Penny looked down at her son, remembering all the pain and joy he brought her when he came to the world. Barbara knitting beside her. At first he was a stranger to this world; he'd look at the world around him and be baffled by it. He would then look to his mother, not knowing the meaning of the word but he knew that he could trust her to look after him.
Penny did not share her son's faith, she had no idea, how to be a mother. Her own mother dying when she was very young. Before her marriage, she thought she knew everything but as she looked down at what she'd created, she'd never been so confused. But she had Barbara and Leon there and gradually she started to figure out motherhood. She still didn't feel like an expert though and this irritated her, she normally prided herself on being a quick learner and considering how quickly she'd gotten used to marriage, she didn't see why mother hood would be so different.
Barbara laughed when she said this "Marriage is easy compared to mother hood"
"Why, though" Penny said desperately
Barbara looked thoughtful for a few seconds before replying "I guess with a husband, they know what to expect, so you can either give them what they want or not, a baby doesn't know what it wants, it only knows that it's your job to give it to them."
"I guess you're right" Penny said half-heartedly.
"Of course I am, my lady, but only because I've experienced marriage for 25 years and motherhood for 23 years." Barbara said knowingly.
Penny smiled at her thanking the gods for her fortune; she had a beautiful son, a loving husband and an experienced maid. But she couldn't help feeling a sense of foreboding. They'd been in Camelot a couple of weeks now. At an even bigger tournament then the one she'd seen previously. It had been going well, she was at the first feast and she'd decided to leave early to check up on Harry. But as she walked down the gloomy corridors, shivering in the slight breeze that seemed to go up her spine. She realised she wasn't alone. She looked behind her to see the Witchfinder. She hadn't thought of him since her last meeting with him but as she looked at him the same feeling of unease came over her.
"Good evening Lady Lambert" he said courteously.
"Good evening" she replied trying not to make eye contact.
"It is good to see you again" he said. The words sounded courteous to Penny but she felt malevolence behind them.
"I'm sorry, my lord" she curtsied "but I have to go and see my child"
He laughed at this, it was a terrible laugh and she automatically winced, forgetting all the noble manners she had learned over the last 2 years.
"I am not a lord; I grew up on a farm 2 miles from here. I may wear my fine clothes and buy fanciful things but I will never be a true lord. Those people in there, look down on me" he stopped looking at her to look at the door to the great hall. She had the desire to run but she stood completely still and then he rounded on her again and he took her hand the feel of his skin on hers made he feel sick. "But you and I are different, this hand isn't a ladies hand, it's a common hand and has been used for many common things." He used his other hand to grasp he hand tighter but she pulled away.
"I don't know what you're implying but my father was a prosperous merchant and I used my hands to help with his accounts" she said defiantly but he just looked at her like the hungry wolf in the fairy tales her older sister had told her growing up.
"You are spirited, I look forward to becoming more intimate with you" he said.
"I am sorry but the only person I intend to be intimate with is my husband, if you excuse me, I have to go." She tried hard to keep the tone of disgust out of her voice and turned her back to him but this was a mistake as he put his arms around her. She stiffened in his grasp, paralysed by fear.
"What do you know about me?" he asked.
"You're the head Witchfinder" she said tremblingly.
"Yes I am and although I may not be a lord, I am extremely powerful and do you want to know what happens to people who don't give me what I want"
"No I don't"
"They suffer and so do their family" he said. The thought of this monster hurting Leon or Harry propelled her into action and she hit him in the ribs with her elbow which forced him to let her go. She ran then straight to her room. Harry was asleep but she picked him up and kissed him.
"What are you doing" Barbara exclaimed taking Harry of her. Harry just looked confused and quickly settled back into his cradle. His mother was shaking and Barbara could see tears in her eyes. She took Penny into the corridor away from the sleeping baby.
Barbara hugged her and smoothed her hair. "We need to run" penny said trembling. "He's after me and he's going to hurt you all to get to me"
"What are you talking about?"
"The Witchfinder, he wants me" Penny said with tears flowing down her face. This made Barbara stiffen slightly. "He's done this before, hasn't he?"
"It's going to be fine" Barbara reassured her.
