Before (8 page)

She couldn’t go outside and risk seeing Jack. Her forever was
nothing more than a dream now. She felt the ache in her heart at
the thought of what she had lost. It clenched, forcing her to gasp
as the swell of tears rushed into her eyes and rolled down her
cheeks. She hadn’t spent more than a day away from him since they
were babies. When something happened he was the first person she
thought to tell. She missed him so much the intense ache in her
chest only got worse with every passing second.

But one question still bothered her, she couldn’t understand
why it did. Her life had changed so much now that this question was
void, but she asked herself, if Jack had still wanted to marry her,
would she have done it without her mother present? She couldn’t
say. She would have wanted her mother there.

The ache was made ten times worse when she thought of her
mother. She was still alone in that prison. Cora had fought against
her family to try and see her but her grandparents were adamant
that she would be taken too. Trying to fight her grandmother was
more impossible than her mother.

Jack hadn’t spoken to her since the day he’d stormed out of
her cottage after throwing Tabitha to the floor. Why had he shouted
at her? Why had he lashed out so viciously? He’d never raised his
voice to her before now. Did he honestly believe her mother could
tell the authorities about his family?

She sighed. Everything, this whole witch ordeal, was getting
worse. The villagers would believe she was a witch too, they pretty
much believe most people are witches but they had her mother, so
suspicions would remain high. The commoners had lost complete
control and Cora couldn’t see a solution, a good ending anywhere in
sight.

Jack believed that her mother had put his family in the
spotlight but her mother was imprisoned. If she’d revealed the
others to be witches, her plan had failed because she herself was
accused of being a witch. The plan, if there had been one, had
seriously back fired on her mother. Cora was certain it wasn’t her
mother’s plan to do that. Jack was wrong, his stubbornness refused
to let him see that.

Cora knew that her mother only had to use her powers to break
out; they could leave, all of them, and never be found again. Pride
and stubbornness made them want to stay, want to fight it out. If
her mother was to use her power then everyone would know what she
was. She would instantly go to the gallows. At least now, acting
like a commoner, it allowed her time to think of a way out of this.
A way to save everyone she loved. Cora had to believe this was her
mother’s plan because, if there wasn’t one, the outcome wasn’t
worth thinking about.

She walked into her room, the one she shared with her mother,
and saw her wedding dress. It was still hanging against the wall,
waiting for its day. Cora was unsure whether that day would arrive
after the events that had already happened. Her heart squeezed for
what seemed like the thousandth time.

She sighed and walked out of the room. Her grandparents were
sitting by the fire, her grandmother’s hands working their magic on
one of Cora’s dresses that she’d damaged a while ago. Her mother
wasn’t here to stop her from mending it. Cora would do anything to
hear her mother’s stern voice telling her off.

The day was cool for early autumn, the leaves were already on
the turn. She shivered and sat on the floor next to her grandfather
who was reading a book by the fire. The sound of crackling wood and
the insistent tap of needles at work was the only sound.

Her grandparents didn’t leave the house much through fear of
the mobs coming to get them. They were far more fragile if they
couldn’t use their power. It didn’t matter, if the mobs wanted them
they only had to come by force. Her grandparents wouldn’t use their
power, but she would use them to save her family. She would risk
it.

She should have risked it to save her mother. She hated that
this regret gnawed at her. She could have saved everyone. If she
had then Jack would be her husband. They would have fled the
country leaving behind everything, but at least they would have
been together. That was a small price to pay for
happiness.

“
I’m going for a walk,” she mumbled to her grandparents. She
stood up, wanting fresh air and space to think, and walked towards
the door. Opening it, she heard her grandmother clear her
throat.

“
Please don’t go far; we do not want you to come to any
harm.”

Cora nodded as she walked out of the front door and along the
dirt path. She’d specifically not chosen the path that led to
Jack’s cottage. She couldn’t risk seeing him, couldn’t risk
rupturing her already battered heart.

As she walked along the path she could feel the cool nip in
the air that brushed along her bare arms, she hadn’t thought to
cover them and the cool breeze wasn’t helped by the wind that
circled her body, a wind that sensed how uneasy she felt. Taking
deep breaths she tried to trick her element into thinking she was
okay. It didn’t work; she only heard the laughter from
it.

Turning the corner she was faced with three boys and two
girls. She halted, the wind swirled around her faster. Prepared.
The two girls jumped behind the boys and cowered dramatically like
they expected her to do something to them. She would love to
release her element, then they would do more than cower. Cora felt
like smiling even though it wasn’t the time to smile. Why should
she hold back something that defined who she was? Why was it
considered a bad thing?

“
Please,
do not hurt us,” one of the
girls whimpered, her flame red curls danced on her head as she
laughed.

“
Pllllleeeaaassseeee, don’t hurt me,” the other girl joined
her.

“
I’m just out for a walk, please leave me alone,” Cora
muttered.

“
Oh, don’t let us stop you, I fear if we did, you may use some
spell to curse us.”

Cora glared at the boy who’d spoken. She just wanted to be
left alone, why didn’t they understand that?

The boy was taller than his friends. This probably made him
the leader. She noticed the blonde tips of his hair touching his
shoulders as bright green eyes narrowed into slits as they glared
at her. It clicked now. He was the boy that Jack had taken care of
last year. He must have some personal vendetta against her because
he’d had his nose knocked out of shape. He’d also lost some of his
respect. If she remembered correctly, he was the trouser
boy.

