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."
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"I don't want to go."
"Aerith …"
As Elmyra sighed, Aerith took a few half steps backwards, away from the church piling full of people with wrongness crawling under her skin at the thought of joining them. It was Sunday again, a day Aerith had been dreading since the days started to mean something to her. Previously, days were marked by plans to see people, in her personal week there were many days booked by long visits to Edea and Zack, and now they were days fearfully counting down until the Sabbath.
Her maid grabbed her hand and tugged at her, a confrontation that Aerith feared was to become commonplace, Elmyra's eyes were hard, "Every good Catholic has to be in church on Sunday, girl, it's tradition." At her insistence, Aerith's feet were dragged a few paces forwards.
She slipped her hand out of her grasp with a pinch to Elmyra's wrist, and as she gasped in outrage at her gall Aerith rushed to speak; "Edea doesn't attend church meetings, and she's a Catholic, why can't I do it privately too?"
"I've had just about enough of your insolence, Aerith." Elmyra rubbed at her nose, exasperated, Aerith felt trickles of guilt lick at her as a tired, worried face appeared behind the hand. "I've told you before, and I'll say it again; it's what's expected of you, and the sooner you do what is expected the sooner you'll find a good place in this town."
Tucking her arms behind her back, out of reach, Aerith meekly replied "I don't think I'm ready for that yet … can't we try next week?"
"You said that on the first Sunday," the older woman grumbled. "You're making a scene, girl, now come along-"
"Is there trouble, ladies?" a new voice asked, Tseng stepping out of the background and into their conversation with blessed timing.
Aerith turned to him, relieved for the distraction and for his presence. Elmyra wouldn't dare drag her with a witness around! "Not really, I was just explaining to Elmyra that I'm not ready for a Church ceremony," she got her word in first, hoping against hope that Tseng would understand.
Elmyra was cross "Ready or not, it is not a matter of choice!"
Tseng glanced between them and cleared his throat with a small degree of awkwardness, "I have a suggestion, the Vicar has some smaller prayer meetings in the afternoon, not many people attend, and it would not be as daunting to a newcomer." He took Aerith's hand "If you don't mind, Mrs, I'll escort her there later so you can worship without worry."
Aerith was about to object to the fact that Tseng was asking Elmyra's permission for her as if she was her keeper, but Elmyra had taken his free hand in a solemn shake and a suggestive smile on her face as she glanced between the pair of them.
Aerith felt worry build in her gut as Elmyra said, "Very well, I'll leave her to you, take care of her, young man." She ran off with a wink in Aerith's direction, and Aerith blushed with indignity and a touch of anger.
When she was inside the church, Aerith pulled her hand from Tseng's grip sharply. "Thank you for helping me, Tseng, but I am my own person, and you don't ask my maid for permission for my day," she turned and walked off, intent on going home and reading her troubles away.
Tseng, however, kept pace with her "I'm sorry it seemed that way, I only wanted to assure her I wouldn't be a bad influence on you."
"She shouldn't need that …" the girl sighed, rubbing her arms up and down, feeling cold without the cloak around her shoulders – it was at home, locked in Elmyra's closet because it wasn't suitable for Sundays. She recalled her panic when it wasn't hanging by the door, and the dismay when Elmyra revealed its location. Her precious gift had been robbed from her, and she had almost wanted to cry but knew she had to save face.
Elmyra had become so different and strange in this town. Isolated in the hills where she had worked with three other maids in her Father's house there had never been such behaviour. The freedom of the hillside, no Churches or Catholic events other than their maids' private sessions to which Gast dedicated an entire room to for their comfort, the Cetra had been all Aerith had known, and the Catholics had tolerated them and left them alone. What had changed?
"Before we moved here, she was never consulted for my wellbeing, and she may have worried quietly about me, but her opinion never needed quelling for me to live my days."
"She cares about you," Tseng argued.
Aerith's shoulder's slumped "I guess you're right … but it makes it harder for me to talk to her now … we used to be so close, when my Mother was with the other women she would let me draw, or let me help polish the shiny objects in the house … she was very kind to me, she listened to me. That's why I liked her."
Before they turned down the road to Aerith's house, Tseng caught her elbow "Aerith, would you like to meet some of my friends for lunch? We've been relieved of Sunday mass to finish the lumber needed for a new building, and they're curious about you."
Tilting her head so her braid fell over her shoulder, she asked "Curious about me?"
He nodded "You're not often in the town so they haven't had a chance to speak with you, and they'd like to."
