Debra L. Rollins - Revenge For the Huntsman

Officers Radtke and Curry prepared to put Burly and Cierce into the back of their patrol car when a radio message came through. Curry answered the call.

“Hold up, Don. Let Jones and Shelly take those two in for booking. We can follow up with them later. That call was about our missing person. Looks like he may be found. We need to run over to his residence to meet with the wife and check it out.”

“Found him dead?”

“Don’t know, they didn’t say. I don’t think so though,” Curry replied to his partner.

Don nodded his head and motioned to the other two officers who led Cierce and Burly to their car and closed the door on them.

Cierce studied the inside of the patrol car with curiosity. She had never been in such a vehicle before. The closest she'd gotten was in Madam’s wagon occasionally. This contraption was filled with lights and gadgets. Very strange, she thought. She looked over at Burly to remark as such but stopped. He sat there with a thunderous look on his face.

“Things could be worse,” she said ignoring the murderous look he pointed in her direction. “They could have hung us on the spot as poachers. It is no less than what the Huntsman or King Wendell’s sheriffs would have done. We are lucky to be alive at this point.”

“Let’s see what they want first, Burly. Let’s see what they want!” he mimicked sarcastically. “Now see where we are! Trolls hate being locked up, especially in tiny spaces! How are we going to get out of this? Between the two of us we could have taken them all on, including the dog. Now, we’ll probably be sentenced to two hundred years with my luck.”

“Oh, quit your whining like a little fairy,” she snapped back. “I have a plan, unlike you who thinks that brute force will work all the time.”

They stared each other down, nose to nose, Burly grinding his teeth in irritation at the little vixen beside him, while Cierce’s eyes blazed with blue ice.

The oaf deserved to go to prison for two hundred years she fumed passionately. He had not an ounce of brain mass in his head. Pah! Some things needed to be done with a bit of finesse. A fine subtlety was needed with this situation, one of which the Troll neither physically nor mentally could handle. She wriggled her wrists, testing the cuffs. Her human form, swollen from the heat of the day, was now settling back to normal, allowing a smidgen amount of extra space between the cuffs and her hands. After a bit of worrying, she slipped one off. Triumphant, she poked Burly in the side with her free hand, low enough that the human officers would not see she was free.

“Great Goblins gizzards!” Burly’s mouth dropped open in amazement. “Quick! Get me out of these!” He leaned forward so she could reach in behind him.

“Not yet,” she whispered in reply as the two officers opened the patrol car doors, settled in their seats and took off towards their precinct. “I told you, I have a plan and I don’t want you loose to mess it up.”

“Are you crazy?” Burly yelled in frustration. Cierce was trying his patience, of which Trolls had none, and on top of that the cuffs were biting into his wrists most uncomfortably. “You’re the most infuriating, aggravating, annoying…” He stopped to catch his breath, unable to go on. He sucked in deeply the air from the car’s enclosed cab and her special scent. In the tight confines of the vehicle there was no escaping her powerful pheromones. His mood mellowed and his eyes softened as he gazed upon her face.

“Shut up back there, you,” said the officer driving the car. “We know how to deal with troublemakers.”

Cierce leaned forward in her seat, taking care to keep her hands behind her back.

“Oh I say, Officer…” she inquired of the passenger policeman.

“Shelly, Ma’am,” he replied. “Officer Jules Shelly and this is Officer Paul Jones.

“Well, Jules…” She wiggled even closer to the back of the officers seat, watching how the officer was operating the vehicle with interest. “I can call you Jules, can’t I?”

The officer began looking a bit loopy; a sappy grin lighting up his face. “You can call me anything you want, lady.”

“Quit flirting with the woman, Shelly,” warned Jones. “You want to get us in trouble? Remember what happened to Cahill over at the Fifth two years ago? Why he…he…”

The second cop now had the same puppy-dog look on his face. Cierce smiled a self-satisfied smirk on her face. Both humans appeared to be under her spell. Perfect! She looked back at Burly. He was nearly drooling over her. If not for the cuffs holding him back…! It seemed the tighter the confines the stronger the effects. It was a good thing to know…a possible tool for the future. Now, to proceed with her plan.

“Oh, Paul…” she asked silkily. “Be a darling and pull into that alley over there and stop.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he agreed readily. “Anything for you, Ma’am.” He turned into the dark alley she had pointed to and put the car into park.

