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| Jacqueline with the Witch Council |
Somewhere in a place unknown to mortal eyes, Jacqueline Gray stood at a pedestal above a dark background with a smoke from an unknown source flowing all around her. The smell a something burning caught her nose, it wasn't unfamiliar, she'd been there before. She's known this place in so many stories from her witch ancestors, but only recently has been called to appear here.
She was at the witch's council once again facing the three paneled veiled elders as they stood in judgement of Jacqueline for what she had done to Mary and Evie and Matthew.
She had committed a crime against her coven sister and used her powers to further her own cruel agenda -- for this The Council had a remedy to fix.
As Jacqueline stood stoically in their eye view a catafalque once again appeared with a coffin on top of it. Jacqueline's jaw clenched knowing what appeared to be Mary's body was in that coffin.
"Steph forward Jacqueline Grey, Sister of Highgrove." The center council member ordered as they stood.
The other members to the left and right then stood too.
"Unlatch the lid." they ordered.
Jacquline stared down at the coffin her heart beating faster and faster in her chest. When she finally lifted the lid, there again was the body of Mary Goode.
"As you have quickly shown to us on various occasions, you are the consummate shapeshifting artist. You have shown yourself to be a witch whose talents of this sort have come to you quite naturally." The center witch said.
"Now we task you with doing it once again." The veiled witch to the right said.
"Now we task you by doing this you’ll restore the sanctity of your coven and save to life of your sister Mary.” The veiled witch to the left said.
"I, I…don't understand." Jacqueline said softly.
"You will become a new person with a familiar face. The name of this woman in the coffin before you is not from a person who is alive or has lived, but you will say she lives. The name we've given her is Verity Spencer. Her proposed life has been crafted, a mystery to her family -- she is of our creation yet the world will know her as Mary Goode's twin sister." The Center witch explained.
"Verity?" Jacqueline questioned. “A fake twin?”
"Jacqueline Gray you will shape-shift into this body, into Verity, and arrive in Welshport to free Mary Goode of her crime by taking the blame. You will be punished for the crime Mary has committed --- as Verity, they will believe you. A mistaken identity will explain the confusion." The witch to the left said.
"But... that is death, they’ll kill me!" Jacqueline exclaimed.
"So you do fear death!” The right witch noted.
“Yet did not fear it for Mary.” The left witch agreed.
“You will be protected of the fait of death you so crudely set course for Mary. Only the flesh, blood and body of Verity Spencer will suffer in the act of death. You shall survive and find yourself safe in your own body. Once again separated once the execution is done. Mary will be set free when Verity takes the blame resetting her life and freeing." The Council member in the center explained.
“She was foolish for using her powers in front of mortals and yet I should save her?” Jacqueline replied.
The three council members turned towards each other knowing Jacqueline was partly right, but nevertheless they had to protect Mary.
“You’ve made matter much, much worse.” The center witch reminded.
Jacqueline knew they were right too. She took a breath and exhaled deeply knowing she could not escape the council’s decision.
"Then, I won't die. I won't suffer in death once they believe Verity is to blame?" Jacqueline asked.
The three witches, veiled and shadowed by the place they lived nodded their heads. They'd protect Jacqueline from actual death if she’d protect Mary from death. The sister of Highgrove coven must shield each other.
After a moment of silence and deep thought Jacqueline agreed.
"I accept this as my fate and will do as I am told." Jacqueline replied softly.
The three witches looked at one another again and were happy with her acceptance. They then clapped their hands in unison just once and Jacquline and Verity vanished into thin air merging their bodies into one.
The three sat down and resting now that their plans had gone to pass.
"Shall she do it?" The left witch said.
"She shall." The right witch said.
"Shall we trust her in the future?" The left witch asked.
"We shall." The right witch replied.
"If she survives." The center witch warned, knowing that their plan was not fool proof -- Jacqueline had to make sure she did as she was told, any break in the plan and she could die -- a caveat they purposefully neglected to tell Jacqueline, allowing her enough rope to hang herself should she break her promise.
