The roar of the crowd was deafening and Elizabeth could hardly hear her own thoughts as she watched Charlotte Brown being lead up to the front of the people gathered in the town square. Elizabeth smiled to herself as she recalled the actions of the previous day.
In the courtroom everyone, including Elizabeth, had thought Charlotte would be found innocent of her crimes. It appeared that near the end of the trial, when Elizabeth was grasping at straws, that the judge had a change if heart. She couldn’t keep from crying out with joy when she heard the verdict echo out through the room, forever set in stone as soon as it escaped his lips. “Charlotte Brown, found guilty of witchcraft, will hang in the town square at noon tomorrow.”
A toxic smile stretched across Elizabeth’s thin lips. Now her enemy was living her last moments on borrowed time, and she would hang in front of everyone. She would finally be punished for what she had done to Elizabeth. Charlotte had caused her a lifetime of pain, and she would be punished for eternity. Because death lasts forever.
Elizabeth could feel icy eyes on her and she knew it could only be one person. Aaron stood a few meters away, eating away at her with his eyes. He had done it too, he hurt her, and he deserved to hang. But if she did that she would have no one to enjoy this with.
Two men at each side, Charlotte carefully stepped up the ladder, staring down at her feet the whole time. Her eyes were light brown, and she was on the short side. Her brown hair was the same color as her big, round eyes, and it was curly. She came from a poor family and dressed plainly, which summed up her whole appearance. What Aaron saw in Charlotte, she would never know, but surely whatever he could see in a girl so plain he could find somewhere in her too.
Elizabeth glanced over at Aaron. He looked upset. But he would be happy again soon, once he found out that it was really her that he was made for.
Charlotte stepped up to the top step of the ladder. One of the men slipped the noose over her head and then stepped back. The crowd went wild. Two of the men put their hands on the ladder. The crowd went berserk. Moments before they pulled the ladder out from underneath her, Charlotte looked up. She looked straight up into Elizabeth’s eyes, and all she could see there was innocence. She was begging her, her last plea for help. And Elizabeth considered. But she looked back at her with emotionless eyes, the kind that came from someone who was dead on the inside.
The people had asked for a witch, and they got one. Elizabeth wanted revenge, and it did taste sweet. Charlotte had asked for trouble the day she had taken from Elizabeth Merriman, and that was the only thing left for her to get.