his savior

Today is the day. The day of his execution, the day people from all over the kingdom have come to watch. who is he? he's the man that assassinated the king. Lorek is his name. He was the king's personal guard for 20 years, loyal and true, or so everyone thought. The town, of course, was bustling with anticipation, people closed their shops just to be there to watch this historic event. some others however wanted to watch to give Lorek some final words of encouragement. There are rumors, that Lorek is innocent, that the king's son, the spoiled prince is really to blame and framed Lorek. many people believe this story, Lorek has saved the town from war, he has lead the king's army without hesitation, he has followed every order given for 20 years. Lorek wasn't some ordinary soldier either, he has a gift. You see, all royal guards have gifts, they are found at a very young age, the moment their gift becomes known they are taken to the camps to be trained as soldiers. At the age of 15 they give their oath to the king, to follow orders without question. so why would he break his oath now and kill the king? unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done, the king is dead, the prince has given the order, the execution is inevitable. Talia was one of the people that believed the rumors, she has seen the prince's cruelty and arrogance, his harsh treatment of the people, he is undeserving of the throne. Talia didn't want to watch the execution, she couldn't stand to see an innocent man put to death for a crime she fully believes he did not commit. instead she stayed in her bakery, her little sister helping her to complete some orders. she put the thoughts of the execution to the back of her head and kept busy on the bread she was baking. that was until she heard the sounds of horns and people yelling, followed by the sounds of horses stomping through the streets. she was about to make her way outside to see what to commotion was when 3 men came into the bakery "uh, can I help you?" Her voice was slightly hesitant as the men smirked at her "you can. we'll take everything you have." of course, some low life criminals taking advantage of the situation "can't do that. I can offer you some freshly baked bread instead?" She keeps her voice sweet hoping they will just leave, her little sister was already hiding in the back. "you can offer more than that." one of the men stepped towards her with a disgusting grin on his face, he grabs her hair and she lets out a scream "let go of me!" it was at that moment the door to the bakery opens again and another man entered, but he wasn't here to rob the place. instead he pulled the man off of Talia and knocked his head against the counter dropping him out cold. he then turned his attention to the 2 other men "I suggest you leave." the man is wearing a hood keeping his identity concealed, his hand lazily rested on the handle of his sword. the men size him up for a moment before changing their minds, they pick up their friend off the floor and quickly exit the bakery. "thank you, how can i-" Talia doesn't even get a chance to finish her sentence when the man suddenly dives over the counter and tucks himself underneath to hide himself. she is extremely confused before hearing the sound of horses coming down the road, a town guard entering the bakery "the prisoner has escaped, last seen wearing a black cloak attempting to hide himself, have you seen him?" Talia does her best not to react, glancing down behind the counter, the man puts a finger to his lips asking her not to say anything "I did actually. he tried to hide here but he ran when he heard the horses. he went towards the town square." the guards nods and thanks her before rushing out of the bakery towards the town square. Talia lets out a deep breath and then looks at the man again "you...are Lorek aren't you?" He carefully climbs out from under the counter and removes his hood to reveal his face "yes, I am. thank you for not saying anything. I suppose this makes us even." He goes to leave but she stops him "wait!" She hesitates for just a second "you should wait until nightfall, you'll have better luck escaping under the cover of darkness." He seems surprised by her statement "you will let me hide here until dark?" She nods "yes. I know you're innocent, I want to help." now he has a look of confusion on his face "why?" he asks curiously "because...I think you're a good person. you could've kept running, but you heard my scream and you stopped to help. you couldn't ignore helping someone, you're a good person." She says with sincerity and he smiles a little "well, I couldn't ignore a cry for help, it's not in my nature." She smiles in return "good. so let me help you." she says before turning her attention the back of the bakery as her sister comes out, her blues eyes glowing as she steps towards Lorek "He can set things right. I see it. I can see his future." Talia quickly shushes her sister and tries to rush her into the back "she has a gift..." Lorek is very surprised by this "why is she not in one of the camps?" Talia sighs and looks at her sister again "My parents made me promise, before they died, to keep Layla hidden, they didn't want her to be taken away and put into one of those awful places, taken from her family." she says a bit coldly and Lorek simply nods "fair enough. your secret is safe with me." He puts his attention on Layla now "tell me, your gift, you see things that haven't happened yet?" Layla nods shyly "bits and pieces, but it's never set in stone, people make choices that change the outcome." Talia lets out a soft sigh "she's only 12, please, don't tell anyone." Lorek gives her another smile "like I said, your secret is safe with me." She seems relieved by that "you can hide in the back until it gets dark, and then, I will help you get out of town." He nods to her and goes into the back sitting in a chair where he leans back and closes his eyes to rest a bit. "what did you see?" Talia asks Layla curiously "I saw him killing the prince." Talia almost smiles at that "well, let's hope we can help him escape then. but for now, let's get back to work."