Girl in the Red Hood (11 page)

"Bein' the young, wild man I was, I had
nothin' to my name but the clothes on my back and the few coins I
earned doing odd jobs here and there. Your mum changed all that.
After that night, I found a blacksmith and hired myself out to him.
I'd learned to smith from my own father back in my own county, and
in a year, I'd married your mum. You came along not long after
that." Liesel listened, spellbound, to the story she'd never heard
a word about from her mother. Liesel supposed the way Amala and
Warin had met was probably a bit embarrassing to her ever proper
mother. Or perhaps, Liesel wondered, Amala had feared it would give
Liesel the idea to follow in her footsteps. Whatever the reason had
been, it would remain forever hidden now. Liesel turned to study
her father as he walked beside her. His eyes were distant, and the
smile he wore now was a sad one.

"Your mum was good to me, Leese. She brought
me back when I strayed, and she always forgave me when I stumbled.
You're a lot like her, girl. Don't you forget that."

"Thank you, Father," Liesel murmured. And
she meant it. For all his faults, Warin had loved her mother
faithfully.

The sound of an excited crowd pulled her
from her reverie, and Liesel felt her heart quicken as they entered
the town square. There had been a few people that had passed by
them as they'd headed into town, three or four neighbors on the
outskirts of Ward, but it seemed now the whole town was gathered
around the stage that had been set up in the square. Mayor Odo was
standing on it, along with Izaak and a few other dignitaries Liesel
had seen here and there around town.

"Don't look so ghostly now," Warin gave her
a small shove from behind. "Drop your ribbon in the bucket before
they start to draw!" Liesel nodded and did as she was told, trying
to ignore the terrified stare of the woman holding the bucket as
Liesel dropped her ribbon in. Only then did it occur to her that
she could have embroidered someone else's name on it. Then, even if
her ribbon
was
picked, she would be saved from having to
make a fool of herself before the entire village. But it was too
late for that now, and her father was watching her with delight, so
she dropped it in with a sigh. There were lots of other ribbons,
she tried to comfort herself. Surely they wouldn't pick hers for
Summer Maiden.

"Good evening," the mayor's voice boomed
across the square, signaling the beginning of the ceremony.
"Welcome to the Autumn Festival! I'm Mayor Odo, and for those of
you visiting our town, I hope you find your stay here pleasant."
Liesel wondered who he was talking to, as she recognized every face
in the crowd from their Holy Day visits. That she was aware of, she
and her father were the newest people there. The only less familiar
faces she could see were some of the traders and merchants, and she
recognized most of them immediately. One of them seemed to feel her
gaze. When he turned his head to return her stare, she realized it
was the peddler who had tried so hard to warn her. She gave him a
hesitant smile, and he nodded. Just then, her father nudged her,
moving her attention back to the mayor's speech. "I know most of
you are familiar with our tradition of choosing our Summer Maiden.
Each eligible young lady has brought her ribbon this evening.
Whomever has her ribbon chosen first will be our Summer Maiden, and
this year, she shall have the first dance with Landry Stu, winner
of last week's archery contest." Landry walked up to the top of the
stage. His eyes were hidden by the hair that drooped down his face,
but his grin was wide and full of pride. "Are you ready, Landry?"
The mayor pointed at the bucket Liesel had dropped her ribbon in.
Reaching in, he pulled a ribbon out, Liesel couldn't see what his
choice looked like. Landry handed the ribbon up to him, and the
mayor began to read it out loud. He stopped immediately though, and
much to Liesel's surprise, somehow managed to pale in the fading
gray light of the forest evening. Liesel still couldn't see the
ribbon he held, but she did hear him mutter to the young man,

"Pick another one."

"Hold on, now!" Warin shouted out, his voice
indignant. "He pulled my daughter's ribbon! Why would you have him
pull another?"

"Really, Father, it's-" Liesel tried to stop
him, but Warin was already charging up to the stage. Before anyone
could react, he'd snatched the blue ribbon from the mayor's hand
and was waving it in front of the crowd.

"The rule is that the first ribbon pulled is
the name of the first Summer Maiden, and that's my Liesel!" He
looked around at the people, expecting their support. The sinking
feeling in Liesel's stomach intensified when her father realized no
one agreed with him. Instead, they simply stared, and the fear in
the air was palpable.

