Princess' Fall

[thehangingtree]

This is a short story, two or three chapters max, inspired by a picture by Skating Jesus as you will understand in part 2...

I have led a rather splendid life.



My father is (was?) a barbarian who plundered much of what would be known as Europe but in his late year he sought stability and peace. He secured it with a certain charm but also an iron fist. Those who opposed him were judge and dealt with firmly. I often sat in his court as he condemned yet another man or woman to death… not mercifully but flogged and crucified!



I loved watching the crucifixions but mostly the women’s. They seemed so surprised and almost shamed as they were marched to the hill. What did they expect for standing up to my father?

I tried to get the feel for this and ordered my servants to bind me and flog me in my private chambers.



…It was fun but they really they dared not flog as I would them even if I would punish them for displaying mercy.

As strong as he was even an old oak dies and so did my father. The peace he had held for all the years I can remember quickly failed as the lords over the conquered fiefdoms joined to insure King Arbor’s sole heir would not take the throne.

Primus, Wragg, Admihoek, MontyCrusto, Q. Paul, and the Top Cat formed a coalition to overthrow my ascent to the crown. Their combined forces easily toppled my father’s armies. What the hell do I know about leading an army? I am placed in a cage in the dungeon’s deep cellars that I have never seen before. My fine clothes were torn from my body and I am bound in irons and my thighs soiled.



These bastards are barbarians! I have never been down here in this stench-filled pit yet I know I have agreed with my father to send many here. You do have to keep ‘the peace’, don’t you?

TREE

 

[Barbaria1]

This is a short story, two or three chapters max, inspired by a picture by Skating Jesus as you will understand in part 2...

I have led a rather splendid life.

View attachment 306126

My father is (was?) a barbarian who plundered much of what would be known as Europe but in his late year he sought stability and peace. He secured it with a certain charm but also an iron fist. Those who opposed him were judge and dealt with firmly. I often sat in his court as he condemned yet another man or woman to death… not mercifully but flogged and crucified!

View attachment 306125

I loved watching the crucifixions but mostly the women’s. They seemed so surprised and almost shamed as they were marched to the hill. What did they expect for standing up to my father?

I tried to get the feel for this and ordered my servants to bind me and flog me in my private chambers.

View attachment 306127

…It was fun but they really they dared not flog as I would them even if I would punish them for displaying mercy.

As strong as he was even an old oak dies and so did my father. The peace he had held for all the years I can remember quickly failed as the lords over the conquered fiefdoms joined to insure King Arbor’s sole heir would not take the throne.

Primus, Wragg, Admihoek, MontyCrusto, Q. Paul, and the Top Cat formed a coalition to overthrow my ascent to the crown. Their combined forces easily toppled my father’s armies. What the hell do I know about leading an army? I am placed in a cage in the dungeon’s deep cellars that I have never seen before. My fine clothes were torn from my body and I am bound in irons and my thighs soiled.

View attachment 306130

These bastards are barbarians! I have never been down here in this stench-filled pit yet I know I have agreed with my father to send many here. You do have to keep ‘the peace’, don’t you?

TREE

Wow Tree.... I really loved reading this one ... keep going ... can hardly place blame here ... leading an army is not easy for a girl ... men hardly ever do what they are told to do!!!!

 

[thehangingtree]

Ok, definitely three parts... Here is chapter 2...



I never was at my ‘trial’ though I doubt it would have made a difference. I am washed and made presentable to be brought before consortium of Primus, Wragg, Admihoek, MontyCrusto, Q. Paul, and the Top Cat wearing only a clean cloth wrapped about my waist and heavy irons securing my wrists behind my back. Only my anger outweighs my shame of being brought before them in this manner!



The pompous Admihoek speaks for gang of six. “Princess Magnolia Arbor, your father King Hangus maintained peace through lands not through diplomacy and honor but through fear, retaliation, often at the cost of lives not only those who questioned his rule but also innocent relatives of the dissidents. My colleagues and I have decided that no such reign of terror can happen again and to insure there is no King Hangus II his sole heir must forfeit her life.

“The consensus was that you should be brought to the hill of death and hang crucified until the crows, vultures, and vermin consume the last of your flesh as you father has condemned so many to die in this horrific manner. Lord Primus wished to scourge you in the market square prior to your crucifixion but I have convinced them we must demonstrate we are more merciful than your father and instead you will be beheaded in the square with a single blow of the headman’s axe.



“Outside in the square many of your subjects are assembled to hear your sentence. You may go out and face them with a modicum dignity or the guards will gag you and you will be presented in irons.”

“You are most kind, Lord Admi. I will go willingly” Magnolia Arbor says. The irons are removed and as she looks down at the square a hint of smile goes unnoticed as a plan flashes in her mind.



“Come along, Magnolia” Lord Wragg says to her and she obediently follows him to the balcony above the masses…


Tree

 

[montycrusto]

Ok, definitely three parts... Here is chapter 2...



