What would it take for you to forgive the person who signed your death wish?
Years after escaping execution in the Salem Witch Trials, nineteen-year-old Aurora returns to her village with her sights set on revenge. Determined to dismantle the oppres...
🎵 Salem's Witch is much more enjoyable with music. :)
Salem's POV
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☆━━━━━ Salem's Witch ━━━━━━☆
When Salem was only ten years old, she became a figurehead for murder.
"Jim Smith, Mark Smith, Mary Smith. Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, John Wilard. Margaret Hawkes and Sarah Hawks."
She keeps track of each name, the victims imprinting themselves into the very fabric of her mind.
One step.
Two step.
Three step.
Four.
The wooden floorboards creak with her every step, its noise echoing against the silence of her attic bedroom. It didn't used to be so quiet— but she deeply longs for the noise to return.
Before, when her older brother Francis lived with them and her family was normal, this house used to be oh-so lively and vibrant. While still a bit dysfunctional, it never once occurred to Salem to doubt how her mother's increasing disdain of witchcraft or her father's late-night affairs would have any effect on their loving family. Their precious normal.
Yet, how very wrong Salem was.
The other nobles frequently talk down about their family lives, but Salem didn't understand the children's complaints. They would ask her, "Annie, don't you ever wish you could run away from all the pressure?". To her, this line of reasoning made little sense. Yes, as members of the nobility, they had high expectations to fulfill and a small margin of error. Sure, the long hours of training to eventually usurp their parents' titles left her exhausted.
However, her parents rarely severely punished her like the other children described. Whenever she would come home from school with a negative note, her mother and father would simply encourage her to improve next time around. She was their family's spoiled, little princess. She felt safe and at home— always wanted and well taken care of.
Well, not for long, that is.
As her flamboyant older brother began ditching school to hang out with the crown prince (which she was specifically told to keep a secret), she started to notice more and more the cracks in the foundation of her family. The crushed alcohol cans left lying in odd spots, the whispered arguments behind closed doors, and the pointed jabs dripping with unspoken suspicions.
Salem thought— no, she knew, that if she were to become a better, smarter daughter; then maybe, just maybe, she could stop bringing the family down. Surely, the reason behind the bickering must be her subpar grades. If she improved her dancing and manners, then she won't be such a burden on the Putnam family name— right?
