmed until now, with the release of an official statement from the spokesperson for the Royal Family. The statement is as follows:

"Her Royal Highness, the Queen has safely delivered a daughter at 9:16am. The baby weighs 8lbs 4oz. His Majesty, the King, was present for the birth. Members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well."

A name has not yet been announced, but it is believed that the name will be announced later today when the Royal Couple are expected to publicly present their child for a brief time.

The Crown Princess is next in line for the throne after her father, and will be one one of three Queens by birthright in this country - the last being her late Grandmother, the Queen Helena Janewska Górskanka, who died this last March. The other being Katarzyna Pawełska Górskanka, the first Queen of Kosmos, who is also the longest reigning monarch of our country, having been coronated at age 11 and reigning for 64 years until her death in 1870.

Everyone here at the KFT sends good wishes to their Majesties. We shall keep you up to date with any further developments on this page.

Reading the article, it almost doesn't feel real.

I suppose not many grandparents will get to read articles describing the birth of their grandchildren, and it's surreal to think that we are now among them.

Of course, we were called first thing this morning, informed that our daughter, our Jadwiga, had gone into labour during the night. After getting over the brief shock, since she was still a week away from her due date, we just sat and waited. We couldn't go to visit, it's too far away, and it's best to wait until we are invited. Three hours later we recieved a second call that the baby was here, a red-cheeked and healthy daughter - our granddaughter. 

Joanna and myself are ecstatic, to hear that both mother and baby are fine. Jadwiga had expressed her concerns to Joanna about the struggles they had just getting to this stage, and how she feared complications would put the baby at risk. It's wonderful to know that those worries did not come to pass, in the end.

I slip my phone into my pocket as I continue brewing the tea for myself and Joanna as we wait for the official public reveal of our new Crown Princess - of our granddaughter. I almost add too much sugar to my own tea, the excitement within me is so palpable. I can't wait to see her, can't wait to meet her. The grandchild we've been waiting for, and now she's here.

"Jan!" Joanna calls to me from the living room, just as I am leaving the teaspoon by the kitchen sink, "Jan, come quickly!"

"Coming!" I call back, picking up both the mugs and making my way to her.

She's still seated on her chair, and sat straight up, looking at her phone, her hand covering her mouth. I place both mugs down on the table between us, and she passes me her phone, eyes shiny with tears and a smile beneath her hand. "Look, look what she sent us -"

On the screen is a photograph sent to us from Jadwiga. Jadwiga, still dressed in a nightgown, is resting in (presumably, their) bed, with her husband the King stood beside her, with one of his hands rested on her shoulder, the other hand holding up the head of a small bundle. Bearing a bonnet and wrapped in a blanket, is our new granddaughter.

Asleep, and clearly having been cleaned up a little bit, she looks content in the arms of her mother and her father. She looks a decent size, despite being slightly earlier than planned. Jadwiga and Maciej look happy too, they look relieved, and are smiling at the camera. This is one of the most normal pictures I've ever seen of the Royal couple, as most of them are fit for public viewing. All proper and official, but this one... you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a "normal" family.

There is a message sent with the photograph, and it reads:

Your new granddaughter says: "Hello! My name is Anjelika - nice to meet you, babciu and dziadku!"

"Anjelika..." I now understand just why Joanna is crying. It's a beautiful photograph, and a beautiful message.

She has a name, now. She's real, with a name, and she's certainly charmed both myself and her grandmother, and she's barely two hours old.

Everything feels so much lighter, and I can't wait to see her on television soon, when they are going to present her to everyone. She doesn't need presenting to us, but I'm going to treasure every second of it.

Anjelika - what a perfect little girl she is in that photograph. I can only wait with excitement, for the moment when I can go meet her in person.

#my writing #my oc's #my wip #POV: Jan #WIP: Angel #no header this time because i don't want another one XD #sorry XD #it's also very repetative i know but i figured Jan was very excited about the birth that he would repeat stuff #because excitement :D

[kosmosian-quills]

The Hanging Crown

Reposting from my other writing account but this was such an important scene to write for my WIP. The General has taken over the country and the Princess is trying to lay low at this point, and accidentally witnesses something she did not want to see.

POV: Karolina

Warnings: public execution

Chaos.

Calamity.

That is what the main square was today. A place that is normally a hotbed of activity on an ordinary day - people going about their business, trading wares, passing by.

