Mum

It was cold.

Looking at the crowd of angry villagers once again cursing the tied woman, I couldn't help but sigh. I was about to intervene but someone else beat me to it.

"Stop!!" A woman yelled. "Please, stop this now!"

Her shout drowned the villagers' momentarily. Squeezing through the people further down the square, a woman around 30 years old appeared. She reached the last line of people, who opened up the way for her, and finally caught sight of the execution pole. But the moment she did, she stumbled and fell to the ground. However, that didn't stop her, as she quickly stood up and ran as fast as she could towards the tied woman.

"Mum! Mum! Talk to me!" She lifted her mother's head so she could look in her eyes.

She didn't hesitate to hug her, despites the circumstances and the blood-stained garments.

"Yve…"

"Jonas! Untie her, right now!" Yve yelled while she struggled to undo the ropes on her own.

Leather man, or Jonas, kept a serious face while he said:

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Yve. Your mother has been corrupted by a demon, so releasing her would put the whole village at risk…"

Yve barely had time to get angry. She simply spared a glare at Jonas before focusing on her mother again.

"It's me, mum. Did they hurt you? What happened to pa?"

When the mother remembered her husband, she started shaking uncontrollably. Some incoherent words escaped her mouth:

"No. No! Food… Food. He… food! No!"

"Mum! Muuum!! You have to tell me what happened so I can get you out of here!"

"No! Yve, her… Oh! No!"

I could clearly see her eyes. They were full of dread. I might have seen despair reflecting on her retina. Those weren't the eyes of a murderer.

"It wasn't her!" Yve yelled at the crowd. "She ain't done non'!"

I frowned and watched the reaction of the villagers. Not one of them seemed convinced, although Medea had no obvious change in expression.

The younger woman started to get desperate as well, but her hope was rekindled when her husband joined in on the fray.

"Yve!"

"Bam!"

Bam was a short man, but full of presence. He pushed open the crowd and ran towards the pole while not giving anyone else a glance.

He immediately inspected the rambling mother, then stood up and turned to Jonas.

"She didn't do it. Release her this instant, or else…"

"Or else… what?"

"You!!"

Jonas began recounting Mr. Kruger's tale. He seemed convinced she was the one responsible.

"Mr. Kruger over there found Zofia stained with blood just a couple hours ago. Her hands and arms were dark red, but her body was unscathed. He then went on to find the half-torn body of Mr. Ermenis, just a room across. It's clear to everyone that she was the one who did it. It's a miracle of God that Mr. Kruger managed to contact us on time, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to catch her before more casualties."

"Tch. I'll do it myself, then."

"Ah, I'm afraid the mayor told me personally to not let her escape no matter what…"

Jonas readied his mace with practised movements, and signaled to his friends. They unsheathed daggers and encircled the pole.

"Quietly step back from the execution pole." Leather man ordered.

"You clay-brained fools!" Yve angrily cursed but made no move.

"I even asked nicely… You made us do this, so don't blame it on me after you die." Jonas said as he approached, but someone interrupted him.

"Wait!" Medea exclaimed.

Jonas frowned and looked at her with a frown.

"We're a little busy here M'lady."

"They will leave right now."

Jonas only raised a brow, and everyone now looked at Medea.

"I said, they will stop bothering you. Right now." She looked at me this time.

I caught on with what she was trying to do. Feeling intrigued, I played my role.

I stepped towards the pole while repeating Medea's words:

"They will leave, right now."

The policemen flinched more and more as I approached, and only the cursed family was relentlessly staring at me.

When I got really close, Bam raised his arms, in something that looked like a fighting stance. Naturally, I stopped approaching. Instead, relying on the roaring wind to silence my words, I told him:

"Do you want to let your mother-in-law watch her daughter and son die right before her own execution? They will kill you, you know." I sounded quite solemn, since I hid my slight curiosity deep inside.

Bam frowned at my words but didn't lower his guard. Yve was too busy communicating (trying) with her mother to listen.

"Don't you have children to take care of? Think about it. Is your death worth it?"

I didn't know if they had, but I thought I could take my chances here. It would work if they had plans for having one, anyway.

Finally, that made him hesitate. His eyes darted frantically as he considered the possibilities. Soon, he had come to a conclusion.

"Yve, let's go." He grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

"Bam?! No! What are you doing? They will kill me mum!"

"If we don't go, they will kill us too!"

"H-how could you say that? She's my-"

"I know!" He was getting frustrated and impatient. "But think about Helena and Marco. If something happens to us, what's to be of them?"

"I- I- But mum…"

Afraid that they would be attacked any time soon, Bam swoop Yve off her feet and quickly left while princess-carrying her. Yve's yells of resistance could be heard for a whole minute as if carried by the cold winds.

"Tch. Let's wait for the mayor to arrive." Jonas told his comrades and returned to the crowd.

I returned to Medea's side like nothing had happened, but my heart was heavy. Is it really going to end like this?