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David worked his way to the edge of the gathered mass of people, his heart beating painfully and a wriggling anxiety worming in his gut. He was alone here, despite the hundred or so citizens milling about in the square. They all had a festive air about them, and to his disgust he saw some even had children with them, who all looked as if they'd been brought to the fair.

David shook his head, and made his way into the throng. His occasion to be here was beyond somber, beyond sadness. It was a duty. A horrible, horrible duty that he had to fulfill, because he had failed at his other duty.

He walked toward to the center of the square, toward his destination. He knew where it would be, for he could see it out of this peripheral vision, but refused to look up at it until he was standing just twenty feet away. Then, painfully, he forced himself to gaze up at the centerpiece of this "celebration".

The menacing frame of the wooden gallows stood tall before him. There were a few people up there already, and a thick rope had been tossed over the tall beam from which it was tied, and it dangled in the gentle warm breeze, alive in a horrifying way. A shiver ran up David's spine, and the terrible feeling in his gut deepened. Why was he even here?

But he knew why, and no cowardice was going to frighten him away today. He was here for her, and he wasn't about to let her down. Not again.

There was activity up on the platform of the gallows, and someone approached the edge: a short badger, carrying a trumpet under his arm. He raised it to his lips, and blew a short tune that David could only assume would be a call to attention. It worked, and the crowd behind David grew quiet, and seemingly attentive.

Someone else, a small bear walked beside him. This black creature had a snare drum, and he beat it, letting its iconic tapping sound fill the now silent square. David could see movement beyond the other side of the gallows, his heart leapt horribly to see a very familiar person being led out of the nearby jailhouse, head hung and flanked by four stern guards.

"Tay..." he muttered under his breath, unable to keep all of his feelings inside. The young panther girl he'd known since childhood wasn't looking at the crowd, but instead seemed to be staring determinedly at her own feet. Her expression was hard to read.

Tay was marched forward, her green prison uniform flapping lightly in the breeze, toward a long flight of wooden stairs that would lead her up off of the ground for the last time. She seemed to pause at the bottom, as if that same thought occurred to her, too. David could see her face better now, but she didn't look up at him. She was pushed forward, and unable to resist, she walked shakily up the long stairs.

He lost sight of her after a moment as she was up on the far side of the platform, and there was the sound of shoes walking around up there. Then she was visible again, and now David was looking up at her forlorn face. She was shaking as she was maneuvered into place directly in front of the hanging noose. She jumped as it touched her shoulder, and the mole with the hood on who could be guessed to be her executioner brought the huge rope down, and it made a soft thump on the wood.

The mole reached up, and as the terrified eyes of both Tay and David watched, slipped the loop of the noose over her head. They both watched as it hung around the base of her neck for a second like a grotesque necklace, before the mole grabbed one end and tightened around her throat. She swallowed, and that motion caused the rope to move a little.

The hooded mole stepped back, and stood by a long lever that he placed his hand upon. Meanwhile, a man in very formal dress stepped forward to address the crowd.

"Today, we consign Ms. Taylor Vesnin to eternity, and we do so for the following reasons: That she so willingly and with malice aforethought conspired to make dealings with a foreign power, in the effort to assassinate our good king, Harold. And she willingly conspired with known members of a rebellious sect who have made attempts on the King's life before, also with that same aim. For those reasons, she will be hung by the neck until dead. Prisoner, have you any last words?"

David's blood began to boil with that pompous nonsense. She had done no such thing. They didn't want to kill the king, only to seek better representation of his squashed lower class. Tay hadn't done anything wrong. Neither had David, or anyone else in that group.

Tay was looking out at the crowd, shivering in obvious terror. How he wished he could be up there with her, to take her in his arms, tell her it was all okay, cut the rope and take her somewhere safe...

Her eyes, which had scanned the crowd, found his. They looked straight at each other, and his heart melted in love and misery. She spoke, and her voice was far stronger than his would've been.

"We have sought neither violence nor hostility toward our government," she said, her voice loud and steady, but full of passionate emotion. "We love our people. All we want is for the king to treat us as people. We have attempted to kill no one, though the same can not be said for him."

"Very well," the official said in a flat tone. "Executioner, begin."

Every muscle in David's body tensed as if he were the one up there. The snare drum started up again, going for several seconds before stopping suddenly. The mole yanked the lever without any further delay, and a trapdoor swung open, directly under Tay's feet. He inhaled sharply as she started to fall, and every bit of his body exploded in fear and pain while he watched her drop, her eyes clenched and her mouth tightly shut. She fell for a just an eternity of a second.

Then she hit the end of the rope, and rebounded slightly up again while a tremendous and sickening _SNAP_disturbed the silence. Her eyes flew open, but they were already dead. Her ears, which had been flat against her head, now lay in a neutral position as her mouth slowly opened. Her momentum caused her to swing there, directly in front of David as tears welled up in his eyes.

She stared out at nothing as her body gently swung this way and that. She looked so surprised, and so scared, and he could hardly look at her beautiful face. As some officials made their way down the stairs, and made their way toward her dead body, David shut his eyes and let the tears come. Right now he didn't care whether they came for him next.

He was going to make these people pay for this. He turned from the horrible scene, fists clenched and unable to stop the flow of tears or the wracking sobs. Now it was time to get to work, and he wouldn't rest again until these people were brought to justice.