Mary Anne Gruen - The House of Red

Tony never did show up in the diningroom for lunch. After Virginia and Rose were finished eating, they went to the room Virginia had stayed in the last time she’d been at the castle to discuss wedding attire. Her father had told her that King Wendell had kept the room ready just in case she returned.

“The only thing I can think of wearing is the white gown I wore the last time I was here,” Virginia said, “King Wendell had it made special for me for the banquet he gave in our honor. It’s probably still here.”

“That was very nice of him,” Rose said. “What color is it?”

“A creamy white, with a very fitted bodice and a full skirt.”

“Let’s take a look.”

Sure enough, the dress was in the closet exactly where Virginia had left it. It was beautifully elegant. And so different from the jeans and sweater top that she was still wearing. Considering the looks she’d gotten from some of the women of the court, Virginia figured pants were not considered proper dress for women in the Nine Kingdoms. But at least they didn’t seem to bother Rose.

“Here it is,” Virginia said, holding up the brocade gown.

“How lovely. Yes. I think it will make an excellent wedding dress. Why don’t you try it on just to see if we need to do any work on it.” Rose threw the leather satchel she’d been carrying on the floor by the door and put her simple brown jacket over it.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Virginia said. “It hasn’t been that long since I’ve had it on.”

“Just the same, I think you should try it on. Better to be sure. Do you have any shoes to go with it?”

Virginia pulled out a pair of satin cream shoes from the closet and quickly changed into the dress. Then she put her back to Rose so she could hook up the bodice for her.

Rose tugged at the dress and made a little growl. “Just as I thought. The bodice is about an inch short of closing.”

“Really?” Virginia asked.”

“No problem. I’ve learned a lot about the sewing arts because I favor both dresses like the one I’m wearing and pants, like you have on.”

“I didn’t notice any weight gain in my own clothes.”

“Well, this bodice is meant to be tight. That’s so it pushes the bust up. In your condition, it’s quite easy to grow out of it.”

Virginia turned and looked into Rose’s knowing green eyes. “So, you sense my condition too. It’s funny because I always thought it was the mother’s job to break the news to the father. But Wolf caught me totally off guard by being the first to know.”

“Wolves and a lot of other animals can sense the additional presence, especially when the baby is one of their own kind.”

“Wolf thinks it’s going to be a boy.”

Rose touched Virginia’s stomach gently with her freckled fingers and said, “He may be right. If you take off the dress, I think I can fix it. There’s a deep hem on it. So, I’ll just cut off a long swath of material and sew it to the inside of the back. Then, I’ll rearrange the hooks onto the extension. It will hardly be noticeable.”

“That would be wonderful. Are you sure you wouldn’t mind? I could probably get one of Wendell’s maids to do it.”

“No,” Rose said, touching Virginia’s hand warmly. “Let me do it. It’ll be my gift to you. I don’t have anything else to give you.”

Virginia smiled her thanks and fetched a sewing kit she’d noticed in the closet. Then she slipped out of the dress and handed it over. As Rose threaded a needle Virginia put her original clothes back on. “So you wear pants too. Not many women seem to here.”

“I do,” Rose said. Her fingers were nimble and delicate. They flew over the dress like little birds in flight. Rose gestured to the satchel by the door. “I have a pair of deer skin pants and a matching jacket. Long dresses are nothing but trouble when you’re walking in the woods. But they’re awfully good at covering up a secret tail.” She smiled impishly at Virginia, who knew just what she meant. Wolf was always struggling to keep his tail hidden.

“What I’d like to hear is the full story of how you and Wolf met,” Rose said. She was snipping material off the hem now and tacking down the edges to be sure it wouldn’t unravel. “The story I heard was pieced together from this and that on my trip from the Sixth Kingdom.”

Virginia told Rose the whole story from start to finish. How Wolf had originally been sent by the Evil Queen to recapture Prince Wendell after he’d been turned into a dog. How he’d trussed up her grandmother like a turkey and threatened Virginia with a meat cleaver. And how, despite the less than stellar beginning they’d ended up falling in love.

Rose looked up from her sewing now and again during the tale, especially pausing over Virginia’s recounting of Wolf’s confusion about his wolf side and his human side. She stopped completely during the telling of his full moon problems in Little Lamb Village and how he’d almost been burned as a murderer.

When she finished, Virginia said, “You know, you’re a lot different than Wolf. You seem more centered, more sure of who you are.”

Rose was now attaching the hooks on the back of the dress into their new positions. “Well, I guess that’s because our lives diverged so much after our real parents died. Wolf was raised by two older pure-blooded wolves whose lives were consumed by thoughts of revenge on the human race. I don’t remember our real parents being that way and my foster parents certainly weren’t. Wolf was lucky to meet you. Having a good mate has made all the difference for him.”

“What were your foster parents like?” Virginia asked.

“My foster father was a wolf like my real father. In fact, they’d grown up together. My foster mother was human like my real mother. So, I had the opportunity to learn about both halves of myself. I wish Wolf had had the same chance. For instance, I don’t have any serious problems during the full moon. As long as my wolf side gets an airing, the full moon does little more than increase my energy and sharpen my instincts. It’s like, if you’re on a fast, all you can think of is food.”

“You mean, if Wolf tries to ignore his wolf side, it’ll just clamor for attention till it comes out and takes over.”

“Exactly.”

“It sounds like one of his self-help books.”

Rose laughed warmly.

“Well, last month, he did seem better during the full moon. I took him hunting in the mountains.”

“Excellent,” Rose said. “That’s exactly what he needs. To run free and get back to the land.” She was on the last hook now. “You know, also. In Little Lamb Village, the Evil Queen might have had some hand in how bad things were for him. You said she’d contacted Wolf several times in puddles of water. She may have intensified his reactions to the moon.”

“But she couldn’t make him kill anyone.”

“Of course not,” Rose snorted. Wolves are not killing machines. What they really like is to go on big hunting parties in the deep woods and bring down large game. Of course, when hunting alone, they’ll go for smaller animals. And if food is scarce, they’ll poach from a farm. But if wolves went around killing everything in sight, pretty soon there’d be no game left. And pretty soon after that, there’d be no wolves. No predator would be that stupid. From what I’ve seen, wolves kill mostly for food. And sometimes, like humans, they kill for revenge. There. I’ve finished. Why don’t you try the dress on one last time? Just to be sure.”

Virginia tried it on and it fit perfectly.

“It’s beautiful,” Rose said admiringly. You’ll make a beautiful bride.”

“Thank you, so much. For everything.”

Rose gave Virginia a gentle embrace from behind, letting her cheek come to rest against Virginia’s for a moment. They smiled at each other in the mirror.

“I only hope I can be as lucky in finding a mate as Wolf was,” Rose said.