39A/N: This story just popped into my head a few weeks ago, so I decided to write it. This takes place during the Salem Witch Trials.
I do not own PJO.
"I'm not a devil worshiper, I swear!" I cried. Tears were streaming down my face and my body shook with sobs.
"Catherine Henricks, you have been accused of witchcraft. How do you plead?" the judge said harshly.
I shook my head and sobbed out, "Innocent! I did nothing wrong!"
The judge raised an eyebrow. "Do you deny the accusation of witchcraft then?" he asked.
I bit my lip. "I'm not a servant of the devil," I said quietly.
It was ironic really. All the people in this tiny courthouse believed so readily in God, yet here I was, living proof that they were wrong. A demigod in the world of the Puritans.
The judge sighed and fiddled with the cross around his neck. "Catherine Hendricks, you have yet to deny the accusation," he growled.
I slammed my fist on the railing of the little church turned torture chamber. "I do not worship Satan! I am just a girl who was wrongly accused!" I cried.
Mumbles came from the crowd behind me. A young girl stood up. She had a bible in her frail hands and she pointed at me. "Lies!" she hissed. "I have seen her practicing her witchcraft. She made a deal with the devil! I saw her!"
I shook my head vigorously. "No! I...I..." my voice broke and I began sobbing. Ten women had already been executed on false accusations of being witches. I was doomed already.
The girl sneered at me. "Quit your crying, heathen! The followers of Satan must be punished!"
The crowd nodded and mumbled its consent. The girl smiled smuggly and took her seat again.
I kept sobbing; I just couldn't die. I was too young, only seventeen.
I cried and begged for mercy but the judge just opened a bible. "A reading from the book of Micah: The Lord says 'And I will cut off witchcraft out of thine hand...' Catherine you have been condemned to death!" he yelled, closing the bible and standing tall. He pointed at me and sobs rocked through my body.
I was roughly escorted out of the church and thrown in a tiny dirt cell. It was cold and damp, and I shivered. I hugged my knees to my chest, pulling my cloak tighter around my shoulders.
An old woman in the cell across from me was eying me and sighed. "You are too young, my dear," she said quietly.
I looked up, steeling my expression. "I am much too young," I said softly.
The woman turned her back to me and I bit my lip, shivering even more. I sat like that for countless hours until I fell asleep.
"Catherine!" a voice cried from far away. I woke with a start and saw the eyes of a boy about my age. It took me a second to recognize him.
"Thomas!" I cried and threw my arms around him. "How did you get in here?"
His bright blue eyes were lined with tears. "I confessed to witchcraft," he whispered.
"Thomas why?" I cried. "They'll kill you!"
"I can't let them kill you," he said firmly.
"Thomas, we're both going to die. Zeus can't protect us anymore," I whispered.
"My father doesn't need to protect us. If we die together, they can't separate us," he whispered, pulling me closer.
"Thomas, I can't let you die! You're innocent!" I cried.
Thomas gave a slight smile. "And you aren't?"
I shook my head. "In the eyes of the Lord I am not," I whispered.
Thomas waved a hand. "You don't actually believe in that stuff do you?" he asked.
I shook my head again. "But I'm still trying to convince them I'm innocent," I mumbled.
Thomas pulled back and looked into my eyes. "Darling, we are condemned to die. It is the will of the gods," he said softly.
I buried my face in his neck and let silent tears fall. "I love you," I whispered.
Thomas cupped my chin and kissed me softly. "I love you too." He pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it. A little silver ring lay inside and he slipped it on my finger. "You are my love and I shall die with you," he whispered.
Thomas sat down, wrapping his arms tighter around me, holding in what little warmth I had left.
I fell asleep again and woke to the old woman screaming. "You can't hang me!" she screeched. "I'm not a witch!"
"You shall burn in Hell, wicked old woman!" the priest yelled, kicking her so hard she coughed up blood. "Stand, witch!" he commanded. The woman glared up at him but she rose.
"God will have his vengence!" she cried and marched proudly out of the prison. The men followed her and I bowed my head, looking like I was deep in prayer.
"Praying can't save you, demon!" one man screamed as he left.
I silently prayed, though I knew it was pointless. "Mother? Please don't let it be painful," I begged silently.
A warm breeze whipped through the cold prison and brought the smell of honey, but I didn't know if that meant my mother was really listening.
Thomas was silent this whole time and he gave me a sad look. "We could have gotten married," he mumbled.
"Thomas don't think like that," I whispered, cupping my hand around his cheek.
"We could have had children and been blessed by the gods," he said a bit louder.
"Thomas Dane, stop it!" I cried. He was making me more hopeless than I already was.
Thomas blinked and looked at me, his electric blue eyes brighter than ever. "I love you so much more than anything. I love you more than life itself," he whispered to me.
I bit my lip and rubbed my stomach. There was something I wasn't telling him. "Thomas..." I began carefully. "I haven't been completely honest with you." He just looked at me expectantly so I continued. "I'm pregnant," I whispered.