"Yes…If she survives." the other witches repeated together.
****
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| Confrontations Welshport Hope |
At the hospital the Lord family gathered as Jacob was attended to after suffering a heart attack outside the courthouse after seeing the face of his long-lost brother David, the same David he framed for murder and thought had died after jumping off of the Welshport Lighthouse over a decade ago.
Rebecca paced back and forth as Celeste sat stoically in a chair holding her son Fabian close to her. The five year old's eyes were sad and filled with worry over his father's wellbeing. Celeste squeezed him close.
"He's going to be alright." She said.
"I want to see poppa." Fabian whispered.
"Shhh." Celeste replied cuddling him close.
"How could this have happened? How could he be alive?" Rebecca replied.
No one replied.
"You should sit down too." Charlotte said, holding her grandmother's hand.
"Charlotte, your uncle, how... how could he be here?" Rebecca said again.
Charotte knew her uncle was alive, but she promised she'd use the name he'd chose.
"His name is Christopher." Charlotte said in a whisper.
Rebecca's body stiffened "What do you mean? Celeste said she saw David on the street with Genevieve too and that’s what caused the heart attack. Who is Christopher?"
"It was David..." Celeste replied from the chair. "Wasn't it?"
After a few beats, Dr. Ward entered and began rattling off things he was checking to monitor Jacob's condition. There was medical terms that no one really understood but the Lord women all kept their heads up and nodded along as if they did. As the family spoke with Dr. Ward they neglected to notice Genevieve and Morgan enter the room.
"We shouldn't be here." Morgan said. "They may want to be alone and, I think maybe, you've caused enough trouble already."
Genevieve lifted a brow, "I didn't cause anything. I just want to see how Jacob is doing. That’s all.”
"Maybe you should find --" Morgan began before Rebecca finally saw Genevieve in her peripheral view.
"YOU!" Rebecca shouted as she stormed over. "What the Devil is going on?"
Rebecca stood there, her arms tightly wound around her body with just a peak of pink skin showing on her wrist that separated the dark glittery sleeve of her dress and her lace glove. She looked at the face that was so clearly reminiscent of her long dead daughter-in-law Sabrina who had just been seen on the streets with a man that looked like her long, assumed dead, son David.
The scene was like the two had come back to life and were making their presence known to town.
"This is a horrible misunderstanding." Genevieve said.
"How so?" Rebecca said. “Jacob had a heart attack as you and my other son David approached the courthouse. Other's are saying it too. Baxter Murphy has a column already in the afternoon paper of The Globe. I can imagine the headline now, how my murdered daughter in law appeared with my murder son…”
"You know I’m not Sabrina and, Rebecca he's not David.” Genevieve interrupted. “His name is Christopher Wesley and I met him in London." Genvieve replied.
"That doesn't make any sense! How can that man have the save face as David and NOT be my son!" Rebecca shouted as people at the hospital all around her started to stare.
"The same way that I can be look like Sabrina and NOT be her." Genevieve replied.
"I don't believe it. Your face is an anomaly and I’ve accepted your close resemblance to poor Sabrina for almost two years now, but that man is my son. I would recognize him anywhere. I gave birth to him Mrs. Thorne, He's MY SON!" Rebecca shouted, her eyes welling up with tears.
"He's not." Genevieve replied softly. "I wish it were David, I really do. For you for all of us but he's not. His name is Christopher, and he's lived in London for a very long time now."
Rebecca scoffed and turned to Dr. Ward who asked Rebecca to calm down and noticed she looked pale and tired. Rebecca, who had always trusted Dr. Ward listened to him and walked back over to where Celeste as and sat down next to her. Fabian unlatched himself from his mother's arms and went over to his big sister who took him into her arms.
"What is it?" Charlotte asked.
"Everybody's yelling." The boy said.
"I know. They're very upset about poppa." She replied.
"Is poppa going go to go away?" He asked.
Charlotte looked over at her stepmother Celeste who dabbed her eyes as a tear slowly creeped out and rolled half way down her cinnamon toned skin.
