Gertie's Choice (3 page)

“It looks like you have
made a friend in William, we could use him. Maybe he can help us by
bringing you here or me back near home when we need to talk. Don’t
let him take you to the house, lead him in a different direction
and walk the rest of the way yourself. They already know our names
and that we live in the forest. Julia seems a bit cold, but it
might just be her condition.” Gertie said.

“My bet would be on that
it is because of her husband. Any guess how long he and the King
should be away?”

“That is good news at
least, for I heard him tell his wife that he and the King should be
gone for quite a while. Sounded like not until after the child is
born.”

“I shall leave you now,
sister. Godspeed.” Ophelia said when William came around with a
wagon. The sisters embraced and Gertie watched them ride off down
the path for a few minutes before Gertie then went back through the
Palace gates.

Chapter 4

Many months had gone by
and Gertie had settled into both her new name and her new duties.
She and Julia had formed a friendship. They were the only women in
the Palace other than a couple of scrub women who came in to clean
a couple of days a week, but did not actually reside in the Palace.
There was also a cook, an old woman who had been with the King when
his mother was still alive.

The child was born, a son
that Julia named Hugo. She had sent word to a man and his wife that
she apparently had known for years. They were on their way to the
Palace to help Gertie and Julia.

William and Ophelia had
fallen in love and were married in a small ceremony in the forest.
Ophelia was now with child herself. William continued to drive the
wagons to procure food and other goods needed and to take Gertie
back and forth when she visited with her sister and
mother.

“I don’t feel right being
at the Palace when you are going to have a baby.” Gertie told her
sister. “Taking care of Julia and her son instead of taking care of
you and your child.”

“Do not worry about me. I
have mother and William to watch over me. I feel like I have ten
children in me.” Ophelia laughed.

“Look it as well.” Gertie
said, falling quickly into their old banter.

“So tell me, what is the
news from the Crown?”

“The huntsmen that Mathew
and the King hired will be arriving soon. Mathew and the King have
been delayed again. As you know, there is no queen and I believe,
and Julia does as well, that they are doing less work and more
drinking and gambling than befitting their rankings. Of course,
Mathew is only a pretend royal family member, being married to the
king’s second cousin and all. I have settled into life in the
Palace quite well and Julia no longer treats me as her servant. In
fact, she had taken upon herself to give the laundry duties to the
scrub women. Of course with a new baby there is quite a bit of
laundry to be washed. More than enough to go around.”

“I am glad you are happy
there, Gertrude, but I wish you would come back home. Enough time
has passed for you to know what might happen.”

“I know, but I am rather
comfortable there in the Palace.” Gertie said.

“Imagine that!” Ophelia
laughed.

When Gertie got back to
the Palace she noticed a beautiful red ruby ring that Julia was
holding in her hand. “What a bright stone! It is very
fetching!”

Julia looked as if she
might say something, but then changed her mind. She smiled. “The
huntsman arrives today, Gertie. He is known as The Great
Evil.”

Gertie felt her legs
giving out under her. She steadied herself by holding onto the
bedpost. “The Great Evil.” She said, repeating the dreaded
moniker.

“Gertie, him being here is
not my idea at all. I stand for nothing that my husband or the
Great Evil does. My cousin does not feel the need to make changes,
but he is weak and wishes to be more powerful and gain the respect
of others, so he will do whatever this Great Evil person suggests
he do. Please believe that. I feel ill just knowing that man will
be arriving soon.”

“Surely he will not stay
since your husband and the king are not here, correct,
milady?”

Julia did not answer. She
walked to the crib and held Hugo tightly in her arms. “You have
been a good friend to me, Gertie, a good companion. I want you to
know that I appreciate everything you have done for me and my
son.”

Gertie just smiled, and
wondered what Julia was really saying.

That night as they ate
their meal together, three men walked into the room. One was
obviously The Great Evil, there was no mistaking someone of that
size and with such an air of arrogance. The other two were his
servants, apparently, as he told them to find a place to sleep in
the stables as walked over to the table.

He bowed at the waist and
addressed Julia “Milady, I am at your service. You dine alone, am I
to understand that the King is still away?”

His voice was so loud and
commanding that both women looked at each other nervously. Julia
recovered quickly and stated in an equally commanding voice. “Yes,
my husband and the King are still traveling. However, you may spend
the night and have a meal before being on your way. I am sorry you
came such a long way for nothing.”

The Great Evil then
noticed Gertie. A look of pure lust showed on his face and in his
eyes. “I believe I shall be staying. Who is this lovely
lady?”

“She is Gertrude, my
helper and my companion. I have recently bourn a son and Gertrude
is a great help for the both of us.” Julia then turned to Gertie
and said “If you have finished with your meal, Gertrude, I require
your assistance upstairs.”

Both ladies stood up and
nodded to The Great Evil and took their leave, giving instructions
to the cook to serve the new arrivals a meal.

When they went into Julia’s
room and shut the door Julia turned quickly to Gertie. “Gertie, we
have run out of time. There is so much that I have wanted to share
with you. I have been so afraid!”

“What is it, Julia?”
Gertie said. Just then Hugo began to cry and whatever Julia was
going to tell her was lost in that moment.

“Nothing, I am sorry. That
man rather frightens me is all. I hate to ask this of you, Gertie,
but could you stay here in my room tonight? I will feel safer if
the two of us are together. I am glad William married your sister,
but I have days where I greatly miss him.”

