Girl in the Red Hood (35 page)

"But what about the town?" Liesel had asked
them over supper. "They couldn't have wanted you to stay after what
happened."

"No," Ilsa had turned her tea cup in her
hands. "No, they weren't happy at all."

"In fact," Bernd snorted, "they wanted to
run us out of town."

"What stopped them?"

"The minster, of all people," her
grandfather chuckled. "He told them all that if we left, they'd
have no wine for the holy sacraments in church."

"They leave us alone now more than ever,"
Ilsa smiled wryly. "Not that being alone ever bothered your
grandfather."

So it was with joyful hearts that Liesel and
Kurt soon departed. Though she knew they would miss her and she
them, Liesel knew her grandparents were happy for her. Before she
mounted her horse, Liesel handed her grandmother her beloved book.
Ilsa reverently took it, lovingly tracing the leather spine with
her hand. To Liesel's surprise, however, she handed it back to
Liesel with a twinkle in her eye.

"There are empty pages in the back. I want
you to write your own stories here so your children can see. And if
you ever decide to come home, your dear old grandmother, as
well."

"We don't know when we'll return," Liesel
said apologetically as Kurt loaded their little cart. Ilsa just
smiled and took a lock of Liesel's yellow hair, stroking it with
affection.

"Go where the Maker leads you. You'll return
when He appoints. Who knows where else He has work for you to do?
You're so young, love. You're just getting started."

And so they had journeyed, and their journey
led them right to the edge of the sea.

"Kurt, I can see them!" Liesel pointed to
the ocean, having climbed as close to the edge of the bluff she
dared while Kurt unloaded the cart. "Come see! Quickly, before they
go!"

"I won't be able to see you or the merfolk
if I don't get a fire going soon," Kurt shook his head in false
annoyance as he went to join her. Despite his protests, it wasn't
long before the fire was built and strips of meat were smoking over
it, and Liesel sat quietly, mesmerized by the smell of the sea and
the wetness in the air that floated all around then. Kurt added
some logs to the fire before coming over and sitting next to Liesel
on the back of the cart. Without breaking her gaze at the
glittering ocean that moved without ceasing, Liesel reached back
and grabbed his hands, rubbing them contentedly while she closed
her eyes and simply existed. Kurt fingered the garnet ring he'd
purchased for her from a trader they'd met back in Ward on their
way out of the forest.

"This bluff would be a lovely place for a
house," he said. Liesel laughed and poked him. Kurt had been saying
that about every place they'd stayed since leaving her
grandparents' home. Each night, he said it, and each night, she
reminded him that they hadn't yet seen the ocean.

"No, it wouldn't," Liesel shook her head. It
took every bit of effort not to burst as she waited for his
reply.

"And why not?"

"Cliffs aren't good places for children."
When Kurt didn't reply, Liesel finally turned and looked at
him.

"Wait...you mean it?" Kurt immediately
looked down at her dress, but Liesel just laughed again. It would
be a while before he would be able to tell just by looking.

"If we have a boy," she snuggled deeper in
his arms and looked up at the stars that filled the heavens above
them, "I hope he's just like his father."

"A boy would be nice, but so would a girl.
She could be just like her mother." Liesel gave an unladylike
snort.

"And what would that be?"

"Too willing to talk to strangers," Kurt
smiled. "Particularly odd boys in the forest."

"We'll have to warn her about those," Liesel
nodded soberly. Kurt just chuckled, then continued in a warm
voice.

"She'll have a hunger for adventure. She
might just change the lives of an entire village. And everywhere
she goes, people will say, 'Look, there goes the daughter of the
girl in the red hood.'"

###

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Also by Brittany
Fichter...

Before Beauty

The Becoming Beauty Trilogy, Book One

A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

“It’s true that–Look up at me,” he
interrupted himself, suddenly removing his hood. “I want to see you
better.” Isa couldn’t have looked away if she’d wanted to. His face
was gaunt. Dark circles seemed painted below his eyes, and his skin
appeared fragile. It looked as if someone had stretched it too
thinly over his sharp cheekbones. His golden hair was long and
unkept, making his ashen cheeks look even more sunken.

But what really drew her gaze were his eyes.
They were the only parts of his face that stood out more than his
thin nose, but not because they were frightening as the rest of him
was. The prince’s eyes would have been gray if not for the thin
rings of blue fire that encircled his pupils. They blazed in a
strange, beautiful rhythm that made her want to look closer.
Unfortunately, she realized, those beautiful, extraordinary eyes
were suddenly glaring at her with a very real hatred.

He remembers me. So he hadn’t brought her to
the Fortress for revenge. The surprise and hate on his face was so
intense that Isa would have wilted under it, had she not been
battling similar feelings of her own. They stood glaring at one
another for a long moment before his expression became more
controlled. When he spoke again, his voice was slow and
deliberate.

“Yes, you are my servant, but not the kind
you think.”

“Then, Your Highness, what am I here for?”
He stared strangely at her for a minute longer before
answering.

“You’re here to help me break the curse.”
Isa nearly fell back a step. She had imagined many horrible endings
to her time with the prince, but none of them had involved breaking
a curse. She was both relieved and horrified.

“I can do that?”

“We’ll see. Now, I assume you’re tired from
your journey. You will be served supper in your chambers tonight,
but tomorrow, you will dine with me.” And with that, the prince
turned slowly and began to limp away. Still in shock, Isa stared as
he paused one more time. “Oh, and one more thing. You are safe on
the Fortress grounds by day, but you must never venture out after
dark. I cannot protect you then.”

An Air Force wife, mommy of a little fairy,
and Las Vegas native, Brittany’s life is far from boring. She’s
written stories since she could hold a pen, so writing for a living
is a dream come true, one she works at while staying at home with
her baby girl. When she’s not writing, Brittany can be found
enjoying her family (husband, daughter, and spoiled black
Labrador), doing chores (She would much prefer writing.), reading,
going to church, belting Disney princess songs, exercising, or
decorating cakes.

Brittany is in love with stories. She’s been
narrating them in her head she since was little. It helps her
better understand life if she can hear it as if it were a story,
because if it’s a story, thanks to the grace of God, there will be
a happy ending. Living with Tourette Syndrome, chronic anxiety, and
OCD tendencies (which she writes about extensively on her other
website, BrittanyFichterWrites.com), gives her the need to put life
in perspective on days when she struggles with her disorders.
Writing fantasy helps her to do just that.

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