Mary Anne Gruen - The House of Red

It wasn’t till late the next day that a messenger arrived at King Wendell’s campsite with the note from the Chancellor for Wolf. The King and his troops had fought a number of battles early the night before. But then suddenly everything had quieted down on the troll side. Wendell decided to use the time to go over troop deployment with Lieutenant Burke, and his three new Captains, Wolf, Carpathian, and Rose. They were all four bending over a map when the messenger arrived.

The disheveled man had obviously been riding hard without a break. In fact, he’d only stopped once to change horses. He was both tired and thirsty, but he’d gone on anyway. He was one of the palace guards. He'd been off duty when Virginia had disappeared, sleeping so he could take the day shift. When they’d asked him to go, however, he’d gone immediately without question. He had seen the influx of wolves come into the kingdom and their reaction to Wolf as a hero. He had been on hand during the day of Wolf and Virginia’s wedding. He’d cheered when he’d heard about the trouncing the trolls had gotten from Wolf’s battalion. And he’d seen Virginia make her daily trek into the woods to reread her letters from her husband. Truth was, the messenger had just been married himself. And he thought how bad he’d feel if his wife had suddenly gone missing while he was off somewhere.

As per the Chancellor’s order, the messenger placed the note directly into the hands of the King. “He’ll know what to do,” the Chancellor had said. “And how to put things.”

“Your Majesty,” the messenger said. “It’s from the Chancellor.”

Wendell looked at the state of the messenger and decided the note must be important.

“Just a minute,” he told the others. Then he stood off to one side to read.

The note was short and to the point. “Mr. Wolf is needed back at the castle at once. Please release him and send him by horseback. It concerns his wife.”

Wendell read the note twice and considered. It didn’t sound good, whatever it was about. The Chancellor had been careful to leave out any real information. But surely if something dire had happened, the messenger would know. “Excuse me for a minute, will you?” the King said to the others. He then took the arm of the messenger and led him back to his horse where he was sure they wouldn't be overheard. “Now, what’s this all about?” the King asked. His tone of voice left no doubt in the messenger’s mind that he intended to hear the whole story.

The Chancellor had ordered the messenger not to tell Wolf what had happened. But he’d said nothing about keeping it from the king.

At the other end of the field, Wolf and his compatriots watched the serious discussion going on between the king and the messenger.

“That doesn’t look good,” Wolf said.

“You think the trolls have been distracting us here, so they could stage an attack on the castle?” Rose asked. She had a natural military mind and had begun to wonder if the assault and run tactics the trolls had been using the last couple of days could be a ruse for something else.

“But a large army would have been noticed,” Carpathian pointed out.

“Maybe they sent a small group,” Rose said.

Lieutenant Burke said nothing. It wasn’t his job to conjecture.

At last the King returned. “Wolf,” he said, “could I speak to you?”

Wolf’s mouth went dry as he followed off behind Wendell. It can’t be about the battle, he thought. What could Wendy have to say about the battle that he couldn’t say in front of the others. It had to be personal. And that could only mean one thing.

“Wolf,” Wendell said gently, “something has happened.”

A stab of fear went through Wolf’s heart. “It’s Virginia, isn’t it? Something’s happened to her.”

“Now, we don’t quite know what’s happened to her yet. But we’re doing the best we can. And the Chancellor feels you should return to the castle at once.”

Wolf reached out and gripped Wendell’s arm. "Is she sick?"

“No. And she’s not dead, as far as we know.”

“Then what’s happened to her?” Wolf’s eyes were starting to turn a wide yellow.

Wendell debated for a moment as to whether he should tell his friend the whole story or not. But if he didn’t, wouldn’t he only imagine even worse things? On the other hand, what could be worse? “She’s disappeared,” Wendell said. In his most controlled kingly attitude, he told Wolf the whole story so far as he knew it.

“I’ve got to go,” Wolf said. His eyes were darting around in panic and he breathed in short gasps.

“Yes, you should. I’ll have a horse brought up immediately. But you can’t go alone. Take one of the wolves with you, one of the pureblooded ones preferably. They can move quickly and keep a sharp lookout for trouble.”

Wolf nodded. “Rose and Carpathian can take over my troops,” he said as he ran off.

As Wolf prepared to leave, Wendell explained what had happened to the rest of his staff. “Wolf has indicated that he’d like Rose and Carpathian to remain on to watch over his troops. Is that agreeable to you?”

The three of them nodded as one.

“Good,” Wendell said. But he paused for a moment and then added, “Rose. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather return with your brother?”

