Mary Anne Gruen - The House of Red

“Well,” Tony said. He and Wolf and Virginia were standing in what had been Topaz’s hut. They had packed up a few things and were ready to move on to their next unknown stop in the past. Tony took some of the magic traveling dust from the blue leather bag around his neck. He didn’t know if there were any requirements as to how much he should use. So he took a generous amount, just to be sure. Somehow the bag still looked full. “Here goes,” he said, sprinkling the dust over the three of them.

They watched as the dust hovered for a second. Then all of a sudden, they found themselves lying on the ground somewhere outdoors.

“I wish these landings were softer,” Tony said, rubbing his back.

“Me too,” Wolf said, rushing to help up his wife. “For Virginia’s sake.”

“It’s still night,” Tony observed.

“Yeah, but it’s a lot warmer,” Virginia said. “Like late spring.”

“And the moon’s a lot fuller,” Wolf said, looking toward the sky with concern.

The moon was indeed fuller than it had been in the last place they’d been. Its bright light flooded the open path they were on. But it still wasn’t at its fullest point yet.

“You’ve got a couple more days,” Virginia said, wrapping her arm through Wolf’s. “And you’re doing better now.”

“Maybe,” Wolf said, tugging at his collar. “But I can’t help but worry.”

“At least it’s bright enough to see,” Tony said. He picked up the pack he’d been carrying when they’d come in for a landing. The others did the same. Tony had their food provisions. Virginia carried a couple of blankets. Wolf had what was left of their beaver pelts.

“We’re on a road of some kind,” Virginia said.

Woods surrounded them again. But these were more open than the ones they’d just left in Emerald’s time.

“So, which way?” Tony asked.

“You smell something interesting?” Virginia asked Wolf. She had noticed him sniffing the air with great interest.

Wolf didn’t answer. Instead, he closed his eyes so he could concentrate better. What he smelled was tugging at his mind. Memories long forgotten were creeping back. He worked hard to sort out one scent from another, one memory from another. It had all been so long ago.

“I think I smell a fire,” Tony offered.

“And much more,” Wolf said, opening his eyes. “But it can’t be.”

“What can’t be?” Virginia asked.

Again Wolf didn’t answer. He just started off down the road, as though under some kind of magic spell.

“Wolf?” Virginia said.

“We’d better follow him,” Tony said.

Just past a bend in the road they saw a house. It was better built than Topaz’s hut, but not much bigger. They could smell a fire going in the fireplace. And in the dappled moonlight they could see a little enclosed lean-to built right against the house. All around and above the house were towering white pines. It seemed there were lights on inside. But heavy curtains were drawn across the windows, so only a slight glow shown through.

Wolf walked right up to the door. But he didn’t knock. He just stood there and sniffed with his eyes closed again.

“You know this place?” Virginia asked.

Wolf opened his eyes and nodded. But he didn’t seem to be able to speak.

“Well, let’s knock,” Tony said. And he tapped on the door three times.

There was the sound of rushing feet inside and then a pause. A woman’s voice spoke.

“Who’s there?” she asked.

“We’re, uh, travelers,” Tony said. “We seem to be lost and we wonder if you know a place where we might spend the night?”

“Travelers?” the woman said.

“Yes. We’re sorry to bother you at so late an hour. But I’m traveling with my daughter and son-in-law. You see my daughter is expecting a baby and I’d like to find a place where she can spend the night in some comfort.”

“Your daughter?” the woman asked. The door was unbarred at once by a woman just slightly older than Virginia. She had her red hair done up in a bun and she wore a simple patchwork dress. “You shouldn’t be out at night,” the woman said. “Come right in.” She took Virginia’s arm and led her inside. “Forgive me for leaving you out there so long. I was afraid you were the night guard. You understand.”

The room they were ushered into was well lit but small. A tiny round table with four chairs and a spinning wheel were its dominant furnishings. Against one wall were two doors, which presumably led to two other rooms.

“We’re sorry to disturb you,” Virginia said.

“Not at all,” the woman said. She turned to Tony who was the last to come in. “Please shut the door and bar it. The extra light might attract the night guard.”

Tony did as he was told. But he couldn’t help asking, “The night guard? What’s the, uh, night guard?”

This question stopped the woman in her tracks. “You don’t know what the night guard is?” She looked at the three of them in disbelief.

“I do,” Wolf said, looking nervous. He hadn’t heard anyone mention the nightguard for a long time. But he knew who they were. And that also told him when and where they were.

“They’re both from the Fourth Kingdom, so they don’t know.”

“They don’t have a night guard there?”

