04. Twenty Strokes

Queen Luna Aakifahlynn rolled down the stairs and landed on the gravel and stone path below the steps in front of a crowd of magical beings, some humans among them.

Her aching bones were bruised further as she hit each step on her way down.

And only then did she hear what they were shouting as clear as day.

'PUNISH HER,' 'THE WEAK QUEEN,' 'UNFIT LUNA,' 'UNFIT TO RULE.' And some grunts and cheers of agreement.

And at that moment, Aakifahlynn realized the depth of this betrayal. He would whip her in front of these people, further stripping her of any ounce of dignity she tried to hold onto.

Surely they wanted to punish her, but why? However, at this moment, she wished for death.

She felt empty yet full because of the mate bond. Every hurt, aching, soul-crushing pain and trauma racked her body. The mate bond would offer her a sense of calm and comfort. 

Lies, all lies, Aakifahlynn thought but resigned herself to the comfort it still afforded as she faced her faith.

She tried to sit up, her frail body aching from emotional torture and the man handlings of her beloved husband and mate. 

Her husband, her mate, the Alpha King, she recited again as if still trying to process and reconcile.

As her husband and his mistress descended the staircase, Aakifahlynn's pleading, wary, confused, lost eyes slid to every eye she could meet, these were her people also, and they were cheering him on, his mistress by his side.

'I guess I should have seen this coming.' She thought bitterly. 'But how? How could she?'

Aakifahlynn squinted her eyes, and a feeble hand slowly crept up to act as a visor. It was difficult in the dark to meet their eyes, especially under the glow of the torches they held almost carelessly in their hands, thrusting it in the air as they voiced their disgust for their weak Luna.

The wind was stagnant. However, Aakifahlynn felt the coolness of the night, but that was not why she recoiled into herself as she began to tremble. 

No, it was the trauma of her betrayal. The layers were too much. She prayed to the Divine Moon Goddess that these lashings would be the last thing.

After all her sacrifices? She had sacrificed her wolf, only using the magic in her. She became obsessed with honing her craft to be the best Luna Queen and literally serve her people and husband.

Jairus and Taisiya finally got to the bottom gracefully and stared out into the crowd, and suddenly the cheering stopped, and Jairus spoke, his voice booming out...

"I have neglected my people for far too long, enabling a sick woman, a weak woman." Pausing in his words only to throw a disgusted look her way, his lips curled in a snare.

Facing the crowd again, "And for that, I am sorry. I truly am," a hand rose to touch his chest over his heart. "Just as you deserve a strong Luna, you also deserve a strong Alpha, which is why today, as your Alpha, I am stepping up and doing what needs to be done for this KINGDOM'S SURVIVAL."

He roared, fist-pumping the air, and the crowd went in and uproared frenzy of cheer and shouts of murder. 

Jairus raised a hand, signaling to stop, "We must stay strong. Our Kingdom must live on. Long live the KING." He pumped his fist in the air, and the crowd erupted again, hooting and hollering for their Alpha, happy he was finally making a stand. 

What a joke.

When he shut her a look that promised the night was far from over. Air caught in her throat as she sucked in greedily.

Her magic was so weak she could not even muster up enough to save herself and teleport out of this madness.

So instead, she had to stay here and endure her faith. She glanced up to the bright moon that brought her false comfort earlier and wondered what she did do to deserve this.

Was she being punished for neglecting her wolf? Because to believe her husband could do this to her, could morph before her eyes into someone she does not know or recognize, must be for a higher purpose.

Because she simply refused to believe she was THAT blind.

So yes, to Queen Luna Aakifahlynn, it must be a higher purpose, and yet she could find none.

'What higher purpose advises she must suffer this way and be tormented?'

"Twenty strokes for the Queen, what say you?" Jairus boomed, and the crowd carried on wildly as they jumped and hyped themselves up at his words, chanting 'Strokes, 'Strokes,' 'Strokes.'

"Then it is settled, twenty strokes for Queen Luna.' Jairus's voice bellowed over the lot.

Before Aakifahlynn could grasp what was happening, two bulky arms grabbed her up. This time she knew it was not her husband as he was staring knives at her right now.

She was dragged and held against a pole as they strapped her to a beam, tying her hands tightly above her head, leaving her feet dangling.

Queen Luna Aakifahlynn watched in horror as they prepared the whip. It was a whip that ensured excruciating pain and was considered very torturous.

They rightfully call it 'the switch of horrors.' 

It was made from the material used to make men's rubber boots, shredded and about three feet long with a metal encasing with the Royal Emblem of a wolf's head in the middle of a moon and a star on it, keeping the strips together.

And it was soaked in water for maximum effect on its target. And right now, morosely, that was Aakifahlynn.

It was currently soaking.

Her heart was pumping out of her chest. Aakifahlynn closed her eyes as she wished to pull on her magic again with all her might. Knowing she could not do it did not stop her from trying to escape this hell.

'How long would this go on for? What other form of torture and hurt would he bestow upon her tonight?' 'And, more importantly, why? What had she ever done to HIM?'

And the most hurtful part of all this is that she was not studying herself when she noticed her shortcomings. She had gone to her husband with her ailments, and she was the one who had suggested she step down.

Honestly, that was the start of the conversation when she initially approached her husband, feeling disgusted with herself and her weak body.

Aakifahlynn did not see herself as worthy or fit to lead her Kingdom. Jairus had rushed to her side with an expression of pure hurt that she could suggest such a thing. 

He would never leave her side nor let her leave his. She laughed as she remembered, but it was weak and bitter.

Jairus was also the one who came up with the idea for her to get help. He was the one that gave her hope, reignited that will to do something, and not just step down but fight to lead her people.

Get well and resume her position, not run away.

She guessed she was a fool as she pondered what could have conceivably changed in that space of time.

Was it that he simply wanted her here to make a spectacle of the situation, gaining the people's trust and making way for an easy transition for his mistress?

His ready and waiting Queen to replace HER.

The bitterness of it all was hard to swallow...

*WATAX*

The sound and pain of the whip hitting her back jolted Aakifahlynn's entire body, her mind jumbling in the process. It was a shock. 

She was not paying attention, lost in her thoughts, nor was she prepared.

Before she could process that pain *WATAX*... *WATAX*

Aakifahlynn closed her eyes and stiffened her body with the last bit of energy she could muster as her wails stuck in her throat, and she swayed back and forth with the force of the lashings.

Or she assumed it was because she could not hear her screams. Aakifahlynn knew she was trying to but could not hear her voice among the uproar of onlookers.

She tried to breathe through it. Heaving in chunks of air. The pain was tantamount to a small group of monkeys taking multiple saws to her back all at once.

And worse yet, her whipper was only hitting the same spot.

The ache that ran through her body, stemming from her back, was soul-crushing. Aakifahlynn was quickly losing her will as the weight of her situation weighed down on her.

Aakifahlynn's now dull blue eyes slid toward her husband and his mistress, and he watched her without flinching. He watched and observed every hit, every scream that left her lips.

Every fight to catch her breath under the lashings. She did not see or feel an ounce of remorse or regret.