Author's Note: This is the first time I've had a chapter that took almost an entire week to write. Of course I'm still dealing with online class stuff, plus I wanted to do just a tiny bit of historical research before getting into this chapter. I can tell everyone right now that the historical accuracy of this chapter isn't going to be all that correct, but I did want to try and get a few things right.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
Chapter 15: Samantha the Witch
Yuma and Astral found that they were standing (or floating, in Astral's case) in the middle of a dirt road going through a meadow. There was not much around them besides a couple of small nearby farmhouses and a heavily forested area just off to the left of where they stood. As Yuma looked around, he saw a man out near one of the farmhouses in the distance tending to his fields, proving that the area was not completely deserted. At the same time though, the place seemed to have a bleak almost desolate quality to it. Everything around the duo appeared to be tinted a deep sepia color as though they had stepped into an old movie.
"Where are we?" Yuma asked. "The last thing I remember is that big light that went off when Thomas lost the duel. It was almost like those Number cards exploded."
Before Astral could attempt to answer Yuma's question, the two of them spotted a pair of young women in their late teens approaching them from the opposite direction. They were both wearing the drab grey and white dresses that were typically worn by women of the late 1600, which included white bonnets that completely covered their hair. Yet despite the bonnet, Yuma instantly placed the face of one of the two girls.
"Wait a sec… that one girl is Mitaka!" Yuma identified.
Samantha and the other young woman were talking to one another as they approached Yuma. They seemed to be completely unaware of Yuma's presence as they walked towards him and Astral. Before the young duelist could say anything to them, the two girls walked right through him and Astral as though they were made of air. Astral was unfazed by this occurrence, but Yuma let out a startled cry as he turned around.
"What the heck's going on?" Yuma asked.
"It would appear that we're having a vision of Mitaka's past life." Astral deduced. "What we are seeing is merely an illusion."
"So… I'm not dead?" Yuma asked.
"I do not believe so." Astral replied. "I suggest we follow after Mitaka and that other girl. It might be important."
Yuma nodded and the two of them went after Samantha and her companion. The two girls still seemed to be in the middle of a long conversation.
"…You weren't at the town meeting hall last night." Samantha's friend spoke to her, apparently changing the topic of conversation.
"I had to stay home and take care of my mother. You know how poorly she's been feeling of late." Samantha informed her friend. "Besides Martha, you know how gloomy I find those meetings. Did something happen there that I should know?"
"They found Prudence Goodwife guilty of witchcraft." Martha gravely answered. "She's to be executed this afternoon."
Samantha stopped in her tracks upon hearing this news. "They found her guilty already? But they had only just accused her yesterday morning."
"The evidence against her was strong." Martha responded with a slight shrug. "Poor Beatrice Simms, the young girl who said that Ms. Goodwife had been cursing her, ended up having a fit right there in the room during the trial. The court decided that was all the evidence they needed."
"But don't you think it's a rush to judgment?" Samantha asked. "After all, Ms. Goodwife seems like such a kindly old woman."
"Evil comes in many forms, Samantha." Martha told her. "The best way for it to hide is for it to wear the mask of an angel."
"Well I hope you're not expecting me to come and watch them execute her." Samantha told Martha as she started walking again. "Whether she's a witch or not, the last thing I want to do is watch an old woman burn to death."
"I would think that you would be a little bit more concerned by all this, Samantha." Martha responded as she quickly followed after her. "These are dark days we find ourselves in. It seems like witches are living all around us, and either of us could fall victim to their curses at any moment."
"You always think about such gloomy things, Martha." Samantha told her. "Look around you! God has given us this beautiful sunny day, and you choose to squander it by worrying about witches and curses and all those other dreadful thoughts."
Martha sighed and shook her head. "I really wish you wouldn't be so carefree about things, Samantha. I envy your ability to see the joy in life, but life is very serious too. Surly the fact that witches are hidden among us should be proof of that."
"Maybe so, but I'm not going to let a few witches stop me from enjoying the fact that I'm alive." Samantha told her.
"Hey Astral, were witches really that big of a problem during whatever time this is?" Yuma asked.