But this is no ordinary day.

The sheer number of people here was staggering. I was used to facing crowds, I had done so on many occassions. I never had to address them, but being watched was something I was used to. There were people here that were shouting, screaming incomprehensively. They were chanting, calling for someone. The General, they were calling for him.

His overthrow had caught us all off guard yesterday. We didn’t even know it was him, not until he made his announcement at midnight last night that he had taken over the castle and imprisoned the King.

He made no announcement about the Princess, or the Queen, and yet the former was hidden in my grandparent’s home. We had insisted that she stay there, because if she was spotted… well, we would be in a lot more trouble.

Why they were cheering for him was a mystery. We thought we knew the common folk. We thought we understood what they wanted. We thought they were happy, and yet they were calling the name of a man who had committed such an immense treason like he was a hero.

We had made our way to the vantage point. The crowd was so immense, that we could not get closer to that platform in the centre even if we tried. Zofia had spotted the statue of Jadwiga, and we climbed to her feet as a way to see what was going on here.

The vantage point did make things easier to see. The wooden platform had many armed men atop it, stood to attention and waiting, but nothing was happening yet. We were waiting for it to happen too.

What it was, we had no idea.

Nothing was announced for this, no word or anything. We had been sat waiting for news when we heard everyone heading this way, and we decided to come and see what was going on. We kept ourselves disguised as best we could, given the circumstances. Hoods up, glasses off, no discernible markings visible - only the Princess and Matylda remained behind, because we could not risk her being found so quickly.

“What is that?” Irena pointed as movement finally happened on the platform. Armed men, a few of them, moved to the side as more climbed the steps behind it. One of them appeared to hold a length of rope, and it was only when it was looped around the beam in the centre of the platform that we realised what it was.

The loop of the noose that flapped uselessly in the coastal breeze only drove home what we were looking at here.

More movement on the platform, this time new arrivals.

The first was the General himself, and I felt Zofia tense next to me as he took centre stage, in front of that threat behind him.

Not a threat to his life, at least.

He rose his hands, and the whole plaza went quiet in a wave of breath, that weird noise that happens when loud voices suddenly silence in unison, leaving only the sounds of the sea birds and the chilly wind that coursed through every person in the crowd. Bated breath, intense stares - waiting for the man who orchestrated all of this, to finally speak.

“Today, good citizens!” he called loudly, ensuring that even us here at the back could hear him, “you will witness the start of a new, brighter era for our beloved country!”

The crowd erupted into cheers at his words, and I cast an anxious glance at the others, who shared my concerns. It made me nauseous, hearing that man sound like some kind of hero or god.

The thing is, he has this strange way with addressing crowds and people in general that makes him an enigma to watch, enthralling to listen to, and a wonder to bear witness to. He always was a charming man, all six of us can admit to that much. He knew how to get us to trust him. How to get us to let our guard down.

And yet he betrayed us for it.

“But to begin a new, prosperous era…” he moved across the platform as two armed soldiers barged up the steps with a figure under both their arms. A bloodied figure, roughly forced to his knees with his head bowed low. The body had his hands bound behind his back, and I recognised those torn, welted clothes.

Because that was the King, on his knees.

“… we must first end the old one!”

I felt my breath catch in my throat, and felt the blood rush from my face away to my feet, ready to run over there, to yell for them to stop what they were doing. I looked right at Zofia, and I had never seen such a look of shock and panic on her face before.

The crowd around us, did not share our reaction here.

They were cheering. They were overjoyed. Chants like “Kill the King! Kill the King!” were so loud that you could hear them from miles away. I was on my feet now, and watching as the General grabbed the King by his hair and forced him to look up. His face was covered in blood.

We could see that much, at least.

The two soldiers that manhandled their previous ruler hoisted him to his feet as the General looped the noose around his neck. I was watching in a sick, horrified fascination when I felt an arm grab at my side and shake me.

“Karolina!” Anastazja had shaken my arm and pointed off to the crowd behind us, close to the street where we had emerged from. I didn’t see what the fuss was about until I recognised one single, solitary petrified face amongst the vast sea of enthusiastic ones. Their eyes were wide and they were frozen to their spot, “she’s here!”

The Princess.

I wasted no time.

