Sorry I took so long posting Chapter 3. I hope it was worth the wait. Oh, the reason I had to repost Chapter 2 is because I accidentally had written that Rayellen is the one who jumps up and yells "No!" when I meant for that to be Elizabeth. Not sure why I did that, and I'm sorry if it was confusing. Oh well, on with the story!

The trees that lined the hillsides were barren; their limbs stretching upward like twisted, naked arms. The leaves had long since fallen and their remnants were scattered across the brown floor of the hills as a chilling wind whipped through, pushing fall aside to make way for winter. Everything was the same as it usually was this time of year – as if nothing had ever changed.

Elizabeth was standing in the yard of her childhood home as she studied the scene around her. Despite the barren appearance, there was a stark beauty to the hills and a certain connection she felt with her surroundings. She had come home, but why didn't she feel any happier?

Perhaps it was because all that had happened recently. When Robert had pointed the gun at Rayellen, she had panicked and tried to pull it out of his hand. It had gone off with a thunderous boom and Robert had cried out in sync. Looking down, she had seen the blood began to leak from his brown, worn boot as the truth slammed home – Robert had shot himself in the foot. She hadn't been sure what to do – his injury probably wasn't life threatening but she had to do something to help him and Rayellen had begun to scream.

Finally, she had been able to focus and she had jerked the boot from her bleeding husband's foot and roughly wrapped a nearby towel around it. Applying pressure, she had managed to stop the bleeding, but as she looked up into Robert's eyes she knew that their life together was over. Even before he had told her to leave, she had already known.

So, now she was standing here in the front yard just staring at her parent's tiny home as her mind drifted. She had come home, but still she knew it wouldn't be the same. Nothing ever is. Gathering up her courage, she walked up to the front door and knocked softly.

At first, she didn't hear anyone coming to answer the door so she raised her hand to knock once more. That's when she heard the soft, shuffling of footsteps from inside and slowly the door opened so that she found herself looking into the tired, wrinkled face of her father.

Martin Taylor had never been a big man and it seemed as if time had shrunk him. Elizabeth, who was 5'3", was only about ½ inch shorter. His hair was still black as were his eyes – gifts from his grandmother who had been Cherokee, but his face was crisscrossed with wrinkles that aged him even beyond his years. "Lizbeth," he said, sounding slightly surprised, "What are ya…" he began, but then seemed to change his mind. "It's good to see ya. Come in." He turned and started walking back towards the front room as Elizabeth followed. "Look whose come ta visit, Rosie," he said.

His wife, Rosalee, stepped into the room and seemed as surprised at Martin to see Elizabeth. Like her husband, she was a small individual – not quite 5' in her shoes, but while Martin had a slender build, she was a little overweight. "It's been too long," she said, "Are ya okay?"

Elizabeth nodded slightly and tried to smile. Just then, Rayellen awoke from her nap and squirmed in her mother's arms. Elizabeth had covered the baby in a blanket to protect her from the cold, so her parents had yet to see her. Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth pulled the blanket away revealing Rayellen's tired, blue face.

For a moment, no one said anything as Rayellen yawned slightly and looked at the grandparents she had never seen before. She smiled at them and, to Elizabeth at least, her smile was nothing short of radiant.

Finally, Rosalee broke the silence. "There's food on the stove if ya hungry," she said.

Tears came to Elizabeth's eyes because she knew that this was her mother's way of saying she was welcome to stay. "Thanks," she whispered.

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Rosalee and Martin Taylor were fairly well-known in the community. However, it was a small community, so no one was exactly a stranger. Still, the Taylors were liked by many of their neighbors and, in fact, most everyone called them Mamaw and Papaw Taylor. Everyone knew that if you needed help, Mamaw or Papaw would do all they could for you.

Yet, when Elizabeth suddenly returned home that day with Rayellen, the Taylors suddenly became the middle of one of the biggest scandals of the decade. Robert had also returned home and he had quite a story to tell to anyone that would listen. The story had slipped through the state on quite nimble feet, growing steadily larger by it time it reached the friends and neighbors of the Taylors. According to the rumors, Elizabeth had given birth to a strange child and then, a few months later, had shot her husband. Everyone knew the part about the strange child was correct - they had seen the oddly blue Rayellen or knew someone who had, so it was assumed the rest was correct as well.