“No,” Wolf said.

“Well that explains it,” the woman said. “But the Fourth Kingdom is a long way away from here. How could you travel all that way and not run into them once?”

“We were lucky,” Wolf said.

“You certainly were. Usually things are better here. This is an out of the way corner of the kingdom. We have loggers and maple sugar men mostly. Not too many farmers. Unfortunately, the Queen is making her yearly inspection tour. And she’s supposed to be here later in the week. So the guard is getting a little more strict. I’m surprised you weren’t stopped. But of course you’re humans and the guard would merely have checked your papers and sent you on your way.”

Wolf looked nervous again.

One of the doors at the side of the room opened and a gray wolf stepped out. He wasn’t much bigger than Scythian had been. In fact, he bore a striking resemblance to that other wolf, except that his whole demeanor was different.

“Not all of you are human,” the wolf said, looking curiously at Wolf. He wasn’t making an accusation. He was just stating a point of fact. “You’re at least half-wolf. And you smell like a relative.”

“I, uh, might be,” Wolf said, his eyes darting around.

“Where are you from?”

“The Second Kingdom originally,” Wolf answered. “My, uh, parents are dead.”

“Oh.” The wolf nodded his head sympathetically. “Where are you headed?”

“We were, uh, displaced by the Magic War,” Wolf said. “We were on the borderline near the Eighth Kingdom and it got pretty bad there. So we’re traveling, trying to find a new place to settle down.”

“Ah,” the wolf said. “I’m glad that war is over and that Queen Matilde has retaken the Eighth Kingdom. I’m also glad that she’s been named president of the new Council of the Nine Kingdoms.”

“Maybe we’ll get fairer treatment now,” the woman said.

“Forgive me,” the wolf said. “We haven’t introduced ourselves. I am Josiah and this is my mate Scarlet.”

“Please, sit down,” Scarlet said, pulling out the chairs from the table. “We haven’t much to offer. But I could make you some herbal tea.”

“That would be nice,” Virginia said. “We have some provisions with us, which we’d be very glad to share with you.” She motioned to her father, who handed over the sack with their food.

“Oh, we couldn’t take your food,” Scarlet said. “It’s very scarce around here. And since you’re expecting, you’ll be needing as much as you can get.”

“No, please. We have plenty.” Virginia started unloading food onto the little table. “My name is Virginia. And this is my husband Wolf, and my father, Tony.”

“Wolf?” Josiah said, gazing at Wolf intently.

“My foster parents called me that. They were both pure-blooded wolves and they wanted me to remember who I was.”

“Wolf,” Josiah said again. “That’s a dangerous thing to call a child in the Second Kingdom.”

Scarlet started setting out an array of chipped mugs before her guests. “Red Riding Hood the First was Queen when Wolf was a boy,” she said. “Things were better under her.”

“Only to a point,” Josiah said. “Matings between wolves and humans were still forbidden. But at least the wolves didn’t have to carry permits.”

“Permits?” Tony said.

Scarlet looked up horrified. “Don’t tell me you don’t have a permit.”

Wolf looked nervous again. “No,” he said.

“Oh, this isn’t good,” Scarlet said. “You’ll need one at once. Wolves need permits to go anywhere and do anything. And Virginia and Tony, you’ll need papers to certify that you’re human. That’s because there are more part-wolves being born now.”

“Night time is especially dangerous,” Josiah said. “If they find a wolf out at night without a permit, they’ll arrest him. But, of course, if we don’t travel in large groups, it’s hard for them to find us in the woods. We can usually smell them before they show up. I hunt at night all the time.”

“Yes, and I wish you wouldn’t,” Scarlet said, pouring hot water into the cups of her guests.

There was no sugar or milk on the table so no one asked for any. It was obviously a very poor household.

“A wolf’s got to hunt,” Josiah said. “Ask Wolf here.”

“Hmm,” was all Scarlet would say. She knew what Josiah needed. But she didn’t have to be happy about it. She put a knife and a few tired looking plates on the table.

Virginia sliced up some of Topaz’s homemade bread first. Then she cut off slabs from the dried venison that Tony had bought in the General Store of Emerald’s town. She was too engrossed to notice that the second door leading off the main room had just opened a crack.

Wolf, however, sniffed the air and turned at once, his jaw almost dropping on the table.

“Mama?” a little voice called.

“Are you two still awake?” Scarlet asked.

“We smelled food.”

“Hmm.” Scarlet put her hands on her hips and a fake scowl on her face. “Hungry as usual. Is your sister up too?”

“Yes, Mama,” a little girl answered.

