Mary Anne Gruen - The House of Red

Since the fall of the Second Kingdom, more trolls had joined the battle and one additional giant. This new giant’s name was Ramos. He was a younger giant with closely cropped brown hair and a pockmarked face.

During the celebration over the fall of the Second Kingdom, young Ramos had talked his compatriots into dressing and arming themselves more like soldiers. In their earlier attacks they had thought their size alone would carry the battle. But except in the case of Spider, it had not.

“If we gonna take the Nine Kingdoms, we gotta do it like real soldiers,” Ramos told the other giants. “We need armor and shields and swords and battle-axes.”

The other giants agreed to the armor and shields but preferred battle-axes over swords. It was hard to hit small targets with a sword. Better to stick with battle-axes only and not weigh themselves down too much.

“Fine!” Burly said. “Dress like soldiers. Just remember who is in charge.” He meant himself, of course. But Spider the giant had other ideas.

“Yes!” Spider said. “Remember that I am in charge. Since I conquered the Second Kingdom, I am clearly the greater warrior. I will tell the other giants what to do. Burly, you can be boss of the trolls.” Then he leaned down and gave his troll ally a particularly nasty scowl.

Burly got the point. “Yes!” He accented his words with a swipe of his battle-ax. He was carrying the weapon all the time now to show everyone how tough he was. “Spider will boss the giants. I will lead the trolls!”

Of course Burly’s two siblings pulled him aside the first chance they got to remonstrate with him.

“What do you mean, you’re in charge of the trolls?” Blabberwort said. “The only reason the giants are cooperating with us is because I’m supplying them with Dwarf Moss and Magic Mushrooms. If I cut off their supply, they’ll go home. Then where would you be?”

“And me,” Bluebell said, “I was the one who gave us our first real victory by making that girl Virginia disappear.”

But Burly was unimpressed. He shoved his younger siblings aside with his battle-ax. “Now that the giants got a taste of success they’ll fight without your Moss and Mushrooms,” he said.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Blabberwort said.

“And our people already forgot about our father’s murder,” Burly continued. “What counts is that I won a big battle. I will now be leading the fight on two fronts as we begin to attack the Sixth Kingdom. I am clearly the greater warrior,” he said, quoting Spider.

“Or the one with the biggest ego,” Blabberwort said.

“Yeah,” Bluebell agreed.

“You took the Second Kingdom because they were rotten fighters,” Blabberwort said.

“Yeah,” Bluebell agreed.

“Now that you got it, let’s see if you can hold onto it,” Blabberwort had said.

The next morning, the giant Ramos went to the border of the Sixth Kingdom, where he would need all his youthful energy. Queen Leaf Fall had overnight sent one battalion of elves to each of the threatened borders, including that of the Sixth Kingdom. So when Ramos marched up to the border with his regiment of trolls, there was a team of elves in the air and throngs of Ice Maidens on the ground.

The Ice Maidens always dressed in gowns of ice gray that matched their ice gray hair. Their main source of weaponry were magic arrows made of ice. After imbedding themselves in the body, they melted and leached out an irritating toxin. The toxin was powerful enough to make a human sick. But it was clearly going to take a lot of them to defeat a giant with a shield and a battalion of trolls dressed in armor. By the end of the day, things seemed to stand pretty much at a draw.

The First Kingdom’s day of battle was also pretty much of a tie. The redheaded giant Marron had a better time of it with some of Blabberwort’s troll troops targeting the elves and wolves. But of course, Blabberwort still had to hold back the bulk of her trolls for night battle. So, even though they retook some of the ground from the day before, they lost it again by evening.

The Fourth Kingdom’s troops had the worst of it because they were now fighting on two fronts. Hoban the blond bearded giant and his troll ally Bluebell hammered away at half of the border, while Spider and Burly hammered at the other.

All of Wendell’s troops had to fight. There was no time off for anyone. As the day wore on, the trolls and giants pushed Wendell’s forces backward into the Fourth Kingdom. If not for the two troops of elves attacking the enemy from the air, they might have been in serious trouble.

