Girl in the Red Hood (16 page)

Somehow, what had begun as a typical evening
at home became Liesel's way of escape. Part of her was thrilled.
After seven long years in the woods, she had only two days more. As
she prepared for bed, she looked around her little room with a pang
of sadness, however. It was simple, but she had felt at home from
the moment she'd first stepped in. The walls were made of the same
light wood as the sitting room, kitchen, and main bedroom
downstairs. Her window faced the north, and through it, she could
see the road that led out of the forest to the capitol city. The
trees that lined the road were tall, but they were spaced enough to
allow light in at all times of the day. Even now, as she looked up
into the night, moonbeams fell through the trees and into her
bedroom. Seeing the first sunlight through that window the morning
after her wild ride with the peddler had been the first sign that
Liesel would love Tag. The yellow bedcovers with the little purple
flowers embroidered onto it had calmed her many times when the
tears had threatened to come. The room had been her place of
solace. It would be hard to leave it. It would be even harder to
leave the ones that had given it to her.

A piercing howl interrupted her thoughts and
sent tremors through Liesel's body though, reminding her of why she
was leaving. Though the room was warm enough, Liesel went to the
wardrobe and pulled out her cloak. Wrapping it around herself, she
huddled in her bed, attempting to get as close to invisible as
possible under the covers.

The howls brought back unwelcomed memories
of the last time she'd last heard such cries, not counting the
night before. They were longer and more forlorn than they'd been
that time. Tears slipped silently down the sides of Liesel's face
as she scrunched her eyes shut. She had escaped the nightmare where
wolves and men hunted her. She had spent four happy years in a
comfortable house with adoring people. But what had become of Kurt?
It was the same question she asked herself every night.

It was easier to block out thoughts of him
during the day when there was always something to do, but the
nights were hard. While she lay in bed, there was nothing to occupy
her mind but memories. How many times would she be tortured by the
smile on his face as he teased her, or even worse, the sadness that
would often creep into his eyes for no apparent reason? She
couldn't close her eyes without seeing him over and over again. She
couldn't fall asleep without remembering how it had felt when he
had kissed her softly on the cheek.

Aside from Fridric's sweet but overzealous
obsession with horses, and Benat's awkward obsession with himself,
there was a reason Liesel had never attached herself to any of the
more eligible bachelors of Tag. And it wasn't for a lack of offers.
It wasn't even because she was planning to leave.

The reason Liesel stayed alone seemed so
far-fetched that Liesel was inclined to ignore its possibility. And
yet, deep down, Liesel hoped and prayed like a little girl that
Kurt would remember his promise to explore the world with her.
Because deep down, Liesel truly missed the boy.

"And where do you think you're going?" Ros eyed Liesel's cloak and
basket suspiciously as she came down the stairs.

"I ordered a pair of shoes from the cobbler
two days ago," Liesel sighed. "I was going to tell him not to make
them after all." For a moment, she feared Ros would order her back
upstairs. After the howling that took place last night, which
allowed no one to sleep, Ely had specifically ordered that Liesel
was to stay in the house until her caravan departed the next
morning. Liesel had begged, however, for leave to say goodbye to
some of her friends. She would stay in town, she had promised.

"Let her go," Ros had gently urged him.
"She's not a child." It seemed Ely's concerns had gotten to his
wife in the time that has passed since that morning though, because
she now gave Liesel an uncharacteristically severe look. "You are
to go nowhere near the forest," she warned. "Not even close to the
edge of town. And here," Ros ran back to the kitchen and returned
with the apple pie she had baked the day before. "Bring this to
Mrs. Dunst. She's on the way." Smiling, Liesel gave Ros a quick
kiss and turned and fled before she could change her mind.

The cobbler's shop was all the way across
town, but Liesel didn't mind the walk. It was early summer, and the
air smelled of honeysuckle. Children shrieked with joy as they
raced after one another, some of them stopping to wave at Liesel as
she walked by. The life where townspeople feared and avoided her
seemed to be just a bad dream here. The people of Tag were mostly
quite friendly, and had taken Liesel in, despite her secret
past.

