Once upon a time, there was a Godly valley with mountains that could touch the sky and trees that cast long shadows. The people who live in the small mountain town are hardworking and happy, so long as they never stray into the forest where the wolves lurk in the darkness. Adults brave the trees in groups to hunt the vicious pack as they have for decades, the conflict is deep with no sign of victory for either side. But wolves are not the only threat, nor the village's only secret - and the link connecting them is a simple cloak of Red ...
Every night, from the highest peak of the uninhabited mountains, a single Wolf howls to the good folk of the valley – as a warning, as a message, and as a reminder of what they did:
"Beware, beware, the Path where the Witch once stood. Beware, beware, of the Wolf in the Wood."
Howling!
Edea glanced up as the sparks from the fire caught the new log in a golden grip, around her young ones slept or cowered in a mound of blankets as the haunting call of nature echoed past the rattling windows and doors.
"Wolves …" Edea whispered.
Cowering children inched closer with wide eyes on the door as if the woodland creature would enter at the call of its name.
"Matron, will it get in?" a young girl asked through the safety of her protective patchwork cocoon.
Edea, affectionately called Matron by the little ones, drew the shaking child closer and hushed her worries patiently. "No, child. The Wolves can't get inside the house," she reached into the blanket and pulled out their intertwined fingers with a playful smile "Because they have no hands!"
The child's trembling paused and her Matron planted a soft kiss on her forehead as she tucked her in securely. "You're sure, Matron, you promise it can't get in?" she fretted.
The kind woman plumped up a young boy's pillow and reached over to the fire to draw out a stick spluttering with flame. "I promise, child. I'll even cast a spell, see?" she waved the golden light slowly and let the children's eyes follow its path through the air "By the powers and love of God, The Son, and the Holy Ghost, I wish for no evil to come through this door!" With a dramatic whoosh the door boomed once against its hinges and then returned to a gentle rattle under the rain and cutting winds.
With wide eyes the little ones settled down to sleep, whispering comforts among each other and holding tight to the faith that their beloved Matron would keep them safe.
Edea kept an eye on the door and on the fire as the children nervously fell asleep one by one as they grew used to the howls that echoed from the sky and the mountain tops. It was a fierce storm and she too had fears of falling asleep to wake to a house without a roof just like the little ones. A disaster of any kind was likely here, and she prayed for protection.
She knew no magic other than that of prayers, charms and of a well-applied herb, but she hoped her incantation would work to calm the children's minds – as was her intention. Wolves rarely wandered down so far into the valley and even more rarely into the village, but she was aware that her house in the edge of the trees would cause the young ones some concern as they were surrounded by the territory said to be ruled by the creatures. Glad that her trick had worked its charm she counted the sleeping faces and was relieved to see that all of her clutch were sleeping soundly.
Taking the opportunity, she lay down too and closed her weary eyes to sleep through the storm, sending one more prayer that the house be undamaged and the little ones still safe for when they woke.
In the calm of the new day, mist drifted from the ground and muddy puddles trickled and pooled on roads and paths, as the dawn began to reach a crescendo of birdsong and light rays bowed down from the mountain tops a creature emerged from the trees, utterly silent.
Padding softly, the animal stepped onto the human's lands and approached the man-made den. The den was not the largest of the gathering of dwellings, three simple rooms with minimal openings and a single entrance all made of wood and the mountain grasses. When compared to the larger dens closer to the singing tree made of stone it was little more than a temporary napping spot. However, it was the only human shelter that resided in the safety of the trees and nothing short of an inferno of a forest fire could convince the animal to step out of their cover.
Alongside the human's den lay a patch of newly overturned earth, a behaviour that many humans exhibited, and there was a whole collection of various vegetation growing against little wooden sticks. The closer the animal came the more she saw and the more she discovered.
Golden eyes sought any sign of movement and any sound of human activity with sensitive ears. Sniffing the air that had been purged clean with the passing storm the animal concluded that the humans were inside and unaware of the presence outside.
The short few strides to the entry of the human's den were silent and cautious, one could never be too careful in the unpredictable woods, not even a predator. The doorway contained scents and the animal quietly inspected them for clues.
There was a lead female living here, like herself, and she had taken in several cubs, not of her blood and raised them as her own. This female had a Mother's Heart, she decided, much bigger than even a Wolf's to have guarded and provided for so many on her own, with no pack to help her and no mate.
To her satisfaction, the human cubs smelt healthy, fed and strong which helped her final decision. She lowered her majestic head and placed the bundle that dangled from her mouth down at the entrance to the den with great care. Her nose and ears detected that the precious bundle was stirring now and would soon need the care of the human female inside the den. She quietly acknowledged that their brief time together was to end just as shortly.
She nosed the cloth away and looked down at the helpless pink newborn she had carried loyally. The swaying of her walk had lulled the newborn cub to sleep, and the child was as quiet as her own cubs; through the long decent the babe had barely hiccupped and showed no sign of fear in the night or in the early dawn.
The babe felt the chill of her nose and large eyes squinted open in the dim light under the canopy. When the cub's eyes rested on her she looked back, her tail swaying in curiosity since her cubs were born blind, but this one was looking right at her. The child focused its bright eyes upon her and she wondered what it was seeing and why it felt the need to stare at her in so much awe. It was so new in the world, nothing was familiar by noise, scent or touch to this human cub so she assumed that it could only stare as it knew nothing of the world yet. Humans were strange to her, which was it was best left to a suitable human Mother.
She lowered her great head slowly and as gently as possible as if this curious cub were one of her own, she licked the babe's chest over the heart and quietly wished it a long and healthy life, knowing that she would have no more part in it hereafter and that nature would take its course for better or for worse.
The small pink hands, too small and weak to grasp or hold, ran through her soft pelt and the human's watchful eyes widened even more. She licked the human's cheek and nuzzled a final time in farewell.
She didn't linger.
After checking the air once again that predators and other dangers were not nearby, she left. Her paws padded silently back into the trees and she soon vanished from the clearing and from sight as her pelt blended with the light peeking through the leaves. Only the shallow impressions of her paws in the mud left any clue that she had been there at all.
Silence filled her absence, all wildlife had left in respect for her supremacy with even the song of the birds cautioned for her presence. It would be a while before enough distance and time had passed for normality to regain its senses and while the wait commenced the tiny squirming bundle slowly began to realise that it was alone.
At last, it began to make noise, calling and crying for the warm and soft touch to come back and comfort it in a big and scary place.
Although she heard its wails clear enough as she continued to stalk away she did not turn back to the howling human cub, it needed a human Mother and she had chosen this one to guard and provide for it. She followed a non-existent path away from the babe and back to the mountains, confident that her choice of Mother and of the babe's fate would be best.
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