AN: In no way do I own or profit from Arthur Miller's The Crucible or any of his characters; however, I shall specify when I do create any OC's (such as Sophia Nolan, Margaret Daniels in this chapter).

Also, Hale is about 25 yrs. old in this.. just so you know!

Disclaimer: I do plan to use some text from the play, but it's my hope to write most of it on my own :) Enjoy!

R&R please!

Chapter One - The Reverend's Arrival

Sophia Nolan, 17, ran down the unpaved pathway towards town, holding her crumpled, white bonnet in her hand. Her slightly wavy dirty blonde hair blew in the wind as she hurried to catch up to her best friend Margaret (Meg) Daniels, 16, a distant cousin of the wealthy Putnam family. Sophia, who had moved from England to Salem thirteen years ago, was a confident, young lady. She always kept her head up and, except when at mass, refused to wear her bonnet, preferring that her hair fall around her pale, beautiful face.

"Meg! Please wait! I do not wish to ruin the apron Goody Corey sewed for me!" Sophia called out.

Meg turned around and grinned, her green eyes twinkling with mischief. "Then you should have left it with her at the house!" She sped up her pace and giggled when Sophia could do no more than huff and follow after her.

"Why must we even go to this? I, for one, could care less that a minister is coming to Salem to hunt witches. Meggie, you know that Abigail Williams is not our friend, nor is Betty Parris. If you ask me, I think the whole lot of them deserv-"

"How can you say that? This is serious . . . they're talkin' witchcraft in Salem. Now is not the time for accusin' lest you want to be next," Meg spat. She glared at Sophia with anger.

Sophia sighed in resignation and the two girls continued their trek to see the arrival of the famed witch-hunting minister.

Reverend Hale sat in his horse-drawn carriage, eager and excited to have been called to Salem. As soon as he arrived in the town, he pulled up to the side of the road and began unloading his stuff from the carriage. A man in his mid-forties moved forward to greet him.

"Mr. Hale! Oh! It's good to see you again!" cried Reverend Parris, the selfish, worrisome minister of the town. He took some of Hale's books. "My, they're heavy!"

Hale smiled and, with an air of confidence, said, "They must be; they are weighted with authority."

Parris looked away, a bit scared.

"Sophia, we're here. Look, Sophia! Over there! We've made it on time! Mr. Hale's just arrived!" Meg exclaimed. She began running towards Parris's somewhat elaborate home.

Sophia stopped where she was and looked towards the horse-drawn carriage. Pompous Reverend Hale from Beverly. Plain living, hmph. I'm sure that carriage has embroidered seats and everything!

She stomped towards Parris's house and rolled her eyes as she stood next to the other young girls of the town. They were all whispering in packs and, as usual, Sophia was not included. It was no secret that she and Abigail Williams did not get along well. In fact, they had hated each other ever since Sophia wouldn't take part in Abigail's revenge plots against Elizabeth Proctor. Sophia's mind wandered off briefly as she remembered what had transpired between Abigail and herself, but gasped when she finally glanced upon Reverend Hale, who was mere feet away, greeting several other members of the town. He stood at a decent 5'8 and his dark brown hair framed his face perfectly. He smiled widely, obviously delighted to be in Salem, and his emerald green eyes stared intensely into the eyes of others, as if attempting to read their souls. Sophia blushed as he looked at her for a moment and, for the first time in many years, looked down towards her small feet, embarrassed.

What Sophia did not notice, however, was Abigail's knowing look. The Reverend had gotten a reaction from Sophia that normally did not occur, and Abigail was poised to use this new information against her.

"These are the girls. And my niece, Abigail Williams," Mr. Parris said as the two ministers passed the group of teenagers.

The girls all bowed their heads solemnly. Abigail Williams, however, did not. She was strikingly beautiful, yet, Hale found his attention shifting towards the blonde girl at the far end of their row. He gazed curiously at her, hoping she would look up and show her own amber eyes. He thought he saw her face become flushed but shook his head slightly, ridding himself of the idea. Throughout his entire life, he had not had the time for women since he was thoroughly engaged in his studies and love for God. The odds that he'd find someone in Salem were slim.

As he entered the doorway of Parris's home, he saw another girl nudge the blonde and whisper something in her ear, causing her to look at him with extreme embarrassment.

I'm such a fool! Sophia thought silently. He must think me a fool by now. Oh dear Lord, what is happening to me?


Sorry for such a short chapter! I promise they'll get longer as the story progresses. Please R&R - it would mean a lot to me since this is my first FF (also because there aren't many Crucible stories on here). Thanks :)