Girl in the Red Hood (24 page)

"Because it means your grandfather is one of
us."

Before Liesel could respond, both Kurt and Johan had shimmered into
wolves, and her grandfather threw his long walking staff up into a
defensive position.

"No!" she shrieked. It would be more than
she could stand if one of them hurt another. She tried again to run
to them, but her grandmother held her with surprising strength.

"Your grandfather knows what he's doing,"
she whispered fiercely. "You will only get hurt!" Liesel watched in
horror as Kurt made the first lunge. Bernd expertly feinted to one
side, then the other, which was impressive considering his age.
Kurt fell for his trick, and in the blink of an eye, her
grandfather had the young wolf pinned to the ground with the staff.
Johan began to move in with a growl, but her grandfather warned
him,

"I won't hurt him, but he's staying here
until he comes to his right mind." To Liesel's surprise, Johan let
out a slight snarl and then lay down in submission. Her grandfather
firmly held Kurt beneath the staff for what felt like hours until
the wolf stopped thrashing and lay still. Finally Kurt shimmered
back into his human form once again. He lay still, glaring up at
her grandfather from beneath the staff. From the way his jaw was
clenched though, Liesel guessed it was taking much of his effort
even to do just that.

"Now, I am going to ask you this once,"
Bernd said darkly. "What are
you
doing here with
my
granddaughter?"

"We came here for
help
!" Liesel
yelled. Now that the danger was mostly over, she found herself
furious that everyone else knew something she did not.

"Everyone inside," her grandfather ordered.
"We'll discuss this at the table." The joyful reunion Liesel had
envisioned was suddenly over. Ilsa let Liesel out of the tight hold
she kept on her, but kept a desperate grip on her hand as they
walked, staring anxiously at her granddaughter the whole time.
Falling a few steps behind, Bernd called over one of the hired
hands.

"Tell the others you're all free for the
rest of the day," he said in a low voice. "I have visitors." As
everyone filed into the house, Liesel paused for a moment to watch
her grandfather as he slowly made his way behind them. Despite his
expert use of the staff, Bernd walked like a man who had been
bested by the world. He no longer held his head up, but stared at
the ground as he went, moving as though it was not only his body
that ached, but his soul as well. The hair that had been peppered
gray and black when she'd left was now all gray. Lines that had
covered his face and neck when Warin took them had seemed to branch
and grow, leaving three times the lines in their wake. Liesel's
grandfather, a specimen of unusual youth when she'd gone, had aged
far more than seven years.

In spite of the awful start to the visit,
Liesel found herself nearly smiling as they settled around her
grandmother's large wooden table. She had spent more happy moments
in that room than she could count. Just as she recalled, the large
stone fireplace was still topped with a thick cedar shelf covered
in trinkets from her grandparents' travels. The wide window on the
east wall looked out over the entire vineyard and beyond, filling
the room with light, contrasting with the dark wood of the walls.
She marveled at how one could see so much without the forest to
block her view. There was so much room to
breathe
.

As Liesel drank in the wide open spaces, she
felt arms envelop her from behind, and she let her head fall back
on her grandmother's shoulder, inhaling her scent deeply. If only
she could stay right there, she would be content never to journey
again. Sorrow washed over her though, as she realized what grim
news she bore. Though it had been seven years since Amala's death,
and four since Warin's, she'd not even been able to send a letter
to tell her grandparents of the loss of their only child. Turning,
she felt her voice break.

"After we arrived, Mother-"

"I know, love. I know." Ilsa stroked
Liesel's hair gently. Liesel wondered how she knew, but was
immensely grateful that she didn't have to actually say it.

She was slightly aware that Kurt and Johan
were deep in some whispered conversation, but she didn't care for
the moment. For now, all she wanted to do was to stay in her
grandmother's embrace. The moment was short, however, because soon
after, Bernd rejoined them. Locking the door behind him, he went
and sat at the head of the table. With a sigh, Liesel joined the
men, and her grandmother prepared to make tea. As Liesel watched
her grandfather search for words, however, she decided to take the
reins while she had the chance.