I dropped back to the ground, and forced my way towards her, through the mass of people. I didn’t care that I was shoving them out of the way, I didn’t care that my friends were either. I heard people yelling at us to watch where we’re going, but they didn’t care either. We had one goal, we had to get to her.

Not because we didn’t want her to get caught.

We reached her within a few seconds thanks to my unknown strength, and the fact that we were forcing our way backwards. Finding her was easy, she had not moved. Her mouth was agape, full of shock and horror.

“Andzia?” I stood direcly in front of her. I was taller than her, and I did my best to block the view of what everyone was here to witness, “Andzia? Andzia, listen to me. Listen to me!” I put my hands on the side of her face, forcing her to look me in the eyes, “watch me, ok? Don’t look anywhere else, just keep your eyes on me. Please, please keep looking at me.”

Her eyes seemed so full of emotion, and yet so empty at the same time. Almost catatonic, yet they oozed pure love and blind terror. She did not verbally respond to me at all. I felt the others crowd us, and I heard Zofia say that we needed to get out of here now, before we get into trouble.

“Come on, we need to go, we need to go, Andzia? Come on.”

I started pushing the Princess backwards. The others were all stood around her, so even if she was not looking where she was going, she would not be pushed into someone she didn’t know. We didn’t care either way, but we needed to be out of here before -!

A loud thud. A crack.

An eruption of cheers.

And we froze.

I pulled the Princess close to my chest, to an embrace, hopefully keeping her from seeing what I feared we would see. Anastazja had her hands in front of her mouth, eyes swimming with tears. Zofia was still forward facing. Irena had closed her eyes and faced the ground.

We all knew what had just happened.

I whispered into her ear, my voice breaking and I felt a tear leave its cool, sticky track down my cheek. I didn’t hear any of the cheers anymore, because I did not care about them. The only thing I cared about was held in my arms right now, and I am certain that there was nothing I could do or say to make her feel the same way right now.

“I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry…”

#My writing #my OC's #WIP: Angel #karolina #tw: execution #tw: public execution #tw: hanging #idk the scene is much better in my head #and I thought having it from a perspective other than the princess' was important #POV: Karolina #tw execution #tw death #Tw hanging

[whumping-newbie]

The Hanging Crown

POV: Karolina

Warnings: public execution

Chaos.

Calamity.

That is what the main square was today. A place that is normally a hotbed of activity on an ordinary day - people going about their business, trading wares, passing by.

But this is no ordinary day.

The sheer number of people here was staggering. I was used to facing crowds, I had done so on many occassions. I never had to address them, but being watched was something I was used to. There were people here that were shouting, screaming incomprehensively. They were chanting, calling for someone. The General, they were calling for him.

His overthrow had caught us all off guard yesterday. We didn’t even know it was him, not until he made his announcement at midnight last night that he had taken over the castle and imprisoned the King.

He made no announcement about the Princess, or the Queen, and yet the former was hidden in my grandparent’s home. We had insisted that she stay there, because if she was spotted... well, we would be in a lot more trouble.

Why they were cheering for him was a mystery. We thought we knew the common folk. We thought we understood what they wanted. We thought they were happy, and yet they were calling the name of a man who had committed such an immense treason like he was a hero.

We had made our way to the vantage point. The crowd was so immense, that we could not get closer to that platform in the centre even if we tried. Zofia had spotted the statue of Jadwiga, and we climbed to her feet as a way to see what was going on here.

The vantage point did make things easier to see. The wooden platform had many armed men atop it, stood to attention and waiting, but nothing was happening yet. We were waiting for it to happen too.

What it was, we had no idea.

Nothing was announced for this, no word or anything. We had been sat waiting for news when we heard everyone heading this way, and we decided to come and see what was going on. We kept ourselves disguised as best we could, given the circumstances. Hoods up, glasses off, no discernible markings visible - only the Princess and Matylda remained behind, because we could not risk her being found so quickly.

“What is that?” Irena pointed as movement finally happened on the platform. Armed men, a few of them, moved to the side as more climbed the steps behind it. One of them appeared to hold a length of rope, and it was only when it was looped around the beam in the centre of the platform that we realised what it was.

The loop of the noose that flapped uselessly in the coastal breeze only drove home what we were looking at here.

More movement on the platform, this time new arrivals.

The first was the General himself, and I felt Zofia tense next to me as he took centre stage, in front of that threat behind him.

