Girl in the Red Hood

by Brittany Fichter

  As they reached the edge of town, they began to pass more people, each person staring more boldly than the last. Kurt looked straight ahead as a soldier might, but Liesel couldn't help grinning smugly as her neighbors gaped. Kurt was unquestionably the most handsome young man she had ever seen. And it was obvious from her neighbors' expressions that they hadn't expected to see her with anyone at all. Suddenly buoyant, Liesel's cheeks burned pleasantly when she thought of the kiss he'd given her two weeks before. And before she caught herself, a wild wish wondered if he would kiss her again tonight.

  And what will you do then? The unpleasant voice of reason asked. Will you still be able to leave? And will you ever forgive yourself if you do? Liesel decided to ignore that voice as much as possible. Instead, she focused on the way it felt to hold onto his arm.

  As they neared the town square, the crowds gawked even more than her neighbors had. Liesel felt a shred of uncertainty wind its way around her stomach as she watched the people around her. Something was different, she could tell, and it wasn't just her presence this time. It hit her, however, when she saw the mayor up on the stage. He appeared to be preparing for the same speech he'd given the year before, when he looked down their way and startled. That was when she understood the change. They weren't looking at her. They were looking at Kurt. And they all looked terrified.

  "Kurt," the mayor said after quickly regaining his composure. "What a surprise. It is an honor to have you here with us tonight." Despite his words, the mayor seemed anything but happy to have the young man there with them. Glancing around, Liesel noticed families on the outskirts trying to edge away. Regardless of the way they had treated her for the past three years, she felt a sudden pang of sympathy for the townspeople. They were truly afraid. Looking back at Kurt, she tried to understand why.

  He was different, of course. He moved like one of his beloved animals, and he didn't seem too keen on being in the middle of the crowd himself, but Kurt's father didn't allow him to come to town. How would they all know him enough to fear him? At that moment, Liesel heard her mother's words return to her from long before.

  Be careful, Leese. Many men are not who they say they are. If something feels wrong, follow your instinct. The Maker is trying to warn you. And suddenly, everything in her was screaming that something was very, very wrong. And yet, she balked. This was Kurt, the boy who had befriended her when she was alone, who had brought her as close to her mountain as she could get. He had kept her alive through an entire winter when everyone else would have let her die. Kurt had promised to keep her safe, and so far, he had. He might even love her.

  She felt torn. Kurt had always been mysterious, and his family even more so. She involuntarily shivered at the memory of meeting his Uncle Lothur. The question, she decided, was knowing to which side he truly belonged, to the mystery or to the companion she had come to know and rely on.

  Nervously, Liesel glanced up at him. Kurt's face gave little away, but his breathing was a bit deeper than usual, and his arm shook slightly. He swallowed hard before answering the mayor.

  "Thank you." It would have been imperceptible to anyone else, but Liesel detected a slight tremble in his words as he spoke.

  "As a treat for us," the mayor gestured to the open space in the center of the crowd that had been cleared for the dance. "Won't you lead us in first dance?" Even with all the turmoil of Liesel's thoughts, her heart skipped a beat. That was an honor reserved for the summer maiden, the only dance in which all would be watching. Kurt hesitated for a split second before looking down at her. The fear in his eyes was clear, although Liesel couldn't imagine why he might be afraid. This was all his idea. Taking her by the hand, he slowly led her towards the center of the dance floor.

  The people, though packed tightly, gave them a wide berth as they moved forward. Scanning the faces in the crowd, Liesel quickly located Karla and Mitsi with their parents. Karla slipped her a small smile. Further down the row, Liesel also spotted the peddler in his green suit. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kurt give him a slight nod as they passed. To her surprise, the peddler returned it. How did they know one another? Liesel wanted to puzzle over such a friendship, but she had no time. They were suddenly in the center of the dance floor, and everyone was watching.

  Liesel's heart hammered within her as the music began. Kurt placed one hand on her waist and took her right hand with the other. Both her terror and her exhilaration soared as he led them through the first steps of the dance. She shivered slightly with delight and nerves as she realized he'd never held her this close to him before, not even when he'd snuck that kiss.

