Hangman's Wages

Germany in the Middles Ages: Ulrich, executioner to Count Dietmar of Finsterwalde, finds his workload unexpectedly doubled, when Count Dietmar orders him to hang Anna, a young thief caught picking pockets during the public execution of a notorious bandit. Ulrich feels sorry for Anna, but orders are orders. And so he leads the terrified Anna to the hanging tree, determined to make sure that she suffers as little as possible.
But as he places the noose around Anna's neck, Ulrich finds that she touches his heart like no one before her. But how can he save Anna, when the merciless Count Dietmar has already ordained her death?This is a short medieval romance of 3300 words or approximately 12 print pages altogether.