I bounced my baby sister Emily on my left knee, and listened to her high-pitched giggle. Hans was off talking to Mary again, though she was supposed to be helping Mother with the herbs. Jeremy was flying some-odd new contraption of his, and I could hear Mother inside grinding up the mint.

It was really quiet and bright that day...The sun was shining as bright as Emily's golden hair, and the green grass had never smelled so sweet. A light blue bonnet was tied under my chin to keep the sun from scorching my pale skin, and Emily's sea-green eyes looked up at me in wonder.

Nat was working in the stables that afternoon, but had promised to come to dinner with me. Beltane was fast approaching, and our hearts grew more filled with love and magick by the day. Ostara had come and gone in the blink of an eye, and all of us children had loved collecting the hen's eggs mother had hidden for us to find.

My black kitten Tessa was rubbing along by bare legs, stopping to swat at my feet now and then. She had a small white ring around her neck, and her golden eyes always reminded me of an English coin. I had gotten her for birthday on Lughnasadh, and she was growing quickly.

Mary's rabbit, Paradox, seemed to grow more restless by the day, and we were starting to wonder if she would ever calm down. Our small log house was built a fair ways out of town, so we had quite a number of pets.

Mary's child, Tabatha, was dancing around in circles in the hay, and Hans's little sister Francis was watching Tabatha with wonderment. I was only twelve and a half that year, so Mother figured it was best for me to watch the children.

A pair of hands clasped over my eyes, and I could hear Nat's stifled giggled as he whispered, "Guess who I am Abagail."

"Natty stop playing games, I have to tend to the babies." Nat slowly removed his hands from their place over my eyes, and put a bunch of wild roses in my lap. The bright pink color was extraordinary, and it always amazed me how well Nat knew my favorite flowers. Mary often teased me that I'd marry Nat someday, but I never took her seriously.

I turned around on the tree stump I was sitting on, and smiled at Nat as Emily giggled and cooed "pretty!" when she picked up one of the roses. I set the roses on the ground beside me, and stood up, holding Emily on my hip. Her pretty blonde curls sparkled in the sunlight, and her sea-green eyes were enough to make anyone's heart melt. Nat carefully pulled my bonnet off my head and looked to see the blue ribbons tying my long braids together.

"Where's Jeremy?" Nat searched the yard with his eyes, and then turned them back to look at me. Jeremy suddenly appeared from behind the trees. His contraption was in his hands, and looked quite battered.

"Did someone call for me?" Jeremy looked back and forth from me to Nat, trying to figure out who had said his name. I pointed my finger at Nat, still balancing Emily on my hip. Jeremy smiled wickedly, and pulled Mother's best pink sheet off the strings where she had set the cloth to dry. He motioned for Nat to sit down on the stump where I had been previously, and Nat carefully moved my bonnet out of the way before sitting down, so as not to ruin it.

I set Emily carefully on the emerald green grass, and took one side of Mother's baby pink sheet. Emily blew a few curls out of her eyes, and then crawled over to Jeremy and I, and onto the sheet. Each of us grabbed two corners and set the sheet on the ground for a second, then quickly pushing it up into the air. Emily soared up about twenty hands high, and then bounced back down onto the sheet. Jeremy and I had been doing this with Emily since Imbolc, and she seemed to love it. We threw her up in the air once more, and watched as she flew away from the sheet, and landed in a nearby haystack.

Mary seemed to appear out of nowhere as she lifted Emily from the sun-kissed hay, and kissed her small nose. Emily giggled with delight, and Hans soon emerged from the forest. Mary set Emily down as Tabatha came running to her at top speeds, and jumped into her mother's arms. Mary swung Tabatha around in a circle, finally setting her daughter down and hugging me tightly.

Mary's mother, my mother's sister, had been decapitated when Mary was only a small baby on accounts of witchcraft. Aunt Emma had died proudly as a daughter of the Goddess, Mother always said. Mary had been living with us ever since that time, and treated me as a younger sister even though she was seventeen.

