The serpent slithers through the estuary, sated by the gaping mouths of the fishermen before they draw their last breath. People scream, a crescendo of hysteria; some swear they witness the monster. But as the villagers gather their courage and rush towards the shore with lanterns in their hands, the snake has unknowingly transformed into another form, wearing the skin of a mere commoner.

"I swear I saw it too! But it's too dark now; best we return inside before we all meet the same fate as them!"It provokes the villagers, hurrying them back into their cocoon of false safety. Let them hide beneath their blankets. For now, it has something else to do. Something far more important. You.

In the morning, a snake curls around the Traitor's Oak, its eyes overseeing the Ransome's abode. An old widowed lady with a sharp face—long nose, strong jaw, angry demeanor—and a masculine body intrudes into the house with her son. She wears the Vicar's scarf, the one his wife knitted for him so dearly, yet he carelessly gave it away to his mistress as if it held no sentiment whatsoever. Even the shapeshifter knows that poor lovely wife is at least not important if that London whore comes into the picture. Will Ransome will always put his mistress on a pedestal because she is so intelligent, lively, and questions his every belief.