6 The Sun's Claws

After Lydia's scream, it wasn't long until Minister Acros and one of the jury members, Tobias Miller who walked around the bedroom with a limp because of his broken foot he assisted with a cane under his arm, "How did she die?" Tobias asked Lydia while she cried salty tears.

"I don't know." She said honestly, but was quick to add, "After school Evelyn came home carrying her sister and Dorothy was sick, that is all to say because it's the truth!"

Evelyn watched them interact with each other outside of the bedroom from the hallway, she was trembling in fear of course and yet she decided not to cry or else she'd draw unwanted attention.

So, she stayed quiet with every need in the world to look transparent right now because she was the only one that knew exactly what happened to her sister and that was treason enough for entering the woods and murdering her sister by mistake.

Minister Across lifted Dorothy's cold, limp hand to feel the sting of ice shock his hand to determine if she was really dead or not, then he sighed knowing the result, "She's cold as ice and yet her forehead is still burning," He said, placing his hand on her burning forehead, "I'm not sure what else it could have been, this is no ordinary disease and that is what unsettles me the most this fall during witch hunt times."

"Are you suggesting it was a witch?" Tobias asked in disbelief, "Couldn't it had been the beginning of winter winds entering the cabin instead? Minister, we need evidence this time because now we're three deaths in as a whole town and-"

"Fetch me the judge and undertaker if you're not going to help me carry her to the graveyard." Minister Acros told him without hesitation, "After we get her there we can bury her then start investigating my witch theory."

Evelyn walked in, "Witch theory?"

Tobias slowly walked past her to leave the bedroom while he tried keeping his broken foot off the ground, eventually, they knew he left after the front door slammed in.

Lydia turned away from them in worry, she then started to bite her nails in nervousness because she knew what the minister was hinting towards.

Eventually, Evelyn caught on and so she grabbed her aunt's hand with just the same amount of worry, "Lydia did no such thing, minister!"

Lydia held Evelyn closely, "He isn't saying anything yet, dear, he's just suggesting the wrong assumption."

"Lydia Jane, come with us." Judge Stewart said, entering the room with the Undertaker and Tobias who was leaning behind him on his cane.

"No!" Evelyn protested, completely heartbroken to lose her aunt after losing her sister, "You can't take her!"

The undertaker snuck past them to drag a long black bag to the end of Dorothy's feet so he could get her inside the sack, he then waved Tobias over for help carrying her out, but he was stopped by the judge.

"Acros, help the Undertaker and leave the juryman and I to discuss, would you?" The judge rhetorically asked the rounded man, casting a long glare at him.

"Undoubtedly." The minister replied with a sigh for having to prove useful, he went to the undertaker to help fix the knot of the sack to tighten it; finally, the two of them grabbed either end of Dorothy, Minister Acros carried the top part of the sack and the undertaker carried the back so the minister could guide them out since the undertaker was half blind.

Soon, they were gone out of the house again, along with Dorothy in a sack.

Lydia looked down at Evelyn with her pale eyes drowning in tears, along with her pupils dancing around to almost make them look like they were breaking apart like Evelyn assumed her heart was inside.

So, with regret and ultimate sadness, Evelyn hugged her aunt tightly in hopes to make up for the times she never did and for all the hundred times she's been awful to her by not calling Lydia her aunt, and so she sniffled without wanting to lose her pride in this place instead of giving Lydia a chance to be called aunt in front of these horrid people.

Despite not saying any words, Lydia knew what Evelyn was trying to do and so she did the same to hold her close, "What will you do with me, judge?" She asked the crooked man without even giving him a chance to lock eyes at all because she hated his devilish eyes staring at her.

"A trial, Miss. Jane, surely you know how this goes by now." The judge said with a snarky tone that gave Lydia and also surprisingly the juryman, that was still leaning on his cane like a mastiff dog on his owner's leg, with all his weight and barely any concern for it to fall over during this unwinnable conversation.

"Shall we go?" Tobias muttered under his breath to the judge.

"Of course," The judge answered with slight volumes of glee, "Remember, Lydia, this is only a trial. Hell, only God knows if you'll return back to your niece if our good people give you a slap on the wrist and if they don't we all know what happens next to those who cannot be forgiven."

Lydia nodded, she let go of Evelyn then followed out the door with the two men so it could be over with, leaving Evelyn alone for only a few moments until she followed after them, "Where are you going with her?" She requested to them but got no answer except a saddened glare from her aunt that told her to leave this alone.

So, Evelyn let them go as she still stayed in the doorway of the front door, watching them go then eventually disappearing into the courtroom.

Hopefully, the trial would come sooner so Evelyn can either say her last goodbye or welcome her aunt home, only time would tell at noontide.

"Fine people of Salem, we are gathered here on a Wednesday morning to discuss some interesting matters that have just come up recently just last night." The judge said before the jury accompanied with the familiar man Tobias Miller, and five other people Evelyn could only recognize at her first day of the church only on Sunday.