The rumors grew wilder as odd occurrences began to blamed on the 'blue youngin,' as Rayellen had come to be known. In an area that was both deeply religious and superstitious, the supposed causes became darker forces as some were now convinced that Elizabeth had committed some great sin that was being reflected through Rayellen. It was whispered that Elizabeth had 'laid with the devil' or the child was a product of witchcraft.

Elizabeth knew of the rumors, but still fought to hold her head high. She could have told them the truth about what had happened the night that Robert was shot, but she knew that it wouldn't do any good. People believe what they want to believe.

However, she didn't realize how bad it was until one Sunday when she decided to take Rayellen with her to church. It was normal practice for young mothers to take their children, but so far very little about their lives had been normal. Still, Elizabeth had always believed that church was the place you needed to be when things were going bad and she enjoyed going - at least she always had before.

The moment she stepped through the door, every eye turned towards her and soft conversations ceased completely. Elizabeth held her breath as she stepped inside, carrying Rayellen in her arms. She kept her eyes focused on the altar and away from the curious stares as she made her way to where he mother was already sitting. Slowly, the conversations around them began once more, but Elizabeth heard her name being whispered around her. As some members began to make their way about the room to shake hands, they seemed to avoid Elizabeth or, if they did shake her hand, their eyes were focused on Rayellen. Never before had Elizabeth felt so horribly out of place at church, but she hoped the feeling would fade once the preaching started.

After singing a few songs, the first preacher began to speak. He was just really getting into the spirit and Elizabeth, for the first time in far too long, could feel relief and happiness surge through her body, when Rayellen suddenly cried out. Softly at first, but slowly her cry became louder. It wasn't unusual, especially for a child that wasn't accustomed to church. Had it been any other child, most would have looked at the mother sympathetically, but this was the 'blue youngin.' People turned around but their looks were anything but sympathetic. They appeared angry and even a bit scared.

Yet, strangely some almost seemed pleased by the outburst.

Barely suppressing her own tears, Elizabeth jumped to her feet and started to run from the church. Just as she reached the door, one voice, which was just loud enough to carry through the church, reached her ears.

"Why, she can't even stand to hear the Lord's word," a woman's voice hissed.

Elizabeth turned, prepared to confront the speaker but only found herself staring into a sea of hostile faces. Her mother was still sitting there, her eyes glistening with silent tears but it seemed that even she couldn't make eye contact with her daughter.

Realizing that there was no use in a confrontation here, Elizabeth pivoted back towards the door and made her way into the diluted sunshine.

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Elizabeth was sitting on the front porch crying when her mother arrived home. "I'm sorry," Rosalee apologized.

"Why didn't ya say somethin'?" Elizabeth demanded, "What didn't ya defend me?"

Rosalee sighed as she sat down beside her. "I guess I should have," she admitted, "I know things hadn't been easy for ya: the way folks look at Rayellen and talk about ya since uh, that thing with Robert."

"Ya think I shot him!" Elizabeth exclaimed, "I can't believe that my own mother thinks I could do such a thing! Ya wanna know what really happened?" She launched into the story of what had happened that fateful night and her mother's face reflected a myriad of emotions as she listened.

"Why didn't ya tell me?" Rosalee asked.

"I didn't think I would have to," Elizabeth responded, "I knew that there was no use in tellin' everyone else because they wouldn't believe me anyway, but I thought ya would have figured out that all these tales were just lies."

"I guess I should've," her mother said, wrapping her arm about Elizabeth's shoulders. "Still, I wish I knew what had gotten into Robert. Why would he try to shoot the youngin'?"

"I think," Elizabeth began slowly, "it's because she's blue."

"Well that's a stupid reason. I oughta take my gun down there and shoot him in the other foot for just thinkin' about it."

Elizabeth laughed slightly as she stood up and turned to go back into the house. She paused when her mother spoke up suddenly. "Ya know things aren't going to be easy for Rayellen."

"Yeah, I know," Elizabeth replied, softly, "but I'm goin' to protect her. I'm not going to let people hurt her."

"Ya can't protect her forever," Rosalee said.

Elizabeth turned and there was an almost feverish light burning in her eyes. "But I'm goin' to help her," she stated, "I'm goin' to make sure that she escapes all of this."

And so ends Chapter 3. I hope you enjoyed it. Strangely, I planned to have the first section from Rayellen's point of view, but I got caught up in the reaction of the community so I never got to that scene. It will be in the next chapter, though. Thanks for reading!