Aerith put a hand to her cheek as she thought it over. It was true she had been out of the town area more than she had been in it, and that was probably why she knew so little people. She bit her lip as she thought of how unsociable that sounded. But who could possibly be interested in her? Surprised by the thought, she had to admit that she was interested in meeting these people who were desperate to make her acquaintance.
"Alright, I'll go, but let me pick up a book from my house first," Tseng agreed with her compromise and waited outside while she took a boom and broke into Elmyra's closet. The nails lifted out of the hinges, and the door fell with a bump onto the floor.
With a small bubble of defiance, she donned the red cloak, happy to have its comforting weight again, and scooped up one of her Father's books into her basket. After checking everything was exactly where she left it, and that her breaking and entering hadn't disturbed her Father's studying (he was fast asleep at his desk), she went to reunite with Tseng. Stepping outside she smiled, "Okay, I'm ready to go."
Tseng looked at her cloak in surprise, double taking almost animatedly. "Wow, a real Hunter's cape!" he touched the edge of it, glancing and hesitating long enough to get Aerith's permission, examining the colour and the hardiness of the material and its weatherproof warmth. "I've always wanted one of these."
Aerith smiled, turned so the fabric waved in the wind like a Princess's skirt, "It was a gift. But whatever would you want a hunter's cape for?"
"Because then I'd be able to join Genesis as a Hunter."
Quickly paling, Aerith squeaked, "What?"
Tseng's expressions were minimal and subtle, but pride shone in his eyes along with bloodlust that unnerved Aerith, who had never had something or someone she despised enough to plot ills against. With a proud expression, he explained to her "It's been my goal ever since I was a boy, to be a Hunter. They always come back from their wolf hunts empty handed, I just keep imagining being the one who finally makes a difference against the demon wolves."
Aerith whimpered in horror. There were no wolves, there were only people like Zack who could become wolves at will – they would be killing people, killing Zack – Aerith clutched a hand to her heart to try and suppress her panic. "Oh the poor things!" she whispered raggedly, her voice thick from the horrible image of Zack shot in his wolf body.
Tseng looked surprised at her reaction. "Poor things? Aerith, they attack people."
"From what you've told me, it was only one time!" she argued, hands firmly against her collarbone as her breathing hitched and tripped "No living thing is savage by nature. If those wolves came into the village, then there was no doubt a good reason for it!"
The young man still looked surprised, but his face was slowly becoming the painfully familiar patiently patronising that Aerith was quickly coming to despise.
"Aerith, look, they're not ordinary wolves. They didn't attack the village because they wanted to, they were summoned by a Witch, who hated the people of the valley. When the old village tried to defend itself, the Witch set the wolves on the people and a fire burnt down many houses." He glanced at the mountain "Whether they had good reason to hurt those people or if they are just savage, it doesn't matter, they can be controlled by evil forces and so they must be removed so they can't ever hurt anyone ever again."
Aerith shook her head slowly.
"What's a Witch?" she asked, hesitantly. She had heard of them in passing, but the topic existed almost solely in Catholic circles, so she had little knowledge of the details.
Tseng blinked "You don't know what a Witch it?"
Aerith crossed her arms, a little impatiently "I've heard Catholic folk whispering about them, but my people had no such thing."
"Oh." The raven haired woodsman's response was flat, Aerith was unimpressed. He began to explain after a moment to gather his knowledge, "They're the Devil's mistresses who do evil for personal gain or for the love of other's suffering."
"Are they people?" Aerith inquired.
Tseng gestured that they begin to walk and talk, and Aerith stepped by his side and listened as he explained it to her. "They used to be before they made a pact with the Devil and slept with him. They sell their souls, blood and other parts of their being for unnatural powers, and it could be anyone weak enough to be tempted into sinning for Earthly rewards. A Witch is usually an old woman, someone a little different, a little feeble or lonely and intent on causing trouble wherever she goes, someone who's not loyal enough to God to be rewarded with good fortune. Sometimes she's not alone. She may have an imp as a pet, and I've even heard stories of many Witches working together to bring down ships and cause storms over the sea," he shuddered.
Aerith blinked, startled that these individuals were credited so much power, she felt a little worried just imagining such a powerful, vengeful woman like that out there. "Is that possible? I've never heard of anyone using magic to influence the elements, my people always tended to the plants and brought life to desolate places. That was always our magic."
Shrugging, he gave a vague phrase about God and the Devil's power that Aerith didn't understand.
Tseng pointed towards the old village "Years ago, my Father told me, there was a hard winter, the hardest in years and many went hungry because the Witch, who was living in the trees, had cursed the warehouse storing the food to let in the rain and spoil the grains. My Father said she was a Witch that was disliked and everyone knew her. People who were there don't like to talk about it, but we do know that she escaped into the forest and was never seen again after the attack." He looked at the mountain with a hint of fear "My Father used to tell me 'never go into the woods or the Witch will get you' to get me to behave."
