Free Before by Keeley Smith Page B

She was sure that Jack didn’t mean what he
said. Tabitha wasn’t sure.
    Tabitha had expressed her opinion openly, believing that
Jack’s family may be at fault. Tabitha told her that it came down
to Anne’s illness. The commoners were bound to noticed something
not quite right there. Anne had been ill for so long that people
were whispering.
    Cora didn’t want to believe Tabitha. She so desperately wanted
things to be right between the two of them again, but she didn’t
know if they could ever get back to what had been. Did she want to,
knowing the little trust Jack had for her and her family in a time
of uncertainty? It hadn’t taken him very long to turn against
her.
    Things had changed so drastically.
    She assumed that no news was good news. As far as she knew
Anne was still at home but it had been months since she’d been let
go. Why wasn’t her mother home yet? If one had been found innocent,
everyone else would be too. They couldn’t possibly have found
anything, otherwise they would have heard of it, the mobs would
have arrived for them too. She was giving herself a headache trying
to process everything. This whole thing was a mess.
    Cora sat at the window watching the glistening flakes float
onto the window ledge. Crisp, white snow covered the landscape
giving it the appearance of a place that was full of magic and
mystery. She watched as a group of children ran through the
neighbouring field. Their squeals of delight echoed in the quiet
evening as snow balls flew in all directions. Cora sighed and
turned her back on what should have been her life. Simple. Easy.
Fun.
    Her grandmother had decorated the small room in an attempt to
appear festive. The small evergreen tree sat next to the fire, its
branches filled with paper flowers and foil wrapped sweets.
Underneath the tree lay an assortment of fruit, nuts and several
cakes that her grandmother had baked. Her mother would be the first
to open a cake and eat some, her mouth would be overcrowded, her
eyes glinting mischievously. Cora felt the intense ache grip her
heart. She shook herself trying not to sink into that
mood.
    Candles every size imaginable were clustered together along
the hearth and in the corners of the room, throwing off light. The
fire her grandfather had built was burning brightly, the wood
popping and crackling as it was consumed by the flames. Light
danced along the walls sending heat into the room. Along the
fireplace her grandmother had weaved holly, the light from the fire
and candle flickered along the deep green, spiky leaves.
    Cora sighed, wishing her mother was here with them for the
hundredth time. They hadn’t thought to celebrate Christmas whilst
her mother wasn’t here, it didn’t feel right. But her grandmother
had wanted to put up the decorations and Cora really didn’t want to
stop her. If her grandmother needed this little bit of normal, she
could have it.
    She looked across at Tabitha who sat quietly watching the
flames dance in the fire. The light flickered over her long,
emerald green robe which made it look magical, like a lovely,
swirling potion that had melted against her body. Tabitha was here
because she had never missed a Christmas with her family, and she
didn’t think to break tradition today.
    Especially not today.
    Cora knew what Tabitha was thinking about because the thought
had never left her mind. Tabitha’s eyes flickered up to meet hers;
she felt something pass silently between the two of them. Some hint
from those leaf green eyes that told her the witchcraft accusations
would only become worse. She could see the fear on Tabitha’s face,
one that confirmed her suspicions. If Tabitha was afraid, and
Tabitha was unfazed by many things, Cora knew that the situation
was bad. They had to leave. They needed to get out of this village,
but they couldn’t without her mother.
    They’d had some cases of flying rocks smashing through their
windows. On one occasion, Cora had been helping her grandmother in
the