The words fell heavy between them, and the world seemed to shrink around Lucrezia until nothing was left but her own heartbeat and the echo of the white-wolf's whimpering cries.
With a flick of his fingers, the atmosphere seemed to convulse in motion, eliciting a sound, half-scream, half-snarl, that ripped through the courtyard as the wolf's body convulsed between its wolf and human form against the unseen bonds in a sickening yet frantic pace.
"Stop! Please… you're hurting her!" She sobbed, her voice breaking under the strain of what she was seeing. Lucrezia couldn't bear it anymore… couldn't watch it happen.
Out of sheer urgency, she picked up her skirt and lurched forward, only to collide with an invisible barrier sending her a few feet behind. It happened so fast she could barely process anything until pain shot through her shoulder as she landed hard, scraping against the cold courtyard floor. For a moment, Lucrezia's brain twitched, and her eyes widened in shock.
W-What… was that?
Before she could process anything, the lingering echo of a wolf cry stung her eardrums, hurling her into reality. Madelyn..
Shaking and disoriented, Lucrezia pressed her hands against the stone beneath her, and her fingers trembled as she tried to push herself upright.
The pain seared her bones and a strained cry tore from her throat. With her eyes blurry from unshed tears, her knees buckled, then caught as she forced herself into a crouch.
Finally, in a trembling and unsteady manner, she rose to her feet. Her limbs wobbled from the impact, and she swayed, almost hitting the ground once more.
Her skirts were torn, dirt-streaked, and her body slick with cold sweat as she took in the scene again: the convulsing, half-human, half-beast form, the cruel unseen force that held it, and the sickening realization that she was utterly powerless to stop it.
"Please!" She begged, hoping it would reach the unyielding creature as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Please, I beg of you!"
But the wolf's cry only seemed to increase. Oh gods…
Just as Lucrezia attempted to navigate forward again, hands clamped her arms, dragging her behind, but the screams advanced as the seconds went by.
"You'll kill her! Please!"
Madelyn's whimpers grew thinner and smaller as the smell of singed fur filled the air.
"And if I do?" he finally responded, turning to her, those hazel eyes piercing into her skin. "What is one mongrel to me… or to you?"
Lucrezia froze, unable to respond. He was testing her. The suspicions… it grew, and this… this was the test. The so-called entertainment.
So she remained silent, but that silence broke her into shreds.
The atmosphere seemed to curl in pain and agony as the sun hid beneath the thick blanket of the cloud. Lucrezia couldn't bear the pain, the horror, the terror of the scene before her. Those eyes were blurry from tears, couldn't make much out of it except for the painful traumatizing hoot.
As Lucrezia struggled to gain leverage, watching Madelyn convulse between wolf and girl, a memory stabbed through the terror: The sound of Madelyn's laughter echoing through the high tower where she had been imprisoned all her life, a sound that filled the lonely walls with warmth and a reminder that someone had loved her beyond duty, beyond obligation.
Someone who had soothed her fears when her parents locked her away, and who had shared stolen moments of joy when she had been forced into a marriage to protect a kind that cast her. That voice which had always comforted her when the world grew tired and irritated with the existence of a witch.
Now, that laughter twisted in her mind was replaced by a cruel ghost haunting the present, amplifying the helpless ache in her chest as she watched the girl she loved struggle for her very life.
Lucrezia knew she had to do something, but absolutely nothing could be done no matter how much she pleaded. Begged. Asked for mercy.
Something snapped in her chest, spreading furiously like toxin against a beating heart. Madelyn almost lost her life to save her once. She wasn't going to let that happen for the second time, even if it meant taking hers in return.
With a steady, yet unsteady state of mind, her sharp voice rose above the chaos, "Why kill an innocent soul when the one guilty wears silk and bears the disgusting name of your House, Lord Vaeron!"
And the world seemed motionless. The wind stilled, the guards froze mid-step, and even the flames of the pyre seemed to pause, ceasing a breath of cackle as though waiting.
Letting herself breathe, her chest heaving with the release of those words, Lucrezia felt a strange, dangerous clarity settle over her. The fear that had paralyzed her moments before was replaced by something fierce, unrelenting by a defiance that burned hotter than any terror.
She did not know if it would be enough to save Madelyn, or if it would only draw the Lord's wrath upon herself, but for the first time in her life, she refused to stand silent.
Thankfully, Madelyn's screams softened, replaced by ragged breaths. Lucrezia's eyes stung in hot tears, her chest heaving as she watched the screaming ceased.
But it was only short-lived when she caught the creature, looking more worse than the Devil himself—a Sin on mask— turned towards her.
He straightened slowly, the gold of his mask catching the light. "Say that again," he murmured, voice so calm and tempting it might have been a dark prayer.
Lucrezia's voice shook as her heart thumped wildly against her chest, but she held his gaze. She badly wanted to look away, the intimidation, the fear, the weight of it all crumpled against her shoulder;
Raising her chin, "S-She's here because I told her to," Lucrezia hoped her voice was cold, depicting that of her step-sister's. "Because I needed eyes outside your walls. Because I need more than hope… but leverage to dethrone you."
For a long moment, he did not move, and that… that alone caused chaos for her poor soul.
Then, he crossed the space between them in three strides, faster than a breath, and clamped his gloved hand around her throat.
It wasn't tight enough to kill her but enough to lift her onto her toes.
Lucrezia could barely even process what happened. Her heart thumped wildly, threatening to burst at the dangerous intimidation from the creature.
It was at that moment that Lucrezia realized her mistake. Princess Olenna would never admit her actions for the life of a commoner. Her step-sister would never beg mercy away from the hands of death for the sake of another. She would never… never put herself at risk to save a flith, even if it cost their lives.
But she wasn't her stepsister, Olenna—she was Lucrezia. The world might never know the difference, yet that truth came at a cost.
"Are you trying to make a mockery of me?" He demanded in that calm tone that had her heart racing as his eyes pierced deeper than her skin, scrutinizing every emotion that passed across her pale face.
For a moment, she thought to apologize, to right the wrong, rather, Lucrezia's vision darkened by the edges, mimicking that of Olenna's—that unapologetic brash look.
If he was testing her, then perhaps, this would cover his mistake and end his suspicions. "A-Are you… pained… by the truth?" She rapsed in return.
Something dark and unmerciful swirled in those hazel eyes, and for a fleeting moment, Lucrezia didn't doubt her survival this time around.
With a voice older than rage, "Do you think this is funny?" Lucrezia was going to respond, but his hand pressed tighter to her throat and she gasped, swallowing her words as the suffocation clawed its way from her throat to her chest.
She flung her legs in the air, trying to peel off those unyielding hands but it remained impossible. "Do you know what I could do to you for this betrayal?"
Yes… "Y-You'll… kill me instead," she rasped.
Then Madelyn would be off the radar. It would be about her now, and the thought of avoiding his black book seemed more of an impossibility than a hope.
He released her so suddenly that she fell to the ground in a rough unexpected thud.
Lucrezia coughed, clutching her throat, dragging in rough unstable air to fill her burning lungs.
Hot tears burned her eyes, as she struggled to crawl away from the monster, but her strength was against the decision.
"You think I'll punish you with pain?" his voice mimicked false curiosity when he stepped closer again. There was something dangerous in the creature of a few words, and that changed the whole perspective.
Because what looked at her wasn't just a Sin, but a monster without a soul, mocking her for her stupidity. "There are better ways to punish you because you'll watch her die. You'll learn that mercy is a myth, and defiance is not about shouting 'no' but enduring the 'yes'. And you would be the cause of it," he said flatly. "Let's see how much defiance you can endure."