He continued after clearing his throat "I'd like to think that we're better than savage hunters, but if we can't guarantee that the wolves won't hurt us ever again then we have to remove them, it's that simple."
Biting her lip, imagining a scary old hag cursing the village and the heart-breaking image of Zack getting slain or mauling another, she quietly whispered: "It's still not right …"
Zack won't do that, would he?
In her mind, the gears turned, ten years ago Zack would have been a teenager like herself, well able to fight and to remember. He hated the village, and wanted nothing to do with it, and he could become a wolf. She couldn't believe that he would just blindly attack people who were defending themselves from a Witch. But, surely he would have said if a Witch had taken control of him, Zack was so free it couldn't have been forgotten if his freedom was suddenly shackled.
"It's … it's just how things are."
Grasping at straws, Aerith asked "If you could solve this another way … would you?"
When he didn't answer, her heart dropped and stayed low in her chest for the rest of the day.
Aerith sat in the kitchen of her house later, staring at the rose she had brought down from her room and brooding over what Tseng had told her. She had barely paid attention to his friends, not that they had paid much attention to her either – there was so much work to be done it should have been a given that Sunday was just another work day and not an exception – eventually, she had feigned fatigue and gone home.
Oh, Zack, you wouldn't … she pleaded in her mind, not believing that he could blindly hurt someone without provocation. She clung tightly to his sweet nature, and gentle eyes to erase the thoughts of an angry predator, inhaling the scent of the rose as it faded from its glossy pink glory. The petals were creased with lack of water and turning brown at the edges.
Aerith stroked the petals sadly "If only you never had to wither …"
She glanced around to check that not even her Father was around, and kissed the rose to try and prolong its life with her magic. The rose didn't respond, and Aerith finally admitted to herself that the plant had finally died and was fading.
It was starting to become dusk outside, Aerith longed to go and find Zack and get her reassurance that he was a good man like she so desperately believed in the face of multiple accounts of wolf attacks, but knew it was too late – what were the chances that he'd be in the woods when she entered near night time?
Elmyra entered when the sun was kissing the mountain tops, Aerith nodded at her absently, too troubled to think of something kind to say. Zack can't be a killer, I can't believe it. She recalled how he told her that the villagers lied and hid their past, but he hadn't been transparent about it either …
"Aerith!"
The girl jumped "Yes?"
Elmyra sat before her, eyes worried "Are you alright, girl? I've been calling your name for the past minute before you heard me." She put a hand on her forehead "Are you sick?"
Aerith shook her head minutely "I'm tired."
"Did that Tseng boy tire you out?" she asked, a bit confused.
Shrugging, Aerith went back to admiring the rose petals "He took me to see his friends, they're quiet, like him. We didn't talk a lot, but they're polite boys." She pulled a hand through her bangs and covered her eyes, "There was a conversation I found a bit upsetting, that tired me out because I could see how wrong it was and was frustrated by their beliefs."
Elmyra set a warm cup of tea before her and spoke over Aerith's murmured thanks. "What did they say, girl?"
"They believe that they must hurt the wolves to survive, but the wolves haven't been seen in years, and they still make plans to destroy them," she looked up at her maid with large, sad eyes "Isn't it wrong to wish such horrible things on an innocent creature?"
Elmyra nodded, pursing her lips and taking a moment to think about Aerith's dilemma. Ultimately, she offered her opinion, "Innocent animals wouldn't pose a threat. We were not there and have not had the fear of an attack hanging over our heads, I'm not sure we can tell them what to think."
Aerith sighed "They've not met a wolf …"
"Neither have you." Elmyra scolded, Aerith bit her lip as she thought of Zack. Well … not a regular wolf.
"Who gave you the rose? It looks old, have you had it a while?"
Aerith held it up "A charming young man gave it to me the second time I met him," she admired it for another moment before holding it out for Elmyra to see "He's been very kind to me, I … I believe he's a little sweet on me." Blushing, she admitted her hopeful secret aloud to her friend. She hoped she had been reading Zack right because she was quite taken with him. With his pretty eyes and free laughter, gentle touches, and his understanding – never belittling her, never doubting her intelligence.
Elmyra's face turned playful "Well, my, my. You lucky thing, I've noticed too, he's quite the handsome chap."
Aerith raised an eyebrow slightly "But you haven't-"
A loud knock at the door interrupted her. She stood up when Elmyra sighed and made to move first, "Let me," she insisted, quickly letting the older woman rest her knees and feet to open the door. Praying, from her experience, really hurt people's knees. She pulled the handle off the latch "Oh, hello, did you forget something?"
