Debra L. Rollins - Revenge For the Huntsman

By the time Virginia arrived home from her appointments, Wolf had been pacing the floor of the apartment like a caged animal for hours thinking of an idea to solve the problem of the full moon three days hence. Unfortunately for him, the exertion only served to bring on his enormous appetite, which made him even more irritable seeing as how he'd eaten the last of the bacon for breakfast.

“Huff-puff!” he growled menacingly to the empty refrigerator. “I need meat! Now!”

Distastefully he held up a piece of processed lunchmeat between his two fingers and frowned at her as she walked in the kitchen door.

“You call this meat?” he sniffed at the woebegone slice of bologna, then tossed it disdainfully over his shoulder. It hit the wall and stuck there. He turned back to the refrigerator, dumping out its contents in his search for a delicious chop or a plump chicken. There had to be something to satisfy his hunger.

“Stop it, Wolf…what are you doing? You’re making a mess!”

“Stop it, Wolf. Don’t do that, Wolf!” he mimicked. His eyes now full green made her retreat a step. “You like telling me what to do, don’t you, Virginia? Haven’t you learnt anything about me yet? Don’t you understand? I’m still an animal, a half-wolf…even in your world I can’t change what I am! Look at me, Virginia!” He spread his arms out helplessly. “I’m nearing my cycle again and there is nothing you or I can do to stop me changing...I know, because I’ve tried and failed!”

“I’ll tie you up again,” she offered weakly. “That should keep you from…”

“Tie me up where, Virginia?” he sneered. “In our room? What would your grandma think of me being tied up for almost two days till the moon effects wear off? Besides, we tried that before and guess what? It didn’t work then and it won’t work now. You haven’t seen me during the strongest part of my cycle. I’m no longer Wolf the man, I’m Wolf the animal.”

“I can handle it,” she said, stronger this time. Positive that they could overcome whatever happened together. “I know you go terribly irrational and act a bit more wolfish, but…”

“No, Virginia.” He grabbed her by the shoulders to make her understand and looked straight into her eyes, reading her reaction. “I turn wolf. I become wolf. I see other animals and living beings around me as food. I grow stronger and I grow fangs, Virginia…so I can kill. Kill and eat! That is all I will care about, do you understand now?”

“No! No…I know you! You’d never do that!” Tears ran down her cheeks and though her words denied it, her eyes told Wolf that she knew and understood what he said. Focusing through the hunger induced haze for the first time since she entered the room, he folded her slight, shaking form in his arms and held her close. He could feel the thud of her heart, beating strong and fast against his chest and below that, the tiniest tick of their child’s. His own tears loosened and fell over his cheeks. Nothing he vowed…nothing would ever harm a hair on his precious love’s head, or that of his son’s. He would destroy anything in his path that tried. Even if that thing proved to be him.

Burly was lonely, tired and his legs and feet ached from his heavy, leather boots traveling miles now through the Third Kingdom and into the Fourth. The Disenchanted Forest was a huge obstacle that separated him and his quarry, the “witch” who was last seen at Castle White. So enter its depths he must, but not without concern for his own safety. Trolls preferred to travel banded together as a show of force and without the help of even the magic shoes, he couldn’t help but feel a bit defenseless and at a loss of what to do once he got to the castle. How was he going to sneak in, find the witch and return with her to the Troll Palace without being caught? He missed his sister and brother more than ever, Blabberwort was always coming up with good plans and Bluebell could always be counted on to cover their backsides.

An hour later the road forked off in three different directions. Burly stepped off the path and hid in the overgrowth near the junction to see if some hapless farmer or merchant happened by on a horse or cart. If he were lucky, he would not only have a ride, but possibly a free lunch. The food the palace cook had packed had long since been devoured and Burly found himself famished.

He didn’t have to wait long. Ten minutes later, the creak of a cart could be heard making its way toward his hiding place. Burly could make out the form of an old crone sitting by herself, the cart filled with wares from the village. He smiled to himself, self-confident that the old woman would be easy pickings. He would jump out, surprise her, toss her over the side, and then take her cart. Simple.

As soon as the woman passed, Burly jumped from his position and into the back of her cart. The smell of fresh breads and meat assailed his nostrils, causing his stomach to heave with hunger. As the old crone turned, he raised his arms to grab her, finding instead that they had turned leaden and useless.

“Hold!” She commanded. The horse halted, nearly toppling Burly off the back of the cart. Instead he fell onto an open basket of tomatoes, squishing half the lot.

Suck an Elf! What was this, he wondered? More magic? His luck was not going at all well lately.

“Who are you?” The crone asked. “I know what you are, a disgusting Troll set upon stealing my goods. But who are you to walk this forest alone? Trolls are not known for sole ventures and you…” she looked down her nose at him from her perch, “Appear quite the bumbling idiot.”

“I am Burly the Troll,” he said with as much dignity as he could with tomatoes smeared across his backside. “Feared throughout the Nine Kingdoms, son of Relish the Troll King.”

The woman smiled a knowing smile.

“Not anymore from what I hear.”

Burly frowned at the reminder and tried in vain to lift his arms. They wouldn’t budge.

“Who are you? And what magic spell have you put on me? I insist you take it off right now or I’ll kill you!”

