Girl in the Red Hood

by Brittany Fichter

  Liesel usually hated sewing, but at least it provided her a bit of peace and quiet to mull over what her grandmother had just said. She didn't get much of a break, however, because at that moment, the men came crashing through the door like a herd of wild animals.

  "Ilsa, get water and rags."

  "Mercy! What happened?" Ilsa exclaimed. Blood dripped from a gash above Kurt's eye, and a knot on Bernd's forehead was beginning to redden and swell.

  "Practice got a bit out of hand," her grandfather muttered. Kurt didn't say anything, but he looked livid.

  "Grandfather, I will take care of Kurt. In fact, there's something I need to show him. I think you should take the rest of the day away from practice."

  "Liesel, if he can't find a way to do this before-"

  "I am going to show him my attempt at finding peace," Liesel nearly laughed. "I don't think this one is working." Kurt looked relieved as Liesel dragged him out to the well to clean his wound.

  "Just stay within sight," her grandfather called after them.

  "Don't worry, Johan will be nearby," she called back. Johan wasn't one for spending time around the house. He watched every practice session like a hawk, but as soon as he knew Bernd wasn't going to beat Kurt to death, he disappeared. It was apparent that just as Bernd and Ilsa hadn't ever forgiven themselves for running, Johan still hadn't forgiven them either.

  "It looks like you made this session without turning." Liesel began to draw water as Kurt sat on the little stone well wall. "At least that was a knot on his head and not a bite." Kurt reddened a bit. They'd had a number of turnings in the past few weeks that had resulted in bites to Johan as he had attempted to keep Kurt and Bernd from seriously harming one another.

  "I wasn't afraid, I was angry," Kurt muttered. "He says he wants me to learn to relax and find peace, then he repeatedly hits me with a stick. If it were not for your stake in all of this, I don't think he really would want me to succeed at all."

  "Well, never mind him," Liesel dipped her rag in the bucket. "Tonight we are going to try something new." Gently, she began to dab at the gash. Once the blood was off, it really wasn't very large. For some reason, however, she found herself enjoying the moment, and drew it out just a bit. There was something comfortable in being the one to care for Kurt, as though she had been made for that very purpose. In fact, it was nearly unnerving how very natural it felt to be so close, to turn his face gently from side to side as she finished cleaning his brow, even with the eddies of dizziness the magic sent through her every time she touched his skin. When she was done, she realized he was staring right up at her, not politely avoiding her gaze as she had been doing with him.

  His eyes looked starved, as though he had never seen her before. Her fingers lingered on his chin, and she felt her breath catch.

  "If you're going to get up and down the mountain before dark, you had better go!" Bernd shouted from the doorway. "I want you home before supper, Liesel. And remember, where I can see you!" Liesel inhaled deeply and closed her eyes in an effort to control her temper and answer him evenly.

  "Yes, Grandfather." As soon as they heard the door slam, Liesel threw the rag down on the stone well wall and took Kurt's hand. "I'm going to show you my way of finding peace." Breaking into a run, she pulled Kurt behind her all the way to the foot of the mountain, and without hesitating, Liesel plunged up the path.

  In her effort to respect Bernd's attempt to help Kurt with his all-day lessons, Liesel had stayed away from the mountain, biding her time so she wasn't too far from Kurt or Johan for the magic's sake. But now, as she hopped lithely from rock to rock, she immediately wondered why on earth she had waited.

  It didn't matter that seven years had passed since she had last touched her beloved mountain. She could have taken the trail blindfolded. The crunch of the dirt and rocks beneath her feet was a welcome sound as she followed the trail, greeting every familiar tree and bush with delight. The grass wasn't as vibrant as it had been in the spring, but the variations of yellow and green were lovely as they became caught in the little breezes that danced by. It was funny, Liesel thought, but the trail had once seemed much steeper than it did now. But then, she had grown a good deal taller since she had last followed it.

  Neither Kurt nor Liesel spoke as they made their way up. Liesel glanced back a few times to see the wonder in Kurt's eyes as he took everything in. That made her smile even more. Since they'd met, she had wanted nothing more than for him to love her mountain as much as she did.