Emily giggled and clapped her hands saying "Bug-cup Mawy!", in her high-pitched voice. Mary smiled and promptly sat down on the grass, and Emily climbed into her lap. Taking small pieces of Emily's hair and a few buttercups, Mary wove them into Emily's hair. My baby sister grinned happily, and raced off towards the house when Mary had finished.

Jeremy grabbed the corners of the sheet from my hands, and quickly folded the cloth and put it back on the string. Tabatha's honey-brown hair glinted in the sunlight as she climbed in her mother's lap. Mary set to work braiding Tabatha's silky hair as Mother came wandering out of the house and picked up Emily.

"Nathaniel, you sister is coming up the path."

Nat took off at a run as Sally Fisen made her way up the dirt path that lead to our house. Sally's baby. Thomas, was cradled in one arm, and she had a handled basket resting over the other arm.

One by one, we all walked back up to the house. I picked up the bunch of roses and my blue bonnet on my way back up to the cabin, and watched as Mother frowned.

"Abagail Lynn! What have I told you about wearing your bonnet when you're out in this sun?"

She looked at me as though waiting for an answer, but promptly turned and walked back into the house when she saw I didn't have any intention of answering her. Nat winked at me, and I felt my face turn red as we all filed inside.

The door had been left open all day in order to keep the house cool, and the shutters were also open. Wreaths made for Beltane were sitting on a shelf above the empty fire-pit, and I set the bunch of wild roses in the middle of the table as I stated getting places set for everyone.

Roasted potatoes and fresh vegetables from Sally's garden were set in various places around the table, and it wasn't long before everyone was eating.

After supper, Jeremy pulled out a piece of parchment and a goose feather quill. "S-A-L-L-Y F-I-S-I-N." We all started giggling as Sally quickly moved over to where Jeremy was writing, and we quietly waited for her to correct him.

"It's Sally FIsen Jeremy, not Sally Fisin. Long I sound people! For the love of nature!" We all giggled once again at Sally's correction, and I attempted to stay awake as it began to grow dark outside, and my eyes slowly began to shut.

Sally rocked Thomas back and forth in her arms as she sung "Amazing Grace". Mother stiffened at the sound of the Christian hymn, but didn't say anything to Sally. Mary shot me looks as though to say "keep your mouth closed". Hans's sister Francis was sleeping in his lap, and Hans carefully moved her into his arms as he stood up.

"Thank you for allowing Francis and I to stay for dinner, but Mother is expecting us home soon."

"I should be going too, I need to get dinner made for David. Sally, Thomas, Hans, and Francis all set off down the road, and Mary and I stood in the doorway watching them leave. Nat kissed me lightly on the cheek, and then ran to catch up with his sister.

Mother shut the shutters with an agitated snap, making Emily wake up from her cradle and stare at Mother's back. Tessa was laying on the floor near the door, and her eyes were constantly daring back and forth as though trouble was afoot.

Elijah, Mother's bo, snuck quietly through the back door, and wrapped his arms around her waist. All time seemed to stop as Mother's eyes began to sparkle, and Elijah pulled her in for a kiss.

Elijah was a backman, and in our town, having contact with black people was almost as blasphemous as doing witchcraft. Because our whole family was part of a coven of witches, Mother was willing to take the chance of being with Elijah.

"It won't be long now before they find out what we are...They already captured Sarah, and they're going to float her tomorrow."

Mary looked up at Mother and Elijah as she said the words, and I felt all the color drain from my face. Mother sunk down into one of the chairs from the kitchen table, and Elijah held onto her hand tightly.

"Sarah...? Sarah McKiln?" Mary nodded her head sadly as I choked out the words. My best friend was soon to be gone...Another person in our small coven put on trial for being a witch. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, trying to prevent tears from flooding out of my eyes.

