The Raven (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"Henry, if there is any decency in your heart, you would let me go. I have a life there in Inverness. I have two little boys who mean the world to me and a husband who loves me. Can't that be enough for you to see that you're making a mistake?" Emma asked, struggling to appeal to him in any way possible.

 

[KieranSoares]

"You're mine," he snarled before he finally let go. "And you'd better realize it soon, or you're never getting out." If she were truly tried as a witch, her future was bleak. Few people who were accused of witchcraft and captured like her ever lived to tell the tale. The Catholic church was ruthless.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Henry." Emma said as he let her go, telling her that she would never get out if she didn't agree to give them all up. "If I agreed, you have to let my children and him go back home. They are innocent in all of this."

 

[KieranSoares]

Henry paused, turning to look at her and consider her words. "I suppose I could be persuaded." He crossed his arms over his chest.

 

[heartofcourage]

"If you let me see my children, I will agree." Emma said softly, her stomach hurting at the thought of what she was doing. "Just one last time. I will never ask to see them again."

 

[KieranSoares]

Henry considered her words for a moment, and finally conceded. "I'll see what I can do." He left her there, but he never returned. There was briefly some uproar but she couldn't hear what the matter was from where she was held. The next morning, the men who'd arrested her came in, all in black, and sat in chairs before her cell.

"Emma Campbell," their leader spoke. "We have taken into account the accounts of witchcraft against you. You have been accused of speaking with the Devil himself, causing illness in young children, and planning the deaths of several people by poison and magicks. Now is your chance to say your piece."

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma had been pacing her cell since Henry had left. As the minutes turned into hours, she knew that something had gone horribly wrong. When the men came in wearing their black robes, she knew that her life would very soon be over.

"My name is Emma Ghis." She murmured as they called her by her maiden name. "I am married to Lynndon Ghis, prince of Inverness. I have two little boys that depend on me very much. I live in quiet life in Inverness. I have ever spoken to the Devil. I have never caused illness in small children. I have never planned the death of anyone. This is all because of a man who could not let me go."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I highly doubt a man would sentence you to a witch's death for jealousy." The man looked to papers that another handed to him. "Besides, other accounts were gathered as well. You have more than the word of one man to contend with. Now tell me... Where were you the night of June fourth of this past year?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"June fourth?" Emma asked, struggling to think about where she would have been. "I was ill after the birth of my twins. It took me weeks to wake up and even longer to get my strength back. I was being cared for by my husband's family at that time. There was little that I could do without help of another."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Interesting... Because this account confirms your story, but also says that while you were bedridden, you were causing vivid night terrors for a family on the other side of Inverness and sent deadly spiders to attack the father and his son. They say they know it was you because a transparent form of you was ordering the creatures forth from Hell." Whoever the people were, they likely knew of Emma's transgression with Brogan and held it against her still.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Sir, I assure you that my only thought on that day was simply surviving." Emma said, her heart racing as she heard what someone else had said about her. "I have never done the things that I am accused of. I do not practice magic or witchcraft. I just want to raise my boys. That is all that I want out of my life at this moment."

 

[KieranSoares]

"On November sixteenth, a woman claims that you took over your husband's mind and forced him to commit unspeakable acts against her, as revenge for a past slight. What say you to that?" The priest asked, his eyes hard and unyielding.

 

[heartofcourage]

"My husband was with me that day, all day. We were at home with our boys." Emma said, staring at the man as he tried to intimidate her. "I am not from Inverness. These people who believe that I have done wrong against them simply do not know me."

 

[KieranSoares]

"And who, exactly, can confirm these stories outside your family?" Though there were friends outside the family, none pried into Emma's business or made it their own business to check on her all the time, especially not when she was at home.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Talk to his family. My sister-in-laws will tell you that you are completely wrong." She said, thinking about the friends that she didn't have that could speak on her behalf. "My brother will tell you that I am not a witch."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I said, outside your family. That includes his, seeing as you're married to him. You're treading on very thin ice, Mrs. Ghis."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Chessie can vouch for me. The nannies at the keep. Any of the staff." Emma said, struggling to keep herself calm and collected under the threat of death.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Chessie, the Cook at Inverness keep? I'm afraid she's considered family, her late husband having been adopted by Katherine Ghis for some time. As for other staff at the keep, I doubt any would dare to say a word against a Ghis. Is there anyone else?"

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma felt her heart drop all the way down to her toes as all of her ideas were thrown aside. She was racking her brain, trying so hard to figure out just what was going to save her life. She suddenly came upon an idea.

"In Inverlochly...a man named Oleg. He can tell you what kind of person I am." She murmured, near to tears at the thought of leaving her boys behind should she be put to death.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Very well. We will consider his account and any others that may arrive until then. You will remain in captivity until such a time as you are proven innocent, or you are sentenced." The group all rose and left her there in the cold and dark with only a sliver of a window to see the withering twilight outside.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma had never been more fearful of anything in her life. Her heart was racing as it had that day on the loch when her life had almost been ended by a madman. Sitting there on the scratchy cot, she let her head hang into her hands. Finally, she cried. She missed her babies. She missed her husband. She even missed her little life in Inverness. Everything simply felt dark and dreary now.

 

[KieranSoares]

However long passed by, Emma had little way to tell. But after what seemed like forever, the leading priest finally returned to her with a paper in hand. "A letter has arrived from Inverlochly... From a Mr. Dunham Oleg. He claims you are no witch, but rather a merciful and forgiving angel." He folded the paper and tucked it away. "You have this and the word of your family for you, but the accounts of a handful of families against you. We will decide tonight which route to proceed. I would say your prayers, madame. At dawn you will either be sent home or escorted to a stake." With that, he left her once more.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma took the news stoically, but inside she was a quaking mess. Her fate hinged on the discussion that those men were having right that moment. She might be able to go home with her sons, or she might be burned at the stake. One was much more welcome outcome than the other and she was hoping for fate to be on her side.

 

[KieranSoares]

During the night, there was all manner of uproar in the building around Emma, though who was responsible was still a mystery. Near midnight, Prince Henry appeared suddenly in the dark prison, sneaking through shadows til he reached Emma's cell.

"Emma," he whispered. "Emma, I have a key. I'm going to get you out and take you home to Inverness." He sounded terrified, and even in the dim light she could see cuts and bruises on his face.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma was up the instant that she heard her name, pausing when she saw Henry holding the key to her cell. He was promising to take her back to Inverness and he looked as if he had been through quite the fight to make it to her side.

"My boys. I'm not leaving here without my children." Emma said.