The Girl and the Wolf

by Nicole Yek

  "But right after I have a brief talk with Meriana," Garnet added sheepishly, causing Knox to let out a groan in chagrin. The brunette chuckled at his response and he advised her once more to hurry before dashing up the creaking wooden stairs at lightning speed.

  Once she was certain that the little boy was out of earshot, Meriana let out a sigh. "Thank you." She said to Garnet as she moved to sit down on the rocking chair by the fireplace. "That boy should really think about himself once in a while instead of putting everyone else's needs first. He's still too young to bear that burden."

  Garnet walked back to the fireplace and returned to her earlier crouched position on the floor, all the while never taking her gaze off of Meriana. She wanted to shake her head and tell her that Knox had already stopped caring about himself a long time ago and that he had already begun to bear the burden of looking after them ever since her father passed. But she didn't and instead said, "Meriana, I want to talk to you about going to Grandma's tomorrow."

  The older woman released another sigh, pinching her nose bridge with her fingers. "I suppose visiting Grandma will have to wait. We can only hope that her illness isn't as bad as the messenger had said, if so then without any of our assistance, I'm not so certain that she could-"

  "I'm still going," Garnet cut her off. "I'm still going off to see her tomorrow morning."

  Meriana pulled her hand away from her face and looked at the brunette. "Garnet, it's impossible, not with the Great Bridge destroyed. There's no other path for you to take-"

  "Actually there is." The brunette interjected with a stoic face.

  Meriana's pale brown eyes widened in realization. There was a brief moment of hesitation and then she gave a shake of her head, her long black locks swaying slightly from the movement. "No, absolutely not." She said, although her words were authoritative, the faint tremble in her voice made it sound more like a plea.

  The other route to the kingdom which Garnet hinted at was extremely dangerous. Most people in their village would claim that it was a suicide mission and it would take a lot of luck, maybe even a miracle to be able to make it to the other side. Admittedly, Garnet couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed at how she hadn't denied the brunette's suggestion immediately. She had paused, making it was clear that she had considered the idea before answering the girl. It reminded her that Meriana was not her biological mother; she was only a substitute Garnet's father had married and who could never truly replace her real mother. Whether she had thought about the idea intentionally or whether it had simply floated into her mind upon hearing Garnet's idea, it didn't matter. No matter how much she had consciously considered Garnet as her own daughter, her subconscious would never truly accept her as one.

  "You are not going into the Wood, Garnet!" Meriana said; her voice firmer and louder this time. "The Wood is cursed! You've heard all of the stories, you've heard of how the hunter, William, never returned after going inside, and so have many more innocent people! That forest is cursed and you know that just as well as I do, so, why? Why in the right mind would you even consider using it to get the kingdom?"

  She looked wild. Her long black hair was in a mess and her face twisted in disbelief as she yelled; only her eyes gave away her true emotions. From how they seemed, Garnet had never seen Meriana so lost and frightened in all the years she had known her. Her abrupt outburst was understandable as she was right about the Wood. The Wood was a forest on the edge of their small village and despite its ordinary appearance, it was indeed cursed. Countless villagers had gone inside and never managed to come back out. News from the kingdom's messengers told them that they didn't make it to the other side either. There were also stories that the Wood was actually a monster that took the form of a forest and ate anyone who dared to enter it, but Garnet wasn't certain how much of that theory was true and how much of it was false.

  "Meriana," Garnet began, looking straight at her stepmother. "Please calm down and just listen to me."

  "Garnet, if this idea of yours isn't insane and outrageously dangerous, I might consider paying half a mind to it," the woman argued. "But it is, and I'm not certain if you're aware of the high chance that you might get yourself killed in there. You could die, Garnet!"

  The brunette's blood started to boil and her face burned in anger. "What do you take me for? A fool?"

  "Well, you are certainly acting like one right now!" Meriana retorted.

