Girl in the Red Hood (23 page)

"Have they ever tried to leave after the
wedding?" Liesel couldn't stop the bit of hope that surged within
her.

"The Pure Bloods died," Kurt said, looking
straight ahead. Liesel felt her heart drop. So Wanda had been
right. This was their only chance.

They walked until they came to a town, where
Kurt produced a bag of coins that looked suspiciously like the one
Liesel had saved up while working at the bakery. It didn't take
long for Liesel to figure out his plan as he headed toward the
closest building to the road, which happened to be a church.

"We don't have the time to walk the whole
way," Kurt answered her unspoken question.

"So we're buying a horse?"

"Two, actually." At that, Liesel giggled.
"What's so funny?" Kurt turned to her quizzically.

"I don't know what you think you are going
to find at the church, but it surely won't be horses," she
continued to giggle. Kurt frowned.

"Well, where do we find them?" Liesel did
her best to smother her smile, reminding herself that if she had
grown up in the forest, she would be confused, as well.

"Usually the tavern has some that have been
left by customers who couldn't pay," she suggested.

It wasn't difficult to locate the tavern.
Kurt went in to talk with the owner, while Liesel waited outside
with Johan. She would be happy to never set foot in a tavern again
after her experience with the peddler in Tag. It wasn't long though
until Kurt returned and waved them towards the back of the
ramshackle building. Liesel wasn't sure he knew the wiles that most
tavern keeps were prone to, but she followed anyway, curious to see
how he would bargain.

The stable around the back of the tavern was
acrid, and glancing in at the horses' feet, Liesel could see why.
The hay hadn't been changed for days, and there were nearly too
many flies to breath without inhaling one. Liesel coughed as a man
in a stained apron met them there.

"These 'uns been left by their masters."

"Left?" Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Well, some's left,” the man shrugged.
“Others been killed. Some stays as...payment. Anyhow I keeps 'em
until some 'un else wants 'em." He led a skinny gray one for them
to see. "Ye said ye needs to travel?" Kurt was already reaching for
the reins when Liesel shook her head.

"This is ridiculous," she said, stopping
Kurt mid-reach. "That poor creature will be lame in a day. Look at
how unsteady its left back leg is." The men all stared at her for a
long moment before she sighed and walked entered the stinking filth
herself. Holding her breath, she stepped over the piles of muck,
searching. By the time she'd nearly reached the end of the row of
stalls, Liesel had almost given up on finding any decent beasts fit
for the distance they needed to travel. To her relief though, in
the last stall, she discovered a pair of black horses that were
quite handsome. Despite the mess, they were relatively clean, which
made Liesel think they couldn't have been held at the tavern for
very long. Their thick necks were arched proudly, and their legs
were strong and sturdy. As she led them out, the tavern keep
cried,

"Them's ma' best two! Can't ye do with the
little gray over there?" Liesel gave him a hard look.

"Do you want us to buy horses here or not?
We can just as easily go to the next town." Kurt started to say
something about time, but Liesel threw him a nasty glare. He caught
it and was quiet. It was an awkward silence as Liesel and the
tavern keep stared one another down, but Liesel was determined not
to give in. Soon, Kurt and Liesel were riding proudly out of town,
Johan keeping pace with the horses on all fours. Liesel thought it
strange how the horses didn't spook in such proximity to the wolf,
but then, she thought, there were many things about the pack's
magic that didn't make sense. The wizard had botched up his spell
worse than any wizards in her grandparents' stories.

"Where did you learn to buy horses like
that?" Kurt chuckled. "I certainly wouldn't want to cross you in a
trade."

"I have always wanted to travel," Liesel
stared hard at her mountain as she spoke. "My grandfather took me
aside when I was eight, and said if I was going to roam the world,
I had better know how to buy a horse without getting conned." A
small smile escaped her lips. "The way you almost did back there."
Kurt scoffed.

"It's not like I've ever had to buy a horse.
The ones we own are descendants of those owned by the wizard and
his followers." He thought for a moment before adding, "If nothing
else, at least this journey means you got to try your hand at
it."