"There aren't many of us left, but we need to gather for a circle tomorrow night. If there's even the slightest chance of any of us surviving this...we need to band together."

We all nodded our heads silently, and Tabatha crawled into Mary's lap.

We were only a fourth of the way through our new year, and we all knew deep inside that we wouldn't see next Samhain.

I don't really remember the circle that night...I remember seeing Mother's, Mary's, Elijah's, and Susan Tyfen's faces on the other side of the fire, the flames almost close enough to lick their clothes with heat.

Tabatha, Emily, and I were sitting on a bale of hay inside the circle watching the others work. The firelight danced across Emily's happy face, and Tessa was laying on my feet expectantly. The sacred oak in the middle of the circle was bright among the shadowed trees of the forest.

A twig snapped near the edge of the circle, and Tessa jumped onto my lap and began hissing as though the Christian devil himself was upon us.

Villagers came rushing at the circle, and Mary's high-pitched scream echoed the night. One of the men caught Mother by the hair, and another grabbed Emily up off the hay bale as Mary, Tabatha, and myself fled into the trees.

Mary scooped up Tabatha in her arms, and I followed her shadow as she ran deeper into the forest. She set Tabatha down on the ground and laced her fingers tightly together. I stepped into her cupped hands with one foot, and Mary shoved me up into the tree. When I was seated and fairly stable, Mary tossed Tabatha up to me.

"No matter what you hear, don't you dare climb down from this tree. Do you hear me? Climb up to about the middle of the tree and stay there."

Tabatha and I merely nodded our heads as Mary took off running back towards the circle.

I climbed quickly up the branches, stopping every now and then to make sure Tabatha was behind me. The thick pine branches were covered in sap and moss, making it difficult to keep climbing. I wasn't sure how high we had climbed, but I was pretty sure the villagers couldn't see us from up here.

I tucked myself close to the tree trunk by the edge of the branch, and pulled Tabatha up into my lap. It was raining harder that night than I had ever seen before, and lightening licked the sky. Rain dripped down my face as I help Tabatha close to me under my cloak, and the forest was deathly silent.

The rain came down harder as the night wore on, and Tabatha finally fell asleep. I could feel the energy from our circle all around, and a light sense of warmth and comfort was wrapped around us.

Staring down through the deep evergreen branches, Mother's raven sat at the bottom of the tree trunk and stared up at me. Tabatha's honey-brown curls were soaked and were laying every which way on her small head. I looked down at the raven once again.

"Please, for Mary's sake, don't let her daughter burn." The raven cocked his head to one side while I spoke, as though he were listening to my every word, and then he promptly flew off.

Tears stung my eyes and I cried myself to sleep that night with only one thought in my mind. My baby sister was going to die.

"The next thing I knew, it was morning and the sun was shining in my eyes. Tabatha stared up at me with wide eyes, and I saw Susan's dead body hanging from the tree across from us. If they hung Susan last night...What happened to everyone else?

I climbed down the tree branches, and braced myself against the trunk as Tabatha jumped into my arms. I held her tightly to me, and tucked my cloak around both of us as I began the walk to town.

As we entered the town square, the area was packed with people. In the middle of the circle of people was a stake stacked high with woo. I pulled the cloak hood over my head, and watched ast the leader of our town bound Mother, Elijah, and many others tightly to the wood.

I noticed Jeremy sneak to my side, and he looked up at me with tears in his eyes.

"They're going to burn Mama aren't they?"

He wrapped his arms tightly around the side of my waist, and buried his face in my thick brown cloak. I pushed him away from me and looked into his sorrowful brown eyes.

"Jeremy follow the raven to the oak tree in the forest. Don't come out. No matter what you see or hear, stay in the forest."

I shoved him towards the forest, and with one look back at me, he took off running into the trees. A small voice in the back of my head that I knew to be Jeremy's whispered, "I love you Abagail..."