  As they continued to dance, much to her surprise, the world began to change. It felt as though the air around them shimmered. Colors wavered, and Liesel's stomach felt as though she might be ill. The muscles in her arms and legs tingled, and it was as though she could suddenly run forever and never tire. Smells were abruptly stronger. Liesel could tell exactly where the bakery and grain storehouses were, even as they spun. She searched Kurt's face to see if he felt any of the changes.

  His golden-brown eyes were staring right back at her, but he didn't appear to be confused or disoriented the way she felt. He wore instead an expression she couldn't quite read, one of sadness, wonder, and determination. The emotion in his face made Liesel's already jittery stomach flop even more. She tried to focus on how it felt as he led her expertly through the dance, but it soon became nearly impossible. Soon she became very, very dizzy. It was all she could do to hang on and follow along.

  To her relief, the dance was finally over. She knew it was improper, but she had to lean on him as they left the dance floor. Once they were well away from everyone else, he sat her down on a bench, watching her closely as she tried to catch her breath.

  "Are you feeling well?"

  "What was that?" She gasped.

  "What?"

  "Colors," Liesel shook her head to clear it. "Sparks, as if the breeze were alive. And why am I so dizzy?"

  "You feel that?" He seemed shocked.

  "How could I not? But what is it?" she repeated the question. Before Kurt had time to answer, however, the piercing cry of a wolf filled the air. It was distant but quite loud.

  "It's not time yet! What do they think they're doing?" Kurt muttered, all talk of Liesel's strange spell forgotten. His face taut with frustration, he bounded a few paces back towards the crowd and motioned to someone that Liesel couldn't see.

  As the howling grew louder and closer, the crowd noticed as well. Murmurs broke out, and the music stopped. Rather than freezing in fright, as Liesel had done and expected everyone else to do, however, the crowd reacted with expert calm and purpose. Parents grabbed their children, and everyone began to quickly clear the square. Just then, Gil Gaspar's covered cart came rambling towards them. Kurt had Liesel off the bench in an instant, holding her in both arms. The dizziness and disorientation returned.

  "Kurt, what's happening?" Despite her strange sickness of sorts, Liesel felt terror rising fast within her. He didn't answer though. Instead, he spoke to Gil.

  "Take her to Tag. Make sure she stays safe."

  "This is a dangerous ride," Gil said nervously. "Before we go, I will need the payment we spoke about." With Liesel still in his arms, Kurt managed to pull a bag of what sounded like coins from his boot. After tossing them up to Gil, he ran to the back of the cart and pushed her inside. As he began to cover her with blankets, she grasped his hand to stop him.

  "What's going on?" Fear strained her voice and made it sound strange. Was he truly sending her away? Tag was in the opposite direction, nearly at the other end of the forest, the town nearest the capitol.

  "I'm sorry, Liesel," Kurt squeezed her hand with both of his. Pain lined his face as he reached out and hesitantly stroked her cheek. "I promised to keep you safe, and that's what I'm doing. Now get under these blankets and don't let anyone see you until Gil gets you to Tag."

  "At least let me get my book!" Liesel sobbed. If he was going to
push her even further from her grandparents, the least he could do was give her the one piece of them that she had left. But he shook his head.

  "There isn't time! I'm sorry!" With that, he began to pile the blankets back over her head, pushing her gently but firmly into the bottom of the peddler's cart. He paused for a moment. "And Liesel? Don't look back."

  "Aren't you ready yet?" Gil's voice sounded nearly frantic, even from beneath the sheets. The howling was growing much closer.

  "This is Johan," she heard him say to Gil. "He will be following you to make sure she gets there safely."

  "You're sending him?" Gil sounded doubtful.

  "He understands," Kurt said firmly. More quietly, he said, "Only to the border, and no further, alright, Johan? And thank you." With that, the cart jolted forward, bumping Liesel's head in the process.

  Liesel was horrified to be going in the wrong direction, especially as she had been just one day from her own journey back to Weit. But the sounds of the wolves and the fear she'd seen in Kurt's eyes scared her too much to protest any more. What did they want? Another jolt nearly sent her flying out of the cart. When she landed, however, she landed right in front of a knothole in the wood, one that gave her a perfect window to the town that was already shrinking behind them.

