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The Poison Butterfly
Chapter one Preview

Chatel leaned against the broom she'd been sweeping the porch with to watch the boy, no more than nine years old, cross over the rock strewn path up to the cottage, his hands drawn in fists.
He stopped feet from the porch, looking nervous. Chatel watched his large toe cross over the smaller one. It was obvious to her that he was about to ask for something. Chatel sighed; the sigh of an exhausted million parents.

They considered each other, Chatel noting how his pants hung on his body by sheer will, making a mental note to sew him a new pair. He sucked in his thin chest, resolved to inquire of his demand.
"I want a dog, momma." He sighed with relief once his unexpected wish was out.
Chatel frowned, her heart breaking. What child wouldn't want a dog? She had been raised with a several breeds. Biting her lip, Chatel scanned the countryside in distress. "Jeffrey, I would give you anything your heart desires, but that is one thing I certainly cannot give you, besides there are no dogs around here."
"There are those wild ones in the woods, the white ones,"
Chatel nervously glanced over one shoulder to the trees, "Yes, but we don't speak of those, now do we?"
Jeffrey hung his head even further down his chest, his dark blonde hair stood on end from lack of washing. She made a second note to herself while he sulkily replied. "It's not fair. I saw them with one, why can they?"
Chatel's heart sank, "Them?" Dropping the broom, Chatel fell to her knees to grab Jeffrey by the shoulders. The boy's features darkened under her scrutiny. "Did they see you?"
"No, momma, they didn't see me." Chatel knew part of this was a lie, "I watched them though. There were three of them, close to my age. They had a dog. It was white and would kiss their faces."
Chatel could see through his explanation two young boys with their sister. Jeffrey was taken with the little girl's pretty blonde hair. The way the girl's face lit up every time the dog jumped in and out of her arms.
"Jeffrey, did you see any one else, wagons, horses?" The boy shook his head, fighting tears of frustration. "Children wouldn't be out in these woods alone. Promise me you will not go back there. Promise me!"
Chatel's pale green eyes bore into Jeffrey's; he didn't want to look her in the eyes, "Why do I have to be this way?" He held out his hands, palms to the sky. "Why am I like this?"
"We both are." Chatel took his small hands in hers and kissed

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