β 1692 --
The shepherd ambled up towards the torches in the square, he had been driving flocks for weeks before returning to town, completely unaware of the situation unfolding. He saw a neighbour and nudged him.
"Aye, what's the ruckus now?" The man's eyes went wide and he offered a guttural whisper.
"It's the Goody Parker, she killed her husband using witchcraft!"
The shepherd eyed the small woman in chains at the centre of the crowd. She was blonde, and fair skinned, eyes surprisingly as dark as the night.
"We tried to hang her, but the rope broke. We dunked her, but she survived. She's a witch alright! They tried to burn her at the stake, but the rains came for days,"
The woman and her tiny body, burdened by the heft of her restraints stood slumped and unmoving as the mob spat and cursed at her.
"So what's this about then," The shepherd waved towards the mass of angry townspeople.
"They're putting her on a boat, and going to give her to the sea to deal with. Reckon that halfway to England should put her deep enough to never be seen or heard from again."
The shepherd rubbed his jaw. He had never been much to believe in this witchcraft nonsense, but knew enough to contradict the will of the people. He slunk off shaking his head as Goody Parker was dragged towards the docks, and her imminent fate.
* * * * * *
It was by the third week at sea that Captain William Hugh Barnes began to feel that his journey with Goody Parker was coming to an end. They had sailed far enough north that the fall weather had begun to worsen. The nights were particularly cold, but she had remained silent the entire time, without even a twitch. He had begun to resent her - despite his mission, he had felt obliged to feed her and look after her well being - but had begun to take stock of the resources he was wasting on her, without even a thank you, or acknowledgement. Every time he would look at her pale face and cold dead eyes, he grew more hateful towards her, loathing this thankless burden that had been thrust upon him.
The night before he was to pitch her into the sea, he stalked out into the calm crisp air and hung his lamp aside the main mast where she was tied. Despite the cold, she barely even shivered.
"You're no witch," He hissed at her, spittle landing on her forehead. "You're a whore! And you've wasted enough of my time ya trollop!" He thrust his hand between her legs, groping through the layers of her petticoat. "I'll get some worth out of you, before I throw you in the drink!"
Goody Parker never looked up as he began to tear away at her clothes. Her left breast was exposed to the air, the cold tightening her nipple, as she began to mutter under her breath. Captain Barnes stood back, unsure what to make of her calm demeanour, almost demanding her cries and revulsion.
"You saying your prayers missy? Repenting for your sins?!" He sneered as he began to loosen his bedclothes.
Just then, Goody Parker's eyes shot up, her muttering turning into a loud incantation, her dark eyes filling with blood. Barnes froze in spot, suddenly horrified by a thunderous shriek as the waters began to rise around them. Waves crashed over the bow, and the crew began to wake as a series of tentacles flew through the air grabbing Barnes, and tearing him apart. As the shipmates stumbled out onto the deck, they were picked up and tossed overboard into the stormy waters. One final wave seemed to pick up the ship and send it hurtling northwards as the ropes around Goody Parker slackened and fell to her feet. She walked calmly to the bow of the ship, looking out into the dark, trying to figure out where she was going. She glanced down at the figurehead of the ship, a naked mermaid, and moved to cover her exposed breast as she contemplated her icy fate.
* * * * * *
β 2016 β
"C'mon Kate, let's fucking go already!" Dave Buchanan honked his horn again, getting more and more impatient waiting for his girlfriend Becky to leave her house. The two had been a pair the last two years of high school, and now with graduation behind them, were looking at a possible split. While Becky had opted to head to the city for school - Dave had decided to take a float year, to work the fishing trawlers along the coast, primarily living at home with his parents here in Salem, Mass.
Dave had chosen to avoid the topic of their relationship altogether, though Becky had indicated an interest in trying to make things work long distance. To Dave, Becky was just going to be another notch on his belt. As captain of the rugby and basketball teams, he had enjoyed many of the ladies at school, all under the unsuspecting nose of his girlfriend. While he enjoyed living the life of a respectful, church going boyfriend with Becky, he had spent most of his high school career popping cherries and slinging his dick around town. Becky, the nice girl was his final conquest. Possibly the last good looking virgin in the graduating class.
"Coming!" Becky slammed the door shut, waving at her unseen parents as she walked towards Dave's car. She was a genteel red head, tall and slender with curvy hips and large voluptuous breasts. Most of her life, she was the awkward little ginger kid, all the others would make fun of. By the time she hit puberty, her genetics kicked into high gear, and she suddenly found herself in the popular circles. While incredibly smart, Becky's optimism about people often clouded her towards their true motives. A religious, church going type, she liked to believe in the best of others, as well as the sanctity of marriage. Which kept her from going too far with her boyfriend Dave.
Dave was a tall, strapping lad, with perfectly cut brown hair, and blue eyes. His body showed the effort he put into sport, thick and muscled, and he proudly retained his body hair, not going in for that "prissy shaving and waxing shit". When Becky let herself think sexual thoughts, her focus often went to Dave's furry forearms, and the tuft of hair that stuck out from his V-neck. When she imagined burying her face in all that manliness, she would find her lady parts dampening, and quickly work to distract herself.