My Shadow

Chapter One

Dedicated to @_torch for making the awesome cover :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter One

England, 1532

She knew it would have happened. She knew it would. There was no way it could not be helped.

Elizabeth-Jane had just walked in from picking flowers in the meadow nearby and her basket was full of flowers, creating a rainbow. She would sell them at the bustling market later on. Carefully she placed the basket on the small table and went over to her mother who was sat on the floor; her head in her hands, tears were cascading down her face.

"What is wrong, Mamma?" Elizabeth-Jane asked. Her mother did not reply but carried on sobbing. She heard the door open and close again and boots striding across the room towards her. Her father knelt beside her mother and circled his arm around her shoulder. "Lizzy, go and take your mother into our room. Wrap her up and let her sleep." Her father said. Lizzy nodded and got to her feet.

With her father's help she helped her mother stand and slowly helped her towards one of the small rooms leading off from the main one.

Their house was small, more like a hut, but a bit bigger. Her father had made the roof to go on top as when he bought it, it was incomplete. They were poor and relied on the money they got from the market. In the main room were a small table and four home-made wooden chairs. There was a cooking area where Lizzy's mother cooked their dinner and that was all. The room to which Lizzy was leading her mother was her mother and father's bedroom. In it was a chest filled with their clothes and a hard, wooden bed which was also home-made. It was covered with blankets stitched by Lizzy's mother. In the room next door, Lizzy's small bed and chest stood. There was also another bed and chest the same size on the opposite side to the room. The walls were partly made of mud and partly of brick. The roof was made of straw woven together, interlocking each strand. Outside stood a water pump with a bowl next to it. They were one of the lucky families that had their own water pump built in their backyard. Their backyard was fenced off even as small as it was and it was home to a few hens and a cockerel and a cow.

Lizzy pulled a dirty rag from her apron pocket and wiped her mother's tears away. "Shh, it will be all right. You'll see." Lizzy whispered in her mother's ear. Lizzy wrapped her mother in blankets and helped her into bed.

Lizzy left the room and went back to the main room where her father was carrying something covered with a large cloth. Father and daughter shared a glance before a tear trickled down both of their faces, landing with a plop on the floor at the same time. Lizzy took her basket and ran outside, blinking furiously but without effect. She wiped tears angrily from her eyes. She had to be strong, for her mother's sake. If her mother saw her coping then maybe she would learn to cope herself.

The weather seemed to mimic her feelings. She felt like it was pouring rain inside yet the sun was shining and the air was warm. Just like it had been the day the nightmare had begun.

Her brother, her poor brother Tommy...he had been born a weakling and they had realised that from the start. Lizzy could tell on each of his birthdays that her father was surprised he had lasted this long. There was always some disease or illness about and somehow, Tommy had survived all them. Last Sunday, Tommy's birthday, he had come down with small pox. They had found a few spots on his body a few days earlier but it wasn't till that day when it was confirmed that he had small pox. The master of the village school had come around to see where Tommy was. Lizzy's father had set him straight and the master hurried off and never returned.