Liesel had expected nothing different, but
it was clear her father had. Long ago had she accepted her place as
the town pariah, but Liesel could see the rage growing on Warin's
face as he looked for support at all the people he had assumed were
his friends. Turning back to the mayor, he held the ribbon up and
shook it in Odo's face.

"My daughter was right about you people!
You're all addled in the head, thinkin' somethin' like this is
acceptable. I thought perhaps my wife's death was an accident, but
I can see now that Liesel was right. There is evil in this town,
and I won't stand for it! Come, Liesel! We're leavin’!" Murmurs
arose as he stormed off the stage. Liesel nearly had to run to keep
up with him as he stalked back towards the cottage.

Part of Liesel's heart felt giddy as they
arrived home and Warin began throwing everything into piles.

"Where are we going?" Liesel was almost
afraid to ask, terrified her father would change his mind. For a
moment, he didn't seem to hear her. Finally, however, Warin's
shoulders slumped and he came to a stop.

"We're goin’ back to Weit. No, rather, we're
goin’ to your grandparents. I've done a fine job of makin’ you
miserable here," he turned and looked at her, his eyes repentant.
"You need a woman's touch to help you grow." Unable to hold herself
back, Liesel flung herself at her father and wrapped her arms
around him. She felt him hug her back, hesitantly at first, but
then his grip tightened. "You're much wiser than your old man,
Leese. Your mum would have been proud of you tonight." Liesel felt
tears sting her own eyes as he pushed her back to look at her face.
"And I don't mean just your beauty. You held yourself together with
dignity, even when they tried to hurt you. I mean it. Your mum
would be so proud." It took Liesel a moment to recover her
voice.

"So when are we going?"

"Tonight." As he spoke, however, a wolf's
howl sounded in the distance. It made Liesel shiver, and even
seemed to chill Warin a bit. "Although I suppose it wouldn't hurt
to wait until the mornin'. We'll get a bit of rest tonight,
instead." Liesel nodded emphatically before continuing to help him
pack the few dishes they had in the cupboards.

As they worked, Liesel couldn't help but
feel torn. It was awful to think that she could be second-guessing
their decision to leave, but something nagged at her. Kurt's face
continued to entertain her mind as she worked. If they had been
leaving like this the year before, Liesel would simply have felt as
if she was leaving a friend. But Kurt was more than a friend. He
had kept her alive for an entire winter, breaking his father's
sacred rules to do so. He'd promised to keep her safe when no one
else would. He'd stirred up feelings within her that she'd never
felt for a boy, the ones her mother had warned her about. Kurt had
become her whole world. It would be incredibly wrong, she decided,
to leave without at least saying goodbye. And reminding him of the
promise he'd made.

Since they were leaving in the morning, she
decided, she could sneak out early and meet him at the waterfall.
He usually didn't arrive that early, but if he didn't make it in
time, perhaps she could leave him a letter explaining what had
happened.

After Warin finally went to bed, Liesel took
a quill, ink, and a piece of parchment from her bag. She rarely
used the writing materials, as they were nearly impossible to
afford, but such an occasion merited a whole book, she decided. As
neatly as she could, Liesel related to Kurt all that had happened.
As she wrote, she thanked the Maker again and again that Kurt could
read. In her letter, she promised that she would still keep her
side of the bargain, that she would meet him when they were older,
that they would still explore the world together. She wouldn't
forget, and she was going to be holding him to his promise not to
forget either. It seemed so strange, she mused to herself, that she
could feel any sort of sadness about leaving the woods. She'd
wanted nothing more than to return to her grandparents since they'd
arrived. In the time that they'd lived in Ward, she'd lost her
mother, been ostracized, and nearly starved. And yet, a piece of
her mourned leaving this boy behind. Through it all, he had been
there. Simply leaving without saying farewell in person seemed so
wrong. And yet, she sighed, what else could she do? Warin's mind
was made up. They were leaving at first light. He was determined to
be out of the forest by the first night, and to do that, they would
need to ride steadily. There would only be time to rest the
horse.