  Nearly half an hour later, she stopped. A ledge nearly as wide as her bedroom jutted out over the valley. The drop over the edge was nearly straight down, but it was deep enough for six or seven to sit comfortably on the natural little seats that the wind and rain had carved into the mountain. She heard Kurt gasp as he took in the sight below them.

  Like a bowl, the valley gently sloped down from the mountain. The great forest lay on their right side, and another mountain range lay to their left. The neat lines of her grandparents' vineyard gave way to individual plots with houses and gardens, as well as pastures for cattle and sheep, dotted all over with blue ponds reflecting the crystal blue sky. They could see the road they had taken as it passed the forest's edge and went on toward the capitol city. And far off, so distant it was nearly invisible, was the thin line of the ocean. Liesel closed her eyes, smiled, and drank in the sweet scent of pine.

  "Don't look down," she warned him without opening her eyes. She could hear Kurt sit heavily beside her, as if he had half fallen.

  "You're not joking," he muttered. "Are you sure this isn't going to crumble?"

  "I came up here almost every day as a child." Liesel opened her eyes and took it all in again. "See, out here, there's room to breathe. You're not stifled by the trees, cut off from the sun."

  "You can breathe in the forest," Kurt scoffed. "And you don't feel as if you are about to fall off the edge of the world." He caught Liesel's eye and conceded with a smile, "But you're right. It is special." He paused before adding, "I've always tried to imagine what the sky looked like outside of the woods. I could never have conceived this, though."

  "What I don't understand is why people stay in Ward at all," Liesel shook her head, curiosity getting the best of her again. "If I were one of them, and I had the choice between this and the dark forest of Ward-"

  "To begin with, most people aren't as well informed as you or your grandparents," Kurt tousled her hair playfully. "When you imagine the world, you see freedom because you remember the stories you grew up with, the tales of adventure. The people of Ward know nothing else. It has simply always been this way. For my people, we have a desire to escape because of the constant pain of the curse. Still, even with our stories, most have no idea of what life is like outside of our village." With a bit of hesitation, he added, "After your grandparents escaped, my grandfather forbade anyone from leaving the village unless ordered to do so." He glanced at her almost shyly. "I was the first since to break the rules.

  "To answer your question though, the people of Ward have always lived that way, and we strive not to make it too difficult for them to continue. We try only to take what we need from the supply wagons, as we have no trade routes of our own, and we try to keep the dangerous animals away from their border. Not that we're much better." He gave a small smile. "Although my father did sometimes take a bauble or trinket for my mother now and then." Liesel shifted uncomfortably.

  "What were your parents like? As a couple, I mean." He shrugged.

  "It wasn't ideal, but I didn't really start noticing something was off until the night you were marked." He sighed. "My father really did love my mother. He didn't always know how to show it, but he tried. He tried to find ways to make her smile, to make her feel at home. It frustrated him that he couldn't make her want to stay. It also frustrated him that she was so determined to raise us as if we were completely human. She was the reason he didn't go after the hunter, the one that killed his brother to save you."

  "He want
ed to kill him?" Liesel shuddered. The hunter had been so kind. She had never once forgotten to mention him in her prayers since.

  "After bringing me home, Father was going to turn right around to find and kill him, but Mother begged and pleaded with him not to spill more blood, that the hunter was only doing what he thought was right, saving a girl. My father finally agreed not to kill him, but he was never the same after that. He distanced himself from everyone but Lothur and me." Kurt looked at his hands. "It must have nearly killed him when I left." Liesel hesitated. She knew her next question would seem callous, but she had to know.

  "Was he the one that killed my father?"

  "No, that was my Uncle Lothur. He caught wind of your father's threat to leave, and decided to take care of it himself. Once you are out of the forest, the magic of the call doesn't work anymore." He shook his head. "Very few of us have given enough of ourselves to the wolf to have that much control. My uncle is strange, however. As much as he's given of his mind to the wolf, he values his humanity exceptionally. Up until now, he has been the one most obsessed with breaking the spell. My father didn't like what he did to your father, but after it was done, he agreed it had been a necessity." Liesel closed her eyes and breathed deeply again. The sight of her father, bloody and still on the floor, would always be there with her. They were quiet for a while as she fought back the dreadful memory.

