Lucifer's Witch

T he evening's sunset was a spectacular one, all of the perfect reds, oranges, yellows and a splash of pink. Hiserly Goode saw it as she entered the Date Cafe, signing in for her allowed "date". Stupid male, hadn't even showed up. Well, that just means he gets a demerit for it. That will make it harder for him to get the next date. Stupid. Hiserly collected her points for attending the "date", and left for home before the Praetorian Guards decided she needed an escort home.

Stupid war, stupid egocentric males, stupid division of males and females, stupid new rules about everything involving men and women. Stupid, stupid, stupid....Sigh. The running commentary in her head, ran out of stupids. I must be tired, It's only 10 pm though. A nice relaxing bubble bath at home would cheer her up. Her roommates weren't bad, kind of fun in a giggling way. The blonde jokes never quit with them, the twins, Sabrina and Tabitha, gaaah such witchy names. Hiserly picked up the pace, she didn't want to get a demerit for being out late, no matter the reason.

Hiserly greeted the twins, the lucky ducks, they got to play the Ovulation card this week. Both being fertile meant they were restricted to home. No dates, no seeing males, no work, (except from home), and the bonus? FREE meals. All the delivered food from local restaurants, General Tsao's Chicken, Kung Pao, egg rolls, tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and ice cream was scattered across the kitchen table. Women were restricted from having sex at any time that could create a new, unexpected child. Population control. Who would want to bring up a child in this society anyway? Women were able to hold jobs, good jobs too. But they are monitored for their cycle, the slightest rise in their body temperature, any signal of coming into fertility and they are shut off for a week to two weeks, every month. Not even allowed out during shark week. Ole Aunt Flo got to visit, females could come and go, not males, not even relatives.

The bubble bath helped calm Hiserly. The main room was quiet except for the buzz of the tv. The twins had cleaned up the mess. Hiserly looked in the fridge, expecting it to be empty. It wasn't, they actually left her food this time! Sleepy, shuffling noises behind her made her turn, getting the food out and putting the take out boxes on the counter. "Hey," Sabrina asked, "How was this one?" "Pfffft!" answered Hiserly, "No Show! Guess who's gonna have a hard time getting points for his next date?" she laughed cynically. Men weren't harshly subjected to rules about date skipping. Women, on the other hand, had to be on the Search, looking for the man who could stimulate her hormones, and possibly be picked to be her "mate" for the season to produce a perfect child. On time, in just the right conditions. No romance, no chemistry, just sex to fertilize the egg. How fun. Oh how she wished for the Gothic Romance days! Long dresses, candlelights, haunting piano music, and the tall, handsome, mysterious man to sweep her off her feet!

The week flew by in the swift passage of notes, meetings, and cold lunches. Hiserly couldn't wait to get home, comfy clothes and silence of questions about her non-date. She could have worked from home, her job as a writer didn't necessarily require her to be at the office, but she liked to talk to other people for the few weeks she was allowed out. She was gathering up her papers and laptop when her boss came in. "Hiserly, Hiserly Goode" he started. Uh oh, this meant he had an assignment for her. "Yes Mr, Danvers? What can I do for you?" Mr. Danvers hesitated by the desk. "Hiserly Goode, what an unusual name, You've never been married, correct?" "No, Mr. Danvers, what's wrong with my name?" she responded nervously. "I was just curious about the family that you came from. Do you know of any ancestors?" he asked settling on the chair. Great, Hiserly thought, one of THOSE talks...."I know that my family was from somewhere south of New York City. I think the Salem area. Why?" Hiserly avoided speaking about her family as much as possible. Especially after the Reign of Terror on Salem during the Great War of Division. Knowing that she had family ancestors from Salem made people nervous....Was she a witch too? The Reign of Terror on Salem was the biggest devastating blast to females, anyone with a family history from Salem was once more put on trial for witchcraft, unless they could prove they had no powers. Hiding was the best solution, the slightest twitch of a nose caused many people to turn in their neighbors for heinous crimes. She'd had to prove repeatedly that she had no powers of the Craft. The only item of her family that she was allowed to keep was the heart shaped necklace, a family heirloom, tracing back to her Salem family. Her family name of Goode, had changed over the years, protecting the family. As a child she had been taunted by the other children, witch, witch, witch! they called repeatedly. She hadn't wanted to do any geneology, but the new laws demanded it. Sure enough, she was related to Dorcas Good, the daughter of Sarah Good. Although most of the records stated that Dorcus had lived a scarred, horrible life after the Trials that took her mother from her. Dorcas had been secluded for her short life. Only a random letter from Hiserly's father explained that Dorcas had indeed grown up and was briefly married . No children were recorded, but at that time, doctors weren't always present, so no records were made. Hiserly shook herself, Mr. Danvers was speaking again....."....so because you have some connection with the area, I'd like you to go." Hiserly blinked, "Go, Go where?" Mr. Danvers sighed, "Hiserly , I want you to take the postion of House Attendant for Mr. Morningstar, in Marblehead. And get more information about the rebuilding of Salem."

