Her arms ached, her wrists chaffed. It had been some time since Loldirr had been thrown into her lightless cell. The rancid smell of vomit, faeces and urine had been almost too much for her senses to endure and it had taken all her might not to add to it.

She had initially used her hands to feel around the structure of the cell, painting a picture in her mind where everything was. That was until her hand landed in something squishy and repulsive. Loldirr dared not smell it to identify what it was, instead, immediately crawled over to the pile of hay she remembered laying in one of the corners and wiped her hand furiously in it.

So much time had passed since the door slammed behind her and the darkness enveloped her like an overbearing hateful relative. It could be night, it could be the day, it could be that any moment she would be dragged off to her execution.

Every attempt to sleep on the cold hard floor ended with thoughts of her death and how she didn't feel ready to have her life taken away from her so quickly. Yet every time the thoughts fogged her mind, they were quickly replaced with the people she killed and whether they felt the same during their last moments on earth.

It was cold too. Still, in only her nightgown, the floor felt like daggers piercing her skin as she laid on it. The heat from the pyre couldn't come quick enough as far as she was concerned.

To bring solitude, she hummed a song Mrs Billingslea used to sing to Willis when he was anxious. The walls absorbed the sound like a sponge but what little sound bounced back to Loldirr was something of comfort.

If there was an afterlife, she would meet Willis soon. They would embrace and tell tales of venison pie and blueberry tarts before being interrupted by a stern Edric complaining of Loldirr not completing her studies.

Loldirr was not ready to die, but part of her embraced it.

The loud jingle of keys rattled against the door. Perhaps now was the time for her to finally meet Willis once more? The door groaned open, bringing with it a blinding piercing light causing Loldirr to instantly cover her eyes. As her eyes struggled to adjust she turned her head towards a still darkened portion of the room. With her vision gradually returned, she looked around to see if her interpretation of the room was indeed as accurate as she had hoped.

Apart from the small bucket in the corner, near where her hand had landed. It was very accurate.

Loldirr raised her hands in anticipation for her guards to take her to her execution, the rattle of her shackles seemed to only encourage the person in the room with her to laugh.

The laugh was familiar, but not friendly. Its high pitch sequel sounded like a pig on helium, it was annoying, it was irritating, it was Kirken Merrithorpe.

"I'm surprised the Emperor is making it a public affair. But then I think him and Lady Nimue have a thing for burning redheads in public. I believe it reminds them of what they were, and what they are now." Kirken commented, his voice high pitched and stringy.

Loldirr winced at the voice. Apart from her humming and the shackles, she had heard nothing else for some time. Kirken's voice brought on an unwanted pain to her forehead.

"If my execution is now, be done with it. I'd rather deal with that than deal with you!" Loldirr responded.

He knelt down by the edge of the door, a couple of metres from where Loldirr sat exhaustedly. "There it is, the Aex-Igh frustration. I wasn't sure when I shared my concerns to the Emperor and Lady Nimue, but you certainly look and talk like your mother. Well, a much more common version of her obviously." he chuckled, pushing a strand of loose hair from his face.

Loldirr didn't respond. Unsure if this was some trick to confirm her guilt, she refused to make eye contact with him. Instead, her face filled with anger.

Kirken stood and then proceeded to pace from side to side of the cell. "This is no trick, " he commented as if reading her mind, "Let us have a chat, you and I. A frank and honest chat between two outlaws."

"Outlaws?"

He reached into his pocket before pulling out a small piece of parchment. "A raven arrived today from the west, a message for the Lady Erdudvyl. It appears that our current Duke of Ravenscourt is more intelligent than I give him credit. He identified me as a member of the Black Knife Syndicate and passed on his warnings."

Loldirr frowned, "You're reading Erdudvyl's communications?"

Rolling the parchment up and placing it back in his pocket, Kirken looked at her confused. "I mention to you that I work for a clandestine organisation, hell-bent on controlling Ravenscourt, and you are bothered by the reading of Erdudvyl's messages?"

Feeling numb throughout the whole night, Loldirr took some pleasure in frustrating Kirken. Her observations of the small-statured man were reasonably comprehensive. He had narcissistic tendencies, he loved the attention and he loved importance, to deny either of those brought great irritation towards him. This was all but confirmed when the Emperor refused to speak to him on their arrival to Lionmane, his face was a picture of annoyance and frustration.

