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The guards, if you could call them that, had a vice-like grip on her arms almost making her cry out.

But she didn’t, she refused.

They were not going to see her cry.

Her filthy bare feet scraped against the cold cobblestones, their footsteps echoing harshly off the stoic walls.

This was it.

The doors burst forth. Her eyes watered and she was almost ill as the cruel scent of decay assaulted her senses.

But the farther she went the less intense it seemed to become.

The cavernous room was both beautiful and terrible at the same moment. The luxurious tapestries, exquisite woodwork and breathtaking frescoes were wasted on her…

Her fate lay at the end of this walk.

Her destruction or her redemption lay waiting with open arms…or were they deadly jaws?

The ‘guards’ jerked her to her knees. With a twist of her arm and a soft cry from her lips, she was prostrate on the ground, the cold hard stones digging viciously into her small frame.

“That’s enough.” a voice ordered sharply.

The guards snapped to attention stepping back quickly.

The girl trembled slightly, both horror and awe seeping from her soul.

It’s Him.

Tears of shame fell unheeded down her cheeks, but she made no sound.

They would not hear her scream.

The voice spoke again.

“Mercedes…please stand.” He asked softly.

Her trembling became violent and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

I’m so sorry. her mind echoed.

“Mercedes…” the voice encouraged. His voice washed over her like a summer breeze and seemed to give her strength.

She moved slightly, then again. In a moment she was on her knees, head bowed, her entire frame shaking.

“Child…will you not stand before your Father?” He asked.

She shook her head as a soft cry of anguish escaped her lips.

“Why?” He asked his voice compassionate, thoughtful.

A sob tore at her throat at His kind words.

“I-I don’t deserve it.” she cried, burying her face in her hands.

“Come.” His voice insisted, “Stand before me.”

The tears flowed freely down her face.

I don’t deserve this.

A voice interrupted her thoughts.

You are my child. That will never change. He soothed.

She slowly picked her broken body off the floor. The tears never stopped as she rose unsteadily to her feet. Her eyes remained on the ground.

Look upon my face. His voice echoed in her thoughts.

After a moment’s hesitation she did.

She looked nowhere else but His eyes, and upon seeing them she almost fell to her knees once more to weep.

His eyes…so full of love and devotion gazing upon her…the wholly undeserving wretch.

Her heart broke at his sad, compassionate glance.

She opened her mouth, her voice breaking.

“Please, you have to know…” she whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

He nodded, “I know.”

Her eyes filled with tears, but her gaze did not leave his, until a dark voice interrupted their thoughts.

“We are not here for pleasantries, we are here for judgment.”

His eyes hardened but they never left hers as He addressed the disembodied voice.

“You will not presume to act upon false authority Basit, this is My realm.” He rebuked.

A man materialized at her elbow, and glanced down her form.

“As you wish.” he replied sullenly.

She tore her eyes away from His, gazing now upon the newest arrival.

He was dressed elegantly, his physique powerful though thin. Classically built with a tapered waist, his elegant pianist hands were strong and firm. Sharp intelligent eyes pierced her soul, reading every mark, every blemish, every sin.

His appearance was handsome enough to take her breath away, but there was something twisted and cruel lying quietly just beneath the surface.

She did not wish to be the one to awaken it.

Basit walked past her, his air superior and disdainful.

He spoke, addressing a group she hadn’t noticed before.

They were assembled off to the side of the room out of her peripheral vision. A stab of agony ripped through her upon laying eyes on them.

She knew them all, as if she hadn’t seen them in years and they suddenly appeared on her doorstep.

Yet she had never seen most of them before in her life…

Life…gone now…today was her Judgment Day.

Her eyes scanned the crowd. Coworkers, friends, employers, relatives were all assembled to observe the proceedings.

She tore her eyes away from them, unable to bear their worried glances. Instead she stared straight ahead.

Her eyes fell upon Him once more.

She wasn’t quite sure who would be harder to face.

“This woman-” Basit spat, pointing at her trembling form. “Has quiet the record. Oh yes, don’t let her innocent face fool you…”

His eyes landed on her, scanning her form in contempt. He strode towards her, circling her like a predator.

“Yes, this girl, has not only disobeyed direct orders,” he paused behind her, “but willingly repeated her offences…”

He leaned into her, his voice finishing its thoughts in her ear.

“Even after begging for forgiveness.” he spat.

She closed her eyes, her emotions threatening to destroy her.

“I give you a memory-one of her very own. This will show just how wretched she truly is.”

The cavernous room disappeared and her torture began.

“Watch.” Basit urged.

Scene after scene changed around them. Memories of her life that she abhorred and loathed to have displayed so openly, they were chapters she would rather have kept firmly locked away.