Liesel had nearly nodded off with exhaustion
by the time she sealed the letter with wax. Getting into her little
mattress for the last time, she smiled as she rested. In just two
nights' time, she would be laying on her bed at her grandparents'
house. Never would she take the feeling of safety in their home for
granted again.

***

Liesel didn't even realize she'd fallen
asleep when the door creaked open. The events of the evening had
taxed her more than she'd expected. Rolling over, she decided to
let her father start loading the bags into the cart without her.
She wasn't strong enough to lift most of them anyways. She awakened
fully, however, when she heard a strange guttural sound from
Warin's bed. When she opened her eyes, she nearly fainted.

A large wolf was standing over her father's
body, blood dripping from its black muzzle. Warin's face was ashen,
and he wasn't breathing. The wolf stared at her for a long moment,
and like the first wolf, its eyes were hauntingly human. Even worse
than that, they were familiar, although Liesel had no idea where
she had seem them before. But it didn't matter. Instead of the
paralyzing fear Liesel had felt the first time, Liesel felt rage
fill her veins and pump through her heart. She nearly invited it to
try and come at her. Instead of attacking, however, the wolf
finally turned and simply ran back through the door. In an instant,
Liesel was out of the bed and had her father's crossbow in her
hands. Because of the cold, Liesel had taken to sleeping in her
shoes, and was morbidly grateful for this tonight as she plunged
into the darkness.

The foolishness of trying to hunt a wolf in
the night evaded Liesel as she sprinted after the beast. It didn't
matter either that she was terrible with the crossbow. Her
grandfather had only given her a few lessons on the vineyard before
Warin's surprise move to Ward. Still, she tried to load the bolt as
she ran. Thanks to her time with Kurt in the forest, Liesel had
become better at navigating the brambles and stumps that tended to
trip one on the forest floor. Still, it wasn't long before Liesel
could no longer hear the sound of the wolf as it ran, and was
forced to stop.

"Are you afraid?" She screamed into the
night. "Are you too cowardly to come and finish the job?" Sobs
began to escape from her chest in gasps as she tried to shout, the
lifeless form of her father filling her mind once more. Without a
plan, she started to run again, but a pair of strong hands caught
her and held her tightly as she thrashed, trying to escape.

"I have to find it!" She sobbed to whomever
held her. "I have to kill the wolf!"

"No, Liesel!" Kurt's voice was cautious but
controlled. "You'll just get yourself hurt."

"But he killed my father!" She cried. She
quit fighting him, however, the long run making her suddenly
lightheaded.

"I know," he whispered into her hair, his
voice strained. "I know." Liesel no longer had the strength to run,
or even stand, or even wonder how Kurt already knew. Instead, she
collapsed into the young man's arms. She felt dead inside. Just
when she had dared to hope that her life was turning around, that
she was getting her family back once more, her hopes had been
dashed to pieces. As terrible a father as Warin had been, she had
loved him, and he had loved her. There was no reason that this
injustice should have happened. None of it made sense. Kurt had
been right, she thought morosely. A dark magic lay over the forest.
Nothing but evil had befallen her family since they'd arrived.
Liesel clung to Kurt's shirt as he tried to comfort her. She didn't
care that she was half sitting in the dirt, or that she was in the
middle of a forest at night. All she knew was that Kurt was holding
her together, every little broken, bitter piece that was left of
her soul. She could do nothing but hold on tightly and cry.

Liesel didn't remember falling asleep or
returning to her cottage. All she knew was that somehow, she awoke
the next morning in her own bed. Though her father's blood still
stained the floor, his body was gone. The mayor arrived shortly to
offer his condolences, and Liesel didn't even ask how he already
knew or what had been done with the body. All she wanted to do was
lie in bed and remember nothing of the world that had been taken
from her.

"Did you hear me, Miss Hirsch?" Liesel
slowly turned her head to look at him when he spoke her name. "I
asked if you wanted to move in with someone. We have a number of
families that are willing to take you in after such a grave
accident. You wouldn't have to live on your own." So they all knew.
Somehow, Liesel wasn't surprised. She stared at the rotund man with
contempt. He had so many words when all she wanted was silence.