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  OoOoO 

Vinie and Zaneo's first week as a married couple was chaotic bliss. Their new home was even smaller than the one that Vinie had shared with her father. Every morning the newlyweds would find themselves bumping elbows over the soapstone wash basin or having to squeeze around one another in the kitchen. They loved every minute of it. Kor warned them that they wouldn't find the close quarters quite so novel (or sensual) after a decade or two of living together. That didn't stop either Vinie or Zaneo from thoroughly enjoying every opportunity to be close to one another in their little home beside the harbor.

Besides turning left after the fishmonger instead of right at the end of every day, life actually changed very little for Vinie. She continued to go down to the docks before sunrise every morning with Bakko, where they would clamber into his little dingy and row out beyond the jetties. With the sky just beginning to lighten into broad slashes of pink and fiery orange, Vinie would sling her pearl-gathering bag over her shoulder, clench a heavy rock between her toes for anchorage, and slip over the side.

The water was always warm and clear near the top. Looking up, Vinie could still easily see the golden clouds beneath a sunrise-stained sky through the surface. A single gull passed overhead. Then, as she sank, the water became colder, deeper, darker. Down here it was quiet. The weight of the sea above pressed down insistently on Vinie's ears and chest. The first time she had dived as a child in shallow waters, the sensation had panicked her and caused her to surface, sputtering.

Then her toes hit bottom. There was solid rock here, setting the spot apart from the muddy sand that covered much of the rest of the sea floor. Here was the underwater reef where Bakko and Vinie did their work. Above on the surface, Bakko was sitting patiently with a bag in his lap, waiting to open, count, and collect each haul that his daughter brought up.

Eyes burning slightly from the salt water, Vinie eyed her prize. There, beneath that long, low-down ledge was the catch of oysters that she had spotted last time. Taking out her knife, Vinie set to work prying the stubborn mollusks from their nook. A curious little orange and white fish dipped out from behind a coral, eager to see the visitor to its underwater home. Vinie wanted to smile at it, but resisted the urge in case a precious bubble of air should escape her.

All morning she dove down to the reef, collecting oyster after oyster. Bakko cracked each one open, a satisfied smile crinkling the corners of his weathered face every time the effort revealed a pearl. Come midday the sun had risen too high to continue working though. With their day's catch tied up in the bottom of the boat, Vinie and Bakko returned to Utunma. Undoing her tight braid, Vinie let her long black hair dry in the heat against her shoulders. The black pearl Zaneo had given her on their wedding day hung heavy against her forehead on its leather thong; the one and only exception to the day's haul.

With a kiss for her father and a wave, Vinie made her way toward home. Would Zaneo be there, or would he still be out with Wasani? The marketplace of Utunma was a throng of activity, as always. Seagulls clamored everywhere, looking to snatch a scrap of something tasty from the food stalls. Children with slingshots stood guard, eager to earn their promised wages of a copper Ignum and a sweet.

A familiar shop came into sight through the crowd. With the little wooden sign swinging on chains and the painted wooden figurehead over the door, Gideo's skinpainting parlor was hard to miss. Tattoos were a favorite indulgence in southern Goran, and Gideo had a gift for the art. Almost everyone in Utunma either knew someone who bore one of Gideo's designs on their person, or had one themselves. Vinie personally had three; the outline of a shark tooth behind an ear for her mother, a five-stranded chain around an ankle for her coming-of-age at sixteen, and most recently the marriage knot. All husbands and wives in Utunma carried the little white circle on the arch of their palms. Gideo had just done Vinie and Zaneo's three days ago, and the skin still tingled at the spot.

A bell jingled as Vinie opened the door to Gideo's shop. The air was heavy with the scent of strawberry candles. Gideo loved the stuff, and it was inevitable that customers would walk away from a lengthy session in his shop smelling of strawberries as well.

It just so happened that Gideo was with a client at that very moment. Looking up from an enormous tattoo of an albatross that he was outlining across the man's back, Gideo grinned from ear to ear.

"Ah Vinie! You need me to have a look at the knot? How's that brat of a husband of yours?"

It still sounded foreign to Vinie's ears to hear others refer to "her husband". She laughed and stuck her hand out, palm-up under Gideo's nose.

"It's just fine, and so is Zaneo. You should know, since you're the one who kept him out so late the night before last."

Gideo winked, a lock of curly hair falling out of its tie and over his face. "I'm also the one who left him safe and sound on your doorstep. Give me credit!"

"A-hem."