"No, not our poppa. He's going to be just fine. He just needs to rest." Charlotte said as Fabian finally cracked a smile.
"It will take time." Dr. Ward added. "We just have to keep watch over him and make sure that the stress to his heart and body are limited. So, we can't let anyone in to see him just yet."
"When can we see him?" Celeste asked.
"We'll let you know Mrs. Lord." Dr. Ward replied with a sad look on his face.
Rebecca then got up and walked over to Genevieve again.
"I want to see this Christopher Wesley in person. I will know for sure who he really is." She said.
"I don't see why you have to keep pushing this, Rebecca? I've already told you who he is." Genevieve replied.
"That is not acceptable. You'll bring him to Tirymor. Yes, that's what you'll do." Rebecca ordered.
"Mrs. Casador, you can't order me around this way and even if I did try and ask him to come to Tirymor I don't know if he'd want to. He has no interest in this family. Not now. Not ever." Genevieve replied.
"And what does that mean?" Rebecca asked.
Genevieve didn't know what to say without hurting anyone’s feelings any further. She wanted to say Christopher had let his old self die. David was gone, free of every dark hex the Lord family name held over him since the day he was born until the day he supposedly jumped off the Lighthouse and into the cold icy Atlantic below. For Christopher, David was dead -- dead and gone, but to Rebecca knowing her middle child could be alive and, somewhere in the village, she'd stop at nothing to find him.
"Rebecca — listen to me, Christopher is his own man now, no longer a pawn in this family’s game of murderous chess. So take my advice, let him go. I’m sure you can find more interesting lives to destroy." Genevieve replied.
Rebecca lifted a hand and tore it across Genevieve's face.
Everyone in the room gasped.
"REBECCA!" Celeste shouted as she rushed over. "What are you doing?"
Rebecca didn't know! Her whole world seemed to be crumbling all around her. Her husband was angry with her for keeping the secret about his own identity, her eldest son was in the hospital close to death, her former daughter-in-law was on trial for her life, and now her middle son may have faked his death. She had felt her anger boil over and Genevieve was the only person she felt she could release her anger on in the form of a slap.
"Are you alright?" Morgan asked his mother.
"Genevieve I'm so sorry." Rebecca replied.
Geneveive held her stinging right cheek. Her right eye was watering from the pain. She took a breath and looked down at the small pouch in Rebecca's long dark dress where she knew Rebecca always kept a rosary.
"You should get to your prayers Rebecca. You have a lot to pray about." Genevieve replied.
The tension in the hospital room quickly deflated as the Lord woman all went and sat back in the corner of the waiting room and Genevieve left back to the Village Inn where she'd fill in Christopher on what happened.
"You shouldn't have done that." Celeste said to her mother-in-law.
Rebecca, who wasn't on good terms with Celeste either for her part in telling Caspian about what she overheard with Danielle, did not reply at first. She slowly turned her head to face Celeste and lifted a brow.
"She, she just knew what to say to hurt me.” Rebecca said, her eyes glazing over with the stress of everything happening all at once,
“That was exactly why she said it, dear.” Celeste replied. “You’ll have to get a grip.”
“I think I'm slowly losing myself to all of this." She said after a beat.
"What do you mean?" Celeste asked as Charlotte and Morgan approached to listen.
Rebecca reached for Charlotte's hand, her go-to confidant in times like these, and squeezed.
Charlotte felt horrible for Rebecca but she agreed with Celeste, her grandmother was one more slap closer to being dragged back to Churchill Green Asylum.
"I -- I have go to." Rebecca said.
"What? Where?" Celeste asked.
"Grandmother, don't go!" Charlotte said.
"I have to get some air. Please just give me a few minutes." Rebecca said as she let go of Charlotte's hand.
Rebecca then quickly left the waiting room and swooshed down through a corridor that led into the busy lobby. The lights of the lobby shined down and hit the tiny beads and stones on the sleeves of Rebecca's dress making them sparkle like black diamonds.