Not a threat to his life, at least.

He rose his hands, and the whole plaza went quiet in a wave of breath, that weird noise that happens when loud voices suddenly silence in unison, leaving only the sounds of the sea birds and the chilly wind that coursed through every person in the crowd. Bated breath, intense stares - waiting for the man who orchestrated all of this, to finally speak.

“Today, good citizens!” he called loudly, ensuring that even us here at the back could hear him, “you will witness the start of a new, brighter era for our beloved country!”

The crowd erupted into cheers at his words, and I cast an anxious glance at the others, who shared my concerns. It made me nauseous, hearing that man sound like some kind of hero or god.

The thing is, he has this strange way with addressing crowds and people in general that makes him an enigma to watch, enthralling to listen to, and a wonder to bear witness to. He always was a charming man, all six of us can admit to that much. He knew how to get us to trust him. How to get us to let our guard down.

And yet he betrayed us for it.

“But to begin a new, prosperous era...” he moved across the platform as two armed soldiers barged up the steps with a figure under both their arms. A bloodied figure, roughly forced to his knees with his head bowed low. The body had his hands bound behind his back, and I recognised those torn, welted clothes.

Because that was the King, on his knees.

“... we must first end the old one!”

I felt my breath catch in my throat, and felt the blood rush from my face away to my feet, ready to run over there, to yell for them to stop what they were doing. I looked right at Zofia, and I had never seen such a look of shock and panic on her face before.

The crowd around us, did not share our reaction here.

They were cheering. They were overjoyed. Chants like “Kill the King! Kill the King!” were so loud that you could hear them from miles away. I was on my feet now, and watching as the General grabbed the King by his hair and forced him to look up. His face was covered in blood.

We could see that much, at least.

The two soldiers that manhandled their previous ruler hoisted him to his feet as the General looped the noose around his neck. I was watching in a sick, horrified fascination when I felt an arm grab at my side and shake me.

“Karolina!” Anastazja had shaken my arm and pointed off to the crowd behind us, close to the street where we had emerged from. I didn’t see what the fuss was about until I recognised one single, solitary petrified face amongst the vast sea of enthusiastic ones. Their eyes were wide and they were frozen to their spot, “she’s here!”

The Princess.

I wasted no time.

I dropped back to the ground, and forced my way towards her, through the mass of people. I didn’t care that I was shoving them out of the way, I didn’t care that my friends were either. I heard people yelling at us to watch where we’re going, but they didn’t care either. We had one goal, we had to get to her.

Not because we didn’t want her to get caught.

We reached her within a few seconds thanks to my unknown strength, and the fact that we were forcing our way backwards. Finding her was easy, she had not moved. Her mouth was agape, full of shock and horror.

“Anja?” I stood direcly in front of her. I was taller than her, and I did my best to block the view of what everyone was here to witness, “Anja? Anja, listen to me. Listen to me!” I put my hands on the side of her face, forcing her to look me in the eyes, “watch me, ok? Don’t look anywhere else, just keep your eyes on me. Please, please keep looking at me.”

Her eyes seemed so full of emotion, and yet so empty at the same time. Almost catatonic, yet they oozed pure love and blind terror. She did not verbally respond to me at all. I felt the others crowd us, and I heard Zofia say that we needed to get out of here now, before we get into trouble.

“Come on, we need to go, we need to go, Anja? Come on.”

I started pushing the Princess backwards. The others were all stood around her, so even if she was not looking where she was going, she would not be pushed into someone she didn’t know. We didn’t care either way, but we needed to be out of here before -!

A loud thud. A crack.

An eruption of cheers.

And we froze.

I pulled the Princess close to my chest, to an embrace, hopefully keeping her from seeing what I feared we would see. Anastazja had her hands in front of her mouth, eyes swimming with tears. Zofia was still forward facing. Irena had closed her eyes and faced the ground.

We all knew what had just happened.

I whispered into her ear, my voice breaking and I felt a tear leave its cool, sticky track down my cheek. I didn’t hear any of the cheers anymore, because I did not care about them. The only thing I cared about was held in my arms right now, and I am certain that there was nothing I could do or say to make her feel the same way right now.

“I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry...”

#so this is very Canon #and this looked way better in my head #my writing #my oc's #oc's #anjelika #karolina #the general #whump #public execution #hanging #comfort #sort of given the circumstances