The customer whose back Gideo was tattooing made clear his displeasure at Vinie distracting his artist.

"I'll see you later, PearlDiver." Gideo went back to detailing the albatross's wing on the man's left shoulder. "Save me some dinner, yas?"

Vinie raised an eyebrow as she headed for the door. "Forage for your own food tonight, SkinPainter. You need to find your own wife to feed you one of these days!"

"And minnows will come schooling out of my ass."

Still laughing, Vinie wove past neighbors, old friends, and distant relatives all the way to her new home. It was a humble little space, wedged between two similarly tall, skinny buildings. The street was close and hot, which made sleeping at night next to impossible. Sleeping beside someone was even worse. The third night after their marriage the summer heat had been so unbearable that Zaneo and Vinie had gone running down to the docks, their dark limbs shining with sweat, and jumped into the sea for relief.

"Zaneo?"

The door stuck a bit, and Vinie had to shoulder it open. The smell of cooking tuna and peas greeted her. Zaneo was standing in their tiny kitchen, brow furrowed as he stared into the hearth. He appeared not to have heard Vinie.

Walking on tip-toe, Vinie crept across the reed mat floor. When she stood only an arm's length away, she struck. Sliding her arms around Zaneo's shoulders, she dropped a kiss on the nape of his neck. She rarely could ever reach that high on Zaneo unless he presented so appealing a target as to bend or kneel.

Zaneo gave a little jump, then a chuckle low in the back of his throat.

"You're home."

"I am."

"How was the diving?"

Vinie released Zaneo and let him straighten up. He turned to face her and rested a hand on each of her hips.

"It was well enough, but Dad and I may need to start thinking of finding a new spot. The Clownfish Reef is getting a bit overworked. How was your day?"

The pot over the fire hissed, and Zaneo had to take a moment to stir it before answering.

"Well, I think Wasani has finally forgiven me for my foolishness at our wedding. We went to the sunken caves and studied how the dripping of water forms stone teeth from the cave's bottom and top." Zaneo's voice dropped somewhat in volume, his blue-green eyes dancing. "I tried to make a stone tooth of my own, using the water to carry the minerals faster than usual."

"And did it work?"

"Somewhat. It was a very short, blunt tooth. But it grew right before our eyes."

Vinie smiled, having to reach up on the tips of her toes to kiss Zaneo. "My SeaSon husband. I still feel a thrill everyone time someone calls you my husband, you know."

"I hope we both feel that same thrill even when our children's children are grown."

Vinie laughed. "By that time our bones may very well have been given to the sea!"

"Then I'll dance with you among the waves, forever."

"Zaneo?"

Zaneo kissed the top of her head. "Yas, my pearl?"

"Are you still ale-addled?"

They both laughed together, heedless of the slightly burnt smell coming from Zaneo's casserole. A sudden sharp knock came at the door.

"Hold that thought." Zaneo extricated himself from Vinie's arms around his waist to go and answer.

"If it's Gideo, tell him his stomach can wait, there's still plenty of day left before eventide," Vinie called after him.

It was not Gideo at the door. A royal magistrate stood on the front stoop, the golden crown pinned on his breast proclaiming his authority. Behind the sour-faced official four Utunman guards waited with a hand on the hilts of their curved falchions.

"Zaneo SeaSon and Vinie PearlDiver?" The magistrate asked, his voice somewhat higher than expected for such a stern looking man.

"Yas?" Zaneo asked hesitantly. Vinie rushed to join him in the doorway.

"You and your family stand accused of perjury, harboring an unidentified Obad, and high treason. By Gorian law, you are to surrender immediately to the Utunman Guard for arrest."

"High treason?!" Vinie dug her nails into the doorframe, as though holding on to the chipped wood could somehow keep her and Zaneo in their home. "There must be some mistake!"

"It is treason against king and country to harbor an unidentified, untrained Obad in secrecy," the magistrate replied coldly, having to crane his neck to eye Zaneo. Zaneo seemed to have frozen, a look of blank shock on his face. "Guards, take them."

"Wait, no...Zaneo!"

Two guards seized each of them, their bronze bellyplates and chain mail shirts searing hot from the sun. Vinie bucked, kicked, and even tried to bite. She was shorter than her armed captors by a head or more though, and her struggles were to no avail.

"Let go of me!"

Hearing his wife's cries finally seemed to jolt Zaneo from his stunned stupor. "Vinie!" He began to fight, jerking an arm free from the grip of one guard and managing to grab the man around the throat. His blue eyes flashed angrily, and the guard pitched backward with a raging nosebleed, even though Zaneo had not touched his face.

