firefly_fanfic | Fic: I Married a Witch (Reply)

Title: I Married a Witch: Prologue
Author: greta_garbo
Fandom: Firefly
Pairing: Jayne/River
Rating: As of now, G. Might get racier, probably not, though.
Disclaimer: Mine? No? Okay.
Summary: Very AU. River and Simon are witches! Crazy magical fun!
Notes: I watched Safe and I Married a Witch, one of my favorite movies, on the same day. And I got ideas. There's something wrong with me. I wanted to get the prologue down before I forgot about it, but I probably won't move much further on the story until I've finished The Planets Will Turn.

Dusk settled over a small colony on Jiangyin as the townfolk prepared for the evening’s event. A crowd was already gathering as the men set up the pyres next to the large tree that grew in the middle of town. The patron and the town shepherd stood nearby, preparing some words to say during the burning.

Robert Cobb stood off to the side, observing the preparations. Normally, he would be taking part, but tonight he felt disconnected from the ceremony, guilty almost. There was no doubt the brother was a witch, he’d seen the man turn a goat into a toad in front of his very eyes. But he should never have accused the girl without solid proof. What she had said to him when she shoved him into the barn should have made him feel better about his part in all of this, but it only made him feel guiltier.

Robert’s mother, Matilda Cobb, came to stand by her son, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright, Robert?”

“Fine, mother,” Robert mumbled.

“You’ve been acting strangely all evening? Should I fetch the doctor?”

“No, mother, I’m fine,” Robert said. After a brief pause, he said, “I should never have accused the girl.”

Matilda rolled her eyes. They’d had this conversation several times over the past few days. “Robert, we all saw the treachery of the girl’s powers. The livestock turned pink and purple right in front of us.”

Robert shrugged again, looking down at his hands. “I just can’t forget what she said to me when we were in the hay loft in the barn.”

Matilda gasped. “The hay loft? Robert, you didn’t-?”

“No, mother! Of course not! How can you think such a thing?”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. What did she say to you.”

“She whispered what must have been a curse. That all Cobb men from myself onward would wed the wrong woman.”

Matilda snorted in an unladylike fashion. “That’s absurd. You’re marrying Purity Vance next week.”

“I know, mother. I know. I just can’t stop thinking on it.”

“Well, you’d best. And don’t forget to ask Purity to dance tonight at the post-burning dance. You’ve been neglecting her in favor of this trial lately.”

“Yes, mother,” Robert replied as the rest of the town square began to fill. He watched as the town Patron brought the two guilty witched out - a young man and his sister - and worried over the words the girl had whispered to him.

One week and two days later, he married Purity Vance and had one son. Purity became stout and shrew-like after the birth, and Robert was miserable in his marriage for the rest of his life.

And love continued like that for the Cobb men for several generations to come. The brother and sister witches burned at the stake, but the townspeople’s efforts were misguided. Though they were able to banish the witched from the physical world, they were not able to rid them from the spiritual one.