Maid in the Mist

A Village Bathed in Darkness: Innocence Hangs

There was silence. Solaria could hear nothing, she could feel nothing, she could see nothing. There was nothing to feel. She sat at the kitchen table, her eyes wide in terror. Her feet were stained red by her mother's own blood. 

Tears rolled down her cheeks, not that she bothered to wipe them. Her gaze just remained straight forward, never once blinking.

The sight of her mother's dull, lifeless, horrified eyes would not leave her. The mere thought of someone slicing her dear mother's neck like a stuck pig made her stomach turn and revolt.

Who did it? Why? How did they sneak in? How did they do this so quickly? She should have refused to take those potions to the Apothecary. She should have been here.

And what of Luna? Where was she?

The people of Farthing Village were quick to find the body of Stellaria, and they were even quicker to find who did it. But they couldn't find Luna. The only thing that remained of her dear sister was her precious spell book in the garden and a bloody trail of footsteps, too small to be her sisters. With the stirred up dead leaves at the border, they knew full well that Luna was lost to the Forboding Wood. To go in without magic was suicide, so they concluded that Luna was dead.

Not that Solaria could do anything to debunk this. Oh she tried to enter the woods, but Mr. Yates, the bald headed fat man with a red bristly beard, held her back.

"We los' your sister an' your mum..." he hissed, "We ain't losin' you!"

"But my sister could be still out there! They probably kidnapped her!"

"If they did, they took her into those woods. And to go in there is suicide!"

"Then let me go then!" Solaria demanded, "I am a witch with magic! I can find Luna! I can! I swear it!"

Yates was firm, "No. You need to stay here with us. You are the last witch we have and we can't afford to lose you."

Solaria then broke, sobbing for hours. Some say her sobs could be heard all night in the village. Only when dawn rose into the air did the sobbing fade into silence.

The murders started soon after.

***

The first murder may have been Stellaria. But day after day, night after night, murders raged like a poisonous gas through the Farthing Village.

Miss Evelynn High. Age twenty-four. Found in the town well, throat slit and every bone in her body shattered into shards, including her neck. Wasn't discovered until they found the water to taste foul and one child found her finger and an eyeball in the bucket of water they were sent to fetch.

Waylon Georgetown. Age thirty-four. Found hanging in Farmer Brown's barn, from the hayloft. Hung by his own belt. His body was swollen and bruised. Indicating a struggle of some kind. Her had been stabbed in the stomach so many times, there was no blood left in his body by the time Farmer Brown found him.

Stella Barlow. Age eleven. Found dead in the flower field surrounded by Maypops, her arms broken, her leg torn clean off along with her head. The youngest victim, and the death that shook the village more than any other death. The church bells rang all throughout the night, and no one could dare sleep. 

Bella Astor. Age 18. Murdered on her wedding night. Found stabbed in the back in bed. Beaten and mutilated. Blood dripped from the bed sheets and on one of the walls. Her new husband, Mr. Astor, was thought to be the murderer. He then was sent to the gallows, the first execution in twenty years. He hung on the neck until death. Before then, he screamed, pleaded for innocence. But it would never come. Solaria had been invited to witness it, and so she did, shrouded by her cloak. She and the rest of the village had thought the murders would end.

Until the death of the entire Tire family.

Found dead in their beds, throat slashed, no struggle. It was the least elaborate of the murders, but this was the first time an entire family was murdered. Including Mrs. Tire, who was expecting in three months.

And Solaria returned to her house and never came out again. Casting a spell on the lock of the door so no one could come in.

The murders raged on as the month droned on. Sometimes there were three murders in a day and one in a night.

The new blacksmith was hard at work making locks, he hadn't slept in days. He just kept striking the hot iron until he too, as well as his apprentice, found in the fireplace together, burned with their skin peeled off.

Thus, leaving the town defenseless and in fear.

Not that Solaria cared.

***

Since the first murder, the village was more protective of Solaria. To the point where the village kept her indoors and sealed off her garden. Solaria rejected all this mutiny, trying to sneak out into the woods, but was stopped instantly. With her weak power, she went down and submitted.

Every morning, someone would leave a basket of food at the window. Apples, bread, and wine. Some cheese as well. 

In those moments, Solaria plotted her escape into the woods. Every day, she hit the books. Usually, she hated studying. She would rather eat a live newt then study. It was the most boring thing in the world. But being cooped up like a pig for slaughter can make your mind shatter.

Until the death of Bella Astor. Mr. Aster was accused, and Solara believed it. They let her out to watch him hang. She watched him dangle and sway in the autumn breeze, she watched as he let out his dying gasps.

Relief flooded through her, and she slept way better that night. Yet the urge to tread the Forboden Forest was ever so strong. For her sister could still be out there, and for Luna she studied.

Until the next murder. Studying became even harder. So much so that she actually bothered to learn the lock spell. By the murder of the Tire family, she felt so helpless

However, she knew that when she used the lock spell, it would never be broken. She would be stuck here until she died.

The town's people wanted that, Solaria knew that. They didn't want to use Solaria for they knew she was weak and would never be able to save them. They never said it out loud, but Solaria was no fool. She was to be hidden until the killer dead, better to be safe than sorry. So Solaria obliged by locking herself away forever.

Solaria knew that they would never been able to find this monster. Not unless they ventured in the woods, but they wouldn't dare take a step into that place of death. What cowards.

Even then, with every murder, Solaria lost more and more strength. It got to the point where Solaria would never leave her bed, not even to eat. The house fell to ruins in a matter of days, just as the village of Farthing did.

For a long while, no one knew if the killer would even strike. No matter where they were, they weren't safe. And they couldn't leave. For that would mean leaving the village that many were born in. That, and restarting life is rather difficult.

So the days continued, and murders paralyzed the village. So many thought that the end was near. So many were executed. There was always one that would hang each night. But the murders were continuing. They all thought it to be a witch. 

But there were no witches, nor other villages that were less than a mile from farthing.

Farthing Village was doomed

***