One of the two men dragging Vinie out into the street released his grip on her, leaving his comrade to try and restrain the writhing woman. With one guard still trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose, the other two redoubled their efforts to control Zaneo. Shouting filled the narrow street, and people began to come out from their houses to see what the commotion was about.

"Hold him, hold him!"

"Don't let him use any more magic!" the magistrate was shouting. "Don't let him focus!"

"Zaneo!"

Eyes burning bright, Zaneo swung his arm desperately, trying to land a blow on one of the guards. The third man was back in the fight now, despite the steady stream of blood down his chin.

"Don't let him use his magic!" the magistrate screeched again. Shouts of confusion were going up from their neighbors, and Vinie was screaming her lungs out. Abruptly Zaneo went still and rigid, his eyelids fluttering shut.

"Stop him!"

With Zaneo's fist no longer flying everywhere, one of the guards finally got a clear shot. He punched Zaneo full in the face. Whatever magic Zaneo had been about to use was dispelled as his chin drooped forward onto his chest. He slumped between his captors. It was an easy matter from there for the guards to drag both husband and wife away.

OoOoO

"What do you think is going on?"

After their arrest, Vinie and Zaneo had been taken to the prison in Utunma. There they had been both shocked and dismayed to find Kor and Irem waiting for them in their cell, as well as Wasani. The terror in Zaneo's parents' eyes was plain. This was what they had been secretly dreading for years. Wasani tried to comfort and reassure them, but the shaman was obviously just as shaken as they were. After an afternoon spent huddled together on the cold stone floor, they had heard a commotion coming from the square outside. Now Vinie sat perched on Zaneo's shoulders, trying to see through the bars of the single, tiny window.

"They're building something." Vinie smelled the sawdust and heard the hammering clearly. "There's...I think I see horses."

Horses were a rarity this far southwest in Goran. The large, hairy animals tended not to thrive in such heat and humidity. That could only mean that there were people present from north of Utunma.

"Building something, what are they building?" Kor wrung her arthritic hands together, her eye paint smudged from hours of weeping and wailing. "Tell us truly, is it a gallows?"

"Hush Kor, do not think like that," Irem said sharply to his wife. He still sounded anxious when he called up to Vinie. "Can you see what it is?"

"It's..." Vinie felt Zaneo squeeze her leg gently, warning her not to say so even if it was a gallows. "I can't say for certain. All I see are boards and many people working. And most of the Utunman guard."

"Zaneo, bring her down before someone sees," Wasani urged, glancing toward the cell door. The shaman's favorite orange wrap was smudged with dirt, likely from being dragged.

"Wait, I see flags." Vinie squinted to see past the glare of the late afternoon sun.

"Flags? What sort of flags?" Wasani asked.

"What does it matter, what sort of flags?" Kor sounded close to tears again.

"They're not dock flags. They're longer, and draped on the city keep."

Wasani let out a breath. "Standards. Can you see what their design is, Vinie?"

Vinie had to strain to see clearly past the bustle in the square. "They're...curses, move that horse! They're red with black crossing lines and gold trim."

"Tell me if you can, if you can see that far." Wasani's voice was filled with urgency. "Is there a crown in the center of the standards?"

"...Yas, yas I think there is."

"Zaneo, put her down."

A cold chill raced up Vinie's spine as Zaneo knelt to let her off his shoulders. The hard stone floor was unyielding, unwelcoming beneath her thin sandals.

"It is as I feared," Wasani spoke to them gravely. "The king himself has come."

Fear settled thick and fast on the cell like a wave. For the young King Mahir, Mahaedron's eldest to be here all the way from Amenthere meant that events of the gravest nature would soon unfold.

Kor started to cry, holding out her arms to Zaneo. Zaneo bent forward into his mother's embrace woodenly, like one in a dream. Irem clutched at his wife and son, his high-browed face ashen.

"You think they intend to make an example of us, Wasani?"

"I know nothing for certain, but King Mahir's presence here...it worries me."

Kor held out an arm for Vinie, drawing her daughter-by-wed close.

"Forgive me, children!" the distraught mother wailed. "I couldn't do it, I couldn't! I knew when Zaneo made his bathwater dance as a child that the law demanded we give him to the capital. I knew, I knew, but I wouldn't! I wouldn't let them have my baby! And now..." Kor let out a hiccupping sob. "Now we are all to die for my selfishness!"