After the voice faded, I closed my eyes tightly so that no tears would fall. When I opened them again, the stake was already lit and it was burning high. I watched as Emily wrapped her tiny hands around Mother's pentacle.

Flames licked at their clothes, but still neither Mother, Elijah, or Emily screamed. My eyes filled with tears, and Tabatha buried her head into my shoulder. I watched them until they bodies were nothing but ashes, and the smell of burning flesh hung over everyone as though it was going to suffocate us.

I could feel my shoulder becoming wet as Tabatha finally finished crying and her tears soaked through the sleeve and top of my dress.

Tabatha slid down from my shoulder and raced over to her father as he came towards us.

"Tabatha baby, you are in dire need of a bath."

She giggled as he picked her up and carried her away from the town square and over to the river.

Two old ladies were chattering beside me, and I quietly listened to their conversation.

"Yes that's right, Lyddia had her daughter Emily with one of the black field-hands!"

"How dare she! You know Martha, Mary's husband Johnathan caught his wife in bed with someone last night."

"Why Eleanor! Which man was it?"

"Oh my dear that's where it gets worse! Mary was caught in bed with tone of Tristian's female servants!"

"Oh my goodness! They say Johnathan is going to drown the child because of Mary's sin."

I felt all the color drain from my face, and I took off running after Johnathan and Tabatha.

When I finally reached the clearing by the river, Johnathan had Tabatha's head held under the water. As he pulled her head up out of the river, she screamed, "Abby!" Johnathan's eyes snapped up and stared into mine as he shoved his daughter's head under the water again and kept it there until she stopped breathing.

He started at me evilly as Tabatha's body bobbed up and down in the water, and tears streamed down my cheeks.

I ran home as fast as I could, and when I got to the small cabin, I saw Paradox's white fur speckled with black laying on the ground. Tessa was laying on the dining table, her neck snapped in two.

I screamed as a woman pulled my wrists behind my back and bound them tight with a piece of rope.

"I've found Lyddia's daughter! I've found the last witch!" The woman screamed out her words for all to hear, and pulled me along into the village.

I fell backwards onto the ground where they had burned Mother and Emily, and grasped Mother's pentacle in my fingers. I dropped it into the pocket of my dress quickly as the woman grabbed me by the hair and dragged me off towards the jail.

A guard picked me up and flung me into a stall. Mice squeaked and scattered as I fell into a pile of hay they had previously been standing on. Mary's eyes started down into mine, and I felt my eyes well up with tears again.

"Mary...Tab-..." I tried to choke out Tabatha's name, but I only cried harder. Mary took the rope off of my hands and stared into my eyes.

"What happened to Tabatha Abagail?"

I looked up at her and then quickly lowered my eyes to the ground.

"Johnathan...he..." I cried even harder and everything became blurry from so many tears. "Tabatha drowned."

Mary's face went as pale as a Yule snowflake, and she hugged me tightly.

"My baby..." She blinked her eyes a few times and looked at me.

"Mother, Elijah, and Emily burned...I watched it Mary...I watched them die..." I sobbed into her shoulder, and then looked up at her again.

"They hung Susan...I found Paradox laying all over the yard, and they snapped Tessa's neck and left her on the table."

We both looked up as a guard shoved Sally into the stall, Thomas in her arms. Her clothes were filthy, and dirt-stained tears ran down her bright pink cheeks. She slumped down in the hay beside me and stared at the ground.

"Sally why are you in here?"

"For growing lavender and teaching some small children how to write. I'm a pure hearted Christian, how could they do this to me?"

I picked up Thomas out of her arms and held him close, as Sally buried her face in her hands. Nat's face appeared by the door of the jail, and within a few minutes he was standing by the cell door.

"Abagail? Is that really you?" I nodded my head sadly, and he threw a small bundle through the cell doors into my lap.

"What's this?"

"Lavender blossoms from your garden, some food from my mother's kitchen, and some blue ribbons to keep your hair black." I set the bundle on the ground and stood up and walked to the cell door.