His eyes went wide and his mouth hung open. "Catherine, you have to tell them! They'll keep you alive until the baby is born!" he said urgently.
We agreed to tell someone, and within two hours and phycian was leaning over me. "She is with child," he announced.
"What are you going to do to her?" Thomas asked.
"Once the child is born, the witch will be hanged and the baby shall be killed, along with you," a priest answered.
Thomas was about to protest but I shook my head and he remained silent.
I was three months pregnant, and the doctor decided to deliver the baby at eight months, because they couldn't let me live any longer. After all, I was evil. Thomas remained alive as well, only by sheer luck. Zeus must have taken pity upon us.
The day my child was born was warm and sticky. The humid air clung to my body and made the birth even harder. After hours of forced labor, the sky began to darken and the little baby cried out into the silence.
Thomas held the tiny little girl in his arms and whispered to her. "What shall we name her?" he asked.
The woman present scoffed. "The demon child does not need a name. She is to be killed along with you two in the morning," she said harshly before leaving.
I sat panting on the ground, and Thomas knelt next to me. He placed the tiny child in my arms and I smiled weakly.
"We should name her Virginia," I whispered, stroking her blonde hair out of closed eyes. She opened them and I gasped. They were a striking violet, with flecks of blue in them.
"Darling, she has your eyes," Thomas whispered. "And your hair."
I let tears of joy slip down my cheeks. "She's beautiful," I whispered, unable to speak anymore.
A plan formed in my head. "Thomas? Is tonight a full moon?" I asked.
Thomas nodded. "I heard the men talking."
"Artemis," I whispered.
Thomas's head snapped up. "Do you think she would take Virginia?" he asked urgently.
I ignored him and prayed. I prayed harder than I ever had before. "Artemis?" I began silently. "Please, goddess, save my baby girl. She shall pledge her life to you, Lady Artemis. Please!" I begged.
The air got cooler and the cell was illuminated by a bright light. When I opened my eyes again, a young girl stood in the cell with us. Her auburn hair and silvery eyes glistened and she had a bow strapped across her back.
"Artemis?" I whispered.
The girl smiled a little and nodded. "I cannot refuse a maidan such as this child. She is innocent of all charges against her. I shall protect her," the goddess whispered and tried to take Virginia from my arms but I pulled back.
"Let me say goodbye," I begged. Artemis nodded and stepped back.
Thomas and I leaned over our baby, our creation and I cried. Thomas kissed her forehead lightly and whispered, "May I always be with you."
I held her tiny hand in mine and kissed her. "I love you, Virginia. Never forget where you came from," I whispered and slipped my ring off. I looked back up at the goddess and handed it to her. "Give this to Virginia when she is older and tell her what happened," I asked.
Artemis slipped the ring into her hunters pouch and took Virginia from me. The baby gave us one last look as the goddess shimmered away.
I slept peacefully that night, knowing my daughter would be safe.
When I woke, Thomas was staring ahead. "We die today," he mumbled.
"But our daughter lives," I said firmly.
Thomas looked down at me and kissed my forehead. "We die strong."
As we walked toward the scaffold, I felt eyes boring into us.
"I ask one last time," the judge roared. "Where is your demon child?"
I held my head high and Thomas did the same, staring at me in silence.
The nooses were slipped around our necks and I closed my eyes.
"Do you admit to being a witch?" the judge asked.
I opened my eyes and mumbled in Ancient Greek. A pinecone from the trees above fell on his fat head and he winced, rubbing the sore spot.
"Catherine Hendricks! Do you admit to witchcraft?" he screamed.
I set my face fiercly. "Yes!" I proclaimed. "I am a daughter of Hecate, a proud sorceress and demigod. Kill me, but you shall never find my daughter!"
The crowd roared and surged forward, but the judge banged his hammer on the podium. "A heathen! A pagan! She must die! We must rid Salem of her evil spirit!" he yelled.
Thomas smiled and shuffled his feet. "I'm a demigod too," he said softly. "Don't give her all the credit."
"I love you," I whispered to him.
Thomas looked at me and smiled brightly, his blue eyes finally clear. "I love you, Catherine. Let us waste away in Elysium," he whispered back.
I looked up and silently said, "Mother Hecate, let it be swift."
I didn't even realize they had pulled the ropes. There was only darkness.
A/N: For those of you who didn't catch on, Catherine was a daughter of Hecate, Thomas was a son of Zeus, and Virginia was taken by Artemis. Virginia lives and becomes a huntress. This took place during the Salem Witch Trials, and for those of you who do not know what happened during that time, around forty people were accused of witchcraft and hanged.
Did you like this? Please tell me.
Should I continue this? I was planning on this just being a one-shot, but if you guys like it, I could continue Virginia's story. Just drop a review and let me know.
Lastly, please review(:
ψcamille elisabethψ