Bewitched

Chapter 16

It is funny how there are some things that you remember in life and some things that you do not. For instance, I do not remember anything from when I was being taken away, to the time when I was thrown in the dungeon. I do not remember the carriage ride, being bound to it, or Jesse whispering into my ear the entire time, telling me that everything would be all right. The only way I know that those things happened is because he told me himself, and Jesse would never lie.

Jesse sat with me in the dirty dungeon-like room that I was currently in. He had his arms wrapped around me and would now and then lean down and kiss my hair, whispering things I did not understand into my ear.

I did not have to worry about anyone looking at me strangely for leaning against what looked like nothing. It was very dark in that room, so the other people that happened to be in there could not really see me, much less me leaning against thin air. Even so, I probably would not care one way or another.

I saw my mother in there, too. However, she did not know I was in there, and I was not about to alert her of that fact. If she saw me on her own, that was one thing, but I was not going to purposely let her know that I was there. I did not want her worrying about me being executed while she had to sit there until she "delivered". I admit, I was curious as to whether she was actually pregnant, but practicality won over curiosity in my mind. She would see me in the morning, and then I would have to explain, unfortunately.

Jesse kept telling me that everything would be all right. I really wanted to believe him, but after seeing various people that I knew being hanged, I was not quite sure that everything would be all right in the end. I knew that Jesse would never lie to me, but I just did not believe him. Believe me, I desperately wanted to, but my mind was in overdrive and the thought of coming out of this alive was outrageous.

But maybe then I would be able to be with Jesse.

I shifted a little, to make myself more comfortable against Jesse. He moved with me, so my head was lying on his chest and my one arm was sprawled across his stomach. Obviously I could see him with the glow that he was emanating, and he could see me. However, I knew no one could see me with the dark, even with that strange glow, because no one else could see the glow, or the person producing it. I was, at that moment, very thankful for that.

Slowly my eyelids began to close, and I was drifting into a sleep. Maybe not a peaceful one, but it was still sleep. I heard Jesse whisper into my ear, "Te amo, querida," before I fell asleep.

- § -

When I awoke, due to the sunlight entering the only window that was in the place, I noticed that everyone else—there were five other women in there and one man—was still sleeping, including my mother. I made the best of that by moving as far away from her as possible. Even though I knew she would see me at some point, I would rather it not be then. I was not sure if I could handle the look on her face when she saw that her daughter was in there with her—and could not be saved.

Jesse was still with me. Well, its not as if I thought he would leave, or anything. I was just extremely glad that I had someone there with me, even if noone else could see him—although, now that I think about it, that might be a good thing, because then he would not be dying along with me.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one else was awake yet, I leaned over to Jesse and kissed him. I felt him smile into the kiss, and I guess it was contagious, because I smiled, too. I realized that we could not do much, less anyone in the room should wake up. Finding a girl kissing thin air would definitely make me seem like I should be hanged.

Just as I pulled away from Jesse, I heard, rather than saw, the door to the dungeon being opened. I turned around and saw a rather burly man with a large cloak on. Another man that looked almost exactly like him came up behind.

That was when the other victims awoke. They all looked around groggily, then focused on the men at the door. That was when they—the men—dropped three loaves of bread on the ground, along with two rather large pitchers of water—they set them on the ground, so as to not break them. And then they turned around and slammed the door after them, and that was it.

The six other people in there—with the exception of Jesse—looked at the food hungrily. It seemed as if they had not eaten in days—and who knows, that is probably what happened. However, I just looked away. I was neither hungry, nor thirsty. I would rather die of hunger and dehydration than be hanged.

Jesse, seeing this, sighed and said, "Susannah, you must eat. Trust me, you will survive this, querida."

I looked into his eyes, which were full of worry and...was that fear? He was scared. For me.

I was about to say something, then I realized I was not alone with him. Jesse understood this and murmured, "Trust me, querida. I will find you a way out of this."

I felt tears pricking the back of my eyes as I nodded my head. I willed myself not to cry. Not now. And it seems as if my will was good enough, because the tears slowly dissipated.

That was when I turned my head and saw my mother looking at me. She dropped the bread that was in her hand and her blue eyes widened. I just stared right back at her, not daring to say a word.

Then she spoke. "Su...Suzie?" Her voice cracked when she said my name. Normally I would get a little irritated when someone called me that, but this was not a normal situation.

I nodded, and just like that, the tears came back. They leaked out my eyes and dripped down my cheeks. I wanted to go over to her and hug her, but my body just simply would not budge from that spot.

I guess my mother understood this, because she stood up and walked over to me, sitting back down right next to me. She took my hands in hers and whispered, her voice trembling, "What happened?"

Then Jesse whispered in my ear, "I will come back in a little while," but before he could leave, I turned my head and shook it, indicating that I wanted him to stay. He just looked at me and nodded, sitting back down beside me.

I turned my head back the other way. If my mother thought that was strange, she did not let on. Her eyes were pleading with me to tell her what had happened. So I took a deep breath and told her everything that happened. Well, not everything. Not the fact that a ghost had killed Debbie, but I told her that someone killed Debbie and injured Brad, and they blamed me for it, since I was the one that found them. And I guess the fact that someone—Kelly Prescott—told them that I was the one that killed Debbie did not help me either.

My mother started crying then. "Oh, Suzie. I cannot...why did this happen?" she asked to noone in particular.

I shook my head and said quietly, "I do not know." I wanted to add that I would get out of here somewhere, but then that would raise some questions that I did not want to answer.

She then pulled me into a hug as I tried to suppress more tears. I hugged her back and said into her shoulder, "I'm sorry, Mother." She pulled me back and looked at me with a tear-stained face.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Susannah. This is not your fault," she said with the utmost sincerity.