Then, Rebecca pushed passed a nurse and a doctor at the front door and exited the hospital allowing the cool Ocean air to fill her lungs.
She took a deep breath and then, like a wild animal trapped in a painful vice, she screamed into the air as people all around her quickly came to her aide as she fell to her knees and sobbed.
Rebecca felt she was about to lose everything and gain another dead son.
****
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| Lucas & Cora sneak into Lear’s darkened office |
Later that evening, as shops closed in the village and villagers scattered off to their homes in hopes to rest from the busy day, Lucas and Cora carefully slipped into Village Hall undetected headed for Lear's office with them the key to Lear Lockwood's office.
Village Hall had several corridors that ran through the odd H shaped building. At this time of the evening only a select group of officers patrolled and inhabited the building protecting the three incarcerated in the old jail cells in the basement as the police station was still being repaired after the fire.
As Lucas and Cora carefully darted around darkened corners and slipped through to the back of the building where several lawyers had offices, including Lear, they finally arrived to the office door where Lear's name appeared on frosted glass.
Lucas slipped the key in and turned the nob granting them access to the office and most importantly all of Lear's files, including the original files of Cora's fake adoption and more information about how she was sold on the black-market as an infant.
Lucas looked around the small office. The overwhelming stacks of files and paperwork gave him the sensation of claustrophobia. There were pillars of cabinets in front of him towards the window where Lucas was searching.
"I don't know about this now." he whispered.
Cora turned back "What do you mean? I thought you said it would be ok?"
"I -- I feel like maybe this was a mistake, maybe you were right, maybe Lear would be angry with us for doing this." He said of Lear, the man he had fallen in love with and suddenly felt as if he were betraying.
Cora nodded. "We should go then." She said feeling a bit deflated.
As they began to turn back she looked over at Lear's desk and saw a familiar briefcase, a briefcase that she had seen once when Lear came to see Baxter. It was leather bound with a strap that Lear would wear around his shoulders. Something told her to look there. Something in that briefcase was calling to her she could not turn away.
"Cora?" Lucas said, noting her body slowly walking over the desk. "What is it?"
"Its in there." She said in a low voice. "I know it."
Lucas took a breath and walked over to the desk. He picked up the briefcase, the medal latch had Lear's initials engraved on it in a double L where the two letters interlocked.
Lucas looked at Cora and slowly unlatched the briefcase and removed the files. He put the papers on the desk. Cora came over and together the quickly read through them.
In only a few minutes, they found what they were looking for. The fraudulent adoption papers, the signatures of Henry Lockwood and the Baxter's. And one more that they did not recognize.
"Who is this?" Lucas asked.
"It says it's of the broker." Cora replied recoiling to the idea adoption had a broker, as if she were a piece of real property.
"I don't understand the writing." Lucas said.
Cora tried reading it over and over again, but the signature was unclear. "I can't read it."
"Is this an address? It can't be." Lucas said.
"Yes, 1395 Morell Street. I know where that is. Do you think they were stupid enough to put their real address on here?" She wondered.
"Only one way to find out. We should go there."
Cora gulped, "Do we really want to go to a place where someone was selling babies?"
"It you want more answers, we should, but if you think this is enough just knowing that your father did sign this and sell you with the help of this person then we could stop. I'll leave it with you." Lucas said.
Cora again was caught in her mind. She wanted to know everything there was to know about why and how she was sold on the black-market and the paperwork was written in a way that made it look like a real adoption and gave no more information.
"I think we should. If this person helped get me sold, then perhaps they did so for more babies and for that reason alone I think I want to know more. Tomorrow. We'll go tomorrow." She said.
Lucas went over and gave her a hug. He could see how stressful and worried she was about the whole thing but it now felt so much bigger than her, this was something hidden from her for her whole life long and she needed to find the scribbled name between her father Henry's signature and her adopted parents to know how it all came about and how many more children this person had done this to.
"It's going to be alright." Lucas said, hugging his new best friend.
She felt happy knowing he was on her side. She finally found someone on her side.