  Ignoring her offensive remark, Garnet went on. "Do you think that I don't know how dangerous the Wood is? Do you think that I'm not aware that I could very well die in there? Because I'm aware of that, I'm aware of all of that! I know that I might not come out of the Wood alive, I know that I might get slaughtered or even mauled in there, I know that I might not make it to Grandma in time and possibly see her before I could no longer do so… But, knowing all that, all the risks that I'd be taking, the small glimmer of hope that I might actually succeed and make it to the other side, to Grandma, still outweighs them all." Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and her blood was flowing hot in her veins as she spoke every word with wholehearted passion and sincerity. "So that is why I still ask of you to please give me permission to leave and go the Wood."

  Meriana stared at her for a long and hard moment with dark eyes and a tight frown. Garnet would normally be intimidated by her and stuttered out an apology before scampering out of sight but the short brunette held her ground and looked boldly at her stepmother in the eye.

  "If that ‘hope' is what is driving you to take on this impossible task," Meriana leaned down so she was at the same eye level as the girl. "Then it is all the more reason for me to forbid you from going to the Wood."

  Her harsh reply sent Garnet stumbling back slightly in shock. It wasn't as though she was expecting the woman to agree to her idea willingly just after listening to a short inspiring speech from her, but she didn't think that Meriana would reject her in such a cold way. The way she spoke those words weren't like how she had yelled at her earlier in rage, the way she spoke to her then was quiet, serious, and somehow… distant, as though she was talking to a stranger's child instead of her stepdaughter. It was frightening, and Garnet wasn't sure as for how to respond to her.

  "This is the last that we'll speak of this subject." Meriana tore her gaze away from the girl and stood up from the rocking chair by the fireplace. "I'm going upstairs to prepare a story for Knox," she said as she turned her back on Garnet. "You should go take a bath. I'm sure Knox's patience is wearing quite thin by now and he might not wait for you much longer."

  Garnet watched speechlessly as the black-haired woman headed up the stairs without sparing another glance at her. When Meriana was gone, her shoulders slumped back and she let out a sigh. She felt defeated, completely and pathetically defeated. Besides that, she felt incredibly guilty. The guilt of not being able to see much less help her ill grandmother during a time of dire need was overwhelming, and Garnet was certain that it would eat her alive if she didn't quickly do something about it.

  That was when a brilliant yet possibly the most foolish idea that she ever had struck her. She had never disobeyed Meriana's more serious orders before, and she knew that it was selfish of her to do so only in order to ease her guilt, but she also couldn't let her beloved grandmother wither away while she sat idly at home doing absolutely nothing to help her.

  Garnet took in a deep breath, bracing herself for her plan later that night. It had been decided when midnight came and when both Meriana and Knox were asleep, she would sneak away, and take off for the Wood.

  Chapter Three

  Garnet cracked open an eye to take a peek at her surroundings. The small room was shrouded in the darkness of night and the only light that allowed the brunette to make out anything in the pitch-black was the sliver of faint moonbeam that managed to sneak through the window opposite her bed. She craned her head to the side, looking at Knox's smaller figure which lied in the bed next to hers, wrapped in numerous blankets to shelter his thin body
from the cold.

  He was asleep. The soft but audible snores coming from him told Garnet as much. She shifted her gaze onto another figure tucked into bed in the shadowy corner of the room. The brunette's lips tugged down into a slight frown when she couldn't tell whether or not her stepmother was asleep. If she was to get up and move over to Meriana's bed and find that she was awake, then she would end up in a lot of trouble. The brunette's eyebrows knitted together as she pondered on what to do, occasionally tossing and turning in her bed while in the midst of thinking.

  Moments passed until the frustration vanished as she had made her decision. As cautiously and silently as she could, she pushed the blankets off her body and placed her feet on the wooden floor. She stood up and moved as stealthily as she could across the room towards the corner where her stepmother's bed was. Her feet stopped in front of Meriana's bed and with her breath held, the girl leaned forward to catch a clearer sight of her stepmother. Meriana's eyes were closed and her mouth was parted slightly, her chest rose and fall in a calm and peaceful pace. Garnet released the breath that she had been holding as the relief of having confirmed that the older woman was indeed asleep washed over her like a gentle ocean wave.