"I refused to send Zaneo away too, Kor," Irem said grimly. Looking to Zaneo, Irem's words, always so firm and absolute, wavered. "We kept you here out of love, my son. Can you forgive us?"

Slowly, sluggishly, Zaneo gazed upon the faces of his family. He drew a long, deep breath.

"The people who should be asking forgiveness aren't in here, Dad, Mum. They're out there."

Zaneo lifted his gaze to the little window. Irem gripped his son's hand in a bruising grip. Zaneo reached out to Vinie and drew her close. Vinie buried her face in Zaneo's chest, squeezing her eyes tightly shut, filling her ears with the beating of his heart. Zaneo kissed Vinie's forehead just above where the black pearl sat, his eyes never leaving the cell window.

OoOoO

They were led out into the square in chains, blinking in the sudden glare. Squinting against the late afternoon sunlight, Vinie made out what had been constructed as they sat in their cell. It was a stage, at one end of which sat three people flanked by soldiers. These were not Utunman Guards. These men wore plate armor which shone in the hot sun, their long red capes slashes of crimson against the yellow stone of the keep.

Utunman Guards led the prisoners through the crowd in the square, and Vinie unconsciously shied away. Just that morning she had freely and openly mingled with these people on her way home. Now she felt very small and very exposed with all eyes on her. Then a hand shot out from the masses and caught Vinie by the wrist.

"Don't let go of me. Whatever happens, don't you let go."

It was Bakko. Limping on his bad leg, the crippled PearlDiver surged forward and clung to his daughter. At the front of the line, Zaneo jerked to an abrupt stop as the chain between them went taut.

"Get back old man!" One of the guards moved to shoved Bakko away.

"Give me back my girl!" Bakko cried, he and Vinie gripping each other so tightly that Vinie could hardly breathe. "She's done nothing wrong, give her back to me!"

"Take him away from here," one of the guards said to the others. "Keep him out of sight until it's done."

"Don't let go!" Bakko growled in Vinie's ear, his fingers tangled in her shirt and hair. The thin cloth ripped as several guards seized hold of Bakko and pulled him back. Tears of pain sprung up in Vinie's eyes as her dad's grip on her hair was strained, but she kept up her hold on him equally tightly. The guards were so big and strong, and everyone was pulling so hard. Her arms strained as she tried to cling to Bakko, her fingers in agony. She cried out as a clump of her hair was pulled from her scalp.

And then Bakko was gone, torn away by the guards.

"Dad!" Vinie shrieked, still reaching for him even with the heavy chains on her wrists.

"No!"

Bakko was dragged away kicking and screaming. Vinie thought she might have seen Sahar dart forward from the crowd, shouting and scolding the guards.

Please take care of him, Vinie silently begged her oldest friend. What would Bakko do if she was no longer there to dive for pearls for him? How would he make a living?

Heart aching for her father, Vinie was forced to rejoin the shuffling line of Zaneo, Irem, Kor, Wasani, and herself on their long, slow journey to the stage. They were made to climb the three steps, the chains around their ankles clanking ominously. Only then did Vinie get a clear look at the three persons who awaited them.

The man in the middle had to be King Mahir. He was young, very young, almost as young as Zaneo. The heir to the royal Amenthis dynasty was handsome, in a pale sort of way. He sat straight-backed and proud in his chair with an easy authority that belied his age. The golden crown of Goran sat atop his loosely curling brown hair, which fell around his ears and complimented his piercing, hawk-like eyes. His long, straight nose and defined jaw made him look older than he likely was. The wine red tunic and black cloak he wore must have been unbearably hot in the southern climate, but if the king was uncomfortable he gave no sign of it.

To Mahir's right sat a tall older woman in long green robes with a heavy golden ring on her third finger. She wore no crown, but her silvery hair was piled atop her head no less regally. In her lap lay a short, thick golden rod topped with an obscenely large white gem. She like the king, was of the lighter complexion common to most of Goran inland from the coast. The woman's expression was sympathetic, but also unyielding.

The third person on the king's left was a man, a little younger than the woman but still well into his middle years. A black beard generously streaked with white hovered above his chest, and his hands were tucked into the sleeves of his deep blue robe. He eyed Zaneo as one would appraise a fish hanging for barter in the market.

"Your Majesty, the prisoners as you ordered."

The insect voiced magistrate was there, bowing to King Mahir deeply enough to brush his knees with his nose. Mahir nodded, and with a wave dismissed the man to one side. He placed his long, clean hands squarely on the hands of his chair and rose. The murmur of the square immediately fell into silence.