****
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| Sebastian sadistically watches Timothy sleep |
As the night wore on, and the clock struck midnight, Timothy Churchill slept in his bed awaiting the next day's testimony in the case he had formulated against three of his constituents -- a case so strange in it's nature it captured the attention of newspapers all around the area.
Everyone on the eastern seaboard began siting their local papers from The New York Times to The Boston Globe on the Witch Trials of Welshport Island and nicknaming the small village New Salem.
It thrilled Timothy to his core to have his name in the papers. This newfound fame of his made him feel as if he’d reclaimed control of his family's name and catapulted it back into the stratosphere of popular culture and notoriety. It didn't matter who he hurt, it didn't matter what was true and not true. It didn't matter that the judge had returned his bribe for a guilty plea.
The only thing that mattered to the sleeping Timothy Churchill was the crack in the veneer of the Lord family mythology and having his own name pushed through it as the savior of his community.
Unfortunately for Timothy, his plot had angered someone unseen to the world for a very long time. A person that could do so much damage to him in his sleep that he'd never know what hit him.
Sebastian Lord stood in the darkened corner of Timothy's room watching him sleep. His eyes were black as night. He had not fed on a human in a very long time. He had kept his promise, not only to himself but to Evie, that he'd only feed on animal from the Tiymor Forest.
But Sebastian had many nights to think about his conversation with Jacob, and he came to the realization that Timothy deserved to die with a bite to the throat for what he had done to the mother of his child.
The vampire walked around the room and saw photos of the man’s family. Children who’d grown up and moved away, out west. A wife who divorced him and left him for a handsome younger lawyer and now lived in Chicago or Denver.
There was a six shelf bookcase with stories from all over the world. Some of the best classic stories ever told. Sebastian thought how Evie would love these books especially the ones on art — her favorite subject.
He turned back to the sleeping mayor and saw him there in his bed, a figure of innocence sleeping with a cold hard heart beating ice cold blood in his veins. Sebastian had no sympathy for the man.
He wanted him dead.
Sebastian then walked up to Timothy in his a deep sleep. He opened his mouth revealing fangs sharp and ready to pierce soft flesh of the mayor's throat and just before he bit down he decided to change his tactic and keep his promise to evie.
He decided to do something he had never done before.
Sebastian closed his eyes and telepathically entered the sleeping mind of Timothy, this was a new ability he’d slowly leaned to use.
In his dreams, Timothy stood on a stage. The crowd roared in his favor chanting his last name over and over again in a foggy Welshport night.
The crowd echoed:
"CHURCHILL! CHURCHILL! CHURCHILL!"
Sebastian, stood in the shadows and fog off to the side watching the dream in real time.
Timothy sensed something off in his dream, a coldness, a dark presence that lingered over the moment like a dark cloud, but did not see Sebastian.
Suddenly the crowd in the dream started to change. Each person chanting his name began to transform into a thick beech tree. Then others turned into pine trees, and others towering poplar trees. All of this transforming before Timothy's very eyes until a giant darkening canopy of tress covered the sky above him.
The mayor, in his own dream could not speak or move. He was held down by his feet by the growing grass all around him. He was trapped in place watching the trees grow taller and taller all around him.
Then, as he stood there shaking in the cold the fog parted and Sebastian, with this face slightly obscured by the night's shadows appeared.
Timothy's eyes narrowed hoping to make sense of who was walking towards him and without a second thought, Sebastian lunged at the man trapped in the grass. The vampire grabbed him by the throat, the mayor tried to scream but nothing came out of his mouth. He could feel Sebastian's hands tightening around his throat cutting off his air. His eyes felt as if they were going to pop out of their sockets. He felt his heart rate slowing and Sebastian's vampire grin terrified him to the point he fainted there in his dream but just before the horrifying event in his dream forced him to black out, he could hear Sebatsian's voice whisper to him like wind through a cracked window.
"End your crusade, or I will end you."