“Now, pass me the key to the handcuffs,” she told Officer Shelly. He quickly obeyed, hoping to make a good impression on her. For some reason he could not fathom, he wanted this woman more than anything in the world.

Cierce unlocked her other cuff and released Burly from his shackles also. The Troll prince made a grab for her, his passion overwhelming him. Swiftly she swung her hand, cracking him across the face as hard as she could.

“OW! What was that for?” Anger replaced the passion in an instant.

“That was to snap you out of your stupor,” she answered, then turned back to the two police officers.

“You two, get out and open my door.”

Both officers left the confines of the police car and opened the back door where she and Burly were imprisoned. Swiftly she jumped out and shut the door behind her, effectively keeping Burly trapped inside.

“Dragon’s dung!” he swore at her. “Why did you do that for? Let me out of here!”

Cierce jumped behind the steering wheel of the vehicle and grabbed the smooth vinyl in her hands. A feeling of power ran through her like she'd never felt before. She glanced back at the Troll prince behind her still stuck in the back seat. “I’ll let you out when we return back to Wolf’s lair. Until then, I don’t want you doing anything to jeopardize my plans to return with the wolf to Madam Tatler. You almost ruined things as it is by getting us arrested. So be a good little Troll and sit back and relax.”

“You don’t know how to run this carriage…” he reasoned. Burly shook his head, trying to clear her intoxicating pheromones from his head. “Let me run it.”

“No way…I captured it, I am going to do the honors. Now, sit back and shut up so I can concentrate.” She looked over at the officers still staring at her with soulful eyes, reminding her of young cubs. In fresh night air she knew the effects of her pheromones would wear off soon. She planned to be long gone by then. “Thank you for the generous use of your carriage, sirs. However I’m afraid that I am long overdue at a “friend’s” lodgings and must run.”

“No problem, Ma’am,” sighed Officer Jones. “Most understandable.”

“Be careful on the streets,” warned Officer Shelly. “There’s an awful lot of nuts out there. Wouldn’t like to see a woman as beautiful as yourself get hurt.”

“Ah…shut up!” growled Burly to the officer then hissed at Cierce. “Let’s get moving before I get sick with all the nicey-niceness!”

Cierce studied the little letters on the steering column before her. “Now…let’s see…” She selected the one marked “N” and let her foot off the brake and pushed down on the long skinny petal. The engine revved loudly, but nothing happened.

“See?” sneered Burly. “I told you I should…”

“Put the car in drive, Ma’am,” called out Office Shelly. “By the way…”

Cierce threw the gear into drive and the car lurched forward startling her so that she hit the brake hard. Burly’s face hit the screen separating the front and back seats with a loud “thunk”. He fell to the floorboard; a string of curses escaping his mouth. Cierce let her foot off the brake and gassed again, slowly this time. The vehicle moved ahead and past the officer as he finished his question.

“How about a date?”

She waved saucily to them in the mirror, navigated the turn onto the main road and was lost to sight.

The nightclub Marjorie had suggested to Wolf was one of the oldest still operating in New York City. On Friday and Saturdays it featured “Big Band” music with live musicians while the rest of the week either a DJ or karaoke were featured. Sunday night happened to be karaoke night, the pair sometimes laughing, sometimes applauding the souls braving the crowd to try their hand at singing to their favorite songs from recent top hits to “oldies” of long ago. Occasionally no one sang, so management would fill in dead time with a local radio station playing classical music.

The buffet was excellent. Wolf tried his best to tone down his appetite, surprising Virginia by gorging on only two heaping platefuls of meat instead of the usual four. He sighed as the last of the lovely, little sausages left his plate and slid down his throat, then eyed the juicy looking slices of roast beef drizzled with gravy on Virginia’s plate with a coveting eye. She pushed the plate his way.

“No…” he pushed it back an inch. “I couldn’t swallow another bite.”

Virginia giggled. She could tell Wolf was barely containing himself from gobbling down the morsel. She pushed it back, closer this time. “Sure you could. Go ahead…I don’t mind.”

“No…really…I…can’t…” He sniffed the meat’s aroma. It was playing havoc on his senses.

“Go ahead, I insist.”

