Chapter 44: Always The Outcast

Cleo shook Strelitzia by the shoulders, her face more worried than ever before. "Get up, Hurry up!"

Strelitzia blinked the sleep from her eyes and frowned. "What is it? What's wrong?" She thought maybe she had just overslept, but the look on Cleo's face said more.

"That pirate you came in with when you returned, the blonde one. There's been talk around the castle. He's to be hung in the courtyard at this very moment. They're putting the noose around his neck."

Strelitzia sat upright. She was instantly awake at the mention of execution. "Why? What happened?!" She shook her head in disbelief and gently grabbed Cleo's arm. "I can't let them do that." Strel didn't even look back to see if the older lady followed as she began to take off down the halls to the courtyard. Why would they all of a sudden decide to execute him? He hadn't set himself free. He hadn't even attempted to escape. So why?