"Is it the smoke inside the woods?" A girl with curly blonde hair asked, raising her hand as she would in school, "My mommy says the woods is where the shadower man cooks naughty children if we go into the woods." She finished saying to only get a glare after by a woman that Evelyn could only guess was the girl's mother.

The Judge stood up behind his high desk that was in between the other shorter desks of the jury members with his head low about to deliver the 'bad news' of there being another witch among them that was Lydia Jane, "No, dear child, something much more worse and far more scandalous that it just breaks my heart."

Everyone gasped to see how this was torturing the judge and so they started to believe it and whisper about whom could be the accused one; so, they counted heads and scanned around for the missing person in their village.

Evelyn was sitting on a bench near two people that she had no intent to care for now because she decided to pay attention to her aunt's trial even though Lydia wasn't even in the room yet and so that mildly concerned her to think the worst.

Maybe they hung her already..my aunt is innocent and she's here because of me, so I'll never get a chance to apologize... She worried uncontrollably.

"All rise for the accused." A warden said with his hand pushing open a door to the side of the courtroom to let Lydia out than to stand near it afterward.

Everyone stood including the girl Evelyn finally got to tell was probably her age, next to her was her mother and a boy that seemed to be looking at her; the boy was a few inches taller than her, dark brunette hair, pearl white eyes with a clean white smile to go along with them as he smiled at her which concerned Evelyn a little and yet she was intrigued to wonder why he was smiling.

Yet, just by the sight of seeing Lydia Jane everyone's jaws nearly hit the floor in shock because she was so beloved to them; Lydia, an innocent woman with all the happiness of the world and the properness of queen Elizabeth it was so unsettling to think she could be something so awful as a witch.

"My friend of the jury, Tobias Miller will take it from here." The judge stated, putting over his head a powdered wig then sitting down on a bench in his black robe.

Tobias Miller, hardly paying attention because he saw no point, lazily yawned, "The trial regarding Miss. Jane has now started in progress. So, we'll start, Lydia Jane is in conviction as a witch by cursing her niece, Dorothy Jane, and then making her die without getting a medic to assist her niece on death row to cure her, therefore she is guilty of failing to be a guardian and being a witch." He said, then continued slowly, "Despite the evidence we've gathered to be the girl's corpse in the ground with a gravestone in our graveyard, how do you plead Lydia? remember, you're under oath." He asked her with no eye contact.

"That cannot be true she taught my daughter Helen and my son Walter manners!" A woman protested the judge.

"She's right!" Evelyn added in, "My aunt wouldn't hurt anyone, let alone her own niece!"

"Silence yourselves so this trial can hurry along, don't any of you know it's always the wolf in sheep's clothing that constantly attacks the flock first?" Another female voice joined in that Evelyn recognized belonging to Mrs. Bailey from church, which this time was not sitting with her husband because he wasn't there.

"Thank you, Mrs. Bailey, my wishes of your husband making it through his unexpected cold goes out to you and him equally and good morning to Mrs. and Mr. Gov. Sparrow," The judge said with his hands flattening down Lydia's files with his eyes pridefully staring at her, and so he stood highly, "Before us all stands Miss. Jane herself in handcuffs, a black dress and a guard behind her in case she were to try and cast a spell upon us all during this trial. So, let's start off with her plead because I'm sure just like the other three witches before her, Sylvia Clark, Cecilia Alexander then our most recent witch still strung up on gallows hill, Mistress Wilmot, 'this was a mistake' or, 'I'm not a witch'." He carried on coldly with no intent of letting Lydia have much to be believed from her statement that she was going to have, "Lydia Katherine Jane, how do you plead in front of this court and jury, to the town of Salem that has brought you here to stand in this disarray in that black dress you wear that obviously, you despise because you didn't make it? Well, how should this go then: guilty or not-"

Gov. Sparrow sat back with his hands tightly holding his wives as Evelyn watched them; apparently, the Gov. was growing a long, silver beard and a tree of wrinkles in his face that made him look old and so this confused Evelyn because his wife was the opposite.

Mrs. Sparrow was younger, gorgeous with brunette hair in a bun and bright, doe-eyed green eyes that flashed at him constantly, why she did made Evelyn curious.

"Not guilty, why would I kill my own niece?" Lydia asked them all in hopes to convince them to think she was innocent.

Tobias shuffled through his papers while also scanning over a lady jury members papers for information to prove that statement, but only found the negative, "Miss. Jane, it is true that you were assigned legal guardian of the two girls and if these demands were not met your brother from London, Mr. Danial Jane would sue you and retrieve the two girls back to London with your money and belongings?" He countered with his eyes glaring up at the judge's cold expression.

Now the time came in the trial where everyone was between other sides, but they desired to know what conditions weren't met that made Lydia look like an irresponsible guardian.

