Prologue: Franz
Fulda Germany,1605
It was only for a small second that I forgot where I was. The smell of incense filling the air as I was in the small shrift-room. The priest kept on rambling on and on, speaking prayers in Latin as I looked around the cell. Finally, he asked me a question, and apprehension filled me as he started speaking. "Franz Christian Baner. Did you teach that heretic how to read?"
"No Father."
"Did you ever encourage her Satanic practices and abandon the Lord?"
"No Father."
"Did you ever engage in witchcraft or participate in the worship of the devil?"
"No Father." These responses were coming out of my mouth as if I were trained to say this. I did not know this witch, she was just something that all of Frier knew about. Long dark hair, quite tall for her age and blue eyes so bright that they seemed to pierce the air with some frigid secret. To some, she was a freak, an abomination, and mothers would walk with their children on the other side of town so they would not see her house, for it was believed that whoever looked at her or admired her was a great sinner. I had seen her a couple of times since she was always locked in her room. No one knew what happened in there, but some speculated that she was cursing the town, or feeding her familiar. Rumours had spread that a black cat always visited her room, and was the only one that she opened the door to. But I was maybe the only person to feel bad for her. Always shut up in a room, and unfairly judged by everyone in the town. The priest then asked me one more question,
"Do you know her name?" I could not resist saying the truth, even though it might make me end up burning at the stake.
"Yes. Lady Hedwig Clara von Galen."
"Thank you. You may leave." He waited for me to leave before I stood up and walked towards the church door. I looked back and saw him writing in a piece of parchment, most likely a logbook. I silently walked towards him, hiding behind a pillar where a small bowl of holy water was carved out. I saw the letters slowly flowing and creating themselves. After the priest had finished writing, the words on the parchment said,
"Franz has probably associated with Lady Hedwig. He might live with her since no one I have questioned knew her name. He might have been lying to me, but also, the questions I had asked also did not reveal if they lived in the same house. Must ask the abbot if he can let me ask more specific questions." I was shocked. I did not know this woman, I only had heard of her from an old woman, who called herself Widow Maria. Maria knew almost everything about the town's happenings since she had lived here all her life. Her hair was always kept in a neat bun, and wore rich fabrics with simple patterns as if to not want to flaunt her wealth. She was the plumpest in the town, and some rumours even said that she ate one roasted swan a meal. In short, she was the unofficial matriarch of the town. She had told me that in the large house, a woman of 13 named Lady Hedwig lived in her room, never opening her door to anyone but her cat and servant, who gave her the meals she never ate. Maria said that she had seen her once, and when she did, she was reciting Hamlet's soliloquy, in English. She had read the play just that morning, according to Maria, and it was almost like seeing a miracle when she recited the soliloquy perfectly. I thanked her that day, since she had told me so much that I did not know. But she also told me one thing I already knew. Since the beginning I knew she never left her room, and that she had an almost supernatural memory. But also, there was one thing that I could never tell the priest even if he decided to torture me.
Hedwig was my cousin.