Chapter 5

The next morning when
Julia was combing her hair and Gertie was looking out the window,
the baby started to whimper a bit. He wanted a toy that was on the
dresser, a baby rattler and he was reaching out for it. Gertie
started to walk over to Hugo to give him the toy when the toy
lifted up into the air and floated right into Hugo’s outstretched
hand. Hugo laughed and played with the toy.

Julia saw what had
happened and the look on her face was terrifying. She immediately
cried out “Gertie please, I beseech you, please do not tell The
Great Evil what you just saw. I will give you anything you wish,
anything, just please do not put Hugo in harm’s way. I don’t care
what they do with me, but please help me protect my
child!”

Gertie was immediately at
Julia’s side. “Julia, Hugo is not to be feared, he is to be
celebrated!”

Julia stared at Gertie with
her blue eyes very wide. “You know?”

“I know that he is one of
us. We will protect him, we have to protect us all! Is there anyone
else – is William one of us?” Gertie asked, hoping that he
was.

“No, and he does not know.
I have sent for my good friend Cynthia and her husband Ashton, they
are as one like us and will be here soon. Oh Gertie, I have been
living in such fear. You cannot imagine the relief I feel right
now.”

“It won’t be easy, Julia,
The Great Evil does not look as if he plans to leave any time
soon.” The two women hugged each other. “We have to pretend
everything is normal, keep to our regular schedules. All the while
trying to stay out of his clutches.”

“I agree.”

A few days went by where
The Great Evil was away from the Palace. William came one day and
told them that The Great Evil had been on the path in the forest
where an older lady was walking. Before she could move, The Great
Evil ran over her and did not even look back.

William also reported that
The Great Evil was questioning people about their neighbors and
threatening them. He admitted that Ophelia had finally trusted him
with the news about she and her mother and William admitted that he
was living in fear for his wife and unborn children.

“If anyone can come up with
a way to get rid of that man, please include me. Nothing is as
important as saving my family. I will do anything to stop
him.”

That night as Gertie was
walking to her room she was attacked from behind. A large hand went
over her mouth and she heard The Great Evil growl “Do not fight me,
my Scarlett girl. I see the fire in your eyes as well as in your
hair. I know you want me. Do not reject me, Scarlett, or others
will pay the price!”

Gertie was left bruised
and in a heap on the floor. She cried and she shook so hard she
thought she might die. It took everything in her not to lash out
and fight this man. She had to protect Julia and her child, as well
as her own family and the people of the forest. Gertie walked into
her bedroom, thankful at least that the attack had not taken place
in her room. She shut the door and with a few words and points of
her fingers, the dresser was now firmly against the door. She could
finally breathe.

Gertie did not tell William
what had taken place. William would have acted on impulse and would
have gotten himself killed and maybe Ophelia and their child as
well. Gertie pulled up all of her reserve and powers and vowed to
put a plan in place that would keep her and her clan
safe.

The Great Evil had no
interest in a baby or its mother so Gertie felt that Julia and Hugo
would be safe. She knew, however, if she left, that the situation
could change rapidly.

The Great Evil was
overheard telling the housekeeper to load him up with supplies that
would last him for four days, as he had some business to attend to
elsewhere.

That very morning Julia
and Hugo were sitting in the garden and Julia was singing Hugo a
lullaby. Hugo was not more than five months old by this time and
when he started singing the same song that his mother was, Gertie,
who was walking by with sheets she had gathered, noticed. She was
not the only one who had, for the Great Evil stopped in his tracks
and turned to the mother and child.

It was then that Gertie
ran into his path. She was singing the same song as the mother and
child. Her ploy worked as far as saving Julia and Hugo that day.
The Great Evil said “Hello, my little Scarlett, you sing like an
angle.” He then grabbed Gertie and carried her off into another
room.

Julia saw and quickly took
her son to her room and barricaded the door much in the same
fashion that Gertie had, although Gertie had not told her about
that night.

When Julia saw out her
window that The Great Evil and his men were riding off somewhere
away from the forest, she ran in search of Gertie.

“It has to be now, Julia,
we have to do it now. We have four days before he will be back. I
have been making preparations for a long time, even before Mathew
and the King left.” Julia hugged her friend and said “Remember the
red ring that you saw me with?”

“Yes, I remember, it has
some sort of special powers, doesn’t it?” Gertie asked.

“Yes, it does, very
powerful magic. It can split open mountains, it can transport
people to other worlds it is our way out, Gertie. Cynthia and her
husband Ashton should be arriving today. We must make haste to
leave this place.”

Just then they heard a
very excited William downstairs calling for them. William was back
from his gathering trip. As the two women rushed to see what was
happening, they saw William laughing and smiling. “There you are!
Ophelia has delivered! We have two girls!”

Julia and Gertie wanted to
be happy, but they only grew more afraid. “William, the time has
come, we must leave here and never come back.”

“But we can’t leave, not
with the babies. Where would we go?” Julia did not know how to
answer him, and Gertie told him to wait outside so that she could
go with him to see the new babies.

She turned to Julia and
said from her window she had noticed a carriage approaching that
was not of royalty. “It has to be Ashton and Cynthia then!” Julia
exclaimed. “I did not know what to tell William. Make sure you have
him and your family at the edge of the forest at the moon’s rising,
it is imperative!”

“Cynthia and Ashton are
almost here. I must hurry! “You talk to them and tell them your
plan. I will go see my sister and come back with her and the
babies, my mother and William. I hope that ring is as powerful as
you believe it to be.” Gertie said.