"The laws of Goran exist for many reasons," Mahir spoke. His voice carried loud and well-practiced over the crowd. "Some of you might suggest that chief among those reasons is to ruin its citizens' fun and claim a disproportionate cut of your market goods."

An almost startled swell of dark laughter threatened to rise and spread. Vinie had never felt less like laughing in her life. It was easy to find the king funny when you were not the one standing before him in irons. She noticed that Zaneo's cuffs were not of iron, but lead. They seemed to be chaffing him terribly; red rashes were already rising on his wrists.

"To those who think so, I would advise you this, the laws of this land exist to protect its people. To disobey the law is to place yourself, your family, and your friends in harm's way. To steal is to invite the wrath of your victim upon you. To murder is to earn the vengeance of the family of the dead. To hide an emerging Obad..." Mahir swept his arm at Zaneo, Irem, Kor, Wasani, and Vinie. "...is to risk the untamed fury of magic without control. By Gorian law, all children showing signs of elemental power are to be sent to the Magicol in Amenthere for training, under supervision of the High Obad. The penalty for hiding an Obad is death."

A gasp went up from the people of Utunma. All of the prisoners were known to them on a personal level. Not a single one among them had not met each of the condemned at least once. Utunma was a small and close-knit peninsula town.

Vinie's heart began to beat faster and faster. How long now until it stopped beating forever? Afraid, she looked to Zaneo for comfort. Zaneo was staring straight ahead, unseeing. He gave no sign of even having heard the king's words. Wasani's eyes were closed, his lips moving over and over in the same familiar chant.

"From the sea, of the sea, to the sea."

The magistrate was speaking now. "Zaneo SeaSon, you stand accused of being an unidentified, untrained Blue Obad. Irem and Kor NetWeaver, Wasani SeaShaman, and Vinie PearlDiver, you stand accused of hiding an unidentified, untrained Blue Obad. Will the accuser please step forward?"

When Selmay, a local tavern woman approached the stage, all eyes were upon her. Open anger was clear in faces of many in the crowd. Wasani was beloved as the shaman to all in Utunma. No doubt Selmay would find even less welcome now among the southern people than she had before.

Her ratty hair falling out of its wrap, Selmay sneered at Zaneo and the others. Cheap jewelry covered every inch of her wrists and neck.

"I saw you, I saw you turn the water in the marriage cup into a pearl." She pointed at Zaneo. "I had to send my little girl away to Amenthere last year, yas I did. Why should you..." She jabbed a painted finger at Kor and Irem, "...get to keep your boy, when I did the right thing and didn't hide mine?"

There was thunder in Irem's face. Everyone knew that Selmay had far more children than she could care for. It was doubtful she had even hesitated to send one daughter to the capital. Still, there was surprise in the buzzing of the crowd. No one had known that Selmay had given birth to a magically gifted child.

"Zaneo SeaSon, do you deny the accusations?" the magistrate asked.

"The proof is right there, on his wife's face!" Selmay shrieked, now pointing at Vinie. "See, the brazen minx wears the pearl even now!"

Vinie wanted to shrink away from the vehemence of Selmay's words. Zaneo had given her this pearl on their wedding day though, and she would not reject it. Lifting her chin, Vinie silently dared any of the guards to try and take the pearl from her.

"Do you deny the accusations?" the magistrate repeated.

"No."

"And it is well that you do not." The silver haired woman stood. "We can sense your magic all the way from here, SeaSon. Do you know who I am?"

Zaneo shook his head. Irem however nodded curtly. "You are Lirien, the High Obad."

"Right you are, Irem NetWeaver."

The hem of her long green robes swishing, Lirien approached where they stood. Up close, Vinie could see the eerily bright green of her eyes and the sweat plastering strands of gray to her neck and cheeks. The High Obad did not seem at all wilted by the heat though. Rather, she carried herself with all the grace and dignity of a mighty queen.

"You have a strong gift, Zaneo." Lirien stopped in front of Zaneo, ignoring the crowd in the square. "Very strong. You could have done many great things in Goran's Magicol. Tomur."

The Blue Obad stood and went to the High Obad's side. He stood patiently to one side with his hands still tucked in his sleeves.

"This is Tomur, a Blue Obad like yourself. Or rather, like what you could have been if you had been trained. The teaching of our Ovates is his responsibility. Tell me, Tomur, would you be willing to start over with this young man, and train him even now?"

