Season of the Witch Part 1

From: iloi0lil0@aol.com (IlOI0lIl0)

Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 00:00:00 +0000

Season of the Witch

The pounding on the door came after midnight and was followed by a crash as the
door was knocked from its hinges. A scream of terror could be heard from
Shelly, the scullery maid while Horace and Eugenie were startled in their bed
from the relaxed sleep of post coitus bliss.

Horace jumped to his feet but was hit in the head and groin by the staff
carried by one of the hooded intruders. Eugenie covered herself with the meager
blankets and cowered in terror as five hooded figures entered the room which
was only illuminated by the soft flicker of a dying fire in the hearth.

One of the intruders spoke in a gruff tone. "You are summoned in the name of
the Inquisition! Arise witch and cover yourself!" In a very low meek voice
Eugenie trembled, "But sirs...." "Silence you whelp from hell or I will silence
you myself!" replied the hooded figure as the groans of her husband who was
laying on the floor in a fetal position clutching his groin could be heard in
the background. Eugenie was shaking almost uncontrollably in fear as she stood
up using the blanket to cover herself. As she moved towards the hearth where
her clothes hung, one of the hooded figures snatched her covering from her.
Eugenie cried out and tried to cover her naked parts with her hands and arms
while the hooded figures snickered.

Two the hooded men took Horace's pantaloons and were roughly pulling them up
his legs as Eugenie, who was wearing only a course fabric frock was led from
the room. In the anteway she saw Shelly with a brank placed over her head with
blood dripping from her mouth where the tongue piece thrust down her throat.
The poor girls eyes were starting from their sockets as tears ran down her
cheeks as she suffered in obvious pain.

The two women were taken to an enclosed cart and placed in the small confined
space. The door on the back of the cart was slammed shut and barred as Eugenie
could hear the anguished cries of her husband following several strong thumps
as if a sack of grain were being struck by a cudgel. There was more noise and
shuffling at the back of the cart, but in the dark confined space that held
Eugenie and her servant, nothing could be seen, but much could be imagined.

With a start the cart began to move and the hurried steps of someone outside
could be plainly heard in the dark compartment. Eugenie's hands found her
servant who was gagging occasionally as the brank caused her fits. On and on
the cart drove over cobbled roads and after a while it sounded as if a dead
weight were being dragged from the back of the bouncing horse drawn cart.
Eugenie and Shelly held each other in their arms shivering in the cold and fear
that racked their slender bodies.

Then the shouts of men could be heard as the cart finally stopped. An order was
heard to, "Take him away!" before many minutes of silence passed. After what
seemed to be an eternity, the back of the cart was opened and Eugenie quickly
felt a pair of hands grab her ankles and pull her towards the door. She tried
to hold on to Shelly, but it was useless. Eugenie found herself in the arms of
the hooded figures who carried her off through a stone doorway. Down several
sets of stairs went the hooded figures half carrying, half dragging the poor
girl. As Eugenie was led down a putrid smelling corridor she began to retch and
vomit at the odor and in fear. But the figures did not stop and cause her to
rest as they threw her face down in a cell that measured no more than 4 x 6
feet with a ceiling of no more than 5 1/2 feet. Eugenie was in a state of sheer
panic and pressed herself up against the far corner of the stone cell.

Soon she could hear the noise of more people coming and with the weak
illumination of the torches held by the hooded figures, she could make out the
form of Shelly. Two figures unfastened the brank and pulled it from the maids
bleeding mouth. A moan of agony came from deep within the poor girls throat
while the spiked wheel again ripped at her tongue as the device was pulled by
her lips. Shelly was also thrown into the cell with Eugenie and jumped with a
start as she realized she was not alone.

But as the door was closed with a creaking of the rusty hinges, Eugenie reached
out to Shelly and pulled her close. Shelly tried to speak, but her tongue was
already beginning to swell and the words came out as mumbles. Eugenie put her
hand to Shelly's bloodied lips and cradled her in her arms.

After a period of time a noise could be heard in the darkness, and then a
squeak broke the silence. "Rats," thought Eugenie! There were rats in the cell
with the poor girls. The scratching noise became louder and finally something
with sharp claws ran over the legs of Shelly as she kicked and screamed in a
fit of terror. For what seemed like hours or even days the girls fended off the
rats which were attracted by the vomit covered clothes of Eugenie and the smell
of blood from Shelly's frock. The girls actually managed to hurt one of the
horrible creatures as they kicked it against the wall of the cell. They then
listened in horror at the pitiful squeals of the creature as the other rats
attacked the wounded animal and began to eat it alive.