"I do not know everything about your world's history, but I suspect that these people are merely being overwhelmed by superstition." Astral replied.
"So… then that old woman they're talking about probably wasn't a witch?" Yuma deduced.
"I suspect not." Astral answered.
Samantha and Martha's conversation came to an abrupt halt when a young man suddenly appeared in their path and approached them. Yuma did a double take when he saw the young man's face. He looked exactly like Thomas. The scar that Thomas had on his face as a result of the fire he caused while dueling Rio years ago was missing, but aside from that the young man was a dead ringer for the duelist formerly known as IV.
"There you are, Samantha!" the Thomas-lookalike greeted. "I've been looking all over the village for you."
"Well, here I am." Samantha cheerfully responded.
"Hello Adam." Martha spoke.
"Oh, good afternoon Martha." Thomas's double replied upon finally noticing Samantha's friend. "Samantha, can I talk to you in private? There's an urgent matter I must discuss with you."
"Why Adam Smith, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to get me alone somewhere to have your way with me." Samantha jokingly replied.
"Please Samantha, this very important." Adam told her with a very serious look in her eyes.
"Well alright then." Samantha replied. "Martha, I hope you'll excuse Adam and I."
"Of… of course." Martha told her, as an insincere smile seemed to come to her face. "I'll see you later then."
With that, Samantha and Adam walked into the small gathering of trees beside them on the path. Martha remained on the path and watched them go, her hands balling into fists at her sides. Yuma was oblivious to this though, as he was too stunned by the appearance of Thomas's double.
"Why is there a guy who looks like Thomas in this vision?" Yuma asked.
"Yuma, I don't think that the young man we saw Mitaka leave with simply looks like Thomas." Astral told him. I believe this Adam Smith may in fact be Thomas in a past life."
"What makes you say that?" Yuma asked.
"This vision seems to be the result of the Numbers Thomas once used resonating with Mitaka's Number." Astral explained. "The reason for that must be because the two of them share a past life connection."
Before Yuma could fully react to this revelation, the duo saw Martha suddenly take off into the trees after Samantha and Adam. Yuma and Astral quickly followed to see what she was up to. In a matter of moments the three of them came to a small clearing where they found the young couple. Martha hid herself behind one of the trees in order to watch them.
"So what's so urgent that you had to speak to me alone?" Samantha asked.
Adam took a deep breath before turning around to face Samantha. "I… I spoke to your father earlier today. He's given his permission for us to wed when we come of age."
"Are… are you asking me to marry you?" Samantha asked.
"I believe I am, yes." Adam confirmed. "So what is your answer, Samantha Warren?"
"My answer is yes!" Samantha gleefully replied as she dashed over and hugged him. "Oh Adam! You've made me so happy!"
"Whoa! I didn't see that coming." Yuma declared. "You know… they actually do seem like a good couple."
"Someone here seems to disagree." Astral told him, glancing over in Martha's direction.
Yuma looked and saw that Martha did indeed seemed to be unhappy about Adam's marriage proposal. Her teeth were gritted in anger and it looked like the thick tree branch her hand was on might actually break in her grasp.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Yuma remarked.
Suddenly everything around Yuma and Astral turned into a hazy mist. In mere moments the mist reformed into a new setting. Yuma and Astral found that they were standing inside the dining room of a house in the middle of evening. Samantha was sitting at the dinner table with a man who had grizzled features and long red hair the same color as her own, and a woman with long dark hair and a pale complexion. Astral and Yuma quickly deduced that these two people were Samantha's parents.
"So… anything happen these past two days I was away on business?" Samantha's father asked.
"I ran into Adam the afternoon a couple of days ago." Samantha answered. "He told me of the conversation you and he had before you left."
"I see." Samantha's father replied. "You and Adam make a good pair, daughter. That is why I gave him permission to marry you when the time finally came. I trust you approve."
"Very much so, father." Samantha replied with a rather large smile.
"Well I do not approve." Samantha's mother declared with a very stern expression. "That Adam Smith is far too carefree for my liking. Our daughter should be matched with someone more serious and practical."
