"We best walk it, cousin."

"Why?"

"They've got more weapons and troops than I've seen in a
long time manning the fortress walls. Weapons that can kill
from a distance."

Ragnar frowned. "Do you think they're expecting us?"

"No. Their weapons are pointed toward the inside of the
town. But if they see us flying over..."

Ragnar agreed, glad the queen had warned him. "Good point.
We'll walk it."

So they changed into chainmail shirts and leggings, leather
boots, and surcoats that bore the coat of arms for The
Reinholdt -- a little something Ragnar had taken from the
human warlord on his many trips into that territory;
something he'd never mentioned to the warlord's daughter --
and the four males pulled on capes with hoods that could be
pulled low over their heads so as to hide their purple and,
in the Southlander's case, blue hair. Once they were ready,
they headed into town. To Ragnar's surprise, it wasn't as
busy as it usually was. Middle of the day and everything
seemed to be closed down.

"Where is everyone?" Vigholf asked.

"I don't know."

Yet as Meinhard had said, there were troops manning the
towers and fortress walls, but none of them even noticed
Ragnar or his party. Unusual. If their defenses were so
heightened, he'd have thought they'd definitely stop and
interrogate four large and armed males.

The Blue pointed to a street that led all the way across
town. "I hear people down there."

As much as he found the royal useless, he did have the best
hearing out of anyone Ragnar had known.

Vigholf stared down the street. "Should we go around?"

Ragnar's first thought was a definite yes, but...

"Let's go see what's going on. Be watchful. If the situation
looks unstable, we leave. Quick and quiet."

"What if they need our help?"

The three Northlanders turned and stared at the royal.

"If who needs our help?" Ragnar asked. "The humans?"

"Aye."

"Why would we help them?" Ragnar had always considered
himself quite benevolent for not simply crushing humans like
ants when the mood struck him. And although he had to admit
that some humans did serve a purpose, they didn't serve
enough of a purpose to get him to involve himself in some
town drama.

"It may be a bad situation," the Blue argued. "We can't
just...leave. What if women and children are involved?"

Not about to spend one precious second of his life dealing
with this, Ragnar said, "Meinhard."

Meinhard quickly stepped up to the royal. "Remember what we
talked about before we left?"

"Aye, but -- "

"And remember what you promised?"

"But I'm only saying that -- "

"Remember?"

The Blue let out a sigh that made Ragnar contemplate
slapping him...just to make him cry. "Aye. I remember."

"Then do as you promised." Meinhard patted his shoulder.
"That's a good lad."

Ragnar headed down the street. As they got farther and
farther along, they began to see more people. They were near
the baron lord's four-story castle and that's where the
biggest crowd was.

"An execution," Vigholf murmured behind him. "That explains it."

"Good," Ragnar said and pointed to another street shooting
off from this main one. "We'll cut around that way and head
out. By the time they're done, we're through and out."

Ragnar headed off, his kin and the royal following. But he
kept one ear open for what was going on at the execution.
Sometimes, if it was a popular local from town, the
occasional uprising might start and those could turn ugly
fast. He'd prefer not to get caught in the middle of
something like that. Especially with the royal do-gooder
bringing up the rear.

They were nearing the corner where they would turn onto the
next street when Ragnar heard whoever was running the
execution say, "Do you have any last words?"

He picked up his step, knowing that those last words could
really get a riot moving along.

"Good people," he heard ring out over the yard and street,
and Ragnar stumbled to a stop, his chest -- which hadn't
bothered him since he'd last spoken to the Dragon Queen --
beginning to itch again.

His brother and cousin stopped short next to him.

"What is it?" Vigholf asked.

Ragnar ignored him and looked over at the royal with them.
The Blue had stopped too, and when he saw that Ragnar's gaze
had locked on him, he cringed.

Stepping around his brother, Ragnar looked up at the
permanent-standing executioner's block. A fresh noose swung
in the cool afternoon air and a black-masked bull of a man
stood at the ready to do his job.

And there, at the front of the block, wearing more chains
than seemed necessary for someone these humans should at
least think was also human and with two units worth
of men aiming pikes at her, stood one royal who didn't know
how not to find trouble.

With her long dark red hair blowing in the same direction
the noose behind her did, and dirt on her cheeks, nose, and
blue gown, she held her shackled hands out, her big brown
eyes imploring as she said again, "Good people. I beg you to
see the injustice you are doing here. The unfairness. For I
am innocent!"

