A.N.D. - Wolf Woods

I’m sorry Littlebit had to miss this, Wolf thought wistfully. Tomorrow the Fourth Wolf’s furlough was up and Wolf and Virginia had decided to return to Wendell’s palace at the same time, with him as an escort. Wolf Haven was throwing a huge party in honor of “The Wolves of Wolves” to send them off.

Poor Littlebit would have loved it... if she’d managed to last this long. The cursed, scared little mouse she’d turned into would have never managed to pass even the most basic of challenges to earn a little respect. Either the curse had to be broken or Littlebit had to find a protector. Wolf peeked at the various Wolfs sitting to either side of him on the platform of honor. Some of the males had not yet picked a mate or had lost their mates. Perhaps one might take Littlebit? He’d try to talk to some of the nicer ones; Littlebit might not be much in a fight, but King Wendell wanted her to work for him, and that made her politically valuable.

Gifts lined the edge of the platform. Each of the Wolfs had brought something for Wolf or Virginia from their family pack, making a big presentation of it before ascending to sit with them. Most of the items were for the baby on the way, although there were also new traveling outfits for both of them, baskets of bread, jam, and dried herbs, and a barrel of Wolf Snout Stout.

Once the pack gifts had been delivered, the general populace lined up to greet them, give them individual presents, and ask for autographs. Virginia got many pieces of hammered silver jewelry, one of which was still marked ...operty of Queen R... if you knew where to look.

One woman bowed low as she reached them. “I have no physical gift to bestow. So I shall give you your fortunes.”

Virginia shifted uncomfortably. “This isn’t some fairy godmother thing, is it?” she asked, warily wrapping her arms around the cub on the way.

The wolf woman shook her head. “I am no fairy godmother. I am part gypsy, and can tell a fortune as well as the queen of my camp could.”

“I thought gypsy wolves stayed with the gypsies,” Wolf objected, startled. If this woman was allowed to return to the wolves, perhaps the band that had Littlebit’s child would give it up to them! A darker theory crossed his mind. “You didn’t trade your way out, did you?”

She shook her head. “My freedom was won by the Huntsman’s crossbow; one day when I was hunting, he found the camp and killed everyone. Only our queen could curse, so no one in the hunting party could force me back when I left.” The woman came up on the platform, sitting cross-legged before them. “That queen was my grandmother. I have her far-seeing gifts. Gypsies have taken so much from wolves, it’s right for an ex-gypsy to give back to wolves. I offer your fortunes, that you may know your blessings and avoid your dangers.”

“I’ve had my fortune told already, thank you very much,” Virginia dismissed her. “I didn’t believe it last time.”

The wolf woman smiled slightly. “Did that stop it from being true?” She reached out to touch the piles of new jewelry. “Silver protects the wearer, but silver will not keep you safe. You have been given more powerful talismans, yes?”

Virginia’s hand flew to the two glass pendants underneath her blouse. She’d been hiding them ever since she came to town; no one should have known what was around her neck.

“Give one to your child at the moment of birth. This is important, Lady Wolf! A shattered glass will save your baby’s life, a seed will keep him safe. At the moment of birth, remember! Do this and know that you will soon reach your destiny.”

“What is my destiny?” His mate’s voice was sarcastic, but she still clutched Cinderella’s gifts.

“You will be the fairest of them all, Lady Wolf. That is your destiny.”

As Virginia puzzled over that, the wolf woman turned to him, and Wolf couldn’t repress a shiver. The last time he’d asked for a gypsy fortune, he’d wanted to hear about a pack of children and instead gotten a prediction of his own death.

The gypsy wolf squinted at him and gasped. “You have been touched by greatness. The Five Great Women have left their mark on you!”

“I... no... it was just a dream!”

“Women like that do not appear in just any dream. They had something important to say. Think of it. Remember it.”

“The dream is my destiny?”

She was climbing down now, bowing low as she reached the ground. “Lord Wolf of Wolves, it is the destiny of us all.”

That got everyone’s attention! “What did you dream?” “What did they say?” “What is the prophecy?” “Our fate? What is our fate?”

Wolf held up his hands, batting at the air until the shouting turned into excited mutters. “If I knew it was that important, I would have paid more attention!” That got general laughter, but the gypsy wolf only smiled enigmatically.

“You do remember. You have not forgotten anything,” she reminded him.

Even Virginia was staring at him. “You had a dream of the Great Women?”

Wolf shrugged.

She nudged him. “While I was here last time, Snow White talked to me in my dreams.”

The Great Wolf, the big silent one who’d invited them into the Council and who turned out to be its acknowledged leader, made a gracefully encouraging motion. “I would like to hear this dream if it is to be the destiny of wolf kind.”

Wolf squirmed. “It was kinda weird.” Great Wolf’s steady gaze, however polite his expression, didn’t brook contradiction, and Wolf sighed.

“It was all muddled up. In my dream I was back in the palace, when I got the pardon. My parents were beside me, as I wish they could have been.” It hurt to remember that that part was a dream. Many wolves in the crowd nodded, Marigold among them-too many wolves had been orphaned as he had. Collecting himself, Wolf gestured at the crowd before him. “There was a line like this one. I looked up, and THEY were there.”

He was telling the story very badly, but they all hung on his every word.

“Queen Red was the first.” A general growl greeted the name. “She said she would give me my name, so that my people would know me and listen to me.”

Great Wolf snorted wryly. “King Wendell is our liberator, but I do not see him sitting in our Council as you do. So, her gift is your title, Wolf. Double-Wolf. Wolf of Wolfs.”

“Who was next?” someone further down the line of Wolfs asked.

“Cinderella. Something... something about a trait we had in common.”

“You and CINDERELLA?” Marigold’s voice dripped scorn and he had to struggle to remember the dream instead of challenging her. Oh, of course!

He glared directly at Marigold, trying to catch her eyes as he said, “She gave me the power to rule over those who made fun of me, just as she triumphed over the sisters who made her a servant.” There was general snickering, but Marigold had no time to try to snap at him. The second in command of her pack was ambitious, so she had to stare him down lest he challenge her right there.

Great Wolf distracted the crowd from Marigold’s problems. “And next?”

The dream was coming back to him more clearly now, as if he’d just woken up from it. “What Gretel the Great and the Lady Rapunzel gave me were for my great adventure. They said they would give me the attributes we had in common. As we all know, Rapunzel survived being locked up for a long time, although not in prison, and Gretel killed an evil witch.”

“That leaves one.” The crowd quieted respectfully as Great Wolf asked, “What did she give you?”

“She gave me… something real, something that can be touched.” Wolf looked at Virginia in wonder, then stood to announce to the crowd, “I know what I will ask Wendell to do for us. I know our destiny.”