16Chapter One: Dreaming Of The Past
If you want to play it like a game
Well, come on, come on, let's play
Cause I'd rather waste my life pretending
Than have to forget you for one whole minute
-Paramore
The stars seemed to twinkle in the bright sky as she sat by the waters edge, her dress hitched up carefully as to not get it wet as her feet dangled over the edge. She sighed as she looked up at the sky, her deep red hair seeming to escape its bun. Tucking a peice of stray hair behind her ear, she stood up, taking one last look at the water as the moonlight bounced off it before she turned around to leave. Air escaped her lungs as she held her breath; women stood in front of her, flaming torches raised above their heads. Her hands found their way to her dress and clung tightly to the cool material as the women stepped nearer in silence.
"Witch!" Came a yell from the back of the group, and soon they were all chanting 'witch' as two men stepped forward, seizing her by the arms. She tried to fight them off, but to no prevail.
"I'm not a witch!" She tried to yell, but failed as the group continued to call her. The men pushed her to the dirty ground, her pesant dress mucking up more than it already was. "Help! Please!" She yelled as her arms were tied behind her back with rope. She froze on the spot as a woman stepped forward, holding the torch in her face and illuminating her features. She blinked out the light and made out the womans features; a elegant dress hung upon her frame, her hair neatly scraped back into a style beyond her abilities. "Please! I beg of you, I am not a witch!" She pleaded as her feet were tied. She felt paralized; she could barely move as the men picked her body up and held her over the waters edge. She gasped and began attempting to break free, but they held her firmly as she looked back for one last time.
The air seemed to leave her body as she hit the cool water. Panic rushed over her as she began to sink, her arms and legs still bound so she couldn't move. She tried to yell, but realised it was pointless as she couldn't breathe. Torches lit the waters surface as the crowd watched her struggle, none of them attempting to help her. Water rushed into her throat as she tried to scream, but immediately stopped as she began choking. Her eyelids began to feel heavy, and all her energy drained out of her as her eyes closed. Nothing could be heard around her as she drifted into darkness...
She shot out of her bed gasping for air, before realising it was only a dream. Her forehead was beaded with sweat as she gasped for breath, before she leaned back against the headboard and registered that it was just a dream.
"It's just a dream Nat. Just a dream." She muttered to herself as she climbed out of bed, her body still trembling from the fear she had felt in the dream.
10 minutes later she stood in the shower, water running over her body and making her relax. Once she was done in the shower, she slung on a pair of green combats and a white vest top before scraping her bright red hair into two french plaits. She quickly gathered her school equipment into her bag and headed downstairs before she realised what time it was.
"8:20?! Mom, why didn't you shout me?" She yelled as she got into the kitchen.
"Hmm? Oh sorry honey, I was busy with Trevor." Her mother said, barely looking up from where she sat feeding baby Trevor in his highchair. She meerly sighed; her mom had remarried about 3 years ago and was always busy with Nats half-brother, Trevor.
"Mom, I have to be at school at 8:30! Theres no way I'm gonna get there on time!" She whined, but her mother barely noticed and continued to feed Trevor. "I hate this family." She muttered under her breath as she picked up a peach from the fruit bowl before heading out to school.
It's my first day back at school, and I'm late already. Not a good start. She thought as she walked along, biting into her peach. She turned a corner and immediately stumbled into someone.
"Oh, sorry!" She said as she tried to step out of the way, but with her luck he stepped the same way. She looked up at him to see he was holding in a laugh, and she couldn't contain herself. She stood still long enough for him to step around her. She took another bite into her peach as she watched him round the corner, his brown hair flopping sexily over one eye as he looked back and smiled at her. She smiled back before turning around and continuing towards schoool.
Damn, she looked familiar...He thought as he turned the corner, leaving her behind. As he continued to walk on, he hoped to think where he had seen her before, but couldn't put a name to her face. Shrugging it off as one of those things that happens, he turned down a small street and headed into number 13.
"Dad? It's just me. I forgot my backpack." He yelled as he opened the door. No-one replied and the stench of alcohol overwhelmed him as he walked in. "Dad?" He continued to yell as he walked into the living room. The stench of alcohol got heavier and began to make his eyes water as he saw his father sat in an armchair, snoring loudly and a bottle of half drunk vodka clasped tightly in his hand. He meerly sighed; this was a regular occurance for his father. Searching for his bag, he ignored the stench and once he had found the bag began running out of the door, not wanting to be late on his first day at a new school.
"I hate this family." He muttered as he ran towards the school. Thank god i was the best runner at my old school! He thought as he veered into the schools main entrance, with barely any students in the corridors.
