Finding the World Chpt 4

21 Sept 18

Shortly after, they were married.

By the time the snows fell, Alfred was asking if she would like to move into his cottage with him. Alas, she had to refuse. Her work with Alice left her too busy to travel the distance that would be needed each day, and some of their slaves required stirring at all hours to let the herbs settle properly to infuse their healing power into the mix.

Despite this challenge, they found time for each other, and by spring she was with child.

Unfortunately, with everything going on, she forgot to keep up one vital act.

Due to her nature as a dryad, her body was not wholly human, and in the spring along with new buds springing from the ground, her hair sprouted the flowers popping up around her tree.

At first, she could pass it off as her putting flowers in her hair, but she kept forgetting. And once, while attending the birth of one woman whose husband normally hated her and Alice, the woman's husband tried to snatch the flowers out of her hair and yelled in rage "WITCH" echoing through the house when he found that the flowers were not placed there but were actually growing from her head.

Despite the babe still being birthed needing minding, Madeliene fled from the house, the man's angry fists following her to the door.

In the days that followed, mutterings cropped up and blew around more than the weather could change above them.

Madeleine could feel her townspeople's anger, but didn't know what to do about it. So she tried to stay out of their way.

Then Sunday came about, and the sermon ringing from the pulpit called for her death.

Alice had been there, and she came running back to warn her to flee.

So flee she did.

Back towards her home, the woods, and her tree she went.

But not quickly enough.

For even as she ran, so too did the mob come chasing after her. And where she ran, they followed. Even as the sky grew dark and a storm brewed in the horizon, and threatened to unleash its wrath on them all, they followed her through the woods.

Finally, she had nowhere left to run, she couldn't keep going. But she had reached her tree, so she ran and embraced her true home.

Just as she was finishing being absorbed back into her tree, the village people arrived, and saw the last of her golden curls disappearing into the dark brown bark and enfolding beautiful leaves.

Of course, this only confirmed the rumours of her witchcraft and all the problems the town had ever faced since its founding were laid on her shoulders, no matter how false or even made up the accusations were.

Five of the strongest men were sent back to the village for axes and cutting tools.

They would burn the witch where she hid, they said.

And inside her tree, Madeleine had no idea how to escape her fate, and so she waited. Her heart slowly turning back to wood along with the rest of her, hoping that by the time they came back to burn her to the ground that she would be as part of her tree again and feel none of the pain.

She had but a few moments left, and thought of all the sweet moments she'd had with her little babe and her husband before finding it too painful and merely hoping that they would find a way to get away from the wrath of the crowd, and save themselves.

Next chapter almost ready to go!

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North of the North