Girl in the Red Hood

by Brittany Fichter

  Without warning, a deadly determination burned within Liesel. Whatever was happening to Kurt had to be part of the magic, and a strange urge to protect him from it suddenly raced through her. It seemed odd that she should feel any need, much less harbor any ability, to guard the one who had been her guardian. But none of that mattered, Liesel decided, if Kurt's mother had been right.

  So Wanda's plan it would be after all, Liesel resolved as Kurt blinked back to life, completely unaware of the change that had just taken place in his friend. She wanted to ask about whatever had just happened, but decided it could wait for later. They had more important matters to discuss.

  "I've been thinking," she began slowly, hoping he was ready for such conversation. "You want me to marry you for the sake of the pack." A myriad of emotions crossed Kurt's face, but he finally gave her a simple nod. Liesel took a deep breath. "I will do so on one condition." Kurt raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "We must use our month's time to try and break the spell." Her words rushed out faster as he looked more and more skeptical. "I can go back to my grandparents and ask if they know how it can be done. They've been all over the world, Kurt! They knew where my father could have found a real cure for my mother-"

  "You know we only have twenty-six days. You miss that, and everyone here becomes a wolf forever. We'd have to find another Pure Blood in your absence." The look on Kurt's face was accusatory, as if she had already abandoned him. "We would have no way to communicate, no way to know if you were alive or dead, whether you'd found the answer or not. You might return on the last day to find some other woman in your place simply because we didn't know." He shook his head. "It's just too risky." Liesel could see that she was getting nowhere. In desperation, she thrust the letter at him.

  "Read this!" He gave her an odd look, but obliged. Just a few lines in, he made a choking sound.

  "Where did you get this?"

  "Lora gave it to me." As he read further, he began to pale. When he looked up finally, tears were in his eyes. "We killed her," he whispered in disbelief. Liesel sighed.

  "Kurt, you know it wasn't your fault. The magic killed her, just as the magic turns you against your will." Kurt stayed still though, staring out into the trees. When he finally spoke again, his words were soft.

  "The legends say the first Pure Blood lived nearly as long as her husband. As the years have gone by, they've begun to live shorter lives." He groaned. "How did we miss that?"

  "Perhaps the larger the pack grows, the more humanity they need to continue. Perhaps it isn't a broken heart that kills them after all. Maybe their own life is how they sustain the pack. Some people were just meant to live longer than others, and those women make more hardy Pure Bloods." Liesel suggested. Kurt stood and began to pace, his face suddenly filled with angst. After a few long moments he strode back to her, and taking her shoulders in his hands, he said,

  "My mother only lived twenty-two years after marrying my father. Our pack had thirty less back then!" It took a moment for Liesel to realize he was talking about her. Suddenly, Kurt's shoulders straightened resolutely.

  "So I can go?" Liesel's heart leapt.

  "Not by yourself!" He looked at her as though she'd lost her mind. Liesel huffed.

  "You don't trust me to go alone?"

  "Do you have any idea how dangerous the road is for a young woman traveling alone?" Liesel nearly smiled.

  "Who knows? I might be taken by a pack of weasels or bears who need my magic." Kurt scowled at her.

  "Not funny."

  "Well, if I'm not allowed to leave, then what do you want me to do?"

  "We're going together."

  "But you're not allowed to leave the forest!"

  "I can leave if I'm with you," he took her by the elbow as he'd done when they were children and began to lead her back toward the town.

  "When are we leaving?" She suddenly felt breathless with exhilaration, lightheaded with joy. Kurt paused.

  "Well, considering the wedding is first thing tomorrow, we had better go tonight." They'd begun to walk again, when a man with gray hair, the one who had escorted Liesel through the woods, stepped out of the trees and onto the path ahead of them. His arms were folded, and he did not look pleased.

  14. ESCAPE

  It was a moment after he found them for either Kurt or Liesel to know what to say. After a long stretch of awkward silence and withering looks from the old man, Kurt finally pulled himself together and managed to lose his look of shock. Liesel didn't fare quite as well quite as quickly. But to her surprise, it was the old man who spoke first.

