They led her out slowly, the long progression winding its way from underneath the plaza and towards the front of the pool. Her hair was raven, long and flowing, unrestricted in any form given the missing bands and ties. She was tall, for a woman, stand at a height most men would willingly kill to possess. She wore a smooth drape, cast of a fine blue sheer material that curved closely to her waist and clung revealingly to her petite frame. A long sash of black was tied around her waist, a knot securing it behind her back and two tendrils of cloth flowing down her legs. Her face was marred slightly by wrinkles, the passage of time felt, through yet she had a sense of beauty that few women half her age could ever muster. Despite the cords tying her hands together, she born the faintest grace of a smile upon her subtle lips.
The procession made its way from the cells and past the front of the pool, the two columns of men separating as they reached the large platform erected on the pool's side. The priests filed behind the platform, one on each side until they breeched its length, and only the Head, his following guard, and the woman stepped onto the timber. She took the stairs with grace, securing the sheer material within her balled fists, pulling on it to ensure that she would not walk upon it. The Head and his guard, following her up the stairs, failed for such matters and both seemingly tread upon their garments with little care.
Xx
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Without remorse the guard rear her head back once more, exposing her bare throat to the crowd and leveled the knife to her subtle skin. I cocked my head slightly, the faintest line of a smile etching its way onto my face as I waited in anticipation. The guard paused for the briefest of moments, before drawing his arm back. The tip of the blade kissed her skin, the tiniest of graces, and as it move drew forth a thin trickle of blossoming red. A tense moment passed before the guard allowed his grip to lax and allowed her throat open to the world. The crowd roared in delight, their individual lucidity lost to the salacious convulsions of the crowd.
Despite it all, she stood perfectly still, seemingly oblivious to any form of pain. The wind billowed around her petite frame, the breeze sending the ruffles of her sheer fabric billowing and dancing. Her eyes seemingly bore in an upwards arc, crystalline blue absorbed by the blue-green sky. I swallowed, uncomfortably aroused as I watched her stoic posture. I shifted, attempting to ease my discomfort, while the guard finally took command of her hair once more. Her throat was covered only by a thin overlay of the fine maroon, but from my perch it had to be an ocean. I came close to choking as her gaze leveled with my one, desperately wanting to cry out as she maintained her view.
The moment passed as the guard finally deemed that she had shed enough and, with her hair firmly entrenched in his hands, bent her neck down and lowered her face into the still water. A strained second took command, time slowly to a considerable crawl, as her face broke the stillness and slowly sagged below the water line. To her credit, she kept her pose for what could only be eternity; only after I snapped back did she begin to struggle. Despite his strength, the guard failed to restrain her and she thrashed wildly under the water. A stream of thick bubbles erupted from the depths of the pool and raced to the surface, colliding in spectacular fashion.
The end was brief; the stream of bubbles slowly letting up and her thrashing slowly subsidizing. The crowd continued to roar as she fought, their rhythms outracing her own and their shouts echoing in bliss. Finally, when her reactions ceased all together, did the crowd come as one in a moment of stillness, as they joined her for a final union. I held my breath in concord, gaze trained on her still form as it laid under the water. I swallowed as I watched the guard, breathing strained from his struggles, let his muscles go lax and finally released his grasp upon the woman. She slid slowly from his grasp, going heel over head into the water with a soundless splash. Still for the briefest of seconds, she slowly floated away from the pool's edge and towards the lilies lining the center.
I swallowed, adjusting myself unconsciously and struggling to come to terms with my mother's execution.