Rose seemed startled by the question, but her answer came quickly. “I’m sure I’d only be in the way,” she said.

“On the contrary,” Wendell said, “I’m sure you’d be a great comfort to him.”

“If that were so, he wouldn’t have suggested I help take over his troops. He would have asked me to come with him.”

Wendell couldn’t argue with that. “Quite right. You’ll be staying here then?”

“Yes,” she said.

“I just, uh, wouldn’t want to hold you here if you wanted to go.”

“I appreciate that. But I led my troops this far. I think I’d be amiss to leave them now.”

“Quite right,” he said, giving up the battle. “It’s decided then. You and Carpathian will divide Wolf’s troops among you and take command by nightfall. We’ll continue the same pattern of surveillance tonight, with the wolves watching the outside perimeter.”

Lieutenant Burke and Carpathian walked away, but Rose remained. She obviously felt there was unfinished business between them.

“Excuse me, your Majesty,” she said.

Wendell saw how determined and erect she stood. This was one subject that fully intended to speak her mind. “Miss Rose?” he politely.

“Were you trying to tell me you wanted me to go?”

“No,” Wendell said, a bit flustered. “I was, uh, just trying to give you the, uh, opportunity to leave if that was what you wanted.”

“Does my being here make you uncomfortable?”

What a question? How was he supposed to answer that? How could anyone be comfortable around that mass of red hair and those deer skin trousers she wore? Her jacket was long and covered a lot of area around the thigh. But the whole effect was still entirely too provocative. How was he supposed to concentrate on fighting trolls with her around? “Of course not,” he lied. “It was just that, um. Well, I mean, after all, Miss Virginia didn’t come. I thought perhaps that you, uh, might be happier and, uh, safer back at the castle.”

“The castle wasn’t all that safe for Virginia,” Rose said wryly. “And she remained behind because she was expecting a child. If you haven’t noticed, wolves fight and hunt together. The only ones who stay home are the old and infirm, the very young, and those nursing cubs. I am none of those. So, my place is here with my people.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Unless you find it uncomfortable to have me here.”

Wendell turned away, trying not to look at her. “I, um,” he stuttered again.

“I’ve sensed from the beginning that you weren’t happy about my being here. Is it because I’m a woman? There are other she-wolves here, half-blooded like me, as well as full-blooded. You haven’t talked about sending any of them home. Or is it because I’m the only woman in a command position?”

He turned back to look at her and saw the brilliance in her green eyes. Nothing but the truth would satisfy her. But how much could he say? “I don’t want to send any of the she-wolves home,” he said carefully. “And I’ve never had a better Captain at the head of my troops than you. You have a feeling for the military. I’d be, uh.” He stuttered around looking for words. “I mean I feel, uh.” Again what he meant evaded him. “I know I’d be a fool to let you go,” he said finally. That’s as much as he could say. In fact, he was afraid he’d said more than he’d meant to.

Rose understood. She felt the force of his words and the feelings underneath. From what Virginia had told her, Wendell had been little more than a princely pup when they’d first met two months before, just after he’d been turned into a dog. But with each crisis he’d become more of a man and more of a King. He'd obviously grown to a point where he'd overcome his prejudices enough to accept a wolf as a friend and laud him as a hero. But he hadn’t grown enough to accept having romantic feelings for one. As for her, a wolf’s heart, once lost, was almost impossible to regain. It would be safest to go now, before a greater attachment developed on her side. But there were other things to consider. Namely, her people. She had come here to fight with them, to die if necessary. And with Wolf gone, it was her family responsibility to stay and continue the work he had begun. The family honor was at stake. To a wolf, family came first, above all else. She would have to ignore her own feelings.

“I’m sorry,” she said. It was her turn to look away now. “I’ll stay out of your way as much as I can. But it’s my duty to remain.” With that she turned and started to go. Then she turned back abruptly. “I think the fighting here will fall back for awhile. I have a suspicion that the last week’s skirmishes have been about covering their planned revenge on Virginia.”

“Then, you think the war is over?” Wendell asked.

“No. When an animal is contemplating a fight, its hackles rise and it gives off a very definite aroma. That stench is coming very strongly from across the troll border. They’ve pulled back and may even seem to have given up the fight. But I can still sense the aggression. They may even put off fighting for a long while, in the hopes that we’ll pull up stakes and return home. But we’d be fools to do that. You can ask Carpathian if you don’t believe me. He’s a wolf too. He’ll know.” She turned and walked away again, this time not turning back.

Wendell watched her go, wondering which of the battles ahead he dreaded more, the one with the trolls or the one with his emotions.