"Mother, please! I do not wish to have this conversation again!" Samantha told her, trying to keep her voice quiet.
"It is simply the way I feel, daughter, and no amount of protesting from you will change that." Samantha's mother told her.
"Madam, you do realize that Adam's father, Gideon is a good friend of mine." Samantha's father reminded her. "That is part of the reason why I agreed to the arrangement. Now I have made my decision, and you, my dear wife must live with it."
Before the rather heated conversation could get any further, the door to the house was busted inward. Samantha and her parents quickly rose to their feet and three men barged into the small dining room.
"Here now! What is the meaning of this?" Samantha's father demanded to know.
"Samantha Warren, you have been accused of witchcraft!" the lead man informed her. "You are to be arrested and shall stand trial tomorrow."
"Witchcraft? That's absurd!" Samantha's father declared.
"I don't believe it! Who would accuse me of such a terrible thing?" a horrified Samantha asked.
"I would think you would know very well who has accused you." The lead man responded with a slight smirk. "But since you wish to feign ignorance, I shall humor you. The one to lay this accusation is young Martha Proctor. She claims that you've been trying to curse her to death for the past two nights."
"Martha? But that's… that's insane!" Samantha told them. "Why would Martha say such things about me?"
"Take her away!" the lead man ordered.
The other two men that had burst into the house grabbed Samantha by the arms and dragged her out of the room as she struggled. Samantha's parents merely looked on in horror as their daughter was taken away, and that was the only thing that Yuma and Astral could do as well.
"Hey Astral… Mitaka didn't really put a curse on that Martha girl, did she?" Yuma asked, though he had already guessed the answer.
"No. Clearly Martha lied in order to get Mitaka out of the way so that she could try to win over Thomas romantically." Astral answered. "What I'm finding extremely difficult to comprehend though is how the people of this time could easily believe such an accusation."
Everything around Yuma and Astral suddenly dissolved into mist again, which quickly reformed into a different setting. The duo was now standing inside a large courtroom or town hall. The sun was streaming through the windows, indicating that it was daytime. Samantha was standing at the front of the room between two large men that appeared to be guarding her. The redhead's hands were bound in front of her with rope. The large room was filled with people from the village, including Adam, Samantha's parents, and Martha.
At the far end of the room, five men were sitting behind a large wooden table elevated by a platform. The man sitting in the middle appeared to be in his late fifties. He had long grey hair and a very stern, almost angry looking face. Yuma noticed a gavel in the man's hand and assumed that he was some kind of judge. Many of the villagers in the hall were talking amongst themselves until the judge banged his gavel on the table, bringing the entire room to silence.
"Samantha Warren, you stand accused of the heinous crime of witchcraft." The judge spoke. "Before we begin the proceedings, do you have anything to say in your defense?"
"All I have to say is that I do not know why I am standing here before you today." Samantha responded. "For the past three days I've spent in that horrible jail cell, I've been trying to understand the answer to that question and have come up with nothing. I cannot figure out why one of my dearest friends would accuse me of such a horrible thing."
"Hey, shouldn't Mitaka have like a lawyer or something?" Yuma asked.
"It seems that these people already consider her guilty." Astral observed. "This so-called trial is probably nothing more than a formality."
"What sort of proof do you have that says I am what I've been accused of being?" Samantha asked.
"That is what this trial is meant to answer." The judge told her. "We will now hear the spectral evidence against Ms. Warren. I call Martha Proctor to the stand."
Martha got up from her seat in the audience and walked over to sit in the little chair in the corner that served as a witness stand. She slouched and glanced over at Samantha with a fearful look on her face.
"Ms. Proctor, I'm sure that it has taken you great courage to step forward before and speak here today." The judge told her. "The court commends you for this. Now, if you may, please tell us what happened to you four nights ago on the night of June fifth."
"I… I had just retired to the night to my bed." Martha began. "Just before I was about to drift away into sleep, my entire body suddenly felt as though it was being squeezed by something. My parents told me that I was having some kind of fit, though I have no memory of this. What I do remember though is seeing a specter appear before my eyes. At first it was just a shape, but then I could see its face clearly. It was the face of my friend, Samantha Warren.