Wendell promoted Lieutenant Burke to a Major and put him in charge of the human troops at the border with the Third Kingdom. It was a quick promotion, jumping him over the level of Captain. But it was war and Burke needed the authority to lead half the troops. With him served Rose’s new aide, a young wolf by the name of Kobza. His rank had been named as Sergeant, since he was still very new to his command position. Meanwhile, Wendell and Rose, who had been promoted to a Major also, watched over the border of what had been the Second Kingdom.

Demetrius the hermit giant wasn’t supposed to join Wendell’s forces till the next morning because of the remote area of the Eighth Kingdom that he lived in. But King Cole’s troops arrived just before dusk. Wendell’s men cheered them as they marched up. But Rose’s wolves greeted them with uncertain stares.

The first thing Wendell did was to explain to Cole’s Captains how they had been running the battle. He called them under the branches of a bare oak tree not far from the fighting and showed them a map of the two borders.

“During the day the elves attack from the air,” he said. “And the wolves distract the giant so the archers can get a better shot. At night, the enemy is made up entirely of trolls. We’ve found that our best defense is in leading with our part-wolf soldiers as scouts. They can scent out the trolls before our human soldiers know they’re there.” He turned to Rose and introduced her as the Major in charge of all the wolves. Several of King Cole’s Captain’s raised their eyebrows, but no one said anything. “She will demonstrate the two most important wolf calls you will hear. The others you will learn over time. The first is a long howl. This is very important. It means a scout has detected a large group of trolls moving through an unguarded area. Go at once when you hear this call. Otherwise the trolls may break through our ranks.”

Rose demonstrated the long howl and the Captains who had raised their eyebrows were now shuffling their feet.

“The second most important call is what I call the two yips and a yowl. This is used to notify our troops that a band of trolls is approaching. Most likely through a guarded area. It is a simple warning to be ready. Rose, please.”

Rose demonstrated this too. Now the Captains who had raised their eyebrows and shuffled their feet were exchanging wide-eyed glances.

“Excuse me, your Majesty,” one of the shuffling Captains said. “Do you mean that we and our men are to take orders from wolves?” The look on his face told everyone that he couldn’t imagine anything more horrible.

Wendell knew he had to deal at once with this challenge to his and Rose’s authority. He sauntered boldly up to the Captain. “Can any of your men scent the approach of a troll moving silently behind a blind of shrubbery from a distance of a hundred yards or more?”

“Well, no your Majesty.”

“Are your men fast enough to run in and out between the feet of a moving giant without getting crushed?”

The young Captain’s eyebrows went up and down. “Not in our armor.”

“With or without,” Wendell said dryly, “I doubt they could do it. My last question is the most important one. Do you want this army of trolls and giants to crush the Fourth Kingdom and then head for the Fifth?”

“Of course not, your Majesty!”

“Good. I don’t think King Cole would have liked any other answer. The truth is, we would have gone down like the Second Kingdom without the help of the wolves. And they have taken the greatest casualties because they always put themselves at the front of the fighting. So!” Wendell started moving in on the young man till they were almost nose to nose. “When you hear these calls, you will know that you’re hearing them from a very loyal comrade-in-arms and immediately act on them. Am I right?”

The young Captain didn’t understand how fast the world was changing. A short time ago King Cole had refused to endorse the proclamation honoring wolves. Then just last night, he reversed himself entirely. There had even been an announcement that morning from the Council of the Nine Kingdoms. It had been delivered by an array of elves and stated that a quorum of the ruling body of the Council had discovered that the original attack on Red Riding Hood had actually been part of a private feud. How was anybody to keep up with all these changes? He didn’t like it, but he said, “Yes, your Majesty.”

“Fine,” Wendell said. “Half of you will be sent to serve under Major Burke at the border of the Third Kingdom. And half of each group will be fighting during the day, with the remainder fighting at night. Dismissed!”

Wendell stood and looked each of Cole’s Captains in the eye as they departed, commanding each to take heed of his dominance or suffer the consequences.

When they were alone, Rose turned to the King and said, “You know, you would make an excellent alpha wolf.”

“Thank you,” Wendell said, pulling himself up to his full height.

