Chapter 1
Start writing here… In a small church in, Salem, Massachusetts, a young lady cries. Her name is Roseline. A great burden has fallen on this sixteen-year-old girl, a burden brought by death. Earlier that day the gallows had been put up in the town square and her secret mentor, Sarah Good, along with one other witch and with someone who was not a witch, had been murdered for something a white witch would never do.
Earlier that month some village girls had claimed to be possessed by the devil. That was not true. They had eaten bread that had gone bad. A fungus had been in the bread and the girls' parents blamed three people that they disliked for their daughters own mistakes. And the consequence for that was death.
* * *
Roseline Collins sat up and leaned her head back on a pew in her father’s church. She took a deep breath. It had happened and now she had to deal with a group of witches grieving with the loss of their leader all the while with a straight face.
Her mentor and friend had been hung and now she was a coven leader and heir to a lot of magic was so much to deal with.
“Rose! Rose!”, Her friend Nathanael doubled over, breathing heavily. He must have run to the church,”Rose, they have arrested Elizabeth for witchcraft. Can you ima…”
The world froze. Liz, arrested. It wasn’t possible. She wasn’t a witch. How could she have been accused of being a witch?
“Rose are you listening to me, She has been arrested!”
“ I hear. How could they have arrested her? Sweet Liz could never be a witch.”
“ I know. Someone must have something against her. There is no honest person that would accuse her of witchcraft.” Nathanael was yelling by now, he was so angry.
“Nathanael, calm down. We have to get her out.”
“ Get who out of where.” Rose’s father had come in. “What are you talking about. Rose?”
“ Father, this is one of those things where you do not ask questions. Understand.”
Pastor Collins Sighed. “Rose, what am I going to do with you. If your mother were still alive, may she rest in peace, she would know what to do.” He stared at her a second longer before adding,”There are chores to do.”And then he left and went up to the house.
Roseline sighed,” Does he not know I am not his maid.”She turned to Nathanael,” Sorry but I have to go. I will talk to you tomorrow.” With that, she turned around and headed to the house to do chores.
The very next day Rose bounded out of the front door of her house, dressed in her finest petticoat. She had come up with the idea last night that if she was the leader of a coven of witch then she was going to do a good job at it but first she had business to attend to. As she wove her way through the village a plan began to form in her mind. If she was not able to persuade the judge of Elizabeth Smith innocents then she would use her magic to break her friend free of jail.
The judge did not let Liz free. The old goat!
Groaning to herself as Rose walked home she remembered something.” Drat, I am late for the coven meeting. Again!” She whisper shouted before turning around a quickly walking to an abandoned barn on the outskirts of town, her long black hair flowing behind her.
By the time she got to the meeting, it had already begun. She stepped inside and pulled the old barn door shut, its rusty hinges protesting.
“I’m glad you finally showed up. This is the third time you have been late this month,” chastised Mrs. Oliver.
“Sorry, I got caught up with the trials going on and all, Rose responded sadly.
All 13 of the witches in the barn knew what she was talking about. Sarah Good’s death had been a loss to all. And they all knew what the death of a coven leader meant.
By the end of the meeting, it had been decided. Roseline was too young to be coven leader and a new leader had been appointed. Ironically it was Mrs. Oliver, a wise but temperamental witch, that had been chosen to become Coven leader.
After she had left the meeting, Rose began to think. “ How can I get Elizabeth out of the jail and on the run until she is no longer accused.” Then it came to her. Black magic. She could never, she was a white witch. But… No, she would not do it. She would not risk people’s lives so that her friend would definitely live. She would have to reveal what she was to everyone if she did. Instead, she would knock out the guards and then to a simple unlock spell on the cell door that contained her friend and then turn both Elizabeth and herself invisible before making a run for it. That is what she would do.
Her plan went perfectly. The guards would not remember a thing and there would be no evidence that she was ever there. Elizabeth was safe outside of Salem, on her way to Indiana to start a new life. A life where no one would ever convict her of doing something wrong. And through the entire ordeal, Roseline’s secret identity was never known except to one. Elizabeth had found out the truth and was hurt that she had not been told.
“Rose,” She had said,” I have honored your sense of privacy, but this is a horrible way to find out the truth.”
Roseline responded with a simple I am sorry before turning away from the coach that held her friend. “Stay safe” she called as the coach rolled away in a plume of dust.
For the first time in a long while, Roseline went to bed happy Knowing her friend would be safe from this town’s cursed mind. When she woke up Roseline even planted some of her mother’s favorite white roses in the front garden.
While she was putting the last rose in the ground, Nathanael came jogging up, a smile on his face.
“Roseline have you heard. Last night Liz was broken out of jail. No one can find her.” Nathanael had a worried smile on his face. ” Do you think she is hurt or ?”He trailed off but she knew what he meant.
“Nathanael,” she said in a soothing voice,” I think she is fine. Who would want to hurt sweet Elizabeth.”
“I hope you are right. But do you think she was really a witch? There was no evidence that the cell had been forced open and neither of the guards saw anything.”
Rose smiled,” No, I do not think Liz is a witch but she must have a friend who is. What else could explain it.”
Roseline and Nathanael laughed but Nathanael did not hear the seriousness in her voice. He did not know she was the friend who was a witch.
“Hey, Roseline do you want some help with your roses.” Nathanael asked.
She smiled, “Sure. Why not.”
The End