Now Loldirr wanted to see it flourish.

"So let's be frank, Kirken of the Black Knife Syndicate, " Loldirr mocked Kirken, "why should I care of your exploits?"

"Because it is I who revealed your true identity to Nimue, who in turn, informed the Emperor. It is I who has scuppered the plans of the Darke child, it is I who will be the ruler of Ravenscourt."

Loldirr chuckled, her laugh grew louder, Kirken's frustrations grew stronger.

"Stop laughing!" he rebuked Loldirr.

"I am Lady Fargold, not some Aex-Igh that you mention."

"You are the last Aex-Igh. You are of the correct age, the similarities between you and your mother are not to be mistaken, and you return with the son of the man who rescued you. Do not take me for a fool. Most see your ruse, I do not." Kirken responded arrogance was puffing up ego exponentially.

"Ethelston placed his trust in you, and now you would see Ravenscourt burn because, let's face it, the Emperor likely only has that on his mind, and for what?" Loldirr asked, confused by his motivation.

"Let me tell you a story, " Kirken mocked, "a story eighteen winters in the making. Emperor Arnaud III was just a simple noble who controlled the south of the Isovine Empire. He had plans to remove your parents and take control of the Empire by force. However, Ravenscourt was key to his success. If he failed to control Ravenscourt, it would rise up and quell any rebellion that would emerge. Fortunately, he identified a weakness, two, in fact, Lord Millendahl and myself. Both of us wanted more than what we had, and with Lord Edric and his only son, Ethelston removed from the equation, Lord Millendahl would become the Duke of Ravenscourt."

He smiled as he told the story, "As I am not of noble birth, what could officially be made mine was minimal, and as a member of Lord Edric's household, I could not be seen to be openly challenging him. As a result, I was given the finances and support to create the Black Knife Syndicate. So while Lord Millendahl was the head of Ravenscourt, it was actually I who controlled it."

"So the plan was to remove Edric and Ethelston? Well, they both lived so you didn't do a very good job." Loldirr taunted.

"The plan was for me to deliver Ravenscourt, which I did, " Kirken responded furiously, "Which allowed for Emperor Arnaud to slay your parents while they slept!"

Loldirr's heart sank. Until now, she had not known how they had died, but the picture was starting to be painted, and it was a picture that was filling her with sorrow and fury.

Kirken had spotted her change in demeanour, he knew he had hit a nerve so he pressed further. "You did not know? The Aex-Igh's had organised a tourney for the nobles of the Isovine Empire. Emperor Arnaud had bought off the Captain of the guard to give him access to their chambers as they slept where he preceded to slaughter them like pigs." his shrill laugh pierced Loldirr's soul as he took pride in explaining the past.

"He continued by executing your brother, however, Lord Edric got to you before you shared their fate." Kirken continued, "but it did not matter, with Lord Edric running, no one was in a position to challenge Emperor Arnaud successfully."

Despite his shrill laughter, the room sounded empty to Loldirr. She had a brother, more flesh and blood, another member of her family she would never meet. Never before had she felt so hollow and lifeless than this moment. She had faced a Death Wraith, rogue's, rapists, among other undesirables, yet it was Kirken Merrithorpe who had wounded her more deeply than any other.

As Kirken stood to his feet, she asked sheepishly "What were their names?"

Laughing as he banged on the door, he looked towards the helpless redhead. "You still don't know their names? Stupid girl!"

As the guards returned to escort Kirken from the room, Loldirr's fury sparked once more, this time more intensely than before. She was not stupid, she was not a girl, she would not be talked to by this man in this way.

"Kirken," she commented, prompting him to turn and face her.

He noticed her eyes were darkened and full of hate and rage, yet she refused to stand, instead, looking at him with eyes that brought a tinge of fear throughout his body.

Loldirr spat on the floor just in front of his feet, "You better pray to the gods that they succeed in executing me this day because if they don't, I will learn ways to inflict the maximum amount of pain on you without allowing you to die. And I tell you now, the gods have never answered any of my prayers."