p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"The wind is icy, whipping across the tiny town, through the crowd that gathers just outside its limits, beneath a tall oak where a wooden scaffold stands, ominous in the dawn./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Most of the town is here to see a witch hang, the rest are either in prison themselves or watching over the prison./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"From the edge of the crowd, Prudence watches the girl, Mary, trembling at the scaffold, her white dress fluttering in the wind. Tangled brown hair ghosts about her pale shoulders, blue eyes wide and fearful./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"She's seventeen and foolish, barely allowed to start her life before it must now end./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"She's brave, but bravery matters not when faced with human terror and fear of the unknown. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Prudence smiles beneath her hood, green eyes fixed on the figure who will drop from the scaffolding in mere moments, and then Prudence will catch that tainted soul, savor its sweetness, devour it with relish./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Mary sees her, screams in terror, and faints. She's revived none too gently with water minutes later and Prudence is beside her, watching. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Are you afraid? /span/emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPrudence whispers, for Mary's ears alone. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"She only whimpers in answer./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Gone is the bravado, the brave face worn as a mask to protect herself from this crowd of humanity set astray. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Prudence wraps her arms around Mary's shoulder's, unseen and unfelt by any save the girl who shakes as the noose tightens./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;""Any last words, lass?" the hangman asks. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;""I didn't mean any harm," Mary whispers. "I didn't."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"The hangman nods, reaching for the lever, and Mary closes her eyes. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Prudence kisses her cheek. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Come into my lair, said the spider to the fly. And you walked so willingly into my arms, dear child. /em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"The floor drops beneath them, and they plunge down as Prudence cackles, Mary's neck mercifully snapping, a quick death, as her soul flies free from her still moving corpse that dances on the end of a rope./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Prudence snatches it, landing beneath the scaffold and walking away, savoring her prize, sipping at the deliciousness that is a soul corrupted. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"She hums, a low keen that makes the birds in the forest take flight in fear. There will be more accusations in the future, more executions, more souls polluted by desperation and fear and religious fervor./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"She smiles, a grin that has far too many teeth, sharp and delighted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"After all, she will make sure of it./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Most of the town is here to see a witch hang, the rest are either in prison themselves or watching over the prison./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"From the edge of the crowd, Prudence watches the girl, Mary, trembling at the scaffold, her white dress fluttering in the wind. Tangled brown hair ghosts about her pale shoulders, blue eyes wide and fearful./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"She's seventeen and foolish, barely allowed to start her life before it must now end./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"She's brave, but bravery matters not when faced with human terror and fear of the unknown. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Prudence smiles beneath her hood, green eyes fixed on the figure who will drop from the scaffolding in mere moments, and then Prudence will catch that tainted soul, savor its sweetness, devour it with relish./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Mary sees her, screams in terror, and faints. She's revived none too gently with water minutes later and Prudence is beside her, watching. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Are you afraid? /span/emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPrudence whispers, for Mary's ears alone. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"She only whimpers in answer./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Gone is the bravado, the brave face worn as a mask to protect herself from this crowd of humanity set astray. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Prudence wraps her arms around Mary's shoulder's, unseen and unfelt by any save the girl who shakes as the noose tightens./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;""Any last words, lass?" the hangman asks. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;""I didn't mean any harm," Mary whispers. "I didn't."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"The hangman nods, reaching for the lever, and Mary closes her eyes. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Prudence kisses her cheek. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Come into my lair, said the spider to the fly. And you walked so willingly into my arms, dear child. /em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"The floor drops beneath them, and they plunge down as Prudence cackles, Mary's neck mercifully snapping, a quick death, as her soul flies free from her still moving corpse that dances on the end of a rope./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"Prudence snatches it, landing beneath the scaffold and walking away, savoring her prize, sipping at the deliciousness that is a soul corrupted. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"She hums, a low keen that makes the birds in the forest take flight in fear. There will be more accusations in the future, more executions, more souls polluted by desperation and fear and religious fervor./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"She smiles, a grin that has far too many teeth, sharp and delighted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Pterra;"After all, she will make sure of it./span/em/p