"Don't try and reassure me, what has he done?" Penny screamed. There was a silence but it was broken by a baby's wail. Penny went back into her room and reassured the crying baby. "I'm so sorry for scaring you" She hugged her child and, he started to quiet down.
"Tell me what you know?"Penny asked trying to control her voice
Barbara looked around her again and then she spoke "There have been rumours"
"What rumours?"
"Rumours that the grand Witchfinder has an eye for pretty ladies and he cares little for propriety" Barbara whispered "He's never tried to aim for anyone this high before, the rumours say he goes for women in the lower town"
"What happened to these women?"
Barbara gulped slightly "Most submit and he tends to get bored within a few months, I hear he has sired at least 20 children. The mothers struggle to care for them but he cares little, he even killed one mother and his child for being a witch."
Penny was shocked at such a heartless action "What about those who don't submit"
"I had a friend, her name was Penelope like you, she was a maid for Sir Leon's mother, she was married to a Blacksmith and she had a beautiful young daughter."Barbara stated to cry
Penny insisted "What happened to her"
"Bad things started to happen to her, her husband's business started to fail, she was fired from Sir Leon's service but she wouldn't submit and then her daughter became deathly ill. She begged him for mercy but only if she submitted, He said that if she submitted, her daughter would be well again, she loved her child and her husband and she hated that her love was being used by a creature such as the Witchfinder."
"What did she do?" Penny asked hesitantly
"She tried to tell the king but he ignored her and the Witchfinder accused her of being a witch sympathiser and Uther ordered her execution."
"What happened to her family?" she asked looking at the sleeping babe in her arms.
"Gaius, the court physician managed to find an antidote for the child and Tom's business eventually recovered, I heard the child is now Lady Morgana's servant."
"So I'm right I need to run. I need to tell Leon and then we need to leave."
"Leon won't leave, he won't run away, he'll want to stay and fight for you." Barbara reasoned
"It won't do any good, he's poisoned the king's mind so he sees magic everywhere if Leon does the same then we'll all get accused of witchcraft" Penny reasoned back.
"If only we could stop him somehow."
They sat in silence and Penny looked at her child. Her innocent child, this man would hurt her child and he would go on hurting children if she didn't stop him. She sat down and started to devise a plan. Her husband returned from the feast and she smiled and kissed him. Barbara and Penny had decided not to tell Leon. He'd just go after the Witchfinder and then be charged with being a magic user. Penny had a plan but it was risky and when she told Barbara what it was she counselled against it but they didn't have another option. She didn't sleep that night but she watched her husband this soothed her and reminded her why she was doing this. She cooked him breakfast in the kitchens. The chef was annoyed but cooking helped, it kept her calm and he bought her breakfast up to her husband.
"This is delicious" Leon said before he got stuck in greedily. After he'd left for the tournament some flowers came from the Witchfinder. She knew this was coming so she smiled at the servant and told him that his master should expect her at 8 tonight. He was clearly expecting something more but she just smiled and got back to her work. He came back later and told her that the Witchfinder was happy she had come to see things his way. She smiled and said she couldn't wait. The servant looked at her suspiciously but apparently Penny had a talent for playacting because he left looking quite happy. He then gave her an outfit and told her that this is what he'd like her to wear and again she smiled and took it. After that she had a walk around the garden and picked up some herbs for the chef. It was their deal for being allowed to cook her husband's breakfast and she knew a lot about herbs.
She went to her husband and the moment he saw her, he kissed her and she kissed him for several moments wanting the moment to last forever but eventually they parted for air if nothing else.
"I wished I'd won now if that's what I get for coming second." He said breathlessly
"You really think it matters, I will love you the same whether you come first or last"
Leon smiled and despite everything she couldn't help but smile back and he whispered into her ear that he loved her too and it almost made her want to cry but instead she kissed him again and then he said the words she'd been dreading " We can't stand around here all day, we've got to get to the feast."
"I'm sorry" she said wishing that she could just accompany her husband. She normally hated feasts and all the snobs who looked down on her but the thought of what she was about to do made her yearn for their looks of disdain at least she could enjoy her husband's company but she had to do this for his sake as well as hers. "I need to stay with Harry tonight, I think he's a bit ill and Gaius has given me something but I want to stay with him to make sure it works." It was scary how easily she came up with that lie.
