Day Six-Twenty-Nine: The Price of a Smile

I wonder if there's anything beyond the Neck.

Captain Cedric keeps telling me that we're part of a bigger castle. You know, Castle WonkyTonk. He assures me - with his small, weak fists! - that the king is a very important and busy man, and that he needs all of his soldiers and guards and whatever to keep their minds on their duties. Once the war is done, we'll all be released from our servitude, and be showered with the greatest praise.

I assume the king lives in that tower in the distance. The big one with the hole in the roof. I like to think he's watching over me. Maybe he's got a little telescope that he uses to watch all the executions. Maybe he's so impressed that one day he'll come down and give me an award, all personal-like.

Of course, he could not be there. Maybe there's no king at all. Maybe that tower's just a wooden cutout, put there to make me think there's a king. For all I know, Cedric is made of wood. The whole world could be wood.

But not the prisoners. Not the Neck. Not the lady in white. They're all real. And I think that's enough to keep me pulling this lever.

Captain Cedric brought another group through today, in three batches. All the same thing. All human. I've done all humans before now, no problemo, but before they didn't have faces. Before they were all covered in sheets.

This time, yes, they were still covered in sheets. But one of the sheets flew off of a face during the second batch, and I managed to spy what was underneath. The head bounced out of the trap and fell into the moat, you see.

It was a man. He had a lot of facial hair. A beard, like. (Though the beard was obviously sheared off with the rest of his body.) He looked familiar. But, nah, there are lots of guys with beards.

I vomited when I saw his face. I thought the world was going to end. But the vomit subsided, and, oh, my, the feeling. The feeling was so intense. Intense enough that I didn't care after the fifth batch of people.

Sixth. 

Maybe it was the eighth.

Oh, gods, that lovely, lovely sensation. Birds flying through my brain. And right in front of the woman in white! I bet she was smiling at me. I bet that's what it is. Smiling under her veil. A good woman's smile is worth a billion gold. Just look at the proof.

Cedric tells me we're at war with humans, now. White people today. He was very specific about that. Tomorrow? Maybe a different skin colour. I don't really care. Even if they do have faces, I don't really care. There are more important things than caring.

Smile at me, lady. 

Maybe you'll lift your veil for me tomorrow. And when you do - oh! That'll be exquisite.

Sorry, gotta go. Here comes another batch. I can't wait.

Sincerely,

Dragomir the Executioner