"As the law states, Sir John of the Williams family will be executed for high treason against our majesty, the King and Queen. In three days time, he will be given a fair trial and a chance to plead his case."
It was obvious that no true cause of guilt should have been placed upon his shoulders, but the rivalry between Sir John and the monarchy was also clear. For several years, King Bradley III had taken a strong disliking towards John's free spirit and what he considered to be "blasphemous speech"; to an embarrassing point had the rivalry lived on, and whispers of the system becoming corrupt had spread like wildfire across the city.
"Sir, surely you can't believe that this act was the doing of this man?" questioned a nearby wanderer.
"You'll mind your business from royal affairs if you treasure your life, knave."
After the sharp retort, the wanderer made sure to remember his place. In this world, there was royalty, and the rest were slaves.
"Why would the worthless slaves who toil in the fields have anything important to say?" the king would always ask.
"If they actually had even an ounce of knowledge within them, they wouldn't be slaves."
Secretly, the city highly respected Sir John Williams and his optimistic outlook towards the world. They had always offered support while the monarchy continued to punish him for unjustly reasons. This time though, they had gone too far; false accusation of high treason was no simple affair, and it was death that Williams faced on this occasion.
As the date of the trial drew nearer and nearer, the city began to buzz with quiet chatter.
"They've gone too far this time; the king must be brought down!" shouted one man.
"That's right! Sir John has done nothing wrong!" replied another.
In a well hidden area, they gathered and plotted the destruction of the monarchy; for three nights they detailed every single step that would be taken.
"Everybody clear on the plan? The stronghold is the castle; we'll smash it to the ground and force the king to surrender his position."
A flood of cheers erupted from the large group, and they held their homemade weapons in the air in early triumph.
When the sun went down and the clock struck 8 PM, the rebellion began. From within the castle walls, both Sir John and his mortal enemies were unaware of what was occurring. It all became evident however, when multiple guards were found murdered outside the stronghold. Blinded by their rage, the slaves had given up their morals, their pride. Destruction came first, and nothing seemed to matter to them anymore. The human mind is fragile, and the simple idea of rebellion sparked a dangerous hatred that clouded basic judgement.
As the outer walls shook, the structure soon began to crumble under its own pressure, unable to support itself with a damaged foundation. A large boulder descended from the roof and smashed through Sir John's cell, allowing him to escape. He had perfect knowledge of what was occurring outside the walls, but he had no intention of participating. Following an unbelievable sprint, the king's throne was in view. Williams stretched out his left hand and said: "Your Majesty, we must escape 'fore this haven becomes our grave!"
No hand reached back; the king simply dropped to his knees and wept tears of realization.
"I finally realize...what you were saying. Freedom, slavery and those who stand between. Power, money, control, who needs it? It's brought me nothing but loneliness and hatred. All this time, I thought I hated you for being different. Now I realize...I was wrong."
No other words were spoken. Instead, Sir John Williams took his majesty's hand into his own, and gave an expression of gratitude and forgiveness. His final resolution to save his changed king never came to fruition, as the entire castle fell upon them.
It was truly a night of sorrow.