“No, you need extra protein for the baby.”

“I’ve had my share, I’m full.”

“Huff-puff, well…so am I.” he relied, not wishing to appear too wolfish.

“Very well,” agreed Virginia. “I’ll call to the waiter and he can take the plates away…”

“Cripes!” He grabbed the plate back and wolfed down the beef in a second.

Virginia hid a smile. Thank goodness the nightclub was fairly dark, otherwise the other patrons would be watching Wolf and not the performers on stage. She gazed dreamily upon the dancers on the floor as they gyrated to a modern dance song. The next song was smoother, a classic from the forties. She sighed. It was a beautifully, romantic song. The singer, an older woman, wasn’t too bad. At least she stayed in tune.

“May I have this dance, my love?”

She looked up in surprise at Wolf standing there, his hand out and a nervous, but hopeful expression on his face. “Why…yes!” she answered, breathlessly, excited by the prospect. She didn’t know if he could dance since he'd disappeared from Wendell’s ball so quickly that night. He helped her from her seat, directed her to a secluded corner and tentatively led her into a slow fox trot. They began a bit stiffly, but soon grew used to each other, creating their own rhythmic pattern.

He gazed lovingly into her blue eyes, shining with wonder, and thought himself the luckiest half wolf in the world. Her hair, growing faster due to her pregnancy, framed her face gently in a riot of soft curls put there by her grandmother who was quite handy with a curling iron. The dress she wore was cut low in the front and back, exposing much of her creamy skin, including the swell of her breasts above the dress’s bodice. Although the hemline was not cut exceedingly short, her legs seemed to go on for miles, her dainty feet encased in finely made silver sandals. She was a goddess, he groaned, and she was his, fulfilling his wildest dreams in a mate…now and forever.

“You look succulently gorgeous tonight, Virginia.” He looked down, not able to keep his eyes off her womanly form. “Pert in all the proper places and your scent…” he nuzzled the butter soft skin of her neck, growling deep in his throat, the vibrations sending goosebumps up her spine. “Your scent puts all of the kingdoms most expensive perfumes to shame.” “I’m sure that’s not true,” she denied, but pleased all the same.

“Oh,” he stopped in his tracks, pulling her closer so that she could feel every square inch of him pressed against her. “But it is true. I would not lie to you, Virginia. I give you my solemn wolf word!” He gave her his special sign of trust, kissed the tip of her nose and whisked her away on a lovely waltz as the music changed back to the classical music station.

The nightclub’s maitre d’ smiled from behind Virginia as Wolf gave him a sign of approval, thanking the man silently for the chance to waltz with his Virginia.

So far their date was absolutely flawless.

Wendell smothered a yawn, as did many of his trusted servants. Most had been up twenty-four hours researching old, forgotten books in the many libraries installed in Snow White Castle. He rubbed his eyes, which itched and burned from hours of reading dry, ancient books, their dust making him sneeze almost continuously. Still he dwelt deeper into the mystery surrounding the centuries-old portrait in his stepmother’s old living quarters. There had to be an answer somewhere in these books. There just had to be.

“Aha!” exclaimed Albert, the castle librarian and scholar. “Sire! I believe I have found something of importance.”

Wendell wiped at his eyes for the hundredth time and peered at the book, its text faded, but legible. It indeed appeared favorable.

“Let us remove the book to my quarters and better lighting,” he ordered, blowing the dust from his nose. He was fighting to stay awake, but couldn’t bring himself to rest just yet. His curiosity was too great. A spot of tea would do the trick, he thought, to help him make it through another hour or so. Then he would allow himself to rest.

The book was carried to his writing desk in his quarters as servants prepared and served hot tea. Wendell and the old librarian scoured over page after page of documents and stories held protectively together between the bindings of the old leather book. One portion in particular held their attention with great interest. Wendell and the librarian looked at each other in amazement. What a story! Wendell was excited but had pushed himself to the point of exhaustion. He had to rest. He allowed the aged Albert to return to his own quarters and lay down for a short nap. When he awoke, he thought before he drifted off, he would try to summon Anthony through the traveling mirror by one of the magic talking birds. He hoped Anthony and Virginia had found Wolf by now, for this discovery involved that rakish half-wolf also. With that last thought, he fell deeply asleep.