A.N.D. - Wolf Woods

Queen Red looked out the window of the ruined castle, trying to see through the woods around her by sheer force of will.

The castle-more of a fortress, really-was ancient, dating back to the wars before the Five Women unified the Kingdoms. Some forgotten King or Prince or Emperor had ruled here once, although “here” probably just meant only the land within arrow-shot in each direction. Most of the structure had crumbled to rubble centuries ago, but every now and then Queen Red or her soldiers used it as a stealth fortress. It was very conveniently located a few minute’s march over her border, hidden in forest so thick that the plants barely showed how many people had marched over them.

This was where she would have run if the attack on Wolf’s Gate had failed. The brave men she had left behind knew the secret paths that led here, so it was a good rendezvous point. She and her soldiers had made good time in their retreat, so all that was left was the waiting.

One of the least-wrecked rooms had been roughly fitted up as a royal chamber. There were a couple of pillows, a hastily-scrubbed, ancient table, a small pot of steaming tea... and five intrepid wolf puppies tumbling around, followed anxiously by their kidnapped nursie.

“Jim, stop that!” the girl was saying, trying to discourage one of them from chewing on the table leg.

Red blinked in surprise-not at the chewing, one puppy or another had tried to eat everything along the way, from her sleeve to the basket they were carried in-but because she had started to think of that one as “Nibbles.” And the one sleeping on the tattered carpet was Waggles, and there was Tubby sniffing along the walls, and Little Licker sitting up, and Mr. Fluffy was trying to climb into her lap.

They’re not pets! They’re WOLVES! Maybe if she was reminded of what these little balls of fuzz would turn into she wouldn’t become so attached. “You have my permission to change to your fur form in order to watch over them better,” she condescendingly told the nursemaid.

“I-I-I can’t,” she stuttered. “I’m just a part wolf. You have to be a full wolf to change forms.”

“Oh.” Red thought about that novel concept for a while. “Then are they going to turn into babies?” She didn’t want to deal with five whining little brats-puppies were so much cuter!-but if that broke their spell over her, she’d accept it.

“No your-Susie, stop that, no! No, your majesty, they can’t change. Jim, put that down! They’re too little yet. Pure wolves can’t change form until they’re at least a year old.”

“Oh.” That was a relief!

Wild howling echoed in the distance over the treetops, and all the wolves looked with interest at the window. The puppies tumbled over to add harmonic little “ooooooo!”s to the noise, but the nursemaid’s face turned pale as a ghost.

Red’s blood froze. The parents! They’d killed her soldiers and come for her! “What is it?”

The nursemaid was shaking her head in disbelief. “News from New Sanctuary. They say that Wolf of Wolves is no hero. They say he hurt his cub. That can’t be true! It isn’t true!”

“Hurt the cub?” Without meaning to, Red started to cuddle Mr. Fluffy. “What kind of animal would... What am I saying?” She pushed the wolf cub out of her lap, standing up to be at her most regal with the nursemaid, who knelt instantly with a gulp of fear. “Wolves are animals, aren’t they? I came close to forgetting, but I remember now. So much for Wendell’s precious hero and that misguided pardon! Nobody will obey the Puppy Prince if he continues to shield an infanticidal maniac!”

“No wolf would-“ the nursemaid started to protest, then quailed into silence as Red glared at her.

“Be ready to move back into the Fourth Kingdom on my command,” Red coldly ordered her guard. “Wendell needs our help.”

“Liege Lady?” her startled guard asked. “Aren’t we at war with Wendell? When he finds out about...”

“Nonsense!” Red rubbed her hands with glee. “Wendell will doubtless need aid from someone who knows wolves as they really are if he wants to restore his kingdom. I’ll march in to help him regain order. Half his army are wolves! He’ll be as helpless as a senile old man while my army will be a marvel of unity and strength. And the best part is, when it’s all over, he’ll owe me tribute for protecting him from his own folly. Money enough to solve all our problems, rolling in for a generation!”

Tony clung awkwardly to the pommel of the military saddle, not so much riding as holding on for dear life as his borrowed horse followed the other mounted soldiers.

They jounced at a breath-taking trot a short way along the street, then took a sharp turn into a field cleared out of the woods. Across the field, near a dark stand of trees, what looked like tumbled piles of clothing and torn-up scarecrows lay scattered about. Between them and the woods was a huge, green mass.

Tony jumped off and ran the rest of the way, although he was quickly sorry he’d been so anxious to hurry. Those weren’t rag bags or scarecrows, they were people. More accurately, they had been people. Now they were ragged, red shreds.