I never was at my ‘trial’ though I doubt it would have made a difference. I am washed and made presentable to be brought before consortium of Primus, Wragg, Admihoek, MontyCrusto, Q. Paul, and the Top Cat wearing only a clean cloth wrapped about my waist and heavy irons securing my wrists behind my back. Only my anger outweighs my shame of being brought before them in this manner!

View attachment 306142

The pompous Admihoek speaks for gang of six. “Princess Magnolia Arbor, your father King Hangus maintained peace through lands not through diplomacy and honor but through fear, retaliation, often at the cost of lives not only those who questioned his rule but also innocent relatives of the dissidents. My colleagues and I have decided that no such reign of terror can happen again and to insure there is no King Hangus II his sole heir must forfeit her life.

“The consensus was that you should be brought to the hill of death and hang crucified until the crows, vultures, and vermin consume the last of your flesh as you father has condemned so many to die in this horrific manner. Lord Primus wished to scourge you in the market square prior to your crucifixion but I have convinced them we must demonstrate we are more merciful than your father and instead you will be beheaded in the square with a single blow of the headman’s axe.

View attachment 306143

“Outside in the square many of your subjects are assembled to hear your sentence. You may go out and face them with a modicum dignity or the guards will gag you and you will be presented in irons.”

“You are most kind, Lord Admi. I will go willingly” Magnolia Arbor says. The irons are removed and as she looks down at the square a hint of smile goes unnoticed as a plan flashes in her mind.

View attachment 306144

“Come along, Magnolia” Lord Wragg says to her and she obediently follows him to the balcony above the masses…


Tree

Proud to stand with five other such noble and selfless paragons of knighthood. The "Gang of Six", as you put it, are nothing less than the nucleus of a new Round Table, a new chivalric order ... a bulwark against oppression and a bastion of liberty. Princess Magnolia's head is a small price to pay. Sorry love, but that's politics, innit?

 

[montycrusto]

Princess Magnolia's head is a small price to pay.

Having said that, I, for one, would be prepared to consider the possibility of commuting the Princess' sentence to ten years' hard labour and sexual servitude; I think this New Republic should start as it means to go on. Enlightened justice, tempered with mercy.

 

[thehangingtree]

Proud to stand with five other such noble and selfless paragons of knighthood. The "Gang of Six", as you put it, are nothing less than the nucleus of a new Round Table, a new chivalric order ... a bulwark against oppression and a bastion of liberty. Princess Magnolia's head is a small price to pay. Sorry love, but that's politics, innit?

When the next chapter goes up the forum will see the truth of this new chivalry...

Having said that, I, for one, would be prepared to consider the possibility of commuting the Princess' sentence to ten years' hard labour and sexual servitude; I think this New Republic should start as it means to go on. Enlightened justice, tempered with mercy.

Not a chance...

 

[Eulalia]

Enlightened justice, tempered with mercy

With Admi in your gang, you've got a Justice with a temper
who makes light of mercy

 

[Wragg]

When the next chapter goes up the forum will see the truth of this new chivalry...

Not a chance...

Uh-oh.....

At least he didn't put "chivalry" in inverted commas....

 

[thehangingtree]

Uh-oh.....

At least he didn't put "chivalry" in inverted commas....

I should have...

 

[thehangingtree]

Wragg leads Princess Magnolia out onto balcony. When the beautiful princess steps out of the shadow bare from the waist up the idle chatter of the assembled crowd hushes to a low murmur and is silenced when Wragg raises his hands to address them. In a thunderous voice he declares “Good people of the land of Arbor before you stand Princess Magnolia, the sole heir of the late King Arbor. He ruled with a fisted glove executing any dissidents and their families often employing the cross as the implement of their destruction.

“Princess Magnolia has been well training by her father often attending his court to second the crucifixion of your friends and relatives. For these atrocities against the good people of Arbor she is condemned to death. However the consortium is merciful and she will not suffer the agonizing torture of the cross but will be beheaded in the market square on this Saturday.

“But let it be known the consortium respects the good people Arbor and if you wish her life spared she will live exiled in the convent of the Abbey of Cruxton!”

The buzz spreads through the crowd but before Wragg could call for a vote Princess Magnolia raised her voice “Citizens of Arbor I have nothing to hide from you!”

The crowd gasps as Magnolia strips the cloth covering her loins! She proudly stands naked before her subjects and continues to address the crowd.

“I stand before you to deliver the naked truth. Before my father came to power this very consortium regularly plundered your farms, stole your crops, and sometimes even you women! That has not happened since King Arbor came to power. This Wragg distorts our language as no ‘dissidents’ were executed but traitors to your land were indeed dealt with most harshly.

“This consortium wants my head not for crimes against you good people of Arbor but to remove any obstacle to their plunder of our land. I put my life into your hands!”

As the buzz grew even louder as they pondered the princess’ fate, Magnolia stands above the square on the edge of balcony. She holds her shoulders back with her breasts thrust up and out. Outwardly she looks confident and proud but she is praying her bowels and bladder will not purge as she is nervously wondering if this humiliating exhibition is enough to save her.



