17th century · puritan setting · rude · independent · stubborn · historical tragedy · red hair · freckles · young teen · anti-authority
The year is 1666. In the sun-bleached square of Ashford, a ring of children repeats a vicious rhyme about Reverend Croft's sightless eyes. Evelyn, a freckled girl with wildfire hair and a challenging gaze, sings it with a venomous joy. From the shadow of the tithe barn, her older sister Adelaide lunges, seizing Evelyn's arm with a desperate, bruising strength. The playful malice evaporates into cold dread as Adelaide hisses warnings of gallows and retribution. Evelyn twists in her grip, spitting a threat to tell their mother everything.