Wicked Cindy

Chapter 2

"How much is this?" my nana asked a little girl with rosy cheeks, doll-like eyes and blonde curls which made her look like a cherub. We were in the town square, nana having to buy some things that she needed for home. It was a good thing that the weather had changed, though it was still chilly. At least it was more bearable than it had been earlier. Maybe the queen wasn’t angry anymore.

"The what?" the little girl asked in a tiny singsong voice.

"This," my nana said, showing the little girl the jar of mint. The little girl runs a small apothecary that sells medicinal plants, spices, oil and flower essentials.

"Oh," she said and looked around as if trying to find someone. "I don't know. My momma isn't here."

"Hmm. When will she be back?" I asked.

"I — " the little girl started to say when she was interrupted by a shout coming from behind Nana Lucinda and myself. I looked in the direction where the cry had come from and saw a lady not far from my age, maybe 18 or so running in our direction.

"Mirabella! Oh lord!" the lady cried out when she reached her, falling down onto her knees to hug the little girl. The lady’s braid was loose, too loose to look decent, her hair sticking out here and there, and her eyes were puffy and red from crying.

"Why . . . what's wrong, Camille?" the little girl asked the lady, who I assumed was her sister. They hugely resembled each other. Camille cupped her sister’s chubby cheeks and stared at her round eyes before answering.

"It's . . . it's momma."

In that instant, I heard a deep voice rang throughout the entire town square. I snapped my head in the direction of the voice and saw practically the whole town gathered around the middle, all murmuring to each other in small voices. My eyebrows drew together, confused as to what was happening and then my eyes darted to the woman in the centre of the gathering. The woman’s body was tied to a stake, her face was covered by her untidy blonde hair which made it impossible for me to see her face. Two soldiers stood on each side of her while another stood at the soapbox holding a rolled paper. My heart was beating so fast that I felt like it was going to lunge out of my chest. My eyes widened as I looked back and forth to the woman tied at the stake and the two girls crying in front of me.

"Nana, what is happening?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. My eyes started to water. My nana looked away from me. The guard started to speak but I couldn’t understand any of the words that were coming out of his mouth. I felt dreadful. The guard's voice, the murmurs, the shouts, everything. They seemed to be just faint background noise to me. All I could hear was the fast and loud beating of my heart, which was trying to break free from my chest.

". . . of practising black magic and hereby declared to be punished by death. Signed by our Queen Cinderella on behalf of King Charming."

I gasped and put both my hands over my mouth. Mirabella and Camille made their way to the gathering and shoved their way up to the front. We followed them.

"Momma! Momma!" Mirabella cried and the woman slowly lifted her head. She looked tired and helpless. Her face was smeared by blood and mud.

"Don't cry, my darling. Momma is okay. Now, go back home. Everything will be fine. I love you, my angel." Her words were soothing, but there was a hint of sadness and pain in her every word. I closed my eyes, I couldn’t bear to see this.

"No momma! I won't leave you!" Mirabella cried out and tried to go to her mother but the guards stopped her.

The woman looked at Camille, her pale blue eyes full of love. A moment passed and then I saw Camille nod. They seemed to be communicating without any use of words. Then, Camille tried to stifle her sobs, turned her back to her mother and carried Mirabella away. I tried to follow Camille and ask her what was wrong, but as soon as I started to run after them I heard a loud shriek. I stopped dead in my tracks and slowly turned around, and to my horror, the woman at the stake was crying in pain as the soldiers mercilessly burned her.