And in seconds, Timothy sat up in his bed with a jolt gasping for air and reaching for his throat that still felt the tightness of Sebastian's hand. He shivered in the room realizing his window was open, although he did not remember leaving it open.
He slowly got out of his bed, walked carefully to the very open window and watched as the sheer curtain lifted up in the wind like a ghost reaching for him. He felt Sebastian's presence, but he was alone. His throat still sore from the grip of the vampire's strong calloused hand.
Timothy reached for the glass window that had been left open and quickly shut it and locked it. He looked down on the deserted street below and saw footsteps in the wet pavement that led from the sidewalk below his second story window out into the street vanishing in the dark.
"Try it." He said to the air around him daring the creature who invaded his dreams. "Just you try it."
Sebastian was not to be dared, however. They would meet again.
****
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| Courthouse chaos |
The next day, bright and early, the press yet again crushed the front steps of Village Hall awaiting the arrival of the Lord family for the day's trail. Standing in front of the press were Nathan Cramer and his boss the mayor Timothy Churchill who looked as if he'd slept only an hour the night before.
This did not go unnoticed to Baxter Murphy, ever the observant reporter.
"Mr. Mayor, you're looking tired, can you tell us how you feel this morning?" He asked as mass of flashbulbs snapped blindingly at Nathan and Timothy.
"Uhh..." The mayor said, his voice scratching.
"-- We've had a long night working through a lot of things for the village apart from this very important trial, Mr. Baxter," Nathan interrupted "I'm sure you can understand."
Baxter lifted a brow and tilted his head towards the Mayor awaiting for him to confirm this supposed late work night with Nathan, which was a lie.
"Right." The mayor replied in one word.
"Right." Baxter repeated skeptically.
Nathan turned to Tim and whispered, "We should get inside.", the mayor happily agreed as the press were given a lottery of numbers to enter in with the mayor and Nathan.
As they were seated, Lear entered, alone, and quickly got to the front desk. Nathan noticed the accused had yet to come into court and Eden, who was already at his desk hoping to avoid a confrontation with Timothy, seemed to know they would not be brought in.
Timothy reached over the gallery barrier and pulled on Eden's jacket.
"What's happening?" the mayor asked.
"Jesus, man, you look like hell!" He said of the mayor.
"I didn't sleep much. Very long night." Tim replied. "Where are the witches?"
Eden sighed, "Lear has a motion to vacate based on what we've seen so far. They'll be in shortly."
As the Judge Banning entered, everyone was asked to stand. Once the judge greeted everyone he sat at his desk and reviewed again the motion Lear had filed to vacate the case based on the weak case Eden had so far presented. It was an attempt to push the case out of the court, a case Lear said in his paperwork was legally baseless and there had been no proof yet of what the three were accused of.
The judge then asked for the three supposed witches, whose charges were of witchcraft, public endangerment and the death of the one of Churchill's assistants, to be seated.
"We have here a motion by the defense for me to vacate this entire trial based on the lack of evidence far presented here. I have read this last night, as I know the state has and have made my decision."
Timothy fumed that he was not made aware of the late night filing.
"Barrister Syndey did you have any objection to what this motion presents?" Judge Banning asked.
Eden wanted the entire thing to end. The court had had enough. The accused, who Eden saw as innocent people trapped in Timothy's obsessed plot to take down the Lord starting with the two women who were merely married into the family, had had enough. The community had had enough.
But there was the unfortunate proof of the man's death in the caves.
Mary sat at the table quiet. She had not spoke much since her return from the Witch Council. She knew something was going to happen with her directly, but she didn't know what. All she could do was remember seeing herself in a coffin, her face. Her body. Her soul.
All she could was wait and see what that meant. And all Evie and Matthew could do was worry for her mental state as Mary's emotions were splashed across her face. She was tired. She was worried. She was slowly breaking down.
Evie lifted her chained hands and reached over for Mary's and held them and mouthed "It'll be ok."
As Eden shuffled through paperwork, Nik and Aurora entered the courtroom and sat in the back where Filipe and Fatima had been seated.