"Yes," Liesel said quietly. "I suppose it
does." She knew Kurt meant well, but his words were more easily
translated,
If we fail, at least you at least had the chance to
pretend this was a journey.

They were silent for a long time, breaking
the long stretches between towns with short bursts of galloping,
which seemed to greatly appeal to Johan. They met few strangers on
the road, but Liesel knew that would soon change as the harvest was
gathered and transported to markets all over the valley. She grew
excited for it until she realized that they would be returning
before harvest season was at its peak. It was a pity. Harvest had
always been her favorite time of the year.

They rode on until deep into the night.
Johan turned back into his human self for supper, which they had
purchased at a market in some little town along the way. As he
handed out the strips of dried meat, bread, and cheese, Kurt's eyes
continued to dart nervously about into the night beyond the fire
they'd built. Finally, Liesel could stand it no longer.

"Kurt, is something wrong?"

"I don't like this," he shook his head.
"We're too exposed."

"We're right next to the road." But Kurt
just shook his head again.

"At least in the forest you can shelter to
avoid trouble. Out here, it's like we're just waiting for some sort
of trouble to find us." He nodded at her cloak. "That thing
certainly doesn't help."

"Well, I like it better out here," Liesel
huffed. "You can see if something is coming at you, rather than
being ambushed from above or behind or whatever direction the
forest goes. Where are you going?" Kurt stood up and stalked away,
ignoring Liesel's calls. She nearly got up and followed him, but a
second look at his face revealed the blank look once again.

"Don't take it personal," the old man said,
his first words since that morning. He took a worn pipe from his
coat and lit it. "It's nothing you've done."

"You wouldn't know it," Liesel grumbled.
Then she sighed. "He's different now. I mean, I suppose I knew he
would be. But still..." The old man shook his head.

"The lad changed after you left. To start
with, he got in royal trouble with Garrit and Lothur for sending
you out of the pack's territory. They almost gave the pack leader
seat to Keegan." Liesel nearly choked on the bite she'd just taken.
While she didn't dislike the young man, the thought of being
married to him instead of Kurt was sickening.

"He convinced them to let you be for a few
years. Told them you could still be called back anytime, despite
the boundary."

"Lora said he...lost hope after sending me
away?"

"He existed to see you."

"What happened when I left?" Liesel asked
softly. It was the question she had been asking herself for four
years.

"Garrit told the boy that if you married
before they called you back, he would have to find and mark a new
wife for himself." Liesel was silent for a moment as it all sank
in, all of the what-ifs running through her mind like a pack of
wild horses. What if she had married Fridric or Benat? The magic
could have been broken that easily, she realized. It would have
taken so little work, far less than what they were attempting
now.

And yet, some other girl would have been
Kurt's. Being the good man he was, he would have treated her kindly
and with affection. They would have had a family, and though Liesel
knew it would have taken time, his new wife would have come to love
him, and he, her. Despite her current horror at the life ahead of
her, that almost future suddenly made Liesel feel ill.

"What happened after that?" she
whispered.

"The boy shut down. He's talked more since
you've been back than he has since you left." This surprised
Liesel. Kurt had seemed somewhat reserved. The old man looked as if
he was ready to go to sleep, so Liesel tried to squeeze in one last
question.

"Why does he keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"When he got up...and he wouldn't speak to
me?" Understanding lit the old man's gray eyes.

"It happens to all of us. The more you give
to the wolf, the more the wolf rules. Kurt's given a lot of himself
not to change around you."

"So...it might get worse?"

"It will," the old man nodded. "Happens to
all of us eventually." And before Liesel could ask any more
questions, the man had shimmered into a wolf, tucked cozily into
his tail for the night.

***

Liesel didn't remember when Johan and Kurt
switched, but when she woke up, Kurt was the one laying on the
other side of the fire, although he was in human form. He was
awake, lying on his back, staring into the early morning sky.
Liesel wondered if he was still in whatever state of mind Johan had
told her about the night before. She didn't have to wonder for
long, however, because just then, he stood up and began to gather
their packs.