  "Do you think it was worth it?" She eventually asked as they stared out at the valley. "Coming out here, risking everything for a hunch?" Kurt turned and stared at her with his deep golden-brown eyes.

  "I do," he answered seriously. "If for no other reason than to see why you're so strange." She smacked his arm.

  "I am not strange."

  "Oh, it's not your fault," he answered innocently. "It's this mountain air. It makes you do crazy things."

  "Like what?"

  "Like this." Without hesitation, he leaned forward and planted a swift kiss on her cheek before standing and launching himself further up the trail.

  "Kurt!" Liesel scrambled up to follow him, laughing. "Be careful! It's easier to go up than down!" By the time she caught up to him, he was on a slightly higher ledge, staring down at the valley again in awe. The setting sun behind them was casting a rainbow of colors all over the valley. It had always been one of Liesel's favorite mountain moments, but as the sunset moved and burst into all its glory, Liesel couldn't tear her eyes away from him. When Kurt finally turned to look at her, his face was serious again, his dark brown hair ruffling in the breeze. Taking her by the arms, his voice was nearly a whisper.

  "If this doesn't work, I will marry you knowing you only have a few years to live. I might live longer, but it won't be long before I have to give more of myself to the wolf than any pack leader ever has before. In the few moments of clarity that I may receive on my deathbed, I don't want to look back on this time and say we didn't try." Liesel caught her breath as he slipped his arm around her and pulled her close. Gently, with his free hand, he tipped her face up towards his. Liesel could feel her heart beat recklessly in her chest as he held her. The gold flecks in his eyes reflected in the dying light of the sun, making him look momentarily other, as though he could disappear at any moment in a cloud of smoke. But the strong hand that held her jaw, and the arm that encircled her waist were very warm and very real. Slowly, he began to lean down when her grandfather's voice, somehow floating up on the wind, broke the stillness of the moment.

  "Liesel! It's getting dark! I want you back home soon!"

  "Cliffs or no cliffs, we should have climbed higher," Kurt grumbled. Liesel begrudgingly broke his gaze to look down and see her grandfather standing at the bottom of the path. He was staring right up at them. The moment was gone. Sighing, she pulled out of Kurt's arm and instead took his hand. Doing her best to smile, she pulled him along behind her.

  "Come on, mountain goat. I need to teach you how to go down."

  18. GRANDFATHER

  Liesel felt as though she was walking on clouds in the days following their trip up the mountain. It was odd, considering nothing had really changed. Kurt had not yet found his peace, and her grandfather still couldn't seem to find anything he liked about Kurt, but Liesel couldn't stop smiling. The day after they had climbed the mountain, Kurt had chosen to work in the fields after telling her grandfather that staff practice just wasn't helping him. Her grandfather grumbled, but upon Ilsa's advice, consented, reasoning that a day's work did a man's soul good after all. Liesel would often pause and watch them in the fields, and she couldn't help but pretend this was how it would always be.

  It was halfway through their third week at the vineyard, and Bernd was pushing the hired hands hard to prepare for harvest. Any day, he would shout across the rows of vines, the grapes would be ready. And so Kurt and the hired hands had worked long hours every day so they could be ready when that moment came. The sun made Kurt's pale skin shiny and red, and on his first day, the heat had made him lightheaded. The other workers had teased him about his strange sensitivity to the sun, but they hadn't laughed for very long. Kurt was surprisingly adept at the field work he was given despite never doing it before, and he labored hard. Even Bernd was forced to admit Kurt's worth as a worker.

  "Liesel, don't keep him too long. The days are growing shorter, and we need this fruit gathered!" Liesel rolled her eyes and nodded to her grandfather before handing her bucket of water to Kurt so he could drink. Kurt shook his head in disbelief as Bernd continued walking down the row, shouting orders at anyone he could find.

