her now. Her life would be a misery if he could make it so.
Slowly the soft desperation and sadness within her began to harden into anger and bitterness. She’d had enough of being abused by her brothers and Jay. This was too much – the whole community had been affected by this terrible trick today. If her memory of Yul shaking her and shouting in her face was accurate, she was probably in more trouble now than she’d ever been before. The mushrooms he’d found in her room must’ve been planted there by her brothers but whatever she said, she wouldn’t be believed – not with her apparent track record of subterfuge and deceit.
As ever Maizie would have to choose between believing her or believing her brothers, and she knew which way that would go. Her mother couldn’t bear the possibility that she’d raised two sadistic bullies who’d tormented their little sister throughout her life. If she believed her sons capable of such a cruel deed today it would make a lie of the past fifteen years. Her lovely vision of a happy, loving family would be destroyed. It was much easier to dismiss her youngest child as a difficult trouble-maker going though an awkward adolescence.
Leveret came to understand all this with complete clarity and felt a sense of detached relief. It wasn’t that Maizie didn’t love her or favoured her brothers over her – it was more that she needed to love the whole family and believe in its unity to make sense of her own difficult life. Leveret would have to take the full brunt of blame for what had happened today and the inevitable punishment that must follow. She decided she wouldn’t fight it. She’d take the blame willingly for Maizie’s sake, so her mother’s view of her two youngest sons wouldn’t be sullied forever. But she’d never let this happen again.
Leveret took a deep, shuddering breath, her tears now dried. No more tears. She needed to be strong, strong enough to fight Sweyn, Gefrin and Jay, strong enough to stand up to Yul and strong enough to withstand any threat from the three old biddies at the end of the lane. For who else could’ve baked the poisoned cakes? She must learn the old ways quickly – learn the folklore of the plants, herbs and fungi so she could counteract any further poisoning attempts. Learn the magic so she could protect herself and cast spells when she chose. She must learn to bind and to banish, to cast and to summon.
She had to do it quickly. The darkness was gathering ever closer. The image of the viper flashed through her mind again, coiled and hissing and preparing to strike. She must call those who’d help her and ask for their aid now – she must take control of her life and cease to be the victim. In that moment, in the darkness, the Bright Maiden of Imbolc left her childhood behind and became a young woman.
Leveret carefully climbed off her bed. Her legs were wobbly as she groped her way to the door and opened it, finding the whole cottage in darkness. She called for her mother but there was no reply, which was an indication of her mother’s anger. She would never normally leave one of her children alone and unwell in the house in the pitch blackness. Leveret felt the tears prickle again but she squashed them down. She had no idea of the time but when she opened the front door, she heard the sounds of music coming from the centre of the Village. The party must still be going strong in the Barn and the ongoing merriment made her feel bitter. There was she, sobbing her heart out alone in the darkness, forgotten while the rest of the community were feasting, drinking and dancing.
Leveret located her dark woollen cloak on the back door peg, pulled on her brown leather boots and stepped outside. The night was cold and raw and stars shone through the broken cloud as she silently walked up the muddy lane towards the Village. She still wore the beautiful white dress and knew it must be getting ruined but she didn’t care anymore – Imbolc was ruined anyway. The sounds grew louder as she approached the heart of the Village, and she saw light spilling from the Barn and the pub, where some of the older men would be taking refuge. Reaching the cobbled area outside the Barn, Leveret