A Witch's Flight

 

Rose

Rose was adopted by her uncle after her parents died and taught her everything about his craft, being that of a healer. Unlike his contemporaries he did not scoff at the wisdom of the ancients, and sent Rose to the local midwife to learn the ways of medicine-women. Being a man he was not allowed to share directly of the knowledge passed down a purely female lineage but that was allowed to Rose, who possessed both the talent and a will to learn. In the course of her training Rose became friends with Sarah, the medicine woman’s orphaned niece, who couldn’t wait to be initiated into the life as a medicine woman. Life seemed good as Rose imbibed the language of both modern and ancient worlds, until her uncle passed away and she was left alone, her knowledge almost useless, for any woman in the day caught brewing anything noxious was in danger of being persecuted as a witch, if not by local mobs, then by the town authorities. Rose was not ready to forsake her skill, until her teacher the old medicine woman the suffered the very fate she feared and was killed by a superstitious mob. Now sure that she would never be accepted as the doctor that her uncle had been, she left to live in a forest with Sarah, far away from the bustle of town.

Sarah

Sarah, unlike Rose, loves the idea of being a witch and cherishes the ancient knowledge passed on to her by her aunt the medicine-woman. Far less cautious than Rose, her midnight rituals and her experiments with drugs and ancient lore constantly put Rose on the edge.

However both realize that they are far safer together than apart and continue live out there quiet but lonely existence at the edge of the woods, disguising their history and pretending to be sisters, only stepping out when the need arose.