You are exposing us.”
Rapunzel tried to pull away, but Red’s grip was too strong. “I do not care. I’m going on my own. I say bugger the prophecy.”
“What prophecy?”
“Never mind. Leave me be. I will make it on my own.”
“You are drunk and being right stupid. Any man here would rip you apart. These are not gentlemen.
They will not ask for your permission.”
“I have seen worse things in the castle.”
“But here, there is no Master to protect you. There will be no one to stop them if they go too far.”
“And you will protect me, dear Red?”
“Not likely. I’m just saving Wolf the trouble.”
Rapunzel shook her hand off. “Piss off. I will do you no favors.”
Red shook her head in disbelief. And they called her stubborn. Red gestured to Rapunzel one more time. “I just have one more thing to say.”
Rapunzel bent down to her. “Quick, what is it? I do not want to keep my adoring fans waiting.” She grinned lopsidedly at the jeering crowd.
Red threw a punch. It landed square across Rapunzel’s jaw. It was a good solid punch.
Rapunzel’s eyes rolled back and her knees buckled under her. She fell. Red caught her before she could roll off the table. She heaved her over one shoulder.
Rapunzel was heavy, but Red was strong, and her urge to retreat from this pub was even stronger.
The crowd parted for her. They knew when to admit defeat. And this little red-haired sprite had gotten the best of them.
Wolf was waiting for them at the door. He opened it for Red. “Oh, good, she went easy.”
“Where were you?”
Wolf raised his hands. He held a loaf of bread in one and a whole roasted chicken in the other.
“Stealing us supper.”
They stepped out into the cool night. They went around back to the Inn’s back stairs. The stairs led to the rooms. They climbed to the second story. Wolf unlocked one of the doors. It swung open.
Red went in and tossed Rapunzel onto the bed. She did not wake.
Wolf closed and locked the door.
“What do we do now?”
“We wait. The Bears will come to us.”
“Can they be trusted?”
“Of course not.” Wolf sat in the chair and ripped off a piece of sourdough bread. “They are a family of criminals. But they will be useful allies if we can convince them to fight for something other than their own profit.”
Red tore off a chicken leg and paced the room. She gobbled up the meat in two bites, leaving nothing but the thin bone. She tossed it on the table and ripped off a piece of bread. “Too bad we didn’t have any—.”
Wolf reached under his arm and came away with a bottle of red wine. He set it on the table.
Red snatched it up. She looked lovingly at it. “’Tis not whiskey, but it will do.” She uncorked it and took a long pull.
Wolf watched her with awe and amusement.
Red noticed his look. It made her stomach flip. “Do not look at me that way.”
“How should I look at you?”
“With caution.”
Wolf laughed. “If you had not killed me by now, I do not believe you will.”
“I may not have exacted my revenge upon you, but that does not mean I believe all of your lies. I may still rid myself of you.”
Wolf bit into the chicken. He gestured with his drumstick. “There’s the door. Use it if you wish. I am not your keeper.”
She eyed him suspiciously. She took another long pull on the wine. She set the bottle down hard on the table. “I may just do that.”
Red went to the bed and lay down on her back. The movement caused Rapunzel to roll toward her. Red pushed her back over to the side. She put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes.
Wolf watched her and smiled. He took a pull on the wine. She would stay. He had never known her to run from a fight. And she would fight fiercely. She would never walk away from an opportunity to exact revenge on her captors. She would kill them for imprisoning her for a time, never knowing that they had been imprisoning her her whole life. He was unsure if he would tell her the whole truth. Maybe it was best for her to act under her own agenda, and not be burdened with the fate of the world on her shoulders.
“Wolf?” Red murmured. “What is the prophecy?”
He looked over at her. She was staring at him with clear green eyes. Like emeralds, he always thought.
“It’s nothing. You would not believe me even if I told you.”
“No, probably not.” She closed her eyes and tumbled into sleep.
Wolf watched her sleep. She was as still as a board.
The only indication of her slumber was the deep steady breathing, the twitching of her eyes under her lids. Her pale face was slack and she looked almost at peace. But Wolf knew she was not. Nor ever would be. He finished the last of the bread and leaned his head back against the wall. He struggled with it, but eventually succumbed to his own troubled sleep.