But this little altercation did not solve the problem. During the night’s fighting there were several run-ins between Cole’s soldiers and Rose’s part-wolf scouts. And because of that, Wendell’s original troops didn’t get as much rest as they’d hoped for. That included Rose. She devoted herself to answering the long howls that signified the trolls' advance through unprotected points. There were several of them that night. The trolls were taking advantage of the exhaustion of Wendell’s troops and the lack of cohesion with Cole’s soldiers.

A confrontation between Rose and one of Cole’s men was bound to happen. And it did. Rose was bounding toward the scene of yet another troll break-through when, on the way, she ran into three of Cole’s soldiers and commanded them to follow her.

“I don’t follow no wolf,” one of the privates said.

“But the trolls are breaking through,” Rose said. The long howl for help sounded again in the distance.

“So, you say.”

Rose walked up to the private, coming almost nose to nose with him as Wendell had done earlier. The moonlit field they were standing in was bright, but not nearly so bright as Rose’s yellow eyes. It was less than a week till the full moon now and she was entering the strongest time of the month for her. “Do you have a family?” she asked the private.

“Yeah. What of it?”

“Do you look forward to having them tortured by trolls or eaten by a giant? That’s what that advancing army will do unless we move now. I am your commanding officer. And I am ordering you to follow that sound because there’s a group of trolls moving through our lines right now!” She pointed in the direction of the howl with her sword, the moonlight glinting off its silvery side.

The private moved backward a couple of steps, but the shadows of hatred on his face remained.

The two men with him, however, were not so immune to reason. They ran off in the direction of the howl to do their jobs.

“So,” the private said. “What’s the difference if they get killed by trolls or by wolves? I heard that announcement the Council put out today. But I don’t believe it. You can’t trust a wolf no how. The only good wolf is a dead wolf. And you, you’re just a dirty she-wolf, not fit to lick my boots.” With that, he spit at her.

Rose’s temper was not as controlled as it might have been at other times. She growled and smacked the private across the face with her free hand, her nails scratching him.

The private wiped his face and felt the dampness of blood. “Dirty wolf!” he said. And he tried to hit her with his battle-ax.

Rose moved easily out of the way and knocked the weapon out of the private’s hand with her sword. Then, while the man was still off balance, she kicked him to the ground.

Two of Wendell’s men ran up at this point. They had been coming in answer to the howl and had seen the private raise his battle-ax. Immediately, they took control of the man on the ground and waited for Rose’s orders.

“Get him off the field and keep him under arrest till the King decides what to do with him,” she ordered. “I’ve got to get back to the battle.”

“Dirty she-wolf,” the private spat out as he was led away.

Wendell was notified some time later about what had happened between Rose and the private. He received the news solemnly, but inside he was furious. He had no doubt that an ordinary woman would be dead from such an attack. How could this private do it? Couldn’t he see Rose’s nobility and utter loyalty? Couldn’t he see her beauty and resiliency? If the man had been there, he would have challenged him to a dual on the spot. Instead he instructed that the private be returned to King Cole immediately with a list of charges and the suggestion of a court martial.

“Would you also tell the Major that I’d like to see her at her earliest convenience,” Wendell said.

“Yes, your Majesty,” Wendell’s aide said. And he was off.

Convenience. It was a funny word, Wendell thought. Who had any convenience during a war?

A short time later, while Wendell was writing some dispatches to his Chancellor, the aide returned, running breathlessly.

“Your Majesty,” the aide said. “I was trying to find the Major as you said. When one of the men told me he’d heard that she’d been injured and had stepped out of the fighting for a while.”

“What?” Wendell said, rising to his feet. His mind was full of terrible images. What if Rose’s injury was life threatening? Many of his troops had already died in this war. And none of their deaths had been easy. He couldn’t just let her die in some corner of the battlefield, a mere cipher in the numbers lost that night. He had to find her. “Where is she?”

“I was told she’s up north from here, straight along the border.”

This time it was Wendell’s turn to be off. He handed his aide the dispatch for his Chancellor to send by elf express. Then he sped away.

It didn’t take long for him to realize how silly it was for him to chase off without help. He saw a full-blooded wolf running by and asked if she could help. “I’ve got to find out how badly she’s injured,” he explained.