He’d seen a terrible car accident once. The driver had gone through the windshield and thrown several yards along the pavement. This was worse. Tony stumbled back, hands over his face, trying not to vomit up everything he’d eaten for the past week. There were flies and bugs starting to buzz around...

“Lord Anthony, sir, over here,” one of the soldiers called, pointing at the green thing.

Who could care about a plant when... He only looked because it gave him something else to see than the bodies. It was a viney kind of thing, with odd flowers and big and little orange dots and big... were those squash or pumpkins or what?

Then he noticed the feet sticking out. Trying not to think of Little Shop of Horrors, Tony shouted “Over here! Help me!” and started digging through the leaves and tendrils.

Above the feet was a blood-soaked skirt, and above that was an even bloodier blouse, and above that...

“Elizabeth! Littlebit!” Tony shouted, trying to drag her out. She was so terribly pale, soaking in blood that hadn’t even started to dry yet. Oh please, oh please, let her be okay...

Soldiers grabbed her gently but firmly, trying to slide her out from under the plant. Her legs and chest came away easily, but something stuck before she was clear. Captain Carew gingerly felt up her sodden, limp body, pushing greenery aside, only to whistle in surprise. “Look at this, sir,” he said in wonder, showing the vine wrapped tightly around her upper arm.

“Snow White protect us, it’s evil magic! It tried to eat her!” One of the soldiers started back, and the others stared wild-eyed around, starting to back up nervously.

“Whoever heard of a homicidal pumpkin plant?” Sebastian asked, squirming under the plant to take a closer look. “She’s been stabbed, but that won’t account for all that blood. See how far it’s splattered? That’s one of the big blood vessels gone.” He frowned at the soaking clothing. “Judging from the patterns, it’s the artery right...” his finger traced backwards from her blouse to the center of the twined vine, “there.”

“Is she dead?” Tony was afraid to hear the answer.

Captain Carew bent to put an ear next to her mouth, then peeled up an eyelid. “No, but she’s close. Any more blood gone and not even a fairy godmother could bring her back.”

“A fairy godmother,” Sebastian echoed. “Tony, what was in the charms that Cinderella gave Virginia and Dell?”

“A seed. From her...” Tony looked at the plant in dawning understanding. “From her pumpkin coach! But Elizabeth didn’t have one of the pendants. Just Virginia and Dell.”

“And Dell’s missing.” Sebastian burrowed deeper into the plant. “I think I see... Ow!” A pumpkin grew from a bud to a huge gourd in seconds, dropping viciously on him. The plant heaved, crawling on its own to twine around the half-wolf, wrapping him up and bodily ejecting him with a thump.

“Are you okay?” Tony helped him up and brushed him off.

“For a second I could smell more than just vegetation,” Sebastian said. “I think the cub’s in there. Just let me try again...” As he moved towards the plant it waved threateningly, throwing a pumpkin at him. Sebastian yelped as it detonated across his toes.

“Hold your ground!” Captain Carew shouted, although he was backing up only slightly less slowly than his soldiers.

The things I have to do in this nuthouse! “That’s my grandson you’ve got in there, Audrey Three, and you’re going to give him back!” Tony shouted, rolling up his sleeves and marching up to the overgrown weed.

The plant shuddered, drew in on itself, then opened like a flower, the vines opening out from the center and lying on the ground. From behind a huge pumpkin in the center of the plant where the growth was the thickest, two large, blue-green eyes peered warily at him.

“Dell!” Tony stumbled in a rush over the uneven plant, almost tripping onto the baby in his haste. The infant was wrapped so securely in tendrils that he was almost mummified. Tony went for his knife, thought about what Sebastian had said about Elizabeth’s arm, and just gently put his hands under the baby instead.

With an odd sort of vegetable bow, the plant dropped Dell into his grasp, most of the wrappings falling away. The rest parted from the main stalks with a pop, leaving one arm, one leg, and the baby’s tail securely splinted.

Now that the leaves were out of the way, Tony could see newly-healing cuts and fading bruises. First Virginia, now Dell-will I spend my life being just in time to save the children I love? Except he hadn’t been in time this time. Not even close. Tony cradled his precious grandson to his chest, rocking him, as thankful, frightened tears squeezed under his closed eyelids. “Thank you, fairy godmother,” he whispered. “Thank you for saving him.”

When he opened his eyes again, nothing was left of the pumpkin plant but a few vines twined around Dell and Littlebit, a golden chain, and two pieces of broken glass.