Circle Of Sisters
11. The Forest Lady
Apple trotted calmly through the disenchanted forest and Virginia silently praised the horse for keeping her head. Behind them on the forest road, various woodland folk kept pace with the party. They remained hidden for the most part and little movement of undergrowth or branch betrayed their presence. Virginia shifted in the saddle to look back at Elias as he rode some dozen feet behind her and Wolf. His face was grim, his mouth a flat determined line as he bore the attention of the followers. As she watched, Virginia saw yet another pine cone come flying out of an overhanging tree. It was aimed well, but Elias saw it coming just in time to dodge his head, but his horse snorted in fear as the cone whacked on it's rump. Virginia sighed in annoyance, getting Wolf's attention.
"Wolf, can you speak to them again?"
"I've tried love. You know I have. But I'm just the Warden here, not their master. They don't answer to me and they know it. We're nearly through, just a few miles more" Wolf replied, a little louder than usual so that the beseiged Elias would hear it.
"Would it work if I spoke to them? He doesn't deserve this Wolf"
"They're afraid, Virginia. They saw what happened, his transformation, and those that didn't have probably learnt of it from hearing the typical exaggerated tales. But they know he's not part of this world. He's like an introduced species that they have no defenses against"
"I know, I know. But it's not fair that he bear the brunt of it when I..."
"Hush! Don't say such things, not here!" Wolf cut her off, waving his hand in her direction to silence what she was about to say. Well, he was probably right to do so, thought Virginia unhappily. If they knew that the werewolf had propogated itself already, and that she herself was it's newest offspring, she could well imagine the response. And they were afraid, she could hear it in the frightened whispers as they rode. Look there, it's the monster-wolf! Run and hide, get the children. Drive it away, make it go! No, don't provoke it, fools! It can change into the monster at any time. Virginia continued forward with a heavy heart. She had come to think of the forest as a friendly place, her status as the mate of the Warden giving her special unhindered access. Now, it was full of eyes, peering at her in close suspicion. How could they not see what she was? She startled as a small forest brownie dropped out of an overhanging branch to land on Apple's forelock. It was a rarely seen creature, dressed in twigs and leaves and standing just a few inches high. It hopped up and down, speaking in it's high-pitched voice. Virginia had to shake her head at it solemnly. She didn't understand brownie speech, but the voice itself was so high it was hurting her newly enhanced ears.
"It wants to know why we ride with the monster-wolf" said Wolf's deep rumbling voice as he nudged his horse closer to Apple. Virginia turned to smile her thanks, before leaning forward to speak to the brownie.
"We're taking it away. To make it safe" she said. It nodded it's tiny leaf hat at her as if it understood but then it responded with another ear-splitting round of speech. It worked it's way down Apple's mane before dropping to the ground and disappearing down a small hole there. She blinked then and the hole and all traces of it had vanished.
"What did it say?" she asked Wolf. He blushed a little as he answered.
"Ah, you probably don't want to know dearest. He, ah, lets just say he doubts our intelligence, even for giants like us". Virginia laughed suddenly as the absurdity of the whole situation hit her. Wolf joined her, and back down the trail, even Elias chuckled grimly and Willem beamed as he had all along. Virginia halted her horse to allow Elias and Will to catch up.
"Elias, I am sorry, truly. I had expected there to be some reaction, but I didn't think it would be like this"
"You have nothing to appologise for Virginia. They fear me, and rightly so. I'm used to it. Even in the wilderness where I lived in Canada I was an outcast amongst the creatures of the natural world"
"But they didn't throw things at you, or call you nasty names"
"True. But, I did go to Kindergarten as a child"
"Oh, yes, I remember Kindergarten! Don't we all?" Virginia replied, pleased to see that even Wolf was nodding along to the conversation instead of scowling as he had been doing whenever Elias had spoken. Willem smiled broadly at his brother.
"Yes, well, if we ever end up in the Second Kingdom we'll all understand what name calling is about" he said.
"Really, why?" Virginia asked, curious.
"Well, in the north especially, which is where the Red sits on the throne, wolf's usually dare not ride so openly. And you, Virginia, would be as much maligned for keeping company with us. Some parts of that Kingdom even I would not go, and I'm as quick and wily as any fox"
"And yet the Second Kingdom is the traditional homeland of wolfs and half-wolfs, as I understand it. Why do your people submit to such autocratic and unfair rule?" Virginia continued. She had met the 'Red' Queen of the northern second realm, at the ceremony honouring the newest heroes of the Kingdoms. Well, if one could call a bare nod of acknowledgement as having met someone. Virginia had thought the woman looked troubled at the time, but the scarlett dressed queen had left the palace within hours and Virginia had given little thought to her since. Willem shrugged in response to her question, but Wolf answered in his stead.