A stab of hope rushed through Vinie, buoying her heart and filling her lungs. She had never imagined that perhaps there was still a chance for mercy. They would all miss Zaneo terribly if he were to go to Amenthere. Vinie decided right then and there that she would follow him and find work in the capital. She would bring Bakko too, and Kor and Irem. They could all be together, even if they weren't in Utunma by the sea. Oh, wouldn't Zaneo look strange, swathed from neck to foot in those heavy blue robes!

Tomur frowned, looking Zaneo over from head to toe. "How old are you?" he asked.

"One and twenty," Zaneo answered, almost shyly.

"Hmmm. You were able to manipulate water into a physical form, so you cannot be entirely untrained. What tutelage have you had?"

"I have taught him, Obad," Wasani interrupted. "I am the shaman here, and I took it upon myself to strengthen the boy's knowledge of the sea, and himself. He was not entirely without guidance throughout this time." Having ceased in his quiet chanting, Wasani leaned forward from his place in line, hopefully.

"I see."

Tomur bent in close and whispered something in Lirien's ear. The High Obad frowned but nodded. Turning away, Lirien returned to her seat, leaving behind a faint scent of perfume. Tomur stepped back, away from the prisoners.

"Your gift is strong, as Mistress Lirien said. You are too old to start from the beginning though, and you have learned too much from another. Only young, fresh and unspoiled minds can become true Obads. You would never be one of us."

A brief flash of realization passed across Zaneo's face as the implications of Tomur's refusal hit home. Then he smiled calmly.

"I belong to the sea, not to you and your king."

Tomur raised a white-specked eyebrow but said nothing in reply. He looked to Mahir, who once again addressed the square.

"So be it. Executioner."

A figure wearing armor similar to the king's guards, but also a mask of polished black stone, stepped out onto the far side of the stage. At the executioner's side hung an enormous, broad axe. Its blade gleamed so brightly that it could have been a mirror. Vinie shuddered as they were all pushed down onto their knees. She looked down at her manacled hands in her lap, fingers rough and chapped from years of work. The little white marriage knot on her palm stared up at her. Thank the stars Sahar was with her father.

"Do you have any last words?" Mahir asked.

Irem shook his head. Kor let out a deep sob next to Vinie. Wasani was chanting again with his eyes closed, lips moving faster than ever. Vinie swallowed and kept her gaze fastened on her lap. Her throat was painfully dry and tight.

"I do."

It was Zaneo. Raising his bowed head, Zaneo boldly looked the king straight in the eye.

"Speak then."

"I beg you for mercy on behalf of my wife. Vinie knew nothing of my magic until our very wedding ceremony. What could she do then? We were already joined for life, and the laws of Goran also say that the first loyalty of a husband and wife should be to each other. Please, I hear you are recently married yourself."

There was silence in the square, broken only by the calling of the gulls over the docks. In shock, Vinie stared at Zaneo. In all their years together, she had never known Zaneo to tell a lie. But here he was, on his knees condemned to die, lying to the king's face. She and Bakko had both been told about Zaneo's powers the day they announced their betrothal. Even before then Vinie had spent enough time with Zaneo to have her suspicions.

Mahir's lips were tightly pursed, his handsome face troubled. The silence went on and on. The magistrate made to speak, but a look from the High Obad quieted him. Vinie counted each and every heartbeat as they waited.

"You swear by the very sea you hold so dear, that your wife was ignorant of your magic until the very moment you were joined?" Mahir asked Zaneo, his words slow and measured.

"I swear by the sea itself."

Vinie tried desperately to catch Zaneo's eye. He continued to stare straight at Mahir though.

"Very well, as king I grant your dying plea. Vinie PearlDiver's sentence shall be commuted to life in prison, on account of previous ignorance and marital loyalty. Proceed with the rest of the executions."

"Wait, no!"

A guard appeared on either side, unlocking the chains that bound her to the others. They hauled her to her feet and away as the executioner took his axe in hand.

"Wait, please!" Vinie begged, desperately fighting to stay on the stage. "Zaneo, wait! Wait!"

She was behind the lineup now, and couldn't see Zaneo's face. His head was bowed, shoulders relaxed, patiently waiting as the executioner came up behind him. That terrible axe gleamed brighter than ever, hungry for blood.

"Wait!" Vinie screamed.

The only thing she wanted in the world was to go to Zaneo and throw herself over him, shielding him from the blade, the king, his Obads, and the world. The executioner raised his axe high overhead.

"Zaneo!"

OoOoO