"Mr. Sydney, I'm waiting." Judge Banning said.
"Your honor, the only objection I have is to the charge of murder."
"Mr. Lockwood?"
Lear knew Mary was directly accused of killing the man, there was eyewitness accounts of it. He could not get this fixed without that charge going forward.
"The defense cedes the motion to vacate on the charge of murder, your honor, the others we ask for the court to carry out on basis of lack of evidence."
"Very well. The court hereby orders the following: On the Charges of Murder, Witchcraft and Public endangerment for the accused Evangeline Jordan-Lord and Matthew Winterborn -- Vacated for lack of evidence. For the Charges of Murder, Public Endangerment and Witchcraft of for the accused Mary Spencer Goode-Braga the court declined the motion to vacate."
The court gasped.
Evie and Matthew were free, Mary would stand trial.
"Your honor, for all three on Mrs. Braga?" Lear asked, hoping to have some of the charges on Mary released.
"No, they can't do this." Evie whispered.
"The decision stands Mr. Lockwood."
"Your Honor, Wait." A voice said from the back of the court room.
The entire court turned to the back to see a blond woman, her face bright like the sun, her eyes blue like the sea...the face of Mary.
It was Jacqueline, shapeshifted into the body of the created double of Mary: Verity Spencer.
The entire court once again gasped ad whispered in shock. Who was she? Why did she look exactly like Mary who was seated at the table. Churchill's eyes widened. Eden's too. The judge banged his gavel ordering silence in the courtroom.
"What is the meaning of this Mr. Lockwood???" The judge shouted.
"Your honor, I have no idea." Lear said looking down at Mary.
"Who are you?" The judge asked.
Verity walked forward, the mayor stood up to get a better look and indeed she was the spitting image of the very same woman seated at the table. Mary watched as she herself could not believe what she was witnessing. She assumed something else would happen, not that the council would have created a whole new version of herself. In fact, Mary even looked down at her own hands that were still tightly wrapped in Evie's to see if she were still sitting where she was.
A bailiff quickly rushed the small gate that opened from the gallery to where the lawyers were sitting and blocked Verity from entering.
"Back away." He said to her.
"My name is Verity Spencer, your honor and I have come here to confess."
"What is this?" Filipe whispered.
Fatima sensed something off "More mystery of your dear Maria." she replied.
"A twin?" Aurora whispered to Nik who shook his head.
"Ms. Spencer?" The judge asked looking at Lear who shrugged. "What is it you are confessing?"
"The woman everyone at saw at the caves was not Mary Goode-Braga, your honor. It was me. I was there person there who did everything she is accused of. Unfortunately, Mary did not know I existed. In fact no one did. Our mother Eliza had hidden my existence my whole life because of what I could do. Sir, I am a witch. I must save my twin sister for what I have done in her place at the caves. My guilt has overtaken me, Sir, and I want to do what's right."
"A TWIN!?" Churchill screeched from his seat. The crowd behind chatting.
"ORDER!!" The judge yelled. "Mrs. Braga, is this true? Do you have a twin sister?"
Mary stood as she and Verity locked eyes, the exact same eyes. "Your honor, as this woman has stated, I did not know of her. I had heard stories and had had feelings that my mother had hidden something from me all my life but never in my dreams did I realize it were true. But here she is. In front of us all."
"Ms. Spencer are you saying then, here in court, that you are the one witnessed in the caves who had some sort of supernatural power that killed a man?"
Jacqueline, as Verity knew her task by the council and confirmed this "Yes sir."
"How?" the judge asked.
"Two nights before the full moon festival I had come to the village in search of my sister. I had come to not only reconnect with my roots here in Welshport, but to reconnect with the life I thought I should have had. The constant anger I had drilling in my mind over the life I was denied consumed me. I killed people, I changed into a creature and took lives."
Filipe and Fatima looked each other. Verity was taking responsibility for his actions.
Churchill could not believe his ears.