Mr. Morningstar had arranged for her to have a private car. Women were no longer able to take commercial airlines, because of the possibility of Ovulation while on the flight. Someone might join the Mile High Club. Well, it was only a 4 1/2 hour drive up to Marblehead Massachuesetts. Hiserly looked out at the countryside, remembering the last time she had been out of the city. Was she a pre-teen? Yes, that was it. The Field Trip to the Salem area, to crush the beginnings of any teen ideals of revolutions. She remembered the entire area reeked of burnt flesh, it had been years since the napalmed the area. Morningstar. How quaint. She pictured him as an older gentleman with greying hair, side burns and mustache.

Marblehead didn't sustain any of the damage as Salem had. Trees in leaf as spring brought wonders of life returning after the joyless winter. The house was out in the countryside, the car was taking a long driveway up to a mysterious huge house. House Attendant, indeed.

No one met her at the door, she had been given a key and instructions for her arrival. The driver helped her with her few bags of luggage. Hiserly didn't have much, basic necessities. She was a practical girl growing up, probably why she longed for the glamour of the gothic stories.

"Upon arrival, you will find suitible quarters for your stay on the second floor, in the right wing." Hiserly stood in the entryway reading the note again. The house was a mansion. The main entryway was the size of a concert hall with two staircases floating upwards, curved in the old world elegance of wood and luxury. Long heavy drapes covered the windows, dust had accumulated on the uncovered table tops, and furniture was covered with sheets. House Attendant, more like this guy wanted a house cleaner. Well, she was out of the city with it's grime and stink, and she was getting paid handsomely for her stay here. Hiserly walked to one of the nearby tall windows and found the sash, opening the heavy drapes slowly to avoid being showered with dust. Dead bugs littered the sill of the floor to ceiling window. "It will take me a week to get this place cleaned up!" Her voice echoed through the hall.

Gathering her bags with a sigh, Hiserly walked to the grand staircase and went up the left side. They must meet at the top hallway, right? They did, How convenient, she giggled. Turning to the right, she walked down the long hallway pausing to open the doors, looking at the accommodations. She didn't know what she was looking for....dead bodies decaying? soulful ghosts who've lost their way? a cleanish room? The last door she opened she discovered a fairly light room, the drapes drawn slightly apart, letting in the beautiful sunlight. It was early afternoon, she would have the evening sunsets here. This would work and she set the bags inside the door. It seemed like the room had been partially prepared for her, nothing had been said about anyone being here. Perhaps it was the last room cleaned before the house had been closed up. The bed was a grand canopied thing with curtains hanging down to keep the chill out on cold winter nights. The other rooms had been dark, brooding things, with heavy curtains, upholstery that looked like it was dry rotted from age, and velvetted wallpaper with little sculpture on it. This room looked like it had been a young girl's, delicate, alive and enjoying life's adventures. She opened the drapes to allow in all of the sunlight, and changed out of her traveling clothes into something she could explore in.

Over the next hour, Hiserly roamed throught the house, opening drapes, dragging her finger through the dust on tables. She discovered the ball room, dining room, drawing room (it was a big room with plenty of seating, a few tables), 12 bedrooms besides her chosen one, and the kitchen. It was a large room, like the rest, plenty of room for a bustling crew to prepare meals, and serve a large family. Hiserly was an only child, she marveled at the thought of a large family, even the twins were unusual to her. Off of the kitchen was the pantry room. The cupboards were bare. What had the note said? Oh yes, she was to call the grocery in town to have what she needed delivered. There was a verification number for the grocer, she wouldn't have to pay for food either. One of the small rooms off of the kitchen had circuit boxes, pumps, water heaters, at least she wouldn't have to go to the basement if a storm blew a fuse. I can make a list in a few minutes. Hiserly thought, I haven't looked at the left wing of the house. She wandered back to the main entryway. When she was upstairs, she discovered all of the rooms except one were unlocked. The rooms covered the upper floor, so there was no division between wings. Four bathrooms upstairs were as modern as needed to be, most had tubs, a few had showers separate from the tubs, and she had noticed several half baths downstairs. No need to have the bathing areas on the first floor. But that one locked room. Hiserly had jiggled the door knob, trying to see if it was just jammed. From the layout of the other rooms, this room took up a majority of the left wing upstairs. That would make it huge, probably the master suite. Hiserly wandered to the first door, locked, second, locked. Even from the kitchen, the doors were locked to the left wing. Hiserly wondered if Mr. Morningstar would be coming to the house.