Tseng stood there, looking as composed as ever, the odd birthmark in the middle of his face making him look symmetrical and blank. He cleared his throat and put a large basket of firewood by the door "This is for you and our house, Reno ruined good timber today so we've repurposed it. There's so much I thought I'd give you some."
Aerith smiled, "That's very thoughtful of you, I'm sorry I didn't speak much today, my mind was occupied."
"That's fine, I was a bit occupied too." Tseng glanced away, his nose turning bright red in the dim light of dusk. Aerith was about to ask about his well-being when he produced a large daisy from his fist, awkwardly presenting it on his palm, it rolled slightly, and the stem looked bruised from constant fiddling. "I meant to ask you earlier, will you accompany me for a stroll on Tuesday?"
Aerith blinked, picking the daisy up with the utmost care, the question making even the air in her lungs brittle. Oh dear, I hope he doesn't mean what I think he does. "A stroll?"
Tseng pointed "There are footpaths over the hills, excellent views, perfect for, um, walks. Would you-"
"I'm sure she'd be delighted."
Aerith's shoulder was bumped upon Elmyra's sudden appearance at the door, her maid had rushed to stand there. Elmyra's eyes were shining, and she had a fast hold on Aerith's shoulder, so tight Aerith was losing feeling in it, she looked both pleased and excited.
"Elmyra!" she protested in a whisper, her heart sinking when Tseng's attention turned to the maid instead of her.
"I could come over at noon, I'll have her back before it's late," he promised, bowing slightly to the older woman with the pledge.
Aerith held a hand up, she would not be spoken for! "Wait a minute, I'm not free Tuesday!"
The two glanced at her, Elmyra looking surprised, "What's happening Tuesday, Aerith?"
Aerith crossed her arms. "Edea and I are having a meal with her family. I was invited especially because there was going to be an important guest there who wanted to meet me. Edea's daughter and son from the city are making the journey especially for Tuesday, and I've promised to attend," she glanced between them, glad that her possible date was foiled by the kind herbalist's invitation.
She cleared her throat and adopted a kinder look for Tseng, who was looking disappointed, "I'm sorry, but Tuesday can't be done."
"Monday then," Elmyra smiled "I know you're free then, it's market day. I'll have her ready Tseng." Aerith's jaw dropped in outrage, but Elmyra's hand on her shoulder tightened so her protests were lost to a gasp.
Tseng bowed slightly and left with a smile on his lips when Aerith didn't compose herself in time, she had not agreed to this!
Aerith shut the door and whirled on her maid "What was that? You can't go about deciding my days for me, Elmyra!"
Elmyra opened the door again and brought in the forgotten wood basket "He's a good-looking, responsible and hardworking young Catholic, why would you have objections in the first place?" she asked happily. Her face was glowing and her hands putting away the wood with not even a tremor to acknowledge the fact that she was out of line.
Hands flying to her face, Aerith tried to restrain her screams "I do not like Tseng like that!"
"Oh, liking will come with time, I'm sure by the time he's asking for your hand you'll realise what a smart match this is."
Aerith sobbed "I don't want to get married …"
Comforting hands patted her back into a hug that Aerith was not entirely able to resist. Her old friend sighed "Not right away, dear, but you surely don't want to be alone all your life? No husband? No children?"
Aerith shook her head "No …"
"Let me help you, child. I'll help you to be happy if you could just listen to me."
Aerith couldn't look her in the eye "I don't want to go with Tseng tomorrow … I want to go to Market and see Angelo, I want to bake with Selphie for Tuesday …"
Elmyra sighed "When we grow up, we realise we can't always have what we want. And Tseng looked like he was so looking forwards to taking you on this date, are you going to upset and disgrace him by not attending like he's hoping? Poor boy would think he was at fault!"
Shaking her head slowly, feeling worse and worse for wanting to stand him up despite her deep want to not go, Aerith agreed to join him.
She quietly asked Elmyra to change the subject, which was a mistake as she inquired how prayers with the Vicar went, to which Aerith admitted to not going. She was sent upstairs without supper, Aerith went up the stairs two at a time, dropping the daisy in exchange for the dying rose and curling up on her bed with the crimson cloak for comfort. She wept into it, distressed and fuming but unable to find a solution that would not upset her two friends who expected so much of her tomorrow …
The lone, sorrowful howl that came every night singled the rise of the moon, and Aerith silently matched their wails of despair and resentment.
DOUBLE UPDATE DOUBLE UPDATE DOUBLE UPDATE THIS WEEK!
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