  "He has a lot of strength for an old man. Too much, actually. Shouldn't he be inside, resting at his age?" At this, Liesel had to laugh.

  "You wondered why I believed in magic when I came to the forest. Stories weren't the only things my grandparents procured in their travels." When Kurt gave her a quizzical look, Liesel leaned in and whispered,

  "Have you noticed they drink tea every night before bed?"

  "Yes. So?"

  "Have they ever offered their tea to anyone else?" Kurt thought about this for a moment before Liesel winked and added, "I saw my grandmother steep a long, strange root in her tea once when she thought I wasn't looking. I believe it came from the east as well. They just don't tell people about it. The town would assume it to be witchcraft if they knew."

  "Well, is it?" Kurt prodded. Liesel shook her head scornfully.

  "Not at all. It just-"

  "Liesel, I mean it. The boy needs to get to work!" Liesel huffed as Bernd called out to them again from the other side of the field. As if to silently come to her defense, Kurt gave him a baleful glare as he lifted the bucket and drank deeply from it again.

  "My grandfather wasn't always like this," she told Kurt as he drank. It was only midday, but the air was unusually hot.

  "I find that hard to believe," Kurt wiped his mouth and gave Liesel a doubtful look. "The way he orders you about makes it seem he thinks you incapable of any thought at all." She smiled and shook her head indulgently.

  "When I was little, he was stern, but he took me on the grandest adventures-" She was interrupted by the sound of an approaching horse. They were in plain sight of the house, and close enough that it would seem awkward if they left or ignored the visitor, so Liesel reluctantly took the lead to greet the rider. She recognized him as a rancher that lived a few farms down the road. A bit younger than her father would have been, he was dirty, with a mop of graying black hair, wide set eyes, and a very broad nose. Liesel thought she remembered him being widowed right before she left. As she approached him and Kurt followed, her grandparents came out as well.

  "I know you were wanting another calf, Bernd." The man jumped down and walked back to the animal he had been leading on a rope. "I thought this one might be to your liking." He paused for a moment before asking, "Is that Liesel?"

  "Yes on both accounts," her grandfather grunted. As Bernd went over to inspect the calf, the man did the same to Liesel. Kurt cleared his throat when the man's eyes lingered just a bit
too long. Looking up, he finally seemed to notice Kurt for the first time.

  "And who would this be?" Everyone froze, unsure of what to say. They had agreed to stay out of the town for a while, simply to avoid being asked questions the curse wouldn't allow them to answer. Aside from the hired hands that lived on the vineyard in the barn, this man was the first person they had seen since arriving. Finally, to avoid looking any more suspicious than they already did, Liesel blurted out,

  "My betrothed." The man nodded and mumbled a greeting, but Liesel didn't miss the sudden fury in her grandfather's face.

  "Are you coming to the Adler wedding?" Their guest finally looked at her grandmother.

  "We haven't decided yet," Ilsa answered in a strained voice.

  "You know, folks are starting to talk about you all up here alone," he said nonchalantly. "They want to send someone up to see what all the hiding is for." Ilsa and Bernd exchanged looks before Bernd said,

  "The harvest looks to be unusually good this year. We're trying to keep pace. In a couple weeks, we'll be done."

  "But we will be at the wedding," Ilsa chimed in. Seeming momentarily mollified, the man turned back to Bernd to discuss the calf, but Liesel got the feeling that the dissonance between Kurt and her grandfather that had been building since they'd arrived would be coming to a head as soon as their guest left. She didn't have to wait very long to find out that she was right.

  "Liesel," Bernd sternly said as the man headed back down the road, "that was quick thinking on your part. But after this, I don't want to hear that nonsense again."

  "Nonsense?" Liesel asked, but Kurt interrupted,

  "I would hardly call a betrothal nonsense."

  "That's it!" Bernd threw down the calf's reins and turned to Ilsa. "I'm through! I just can't pretend any longer. I can't act as if I'm truly allowing my granddaughter to go back and marry into a pack of dogs!"