A Witch’s Burden by D.W. Goates

The summer of 1830 draws to a close in a world no less modern than today's is less ancient. Fräulein Elke Schreiber has languished since university as a mere teaching assistant in spite of her modern education and impeccable qualifications. Desperate for a classroom of her own, she secures a job offer by correspondence, spending almost all of her meager savings to fund a fortnight of travel south from her native Bremen to the insular village of Waldheim in the Kingdom of Bavaria. Once there, however, she discovers that the true horrors of her life have only just begun. Danger lurks, and that her unambiguously written job offer was instantly reneged upon becomes the least of her worries when a new friend disappears under mysterious circumstances. Stuck among the small-minded and superstitious villagers until she can earn enough money to leave, Elke isn't fool enough to believe their rumors about the reclusive Margrave living in the castle above the valley—everyone says he's a witch—but neither does she have any desire to meet him. Yet she does. A Witch's Burden is a tale of unbridled romanticism told in classic Gothic style. Blurring the lines of genre, the story is foremost a literary work—its historical setting being secondary to its central timeless theme.