Mary Anne Gruen - The House of Red

It was very late in the morning when Virginia finally opened her eyes and found Wolf staring at her.

“Hi!” he said, brushing the hair out of her face.

“Hi.”

“You sleep well?”

“Mm, yes.” She crawled over into his arms and rested her head on his chest. His heartbeat was strong and steady. “How about you?”

“You mean except for your snoring?”

“I don’t snore.”

Wolf wrapped his arms around her. “I was too happy to sleep. And besides, it was more fun watching you.”

“Mm.”

“You hungry?”

“Not really,” she said. She noticed the pickup in his heart beat and realized they both had a hunger for other things first.

It wasn’t until two o’clock that their thoughts finally turned to food.

“Do you realize we’ve been married one whole day?” Wolf said as he pulled on some clothes and reached for the bell that would bring the chambermaid.

“I wonder when I’m going to start feeling like an old married lady?”

“Probably after our fourth or fifth child,” Wolf said with a big smile. He wanted a large family. “Or maybe when we start having grandchildren.”

“Could we hold back on the grandchildren for a little while at least?” Virginia asked getting up. She wanted to get on robe before the chambermaid arrived. But as it turned out, several minutes went by and still no one appeared.

“You think the bell’s broken?” Wolf asked.

“It was working yesterday. Ring it again.” “Finally,” Virginia said. “Come in.”

The rosy faced girl that had come the day before opened the door shyly. “Sorry, Missus.”

“We were beginning to think the bell was broken.”

“No, Missus. It’s just there’s such an awful row today, what with the war and everything. Everyone’s running around in a tizzy.”

“The war?” Virginia said, exchanging looks with Wolf. “What war?”

The rosy cheeked girl came into the room and shut the door partially behind her. “No one wanted to bother you, you being just married and all,” she said. “But it started last night. The trolls are on the march again, sweeping through our kingdom like brushfire. They’re doing it in revenge for their late king they say. They say they’re heading for Kissing Town and then straight for the castle. King Wendell left late last night with all soldiers we had quartered here to hold them back. That is, if he can. Our army is spread out all over right now, so everyone’s very afraid that maybe the trolls will win this time.”

“I think maybe we should go downstairs,” Virginia said. “See Daddy, and maybe find out what else is going on?”

“Yes,” Wolf agreed.

They found Lord Lewis, looking less composed and lordly than he had the day before. He was in his workshop alone, pouring over a pile of sketches at his desk.

“Where are all your helpers?” Virginia asked.

“They’re worrying over the war.” Tony didn’t have to say which war. It was clear from the look on Virginia and Wolf’s faces that they knew. “Some of them volunteered for the army. And others went home to their families to make preparations for flight.”

“The palace is almost deserted. Where’s Rose?” Wolf asked.

“I think she went into the woods to bring the news to the wolf population.”

“And what are you doing?” Virginia asked.

“Well,” Tony said, throwing down his quill, “I’m not a soldier. But I have to do something. So, I’m working on some plans for weapons.”

Virginia’s look of concern quickly turned to one of alarm. “What kind of weapons?”

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s not as if I can make an atom bomb.”

“A what?” Wolf asked.

“You don’t want to know,” Virginia told her husband.

“But we’ve got to do something,” Tony said.

“So what are you inventing?”

“Well, they already have gun powder, or black powder as they call it. Only they use it exclusively for fireworks, sort of like the Chinese did before Marco Polo.”

“Who?” Wolf asked.

“I’ll tell you later,” Virginia said.

“But they don’t have guns or cannons.”

“So you’re inventing rifles?”

“Well, first I thought I’d invent cannons. They’re big and impressive and you don’t have to train as many people how to use them. I’ve worked up some plans. But the more I think about it, the less sense it makes. I mean, it’s going to take awhile to make these. The Fourth Kingdom could be overrun by then. I guess I could invent something else that doesn’t take as long to make, like maybe dynamite. But that’s basically only good for blowing things up. I don’t think it would do much for a field battle.”

Wolf looked from Virginia to Tony and back again. He knew what guns were. He’d seen them in the movies and on TV back in Manhattan. “So, what you’re saying Tony is, we really don’t have time to make any weapons from your dimension.”

“No. Not really. Maybe if we’d had more warning.”

“What we really need,” Virginia said, “is more troops.”

Wolf’s eyes narrowed and he drummed his fingertips heavily on Tony’s desk. “Did I tell you what the Evil Queen planned to do with the wolves?” he asked.

“You said she wanted to make them her secret police,” Virginia said.

“Right. Wolves would also make great soldiers.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” Wolf’s eyes were bright with excitement. “Wolves have lots of things to recommend them. They’re better trackers and runners than any human soldier. And they’re used to working together. We can even send signals to each other that the trolls won’t understand. We can follow Wendy out and stage a surprise attack to back him up.”

“And who’s going to lead them?”

“Well, that’s pretty obvious.”

“No,” Virginia said, definitely.

“Who else would they follow? They think I’m a big hero, as deluded as they may be. Look.” Wolf stood up to his full height so he seemed to tower over her. “We have to do this. The Fourth Kingdom is the best hope for the wolf population, for our son.”

“Then I’m going with you.”

“Not in your condition. You have to stay here with your father where I know you’ll be safe.”

“No.”

“Virginia.”

“No.”

“Oh, huff-puff!” Wolf said, stamping his foot. “It has to be this way. Don’t you see?”

Virginia turned to her father, hoping he would back her up. “Daddy?”

“Honey, I think Wolf’s got something. Wendell’s troops are scattered because of the wolves. It’s only natural for them to want to help. And they’re probably better suited for it than most.”

“No. What about our honeymoon?”

“We’ll continue that when I get back.” Wolf pulled Virginia toward him. “Look. I’ll be all right. We’ll gather up all the wolves we can, divide them into three units, and send them rushing in in a surprise attack. We can probably push the trolls back with very little fighting. And we can lead with the pure-blooded wolves because they’ll be the best fighters.”

Virginia couldn’t meet Wolf’s eyes. She had the same dread in her heart that every soldier’s wife has had from the beginning of time. What if he never came back? How would she ever survive? Still, there didn’t seem to be any other way. She signified her agreement by wrapping her arms around him and clinging to him tightly.

“Good,” Wolf said, embracing his wife and kissing the top of her head. “I’ll go visit the wolves in the woods near the castle right now and see if we can’t start pulling our battalion together.”