"The next thing I remember was her reaching into my chest and if felt like my heart was being squeezed. I called out to Samantha over and over again to stop, but she wouldn't! She simply squeezed tighter and tighter, grinning as she did so. I don't know why she released me, but the next thing I knew, I was sitting up in my bed terrified. I'm certain that if that demon hadn't released me, I might've died."
"Why do you think that Samantha Warren tried to kill you with that curse?" the judge asked.
"I do not know… but there is one thing that I am fairly sure of." Martha responded. "Samantha Warren has used her black magic to bewitch Adam Smith into loving her!"
The stunned villagers began to murmur amongst themselves. The judge banged his gavel, bringing the room to silence once more.
"Thank you, Ms. Proctor. You may step down." The judge told her. "I now call the next witness. Beatrice Warren, please step forward."
As Martha returned to her seat in the audience, Samantha's mother got up. An expression of utter shock was on Samantha's face as Beatrice took the stand.
"Mrs. Warren, I'm sure it must be very difficult for you to come here today as a witness." The judge told her. "But if there is evil in this village, it must be exposed so that we can be rid of it."
"I know my duty, sir." Beatrice told him. "It is painful for me to accept, but I know that I am doing God's will by sitting here and saying what I know."
"Then by all means, madam. Testify so that justice may be done." The judge replied.
"I'm sure that it is no secret that I have been feeling poorly for the past few weeks." Beatrice began. "Before I thought that I was suffering from a common malady, but after hearing about what has happened to poor Martha I'm now know why I have been ill as of late. My own daughter has been trying to curse me to death!"
"Mother!" a horrified Samantha exclaimed as the audience gasped.
"And why madam, would your own daughter wish to curse you?" the judge asked.
"Because I didn't approve of her relationship with Adam Smith!" Beatrice answered. "And because of that, she tried to curse me to death so I would not stand in her way! But I will not submit to evil so easily!"
"Mother, how can you say such things?" Samantha asked as tears came to her eyes.
"Do not speak to me, you wicked thing!" Beatrice told her. "I see now what an evil child that you truly are, and I curse the day I ever gave birth to you! As far as I am concerned, you are no daughter of mine!"
Samantha was completely dumbstruck by her mother's proclamation. Once more, the judge banged his gavel to silence the crowd.
"This court will be in recess for one half hour to allow Mrs. Warren the time to compose herself." The judge decided.
"No way! I think I get why Martha would lie about Mitaka… about Samantha being a witch, but why would her mom lie too?" Yuma asked.
"I do not believe she is lying." A visibly stunned Astral answered. "It seems she truly believes that Samantha cursed her, all because of Martha's false accusation."
"But how could Samantha's mom… how could all these people be buying into it?" Yuma asked. "It's all just so stupid!"
"I have absolutely no idea." Astral answered. "Such behavior completely defies logic."
As Samantha was being taken away, the surroundings once again dissolved into mist. When the mist reformed, Yuma and Astral were inside a jail cell with Samantha. The redhead was pacing around the small cage with fresh tears still on her face. Suddenly the door to the room outside the cell opened and Adam walked in. The young man had an almost dead look on his face as he approached.
Samantha instantly went to the wall of her cell and put her fingers through the bars. "Oh Adam! You have no idea how happy I am to see you."
"Samantha, I… I merely came here to say my goodbyes." Adam told her.
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Samantha asked as the smile vanished from her face.
"I… I cannot love you, Samantha. Not now that I know what you are." Adam told her.
"You… you actually believe what they're all saying about me?" a shocked Samantha asked as she backed away from the bars in horror.
"I do not wish to… but after speaking to Martha before the trial and hearing what your mother said on the stand, how can I not believe it?" Adam replied.
"But what they're saying are lies! All lies!" Samantha insisted. "You would throw away what we have because of that?"
"What we had, was not real!" Adam told her. "Don't… don't try and deny it. I've seen what you truly are now. I merely came here to say goodbye… and to tell you that I could never love a witch."