Time passed slowly in the dark. Every once and while a small hatch would be
opened at the base of the door and bowl of water was pushed through the tiny
crack. At times food would also be tossed into the cell. It wasn t much. A
piece of dry, moldy bread or a thin porridge. For a while the girls refused to
eat the offerings, but soon the pangs of hunger got the best of them and they
forced down the rancid food.

As days went on, the girls tried to make the best of their surroundings. They
were only able to find things in the dark by feeling, but they made the best of
things as they could. The corner at the right side of the door was used as the
toilet after the girls discovered that the far corner drained into the area
they had set aside for sleeping, which was covered with a lice infested layer
of straw. They found steel rings were attached to the walls and one had a
length of stout chain attached to it. While they hated the confines of this
stone prison, they both knew it could be far worse.

After what seemed like a month had passed, but in reality was only a week, the
noise of several male voices could be heard outside of their cell door. As they
huddled together in the darkness, the sounds were unmistakable as the door was
unbolted and they pulled open. The light of a burning oil torch filled the tiny
cell as thick black smoke rolled over the ceiling as the guard called, "Out you
two!" to the terrified girls.

Eugenie went first, crawling on her hands and knees. As she exited the door the
guards grabbed her hair and pulled her to her feet as she cried in pain and
fear. Shelly was overcome with terror and froze in the back corner of the cell.
One of the guards cursing went into the cell and pulled the terrified woman out
by her legs. As Shelly was pulled to her feet the guard slapped her face
several times almost knocking her senseless as retribution for making him enter
the fetid cell.

The girls arms were tied wrist to elbow behind their backs with a course rope
which bit fiercely into their skin and they were led down the dank and smelly
corridor off to the unknown. In route to their final destination, they passed
many cells. Through the heavy bolted doors they heard the groaning of people in
torment and agony. Down one side corridor they heard the sounds of a whip
meeting flesh and the pained cries of the victim whose flesh was being torn by
the leather thongs. In particularly narrow part of the passage they had to
stand next to the wall as two guards dragged and unconscious woman whose loose
sack frock was covered with fresh blood on the bodice and which dribbled from
her feet having run down her legs. Eugenie and Shelly were so frightened that
they were nearly unable to walk as their bodies quivered in fear. Then Eugenie
strained to look down one particularly dark side passage as she heard a pained
voice that sounded like her missing husband, but the guards just shoved her
along the way.

At last they entered a room with a large vaulted ceiling that draped in black
cloth. They approached a table at which sat three men all clothed in dark
robes. A cross was placed behind the men and off to the one side sat a scribe
with quill and paper awaiting to record the events. The men at the table
intently studied some papers and acted as if they hadn't noticed the arrival of
the prisoners. After minutes had passed the central figure looked up, sighed,
and addressed the two woman.

"You have been brought before this holy body charged with the crime of
witchcraft," he said. Eugenie cried out, "It's a lie!" as Shelly fell to her
knees and began to beg for mercy. "Silence!" the man cried out. "We will
determine your guilt or innocence as a witch cannot be trusted to speak the
words of the truth. We will pray for your mortal souls and if you are infected
by foul spirits we will free your soul from the eternal torment that you have
endured." To Eugenie, it sounded as if they had been already judged guilty and
the images of past witch burnings that she had witnessed coursed through her
brain. "You will be submitted to the question to determine the truth before we
pass final sentence on your mortal bodies. Now be off, we have important work
to do," and with a wave of his hand he dismissed the two. Eugenie tried to
protest and insisted that she was not a witch, but the guard pulled her tied
arms upward almost dislocating her shoulders on the spot and she cried out in
agony as the pain raged through her shoulders and down through her chest.

As they walked down the corridor from which they came, they stopped at a
different cell and opened the door. One guard took Shelly, her arms still tied,
and pushed her through the door. As Eugenie walked forward to enter the cell,
she was blocked and the door was swung shut. Shelly cried out in terror now
knowing that she was alone. Eugenie called words of encouragement to her
servant as she was dragged further down the hall and placed into a small cell
around the bend.