Let justice be done

The sword shimmered for a moment, the soft blue summer sky glinting off its blade. The young girl shook with fear as she looked up at it; her eyes wide open with fear. Slowly, she looked up pleadingly at the young man holding the sword above her head....1

He was angry and he had every reason to. So many people believed that she was dead but it was all a façade to escape from the law and now, finally, justice caught up with her.2

Helen was beautiful, too beautiful to go unnoticed, and the law’s of the land stated that nobody was allowed to marry without asking permission from their feudal lord who had approve of the relationship first and also had the right to spend the first night with the bride.3

Joel, the blacksmith, was young and foolish and deeply in love with Helen who was about to turn eighteen. He was twenty-two years of age and he cared for her, over and above reason. 4

At first, they kept their mutual feelings quite discreet. However, as time went by, their relationship became more apparent and the couple did not go unnoticed to the guards. The guards were the ones that reported that the youngsters could soon be getting married and they had not even consulted their lord’s wishes first in regards to their relationship.5

Joel was strong and rash yet kind at the same time and Helen was so gentle and friendly that everyone could see the relationship between them growing stronger by the day; they were, after all, a perfect match.6

Sir Peter, the lord of the manor, was of the same age as Joel. He had a cold heart, full of lust and pride. He was harsh and unfair and he had heard of Helen’s beauty and had been watching Helen closely, like a gardener watched over the flowers, waiting for them to bloom.7

He was captivated by her, her honesty and bubbly spirit, her heart of gold, her body as slender as the goddess Aphrodite and her angelical voice, everything about her was perfect and sweet and he intended to take her for his bride since the girl was twelve years of age.8

He proposed her then and she refused at the time for she was only a child so he intended to wait until the time was right, until the fruit was ripe, until the girl turned into a woman.9

Helen knew of Peter’s intentions and always talked to Joel about the slim chances that they had to be together. Joel was protective and too jealous to share his lover, too jealous to follow the law. Therefore, Helen drafted a cunning plan. They would fake her death and then run away to the woods where they would seek shelter and share a lifetime together.10

Joel reported Helen was dead, killed by the pests that were so common at the time. He covered hay-sacks and a few stones in her normal clothes and, after a full service and a long procession, her body was taken to the graveyard and laid to rest.11

As soon as Lord Peter was notified of her passing away, he rushed from his castle to the town seeking for a proof that he was not being betrayed or lied to. He wanted evidence that Helen had in fact been laid in the town’s cemetery.12

Joel was devastated, the mourners were crying and Lord Peter insisted in someone partially uncovering the grave. A soldier at first refused for the pest was highly contagious and could be passed from dead bodies onto the living. However, faced with the threats of his master, he started taking a few stones away until some of her usual robes could be seen. They were definitely hers.13

Lord Peter had seen enough, he could not bring himself to seeing her cold, lifeless body and ordered the soldier to replace the stones and leave those resting grounds at once.14

When Peter ordered his soldiers to head back to the castle, away from the town, Joel sighted with relief. It did not take long for Peter to understand that something was not right, something was going on.15

He decided to play the game his own way and just before he left, he turned around to the people and questioned Joel as to the cause of death.16

Joel blamed the Black Death, a very malicious pest, as to the root of their grieving. Everyone cried inconsolably thinking about Helen’s goodness which had been taken from them.17

Peter pointed out that if the highly contagious pest was the cause of Helen’s demise, surely it could not have just killed one resident, many more citizens in that town would be seriously ill too. 18

Joel’s lie had been uncovered and the peasants started looking at each other, pondering about what their lord was telling them, and they turned against Joel.19

Joel was the last person that had been with Helen so they accused him of having killed her. They turned mutinous against the lad.20

Lord Peter, at the peasants’ requests and to re-establish law and order, commanded his soldiers to arrest Joel on the basis of Helen’s death, he was publicly charged with her murder. Murder was a serious crime, one punishable by torture and death.21

With Joel arrested, handcuffed and enchained, the soldiers returned to the castle followed by Peter who sported a triumphantly evil smile.22

Helen stood in the middle of the dusty road fearing the worst to happen. She had to act swiftly for, once the party had reached the torture chamber, Joel’s time was up. He would most certainly hang at dawn.23