  "The two of you are going nowhere alone. 'Tisn't proper for a young lady and a man not her husband to be traveling the road together." He raised an eyebrow at each of them in turn. Liesel felt her face redden, and Kurt looked annoyed.

  "We wouldn't-" he began testily, but Johan held up a hand to stop him.

  "That's why I'm going, too."

  "You're not going to tell them?" Liesel was the one to find her voice this time. The old man shook his head and grimaced as he rubbed his bristly chin.

  "Nah, I know what you're planning. Lora told me." Who else had the girl told, Liesel wondered. "Besides, your mum made me promise to take care of you. And that is what I'm doing."

  "You know my father won't take lightly to this, Johan," Kurt said quietly. "If they catch you, it will be far worse than last time." Liesel startled a little when Kurt spoke the old man's name.

  "Johan? You were the one who ran with us when Kurt sent me away?" The old man simply nodded before turning back to Kurt. As he did, Liesel shuddered a little to think of what his punishment must have been after he helped Kurt with such an act of defiance.

  "So where are we going?"

  "But I thought you lost all control when you turned," Liesel interrupted.

  "Remember, some don't mind giving more to the wolf," Kurt murmured to her before turning back to Johan. "We're going to ask Liesel's grandparents for help. They live at the foot of the mountain."

  "We don't have much time."

  "I know. That is why we're leaving tonight." And so they planned their escape. Johan would run in either wolf form or human form, depending on the need, but Kurt would carry Liesel. "My tracks are all over this forest," he explained when she protested. "It won't take them long to find our scent, but it might delay them just enough for us to make it out of the woods."

  "But what about your father?” Liesel asked. “Your mother said I can't leave if he doesn't want me to." Kurt thought for a moment before giving Johan a sideways glance.

  "Schnartchen?" Johan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

  "If your sister can slip some in his tea. Wouldn't do though for them to suspect her after we're gone."

  "He hasn't had a strong drink for a while," Kurt suggested. "I could offer him some at supper." The suggestion made sense, but Liesel understood the sudden guilt on Kurt's face. She had learned of the Schnartchen flower while living with the Beckes. The purple plant would surely put Kurt's father to sleep. No matter how hard they tried, no one would be able to wake him for hours after he'd drunk it. Unfortunately, putting it in a strong drink would make him appear weak and foolhardy for drinking more than his share. Sometimes, as a prank, the men in Tag would slip it into one another's drinks at the tavern, and the next morning, their wives would come running to Ely's shop, sure their husbands were close to death. Still, Kurt's plan made sense. For the sake of the pack, they would have to try.

  "Better put some in Lothur's, too," Johan added. Kurt rolled his eyes and simply nodded. He didn't seem nearly as sorry to put his uncle to sleep.

  Johan agreed to meet them outside of town just before midnight. As he walked away, however, Liesel caught Kurt's sleeve. Something was bothering her about the old man.

  "Before we go," she'd hesitated, "I just have a question...about Johan."

  "What about him?"

  "He's helped us so much that I hate to ask, but...what is his stake in all of this? Why does he want to he
lp us so much?" Understanding lit Kurt's eyes as he began to lead them back towards the cabin.

  "Johan's wife died in childbirth. His daughter was about my mother's age," he said softly. "After his wife died, the girl was Johan's world. One day, when she was only four or five, his wolf form had taken over, and while he was gone, she disappeared. Just wandered off into the forest. I guess," he shrugged. "I'm told that's why he has given so much of himself to the wolf. Actually, tonight was the most I've heard him speak in years. He doesn't spend much time in town, and is usually off in the woods by himself. My father never really liked him, and after he helped me send you away, he was nearly exiled."

  "Oh," was all Liesel could say.

  "When my mother was called to the pack as the next Pure Blood, Johan somehow realized she was about the same age as his daughter would have been. I suppose he just needed someone to take care of. Wild or not, he missed his daughter. So when my mother showed up, alone and afraid, he took it upon himself to care for her. He was her closest friend. He never said so, but I could always tell that it irked Father when Mother would ask Johan's opinion for decisions she had to make, instead of asking his."