"I want to know what is going on," she said
in a low voice. Looking at each of the men in turn, she tried to
keep her voice steady. The frustration of being kept in the dark
even now was too much. She was done being the last to know what
forces were controlling her life. The others looked at one another
warily. After an awkward pause, her grandfather finally began,

"If you would tell us-"

"No." Liesel had never interrupted her
grandfather before in her life, but she was too angry now to care.
Despite her resolve to stay strong, her voice quivered, and tears
lingered at the brinks of her eyes. "I want to know what Kurt meant
when he said you were one of them. And what Johan meant when he
said you were the ones that got away." As her grandparents
exchanged pained glances, she softened her voice. "I deserve to
know."

"Yes," her grandfather let out a weighty
breath. "Yes, you do."

"My father was a baker," Ilsa began as she
started serving the tea. As she spoke, the realization suddenly hit
Liesel that her grandparents had never spoken of their youth before
marrying and traveling the world. "We lived in a small town called
Aussehen. It lies just on the outskirts of the woods." The town
where they'd purchased the horses. "My father was working in the
family shop when they came to us. They needed a new baker, they
said. The idea of having his own bakery appealed to my father, so
it wasn't long before we were in Ward." She shivered. "I was marked
a few days later while I was out gathering firewood." She paused
before asking Liesel wistfully, "Did they hurt you too badly?"

"Mother had died just hours before," Liesel
said, feeling numb all over again. "I didn't really care." Ilsa put
her hand to her mouth, and Kurt looked uncomfortable. It was a
moment before Ilsa gathered herself enough to go on.

"I met your grandfather not long after that.
He found me stumbling around less than a mile from our cottage one
day. A fog had filled the forest, and I was as lost as they get." A
faint smile filled Bernd's lips.

"I knew who she was by the mark, and I also
knew I wasn't supposed to talk with her. Still, I was already
breaking the rules by straying so far from home. I thought I might
as well save the pack some time and bring
her
home while I
was at it. It would do them no good to lose her to fog, of all the
worthless things."

"But you went back?" Liesel asked.

"I couldn't help myself. She was so full of
life...," he broke off for a moment before leveling a stubborn look
at Kurt. "You know what it's like there." Kurt only frowned, but to
Liesel's surprise, Johan spoke up, his voice a low growl.

"There was just one problem."

"What?" Liesel asked.

"He wasn't pack leader," Ilsa answered. "A
few years later, your grandfather came to me the day before the old
Pure Blood died, and said that if we ever wanted to escape, it
would have to be then, before the pack leader called me." She
lowered her eyes and said in a soft voice, "They had already
managed to kill my parents. I didn't know what else to do."

"They always kill the parents," Bernd said
gruffly, turning the tea cup in his hands. "Whether it's the town
or the pack, if the family is there, it doesn't survive for
long."

"So you ran and we were forced to take your
best friend in your place," Johan interrupted, his eyes brighter
than Liesel had ever seen them. Ilsa's own eyes tightened in pain
before she closed them and mouthed a quick blessing.

"So do you still turn if Grandmother isn't
around?" Liesel tried to picture a time when she was younger that
the two were ever far apart.

"No."

"Why not? Kurt said-"

"It doesn't matter how far apart we are if
the spell is broken."

"So you did it," Liesel breathed out. Never
in her wildest dreams had she considered her grandparents would
know the answer because
they
had been the ones to break
it.

"How?" Kurt spoke for the first time. Her
grandfather have him a hard look

"We got as far from the woods as we could
go, but even that wasn't enough. I had to find peace with my new
place in life."

"How long?" Kurt's voice was tight.

"A lot longer than thirty days," Bernd
answered. He leaned in towards Kurt. "Because no matter what
happens or where you go, deep down you know you'll always be an
animal." Without another word, he stood up and went outside,
slamming the door on the way out.

"Bernd." Her grandmother was quick to
follow. No one else at the table spoke, but Liesel suddenly felt as
though she might pass out. How she had gotten roped into the same
tangled mess her grandparents had left behind was beyond her. Of
all the girls in the world, the pack had found her...by accident.
It was obvious from Kurt and Johan's initial looks of shock that
they hadn't been expecting to find the infamous couple on their
quest.

