The Innocent defendants

                    Chapter 3

Lord Avide and his companions ran hurriedly down the mountains after experiencing the encounter. They packed their bags and came out of their huts, with their own servants following them and holding their stuffs.

Lord Avide is fuming with anger.

Anais, you bitch. You will regret what you had done to me this very day, and will wish that you have not lived and walked this Earth. I will let you experience my revenge, just so you wait. I won’t let this pass; no one has ever resisted me. Well, except the pretty Elizabeth.

You two will join and be friends, soon. You two suit each other’s fiery personalities.

Wait until I reach my city. You will know where is hell soon enough.

After walking for hours, they reached the city proper, down the mountains. While walking, Lord Avide is already plotting something, planning some shrewd actions with his twisted mind.

Lord Avide and his rich friends bade goodbye to each other, and went separate ways-to their respective homes.

Lord Avide is too exhausted to flirt with the young maids, and he fell asleep when his head hit his pillow. He snored loudly that it can be heard outside his vast mansion.

I will go begin my plan tomorrow, and no one can stop me, even the heavens itself.

No one is powerful than me.

The next day, Lord Avide started out his evil plan: to destroy those who are against his wishes and wants.

Elizabeth and Anais. To put much hurt to their feelings, more burden and guilt upon their shoulders, he will also make their families and friends suffer.

Elizabeth’s students and followers. Anais’ constituents and family.

This will be a good entertainment, a heart-wrenching drama. It has been a while since I watched in a theatre. A live entertainment will be good to the eyes.This will be for free, I won’t pay a dime.  I miss being in a theatre, in Las Vegas.

Being a politician is so burdensome, I should grab some more money. I cannot afford other businessmen to outpace me. I never lost. I will have the last laugh.

“Ugly maid, call Catalino for me. I have an important matter to discuss with him.”

The maid was bewildered and blushed when Lord Avide called her, because he always call the ones who are younger.

“Do not tell me that you are shocked and you expected that I called you because I want you under my sheets? You thought that I want you to get laid with me? There is no way! Get out of my face before I bury you alive!”

The maid got out of the room, and Lord Avide closed shut the door.

The game starts now.

Catalino came outside Lord Avide’s room, and knocked on the door lightly.

“Lord Avide, I am here, Catalino. Can I come in? The maid told me that you called for me.” Catalino said with a trembling voice.

“Come in. I need you to do something for me.”

The municipal hall was flooded by both rich and poor people, and also, the ones from the middle class families. They are all served with delicious foods and warm drinks. They all ate to their hearts’ content.

The rich people sat in the chairs separated from the poor people of France. They despise the poor.

Lord Avide came in a grand entrance, from a separate door held open by his male guards, and he is also accompanied by his militia at the back.

“My dear townspeople, I called upon you here and now, to tell you something important concerning our security and peace. I discovered something scary when I came trekking the mountains in the east. Please, lend me your ears.”

The people fell silent. There is profound silence in the hall, only the sound of rain from outside can be heard.

“It is indeed important that I say this to you, my people. There are hideous creatures living and roaming the mountains, that is why many people who explore the area does not come back to their homes, in this city. They are called werewolves, and they eat meat. They eat humans.”

The people are afraid, some are even crying.

“This is the most important matter now, and our safety lies in our own hands. I ask and implore the help of the strongest men in this city, to capture the hideous werewolves living in the mountains, and punish them for their wrong deeds.”

The men agreed upon themselves. Lord Avide looked at each other, and did not gave a single reaction.

They do not care about others, they only care about themselves and their stomachs.

“Let us climb the mountains and kill those who endanger our safety! We deserve to have a peaceful environment! Let us carry our loaded guns with us!”

“At two pm later, we will go to the mountains, carry with you your guns, and we will all fight for our lives with all our might!”

Elizabeth and her students are the only ones silent amongst the crowd.

“Miss Elizabeth, if the mountains is a dangerous place, why did they all came back in our city, alive, and unharmed? I do not see any scratch at all in their bodies.”

Elizabeth looked at her student, and slightly smiled. She stared at Lord Avide, and Lord Avide stared back. He smiled slyly, and winked at Elizabeth.

I know this is just one of  your plays, Lord Avide.

Just so you wait, my love, Miss Elizabeth. You will meet another bitch like you, later.

After the pandemonium, Lord Avide, with his servants and militia, exited the municipal hall. The people became silent.

It is their first time to heard of the term werewolves.

They are afraid of the known, like Lord Avide. But they are much more terrified of the unknown, because they are afraid too, of the known.

What if the unknown is like Lord Avide? A bad person, without even an ounce of mercy?

They savagely attacked and stormed the mountains with fire torches and guns and killed the humans who dared to protect their homes and werewolf friends. The ones who survived, the strong werewolves, were arrested and detained, along with the herbalists in the nearby towns.

They are carried in cages down the mountains, wounded and heavily bleeding.

Lord Avide saw Anais, inside the cage, with her hair dishevelled and body completely wounded. Her blood is coloured silver.

All the wounded werewolves’ blood are silver, gushing outside their cut bodies.

He came near Anais, and whispered lightly:

“If only you had allowed me to own you, this would have not happened. What a tragedy, this is your own fault. Your families and friends will die because of you.”

Anais bared her fangs to reach Lord Avide’s neck, and the townspeople watched in fear.

“See it for yourself, how dangerous living alongside these weird creatures is. We should stop their existence, now! It is now, or never!”

The people responded in agreement.

“Let us kill them all! No one of them shall live in this world! If we will let them live, we will die!”

“This is urgent, so we should kill them by next week, to cleanse our society, of the devilish acts. We should shun all kinds of evils. The werewolves, who are half-dogs, are a product of the devil, they are only disguised as humans. They are not humans, but just look like us. I have a business trip this week, so it should be scheduled next week.” Lord Avide is holding a scroll with his schedules listed in it.

The people laughed.

“I mean, it is not a business schedule for me. It is for our city’s economy. I should make sure that this city will be prosperous and never be poor for a single time.”

“In addition to that. I order that all the herbalists be executed. They are humans, but employ the help of the devil by doing miraculous acts just for a show. Do not get fooled! Only God can heal, and we, humans, are not Gods!”

The people whispered with each other, but did not disagree with the old governor. They were amenable to what is happening, as long as they won’t be hurt.

 “I hope that all courageous and dignified people of this city, will hold hands with me, towards the prosperity and safety of this place. This meeting is adjourned. ” 

The people scattered apart and continued their chores-selling in the streets, cleaning their homes, tending to their families, planting crops, and serving the rich.

The flyers containing these words are pasted in every street wall in France, and the people themselves dragged the innocent herbalists to the city centre and surrendered them to the authorities.