Hardly.

"What is she doing here?" Vigholf asked, his gaze fastened
on the executioner's block.

"Performing," was Ragnar's only answer. Because that was the
only explanation. She was a dragoness for the gods' sake!
She could blast the entire town to embers without even
shifting to her natural form and yet she let them put her up
there for execution!

What exactly is wrong with these Southland royals?

*****

Keita clasped her hands together and looked up into the
skies above, making sure to angle her head so the crowd
could see the tears glistening in her eyes.

"I assure all you good people that I had nothing to do with
Lord Bampour's tragic death. For I -- "

"Is this going to take much longer?"

Keita snapped her mouth shut and glared into the audience at
her feet. She focused past all those unnecessary guards and
on the one she recognized since it was him that had
interrupted her eloquent soliloquy.

"Sorry," he said, the hood of his cloak covering his
handsome face. "Go on."

"Thank you," she snipped.

Keita let out a breath, looked up at the sky again, and
quickly realized, "Where was I?"

"You had nothing to do with Lord Bampour's tragic death,"
that familiar voice offered.

"Thank you." She cleared her throat. "I am not the one who
has done this horrible deed. I am an innocent! And I beg all
of you," she brought her gaze down and opened her arms as
much as the thick chain between her shackles would allow,
"to save me from this horrid fate that I do not..." Keita's
words faded away and she leaned forward a bit, trying to see
beyond the crowd of men and pikes in front of her. After a
moment, she asked, "Éibhear?"

Her baby brother, towering over the entire crowd, waved at
her and, grinning, Keita waved back. Making sure not to hit
herself in the face with that stupid chain. "Éibhear!" she
cheered. "What are you doing here?"

"Just passing through," he called back. "You all right?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she answered honestly. "Are you going to
stay for the execution?"

"I guess I better so we can bring your body back to Mum."

"Don't take me to her. She'll just spit on my corpse and
dance around it. And being trapped in the afterlife, I won't
be able to beat her within an inch of her miserable
existence. But tell Daddy I said 'hi.'" Keita clasped her
hands together again and said, "Now, where was I?"

She heard her traveling companion clear his throat and when
she glanced over at him, he pointed to something that had
pushed past all the townspeople and guards and now was right
in front of the block she stood upon.

She examined the male. She could smell the lightning that
came from within him, knew he was a Northlander. The blue
hood of his cloak probably hid purple hair -- common among
the Lightnings. But his human face was surprisingly handsome
for a barbarian. Sharp cheek bones, delicious looking full
lips, a strong jaw, and a once battered nose that kept him
from looking too perfect. But it was his eyes that made her
think she might know him from somewhere. They were blue with
shots of silver, like tiny bolts of lightning. They were as
beautiful as anything she'd seen, and Keita felt sure that
if she'd fucked this one, she would have remembered. She
tried to be very good about that sort of thing -- especially
if she fucked the one-time enemies of her people. Since that
sort of thing brought all sorts of problems.

She pointed at him. "Don't I know you?"

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, rather than
answer her.

"I'm about to be wrongly executed for something I didn't do."

"And yet something tells me you did do it. Now get your ass
down here."

"Get my..." Keita slammed her hands onto her hips, the chain
nearly not allowing it. Although she refused to believe her
hips were that wide.

"You need to go away before I get angry," Keita told him.

"I've seen you angry. I wasn't impressed. Tell me, princess,
did you hit at them with your tiny little fists or use that
tail to ward them off?"

When Keita's skin began to itch and the overwhelming desire
to kill everything within a league of her rage flowed from
her pores like honey, she knew exactly who this
arrogant, lightning breathing, worthless scum of a whore
bastard was! "You! I should have finished you when I had the
chance, warlord," Keita told him.

"Should haves. I bet your entire life is filled with should
haves."

"Only where you're concerned. Because I should have
torn your feeble barbarian heart from your weak chest and I
should have danced around you in a veritable orgy of blood
and pain and suffering that would have called the dark gods
to me so they could make me their reigning queen!"

"Keita?" her traveling companion called out lightly.

"What?"

When he didn't answer, she lifted her gaze from the dragon
in front of her. The entire crowd now watched her in horror.

"I could be wrong," her friend said, "but I'm thinking the
'good people, I have been wrongly accused' speech isn't
going to work at the moment."

And whose fault was that? The Lightning's fault, that's who!