  To her amazement, a gray wolf ran alongside them. Liesel almost cried out to Gil until she realized that he was running with them, not at them. That must have been who Kurt had meant when he introduced Johan. But he'd said Johan understood. How could a wolf understand?

  Just then, another wolf broke through the brush that bordered the road. Without hesitation, he headed straight for Liesel. It was as if she wasn't hidden at all. Sure she would die, Liesel was sure closed her eyes and waited. But nothing came. Peeking through the knothole again, she gasped. Johan had brought him down to the ground, where they rolled and writhed in a whirl of fur and snapping teeth. Liesel watched in horror as they grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Burying her face in her hands, she sobbed for Johan. No wonder Kurt told her not to look back.

  A terrible thought struck her as another howl sounded somewhere to their left, and then their right. If Kurt's family...at least, Liesel guessed it was his family due to the wolves...was willing to send their wolves to attack Johan, a wolf of their own, what would they do to Kurt? She nearly told Gil to bring the cart to a halt right then. But then she asked herself, what then? All of Kurt's planning would be for naught. She obviously had no idea as to what they wanted, or if she could even give it to them. Kurt seemed to think she couldn't or shouldn't, rather. So she let the cart continue to fly down the road. But a small piece of her that she couldn't silence was deeply ashamed. Kurt would surely pay for saving her.

  Eventually, Johan caught up to them again. By the time he did, they had slowed so the horses could cool off. Liesel was relieved to see that he was still alive, but she felt another stab of guilt when she saw splotches of blood matting his silver fur. She prayed it wasn't his.

  After an hour of riding, wolf cries began again. Johan stopped running and disappeared into the thick brush. He never reappeared.

  Liesel didn't realize she'd fallen asleep until they stopped. As she hadn't left Ward since moving there, she had no way of knowing for certain where they really were. She waited under the blankets until she heard Gil climb out of the driver's seat. Instead of uncovering her, however, she heard him call back to her as he walked away,

  "You can let yourself loose now. Best find somewhere warm to sleep. It'll be a cold one tonight." Pushing the blankets off of her head, Liesel sat up and looked around anxiously. He really wasn't going to abandon her, was he?

  "You can't just leave me here!" She called out to him, trying not to stumble as she climbed down from the cart, her legs numb from being still for so long. It was nighttime, but it was strangely light for the late hour it must be. It took Liesel a moment to realize that the forest canopy wasn't nearly as thick here as it was in Ward. Moonbeams moved down through the trees and hit her face for the first time in three years. A bit overwhelmed, it took Liesel a second to shake off the hypnotizing beauty and continue to trail after the peddler.

  "You're surely not going to leave me all alone!" she cried breathlessly as she followed him. "I've never been here! I don't have any money...I don't even know where the church is!" She was already regretting her failure to hide a few coins in her skirts before leaving the cottage. Gil paused at the door of a place that from the outside, sounded and smelled like Warin did after his nights at the tavern, raucous and sour.

  "Here," he took a coin from his pocket and flipped it at her before going inside. Liesel hesitated before following him in. She had never been inside a tavern, nor had she ever desired such an experience. Her only other option, however, was to wander the streets until she found the church or somewhere to sleep. Bracing herself, she took a deep breath of the clean air and followed him through the door.

  It was even worse than she had imagined. Lots of men and a few rough looking women sat at wooden tables placed as close to one another as physically possible. The scent was even worse than the grubby chairs and tables she tried to avoid touching as she walked. The stink of sweat and soured ale nearly made her gag. Gil was already sitting down at a table in the center of the room by the time she caught up to him.

  "But where am I supposed to go? What should I do?" The peddler finally turned to answer her, wearing an exasperated look.

  "See here, lass, my family lives in the forest. Now I feel bad for you. I do. But agreeing to take you away from Ward was a big enough risk as it was. It was done from the kindness of my heart, but I can't be putting my own family in danger now. I got you here. Live as you choose. Go where you will, I don't care. Just leave me and mine be."

