It took some time for Charlotte, Vagatha, and Dolores to become used to living with each other but as the days passed, a strong bond developed between the three of them. Dolores grew to see Charlotte as a second grandchild and she in turn saw the kindly old woman as her own grandmother for she had never known her biological grandparents. As for Vagatha, she and Charlotte became closer the more they spent time with each other.
True Charlotte was more quiet and gentle while Vagtha liked better to run about in the meadows and fields. And in matters of housework, Charlotte preferred to do the cooking, the cleaning, and the sewing whereas Vagatha would rather chop wood, forge for their dinner, and tend to the garden. But despite their differences the children became so so fond of one another that they always held each other by the hand when they went out together, and when Charlotte said:
"We will not leave each other."
Vagatha answered:
"Never so long as we live."
And Dolores would add:
"What one has she must share with the other."
They had become sisters not through blood but through heart. Sisters who work together and play together and laugh together. They even complimented each other, like the rose trees in Dolores garden. In fact the old woman could not help but think that the girls were very much like the roses she grew. With Charlotte being fair and gentle like the white rose and Vagatha being blooming and strong like the red rose.
During the Summer that year the girls often ran about the forest alone and would gather berries or fish in the creek. Other times they would pick wild flowers and braid them into wreaths which they would give to each other or Dolores. On especially hot days they would climb the shady trees or just jump right into the creek for a quick swim. However they were always careful never to go too far into the forest or stray from the path.
When Winter came around they spent most of their time indoors, sitting by the fire on the hearth with their pets by their side. Charlotte would either be reading or doing her needlework and Vagatha would be trying to find something active to do whilst she was confined to the cottage. When the Winter days turned late, Dolores would sit before them in an old rocking chair and tell them one of her many stories. Stories that seemed outrageous when you heard them but Dolores swore that they were the God's honest truth.
"I hate the Winter." Vagatha groaned as she watched the snowflakes fall on the window sill of the cottage. "There's nothing to do in Winter except stay inside and do housework."
"But Vagatha you must admit that the snowfall is very lovely." Charlotte said petting Eli who was perched in her lap. "They almost look like dove feathers or white rose petals floating down."
"Looks more like shards of broken glass to me. I wonder how much longer til Spring."
"Enough whining." Dolores said sitting in her chair. "Even if it were Summer you still wouldn't be going out. It's the Hunter's Moon you know."
"Granny not that again. You know I never believed in it."
"Well you should because it's the truth and mark me, you'll be sorry if you write it off as myth."
"What's the Hunter's Moon?" Charlotte asked.
"Well Charlotte remember when I told you about alps? The nasty little shape-shifting creatures that like to cause trouble?"
"Yes. I thought that was funny."
"Oh child there's nothing funny about the alp and the Hunter's Moon."
"Here we go again." Vagatha said rolling her eyes.
"You hush up thinking that you know more than I do." She warned Vagatha. "Anyway alps are very clever and crafty things. Most of them cause trouble but mean no real harm as long as you leave them be. But years back there came one alp who was vicious, wicked, and blood thirsty. One who could change into the most feared beast in this entire forest. The wolf."
Charlotte listened to her words, completely intrigued.
"A greedy, gluttonous brute. One who comes in many disguises and preys on the naivete of others. He targets children mostly because they're easier to fool but adults are not spared from his appetite either."
"You mean he eats people?"
"Yes. He eats them so he can absorb their abilities like strength, speed, intelligence, beauty. But he also does it to assert his dominance over man."
"What does that mean?"
"They say that the humans did him wrong and because of that he now wishes to exceeded them as the dominate species. Inspire so much fear that they bend to his whim, plead for mercy only to be met by his ravenous jaws. He's plagued many lands for many years. Since I was girl if I was to estimate."
"How come no hunting party has caught him?"
"He's dangerously clever. He knows that many men hunt for him so he only feasts on the hunter's moon or when some poor fool has allowed him to get too close. Not to mention he's terribly skilled at changing his shape. They say no one knows what he truly looks like."
"But Granny how do you even know this thing is real if you don't know what it looks like?" Vagatha asked.
"I've seen his handiwork. It was years ago, back when I lived in Romania and when I was roughly around your age. I was neighbors with a young woman who had married a traveling man. On their wedding night my family asked me to deliver a gold brooch as a gift but when I arrived at their house the door was open. I went inside and I found them in bed but the groom had torn out the bride's throat. I screamed, he saw me, I ran and he chased me. As I fled I watched him change into the largest and most beastly wolf that ever lived."
"How did you escape?" Charlotte asked.
"I tripped, he had me pinned, but before he could strike I grabbed the gold brooch from my pocket and stabbed him in the eye with the needle. He screeched as though he had pierced by acid and it gave more than enough time to escape home. I alerted the villagers but by then he had fled and the poor bride was long dead."
"You said this happened in Romania?" Charlotte asked. "Why would he be here?"
"He never stays in one place for too long. He always travels. It's one of the many reasons why he hasn't been caught."
"But how can he still be alive? If you were a child when he was a grown man wouldn't he be dead by now? Or at least very decrepit."
"Alps do not age as we do. They age physically only after a decade has passed. I am fifty but he is most likely entering his thirties by now."
"Granny this sounds ridiculous." Vagatha said. "I think you're just making the whole thing up to scare us into not going out after dark or straying from the path. But you don't have to do that Granny, I'll never do any of that. I learned my lesson the first time."
Charlotte heard a sense of melancholy in her sister's voice.
"I am not making this up Vagatha." Dolores said. "Each word I have spoken to you is the truth and I am telling you this because he is not some dumb animal. He's a bloody demon and you need to be wary of him."
"How do we do that?" Charlotte said.
"Watch for these details. If he approaches you in disguise he will behave in a very charming manner, using flattery with his every word. He'll try to get you alone and away from those who can hear you. But the best way to know for sure is that no matter what form he takes, he cannot hide three particular features. His big yet pointed ears that almost resemble horns, his big yellow eyes, and his big sharp teeth. Remember these things as I have told you and you'll have a chance to escape him."
Suddenly Raphael began to bark at the door and Eli jumped from Charlotte's lap to hide in Dolores yarn basket. They could sense a stranger coming to the cottage.
"What is it Raphael?"
Vagatha looked at the window but she could not see anything through the snow storm. Then she jumped when she heard a knock at the door. The door was bolted so no one could get in without consent from the old woman or the two girls.
"Who is it?" Dolores asked pulling Vagatha and Charlotte behind her.
"Excuse my sudden visit." The voice of the knocker answered. It sounded like a boy. "But I saw the light coming from your cozy abode and I couldn't resist. You see I'm lost and I'm half frozen. Can I please warm myself by your fire?"
Dolores slowly grabbed her gun from behind her chair and slowly walked to the door. She unbolted the door and opened it. What stood on the other side caused the girls to scream and spring back