  This was good. This was what she had planned, to wait until Knox and Meriana fell asleep and leave for the Wood in the dead of night when neither of them could stop her.

  Garnet hadn't felt guilty when she came up with the idea earlier that night, but at that moment, as she looked down at her sleeping stepmother, she suddenly felt her heart ache and an invisible weight fall on her slim shoulders. She gulped as she stared down at the black-haired woman who had raised her since she was a baby not more than a year old, who looked so at peace as she slept, not knowing that the girl whom she had cared for and raised for all these years would disobey her. The brunette felt the weight on her shoulders grow heavier as she thought about how her stepmother would react when she found her gone the next morning, worried, frightened, upset, hurt…

  The girl swallowed once more and she absentmindedly reached a hand out to touch Meriana's, but she stopped before she could, in fear of waking the black-haired woman. She retracted her hand and with guilty eyes, whispered, "I'm sorry."

  She tore her eyes away from her stepmother and was about to head for the stairs when she caught a glimpse of Knox stirring vaguely in his bed. Her feet halted before they touched the second step of the stairs and she turned around and walked towards him. Knox's little body ceased its abrupt stirring when Garnet neared his bed as though he could sense his sister's presence and that was enough to soothe him back to a serene slumber. She bit down on her bottom lip as she looked down at her brother's sleeping face, half covered by the layers of blankets that he held so tightly around himself making him look like a cocoon.

  Not being able to restrain herself, she reached out and gently touched the top of his head, softly brushing his brown hair. "Don't worry, Knox," she whispered, her green eyes transfixed on his soundless body as he continued to sleep, unaware that his beloved sister was about to leave him to embark a deadly journey. "I promise that I'll come back."

  She placed a kiss atop his head and removed her hand from him. "I'll come back to you."

  The brunette glimpsed down at her brother for one last time, taking in the image of his face which looked so sweet and peaceful and etching it deep into her memory. She then turned on her heels and headed down the stairs without glancing back.

  She swiftly yet quietly went into the kitchen, grabbed a loaf of bread and some fruits, shoved them into the weaved basket that contained the lemon cakes and other treats for her grandmother, and carried it in her hand as she walked back into the living room which was no longer lit by the crackling fire in the fireplace. She took her crimson cloak that was hanging on the back of the rocking chair beside the dark and empty fireplace and exited through the front door.

  The sky was the hue of raven wings and there were only a handful of stars that twinkled in the onyx night. Garnet suspected that it was not too long after midnight, and dawn was still hours away. The Wood was quite a distance from her house and it would take a few hours to reach there on foot, but that didn't bother the brunette. In fact, she felt relieved since the last thing that she wanted was to make her way through the cursed and mysterious forest in the dark.

  She began moving forward in the direction of the forest and it wasn't until she was nearly out of her village did she finally halt in her tracks. This time, she did turn around to look, to look back at her small yet comfortable home which she had spent her whole life in, to look back at the people inside whom she would be leaving, to look back on her life in this village, to look back at all of it... for one last time before she faced forward and headed for the Wood.

  ***

  Dawn broke just as Garnet had reached the Wood, and it certainly wasn't what she had imagined it would be like. She expected trees with rotting leaves, poisonous fruits, a disgusting, rotten smell contaminating the air and horrifying, disfigured monsters lurking on every branch. Instead, it was composed of giant trees with branches that were adorned with abundant lush green leaves and big, ripe fruits that looked juicy enough to eat. The cool air inside carried a woody incense that told Garnet of its old age, and lastly, there was not a single animal, much less a monster anywhere in sight.