"That's fine, I'll see you later, I don't know about you but I can't wait to get back home."
"Me too" he kissed her on the cheek and left, a part of her wanted him to see through her trick and tell her she didn't have to do this but she knew she had to and he was safe for the time being. She went to get changed and put her make up on. The dress he'd bought her was made out of a fine red silk and probably the most expensive thing she ever wore. The silk felt soft on her skin but she felt sickened by it. She felt like a doll, her only purpose to please her sick master. She left and made her way to his room. It was quite secluded and towards the back of the castle. According to Barbara it was so the king didn't hear the screams of his victims, he liked to bring some of the people he caught here for experiments he said. There was a secret room where he kept all his equipment. She knocked, hoping he wasn't there and he wasn't the servant she met before opened the door and told her to make herself comfortable.
She didn't make herself comfortable and instead got more and more agitated. The servant seeing this offered her a glass of wine and she managed to resist gulping it down in one swig and keep some of her decorum. She looked around her surroundings; it was richly furnished and immaculately clean. It either showed someone who was obsessed with order or someone who didn't spend their time in this room. She waited and she could tell the servant was as impatient as she was. She also thought she could see a little bit of guilt in his features and he avoided looking at her. This did not fill her with confidence. She was tempted to take pity on the poor man but she wasn't in a charitable mood.
"Hello, my darling, I am so glad you could come" he spoke pleasantly.
She put on a fake smile and turned to face him. He sent his servant away who was relieved to get out of there. The he kissed her and she kissed him back praying for her husband's forgiveness, but he quickly learnt what she was doing.
"What did you do?" he asked freezing in place. She took some poison out of her pocket and poured the whole of it into his mouth. He could feel the poison working immediately he could fell it coursing through his veins stopping his black and diseased heart.
"You really think I'd submit to a monster like you. You may have Uther's protection but that means nothing now. He can't protect you from this. That was one of the most deadly poisons known to man and it will probably kill you in around 5 minutes"
"Give me the antidote?" he demanded choking.
"Why would I do that?" she laughed at the absurdity of it all this monster was begging for her to be merciful. "Did the other Penelope ask for the same thing for her daughter, did she plead for the antidote? Did she beg for mercy?" She asked menacingly.
"You've won give me the antidote and I'll not come near you or your family."
She stepped back. "You wouldn't keep your word?"
"You won't get away with this you'll be executed for treason"
She closed her eyes and thought of Harry and Leon. She was risking everything for them. "If you give me the cure I'll never mention this to everyone. You can raise your child and love your husband."
She smiled sadly "But you'd still be here, preying on the weak and innocent, you'll make them submit. Make them suffer. No it ends with me. No one knows I came here when I leave. No one will know I came. I am sure your servant can be easily bribed and when your secret room is opened" His eyes widened at that which was good now Penny was sure it existed. "I am sure you have plenty of enemies, no one will suspect me. Goodbye Witchfinder, I have not found any pleasure in your company and if you don't mind I'll leave" she turned to go
"An Aimsir Láithreach" he spluttered and she froze and as he twisted his hand, she turned towards him.
"You hypocrite" she spat at him.
"Give me the antidote" he spluttered angrily.
"I don't have it and you don't have time to make it and you're going to die like the snivelling coward you are"
He laughed at that "I may die here but I'm taking you down with me" he started to gather up the last of his strength. "aithrechas"
As he said that Penny raised her arms to protect herself but it was released. She fell to the ground like the marionette. The Witchfinder smiled and tried to reach his secret room to try and reach the cure but the poison was too strong but as he lay there dying. He laughed at the stupid bitch who bought him down. He laughed at the fact that she actually though she could beat him at his own game, he may be dying but she wouldn't win. Her precious child could cry all he wanted. His mother was not coming back.
A/n Wow sorry for not updating sooner but this is a fanfic I really want to get finished so I can work on something else. I'll have the last chapter up soon as a bit of epilogue but I thought this was a nice point to end on.