Page 2 of Curse of Immortality
“No,” Maeve shouted in her small, child’s voice when a large, bulky man with a crooked nose and close-set eyes jerked Ellen’s body and adjusted the rope around her neck.
Ellen must have heard the small protest because she raised her head and found Maeve in the crowd, looking straight into her eyes.
“No!” Maeve repeated as her voice cracked from the ball of emotions in her throat and tears began streaming down her cheeks.
Ellen kept her eyes locked on the innocent child and somehow Maeve understood that Ellen needed to look at someone who wasn’t mad or screaming at her.
When the man pulled at the rope that hung across the thick branch of the big oak, the yelling of the crowd turned into cheering. A gasp escaped Maeve’s lips, and her small body froze in place when Ellen’s body lifted from the ground and hung helpless with her hands tied in front of her. She witnessed the woman’s desperate kicking of her legs in death spasms until she didn’t move anymore. Maeve was instantly overcome with guilt for not stopping the execution. Ellen had looked ather, and for a long moment, they had held eye contact. Though Maeve had wanted to run up and tear the rope from Ellen’s neck, she had stood frozen and watched Ellen take her last breath.
“Burn in hell, witch,” Anne spat as all around them, the crowd celebrated seeing Ellen’s body dangling lifelessly from the rope.
The sensation of needing to throw up pressed at Maeve’s throat, preventing her from being able to talk. She squeezed her mother’s hand tighter as tears wouldn’t stop streaming down her red cheeks. Maeve couldn’t tell how long they stood watching Ellen’s dead body before her mother finally pulled at her small hand, leading them away. The image of Ellen would forever be burned in her mind and the powerlessness of not being able to help the poor woman stayed with her as well.
Maeve walked close to her mother, but her mind was clouded from the intense connection she had felt between herself and Ellen. All the way, their mother talked about how satisfying it was to see good conquer evil, but Maeve struggled to find any good in the situation. All she was left with was a deep sadness that weighed heavily on her small body and heart.
Once they were outside the village, everything was quiet except for the sound of birds chirping. Seeing the manor and the stables in the distance made Maeve speed up. She longed for a big hug from her father, who always calmed her when she had nightmares.
“Can we run?” Althea asked and their mother was quick to agree.
“Fine. I don’t have time to walk you all the way to the estate anyway. You know the way to the stables, don’t you, girls?”
Althea nodded her pretty little head.
“Remember what I told you. If your father asks, you came straight from home. Don’t tell him that I let you see the execution of the witch. That has to be our secret.” Squatting down, Anne looked her girls over and adjusted Maeve’s dress. “Remember to be good and do as your father says.”
Maeve nodded and sucked in her lips before building up the courage to ask her mother, “Why did they kill Ellen?”
Anne let out a sigh. “You know why. She was a witch.”
“But how do you know that? She didn’t look like a witch,” Maeve inquired.
Anne straightened her daughter’s hair and used a serious tone. “Looks can be deceiving. Ellen put a spell on the carpenter. He was completely bewitched and wanted to leave his wife and children to be with her. But his wife suspected something was wrong and followed Ellen one night and saw her talking to the devil.”
Maeve’s eyes grew large. “Really?”
“Yes. We’ve discussed this before. You remember what happens to witches, don’t you?”
“Yes, Mum,” Maeve answered and looked away.
Anne brushed her daughter’s cheek, recognizing the fear in her eyes. “You two are such good girls, and I want more than anything for you to experience the eternal bliss of heaven with me and your father. That’s why it’s so important that you stay away from the devil’s work. Thatwitch,” she spat the word out as if it was poison to her tongue, “she was evil and will rot in the depths of hell.”
Anne rose to her full height and brushed her long dress that was so dreadful to wear on such a warm summer day. “Run along, girls, I’ll see you tonight.”
Althea and Maeve nodded before they sprinted towards the nice manor where their father worked for the rich Clifford family.
The dirt road was long and their little legs soon tired from running. When Althea slowed down to catch her breath, Maeve did the same. It was typical of the girls to do things in unison because even though the girls were so young, Maeve and Althea shared a bond, much stronger than many who’d been friends for decades. Often it felt as if they could read each other’s minds.
“Why did you look at the witch when we said that we wouldn’t look again?” Althea blamed her sister because, after the last witch trial, the girls had made a pact to keep their heads down.
“I didn’t mean to. It just happened. I saw the whole thing,” Maeve said in a tone so sad that it made her sister take her hand.
Althea’s gaze fell to the ground as her thumb ran circles on her sister’s hand.
With a loud sniffle, Maeve said, “She was the lady who played with us when Dad helped the miller.”
“Oh.” Althea’s face visibly sank. “I liked her. She was nice.”
Trying to make sense of everything, Maeve concluded. “Well, she must’ve been pretending to be nice since Mum was certain she was a witch. They had to kill her… to protect us,” Maeve said in the hopes that she could convince herself. But the truth was that witch or no witch, what had happened made their stomachs hurt and their eyes water.