  Garnet spun around, searching with cautious eyes for any monsters lurking behind leaves or dark bushes. When she spotted none, an absurd yet plausible thought came floating into her mind. She gasped. "Maybe they're all invisible!"

  The place was claimed to be cursed after all so it wouldn't be strange if the creatures living within it were cursed as well. Garnet stuck out both her arms and started moving them up and down frantically all the while turning around in circles, hoping that she would hit something invisible, but all that she was able to come in contact with was the air. She realized several seconds later how ridiculous she must have looked and her arms instantly dropped back down to her sides.

  She glanced up at the tall trees, expecting to find a bird or two lingering on the high branches but there were none. She sighed, slightly disappointed that there weren't any animals that could make her feel less lonely. But she supposed it was better to be alone in a cursed forest than to have a huge pack of monsters surrounding her. She reached into her weaved basket and took out a compass. She looked down at it, at the small metal needle's red end that was forever pointing to the north. Garnet had smuggled it into the basket before she left the house, and she knew that since their little village was in the south, the kingdom and her grandmother's house should be in the opposite. She tore her eyes away from the wooden compass and gazed straight ahead with determination. She stood a little straighter and trudged forward.

  The trees grew thicker the further into the Wood she went, but that didn't faze her at all since she had played in forests far denser than this when she was young, or rather when she was younger as she was only fifteen years of age. Garnet walked on and on; the only sound that she heard were of dry leaves crackling under her feet as she moved. Despite the lack of creatures in the Wood, she had a strange feeling she was being watched. With every step she took, she felt as though eyes were watching her, observing her every move. She wasn't certain how many there were but she felt the numbers grow the deeper she went. It was eerie and frightening since every time she turned around to check, there would be no one there. There was only her, she was alone, yet she could sense that there were eyes watching her.

  She managed to push aside the unsettling feeling when fatigue began to cease her tired legs. She let out a sigh and stopped in her tracks, looking around for a spot to rest. She soon found one under one of the tall trees and sat down in the space between two of its large roots which were stretched out and twisted on the ground. Garnet looked up at the glimpses of the sky that were uncovered by the Wood's foliage and found that the sun was high up in the middle of the infinite cerulean blue. It was already noon.

  She hadn't realized that sh
e had been walking for so long, but then again, she hadn't bothered to think about the time during her walk. Those thoughts were instantly forgotten when a loud growl erupted from her stomach, signaling the time for lunch. Wasting no time, she quickly dug her hands into the basket which she had placed on one of the tree's large roots. She pulled out a loaf of bread, tore it in half with her bare hands and munched on one-half while she put the other back into the basket.

  She allowed her eyes to wander around the forest's green scenery, and her gaze stopped on the ripe and juicy-looking fruits that its trees bore. She had never seen fruits like those before and despite how delicious they seemed, Garnet knew better than to risk eating something that grew in a cursed place. She was chewing on her last bit of bread when her green eyes caught a glimpse of white behind a leafy plant. Her eyes widened and she swiftly stood up and quietly made her way over to see what mysterious creature lied behind the plant, partially because she didn't want to scare it away and also because she was afraid that it might turn out to be a monster. But it was neither a mythical creature of magic nor was it a monster. It was an adorable little white rabbit.

  Garnet stared down at the small creature with big, awestruck eyes. "So… cute…" she squeaked and bent down on her knees so she could admire it up close. A wide grin made its way onto her face while she watched the white rabbit's tiny pink nose move slightly as it sniffed its surroundings. Upon closer observation, she realized that it was an adult male rabbit. Absentmindedly, she held her hand out to the rabbit. He stared at her open palm but didn't respond. Instead of letting its lack of response spoil her mood, she flashed him a wide smile and said in a gentle voice, "Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you."

  The rabbit blinked at her with his dark eyes and hopped forward, placing a soft paw on Garnet's palm. The brunette watched with silent joy as the little creature continuously pat down on her open palm. "Would you like a treat?" she asked him with glittering eyes.