  "The kindness of your heart and a sack of gold," Liesel glared at him. He reddened.

  "Look, you're pretty enough to find work somewhere. Save some coins and go to the capitol, wherever you want. Just leave me alone."

  "Aye," the tavern keep spoke, eyeing her from the table he was clearing. "I need another serving girl here." A new kind of anxiety hit Liesel as she looked around, suddenly aware of a different type of predator. Sure enough, there were at least half a dozen men staring at her with an expression that made Liesel blush. And this time, Kurt wasn't there to save her. She felt suddenly as though she might throw up.

  "Please," she turned tearfully to Gil. "Just take me to the church." Taking asylum in the house of the Maker wouldn't solve all of her problems by any stretch, but it would be safer than anywhere else, apparently.

  "And what might you be needing the church for, my dear?" A new voice from behind her asked. Liesel turned to see a tall, well-dressed man, a bit older than her father would have been. His voice was smooth and confident, and he spoke more eloquently than anyone she'd heard since leaving Weit. She wanted to answer, but froze, unsure whether she should trust this genteel stranger or not. He turned to the tavern keep and frowned a bit, his black and silver eyebrows pulling together. "Your wife needs this for the tea I told her to take for her headaches. Make sure she gets it. No trading it away for favors the way you did last time." At this, the tall man looked even sterner, and the tavern keep turned bright red.

  "Are you in some sort of trouble?" He turned back to Liesel, his voice gentler this time. Faintly, Liesel nodded. She wanted nothing more than someone to trust. But how could she know if this man was as kind as he looked? He seemed to sense her fear, and stepped back a bit, giving a little bow. "My name is Ely Becke. I am the town healer here."

  "I'm Liesel," she replied softly.

  "I believe I overheard this man offer you a...position. If you are in need of employment, please consider my offer instead. My wife needs someone to help her around the house, and I could use some assistance in my shop. Do you know anything of herbs?" Liesel swallowed before nodding.

  "My mother taught me." He raised his eyebrows in approval.

  "Well, it is growing late. If you wish, I c
an bring you to my house to meet my wife." He seemed to catch the fear in her hesitation, though, and said more gently, "Or I can take you to the church if you desire." Liesel finally managed a smile, but she didn't feel as confident as her expression. Along the way, Liesel grew more and more afraid. Staying in the tavern was never an option, but leaving it with a complete stranger was frightening, too. After sending up a prayer to the Maker, Liesel allowed him to lead her to his home.

  She nearly cried with relief when a woman met them at the door of the home he led them to. It was rather spacious and more beautifully furnished than any place Liesel had seen since coming to the forest. Liesel tried to convey her willingness to work around the house starting that night, but Ros would hear nothing of it. Tall, like her husband, Ros was a handsome woman. She kept her silver streaked brown hair pulled back into a thick braid that was pinned back up into a loop on her head, and her clothes were stylish but practical. She reminded Liesel a great deal of her grandmother. Ros insisted on feeding Liesel a late supper of stew before finding her some old bedclothes and tucking her into bed like a small child.

  Liesel could tell the couple was curious about her story, but they didn't ask, and she didn't share. Her head was too muddled from exhaustion, fear, and confusion to do much but fall into the bed of the small upstairs room they gave her. As Ros blew out the candle, Liesel tried to recount how exactly she had gone in one day from her own cottage to running for her life to this lovely but distant safe haven. She couldn't, though. There was just too much to remember.

  As she drifted off to sleep, there was only one thing that marred the relief she should have felt in the cozy little bed. She couldn't help but wonder what Kurt's family would do to punish him for sending her away. Would it have been better if she'd given herself up? Her fear had kept her from doing such a thing, and it shamed her to think she might have helped him, but hadn't. He had done so much for her with no true explanation as to why. And what had she done for him? Telling him a few stories from a book was hardly comparable to the way he had sacrificed to keep her safe. The slumber that should have been sweet and peaceful was tainted by her guilt, and the last sound she heard before sleep took her was a single mournful call of a wolf from afar.