“Of course,” the wolf said. “It won’t take long to scent her. I know she was down near this cluster of poplars earlier. I’ll trace her from there.”

The King followed nervously as the wolf picked up her scent and followed it north. The trail led into a wooded area, mostly filled with hemlock. It was a comfortable distance from the border.

“I think she’s just ahead,” the wolf said.

“Go, find her,” the King commanded. “Make sure she’s all right.”

The wolf nodded. “I’ll give you a medium length howl when I’ve found her.” And she took off ahead.

Wendell kept pushing forward, his progress much slower than the wolf’s. When the she-wolf called, he picked up his pace still further. Finally he found them, sitting at the base of a very tall hemlock.

“Rose, are you all right,” Wendell said, snapping off the branches of the trees that were trying to hold him back. “I heard you were injured. Do you need a doctor?”

“No, it’s just a troll bite,” Rose said with irritation. “It’s not enough to interrupt the war.”

Wendell’s relief was so great that he needed to lean against the trunk of a tree for support.

“I was just careless,” Rose continued. “A group of us jumped a band of five trolls and one of them bit me. I came here to put some ointment on it.” She patted the leather satchel next to her on the ground. Her sword was lying just to the right of it. “Troll bites can become infected so easily.”

Wendell sighed. Then he turned to the she-wolf that had led him and said, “Thank you. I’ll take it from here.”

The wolf panted her acknowledgement and left.

“I was concerned about you,” Wendell said, standing over her. That was putting it lightly. “I heard about your little run-in with that private from the Fifth Kingdom.”

“Him!” Rose finished bandaging her hand and threw aside her leather satchel with a growl. “He called me names and then spit at me. So I slapped him. Then he threatened me with his battle-ax and I kicked him to the ground. I just totally lost my temper.”

“A lot of the men in my command would have done far worse with that provocation. From what I’m told, you only gave him a couple of scratches across the face.”

“It’s just we had a lot of problems with Cole’s men tonight,” Rose said. “Not all of them are ready to accept their King’s new proclamation or the Council’s new finding.”

“They will,” Wendell said, sitting down next to her. “Give them time. And to be fair, some of them are trying to make the effort.”

“Yes,” Rose said, grudgingly. “But, Cripes, he made me so mad. The trolls were breaking through and there he was being stupid.” She growled again.

“You know, I’ve never seen you angry. I was beginning to wonder if you were capable of it.”

“Stick around. The moon isn’t full yet.”

“I’ve been worried about you for other reasons too,” Wendell said. “You’ve been running yourself too hard. Ever since Carpathian left, I’m told you get very little sleep.”

Rose turned and looked at him. “You’re having me watched?”

“No. But let’s just say that I try to keep up with how my staff is doing. You’re very valuable to me. I can’t let you get so tired that you make mistakes. I mean, ones that are worse than getting yourself bitten.” He reached for her unbandaged hand. “I was really worried about you tonight.”

Rose looked into his moonlit face and saw that he meant it.

Behind them the sounds of war were beginning to tug at the edge of the woods, coming closer all the time.

“I don’t still stink, do I?” Wendell asked.

“I beg your pardon.”

“A while ago you told me that my scent was, well, kind of strong. And since then I’ve tried to watch my bathing habits.”

Rose pulled her hand out of his and fell forward laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Rose said, wiping the tears from her face. “You just don’t understand wolves.” She took his hand again and looked into his eyes. “What I said had nothing to do with how often you bathe.”

“No?”

“It just meant that I’m very aware of you.”

“Really? I’m very aware of you too.”

He squeezed her hand. And she squeezed his back. They were close enough to feel each other breathing. Wendell couldn’t resist her and he didn’t want to. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. When he pulled back, it was clear that they both wanted more. He started to gather her into his arms when the long howl of a wolf was heard just south of them. The trolls were advancing through an unguarded area.

“I’ve got to go,” Rose said, pulling away and reaching for her sword.

“Now?” he said.

She got to her feet and so did he.

“The war won’t wait,” she said. And she bounded off through the hemlocks, leaving him with her leather satchel.

“Oh, Cripes!” Wendell said, standing alone.