Standing up, Liesel woodenly excused
herself. She slowly walked down the hall to her old room. As she
pushed the door open, a wave of sadness drenched her in memories.
This had also been her mother's room when she was a girl.

Her grandparents had an unusually large
house, thanks to their thriving vineyard. Most families in and
around Weit had only one room homes, as Liesel and her father had
shared back in Ward. To have enough rooms for the children to sleep
alone was nearly unheard of outside of noble and royal circles. The
room was small, but large enough for a raised bed, as opposed to a
pallet, as well as a nightstand, wash basin, and mirror. The smell
nearly made her cry. It smelled just as her mother always had, of
dried chamomile blossoms. And nearly everything was red. The doll
on the shelf wore a red shawl the same color as Liesel's cloak. The
blanket on the bed, the window coverings, even the braided rug was
red. Liesel didn't have time to linger on past remembrances,
however, when she realized that her grandparents were talking just
outside her window. Thankfully, the window coverings were still
drawn, so Liesel was able to simply listen in. A part of her knew
it was rude to listen in, but the rest of her was too frustrated to
care.

"-just finished mourning," her grandfather
moaned.

"Liesel is alive," her grandmother said
gently. "There's no need to mourn that."

"And we're just going to lose her again!"
Anger filled his voice this time. "This is the Maker's way of
punishing us. We could have gone back, Ilsa! He's angry with
us!"

"What if this isn't punishment? What if this
is a chance to make things right?"

"That boy will never learn in time. They
can't have more than twenty-five days left! No, she'll have to stay
here. We can't let her go back."

"Have you seen the way she looks at him?"
her grandmother asked gently.

"She's young," her grandfather scoffed. "She
just thinks she loves him."

"We were younger than they are," her
grandmother sounded doubtful. "If Liesel is determined to stay with
him, I doubt we'll be able to do much about it, short of tying her
up in her sleep." Ilsa paused, her confident tone slipping. "Can't
we at least try to enjoy this evening with our granddaughter? We
can discuss this later." Bernd began to respond, but Liesel
realized they were walking back toward the front door. Bolting up
from the bed, Liesel darted back out to the table, nearly tripping
on a stool leg. Her grandparents didn't seem to notice though as
they walked back in. Bernd stopped at the door and folded his arms,
his white bearded mouth setting in a stubborn line Liesel knew
well. He had worn the look often when Warin was around.

"Since you're here with an escort, I can
only guess you hold the wizard's blood in your veins?" he glared at
Kurt. Kurt simply nodded. "So what's your interest in all of this?
Why do you care enough to bring her back here?" Kurt's lip curved
in a near sneer as if he'd been insulted.

"You should know as well as anyone. This
existence is Hell on earth." Bernd sent an unhappy glance to his
wife, who nodded once.

"I'm going to help you, but you need to
swear to me that you will live by my rules. That means, first of
all, that you will sleeping in the barn, where it's proper."

"Grandfather-" Liesel tried to interject,
but Bernd just held up his hand for silence.

"Also, you will be learning how to fight."
When disbelief flashed across Kurt's face, Bernd said, "You asked
how I found peace. It was while studying the staff. I learned to
quiet my mind in the movement. If you want me to teach you, this is
the only way I know how. So, do we have a deal?" Kurt looked at
Johan, who gave a reluctant nod.

"Don't suppose I have a choice," he muttered
before agreeing.

"Good. We start now. Johan, I'll need you to
help me if he turns again." After the men finally left the room
together, it was only Liesel and her grandmother. Ilsa took
Liesel's hands in her own and kissed them. Tears filled her eyes
and ran down her cheeks as she reached out and stroked Liesel's
face.

"You're so beautiful, so like your mother,"
she whispered as sobs began to shake her body. "I never thought I'd
see you again." Liesel felt her own breath catch as they embraced
tightly. Ilsa let out a shaky laugh. "I suppose I should have known
you'd find a way back though. You were always such a determined
little thing."