So, Evelyn became nervous on every account because sooner or later she'd have to be questioned and must give out the fact Dorothy was taken into the woods by her, a place they were told several times not to venture off through.

Then she remembered the smoke in the woods and the gallows tree, but what terrified her as well as the white raven she's been hearing a lot about.

"Why wouldn't you be the question? if you didn't then you'd have to deal with two spoiled brats from London, so by killing off the youngest then you'd only have to take care of the oldest one because she's fourteen and so she can take care of herself without you having to lose anything in your home; so, why not kill her, wasn't it easy just to ensnare the little girl into your home and pretend you can be a loving guardian in hopes your nieces will love you after your departure originally from London because you feel ashamed?" The judge lead on with peer pressure in an attempt to get the truth out of Lydia, "Well? Lydia, how easy was it to take her life so fast while you made the shadower man distract everyone towards the trees where that smoke stirred around just so you could have a window of opportunity to kill your niece?"

"Stop it, you'll make her cry!" Evelyn shouted but was broken off to not be heard by Lydia's tears and heavy crying.

The judge held along at her that Evelyn noticed because of how terrifying it was, it was almost serial and heartbreaking, to say the least.

"Judge, stop this insanity in front of children this instant!" Gov. Sparrow demanded, rising to his feet with his wife and two other children that were obviously his own.

Tobias rose as well onto his cane, "Yes, for now, let the judgment continue to a final verdict so then everyone can carry on home where they belong."

Inside the judge's eyes was an unsettled temper he so desperately wanted to release on this mortal before him, he wanted to crush her like a God as he imagined himself as, "Those who say guilty, say it now."

"Guilty!" A majority of the town roared, which was definitely included by Mrs. Bailey and surprisingly the governor himself that probably only joined in to agree with the town even though it clearly upset the wife.

"Those opposed?" Tobias asked.

Evelyn quickly rose her hand, "I oppose!"

"As do I." The governor's wife said which made heads turn towards the lady in the back, "I offer us all a wager perhaps we can all agree on if the jury and judge will listen to me without children present."

The people began to talk again but this time they followed along with what she advised them to do and so the children walked out except Evelyn, "No, I wish to know what happens to my aunt!"

"All will be found out in due time, for now just go along with the other children," Tobias said.

Evelyn's eyes began to cloud, "All right, but I'd like to know very soon." She whimpered before leaving the courtroom then outside to the other children, feeling awful and slightly sick.

"You're the witches niece, aren't you?" The same girl that asked the question about the smoke in the woods questioned her, "You're also the one that made a scene inside by agreeing with the governor's wife, he hates it when she gets her way. Now, they're having a trial without children because for the other three witches it was a learning experience, so this is a sad day for you and all of us together."

"Betty, don't be so cruel to her." The boy told her.

The curly blonde girl that appeared to be Betty glanced at him without a second thought then back to Evelyn, "Benjamin, if I wanted to listen to you tell me what to do, I'd listen to you about making new shoes, cobbler boy."

Benjamin folded his arms to her without saying another word except to later just stare at Evelyn then smile at her like he was before in the courtroom.

Of course this made Evelyn feel bashful, but now was not the time to feel this way because her aunt was being trialed without her in there but now she wanted to ignore her sadness and so she smiled back at him even though it made her sadder; eventually, she uncontrollably began to cry with that reason because she was scared.

"Gross, witch tears!" Betty screamed which made the other children look at them, including Walter and Helen Sparrow.

"No, she's not!-" Benjamin argued by glaring intensely at Betty.

Just like their parents in the courtroom, the children started to talk to each other while giving side glances to Evelyn and also putting their hands to sides of their mouths to whisper.

"I can't be here." Evelyn firmly stated, running away far from the courthouse.

"Wait!" Benjamin called to her as he decided to follow her but was stopped by Betty who was grabbing his arm with a death grip.

"Let her go." Betty warned, "Maybe we'll see in her school, who knows. Right now, we'll just have to wait and see what the court says because I'm pretty sure without Lydia being her guardian she'll have to be sailed back to London."

Benjamin tugged his arms away forcefully, "But what if we don't get a new teacher during that time while Mr. Bailey is ill? We haven't been to school since last week Friday."

Walter and Helen stepped in, "Which is why now let Evelyn run while she can in Salem until the Jane's time is over here; in death and in life." Walter said, watching Evelyn run away.

Evelyn's thoughts were running as fast as her feet, they were chaotic while also making her grow tired and yet she pushed herself to just run for nothing.

All Evelyn told herself was that back there was nothing for her, so she raced off to familiar places; past her aunt's house that was being walked through by the undertaker, down the trail where she saw the smoke then finally to the lonely beach.

Finally there, she collapsed entirely out of breath and drained without much more to care for now while the buzzards flew in circles above her head.