Deliver Me Safely

Deliver Me Safely Chapter One

Ok, so this is pretty much my version of "Season of the Witch". It's gonna be different of course than the movie.

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      Europe, 1345

      The Plague; a blight upon the Earth. A curse that killed everything in which flows the breath of life. Two years and a season had passed since the disease had arrived in Europe, starting in Sicily. Mysteriously it had spread to nearly every inch of Europe, killing millions, leaving once-crammed villages dead and desolate. There was no cure. Every day, hundreds laid on their deathbeds. In only a year half of France laid in a grave. In desperation the people began repenting; begging God for the plague’s ending. But it did not end. Villagers began rioting, and demanded the Church find a way to end the suffering. In response a girl was found near La Mans, imprisoned and charged with witchcraft. The girl was detached to reality, always staring into space inside her cell. She had confessed to a priest that she indeed brought the pestilence to Europe. And it was the Church’s plan to deliver her to a monastery away from the village, where monks would destroy her dark magic and end the plague.

      Laval, France, 1345

      Laval, a once green town, full of trees and flowers, is now a dark city. The Plague has swept through this city, as well as every other city it had touched.

      A man gets off his horse and ties the reins to a wooden post. He wears long, brown hair and pale-green eyes. The bottom half of his face is covered by a veil, to prevent from drawing in the toxic air. His name is Leon de Mace, and he is a young traveler. He had left his home in Paris for many reasons, but mostly so he could find different ways of living, different cultures other than his own. But seeing the villages stricken by the Plague made him question whether it had been wise to leave home. He looks around; in front of him is a narrow street with beggars on their knees and dead bodies being carried out of the city. Above there are lined slots on top of buildings where villagers are screaming, crying for help. He walks on. A voice stops him.

      “You are a brave soul to arrive here, stranger.”

      Leon looks to his right to find a man not much older than himself, with blonde hair and blue eyes, with a serious expression.

      “What happened here?” Leon asks.

      “The Black Death,” the blonde replies. “For two years it has taken many lives. It is merciless, slaying every man, woman, and child.”

      “How many have died?”

      “As many as three in four.”

Leon’s eyes widened.

      “And there is no cure?” he questions.

      “None. Even the greatest of doctors cannot formulate a solution.”

      Leon stands there, speechless. Suddenly the piercing voices of the villagers sound louder. He clenches his fists. The blonde senses his fear.

      “This Plague is a curse from Hell,” he tells Leon.

Leon looks at him, confused. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out of it.

      “It has been created by La Sorcière Noire, the Black Witch,” the blonde continues. “She wants to destroy all mankind. She has confessed to it.”

      Leon squints his eyes as he takes in the information. A witch has brought such a terrible virus? It surely makes sense to him. He nods to the blonde man and goes on his way. He has an unsettling feeling in his stomach. He tries to keep his mind on other things, but the mental image of death crawls back again. There is picture of a girl wearing a long, black dress, her hair reaching the ground, standing in front of a burning cross. She is laughing maniacally. Around her are tens, perhaps hundreds of rotting corpses at her feet. A chill runs down his spine. There is something he feels he cannot leave undone; he must talk to the Cardinal of this city. He has to know who this “Black Witch” is.