6

Nuala leaned over the kitchen sink and peered through the window. She didn’t have a particularly good view, but she could see the back of the Mayors familiar dress coat,’Ooo, its Mayor Brown come to update me on the Witch Finder’ she thought. She hopped down and ran to the front door of their little cottage. 

Nuala flung open the door, “Good morning Miss Nuala” Said a deep voice. 

“Oh, Good morning Mr…. Hopkins.” she said uncertainly. Turning she saw the Mayor standing off to one side, gathering her wits once more she said “And good morning Mayor Brown. How are you both today. I must say I was surprised to see you both here. What can I do for you?”

“Um Mr Hopkins would like to have a small chat with you if you have the time. Could you accompany us to the Town Hall?” Edward said with what sounded to Nuala like a sneer.

“Of course, what is this about?” she replied as she stepped down onto the front steps.

As she stepped forwards, Matthew matched her step and, reaching forward, grabbed her upper arm and wrenched her off the off the step and manoeuvring himself behind her in one smooth motion. Nuala let out a squeal of shock as the ice cold iron of the hand cuffs snapped around her wrist. She struggled to pull away from Matthew, but the hulking form of the Mayor loomed in front of her, as immoveable as a brick wall, giving Matthew time to grab her other arm and apply the other cuff. As soon as the iron of the cuffs touched her skin ice ran though her veins. Matthew didn’t realise how lucky he was when he applied the steel handcuffs. Fairies are allergic to iron and the iron in the steel was enough to render her completely free of magic. Whilst these cuffs touched her skin she could no more escape the Witch Finder General as she could make the Mayor see sense.

“What the hell is going on?” screamed Nuala

“Like the Mayor said, you are coming down to the town hall to have a little chat”, Matthew shoved her toward the waiting horse drawn cart, then using her upper arms lifted her up and thew her face first into the back. Nuala landed heavily on her chest with a ‘whumpf’ that knocked the wind out of her. Her breasts pressed into her rib cage making it impossible to take a breath lying like that. Matthew hopped up onto the cart next to her and instant later he was hauling her to her feet. Efficiently he re cuffed her wrists around the slave post in the centre of the cart.

Having secured his prize for the journey to the town hall, he jumped back down and as the two men mounted the trap. Nuala rose unsteadily to her feet and started to regained a little of her composer.

As the slave cart pulled away Nuala stood there against the post said, as calmly as she could manage, “What the hell has gotten into you Edward? When we spoke last night you were going to sort this out with Mr Hopkins.”

The Mayor turned as far as his bulky frame would allow and leaned over the back of the seat. He strained to see her chained to the post, but the tiny cart and his bloated frame prevented him turning far enough, “Yes, that’s right, we did have a chat this morning. We talked a little about you too. My friend here, Matthew, opened my eyes to a few truths I’d overlooked. He pointed out that the entire village has been overlooking these truths in fact.”

There was that sneer in his voice once again. “What truths?” Asked Nuala, becoming exasperated

“Well, Matthew here is hunting Witches. His powers have brought him to our little village.” The Mayor continued to sneer. “Seems you have been casting your spells over the whole village so we couldn’t see you for what you really are. I wouldn’t be surprised if its not in those lotions and potions you sell to us at the market.”

Nuala felt a cold chill run down her spine at the words mingling with ice burning in her veins from where the steel cuffs held her bound to the slave post. There was nothing she could say. There was nothing she could do. He was bewitched by the Witch Finder Generals spell and the steel cuffs rendered her powerless to make him snap out of it.