With that, Adam turned away and walked for the door. Samantha frantically called Adam's name, but the Thomas lookalike didn't respond. Suddenly everything turned to mist again, and in seconds Yuma and Astral were back in the courtroom. Samantha was standing before the judges between her two guards and Adam was on the stand.
"Adam Smith, the court understands that you have something you wish to add to the record before sentence is carried out." The judge spoke. "Please, tell us what you wish to say."
"I… Adam Smith… at this moment, denounce Samantha Warren as a witch." Adam declared. "It is clear to me now that she has used her black magic to bend me to her will. But I have come to my senses now and see what she truly is. She is a witch, and we must not allow her to live."
"Adam! How can you say this?" a horrified Samantha asked.
The judge banged his gavel and brought the room to silence. "Samantha Warren, in light of the spectral evidence brought before us today and the testimony of Adam Smith, this court finds you guilty of witchcraft and consorting with the devil. As punishment, you shall be burned at the steak tomorrow at dawn. This court is now adjourned."
As the guards began to drag Samantha off, the surroundings around Yuma and Astral turned to mist again. The duo was once again inside Samantha's cell. The redhead was sitting on the hard bench that served as a bed with her face buried in her hands. There was darkness outside the barred window of the cell, telling Yuma and Astral that night had fallen. Suddenly the door to the room outside the cell opened, causing Samantha to look up. Yuma could see that her eyes were bloodshot from crying.
The person walking up to the cell was Martha. Samantha rose from the bench and walked up to the bars of the cell to face her.
"Tell me why, Martha." Samantha spoke. "Why did you say all those lies about me?"
"Why? Because it was the only way." Martha answered with a cold expression. "The only way to remove you from Adam's life."
"This… this whole thing is about Adam?" Samantha asked. "I don't understand."
"Of course not. You never did." Martha responded. "You've always thought that the sun rose and set just for you. Never once did you ever consider my feelings or even notice them. Otherwise you might've realized that I've loved Adam since we were children. I never had the strength of heart to tell him how I felt, and then one day you simply moved in and stole his heart. I stood by and held my peace, trying my very best to be happy for you both. But when I saw Adam propose to you, I knew I could stand by no longer."
"So… so you made up that story about being cursed and accused me of being a witch?" Samantha asked.
"As I said, it was the only way to remove you from Adam's life." Martha told her. "Maybe what I have done was wrong, but Adam belongs with me! Not you! If the only way to remove you from his life is to take away yours… then so be it. Goodbye, Samantha."
With that, Martha turned and walked out of the room. As soon as the door was shut and locked behind her, Samantha screamed and kicked the dirt floor of her cell. She glanced down and noticed something under the dirt giving off a white light. The redhead bent down and unearthed the object. As Samantha examined the object in her hand, it suddenly transformed into an Xyz Monster card with the name, Number 665: Witch Queen Agatha.
"That's…." Yuma began.
"One of the Numbers used by the Death Queens." Astral finished.
As Samantha continued to look at the card, everything turned to mist again and Yuma and Astral found that they were outside in a clearing filled with villagers. Looking around, Yuma quickly saw Samantha tied to a wooden steak with dead branches piled at her feet. The redhead had a dead look in her eyes, and the card for Number 665 was still in her hand. Suddenly Yuma noticed a man with a torch approaching the pyre. Yuma called out for the man to stop, but his voice wasn't heard.
In seconds the pile of dead wood at Samantha's feet was set ablaze. Yuma and Astral both watched in horror as the villagers began to sing a hymn. One of the pieces of wood popped, creating a massive spark that burned the left side of Samantha's face. The redhead screamed in pain and looked at the crowd of singing villagers with hate-filled eyes.
"You…" Samantha spoke in a low hateful voice as a tear rolled down her other cheek. "YOU ALL DESERVE TO DIE!"
Suddenly Samantha was completely consumed by the flames, and the pyre seemed to explode. A blinding white light from the explosion soon hit Yuma and Astral.
The light faded and everything in the stadium returned to normal. Many of the audience members were looking around trying to figure out what had caused the blinding light that by their perspective had lasted only for a few seconds. Samantha and Thomas meanwhile were standing on stage looking completely shocked.