"It's because we're such a scattered people. We form our loose knit communities, but we have no leaders amongst ourselves. Certainly we have our status as alpha's and the like, but the idea of one single wolf ruling over all the others and deciding their fates, this is an unknown concept to us. And so we don't understand how the human system works and they can take advantage of that. As they have in the Second Kingdom. Besides, we're always the bad guys and most of us would have to admit that we all take advantage of that!" Wolf chortled as he spoke the last part. Virginia smiled to see him relaxed once more and hoped it would continue. And she wanted to know more about wolf-human relations in other parts of the Kingdoms. But Wolf was looking ahead, down the trail now and Virginia heard him hiss in that soft way he had when he was surprised. She glanced over to where he had focussed his attention and saw on the very edge of the trees a strangely familiar figure.
The old crone, the beggar woman who they had met in the forest more than a year ago, held up her hand as they approached. Virginia studied her closely as she drew near. On their first encounter, Virginia had later guessed her to be none other than Snow White herself, taking a guise to help her onto the right path. The old woman's crinkled eyes were firmly fixed on Virginia now, as if the others had been dismissed from her mind. Yes, my sister. Virginia found her voice, reaching out to touch Wolf.
"Take the others ahead a little ways Wolf. I'll catch up with you". Virginia fully expected him to protest, but to her surprise he just nodded meekly and led the others away up the trail. But he stayed within sight and sound of her. Virginia noticed that the trees were thinning out. Soon, they would be leaving the forest and arriving at the Little Lamb Village. She swung her leg over the saddle to slip lightly to the ground in front of the beggar woman. She thought momentarily about searching through her saddlebags for some food for the woman, but stopped herself. This lady was not begging today.
"Where are you headed this day, young woman?"
"We are bound for the Little Lamb Village" Virginia answered truthfully, wondering what sort of lesson the old crone might offer her today. The lesson of the three sticks had been lost on Virginia until well after events had passed. In hindsight, it had become clear. The sticks represented Virginia, Tony and Wolf, who when together were unbreakable, despite being easily snapped when apart. It had been an unusual lesson to have received, thought Virginia with sudden clarity. After all, had not Snow White urged her to go on and make things happen by herself? To step out from under the protection of Wolf and Tony and affect things? The crone stood patiently whilst Virginia mused.
"This village, is it your destination, or the beginning?"
"I don't know"
"You don't?" the crone asked, wrinkled face peering from under her hood. Virginia knew what the crone meant though. Her heart ached suddenly with distress.
"You ache for your child, don't you? What mother would not? But you would do anything to protect her, wouldn't you? You know that you cannot now live with your child in safety and so you seek to return to yourself" the crone spoke in an oddly lilting voice. Virginia felt her thoughts grow cloudy for a moment before clearing like disturbed pond water.
"Am I on the right path, sister?" she asked, although she knew the answer already.
"You know that you are. Here, take this" the crone said, offering Virginia the thin outer branch of a nearby sapling. Virginia twined it between her fingers. "Now, bend the stick as far as it will go" the old woman instructed. Virginia did so, bending the green stick back almost so that it was doubled over on itself. She could feel the strain on the pliable wood, but it did not break. She released one end at the crone's nod and the branch whipped back to it's original shape. Virginia smiled at it. She thought she knew the object of this exercise at least, but the crone herself offered no explaination as she turned to go. Virginia called after her as she melted back into the trees.
"Why is all this happening to me?" she called softly. "No, wait. Don't answer that. I'm not sure I want to know" she added as the crone turned back to face her. The sun dappled light caught her face as it creased with a crooked smile.
"Ah, so you are becoming wise! I had my doubts about you Virginia! But you know now, don't you, that you live in a land where all of reality is a story in itself, so why would you want to skip through the very last page when you've only just started chapter two? That would take all the fun out of it, yes?" chuckled the crone. Virginia found herself laughing as well. Of course, it would help on occasion to know just how many chapters one would have to live through to get to Happy Ever After, she thought with good humour. The shrubs parted to allow the old woman to disappear back into the forest. Virginia stooped to place the green branch on the forest floor next to one of the woodland giants, a huge elm that swayed gently in the non-existent breeze.
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Wolf backtracked down the trail to where Virginia stood as if in a daze. She stared at an old tree, then at the ground in front of her, then back again to the small bushes where the old woman had vanished. She shook her head slightly and laughed softly to herself. Whilst it was good to see his Virginia smiling again, Wolf couldn't help but worry that the stress of the past weeks had finally begun to catch up with her. She looked whole, and healed of her physical injuries, but how was her mind coping with all the changes forced upon her? More than ever he just wanted to scoop her up and take her home, keep her safe and loved for the rest of their lives. But that would only delay the inevitable. She was a werewolf now, destined to transform under the next new moon, if her and Elias' guesses proved correct. And they were only guessing. The truth was that neither of them knew just how and when. Their particular curse gave them no insight into their own nature, it seemed, which was in itself an odd situation. All creatures (excepting most humans, of course) knew instinctively their own selves, even if they gave it little concious thought. Half-wolfs were born knowing almost all the wolfcraft they would ever need, how to scent, stalk, to sense where the moon was in her cycle, how to interact with other half-wolfs. These strange lycanthrope creatures knew nothing, not even their origins. It was no wonder that the witch's spell had failed on Elias. He didn't even understand what he was asking to be removed. Wolf was trying to keep his doubts hidden for his beloved, but secretly he wondered if there would ever be a cure.
