PHANTASMAGORIC

PATIENCE || Selcouth

selcouth, adj.

not known, seen, or experienced before; unfamiliar.

The settlement of Salem Town, Massachusetts was always peaceful in the mornings. It was something that Patience Whitlock was rather thankful for- the small window of time in-between the sunrise and the beginning business of the day was one that she had largely to herself. There were decidedly benefits to being somewhat estranged from the main hustle-and-bustle of the town, and one such benefit was the fact that Patience was not expected to operate alongside her peers. As such, many of the meetings of the Salem Coven were held in this empty hour. The business that Patience was meant to attend to on this particular day, however, was not the sort that involved the entire rest of the Coven: the information she held was, for the time being, intended only for the ears of the Supreme.

Prudence Mather lived a short distance out of the center of town, for no other reason than that was simply where she preferred to be. Prudence had been a steadfast friend of Blair and Oswald Whitlock's since before Patience herself was even born and, in the time that they had known one another, Patience had come to view her as a woman who led her life according to her own desires. She abided within the societal expectations of Salem, of course–both of them were fully aware of the dangers that accompanied making oneself too much of an outcast–but only just enough to keep her in good standing among the town. She was reputable, just as the Whitlock family was, and so it was of no surprise that Patience went to visit her often. As far as the townsfolk were concerned, Patience simply aimed to repay the kindness that her parents had been shown prior to their deaths.

After all, it was not entirely a lie.

Patience reached the Mather home soon after departing her own, realizing about halfway through that she'd been travelling at somewhat of an anxious, quickened pace. There was much on her mind- these were entirely unprecedented circumstances, and the terrific rumours of 'witchcraft' had once again begun to spread like plague through the Salem settlement. The town was never entirely free of the accusations but, in recent months, they had grown to be all too common. In addition, the most recent victim was somewhat unexpected: a young man, a warlock, by the name of Arthur Van Wirt. Patience supposed that she should be thankful- in the decades that Prudence had served over the Salem Coven, she had seen cruel accusations fall upon very few of her girls. There was a sort of protection amongst the surviving witches, wherein they looked out for one another whenever possible. Seeing as how the existence of a warlock was practically unheard of, however, Arthur had not had been given that same protection.

It had not been too late, thankfully. Arthur had been hanged at sunset and, under cover of nightfall, Patience had ventured to the gallows in an effort to retrieve his body; to see if there was any life left in him. Miraculously, he was not yet dead, and so the witch had returned him to her home with the utmost of discretion. He remained in her home, recovering, and unaware of the journey that she had embarked upon on that particular morning. If the conversation she meant to hold with Prudence did not end up in their favor, then Patience saw no use in telling him of it.

She drew herself up to Prudence's step and knocked cautiously on the door, taking a moment to adjust the basket that rested on her hip. Women could never be too cautious when visiting one another, as the witches of Salem were often reminded, and so Patience ensured that she was never sighted with a fellow Coven member without cause. Today's excuse happened to be a few old dresses which Patience had adjusted the hems of. Easy work, and a bit below her station, but enough to give her reason to visit the otherwise withdrawn Goody Mather. Patience had no wifely duties and, as a result, the married women of Salem often passed their own mending work onto her. In the case of the widowed Prudence, however, it was simply viewed as charity for the older woman.