RP Surprise gifts Characters: Ichabod, Katrina Time/Date: The morning of Oct. 5 Location: Ichabod and Katrina's room (corrected because I FAIL at copy/paste- how humiliating) Warnings/Rating: Angst (maybe), references to death Summary: Ichabod is most displeased to find a book from his past Status: Complete
Black robes drew his attention from the floor, where his eyes had been while people milled about to comfort the good reverend for the tragedy experienced by his family. The deed was done, his mother had been sent to her rest in a manner which was deemed fitting for a woman convicted of witchcraft- even if the reverend claimed to have saved her soul. Discussions weren't lost on the child despite the fact that he remained silent and still as he had been instructed to do, but it seemed that those conversations were over and it was time for their own.
"Learn from this," his father said in a deep voice as he towered over him, though the child did not dare meet the man's eyes just yet. In a swift movement his father grabbed his wrists and looked at the bandages on his palms; he was a curious child, bordering on nosey it seemed. Too inquisitive for his own good, and that needed to end. The man shoved the child's hands away before he turned to retrieve a large book to show the child as he approached, the man's robes billowing out around him. "Live by this, or die by this," he declared as he dropped the book heavily before the child, who jumped in his chair. "This is the only book I recommend you read..."
Ichabod woke with a start; since his visit to the Hollow unbidden memories had flooded his mind far more often than he would have liked. During his time in New York he had suffered through less of them, but now in this place it seemed as though it would happen again. He looked around the room, though his eyes rested on something new- a large book that now sat on the nightstand. All too familiar, unexpected, and an unwanted addition to the room; his eyebrows rose and he licked his lips as he looked at it. The image was burned into his memory, and slowly he leaned toward it to lift the cover gingerly to find his family tree written within, and his mother's name stricken in the record with writing beside it: "Ex. 22:18".
Curiosity drove him to open it to the page containing the verse, and after reading it he slammed the book shut and rose from the bed to stare at it. His father's justification for the atrocity he had committed, and the verse echoed in his mind before he looked back to the offending book. Why was it here? What was their reason, their purpose?
"Katrina," he said quietly as he looked to see if she was awake after making sure he was dressed decently enough; he wanted to cause no offense to her after all. Her opinion was always valued and was desired, and although she had been asleep he had not even looked to see if he had awakened her.