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Witch Trial

_SauceLeigh
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Chapter 1 - Chapter 1

"How did she escape her bindings?"

"Does this really mean what they say?"

"What should we do..? She's just floating there!"

Staring up at the blue sky the static black dots dancing across my vision began to dissipate. The ringing in my ears had faded to a dull hum and the urgent whispers of people close by was carried on a breeze that licked across my cheeks.

The heaving of my chest had stilled, my breath becoming steady and even, and I began to rack my brain for any memories that could clarify; what in the ever living hell had happened? Why was I here?

A bolt of white hot pain shot through my head and I winced as a picture of the day before came into view in my mind. Celia's smiling face as we hung the laundry out together. White sheets fluttering in the crisp early spring breeze. She hummed a song our Mother had sung to us as children. My sister, where was she now?? Another bolt right through my temple, darted to the back of my skull and seemed to hit the bone at the nap of my neck with a clang. The ringing was back with another image of Celia, this time, her shoulder length waves of dark hair were dishevelled and matted, the soft features of her face contorted with panic and pain, and fear danced in her wide brown eyes. Why did she sit of the floor? Why was she cradling her arm like that?

I read my name on her lips as they moved but could not hear her voice as she mouthed, "Brynne."

Nausea enveloped my senses with a voilence and the image broke apart as I reeled in the water. I dropped my legs down into the murky dimness as an acidic burn built in the back of my throat. My arms struggled to coordinate a tread as my stomach spasmed and cramped and the contents erupted upwards. Bile burnt in my mouth and nostrils as I reefed a mixture of stomache acid and lake water into the aquatic expanse before me. Strings of yellow and green bile swirled and was pulled away by the gentle ebbing of the water.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the pain that replaced the nausea and felt small beads of moisture build in the corners of my eyes. My body ached and my muscles screamed against movement. Had I been caught in a stampede of wild animals and flung off a cliff?

I had to get it together and get out of this fucking lake. I opened my eyes and began to scan my surroundings. A small gathering of people stood on the bank directly in front of me, but they couldn't be the voices I was hearing, they were over 100metres away…

Before I had time to whirl on the noise, heavy steps sounding on a wooden surface approached from behind me and a rough iron grip took hold of my arm. A gruff monster of a man had pulled me from the lake, grunting with the effort, and with a look of distain proceeded to toss me to the floor of the wooden dock. Splinters dug into my palms as I landed face down, my drenched hair splayed around my face stinking of moss and lake weed. It was from this position that I found the origin of the whispers as the man turned on his booted heals and made quick long strides to rejoin a group of people at the beginning of the dock. They exchanged more hushed words occasionally glancing towards me, before a small priest like figure in brown robes made a gesture towards a building on a grassy hill behind them. A dirt road connected to the front gates and lead down to an intersection that split in 3 - 2 stretched to either side of the lakes position and 1 continued straight to meet our location at a small grassy cove. The dock I was still currently sprawled on connected to the land 20 meters away from where I lay.

With what looked like more instructions to the man who had pulled me from the water the priest gestured for the group to disperse and made his way up to the building. Now that I looked at it more closely, it appeared to be a church. A central spire reached from the slanted, gothic grey tiled roof at the point where the 2 sides connected. The triangular cathedral style building connect to two smaller clones on either side.

I shivered as a gust of wind swept by. There was a chill in the air I realised as I noted the suns position. It must have been around mid-afternoon. These small details of the worlds present state seemed to mock me. I didn't know where I was, why I had been in the lake… I didn't know what day it was or who the people at the end of the dock were... Nothing about this situation was familiar to me and every time I attempted to recall any detail I found I had nothing to pull from. No memories to tug on for meaning. Except that I had seen Celia, scared and hurt, calling my name…

What the fuck was going on?

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a now familiar sound of footsteps. I snapped my head up to see the large man stomping his way back down the dock. His fist curled at his sides and dark eyes, fixed on me.