"What… what the hell was that?" Thomas asked.
"You… saw it too?" Samantha asked.
"Uh… the winner of this duel is Samantha Warren!" the referee finally declared.
In moments the audience began to cheer, seeming to get over the shock. Meanwhile, Yuma and Astral were down in the dugout looking just as shocked as Thomas and Samantha.
"What the hell was that just now?" Shark asked.
"Hey Yuma, you and Astral okay?" Hikari asked, finally noticing their reactions.
"How… how could they do that?" Yuma asked. "How could they have just burned her because of such an obvious lie?"
"I do not know, Yuma." Astral answered.
"What're you guys talking about?" Alit asked.
"When Mitaka launched her final attack, her Number somehow resonated with the Numbers once used by Thomas." Astral explained. "As a result, Yuma and I witnessed a vision of Mitaka's past life."
"Which means you must've seen how she was burned at the steak for being a witch." Kaito deduced.
"The series of events leading to Mitaka's death made no logical sense." Astral spoke. "I cannot comprehend how humans could behave in such a manner."
"I looked into those Salem Witch Trials after Kotori told us about Mitaka's past life, and I can tell you that there was nothing logical about them." Kaito told the energy being. "Those trials were nothing more than a case of mass hysteria brought on by a couple of girls coming down with an unknown illness. The people at the time didn't have any real form of medical science, so they blamed what happened on witches and the whole thing spiraled out of control."
"I just can't believe that Samantha died that way." Yuma spoke. "Her friend told one lie, and suddenly everyone turned on her. Her parents. Her boyfriend. Everyone. It just isn't right."
"What I don't understand is why Thomas's Number cards even resonated with Mitaka's in the first place." Michael interjected.
"It's because Thomas was there in Mitaka's past life." Astral informed him.
"Seriously?" Shark asked.
"Yeah. He was Samantha's boyfriend." Yuma confirmed.
Thomas returned to the dugout with a sort of dazed look in his eyes. Michael quickly went over to him to see how he was.
"Thomas, what happened?" Michael asked. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Thomas replied flatly. "I'm gonna head home now since I'm out of the tournament."
With that, the puppet duelist walked towards the exit, not once looking back at the others. Michael attempted to go after him, but Cleo came over and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Let him go. I think he needs to be alone right now." Cleo told Michael.
"That's a little unexpected, coming from you." Shark told Cleo.
"Arclight isn't my favorite person in the world, but if what he saw in that light is the same thing that Yuma and Astral saw, I'm guessing he's experiencing something like I did after Rio's accident." Cleo told him. "He's going to need some time."
"The final duel of the preliminary round shall be between Chitose Amamiya and Alit!" the referee announced. "The duel will begin in ten minutes!"
"Well, it looks like my time's finally come." Alit observed.
"Be careful out there, Alit." Yuma told him.
"Don't worry Yuma, I've got this under control." The boxer duelist assured him. "In fact, I've kinda been looking forward to this duel."
Meanwhile, Samantha finally returned to the other dugout and punched the rear wall with her fist. She soon realized that Chitose and Alnia were both looking at her.
"Are you okay, Mitaka?" Chitose asked.
"What the hell happened up there?" Alnia asked.
"I don't know!" Samantha told them. "I don't know why I saw all that at the end."
"Saw what?" Alina inquired.
"…Nothing." Samantha answered after a moment. "Just leave me alone right now, okay? I beat that son of a bitch, so get off my back."
"Okay, fine." Alnia agreed as she put up her hands in surrender. "Well Anitak, it looks like you're up. You better not lose this time."
"Do not worry, Alnia. This duel with Alit will be far different than my last one with him." Chitose assured her. "This time, I'm not going to be holding anything back."
Author's Note: When I did my quick research of the Salem Witch Trials in preparation for this chapter, I was surprised to learn that nobody who was accused of being a witch was actually burned. The burning of witches happened over in Europe. Those in Salem who were accused of witchcraft were hung, as witchcraft was considered treason and that was the particular punishment for that crime. I apologize for that little historical error in this trilogy.
Please review and let me know what you think.