"Think we'll reach them today?" He asked.
Liesel took a deep breath, feeling both relief and excitement. This
was the day she'd waited for for so long.

"I know we will."

Just she predicted, they were approaching
the foot of the mountain by early afternoon. The house looked just
like Liesel remembered it. They could see it from the road long
before they arrived. The long wooden building stretched out to show
its many windows that ran along the front, something uncommon to
most people, even those who lived in Weit.

"My grandfather's wine is sold as far as the
capitol," Liesel told them proudly. Even without her words, they
were clearly impressed. Kurt, who had continued glancing around
nervously all morning, had finally stopped searching for trouble,
and was staring with huge eyes at the rows of neatly laid vines
that seemed to go on for miles. Johan, a wolf again for the travel,
had even stopped to stare. Liesel felt her heart vacillate between
swelling with joy and shaking with trepidation as they neared.

For so long, she had pictured everything
returning to the way it had been. She and Kurt would marry and go
on adventures of their own. Then they would return here and spend
their lives happily in the shadow of the mountain with her
grandparents. Shaking her head, she tried to brace herself for the
reality she knew lay ahead...or rather didn't lay ahead. Seven
years was a long time. Would they even recognize her? And how would
they react when told that she was simply there to search and not to
stay? Would she have to break them a second time? Her stomach
suddenly felt jittery, and she felt her moment of imagined joy fast
approaching sorrow and heartache.

"Liesel." She turned to see Kurt looking at
her with concern. "Are you alright?" She plastered a smile on her
face and nodded.

"Just a little nervous, I guess. It's been a
long time. Perhaps you should take your human form again, Johan,"
she looked down at the wolf. "It might be a bit of a fright for
them if they see me traveling with a wolf."

"They'll be happy to see you," Kurt offered
kindly. Liesel could tell he was nervous himself though, and for
the first time, she wondered what they would think of Kurt and
Johan when they realized what their errand truly was. She could
only hope the amount of magic they had seen throughout their
travels had prepared them for what her little group had in
store.

She didn't have to wait long to find out.
Her grandmother was hanging laundry in front of the house. A strong
gust of wind blew the garment out of her hand and when she turned
to chase it, she caught sight of the three. Without a moment's
pause, she shouted at the house for Liesel’s grandfather before
running towards them as fast as she could, her speed impressive for
her age. Liesel hardly had time to get off her horse by the time
Ilsa was there.

"Liesel!" she drew her in tightly, and
Liesel nearly cried as she breathed in the familiar scent of sage.
She had imagined being held in those arms countless times, and yet,
their comfort was far greater than in any of her dreams. "My baby
is home! My baby is home!" Ilsa continued to cry as she stroked the
girl's hair. Liesel looked over her grandmother's shoulder,
expecting to see her grandfather join them any minute. To her
surprise, however, he was standing about twelve paces back, staring
furiously at her companions.

Liesel pulled out of the embrace slowly as
she watched her grandfather glower at her companions, her
grandmother following suit. Finally, he began to walk towards
them.

"Ilsa, get Liesel back in the house." His
voice was low and rough. Liesel had never heard him sound so
menacing.

"Grandfather, they're with me," Liesel said
quickly. But her grandfather didn't listen. Liesel looked
desperately at Kurt and Johan, but to her dismay, Johan was
glaring, too.

"I don't believe it," Johan muttered. "You
survived." Kurt looked sharply at his companion.

"You know him?"

"I should," Johan growled. "He's the one
that got away." Kurt's eyes grew huge. He whipped his head around
to Liesel.

"Your grandmother's name is Ilsa?" He
sounded incredulous.

"Yes. Why does that matter?" she asked
nervously. She wanted to run between them to stop whatever clash
was brewing, but she realized by this time that Ilsa was holding
her back tightly. Kurt turned back to her grandfather, who was
still standing before Johan as if ready to fight.