Now it seems I'm fading, all my dreams are not worth saving Who: Emily and Imogen, multiple NPCs Where: Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts When: Several days in October, 1692 Warnings: Character death, violence
Emily was stretched out in the loft of the barn with her spellbook, a fresh quill and a bottle of ink. Spread out next to her was an assortment of ingredients that she would need for the spell she wanted to try next but she was missing one. Which meant that she was going to need to venture into the market again because it was exceedingly difficult to - oh no, wait, she would simply have Mark or Eric kill her a rabbit when they were out hunting. What good were brothers if not for putting meat on the table, wood in the hearth and gathering certain ingredients for spells? They would never tell her no either, not after the curse she had laid on Eric when he hid her spellbook on her as some sort of a joke. Or a dare. The details had never been straightened but it did not much matter, the end result had been two well-behaved brothers who knew better than to irritate their darker sister. Because sure they could tell mother, but what self-respecting boy claiming to be a man did that? Plus there was always the off chance that Emily would simply not listen and do it all over again. But none of that mattered so much because one of them would get her the rabbit so that she could have the claws off of its feet and whip up the finishing touches on a spell that would get rid of William Hale once and for all.
Oh sure, Imogen had changed her mind. But he had hit her and Emily simply could not stand for the idea of someone drawing breath when they had damaged her sister. Yes she had cursed him with sickness but he might survive that and she had to be sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he would die before the idea that maybe his sickness had come from either of them worked its way in. She had heard tell of the witch trials and while she did not fear the townspeople - believing them to be ignorant swine who were beneath the Archers because they did not know how to practice magic and for no other reason - she knew that it bothered Imogen. A lot of things bothered her sister that should not have. Such as that Hale boy in the first place. Disturbing to think that she had given herself to him on nothing more than a flimsy promise that proved to hold no more weight than the air that should not fill his lungs. Which was a thought she had not spoken out loud because their mother might hear. Their mother believed in the sanctity of life and said that it was not for them to decide the fate of others but for God because yes, she believed in that drivel. Emily rolled her eyes and held her tongue at the table and denied it all the moment she was away. White magic was a waste of time and gray was even worse, leaving the outcome to chance. Her spells had a purpose thank you very much and they were not going to be thwarted by chance and 'fate' or her family. Not her fault that they chose to follow along that path instead of going for the power like she had.
Glancing up from her book Emily sighed when she saw her sister. It seemed like she was truly bothered by the whole thing. "Imogen," Emily called, sitting up and picking stray pieces of hay off her dress and out of her slightly tangled dark hair. "That's not helping anything." Not that she really can help. Her sister had chosen gray magic for whatever reason and Emily would rather she do nothing than try casting a spell for this matter. Gray magic was fickle and not at all trustworthy and she was very likely to hit her sister over the head if she tried to cast a spell. "Why don't you calm down and help me decide what to do with him? He's already sick, therefore an easy target, one more spell and he'd be done for and your honor would be nicely redeemed." Or something. Emily was not an expert on honor or chastity, having absolutely zero interest in either of the things that seemed to matter so much to everyone else. But since they mattered to Imogen they had to be preserved and protected. Just because she had stuffed her head full of hay and gone gallivanting off with an idiot of equal proportions did not mean she had to suffer for it. He did though.
Emily had her priorities straight, if nothing else.