Many women were taking advantage of the
lovely day to clean the outsides of their homes. Tall, with
pointed, sloping roofs, the homes that lined the square stood
proudly, like soldiers lined up for a king's parade. Tag citizens
liked to boast of their architecture to outsiders. Built to
withstand the large amounts of snow that fell heavily every winter,
the buildings were much sturdier than anything in Ward had been.
But then, Ward, because of its thick forest ceiling, had never
gotten that much snow.

Bells jingled on the door as Liesel entered
the cobbler's shop. A short, barrel-chested man greeted her.

"What did I tell you?" He shook his finger
good-naturedly at the couple he was talking to. "I would know that
red cloak anywhere! Your timing is perfect! When you were in the
other day, I forgot to ask you which leather you wanted me to use."
Liesel smiled apologetically.

"Actually, I came to tell you that I won't
be needing them after all. I am leaving tomorrow to go back to my
grandparents." The cobbler's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Is that so? Well, it won't be the same
around here without you, that's for certain." He gave her a long
look over the rims of his spectacles. "This wouldn't have anything
to do with the wolves now, would it? Put some Wolfsbane out on your
porch, and when all is done, we won't hear any of this nonsense
again for another twenty years or so. I promise you that." Liesel
did her best to sound natural.

"In truth, I've wanted to return for years.
The...opportunity simply arose sooner than I was expecting."

"Well then, we're happy for you, Liesel,"
the woman sweetly smiled. The mother of four boisterous boys, she
understood the importance of grandparents, particularly on days
when the boys were even more lively than usual.

"Say, who is the pie for?" The cobbler
peeked into her basket. Liesel slapped his hand away and
laughed.

"Ros wants me to drop it off at Mrs. Dunst's
on the way home." To her surprise, the cobbler frowned a bit.

"I stopped at her place just this morning,
but she wasn't there. See if she's in now, will you? Don't just
leave it on her doorstep." Liesel nodded. Mrs. Dunst was rarely
more than ten or twenty paces from her front door. It was indeed
odd that the cobbler hadn't been able to find her. So after saying
her goodbyes, Liesel headed to the old woman's home.

It was slow work getting to the widow's
little house. News spread fast in Tag, and soon people Liesel
didn't even know were wishing her farewell. By the time she arrived
at Mrs. Dunst's cottage, it was almost time for supper, and Liesel
knew Ros would worry if she wasn't home soon. She would have to
make the visit quick. As she drew closer, however, she realized the
front door was still open. Cautiously, Liesel went inside.

"Mrs. Dunst?" she called out. "It's Liesel.
I brought you a pie." There was no reply though, and it made Liesel
even more uneasy. Maria Dunst was the oldest woman in Tag. Over
ninety years in age, she could be found every day sitting in her
little garden, offering lunch and advice to anyone who would take
it. Liesel had understood immediately why the cobbler was a bit
suspicious when Mrs. Dunst hadn't come to the door that morning. In
fact, if she had known about it earlier, she would have checked on
the old woman first instead of on the way home.

Liesel went through every room of the house,
but the woman was nowhere to be found. Tension brewed in her
stomach as she went out and checked around the back. She called out
again and again, but there was no reply. Liesel had nearly given up
and gone to fetch Ely when she heard an odd scratching sound. The
sound came from behind the house, but it wasn't until Liesel had
followed it for a few minutes that she realized she had left the
town behind her and she was at the edge of the woods. As if she
needed another reason to worry, a single howl broke the silence of
the evening. Liesel froze, suddenly wishing more than anything that
she was back in the Beckes' home like she was supposed to be. Just
then, low moaning came from the bushes, and a movement caught her
eye, nearly invisible in the light of dusk.

"Mrs. Dunst?" Sure enough, the little old
woman was hobbling along some invisible path with her cane,
whimpering in low, woeful tones. Liesel hurried to her side. How
long had she been out like this?

"They've taken her!" the woman sobbed.
"They've taken Greta!"

"Who's Greta?" Liesel took her gently by the
shoulders and tried to turn her back toward Tag. "And who are
they?" But the old woman acted as though Liesel wasn't even there
as she continued to try and wander deeper into the trees.

