Faerie Faerie

25- Dismal Affair

"Do you believe in the Devil." asked the judge.

The girl tilted her head, her cheeks tear stained, streaked with filth and her hands caked in mud. Phoenix Ixia Tiamat frowned at him, then tried to move her hands. The rope chafed and she was sure they were raw. Why were they doing this? She had to finish the chores before night... the sheep were still out to pasture, the cow needed to be milked for the night, and she needed to tend to the squad.

She didn't know what they wanted. "Of course." she said bluntly. "There are many devils. That's why there's so much turmoil in the world."

"Did you hear her!" the crowd erupted.

"She believes in the Devil!"

"She's a conspirator!"

"What! No!" she cried out, tugging at the ropes that dug into her wrists. One of the farm hands yanked the ropes and she spun and slipped on the floor. She didn't have shoes, and she was in her play clothes. She had been out gathering medicinal herbs from the glen near the river. Her mother was home with her little sister, Lilit was in bed sounding like death was on their door.

"I need to go home! My sister is sick!" She stood up in a rush.

"If your sister is sick, when were you out in the glenn?" the judge growled.

"Wild mustard and burdock! They grow by the river and--"

The judge looked down at her. "Why didn't you fetch the doctor then. He can help your ailing sister."

Phoenix huffed. No one was listening. "Because he's an idiot!" this got a gasp from the room. "Missus Mallory lost her babe to that man's practices-- he'd sooner bleed out Lilit than cure her!"

"Was this a test." the judge whispered.

" 'scuse me?" she began but was once again interrupted when the crowd erupted and the judge slammed his hands on the table.

"You took Miss Mallory's son from this world to test your other worldly powers, is that it?" he boomed.

Phoenix blanched and stared at the man. He never liked her, or her mother. They came to service every Sunday, rain, shine, or hail. When service was out, Lorelai would gather small vegetables, herbs, fruit, and a cut of meat and leave it in a basket for Phoenix to leave at the edge of their property. Once a month, they would leave the a pan of cream outside of their windows.

They were heathens, that dared to come into the church. The judge would have had Lorelai herself tried, but the woman's family would strike back with a vengeance.

"A little halfbreed bastard like you... of course you've already given yourself to the devils... and for that poor babe's soul they've given you great power."

"No." Phoenix felt one of the farm hands grip the back of her neck so she wouldn't move. She stretched her leg and kicked him, hard, in the shin. He let out a yowl, but his partner grasped her and prevented any further movement.

"Your mother's sheep go to pasture and come back unharmed, even though Patrick's flock has already lost two ewes and three lambs this season."

"Mistuh Patrick's herder is a slag; his negligence leads to them being snatched by the wolves."

"Theresa's chickens have dwindled in numbers and she even broke her leg some days back."

"Groundhogs had been on her property!" she wailed. The crowd soon got involved in the blaming and screaming of her guilt. She caused the harvest to be sickly, she made the west well dry up, she brought the sickness that killed Gilda, the ancient woman who lived alone and choked on a red apple.

Then people began shouting ridiculous things out into the court; she was seen running naked in the glen chanting odd things, she cursed Patrick's flock and two hearders saw her, she made potions to turn Melissa and her sister into frogs.

Phoenix stood there, feeling dizzy and panicked. Where was her grandfather! Where was her mother! The room was filled with people that she had known since she was a knee high, but they were no longer friends or neighbors. They were vile, angry, beings who threw insults, spat at and even threw things at her. A horrible chant that started in the back of the room, silenced the chanting and horrified the girl.

"Burn her. Burn. Her."

"Burn the Witch."

"Guilty." her head snapped to stare at the judge and the priest at the table. While everyone else was in a frenzy, she saw a small pouch exchanged hands.

"We find you, Phoenix Ixia Tiamat, guilty of Witch craft and Devil worship. You are sentenced to be brought to Duragnal, where you will be cleansed by fire." the judge said.

Her little shoulders sagged, the pressure from the farm head turned her around and guided her from the center of the room out the door to a cart. It was the same type of cart they used to transfer sheep or hay to the near by towns. There were a few other girls there, some older than herself, a couple were younger.

Phoenix still searched the crowd, where was her family! She heard girls whimpering for their fathers or mothers. She kept searching and her eyes rested on a familiar face. She went to scream to him. He was a Duke, he could fix this mistake, Uncle Grengal could--

She saw the same kind of pouch change hands between her uncle and the priest. Phoenix leaned on a post, another form leaning on her.

When the cart was well out of sight, a woman with wild brown hair came tearing down the road. Grengal did not dodge the thundering strike that knocked him off his feet. Lorelai raged at the news her daughter was taken. She wore a pale lavender gown that she had wore for their visit.

"How dare you." she growled. "How dare you do this to us. Leave." She pointed down the road. "I'll never see her again. I never want to see you or yours here again."

Lyle had been standing a few feet away, his eyes clouded with tears he didn't cry. He was just a boy, barely fifteen, and as thin as a rail. He loved Phinny, and he had sent her off to be killed. And now Aunty hated him. Lorelai's gaze rested on Lyle, and the tears he had so diligently held back, poured out.

"You'd cut us out Lorelai? Your sister as well?" he rubbed his jaw, groaning. The bitch had a good fist.

Lorelai grit her teeth and shook her head, tears falling. "You have taken my daughter," she said levelly, "You have money, land, my loving sister as your wife and still you want more." She spat on the ground at his feet, then kicked dirt over it. "Take that as you will. Leave."

Lyle tried to reach for Lorelai, "Ah-aunty I--"

"Leave Lyle," she ground out, her voice hoarse. "Hug your mother for both of us. She did not lose her child today." Lorelai padded back the path she came, barefoor, hair a mess and mud up to her knees. Wes had Lilit looking better... she still had those two to take care of.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Phoenix lay infront of the fireplace her back to the fire so she could curl into a ball to keep warm. No matter the present state of the castle, she was still at home. She rolled onto her back, conscious of how far she was from the hot bricks and the cooler ones. The sleeping gown she wore buttoned up in the front, but had ties in the back.

She kept the back undone, and for some odd reason felt more at ease. Her brown skin was decorated with scars, one hundred lashes for being a condemned witch. On the left side of her hip, some ways above her buttocks, was a brand she gained from the prisons in Duragnal.

Phoenix was roused awake when she caught the shadow of someone standing over her. She moved for the fireplace poker, when he moved and pinned her to the floor. His hand pinned both her arms above her head and he roughly moved his left knee between her thighs while his right secured her leg between his.

"Don't scream."