Red ran through the castle corridor. Her sword and shield were wet with fresh blood. Her own arm ached from the wound on her shoulder. Blood dripped down her arm.
She reached the ornate wooden door and pushed it open.
A guard advanced on her. She slayed him with swiftness and ease. He fell dead at her feet. She continued into the room. The room she remembered from her dreams.
They were there. The tall spindly men. The ones that looked like old withered willow trees. The Brothers Grimm.
They were talking animatedly with another man. A man with long black hair and glowing eyes.
Wolf.
Wolf turned to her as she rushed into the room. The guilty look on his face screamed to her. She stopped in midstride, sword raised.
The spindly man pointed at her. “Slay her! We paid you a king’s ransom to kill her. Now kill her!”
Red looked at Wolf, pleading in her eyes. “Is this true?
You have been hired to kill me?”
“Yes, once upon a time. But I would die a thousand deaths before I would ever see you dead.”
“That can be arranged.” The spindly man drove a dagger into Wolf’s chest, piercing his heart.
“NO!” Red ran to them, her sword raised high overhead.
Red bolted out of her sleep when a hand clamped down on her mouth. She struggled against the restraint, but to no avail. The man that held her was strong. She looked up into his wide round face.
He was bigger than any man she had ever seen. He was much taller and wider than Wolf. Her thigh could easily pass as one of his biceps. Hers were probably too skinny. His ginger-colored hair was long and shaggy, and his face was covered with a scraggy beard. His brown eyes were big and round, and to Red’s surprise, kind.
“Do not scream.”
He removed his hamlike hand. She smirked. “The Bears, I presume?”
He nodded. “Yup.” And with that he squeezed her at the base of the neck and she fell unconscious.
Chapter Thirteen
The cold sting of water jolted Red from her unnatural slumber. The big man had tossed a large bucket of it over her head.
“Wakey, wakey, sugar pie.” His voice was low and smoky.
Red spurted and spat as the water dripped from her hair. She stared wide-eyed at the man that dared to antagonize her.
A grand smile spread across his expansive face. All his top front teeth were missing. “Lordy, you are one feisty gal. You managed to kick me twice even while unconscious. Didn’t she, Pop?” He looked to his left.
Red turned her gaze. Standing with his hands on his hips, looking quite jolly, was an even bigger man than this one. He topped the other fellow by at least two hundred pounds and was a few inches taller.
“She sure did, Junior.”
She looked back at the other man. Junior? This man was a boy? “Let me guess, you’re Little Bear, that’s Papa Bear. So where’s Mama Bear?”
“Dead. God rest her soul.” Papa Bear crossed himself. “And you’d be best not to talk about her.”
Red nodded. “Sorry, no disrespect intended.”
She surveyed her surroundings. She was in a small, unfurnished room. The only chair, she sat upon. The walls were rock and the floor dirt. A room made for interrogation.
“Where are my… where are the others?”
The two Bear men looked at each other. A smile passed between them. “They’re in a better place, don’t you worry,” Papa Bear said.
“No matter what you do to me, I won’t talk. I can tolerate any amount of pain, even from the likes of you.”
The Bears started laughing. Junior almost rolled over with his guffaws. Red watched them in anger.
They were laughing at her bravado. But she would have the last laugh, when she escaped from their prison, after impaling them both with her sword, if she could find it. Her eyes darted around the room, searching for a weapon.
Junior came close to her. He bent down so they were face to face. Tears were streaming down his face.
“Easy now, sugar pie. We don’t want to torture you; we want to feed you. Clean you up. Give you a nice place to sleep.”
She looked agape at him. “What?”
“Wolf told us the ordeal you’ve been through. You are a tough little gal to withstand all that.”
Papa Bear looked down at her, a fatherly concern furrowing his brow. “I don’t think she believes you, Junior.”
“Nope, I reckon you’re right, Pop. Wolf did say she was as stubborn as a mule.”
Red looked from one to the other. What was this game? Where were the threats, where was the pain?
She was accustomed to that. This…this…fellowship she was not used to.
“Look, I’ll show you.” Junior took her arm and stood her up. She wobbled and he held her steady.
He walked to the door. Papa Bear opened it. They went through and down a dark dirt passageway, not unlike the castle’s dungeon.
As they neared another door, Red could hear voices. They were loud and cheerful. Junior opened the new door. A sweep of warmth washed over her.