“Well, come and meet our guests before you wake up the babies.”

Two young children came into the room, a boy first and then a little girl. Scarlet put her arm around the boy and the girl wrapped herself in her mother’s skirts. The boy looked to be about seven. He had dark hair, round eyes, and a slightly smudged face. His sister was about two years younger. She had her mother’s red hair and freckles.

“We have four children,” Scarlet explained. “These are our oldest.”

“Hi!” Virginia said, her eyes lighting up. “Do you want to join us?”

The boy nodded and the girl just kept clinging to her mother.

“Why don’t you take this?” Virginia said, holding out sizeable chunks of bread and meat to the boy.

The boy hesitated.

“Go ahead,” Scarlet said. “It’s all right.”

Immediately, the boy came to Virginia’s side and took the food.

“What do you say?” Josiah asked.

“Thank you,” the boy said.

“And how about you,” Virginia said to the little girl.

The girl didn’t make a move or say a word. She just stared at Virginia from the safe proximity of her mother’s skirts.

“It’s all right, Rose,” Scarlet said, smoothing back her daughter’s red hair. Then to her guests she said, “She’s just a little shy. She’s at that age, you know.”

“Then I’ll let you give it to her,” Virginia said, handing Scarlet some meat and bread.

Scarlet handed her daughter the food and the girl ate it slowly. The boy had already finished and was hanging on the back of Virginia’s chair, staring at her pointedly. With the children taken care of, everyone else ate. That is, except Wolf. He touched nothing. He just sat and watched, the crease between his eyebrows deepening by the second.

“I can get some papers made up made up for you,” Scarlet said. “I know some people in the town who’d be willing to do it. You shouldn’t continue on your journey without them.”

“Could you do that?” Virginia asked.

“Things are getting tighter and more difficult now,” Scarlet said. “But I think I can.”

“Red Riding Hood the Second makes things tougher every year,” Josiah said.

“It’s hard to make a living,” Scarlet said. “Josiah hunts for small game. And I spin and sew for other people. Actually, I even have a talent for carpentry. I built the lean-to on the side of the house. Rose helps me with the babies. And her older brother is in school. In the fall, I’ll be sending her too.”

Virginia turned to look at the little boy and found him smiling at her, his face close to hers. His eyes changed slightly from hazel to green as he gazed at her, with just the hint of a crease forming between his eyebrows as they moved shyly up his forehead. Virginia couldn’t help but smile back. He looked vaguely familiar.

“I think he likes you,” Rose said.

All the adults except Wolf laughed, he was too busy squirming in his seat.

“Rose always tells the truth,” Scarlet said. “Even when you don’t want to hear it.”

“I think he’s cute,” Virginia said, turning away from the boy and smiling at everyone around the table. Everyone smiled back, except for Wolf. He had this strange, sheepish grin on his face. His eyes appeared to change from green to hazel, the way they did sometimes. And the crease between his eyebrows deepened further, as if he was in some kind of pain. Virginia thought it was strange. But she was in no position to ask him what was wrong. She turned back to the boy. He patted her face fondly. And she noticed that his eyes were even greener and the crease between his eyebrows had deepened. It was then that she saw it. She turned back to look at Wolf and her mouth dropped open. Wolf gave her another sheepish grin.

Tony noticed this interaction but he had no idea what it meant.

“Seeing as you’ve stolen my son Warren’s heart,” Josiah said, “I think you should stay here until your papers are ready.”

There was a slight pause and then Tony said, “That would be very nice of you.” He didn’t know what was bothering Virginia and Wolf but he wished they’d snap out of it. “Isn’t it nice of them, Virginia?”

“Oh yes, very,” Virginia said, recovering. She smiled vaguely at the boy and moved away slightly. This was just too weird for her.

“If you like, you can sleep in here by the fire,” Scarlet said. “And there’s the lean-to outside also. We keep it piled with wood in the winter. But it’s almost empty now that we’re into the warmer weather.”

“Thank you very much,” Tony said.

“Yes, thank you,” Virginia chirped up.

Wolf just kept on smiling sheepishly.

Virginia helped Scarlet take care of the dishes and the leftovers, while Josiah put his son and daughter back to bed. Tony arranged their blankets in front of the fire and Wolf sat nearby acting as though he were in a trance.

After Scarlet and Josiah said good night and closed their door, Tony whispered, “All right you two, what’s going on?”

“Those are my parents,” Wolf said. “My real ones.”

“Your what?” Tony said.

“My parents.”

“The little boy is Wolf,” Virginia said.

“And the little girl is my sister Rose.”