  Liesel just nodded thoughtfully. Though she couldn't imagine the wild wolf man being close friends with anyone, she could understand the desperation of the young Pure Blood to seek it. Johan's gray eyes were a little too bright, and the way he carried himself was even more feral than Kurt's. But if Kurt hadn't been there for her when she had been called to the pack, Liesel would have clung to the first sympathetic soul she could find. And now that she knew his story, she felt much better about Johan's involvement. He wasn't going to betray them after all.

  Supper was held at the cabin, where apparently everyone in the family lived. Lora made a thin stew. She gave a slightly relieved smile when Liesel followed Kurt inside, which Liesel took to mean she was glad Liesel hadn't decided to just run. Kurt seated Liesel, then excused himself from the table, claiming that the pot was too heavy for Lora to carry in from the kitchen. Lora began to protest until he gave a very pointed look at Liesel. Just a few minutes later, Kurt returned with the pot, and Lora followed, carrying the drinks. There was tea for the ladies and ale for the men. When Kurt's father raised his eyebrows at the drink, Kurt mumbled something about needing to take the edge off before the wedding. At that, Garrit's eyes had softened and he simply nodded, and Liesel had to remind herself not to stare anxiously as he finished the mug.

  To distract herself, Liesel wondered if every night was like this, or if this was a special supper because of her added company. Kurt's father sat at the head of the table with Kurt on one side and Kurt's Uncle Lothur on the other. When Lora announced the supper would be rabbit and vegetable stew, Liesel didn't ask about how they'd acquired the rabbit. She decided she would rather not imagine it. Instead, she sat between Kurt and Lora and listened quietly to Garrit's explanation of how the wedding ceremony would proceed the next day.

  Apparently, the seamstress would bring the dress to Liesel's room in the cabin, and they would prepare her there. The wedding would take place in the town square, where the entire pack would be in attendance. As was the custom, the priest from Ward would be brought in to officiate the ceremony.

  Liesel wanted to shut it all out, to imagine herself instead on the road back to the mountain with Kurt and Johan, where they hoped to be the next morning. But, she sighed to herself, if they failed, if there was no way to break the curse, this would be her lot anyway. She should listen and prepare herself for that time in case it did come. And despite her assurances to Kurt that her grandparents would have somehow have heard about the spell's remedy through their travels, Liesel was suddenly almost absolutely sure they would fail.

  Supper seemed to last forever. Kurt and Lora attempted to draw Liesel into conversation now and then, but Liesel didn't feel much like talking. She just wanted to stare at Garrit and make sure he drank every drop of ale. It seemed like a lifetime later that Lora began to collect the bowls, and Kurt walked Liesel to her bedroom. They said little, afraid to give away any hint of what they were planning. As soon as she shut the door, Liesel laid down on the floor to peer underneath the door. Sure enough, someone was standing just outside of her room. A quick peak outside at the moving torch showed that another body paced outside her window. Afraid she would draw attention with the pacing she wanted to do, Liesel laid on her bed so as not to rouse suspicion. Still, she worried about the guards. Kurt hadn't factored them into the plan he had drawn out for her. Regardless, after the fire in the main room had been allowed to die, and the candles in the hallway had been extinguished, she heard a low voice from the now dark hall. It sounded like Kurt, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. A moment later, there was a soft thud on the floor.

  "Liesel, open the door," Kurt had hurriedly whispered. When she did, Kurt dragged in a body. Liesel stifled a gasp as he pushed the body into the corner.

  "He's not dead," Kurt grunted. "He's just going to give us a head start on our run." Then he motioned for Liesel to step up on the bed, and in a moment, she was perched on his back and they were on their way. Liesel was very glad no one else was awake to see them as they silently made their way out of town. She felt most undignified, more than she had felt since she was a child when her father had had to carry her home after she stepped on a bee. Her grandmother would have given her a lecture on inviting scandal if she could have seen Liesel clinging to a man's back like a baby swan sitting upon her mother. Still, it wasn't unpleasant to feel Kurt's warmth beneath her in the cool of the evening.

