They came before the sun rose.

The soldier's boots sank into the waterlogged earth as they marched into the village. Into my village. There where ten of them, but their faces were concealed by the steel of their helmets and the dense fog that had descended upon us all. All the villagers, still dazed with sleep, were pulled from their huts, then herded to the square like pigs on their way to market.

Their crimes were read aloud so firmly every syllable could be heard, despite the wind howling around us. The decree was just a cracked old piece of parchment, but it sealed all our fates. One old man had spoken ill of the king and had been overheard by a passing guard. A woman was convicted of sealing bread for her sick child. Another for not bowing during the last procession. As for my crime, I was convicted of treason for refusing to sharpen the soldier’s blades. Being the only blacksmith in my village, that small act drew a lot of attention.

All of them were petty things. Whispers, gestures, simple mistakes. But none the less, mercy didn’t exist anymore. Not since the New Order. After reading off our crimes, the captain remained expressionless. With his hand raised he declared, “By order of the crown, under the New Order, justice will be swift!”

One by one we were forced to our knees. There was no screaming. Not yet anyways. The captain drew his sword, gleaming in daylight that managed to break through the clouds. The first man prayed. The second wept as he barely said goodbye to his family. The third simply looked up to the sky. The thuds of heads falling to the mud where quiet but deafening at the same time. The square began to run red as the scent of iron and fear suffocated me.

When it came to Maria, she didn’t cry. She didn’t plea. She stared at the soldiers and whispered, “It was only a loaf of...” before the blade silenced her.

Finally, as the captain made his way behind me, I knew my time had come. It’s strange. In your final moments, you’d think that your last thoughts would be of those you loved. The happiest times of your life. But not mine. No. The only thought in my mind was that as his sword came down, I saw the faces of my people in his blade, and now he must die....