THE THIRD EXECUTION

[disregartist]

THE THIRD EXECUTION


[The chime goes. The voting ends. The cuffs begin to blink, and soon enough, the picture on the screen is shown.]

[It is done. Charlotte Aulin, The Bright, has been condemned to die.]

E R R O R

[From the Conductor's seat, she turns pale as a sheet.]

No, that-!

[She slumps back into her seat, staring at her phone, silent. Stunned. Angry, certainly, but definitely stunned.

The Smiling Priest walks back over to the podium.]

It appears the Conductor has not explained all of the rules of the Little Courtesy to you. Shall I, Millicent?

[No response.]

A trial with a dead culprit, successfully convicted, automatically voids. No execution of the culprit, of course. No incentive. But. She did not realize the bomb was not connected to the deaths, as you all did. A rare occurrence of of inadvertent tampering, it does not happen very often in these trials.

She realized too late, of course that her uncertainty doomed the proceedings. In this event, the conviction of an innocent person is automatically overturned, and said innocent is given the incentive by means of compensation for their...inconvenience.

[He flashes a smile.]

As I said. The Drowned Man would not allow you to die tonight, my dear.

Comments

[biddentodance]

....I'm the Vessel of Death itself. Whole thing can't be more impossible than things were-- are in my world.

[He has to try to have hope...]

[disregartist]

That you are, it seems!

[A harsh bark.]

The Azure might dispute your mastery, though.