THOUGH HE SLAY ME

Pierre and Etienne remained indoors until the long shadows of evening began to slant through the cracks in their front door. Then they quietly rose to their feet, put back the Bible in its hiding place and stepped out into the cool evening air. They made their way down the quiet country lane towards the home of their nearest Huguenot neighbor who also happened to be a relative. When they reached the little farmhouse they knocked quietly on the door and identified themselves in low voices before they were allowed inside. The small living room was packed to capacity and Pierre scanned the crowd for the familiar faces of his mother and sister.

“Pierre!” Marie sang out as she danced her way through the crowd towards him. His face broke into a grin as he saw her jovial expression. He gathered her up into his arms for a big bear hug before setting her down on the floor and playfully tugging at one of her braids. “How was the market?” he asked in amusement as he took in the excitement on her face “It was wonderful” she exclaimed before quickly glancing around and lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper “I overheard Maman talking to….” “Pierre they are waiting for you” his father interrupted laying a hand on his shoulder and waving towards the front of the room. Pierre nodded. He looked down at Marie “I want to hear all about it later…when we get home” he promised her. Marie nodded with a smile before turning away and dancing back to their mother who was talking to a group of ladies on the far side of the room.

Smiling to himself Pierre wove his way through the small crowd, shaking hands and nodding as he went. Marie was almost 8 and 11 years younger than he was but the bond between them was strong. Once he reached the front of the room he held up his hands to quieten the crowd and then led the congregation in prayer and singing.

Suddenly there was a loud banging on the front door followed by an angry shout; “Open this door in the name of the King!”. Pierre felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. They had been discovered. “Open!” the banging became more insistent “Or we will break this door down”. At that moment a single scream pierced the quiet night air, snapping the company of Huguenots out of their tranquil cocoon of quiet worship. And then all hell broke loose.

Some of the Huguenot men rushed to barricade the doors but the King’s men were already engaged in rhythmic battering against the groaning wood. “Run!” someone screamed and there was a sudden rushing in the direction of the back door just as the front door shattered open with an ear-splitting crack. Pierre jumped into action. His eyes scanned the crowd for his family but he couldn’t see them. They had all rehearsed this scenario a million times around the family dining table. He knew what to do.

He rushed towards the back door and managed to stumble out into the cold night. He didn’t really know where he was going but he took off at full speed, running faster and faster till his lungs burned and his legs ached. But he pushed on through the pain not daring to slow down let alone stop. His heart was thundering loudly in his chest, his eyes wide with panic staring ahead unable to penetrate the suffocating blackness around him. Suddenly he felt the ground disappear from under him and he landed face first on the hard soil. He scrambled clumsily to his feet panting hard. He looked around him into the darkness but couldn’t see a thing. He stood still, listening hard but all he heard was the heavy sound of silence. Up ahead he could make out the dim outline of a tree and he made his way over to it, sinking down against it in relief, the blood burning across his skin in hot waves.

What had happened to Marie, Maman, and Papa?