"And when in the chaos of that night, after I vanished from the park, I found my sister's friends and tricked them into taking me a place where I could recharge my powers. A burial ground is perfect for that." Verity said, clearly playing on the folklore obsessed and supernatural myths the people of Welshport were very susceptible to and were so keen on believing. The game in Jacqueline's mind to speak for Verity was to use those tropes, those very fictitious horror story tripes and play on milk them for all they were worth.
"The caves. That is where you recharge?" The judge asked.
"It's a very ancient burial ground, sir. Yes." Verity said, as Matthew stirred in his seat listening to them talk about the place his native people held so sacred to their hearts.
"And that is where you were witnessed using your powers and where a man was killed."
"Yes sir." She said.
"YOUR HONOR!!" Timothy shouted from his seat in the gallery. "This is silly, this is... this ridiculous!!"
"Ridiculous, Mr. Mayor? I think speaking as the person who started all of this, you'd find this a well serving end to it all, don't you? Ms. Spencer here has come to court, albeit perfect timing, to finally confess to what has been happening around here. We have answers. We have proof as to why Mary was seen doing this in the caves, when in fact, it was her twin sister who allowed us all to believe it was Mary. I think we should look at this new additional piece to the puzzle as fact."
"But--- " The mayor said before being interrupted by the judge.
"I think we've had enough Tim."
The mayor sat down.
"I've made a decision. Let the record show, based on new evidence, a confession Mary Spencer Goode-Braga will be found innocent of all charges and will be set free along with Evangeline Jordan-Lord and Matthew Winterborn. The bailiff will take custody of Ms. Verity Spencer at once. Based off of the confession to all the crimes, I believe if no one has objection I can render a verdict."
Eden and Lear looked at each other. Neither wanted to push this any further. Verity, as planned, stepped forward and was arrested. She took a beath as the shackles were removed from Mary and placed on her wrists. The twins looked at each other. Mary knew form the look it was Jacqueline inside of Verity.
Mary gasped.
"This is incredible." Evie said.
Mary looked at Evie and mouthed "Its Jacqueline."
Evie gasped and her eyes widened in shock and she turned back to Verity who already had her back to her.
"Ms. Verity Spencer, based on your confession here today, this court finds you guilty of the charge of witchcraft, public endangerment, and of murder, which we will amend to 8 charges of murder based on what you said you did at the festival prior to the arrest at the North Shore Cliffs. Do you agree to this?"
Verity, her head held high knowing she was doing the bidding of the witch council agreed "I do."
Filipe grabbed on to Fatima, who knew something was terribly off about the situation but said nothing.
"Well then, you will be remanded to the jail cells at Village Hall. At night fall, your punishment based on the law is death by fire." The judge said, swallowing hard as he had to go by the letter of the law.
He gaveled his decision and Verity was taken away. She turned back to the defense table where Filipe had come to Mary and grabbed in a hug. Evie and Matthew held each other as Nik and Aroura approached.
Jacqueline, as Verity, felt her life slowly slip away and hoped that the council would do as they promised. Release her from the Verity's body just as the flames took over.
"You're free! YOU'RE FREE!" Filipe said kissing Mary passionately who fell into his arms.
"Finally!" Nik said to Evie who giggled.
She looked at Matthew and he looked at her -- now they'd part again, their relationship now in tatters.
"I ... uh." Matthew said.
"I love you Matthew." She said.
He smiled "I love you too." he replied. "I'll see you soon." he added as he sadly left the court alone.
"Let's all go back to Bellmore," Aurora said to Nik, Filipe, Mary and Fatima. "We have a lot to celebrate."
The celebration ended there, as Timothy fumed as he stared daggers into Eden Sydney.
"You got what you wanted." Eden said. "A witch will burn tonight."
Lear stood at the gate and together he and Eden left Timothy in the courtroom.
"Its not over." Tim said to Nathan.
Nathan, for his part, was tired of Timothy's obsessions and decided right there and then to change his life "It is." He said. "It's really over. I quit."
Timothy now alone felt the darkness in his heart overtake him. "Its not over." he thought. "It never will be."
