Yay. thanks for the reviews! okay on with the chapter! sorry for the v.v.late update! i know i always take very long and my friend keeps nagging me to update. haha.

Chapter 4

A guard stepped up and bound her wrists behind her back. Her feet were chained to a heavy ball that would drag her down if she ran. Hualing her to her feet, the guard motioned for the remaining soldiers to surround them as they marched from the room, the prisoner in their wake.

Dragging her unwilling feet, Alanna made her way to the place where they would begin her Parade of Shame as it was the custom in Scanra. She lifted her head high and somehow seemed to convey dignity in every step that she took. Taking a deep breadth, she sang, not to discomfort the watching citizens and soldiers but more for herself.

Midnight, not a sound from the pavement

Has the moon lost her memory?

She is smiling alone.

in the lamplight,

the withered leaves collect at my feet.

and the wind, begins to moan...

Meanwhile, in the Tortallan camp, just outside the fortress, King froze in mid sentence where he had been conversing with Lord Raoul his Knight Commander. Conversation in the entire camp came to a halt as everyone strained to hear words coming from the fortress that they were beseiging.

Memory

All alone in the moonlight

i can smile at the old days

i was beautiful then

i remember...

the time i knew what happiness was

let the memory, live again...

George came rushing out of the tent where he had also been reading the final report that his spy in the fortress had manged to send him. He looked, wide-eyed in the direction of the voice and exchanged a glance with the king. "It can't be... Not after so long." He whispered.

Every streetlamp seems to beat

a fatalistic warning.

someone mutters

and the street lamp gutters

and soon it will be morning.

In the rooms of King Maggur, he stopped in mid-pace in front of the dying fire. "How dare she. She thinks that she can mock me and my people with her songs. Well, she will soon realise that Scanrans are cold and indifferent people."

Daylight

i must wait for the sunrise

i must think of the new life

and i musn't give in

when the dawn comes

tonight will be memory too

and a new day will begin...

The people of Scanra were staring at the prisoner. The prisoner that they had come to pity as they realised their King's madness. Some of them were staring open-mouthed. Others had tears running down their faces.

Burnt out ends of smoky days.

the stale cold smell of morning.

the streetlamp dies, another night is over

another day is dawning.

In the Tortallan encampment, there were also plenty of dumbstuck people as the recognised the voice of their Lioness. Even though the words were quite soft, they seemed to find their way into everyone's heart.

Touch me

its so easy to leave me

all alone with my memories

of my days in the sun.

if you touch me,

you'll understand what happiness is...

The guards, however, roughly shoved her into the cell where she was to await her excecution.

look,

a new day, has begun...

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King Jonathan looked at his men as the last word faded away. They seemed to come out of a trance and began doing what they were in the midst of doing, all the while conversing about what had just happened.

Baron George and Lord Gareth the Younger of Naxen both came to stand next to him. Jonathan looked at George." I never knew that Alanna could sing." he remarked.

Raoul and Gary nodded their heads in agreement.

George, the pain of hearing his wife's voice, so close yet so far, evident in his eyes, replied." Well, she used to sing to the children to put them to sleep sometimes. Especially after a nightmare."

Jonathan nodded in understanding, " She did not sing when she was masquerading as a boy so as to not blow her cover didn't she."

George nodded. All four of them knew that the conversation that had just took place was of no importance. The hope that she was alive could be seen in all their eyes as they awaited the moment where they could be reunited with their lioness again.

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