He forced a smile to his lips when Virginia ceased her musing and turned to him with a beam of her own. He held out his arms to her and she came willingly into his embrace.
"Ready to go, succulent girl?" he breathed in her ear. "If we hurry, we can be in the village just on nightfall".
"Hmm, sounds like a good plan" she answered, pulling away long before he wanted to let her go. Once back at the horses, the group mounted quickly and Virginia once more took up the lead. Wolf let his own horse hang back a little so he could ride with his brother. Plus, he could watch Elias, if he wanted to admit it to himself. Things had calmed somewhat between them, thanks to Virginia's determination and skillful manoevering of conversations, but Wolf had yet to think of the man as anything other than a monster. A monster that wanted his Virginia, body and soul. Elias' attraction for Virginia was easy to discern, and it hurt to watch. Wolf had once thought of Elias as his brother, and in the short time they had spent together before the incident, the man had come to fill the void in Wolf's life left vacant by his real brother, Willem. So, it hurt doubly to think of his human brother as an enemy, and one who would take Virginia if he could. Wolf drew alongside Will, their horses falling into step as they followed Virginia. At least with Willem, Wolf knew that his brother would follow wolfy etiquette to the letter regarding his behaviour with Virginia. One did not attempt to break up a life-bond in wolfen communities. But humans, they were another matter. They stole each others mates all the time. Wolf jumped as Willem snapped his fingers under his nose.
"Stop thinking so much, you look like some dumb human!" he huffed in mock annoyance. Wolf sighed but fought the urge to tumble his older brother out of the saddle for a good old wolfy thrashing. But he was infinately glad that Will had tagged along on this mission. They still had a lot of catching up to do and they'd had precious little peace and quiet to do so. Almost as if he had read his mind, Will turned to look Wolf up and down as they rode.
"So, what's with this village then? Every time Virginia mentions it's name, you get this weird look on your face. I take it you've been there before, so what happened?"
"Tut tut tut. Don't you know your history then? I thought you said that you'd heard the story of the 'Four Who Saved the Nine Kingdoms', and that's what prompted you to come and find out if it really was me they were all talking about"
"Well of course I heard it, foxbreath, but the version I heard did gloss over some of the finer details. Only part I recall was the bit about Virginia winning a beautiful shepardess competition and Tony unmasking what the Peeps had done to the magic well, and something about some hussy shepardess called Sally..."
"Really?" Wolf asked in some astonishment. But how typical for the human storytellers to omit the more gruesome details, especially regarding their own behaviour. The version doing the rounds of wolfen communties would be quite different, he guessed.
"So, what happened?"
"She was murdered. Sally Peep, she was murdered, by her own grandfather. But guess who got the blame?"
"Not you!" Will replied, looking insulted at the thought, although Wolf couldn't tell whether he was serious or not. "Wow, what did they do to you then?" he continued. Wolf gazed ahead for a moment, recalling the turmoil of emotions at the time. Sidling his horse closer to his brother, he recounted what had happened that fateful day in that oh-so-innocent looking village. Afterwards, Willem rode with a suitably impressed look on his face.
"Well, that was a close one for sure! Not many wolf's have escaped the pyre with only seconds to spare like that. Perfectly amazing that it all fell into place at the right time, what with the dog finding the jacket and Tony getting the other Peep to confess. And good on Virginia for having a go at representing you at the trial. She must have been quite a sight taking on those villagers for you"
"She was remarkable, considering how much I had frightened her the previous evening"
"How so?"
"Well, it was full moon time, as I said. I guess I was trying to force the issue, but whether to kill her or mate her, I still don't know. Maybe both. You know how it is. But she was having none of it. She stood her ground that night, and the next morning as well when I all but told her what I was going to do to her. I don't know still why she just didn't scream and run"
"Just as well she didn't"
"Oh yes. If she'd run, I'd have hunted her down for sure. But the blundering Tony came in just at the right moment and I was able to run myself. It's remarkable that I remember those little details, even now. I was totally moon-mad, uncontrollable. It was the first time I'd been able to let the wolf run free since I'd been out of prison. And that evil queen bitch was urging me on at every turn"
"Phew. So it was a close call for both of you then"
"Very much so. And then I blurted out all about our own parent's pyre, not guessing that I'd be facing that very same thing the next day. And all I could think about, when I stood there waiting for the brand to come down on the wood, was that Virginia, my sweet girl, she must really love me, because no-one cries like that, the way she did when she thought I was going to die" Wolf said slowly, hearing in his mind those piteous cries. Wolf! No, stop this, please... Willem had been silenced by his tale, Wolf saw. He felt tired, worn out, ready just to lie down in the long grasses and sleep for a week. Not long grasses, but pastures. He glanced from side to side, seeing belatedly that they had ridden right out of the disenchanted forest and were even now approaching that outskirts of the village. Ahead, his acute senses picked up the sights, scents and sounds of human habitation. Will rode tall in the saddle by his side and Wolf unconciously imitated his stance. That's right, no need to slink and scurry through any village, not any more. He was a hero of the realm, was he not? Beside him, he heard Will draw breath and mutter appreciatively in wolfish.
"Hmm, nice sheep they have here. Tasty or what?"