Cecilia remained with her back straight and her head high until the sound of Malcolm’s footsteps and his cruel laughter disappeared. Even then, she waited another beat of silence before she relaxed her shoulders and exhaled. Now she was free to let her face flush red without Malcolm seeing. Her vision nearly blurred with the rush of blood to her head as she turned on her heel and stomped towards the window.

“[i]May the headman’s axe be dull and jagged[/i],” she repeated, dropping her voice to mock his tone. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. She hated how easily he could get a reaction out of her. “Though I wish he hadn’t denied me breakfast,” she added under her breath, returning to her usual tone. Her stomach grumbled in protest at the thought of the feast. So the cook had wanted to serve her a final meal... a proper one instead of the slop that she had been living off of these past five years. Of course Malcolm would have a say about that.

Real food would have been nice. Turning away from the window, Cecilia caught sight of her spider friend wrapping up a small insect that had been unfortunate enough to land on her web. Well, at least one of them would get a feast that day.

Sighing, she returned to her “bed”. It wouldn’t be long now before the guards would come to fetch her and lead her to her death. She hoped they would at least bring some proper clothes for her. No one should have to die dressed in rags... especially not a princess.