Tony’s face fell in shock.

“It’s true, Dad. Somehow I recognized Wolf in that little boy.”

“So, what are we doing here?” Tony asked.

“I have no idea,” Wolf said, shaking his head. “Unless.”

“Unless what?”

“I don’t know exactly when it happened. I mean, I wasn’t very aware of dates and times at this age. But I was seven when my parents were burned for poaching some lambs off a farm near here.”

“And you think we’re here to witness that?” Tony asked.

“Why?” Virginia said.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know that our being here has anything to do with them.”

“Well,” Virginia said, “I wouldn’t blame your parents if they did poach a few lambs. They don’t have much. Both you and Rose look very thin.”

Wolf shook his head. “My foster parents said the charges were trumped up by humans who hated wolves. And Rose’s foster parents thought they were innocent too.” Wolf started shaking. “Oh, cripes! I hope I don’t have to go through it all again.”

“Shhh!” Virginia said, putting her arms around him. “We really don’t know why we’re here yet. We’ll just have to take it one day at a time and see.”

“Yeah,” Tony said. He squatted down in front of the fireplace and threw another log on the fire. “Might as well get some sleep. Maybe everything will be clearer in the morning.”

Wolf whined softly. His eyes were full of pain as he looked toward the bedrooms of his long lost family.

Virginia had no idea how to comfort him. She ran her hand through his hair and kissed his stubbly cheek. Then she went and crouched down next to her father.

“You know,” she whispered, “Wolf’s really upset about this.”

“I know,” Tony said. “I don’t blame him.”

“It might be better, if you left us alone tonight,” she said. “You know, so we could talk things out.”

Tony’s mouth dropped open. “You want me to sleep in the lean-to?”

“Just for tonight.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed. He wasn’t happy. Not at all. But Virginia was a married woman now. She had a right to ask for privacy. Still it irritated him no end. He felt unwanted and worse than that, superfluous. “Fine,” he said, the hurt and anger showing in his voice. “I’ll go sleep in the lean-to. You two can have your privacy. But I get the heaviest blanket because it’s cold out there.” He grabbed a blanket and headed out the door. He would have slammed it, but it would have awakened the rest of the house.

“Now that she’s married, I’m not needed anymore,” he mumbled to himself. “I’m just a useless old man.”

He trudged on heavy feet to the side of the house. The lean-to had a door built in and windows all around. It was really quite cozy. Tony made a bed for himself by putting the blanket over the wood chips on the floor. The pile of logs was his headboard. It was warm enough so that he didn’t need to wrap the blanket around himself. Still, he complained on.

“They leave me out in the cold like an old piece of garbage,” he continued muttering. “We’re in a strange place and a strange time. And here I am completely abandoned by my daughter.”

In the last spot in history they’d been in, Tony had had a clearer job to do acting as the go-between for Virginia and Wolf. And he’d enjoyed playing provider for Topaz and her mate by fetching supplies from the General Store. But here, he was afraid he was going to be completely pointlessly alone. Snow White had said he was supposed to be the clearer head. At the moment, all he felt was unwanted.

He picked up his mirror talisman and gazed into it. As usual, there was a little tiny sparkle evident in its depths. “Matilde, can you hear me?” Somehow he had a feeling she was keeping track of them. Before they’d left, she’d made it clear that she intended to manage the project personally on her side of the mirror. “I thought you were going to ask Snow White for better accommodations this time,” he said.

Had he imagined it, or had the little talisman glowed brighter? He watched it for a minute thoughtfully.

“If we are in the time when Wolf’s parents die, I know it’s going to be hard for him. Hard for Virginia too. I just want you and Snow White to know, this isn’t easy for me either.”

The light in the talisman sparkled brighter again.

“Good. So long as you know.” Tony thought again. “I guess I’m not used to Virginia being married yet. She and Wolf are a complete unit without me. It was easier back in Wendell’s castle when I was Inventor to the King. At least there I thought I was useful.”

The talisman glowed again.

“Yeah, I know. You think I’m still being useful. But tonight, tonight I just feel alone.”

An especially long sparkle of light emanated from the little mirror this time.

“Well,” Tony said, sighing, “at least I’ve got you to talk to.” He rubbed the surface of the mirror with his thumb. “Good night, Matilde.”

The mirror sparkled back in reply.

Tony burrowed down into the blanket and closed his eyes. He wondered if the mirror had really sparkled in answer to him. Or had it simply caught one of the stray beams of moonlight that were reaching into the lean-to? Either way, he continued clutching the talisman as he fell asleep.