"Help,Help,Help!"screamed virtually all households in crocktown, never has such plaque visited their town before,all livestock was dead,the water in the well was full of dirt, snakes roamed freely on the street,not biting but making their way through the village in large numbers, pregnant women both due and undue went it labor,all children under four suddenly became lepers,the town was in terror, what sin might they have committed to incure such wrath from God.
"Hey,why are we here acting helpless like we don't know who the curse of our problems are,or have you all forgotten the strangers we let into our town today,that cursed couple and their baby must be behind this..", cried an old man from the crowd that gathered at the town square.
Immediately,torches were lit,the whole town matched towards the inn Lilibeth and her guardians slept,"get those bastards outta here"cursed another man from the crowd.
The old lady who owned the inn seemed to want to protect her guest,she stood still on the front porch ,but then she decided against it,the angry mob might not hesitate to burn her along with her guests.
"Nadia,see if you and the baby can escape through the window,I'll hold them off for as long as I can" said Charlie.
"Ohh Charlie,i know you're trying to be hero and all that,but jumping across this window is as good a death sentence itself" Nadia sharply replied with a grin.
Charlie looked at her, wondering how she was so comfortable in all the chaos.
His thoughts were cut short by a sudden breakdown of the door and in a heartbeat, they were dragged out of the house, Charlie kept insisting on knowing what there crime was,he knew Nadia and the baby were not as ordinary as they may seem but he always waved off the thought of enquiring about it,he had grown to like Nadia and wouldn't like to say or do anything to set her off.
"You, your wife and that baby of yours are agents from the bit of hell and you have brought your badluck into our town, you're lucky we can't kill you lot without the approval of His Majesty,"the town executioner said as he tied Nadia and Charlie to a tree in the middle of the town square,rumor has it that the first witch in the town was burnt on that tree and ever since then, the tree now serves as an execution spot for the town.
****
Back at the royal palace the King received a word that there is a witch and a baby currently being held captive in crocktown,he promptly sent word to the Archbishop who in turn set out immediately to crocktown with the soldiers provided to him by the king.
***
Lilibeth wailed like never before,she tied in a strap around Lilibeths shoulders,the discomfort really got to her,Nadia looked at her,she felt bad she could not protect her from the evil that will soon become her world. For some reason she was certain that even if she and Charlie did not make it, Lilibeth would survive somehow,her destiny was too great to be stopped by mere mortals.
Taking a glance at Charlie,she leaned backward,held his hands and whispered "thank you".She had never known such kindness from any man,her father was a drunk who beat her mom till she died,her brothers sold her to a brothel where she was abused by several men and her pregnancies beaten out of her by the same men.It was after a close call where she almost died from the severe beating and was dropped of on the sidewalk to die that she met Mother Celia,she was taking a work with a priest when she saw her laying helplessly on the floor,Nadia remembered vividly how the priest was quick to dismiss Mother Celia from helping her stating that she had to be a prostitute and her time was up and decided by God, Mother Celia on the contrary paid no heed to the priests advice as she scooped Nadia into her hands and carried her all the way to the Abbey,that was how her new life began, and she has ever since then sworn to protect the ideologies that Mother Celia lived to protect.
Nadia's thoughts were cut short by the sudden move of light nearby,she suddenly noticed that the townspeople had retired to their homes and they were left with the town executioner was was fast asleep,she turned to look at Charlie but he was lost, obviously rethinking his choice of helping a strange woman and his baby.Suddenly,the light flashed again, and suddenly a figure approached them from the dark,this time, Charlie was fully conscious,an eirie air followed the figure into the town square,the figure was a woman dressed in white,she had gray hair ,she looked like she was in her mid sixties,but her eyes were bright as the blue sea and her skin was smooth as if bathed with milk and honey ,she had a lamp in her left hand and with the right hand she gently picked up the executioners knife and cut them loose.
"Come with me"she said assertively as she walked off , Nadia and Charlie looked at it eachother, Charlie summoned courage ,he grabbed her hand ,he immediately felt a chill up to his spine and with he trembled as he asked "and who might you be?" .
"My name is Sabrina, daughter of the house of the seven stars, and if you want to live,you have to follow me now" she responded with a smile.
Nadia who immediately remembered the title as the name of a coven of witches once mentioned to her by Mother Celia promptly followed her ,when she noticed that Charlie was still standing behind,he beckoned on him with a sign to follow suit which he reluctantly did .
As they left the town,everywhere they walked by seemed to be immediately fall silent,the birds would stop singing,the branches on the trees stopped moving,the gate was locked when they got there , Sabrina laid down the knife she got from the towns executioner,she placed her hands gently on the gate and she muttered "Aperuerunt Portman" , and the gate opened gently.
She looked at Nadia and Charlie and with a smile ,she picked up the knife and slowly walked past the gate .
Nadia returned the smile as she followed suit dragging Charlie along by his hand,she was happy,she thanked the gods for sending her a savior,she looked at Lilibeth who was now sleeping comfortably,she smiled and with a finger stroked Lilibeth and her nose, Lilibeth was hers,a compensation for all the kids she was forced to loose.....