Chapter+3+-+Hell+before+Death

//1431 April 1st - May 27th// //My stomach felt like bursting and a vile taste filled my mouth. Mixed with the taste of the fish given to me earlier, it horribly sickened me. But medicine would have to wait, at least, for the time being.// //"Will you, or will you not deny your Voices and submit yourself, Joan?!" a thundering voice bellowed, a cruel aura surrounding his every words.// //I glared back and screamed, "Never! I will never betray God! I will never deny the Voices I have heard that holy day!"// //"Should you refuse again, you may be faced with torture!"// //"Torture me all you vile beasts wish! God will always be with me!"// //"Fine then. Guards, drag her outside!"//

//It was a cemetery, that I knew. It had the eerie feeling of every cemetery I've been through and the distorted voices of those taken by the Devil. By the day, though, I found it quite... a sacred place. It was as if my soul was sensitive to the spirits of those fallen.// //As they dragged me into the building, I could not help but stare at the engravings on the side, displaying the name 'St. Ouen'. That must have been why I had the calm yet excited feeling within my stomach. A saint... I hope one day, I will have enough light to be called a Saint.// "//Do you, Joan of Arc, deny your Voices and submit yourself?"// //I kept myself from groaning. "Must I say it again? I shall never do so."// //Suddenly, a burst of indignant flames flares in front of me and I immediately flinched away. My mind struggled to take in why flames had suddenly came.// "//Should you refuse again, we will burn you with the flames of hell!"// //For the first time in my life, I had actually felt a fear strike my mind. For once, my faith and my resolve had been shaken. For once, I was unsure.// "//For the last time; do you, Joan of Arc, deny your Voices and submit yourself? Should you refuse, you shall be thrown into the pit of flames!"// //I hesitated, staring right into the heart of the flames. Millions of people watched me as I struggled to think. My once resolute will had been shattered into tiny pieces, trying to rejoin and reinforce my will. But they couldn't; no, I couldn't. My single answer could mean life or death.// //If I yield, then I shall forever be humiliated to think of the Holy One again. If I press on, I would die. I hadn't really thought they were serious. It never did seem to me anyway. Perhaps, if I had only been-// "//Answer us now!"// //"I...." I paused, a sad and defeated look spreading itself across my face. "I shall submit. But for it, you must take me to the Church Prison."// "//Citizens! You have heard the Maid! She had submitted!"// //Murmurs from the people drowned out his words, but I could care less presently. As the guards took me again, I silently prayed, "I hope you can forgive me, Father..."//

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