“Tomorrow is the execution, isn’t it?” + “Why are you here? You shouldn’t want to be seen with me.” ( thinking abt that one ask you answered of witch nicolette saving knight reinhard... enemies to lovers )
He shouldn't be here.
No, truly, he should be nowhere near her. She was a threat, a force of destruction, having committed countless crimes and violated numerous laws. She had unleashed unimaginable terror upon the world, and yet here he stood, right in front of her, facing the prison cell that contained her. He could hear her voice, speaking of tomorrow's execution, of how the kingdom intended to end her life and make an example of her for all to see. As he lingered in the shadows, his blue eyes locked onto her PURPLE ones, he exhaled softly.
"I've been reflecting on our previous conversations."
About him, about his identity, about what he truly was. She had told him he had rights, that he had choices, and that he was not merely a weapon. He was a human being, a person with aspirations and dreams. Perhaps it was all a ruse to lower his defenses, but she was the only one who had ever addressed him in such a manner. Hardly anyone spoke to him, except to issue commands, hurl insults, or blame him for the kingdom's troubles.
"I felt no deceit in your words."
He whispered as he scanned her from head to toe; in that instant, she was a witch, his adversary. He ought to eliminate her, the law insisted on it, the execution was predetermined regardless of what was uttered or done here. He had already violated the law by being in her presence, as he was forbidden to be near her. Yet, if she truly was a witch, the law was unequivocal. Still, he questioned whether she had committed the acts they accused her of, ruining the crops, halting the rains, slaying travelers and merchants, conjuring monstrous beasts to torment the land, transforming men into frogs for her own entertainment. Perhaps she had, or perhaps she hadn’t; he was uncertain himself.
"I sense that all of this is unjust, that you don’t merit this fate."
To be executed in such a manner, yet it was not his role to decide. He did not create the laws, despite her previous assertions. He was the strongest being in existence, so why did he permit himself to be belittled, pushed around, commanded, and mistreated? Why did he endure everything that the world and its kingdoms hurled at him? The world felt like flimsy paper to him, and the people were no different. He could obliterate everything, annihilate everyone, and no one could halt him; no one was even close to his caliber. As he exhaled, he realized he had never made his own decisions, never acted for his own sake. Yet, in her company, spending time with her, being near her, he felt... so incredibly, profoundly normal. He felt so very human, a sensation he had never experienced before, and for once in his life, he was making a choice for himself.
"Do you wish to escape this place? Both of us, together? We can flee this prison, this kingdom, and venture far away. I can take you from here, if that’s what you desire?
