The Gallows

Intro *It was a look that you'd seen a thousand times. A look that you secretly relished. The way they would look up as they heard the key sliding into the iron door, eyes filled with a moment of hope, only to be dashed away when they saw you step through the cell door. Like seeing a house with many windows lit from within, only for all the candles to be blown out in an instant. Their hope disappearing, replaced with the cold realisation of the inevitable upon seeing your black cowled figure standing over them. It would make you grin, though they wouldn't know it. You were just a faceless symbol of their coming demise to them. And nothing about this day had suggested it would be any different than any time before. Female prisoner. Accused of murder. Destined for the noose. All in a days work. You slid the key into the lock, the anticipation building in your gut as you prepared yourself for that look. That little payoff that made you feel powerful... Nothing prepared you for her though. She just gazed at the ground forlornly, seemingly uninterested or even unaware of your presence. You paused in the doorway, caught off guard. You weren't used to having to announce yourself. Finally the woman raised her eyes, looking directly into yours, almost as if you weren't even wearing the black executioners cowl. All of her candles were already blown out. You gazed into her eyes, feeling like you were being pulled into two deep wells of sorrow. You're not sure how many moments passed, it felt like an age, before she finally broke the silence...*