However, I knew she was wrong, as was my father. This was my fault. Maybe not entirely, but it still was.

She hugged me once again and kissed my forehead tenderly. "Have faith, Suzie," she said. And just like Jesse, I was not sure whether to believe that. Having faith never saved me in the past. So what could it do for me now?

- § -

I was in there for two days before I was given a trial. Five of the people that were in there were all ready hanged. I tried not to feel an remorse, but it was hard. While I barely knew those people, I still had some sort of connection with them. They were being put through the same thing as me.

I tried to ignore everything around me as I was being taken to the trial. Jesse was by my side every step of the way, except for when I was in the room, with all of those people looking at me. Some sneering, some looking at me with pity.

I did not know why Jesse left. It upset me greatly that he left when I really needed him, but I knew there had to be a proper explanation for it. There had to be.

Jesse returned only a few minutes later, but his absence has still upset me. He saw this and whispered soothingly into my ear that everything would be all right. But how could they? I was up here all ready, one step away from the gallows. I could not escape this, and he knew it.

The main judge quieted everyone in the room. I remembered him. He was one of Andy's friends; one of them men that helped build our house, and now he was condemning me—and had all ready condemned my mother. What a friend he is.

"Now," he started. He sat up straighter in his chair at the "decision" table, where many other important figures in the village were also sitting. "I understand that you, Susannah, found Deborah and your brother Bradley in your brother's room."

He really does not waste any time with this. I only hoped that Mary did not turn up. I hoped that Father Dominic and Paul had exorcized her and her husband all ready, but I highly doubted it.

I nodded, to show some respect, at least.

He continued. "As you may know, Deborah was killed. Noone else was near that room at any time prior to her death except for you. Can you give me any reason not to believe that you were the one who had killed her?"

My eyes widened. I did not know what to say. What could I say? No matter what came out of my mouth, they would not change their mind in thinking that I killed Debbie.

I took a deep breath before I answered him. "I had just come home from the market with my youngest step-brother, and we had been there all day. When we came home, a friend was waiting for me in our home, and he asked me a question. It was as he left that I went to go ask Bradley something and I found them like that."

The judge seemed to digest this. "Well," he said, "it seems as if you could not possibly have killed her. However, we have someone here who thinks otherwise." He turned from me to someone in the crowd. "Please come forward, Miss Prescott."

I never thought I was capable of hating anyone before, but right then I hated her so much. I loathed her to the point where I wanted her dead.

Kelly stood and came forward. Her dress hugged her tiny figure as she strode forward. She smirked when she looked over at me and caught my eye. I really just wanted to go over and punch her right then.

"Now, Kelly, I realize you have some vital information for us."

Kelly nodded and put on an innocent face. "Yes, sir. I do. I believe that Susannah did kill Debbie. I know she never really liked me, and since Debbie was my closest friend, she killed her to make me feel bad."

It was true that I never really liked Kelly. However, I would not kill her friend to make her feel bad. If I had to kill anyone, it would be her.

Kelly continued talking; she could not keep her mouth shut. "Suze, you said before that a friend came to visit you?" she asked all innocently. She knew who was there. She was just making me say it. Seeing that I was not going to reply, she said, "Who was this friend?"

I desperately did not want to answer that. For one, no one knew about the marriage but Paul, my family and me. Jesse did not even know that Paul had come over the previous day. Looking out at the audience, I noticed that Paul was not even present.

That just upset me even more. That he did not even show up at my trial.

"Answer the question, Miss Simon," the judge said sternly.

So I did. "Paul Slater," I said.

I heard a couple of people gasp, but it is not like it was really that important.

Kelly continued with her interrogation. "And why was Mr. Slater there, Susannah?"

I let out a huge breath and said, "He asked me to marry him."

A couple more gasps.

Kelly turned to the judge and cried, "See? I told you Judge Jacoby. She asked her to marry him! But I know he wanted to ask me! She bewitched him so he would ask her to marry him instead of me! She's a witch!"

My eyes widened. What? I was about to say something, but a hand suddenly came over my mouth, so I could not say anything. It was Jesse, I soon noticed. "It would be best for you to not say a word, unless asked," he said to me.

Everything was chaotic after Kelly's announcement.

Paul came in then, as if from nowhere, and strode up to the front, near Kelly. "Judge Jacoby, this is not true. I have not been bewitched by Susannah. I asked her to marry me because I love her, not because I was under a spell."

Then Kelly opened her bug mouth again. "No! See, she's doing it, Sir! She's making him say that!"

"She is not—!"

But just as he was about to say more, a book flew out of nowhere and hit Kelly right in the head. She was unconscious I could tell, and all eyes turned to me. That was when I saw Mary out of the corner of my eye, grinning maliciously. "I told you I would be back," she said, and then disappeared.

Some people rushed over to see if Kelly was okay, but the rest looked at me and stared. "Witch!" one person cried, then everyone else followed after.

Paul looked at me with a certain sadness in his eyes. I'm sorry, he mouthed to me, and he turned to leave. But just as he was about to go out the door, he turned back around and said, out loud this time, "Use what I taught you." And then I could see him no more.

What was he talking about? Taught me what? What did he ever teach m—

Shifting. I could shift out of there. But I tried it, right then and there, and I could not do it. It was too hard.

I told myself not to cry. Jesse was right, everything would turn out all right, somehow.

But how?

The judges sent some people to go get the gallows ready for the hanging. But just as I was being dragged out of the room, the people the judges sent came back, looking hassled.

"The nooses are missing," one of them said.

The judges eyes widened. "ALL of them?" he inquired.

They all nodded. "All of them," the same man said.