A Maiden's Nightmare

Intro

Theodore was born in the medieval times, his mom and dad loved him with all their heart with theodor being the first born.  Long happy days ended after  the king of  Lidraria declared war on the Sepenate Empire. Theodores dad was called into fight in the war.Months went by before Theodore's mother was given news she was now a widow. 

With this crushing news Theodores mom packed up her bags and took him to a far away cottage in the woods. Theodore spent the rest of his childhood in the woods. It was very lonely at times but theodore always had his mother and the bullfrogs by the pond that sat not too far from the cottage. 

As time went on Theodore grew older his mother taught him many things but he learned most from the woods. Food was not easy to get in the winter months and with his mother growing older theodore taught himself how to hunt. His mother would make him small shivs and snares to help him in his quest to find food, hides were used for clothes since theodore had grown out of all his own and the meat cooked fresh every night. Spring brought morning dew and white daisy flowers which mother had loved. Summer brought warm starry nights, theodore and his mother would lay in the soft meadow grass and count the stars while she told him wild stories of the creatchers that lived in the sky. Summer also brought many baked goods bread, biscuits and other baked goods were made from the harvest of the small garden theodore had planted. One of theodore's favorite things to do was get a bowl of syrup from the trees and boil it with mother. Together they would dip small bits of bread and fruits into the warm substance letting it dry into a sweet treat for weeks to come. 

On Theodore's 17th birthday his mother gifted him a blank book for him to write in. Around this time his mothers health and sanity started to rapidly decline. During this time his mother started to practice witchcraft. She had read in one of Theodore's old books an old fairytale talking about bringing people back from the dead. She believed that using the right blend of anything might bring her long lost husband back. This worried Theodore, when she started using most of their foods and spices to use in spells. She often had Theodore drink a mix of random things often leading him to become sick too. 

A month before Theodores 18th birthday he was awoken in the night by screaming coming from the meadow. He quickly ran to see what the fuss was only to find his mother crying in a heap on the ground. Theodore tried to help her back to the cottage but she refused to leave her spot saying that his dad was speaking to him from the stars. Looking up Theodore saw what she was seeing. A shower of shooting stars fell across the sky. Theodore's mother thought it was her husband speaking to her from the heavens. 

Theodore attempted many more times that night to get his mother back to the cottage but she refused to leave. He decided to stay down at the meadow with her bringing soft blankets and setting snairs around them to try and ensure safety for the rest of the night. 

The next day Theodore decided to get help for his mother. She had caught a cold from sleeping outside and it wasn't leaving anytime soon. He built a small carriage and laid his mother in it along with other supplies and started back for the kingdom. 

After a week of walking Theodore made it back to the kingdom. Theodore made it to the outskirts of the kingdom and realized that the only other person he had ever conversed with was his mother. As he walked through the maze of houses many eyes ridiculed him. He stopped next to a woman on the street and asked for directions to a priest.  After giving him a strange look the women gave him directions to the nearest church. 

Theodore made it to the church and carried his mother inside. He was met by a priest and questioned on his strange choice in clothing. The priest also questioned why he had never seen Theodore before. Theodore explained everything to the priest from the day his father died to where he was now. The priest was understanding and began to start blessing his mother. An hour of these blessings went on. After the priest had finished  he told theodore that he needed to bring his mother back every day for a week for more healing since her sole had not been blessed for long. He also advised Theodore to come to church for blessings. Theodore explained that he needed to get back home to tend to his garden. The priest urged him to stay and offered him a spare living space in the back of the church to stay in while his mother was sick. He accepted the offer and became a part of the church.

The next month was a great time for theodore. His mother's health increased significantly. Her sanity didn't though. She refused to leave her room during the day. At night she would make trips in and out carrying something different every night. One of the nights theodore was awoken by the sound of his mother chanting things. While pouring mixtures and crushed urbs all over him. Yelling for his mother to stop the commotion woke the priest up causing him to barge in and see Theodore's mothers book of spells and the rest of the witchcraft she had been practicing. 

Outraged the priest took a nearby bible and hit Theodore's mother on the head knocking her to the ground. 

"what sin! I shall have you burned for practicing witchcraft under his roof!" 

Theodore dropped to his knees begging for forgiveness explaining he was not the one practicing witchcraft and that his mother was old and would come back to the faith of god. The priest grabbed the collar of Theodore's shirt and dragged him out to the chapel making him kneel in front of it.  

"Pray! Pray for forgiveness, speak every word of prayer thy know To rid thys awful sinful ways!" 

As theodore prayed the priest doused him in holy water washing the urbs and other substances off of him.  This went on until the sun slowly started to leak into the windows of the church. 

The next day brought awful events that would be burned into Theodores memories forever. His mother was brought to the town square and tied to a wooden stake. More firewood was laid around her and a torch was lit. A crowd had formed as the priest walked forward. He began his speech with a prayer for Theodore's mother. She screamed chants and spells  they prayed. The pile of wood was lit when the priest started another prayer. Theodore continues to pray as her mother screams from the burning flames melting her flesh. Another 5 min goes by and most of the crowd disperses. Theodore stays in sight of his mother and watches as her breaths become shallow. Sweat lined her forehead as she looked up. 

"theodore thyn sole shall not rest until it breaks"  she speaks before taking her last breath. The priest throws another lit torch onto the fire and an awful smell fills the air. Theodore could not bear the pain anymore and went back to the church. There he kneeled and cried while praying for forgiveness for his mother.