  "You just had to keep the red cloak, didn't you," he muttered as soon as they were out of town. She scowled down at him in the darkness in return.

  "I wasn't exactly planning to-" but her rebuttal was cut short by the low growl from the bushes. Liesel froze, but Kurt whispered,

  "It's just Johan telling us to keep quiet." And so they ran. They ran for hours, it seemed. Liesel couldn't help being impressed by the endurance of both man and wolf as they cut swiftly through the night. Johan changed forms several times, but he never offered an explanation as to why, and she never asked. Only in the wee hours of the morning had they heard the first sounds of pursuit.

  ***

  Kurt was fast, even in his human form. But how much further could he go at this pace, Liesel wondered. Beads of sweat trickled down his neck and back as she clung to him. That he was tired was doubtless. For hours he had been carrying her on his back. As tired as he must be, however, she doubted that the tremors in his shoulders had anything to do with his exhaustion.

  "I can run," she whispered in his ear again. But he shook his head vehemently.

  "Too unpredictable!" he hissed back through clenched teeth. Liesel nearly gave him a sour retort until she realized he wasn't talking about her, but about himself. Johan's voice came from ahead of them, his whisper thick with impatience.

  "If you two don't stop arguing, you'll have nothing left to argue about!" At that moment, a howl interrupted them, long and shrill, raising the goosebumps on Liesel's arms as she clung to him. Kurt put his head down and pushed harder. The branches and underbrush were becoming visible as the gray light of morning started to penetrate the trees. Liesel was shocked at how far the men had run in just one night. She didn't have long to ponder though, as the leaves rustled behind her, giving their pursuers away. They were only yards behind.

  "Kurt!" She cringed, hiding her face in his neck as well as she could, awaiting the sure attack.

  "Almost there," he grunted. Then she saw it. Up ahead was the forest's edge. Despite her ragged breathing, Liesel felt her heart flutter with relief. She could see the golden rays of sun lining the wood's edge with the glorious fire of morning. Every branch, trunk, flower, and leaf was alight with it.

  Suddenly Liesel found herself breathless and on the ground, looking up at a very large gray wolf. Before she had time to scream, another wolf launched itself at her attacker, and strong human hands grasped her by the arms and drag
ged her out of the forest's edge. Within seconds, Johan followed them through, beginning his leap as an animal and landing it as a man.

  It was the first time Liesel had actually witnessed the change. It was as if Johan was dissolving into thin air. But before he disappeared completely, the air began to shimmer, and where a wolf had been, a man took its place. He hit the ground running. Liesel thought that since they were out, they would surely rest, but instead, Kurt picked Liesel up again and continued to run. They finally stopped to catch their breath when the forest was far behind them, visible, but not clear. They were far enough that it took a moment of squinting for Liesel to see the lone figure standing at the edge of the trees.

  "What are you doing?" It was Keegan's voice that called out to them, and it was filled with confusion and abandonment.

  "I'll be back, Kee," Kurt called back. "I promise."

  "But she was the one-"

  "And that's why I have to do this," Kurt assured his little brother, his voice kind. "This has to end."

  "It can! I told you Uncle found a way!"

  "That's not a way I can live with," Kurt shook his head. "I promise we'll be back in time. I left a letter for Father on his desk. Make sure he finds it." Keegan continued to stare after them, but Kurt turned and began to walk toward the road without another word. His expression was determined, but Liesel didn't miss the hint of a tear as he turned his back on his brother. Johan followed. After one more glance behind, Liesel hurried to catch up with the men. She tried to rid herself of the sadness by focusing only on the mountain ahead. It loomed in the distance, purple and foreboding. She was leaving the death and sorrow, the loneliness and the failure behind. Liesel was going home.

  15. TO GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE WE GO

  As they walked along the road, Liesel realized she had forgotten how soothing unadulterated sun felt, how it wooed one to a lazy sort of peace. It made the fields, the trees, the road, and the sky itself too bright, too glorious to look upon for long. With a grin, Liesel closed her eyes, spread her arms, and ran ahead. She felt as if she could fly.