Thank god I'm not late! She thought as she entered the classroom, seeing that the teacher was nowhere in sight. Sitting down next to her friend Amanda, they began talking about how this school year was going to be better than ever.
"Okay students, quieten down! I know you're all looking forward to your last year of sixth form, but please quieten down so i can take the register!" The teacher yelled as she walked into the classroom.
"In the first 5 minutes back is already finding something to yell at us about!" Amanda whispered in her ear, and Natalie had to cough to cover up the fact she was laughing. At the moment she bagan to choke on her laughter, someone walked into the classroom and caught her eye. The rest of the class seemed to quieten down as he walked to the teachers desk and handed her a note. He began to look round the classroom nervously as Miss. Thomas scanned the sheet of paper. His gaze stopped on her and he quickly smiled, making her blush as she smiled back.
"Well class, seems we have a new addition. Please welcome Liam Henderson." Miss. Thomas announced as everyone said their hellos. "Liam, please take a seat over there." She said, waving her hand to the table in front of Natalie and Amanda. Natalie blushed as Amanda nudged her and made kissing faces behind his back. She rolled her eyes; this was typical Amanda, always fancying a guy because of his looks. Even though Amanda was dating Chris, the star of the football team, she couldn't contain herself around 'hot guys'.
Miss. Thomas began into a long lecture on how they were to respect the schools image and act sensibly. Natalie rested her head in her arms on the table just for a second...
It was a hot summers day as everyone began working on their crops. She gazed around at the little homes everyone had managed to make from scratch; how they managed she would never know. Especially as they barely had enough money to feed a small family. Women around her were carry pails of water, attempting to collect as much water from the river as they could to make up for the drought. Her mother yelled at her for standing around, and she looked back to see her father struggling with the crops that were withering in the heat.
"Well don't just stand there girl! Go get some water!" He yelled, making her shudder. She never liked it when her father yelled, but as their stocks were withering his moods seemed to get worse. She hurried to the side of what she called home and collected two wooden buckets which were made by hand and hurried off to the river. She was the only one there as she got to the waters edge and began humming a soft tune to herself as she began to fill the two buckets. She barely noticed the young man staring at her from across the waters edge. She pulled the second bucket of water up and raised the back of her hand to her forehead to scrape away the hair that was falling out of her headpeice. At that moment she noticed the guy staring at her, his brown hair falling in his eyes. She continued to stare at him as he was so different from the people she saw everyday. He was richer than all her friends and family; you could tell by the way he dressed. And the fact that he stood on the other side of the river; In Salem Town. The richer people tended to live in the town rather than the village, as Salem Town was at the centre of trade with London.
He continued to stare at her, making her feel self consious as she picked up the heavy buckets. She turned back to the small dirt path to continued back to the village, but paused to look back at the strange man. He saw her look back and smiled, making warmth spread through her as she smiled back before continuing back to the village...
"Nat? Natalie?" Amanda whispered, poking her friend lightly. Natalie grumbled before looking up to see Amanda and Liam staring at her.
"Uhm...Yeah?" She whispered back, sitting up in her chair and streching. Liam laughed as she yawned, which made her blush.
"You kinda fell asleep. And now it's time for first lesson." He said, pointing to the door where everyone was leaving.
"Oooh Biology. How fun." She muttered as she gathered her things in her back, which made him laugh.
"Biology's not that bad you know." He said as they headed out the door. Amanda said a quick goodbye before heading off in the opposite direction, leaving them alone together. Amanda now had Drama, whereas Natalie and obviously Liam had Biology.
"How can you like Biology? It's so boring! And you'll soon agree when our teacher goes over the same thing every lesson." She said, causing him to laugh as they walked in the classroom. "Oh, I'm Natalie by the way." She said, extending her hand. He took her hand and they were both suprised as a jolt of warmth spread through them.
"I'm Liam." He said barely above a whisper. They reluctantly separated and sat together at the back of the classroom, awaiting the first day to officially begin.
A/N: Hey guys, this is my new story. Hope you like it, and if so, please review, I need to know who likes it and shiz.
Incase any of you didn't get what was going on, Nat was having dreams about a girl in Salem in 1691, right before the Salem Witch Trials begin. Obviously the story will make more sense as i write more, and if not then please mail me and I'll explain chapter by chapter. I should also soon be posting pictures of the charecters on my profile, so if you're curious just take a look.
I decided to write this story based on frequent dreams I've been having, similar to the ones Nat has. So I'm trying to make them as lifelike as possible.
R&R!
Thanks Guys x