"My daughter has been stolen by the wolves!"
she continued to cry. Fear tried to grip Liesel's heart, but she
took a deep breath and forced herself to lead her charge back
towards the town. It was not easy, for the old woman was convinced
her daughter was nearby. Finally, after a few long minutes of
struggling, Mrs. Dunst quit fighting Liesel, and allowed herself to
be led back towards her house. Another wolf howled, and Liesel
prayed for speed for the old woman. She walked ever so slowly,
leaning on her cane as she inched along the path. It didn't help
that she continued to moan and sob until they were finally back on
the cobblestone streets of the town. Only then, in the yellow flame
of the street lamps, did Mrs. Dunst seem to notice or recognize the
young woman. She turned to Liesel and gasped.

"Liesel! What are you doing here? You must
go home! Don't you hear the wolves?" Liesel took a big breath of
relief, happy the old woman was finally coming to her senses.
Curiosity got the better of her, however, and as they continued to
walk, she had to ask.

"Mrs. Dunst, did the wolves truly take your
daughter?" She hoped deep down that the cries had simply been the
mumblings of an old woman. The haunted look in Maria Dunst's eyes
told Liesel otherwise though, even before she answered. And when
she did speak, her thoughts suddenly seemed as clear as water. She
motioned for Liesel to follow her into her little house when they
arrived.

"My husband and I had just moved the family
to Tag. We knew nothing of the rumors about Ward. We thought the
other forest villages would be like this one." She gestured at the
window. "My eldest girl wanted to be a dress maker, but we had no
money with which to apprentice her here." That made sense. Liesel
had wanted to apprentice with the new healer after Doffy had died
in Ward, but it was too expensive. She would slow him down and he
would lose money, he had told her. "A man came to Tag and said that
the dress maker in Ward was looking for an apprentice, that he
would charge much less than the one here. Greta was fourteen at the
time. She wanted to go." A strange gasp escaped as the woman
remembered. Liesel's own heart hurt, as she knew what turn this
story would take. The old woman stiffly sank into her chair before
continuing. Liesel had been in the house enough to know where the
tea supplies were, so she began to gather them up as Mrs. Dunst
sat. The old woman had an unhealthy pallor to her cheeks. As Liesel
bustled around, Mrs. Dunst closed her eyes and resumed her
story.

"She was there for a year before the letters
stopped coming. My husband went to see her a few times, but each
time they spoke, he knew something was wrong. But she wouldn't tell
him what! And then, she just disappeared. And when my husband
searched for her, it was as if she had never been there. No one
would even speak of her!"

"But how do you know the wolves took her?"
Liesel breathed. The old woman leaned in, as though she were
sharing a secret.

"She always sent letters at the end of the
month. The howling started three days before she would have sent
her letter, after which we never received another."

Liesel studied the old woman. She felt a bit
skeptical. There was no proof the girl had been taken by the
wolves. But then, everything she had suffered in Ward made anything
seem possible.

Upon finishing her story, Liesel finally
convinced Mrs. Dunst to drink some tea. After a few sips, the old
woman apologized.

"Sometimes I forget where I am, or even how
old I am," she sighed. "But the wolves were so loud last night. I
just
knew
if I looked hard enough, I could find..." Her eyes
welled up with tears visible even in the weak light of the hearth.
Liesel decided she had pushed the widow hard enough. By the sound
of it, they all had another long night ahead of them.

It was very late by the time Liesel started
home. Ely might have even gone looking for her by now. He never
would have known where to look though, Liesel thought guiltily. She
had been strictly instructed to stay out of the forest, and that
was exactly where she had gone. She was twenty, after all, and far
beyond the age of foolishness.

It was a few minutes into her walk that
Liesel realized she was going the wrong way. For some reason, she
had begun to head towards the east. Liesel shook her head to try
and clear her tired mind. Tomorrow she would sleep on the caravan.
Heaven knew she needed it. She had hardly slept in two days with
all of the howling. Still, it was odd that she should have taken
the wrong turn. She knew Tag too well for such errors. She was not
lost though, and even with the misstep it wouldn't take long to
reach the Beckes' home.