“I don’t believe you are in any position to give orders or threaten me at the moment, Prince Burly,” she cackled with humor. “Why are you so far away from home…and alone at that?”

“I am on a quest to find the witch that killed my dad and bring her back to the Third Kingdom. If I succeed, I shall be crowned King of the Trolls.”

The crone smiled to herself. Perhaps there was use of this Troll. He seemed “pliable” and would be a powerful ally if what he said was true.

“I am Madam Tatler, mother of the Huntsman,” she stated proudly.

Burly’s eyes widened at her words.

“You know of him I see.”

“He helped my siblings and I to track down the witch and capture her and her dad once. But she used her magic to escape,” he lied, not wishing to admit that he and his siblings had been careless in guarding their prisoners as the Huntsman slept.

“Who is this “witch” that you speak of? I know all the witches in this area. Perhaps we can be of service to each other.”

“All I know is that she comes from the mythical Tenth Kingdom. My brother, sister and I found it and have claimed it for the Troll Kingdom. I believe she goes by the name of “Virginia Lewis”.

Madam rubbed her hands together gleefully. What an unbelievable bit of luck! This Troll had actually been to the world where the girl and the half-wolf had gone. Indeed, he would be an excellent partner in her scheme for revenge in the death of her son. She was curious as to why Burly thought this “Virginia” had killed Relish. She herself had heard through good sources that it had been Prince Wendell’s evil stepmother, the Queen that had done the deed with poison. But let the fool think what he wanted, it may come in handy later.

“I have need of a strong, smart individual to help me in killing a certain half-wolf that was instrumental in the death of my son. If I let you loose; will you be interested in a partnership? You help me destroy this “Wolf” and I in turn will help you capture the girl, Virginia. Otherwise, I will tip you out and leave you to starve to death in the forest overgrowth. The spell I put on your arms will never wear off and cannot be broken. I am the only one who can take it away. What say you?”

“I accept your proposal,” he growled. He really had little choice and knew it. But, suck an Elf, it was certainly better that forging on into the unknown by himself. This Madam Tatler, mother of the Huntsman, seemed to be a witch in her own right and he felt his arms tingle with pain as the effects of the spell wore off.

She patted the seat beside her and he climbed up stiffly, wiping as much of the tomatoes off his rear end as he could before sitting back down. He stank of old, dirty leather and body odor, but Zenda was much too focused on her plans for revenge to notice. She handed him the reigns and told him the path to take back to her cottage. Now she knew how to gain access to the Castle White and this “Tenth Kingdom”. Wolf’s blood would soon be hers.

The continuous rapping of a bird on the windowpane woke both Wolf and Virginia simultaneously. Wolf bounced out of bed in irritation and opened the window, fully prepared to snare and eat the blasted thing for waking him up for what he knew was to be the last night for peaceful sleep before his cycle. He glanced back at Virginia, clutching the bedcovers to her chest, looking extremely fetching with her creamy skin glowing ivory in the nearly full moonlight. He felt himself stir hungrily at the sight of her, not for food, but as his mate. Cripes, but he wanted her soooo much!

The flutter of wings brought him back to his senses. Now, where did that irritating bird go?

Virginia reached over to the nightstand and turned on the reading lamp. The room, infused with light, exposed a colorful bird staring down at them from above the closet door. To their surprise, it spoke. They realized it was a magic talking bird like one of the many she'd released in the Gypsy camp.

“King Wendell has sent me to relay a royal invitation in the hopes that you both will attend a royal ball to be held three days hence in the honor of finding a new queen for the Fourth Kingdom.”

“A new queen? Cripes!” Wolf smiled, thrilled that the former dog prince wished for the same happiness as he felt with his own true love.

“I-I’d love to go, but…” started Virginia.

“Ooh! But we can’t say no, Virginia. Tony will be there and Prince, er…King Wendell and all that lovely, lovely buffet food! We must go…please say yes!” Wolf scratched nervously at his temple. He could feel the tension between his wolf and human halves worsening. If they were to cross over into his dimension, then he could have King Wendell lock him away in his dungeons where he knew he would not be able to escape. By the time the full moon abated, they would be able to attend the king’s ball.

“But we have Mrs. Simms’ party to cater this coming Sunday, we need to meet with the Deeters for a consultation on Monday and…”

“I need to go, Virginia. Do you understand? Stay here if you must, but I need Tony and King Wendell’s help if I am able to get through the full moon without killing again. Remember the hen house? I may not have killed Sally Peep, but I am not a total innocent.”

Virginia rubbed her fingers through her short, dark hair. She still missed it’s length, knowing full well the impact her hair had on Wolf when it had reached well past her ankles. She had seen the look on his face as he wrapped it around her shoulders like a fur stole. The look had excited her even though she had been very scared at the time. She remembered how Wolf had put his life on the line many times for her to prove his love and now, here she was letting a few strangers come between what was truly important in her life, Wolf and her family. She thought of her father and how much she missed him after only a couple of weeks. She needed to let him know the joy she felt at carrying Wolf’s cub…his first grandchild…his grandson. She knew what she must do. She looked into Wolf’s eyes, eyes that burned a bright green. Yet this time, she didn’t flinch away. This was her destiny; her love, and she would help him in any way she could.

Without looking away from him, she addressed the magic bird.

“Tell King Wendell and my dad that we’ll be there.”