She never saw what was coming next! Instead demanding her head or, more hopefully, her exoneration, first one man then another called “Crucify her”. The individuals are joined by more and more until the chant rises to crescendo! Wragg raises his hands to silence the square. He asks “Is not Magnolia your princess?”

“We have no princess! Crucify her” one of them yells and the chant begins anew! Magnolia reaches done to get the cloth she had removed as Wragg again raised his hands.



“The consortium has promised to respect your wishes. The afternoon of the next market day Magnolia will be marched through the square and out of the walls of the city bearing her cross to the Hill of Death when she will hang crucified until her flesh is stripped from her bones. She will be hanged as common criminal with no acknowledgement to the status she has held and so abused!”

As the crowd cheered Wragg’s proclamation Magnolia quickly wraps her loins just before palace guards seize her wrists and place them in irons behind her back. She is hustled back inside the palace she had grown up in wondering what has just happened! She is sat in a chair by a window overlooking the square where people go about their business seemingly unconcerned what they have just condemned her to. A woman a decade older than Magnolia pulls her hair off her shoulders while she fidgets with the irons securing her wrists. She says “What just happened, Ulrika?”

“You were so outmaneuvered, child.”

Before she could explain the consortium walks into the room…




Tree

 

[Wragg]

You can't hang that on me. It was that crowd, honest, Guv!

Whad'dya mean, we planted our people in the crowd? As if we would! The merest suggestion is absurd!

 

[thehangingtree]

You can't hang that on me. It was that crowd, honest, Guv!

Whad'dya mean, we planted our people in the crowd? As if we would! The merest suggestion is absurd!

quit reading ahead

 

[RacingRodent]

quit reading ahead

You need to write faster then


Wragg is a quick study, how else could he and co-conspirators fellow patriots have overthrown the heir of King Arbor?

Grant tale so far by the way Tree

 

[thehangingtree]

You need to write faster then


Wragg is a quick study, how else could he and co-conspirators fellow patriots have overthrown the heir of King Arbor?

Grant tale so far by the way Tree

I'm typing as fast as I can with two fingers while having to take breaks to reload the Seagram's!!!!

 

[montycrusto]

She will be hanged as common criminal

Waste of a good dungeon. But, if that's what the people want, who am I to stand in their way?
I can always rent it out to CF for their Christmas party.

 

[Wragg]

Waste of a good dungeon. But, if that's what the people want, who am I to stand in their way?
I can always rent it out to CF for their Christmas party.

I think Mr Tree has this story ticking along nicely, Monty

Come Christmas, we'll be just in the mood for some festivities!

 

[montycrusto]

I think Mr Tree has this story ticking along nicely, Monty

and I think you're entirely too trusting....

 

[RacingRodent]

and I think you're entirely too trusting....

Just hold that thought when Wragg's henchmen unaccountably lock you in that dungeon

 

[thehangingtree]

Magnolia Arbor finds herself in chains in the dungeon in the cavernous basements of the castle.



She has but a week before she is to carry her cross to the Hill of Death and wonders how all this could happen.

As Wragg has suggested in a reply (though denies) the consortium had declared a month-long tax holiday for both merchants and purchasers on market day in the capital of Arbor if the citizens called for the execution of Magnolia by crucifixion. This was not an easy decision to come by as the consortium had agreed to unanimous decisions and the Dutch slave trader is notoriously tight with a single Guilder but getting the treasures of Arbor convinced him to go along.


Tomorrow we will see the ordeal of Magnolia…

I am aware I am past 3 parts but by my standards it is still a short story!!!

Tree

 

[Top-Cat]

This is a short story, two or three chapters max, inspired by a picture by Skating Jesus as you will understand in part 2...

I have led a rather splendid life.

View attachment 306126

My father is (was?) a barbarian who plundered much of what would be known as Europe but in his late year he sought stability and peace. He secured it with a certain charm but also an iron fist. Those who opposed him were judge and dealt with firmly. I often sat in his court as he condemned yet another man or woman to death… not mercifully but flogged and crucified!

View attachment 306125

I loved watching the crucifixions but mostly the women’s. They seemed so surprised and almost shamed as they were marched to the hill. What did they expect for standing up to my father?

I tried to get the feel for this and ordered my servants to bind me and flog me in my private chambers.

View attachment 306127

…It was fun but they really they dared not flog as I would them even if I would punish them for displaying mercy.

As strong as he was even an old oak dies and so did my father. The peace he had held for all the years I can remember quickly failed as the lords over the conquered fiefdoms joined to insure King Arbor’s sole heir would not take the throne.

Primus, Wragg, Admihoek, MontyCrusto, Q. Paul, and the Top Cat formed a coalition to overthrow my ascent to the crown. Their combined forces easily toppled my father’s armies. What the hell do I know about leading an army? I am placed in a cage in the dungeon’s deep cellars that I have never seen before. My fine clothes were torn from my body and I am bound in irons and my thighs soiled.

View attachment 306130

These bastards are barbarians! I have never been down here in this stench-filled pit yet I know I have agreed with my father to send many here. You do have to keep ‘the peace’, don’t you?

TREE

Tree

Top Cat is part of the coalition!




Top Cat Scarface