Helen was horrified and devastated about the facts that had just taken place; she couldn’t believe that her dream could so swiftly turn into such a nightmare.24

Only one person could prevent Joel’s painful end by revoking his death sentence and granting him pardon. However, this would prove a difficult and dangerous task on its own.25

Reaching Lord Peter would not be easy and, should she achieve to enter the castle and be granted an audience with the lord of the land, he would not easily yield to her pleas. She already guessed that.26

She would have to be brave and come forward to confess the truth to her master and he would be angry at the fact that he had been tricked by two peasants and his feelings had been mocked by the woman he once loved.27

She was determined to find Peter, one way or another, so whilst she was walking and hiding along the cold, dark passages of the castle, she ripped the head of one of the numerous statues of marble that decorated the corridors. She used that as an improvised weapon to hit several sentinels, which she caught off guard along the way, leaving them unconscious whilst she was looking for Peter, trying to reach him.28

After bribing a few guards and servants, Helen managed to get an audience with Lord Peter at the private back garden. It was not a garden full of exotic flowers but more like a private forest, given the huge extension of the lands and the tall trees which covered the area where Peter used to go hunting. There, Helen uncovered her head and showed her face.29

Lord Peter was infuriated, indeed, yet he was determined to keep his feelings to himself and remain calm and cold in front of his guards and noblemen. He had to keep his composure to prove that he was, after all, a fair leader worthy of respect. Loosing control could end up costing him dearly for his followers would soon turn to rebellion if he showed any signs of weakness.30

He ordered his soldiers to bring the prisoner and keep him nearby, whilst the audience with the lady took place.31

He carefully listened to her version of the events and her pleas and, once she finished, he talked to her in a very cool manner, telling the damsel that he would pardon Joel and grant him his freedom back for he was not a blood-thirsty warlord. However, he warned Helen that the person responsible for the treachery would have to be punished to serve as example to the other peasants, should they consider following the same deceitful footsteps. 32

It was up to Helen to decide who the culprit was, whether it was her, her father, Joel or his family. The person responsible would most certainly pay the ultimate price.33

She looked at Joel, his wrists still strapped around the wooden pole that stretched from arm to arm and titled his head forward and downwards whilst keeping his hands up at either side of his body, his bloodied, tired face showed obvious signs of a beating. He was shouting at her desperately, ordering her to just point the finger at him, he wanted to be guilty for he would not be able to come to terms with her death.34

She thought long and hard about it and, in the end, she confessed to being the sole author of the whole ordeal. She did not want to implicate anybody else as it was all her own doing, her own idea right from the beginning. 35

With the guilty party convicted, Lord Peter had no problems signing a new decree which would see Joel walk free. Joel was untied but he was being restrained by soldiers, in case he tried to interfere with justice.36

Pardoning Joel may have been seen as an act of mercy to the common folk, but make no mistake, it was Peter’s ultimate revenge. Peter felt Joel had stolen his property, his love, his reason to live, Helen's heart, and he wanted Joel to experience the very same loss, the same pain.37

At last Helen understood that Peter’s heart was so filled with anger that the desire of revenge totally blinded him and he no longer cared for her any more. Peter was just a blood thirsty monster who would get his victim, one way or the other. 38

Helen loosened her black, long, hooded cape which fell on the floor and walked towards the nearby trees, to a very peaceful spot where the sun shined between the branches and onto the fresh grass. . She was still wearing her white bridal silky dress which made her look as if she was a fairy or an angel. 39

She put a brave face and she knelt down, lying on top of the grass, whilst clutching the marble head, trembling at the thought of her impending fate. 40

Without thinking it twice, Peter took his sword and approached Helen. The sword shimmered for a moment, the soft blue summer sky glinting off its blade. The young girl shook with fear as she looked up at it; her eyes wide open with fear. Slowly, she looked up pleadingly at the young man holding the sword above her head....It was all too little, too late. 41

She submissively removed her long, dark, flowing hair aside, clearly displaying her gentle neck and she closed her eyes and softly whispered "Let justice be done".42

With those few words and one swift stroke, revenge and justice were served.