The only difference between then and now was the fact that she
didn’t have Jack to save her this time. His words echoed in her
head...
‘next time those boys come for
you, I’ll be ready.’
Jack wasn’t here and
she couldn’t use her element. Her heart clenched
painfully.

“
I don’t know how to curse,” she mumbled as she made a move to
pass them.

The children thought she was being funny but she was being
serious. She didn’t know how to do spells or use potions. Her
mother hadn’t taught her, she only had her element to
use.

The taller boy grabbed her arms much to the surprise of his
friends who stepped back away from her. The boy was either brave or
stupid. She didn’t know which label to give him, yet. She pulled
her arm free, growling. The wind surged around her pushing at
him.

“
Okay, now you’re mad,” the boy teased, “show us what you can
do, witch!”

“
I’m not a witch, neither is my mother!”

She nearly told them she was. She nearly revealed all but she
wanted to see her mother again. If she used her power, her mother
would die making sure Cora was saved. She couldn’t even think about
her mother being murdered, let alone watching at the gallows
helpless, unable to stop the inevitable.

“
We shall see about that!” The boy shouted and grabbed
her.

She felt the snap as her body tried to protect her, the wind
tried to push its way out of her attempting to reach the boy. She
reined it in; she couldn’t let them see her this way. She gritted
her teeth as the pressure to hold back her power became too
much.

The three boys pulled her to the small stream that trickled
through the bottom part of their village. On a day like today Cora
knew the water would be freezing cold, it was unfortunate that no
one had ventured out on this slightly chilly evening. She didn’t
know whether anyone would help her or turn aside and act like they
hadn’t witnessed what was about to happen.

She fought with all the commoner strength she dare muster but
the boys were stronger than her.

“
What shall we do with her?” one of the girls
shrieked.

“
We prove that she is human,” another boy said, his tone of
voice indicating he was proud with such a plan.

Before she could shout out for help, the boy pushed her to her
knees and rammed her face into the shallow water.

Cold water consumed her, knocking the air out of her lungs.
She fought against their hold, pushing with all the strength she
had to get air. Her element wouldn’t help her, it was frozen with
fear, fear that she might actually die. Typical that the only time
she actually needed it, it hid away. More hands pushed down on her
body as the edge of her mind blurred with terror. The burn in her
legs, in her arms, tightened as she sucked back the
water.

Her head was lifted and through the ringing in her ears she
could hear their laughter. She gasped for air, coughing as her
lungs went into overdrive. Before she could gather perspective, her
head was pushed back under the water. She couldn’t breathe, she
could only feel the thud of her heart slam against her chest as it
fought to keep going against all odds. Pushing back the fear in her
mind, she realised that there was only one way to get out of
this.

She stopped fighting.

Her heartbeat pounded in her head, her lungs screamed as they
fought for oxygen. The darkness was creeping in taking away the
panic. She could cope with this calmer state if her lungs weren’t
jumping around for air. It was the burning feeling, like her lungs
were on fire, that her heart was fit to burst, this was the hardest
thing to endure.

This was it, the moment she would die. She didn’t fear death,
she never had. If it came for her, it came. There was nothing you
could do about it. You couldn’t stop living life because you didn’t
know when it would end. Before death took her, the weight on her
body disappeared.

She was pushed over onto her back, her face no longer
submerged in the water. Her lungs squeezed, her heart jack knifed
as it fought to drag in air. She coughed and could faintly hear
their laughter over the buzz in her ears. She felt the thud on the
ground as they ran away from her. She lay there letting her tears
mingle with the water in the stream.

9

9
^th
November 1611

She was sure Jack had heard about her near death experience.
Most of the village had murmured about it. Fortunately, because
she’d given up fighting and had nearly died, the commoners now
believed she was one of them. It was a strange thing to consider
that luck.

If Jack had heard about it he hadn’t come to her, this told
her he didn’t care if she was okay, and the realisation hurt more
than anything, her heart shattered. The small pieces fell like
glass into her stomach. Had he ever loved her? Was he so filled
with hatred that he could switch off his feelings like this? She
knew that the fight between them hadn’t been good, they’d used
their elements on one another, something they’d never done, but she
thought they could bounce back.

After spending seventeen years together, seeing each other
every day, laughing, crying together, she couldn’t understand how
he could just cut her out like this. She’d so desperately wanted
him to come to her aid as he had before, countless times. The
feeling of loneliness sank deep into her bones. She hadn’t realised
until recently how much he completed her life, how much she needed
him. How much it mattered that he cared for her. She had lost her
mother and her best friend in one traumatic day.

She put her weaving down, looking at her hands before she
looked at her grandmother. She sighed.

“
What is wrong, dear?” her grandmother asked, her hands a quick
blur as she continued with her knitting.

“
Other than my mother being imprisoned, my wedding not going
ahead as planned and people constantly trying to kill us, nothing
is wrong.”

Her grandmother smiled in response to her comment. Cora knew
that she always liked her quick tongue.

“
I miss her and I miss him. Life isn’t playing fair right
now.”

Her grandmother’s hands stilled as she looked at Cora. Her
eyes had lost some of the sparkle, her grey curls had lost some of
their bounce.

“
Your mother will be back with us soon and your young man will
see the error of his ways. He will know once his head is free of
the thunderous, black cloud that our family would never harm his
and that our families are always here for one another.”

“
I hope so,” she sighed as the door opened and her grandfather
walked in.