Prologue

May 20th year of our Lord 1537

Tower Green

"Oh God! I swear to the Almighty himself that I did not kill her! I swear it upon my immortal soul!" The man's pleading fell upon deaf ears even though an entire crowd watched as he was dragged to the scaffold by two burly tower guards.

One person heard the man; his desperation and the screeches were forever etched on their memory. A scrawny onyx haired boy standing in the row nearest to the wooden platform stared up with hazy steely blue eyes. There was a steady stoic expression upon his face as he watched the scene before him. His small yet firm hand gripped one of his mother's who stood at his side, who too looked upon the scene. Her outward demeanor calm but she gazed at the doomed man with raged filled eyes. The boy took mental note of this and his visual attention locked on his fraternal twin brother who held onto their mother's other hand. He was as stiff as their mother but rather then looking at the scaffold itself he was staring at what sat upon the very top: crows. Their calls shrieked over the soft murmur of the crowd as if they were proclaiming and sentencing the man's fate making it official. The man was going to die.

"Perfect day for this bastard to die," these were the first words the boy heard his mother speak all day. He could sense what she was referring to. Standing on the tower green in the middle of the Tower of London felt like being in the eye of a hurricane. A thick layer of dark gray clouds hung in the sky making the day almost dark as night. The atmosphere was wet and heavy with the signature English wet gloom. The boy felt as if the world was anticipating this man's death as much as his mother was. "He does not deserve to see the proper light of day again."

He did not know why or the manner in which he did it, but a mere few weeks ago this man that now stood upon the gallows with the executioner, couple of guards and the priest, kidnapped his four-year old sister Rosaline from their home and murdered her. The ten-year old boy hardly knew his sister, being of different genders and years apart meant they were rather detached. However he knew she had been a sweet pretty thing and very intelligent in her own right. He could not understand why someone would murder her, and neither did his mother it seemed, for she stared at the gallows with the eyes of vengeance.

The boy's family, namely his father, was in the king's inner circle, so once a man was found knelt over Rosaline's body covered in blood and the murder weapon in the hand, he was dragged straight off to the Tower to be held until the trial. Evidence acquired from him did not come in a pleasant manner. Justice was swift; the day after the trial was concluded the man was condemned to die. That day was today. From what he heard, his parents had a choice of how their daughter's killer would die, his mother chose hanging over beheading, she said she wanted him to suffer.

"Mother… I think-" the boy started to say but she held up a hand to shush him.

"Quiet. He's about to give his last words, I need to hear what this scum has to say for himself." The boy fell silent with heaviness in his chest respecting his mother's wishes.

The man looked desperately around, his eyes flicking wildly over the crowd obviously trying to think of where to begin. "Please, someone please listen to me. I swear I didn't kill that little girl, I swear it! I would never do such a terrible thing. I beg you to look more into it and you'll see I'm telling the truth!" His eyes wildly scanned the crowd falling upon the two twin boys that were beside their mother in the front row, he even had the guts to lock eyes with the mother of his supposed murder victim. "Please… I didn't do it… I didn't do it!" He began screech as the guards and executioner began to take position for the task at hand. "That trial was fixed! If you just open your eyes and take the time to see that I'm an innocent man!"

"Mother-"

"Shush child. Now is not the time," she said sternly as the man was given his last rites and the final preparations were made to carry out the execution. The boy looked to his brother who finally glanced away from the crows and to the man itself. Desperation showed in his eyes that was almost equivalent to his mother, it was the desperation to see this man die. He began to feel like he was the only one that felt even a shard of doubt.

"Amen," the priest concluded and stepped back away from the scene and the executioner took his place upon the scaffold. He ensured the knot was properly tied around the neck before stepping back and too hold of the lever.

The crows watched with their beady onyx eyes as sweat trickled down the contours of the man's face. Uncontrollable shivers ran through his body as the strength clearly began to disappear from his legs. His own weight began to become too much for him as they buckled causing him to sink down closer to the wooden floor. The boy saw the man's breathing become shallow and more frequent.

The handle creaked from the effort when it was pushed, and thus it sealed the man's fate. A loud gasp was emitted from his voice as the trap door beneath his feet gave way and he fell ten feet and all slack was gone from the rope. It was at that exact moment when a crack was heard as the man's neck gave way and broke as well. Commotion caused by the execution distressed the ravens and they took to flight into the air in a flurry of black feathers.

The boy swore the man's eyes were looking at him as he dangled there and the life disappeared from his hazel eyes. It was completely unnerving to the ten-year old and all color disappeared from his face, as did all his naïve innocence towards the world.

"William… Thomas… It is good you have seen what happens when justice is truly carried out in our world." His mother gripped his brother's hand and his with her own in a strong grip. "At times like this, true justice is the only thing that matters."

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