A Plague's End ~ Plague Tale Innocence Fanfiction ~ Hugo/OC

Excerpt

1361

The streets of a small town in Auvergne glistened from the morning showers. The dirt that had pooled from the faeces of the rats and the carcass of the dead was now being swept away by a miserable street cleaner. But upon seeing the bright face of the young boy that only brought kind words and glad tidings for all, he smiled brightly. 

"Bonjour Monsieur Hugo!" The man placed his brush against the wall and then hurriedly wiped his blackened hands on his old chausses. And then finally remembering the respect the young boy carried with him, he awkwardly bowed. 

Hugo did not seem to mind his frazzled appearance for his own was not any better. "A good morning to you, Monsieur Lamar. Your hard work seems to be paying off." He took a deep breath towards the street and the pleasant smell of petrichor that had finally overtaken the smell of flesh reminded him of home. 

Monsieur Lamar nodded happily. "Yes, well . . . it is not a difficult job to do. Just a little sore on the eyes." 

The cross on the door of Lamar's house saddened Hugo. He looked tentatively at the closed window as if wishing for it to open. He did not know why it had begun to matter to him. 

Lamar, having a keen eye voiced his question. "Is something the matter, Monsieur?" 

This time it was the young boy who looked uncomfortable and frazzled. "Er . . . no. I was - well, how is your daughter, Monsieur Lamar?" He asked hurriedly, a prominent red spreading across his pale cheeks till he began to feel the need to remove his overcoat. 

The man was perplexed at the question. No one had ever cared to worry about the health of his daughter, rather the townsfolk would wish her dead. Until this mysterious boy had entered their small village bringing happiness with him. And the rats had stopped coming out too. 

"Giselle is . . . she is as well as one can be. She was out collecting herbs last night, but those terrible goons of André are hellbent on making my Giselle's life difficult." 

The boy's grey eyes enlarged with slight horror and then flashed with a fury that had once overtaken him when his mother was at the mercy of the Inquisition. The memory made his head hurt painfully. 

"I - I didn't know it was this bad. I see that the villagers do not take much liking to Giselle, but André? I imagined he had a duty to protect everyone including yourself and Giselle?" 

Monsieur Lamar spat disdainfully, not caring that he had swept that area just a few moments ago. "They care for no one, Monsieur. It's the money that fattens their pocket that they take from us poor 'uns. And why would they like Giselle - those bloody neighbours of mine have convinced everyone that she is a witch that wanders the forests at night! A witch!" 

At his loud outburst, a woman from the opposite house peeked her head out of her loft. "You done moaning, Lamar? Or are you also getting possessed by the evil your daughter is up to, no doubt!" 

Lamar sighed tiredly as if he had gone through a similar conversation multiple times. He bowed to Hugo with far less enthusiasm from before and then retreated into his house having finished his early morning shift. 

As soon as they were alone, the woman addressed Hugo. "Stay away from this heretic family, Monsieur Hugo! You don't understand how dangerous the witch is and what she has done." 

The owner of a dangerous power barely paid her attention as his own power, Prima Macula rippled in his fingers making them twitch. And then a thought came in his mind with such force that he felt foreign in his own person. A thought that had never occurred before especially for an innocent being. 

Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! KILL . . .  HER!