The ending of each brought both relief and agony to Mercedes’ soul, for she knew the memory was finally over…but there was more to come.

Much, much more.

Each gasp of the gathered peoples, each sob, each cry of astonishment forced her a little deeper. They fell upon her ears like flogs of a whip. Cutting her down, ripping her apart a piece at a time.

She finally fell to her knees, her body unable to bear the suffocating weight upon her soul. She wished to cry out, but she could not…this was her own doing and she would face the consequences of her actions.

The memories abruptly ceased, but the cavernous ‘court room’ (if one could call it that) did not reappear.

Basit appeared front and center, addressing the audience once more.

“You have seen her sins, her mistakes, her altercations. But never have you seen such treachery as this.”

Mercedes froze as the setting around them shimmered, shifting to a dark memoir she never thought she would entertain again.

No, please no…anything but that.

She reached out, “Please, have they not seen enough?” she protested, “Their opinions have no say…why subject them to this torment?”

Basit smiled unpleasantly. “All the more humiliated you become.”

She turned to Him pleading desperately.

“I beg you, please!” she cried, “Do not subject them to my repulsive behavior any longer. I will do anything. I beseech you your Grace, allow me this small piece of dignity?”

His features were clouded in torment, both Judge and Father showing on His face. His cheek wet with tears.

A soft breeze whispered past her cheek, a caress.

“I’m sorry.” he lamented.

Her soul cried out, but she remained silent falling back into place quietly. The never ending flow of tears streaked down her face.

The scene finally changed, and she relived her most tormenting, unforgiving demon. The sin that continued to devour her soul endlessly in its adulterine, poisonous jaws…

She closed her eyes already knowing what was to unfold as the memory continued undaunted.

Disgust enveloped her, consuming her to no end, bombarding her from all sides. Loathing followed soon after gripping her in his clutches so tightly she almost couldn’t breathe. Humiliation never left her, he simply multiplied and double and tripled so swiftly she saw stars.

She collapsed to the ground, Basit’s voice sounding very far away…though she heard every word clearly.

“You have seen it…all of it. How could you do anything but condemn? She is a fraud, a liar, a lustful adulteress…no better than a harlot on the street.

“She seduces with no shame, she manipulates innocents without a thought, lies through her teeth as if it were a passing fancy…”

He gazed upon her, his disgust almost tangible.

“She chose to commit these heinous acts and she must pay the price that is due. This woman must reap what she has sown.”

She almost laughed, the paradox of the Evil One himself quoting scripture, performing the charade of “Holier than thou” perfectly…it almost too much to bear.

She closed her eyes…this was it. Her final hour was upon her. She would be damned and tormented for all eternity for the atrocities that were upon her soul…and she deserved every last second of it.

She lay beaten, defeated. Her Father and Judge looking on in compassion and grace, but He was bound by the laws that He himself had written. She was a fallen woman.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, tender and loving, though she knew not who it was…

Arms were gently wrapped around her, enveloping her fully in their embrace, gathering her up.

Her eyes met His. Her bridegroom…

She cried out, the knife of guilt abruptly pulled from her chest without warning. The weight of a life time of sins was suddenly removed from her soul.

She choked, a shuddering gasp at the sudden relief his presence had upon her.

He pushed the hair out of her face, smiling down at her tenderly.

“Hello Mercedes.” He whispered.

Tears filled her eyes. They were finally together her savior had rescued her as promised. Awe enveloped her, shaking to her core. Adoration shone through her eyes, and He smiled.

Then realization struck, and the horror shrouded her in despair.

“No!” she cried “You mustn’t! This is my burden-” he silenced her.

“What is your’s, is mine.” He said.

Her tears flowed freely.

Basit’s eyes narrowed, “She must pay the price!” he seethed.

Her Prince’s eyes shot to his.

“But if the price has already been paid…there is no debt to fulfill.” He replied.

Basit cocked an eyebrow, “I see no payment.” he dared.

He turned on Basit, His eyes flashing. He rose from his position near Mercedes and strode forward to receive His challenge.

He faced Basit eye to eye.

“You dare to overlook my expense?” He questioned.

“If I knew what expense we spoke of I might be able to tell you.” Basit replied smoothly.

The Advocate reached out, extending His hands palm up towards Basit as if in surrender.

They were drenched in blood.

Basit recoiled as if he had been struck, stumbling backward.

“As I said,” her Shepherd repeated, “‘what is your’s is mine.’ Her sin is my sin, and I have fulfilled her debt.”

He turned back to Mercedes and reached out, his hands pure as snow.

“She is a daughter of God.” He said His eyes glancing towards the seated figure at the front.

He nodded appreciatively. His smile warm and comforting.

“And she belongs with Him.”