"Thank you Natty, you have no idea how much this means to me."

I slipped my hand in-between two bars and tightly squeezed his hand. He wrinkled his nose as he looked at the other stalls.

"Oh I almost forgot! Hans is tending to your herb garden. He says to tell you that the mint is almost full grown."

In spite of the situation, I felt a smile sneak to my face.

"You better go Natty. I don't want you to end up in here." He kissed my hand and turned and walked out of the jail. I sighed a little, and sat back down in the hay.

Over the next two days, people were filed in and out of the jail for trial. Sally was taken out by a Witch Pricker, and the villagers drowned Thomas. When Sally returned, blood was dripping down her body from where the Witch Pricker had stabbed her with needles to see if she would confess.

Screams of Christians being hung, beheaded and burned echoed day to day, and the number of the people in the jail was quickly getting smaller.

The day before Beltane, a guard summoned me outside and lead me over the very river where Tabatha had drowned. He bound my hands with a piece of leather cord, and tied a bag of grain to my feet.

As he pushed me into the water, my head screamed that I needed to breathe. Falling deeper and deeper into the water, bubbles of air floated out of my mouth to the surface, and Tabatha's face appeared before me. Her spirit was hovering in the water in front of me, and she looked at me sadly.

"Tell Mommy that I love her Abby."

A strong and sudden shove from underneath me pushed me up to the surface of the water. I could feel the bag of grain being unbound from my feet, and the guard pulled me to shore.

"Tomorrow you burn witch."

He dragged me back to the jail and shoved me into the stall beside Mary. I hugged her tightly even thought I was dripping wet.

"Tabatha told me to tell you that she loves you."

Mary's eyes filled up with tears, and she stared at the ground. Sally was pacing back and forth across the stall, and mice were scattering every-which-way.

Mary, Sally, and I were practically the only people left in the jail except two young girls. They had been brought in the day before because they both wrote with their left hands. Mary had scoffed at the guard for imprisoning them, but they were set to burn with us the next day.

In less than a week my whole world had been shattered. Thomas had been killed, and Sally was losing her mind because of it. Mother, Elijah, and Emily were all dead, and Jeremy....I didn't have a clue what had become of him.

Mary and I both watched as the guard came in and bound all our hands. We were lead out of the jail in a line, and I quickly had Mary tie Mother's pentacle around my neck. Sally was in absolute hysterics, and the two young girls were crying. Mary held her head high, and I carefully scanned the crowd.

Nat came running over to me, a wild rose and a bright blue ribbon in one of his hands.

"What do ye think you're doing boy? Get back to thy mother!"

"No sir, I have partings to say to Abagail."

"Make it fast, they're set to burn at dawn."

Nat's bright eyes were clouded with tears, and he handed me the wild red rose. He closed his eyes for a second, and then slipped a silver ring in a spiral shape onto my smallest finger. He set the blue ribbon in my hand, and looked up at me.

"One day I will marry you Abagail, and if not, I'll die trying. Abby...Promise not to forget me when I see you again in the next life...I need you more than anything."

I smiled at him. "I promise Nat." He hugged me tightly and kissed my lips softly before disappearing into the gathered crowd

The villagers changed the word witch over and over again until the guard had us bound to the wood. I turned my head to look at the old oak tree that was in the middle of our circle, only to see Jeremy, Francis, and Hans looking at Mary and I.

I closed my eyes tightly as the man lit the branches, and opened them as I felt Mary grasp my hand tightly.

"See you in the next life Mary."

"Happy Beltane Abagail."

Sally's and the girls' screamed echoed through the mountain, and Mary and I spend our remaining time alive looking at one another. The smell of scorched flesh permeated the village as it had at previous burnings.

The last thing i remember was looking down at my body that had been reduced to ashes. Nat's eyes were pouring out tears onto he ashes, and as my spirit drifted off, I heard him whisper.

"Guess who Abagail."