Sir. Corwyn Thunbonnum released the fury of his strike. His pregnant maid was unconscious before she hit the ground. “A million to the man who finished the job!” he cried, raising a fist in the air.
The crowd watched as the butcher’s boy shouted for joy at the chance of inflicting pain, charging out of the crowd to be the first to strike. He smiled a childish smile of pure happiness, whooping out loud. Dancing around the fallen figure, the boy closed his eyes Leaping, whirling, the snow white love of killing radiated out, stunning the crowd and even Sir. Corwyn himself at the absolute one-mindedness. Silence fell, blanketing the entrance grounds of the estate in a surreal calmness, as the dance finished, and the boy slid a meat cleaver from his belt.
He raised it high above his head.
“For God’s sake boy, stop!” came a horrified voice from the crowd. An old man, leaning on a stick hobbled through the gap made for him by the people watching. “You can’t mean to kill the poor girl! What has she done? Nothing! Nothing but choose the wrong employer!” pointing at Sir. Corwyn he continued, “This man, this filth uses you to do his dirty work. I won’t have it!” He staggered in front of the woman. “You’ll have to kill me first.”
The boy smiled, the same childlike smile, although filled with something different. Instead of violence in his eyes, there was a peace that brought a strange calm to the old man, standing his last stand.
“Peace, brother. You have truly proven yourself worthy. Among this whole crowd, only a feeble old man stands up for justice. So be it. To you, gentle sir, I say rest. You will follow me to eternal bliss. To the rest of you,” he swept his arm around the circle, his eyes hardening, “I damn you to suffer your own folly, to be ruled by those like him. To worship gold instead of me, to love money and not each other. To find only items sacred and not events that are truly full of wonder like a child entering the world.”
The boy dropped the cleaver and walked around the old man, who was frozen in awe, to the woman on the ground. He changed as he walked, becoming older, stronger, taller. No longer a boy, the man who had tested them lifted the figure from the cobblestones and turned to Sir. Corwyn.
“I take her from you to live in eternal paradise. You have your wish.” He turned and walked away, fading as he did so. Instinctively the old man followed, dropping his cane and straightening as they vanished from view.