“They wanted me dead.”
Wolf nodded. “Yes.”
“And they wanted my…my Granny dead.” She grabbed onto Wolf’s shirt. She pulled on the fabric.
Not to pull him down or to raise her up, but to hold onto something, tear into something. “Didn’t they, Wolf?”
Wolf looked down at her tortured face. He could see the knowledge already clouding her emerald eyes, dulling their remarkable light to him. But he had no choice. She needed to know. Even if the pain of it ripped her apart, and stole any chance of their being together. She deserved the truth. The rebellion would not survive without it.
“I was hired to kill both of you.”
The tears that she was holding in fell silently down her face.
The others watched in silence. There was nothing they could say or do. This was Red’s agony. It was hers to endure.
“The night before it was to be done, I decided I could not. Even I could not kill an innocent child. The rebellion approached me then. They told me of the prophecy and of you. The plans were changed. I was sent to kill your Granny. She had turned on the people of Germania. She was willing to sell you to the Brothers for the right to rule the kingdom. Of course, the Brothers would never see that happen. So I went through with the assassination.”
He grabbed onto her then. He cradled her cheeks in his hands. “And when I saw you cowering in the doorway, a child of such radiance and strength, I knew that I had made the right decision.” He rubbed his thumb over her pink scar.
“And the money. Did you keep your money?” Her voice shook with anger.
“Some, but most I gave to the church that raised you.”
“How generous of you.” Venom dripped from every word.
Wolf dropped his hands and backed away from her. “I could apologize to you for what I’ve done, but I know that the words would mean nothing to you.”
“You’re right, they wouldn’t.”
“Red, I understand how you must be suffering, but—.”
Red raised her head and stared vehemently into his eyes. “You understand nothing. Now I know why the Brothers hired you. Only a man without a heart could have done what you were hired to do.”
Rapunzel stood. “You are wrong, Red. The only reason you are alive is because he has one.”
“I hate all of you for doing this to me. I refuse to be the one. You can all get slaughtered without me.”
* * *
Red turned and ran out of the cave. Wolf turned to chase her, but Rapunzel stilled him.
“Let her go. She’ll be back after she has time to think.”
“How do you know?”
“Because if she’s not, we are all dead.”
Rapunzel turned back to the table and picked up a sword. She turned it, studying its weight.
Wolf stared down the cave entrance hoping to see Red’s form turning back. He saw only darkness, and heard the heavy footfalls of a galloping horse as it rode away from the hideout and into the forest.
He hoped all was not lost, but feared for the worst.
No one else had seen the broken look in Red’s eyes.
No, that look, that look was just for him.
* * *
Red rode until the tears on her face were dry and her body ached. She tried not to think as she rode hard through the trees. But visions came to her none the less.
She stopped by a small, trickling stream. The horse bent in to drink heartily. Red also dunked her head into the cold water, but not to drink. She tried to shock the thoughts from her mind. Banish them out.
Freeze them from her mind. But it was no hope. They came at her full force, pulverizing her mind to gray mush.
She lay back on the lush grass and gripped her head between her shaking hands. She let out a scream like a banshee wail. The horse skittered to the side, moving down the stream to drink, away from its crazy rider.
She opened her eyes and stared up at the brilliant blue sky. The sky suddenly turned to ash as a vision viciously slammed into her, tearing at her mind.
She was back in the castle.
She had just surprised her Granny, and was given the red apple to bite. She bit into it, and fell back into her Granny’s arms, eyes closed, feeling very sleepy. But she was not quite all the way asleep. She could still hear the voices in the room and see their blurry forms between the thin slit of her eyes. Their forms, their voices.
“How will you dispose of the mother?”
“You mean my other daughter? She will befall an accident just like her stupid meddlesome husband did.”
“No one will suspect?”
She laughed. “Of course not. I’m a respected member of the village community. Just a poor lonely old woman.”
“What about the girl. Will she not suspect?”
“Never. I’m her Granny, remember. She loves me dearly.”
The Brothers laughed. It was a cold and brittle sound.
“You are more ruthless than we ever hoped.”
“For what you are giving me, all of the kingdom to rule and immortality, I would sacrifice it all, even my beautiful baby girl.”
Her Granny laughed then, and hugged Red’s body closer. Red slipped into the darkness and spiraled down a black endless tunnel.
Red opened her eyes. The sky was still the brilliant blue of summer. Fluffy white clouds floated by, while birds swooped through the air. She took in a ragged breath.
Her horse stood over her. He looked down at her and nudged her with his nose. She looked up at him.
She reached up and patted him on his nose.
“You are right. There is no more time.”
She stood and grabbed onto the horse’s mane, stepping into the stirrup, and hefted herself on top of the roan stallion. She dug her heels in and galloped back into the trees.
* * *
Wolf sharpened the blade of his chosen sword. The Bears had a large supply of weapons. Blades of all shapes and sizes, crossbows, axes, and long valiant swords littered the top of the table. He chose the one with the green handle. He was unsure why the metal had turned such a color, but it reminded him of Red.
He knew she would return. She would never walk away from an opportunity to punish those who hurt her. She would return reluctantly, and with vengeance in her heart. Somehow, that had to be enough. He doubted she would accept her fate, and maybe they did not need her to. She would slay the enemy or die trying. She did not need more than revenge to put her in danger’s way. For hadn’t it been revenge that had met her survival all these years?
Hadn’t it been revenge that brought her to him?
Wolf lifted the sword and turned it, admiring its craft. He looked around the room at the others. Each prepared, picking weapons, practicing with them.
Rapunzel was in the corner, twirling a knife on her palm. He wondered if it was magic she was practicing. They would need some if they were to pass the castle gates without the notice of the sorcerer and his wicked sister.
It was also the entrance to the castle that was a problem, for they did not know where it was. Rumor had it that the entrance was cloaked in magic. Few had the knowledge to enter. He was sure that Red was one of them. If she did not return, they would have to enter the way they had escaped, through the water canals. But it would be almost impossible. They would have to swim upstream, and if the hole they had escaped out of were covered, how would they know where to stop?
Wolf lowered his sword and stared down at it. A shadow passed over him. He looked up at Rapunzel.
“We are not defeated, Wolf.”
“No, not yet.”
“Do not talk as if it is already over.”
“You talk as if six against a hundred is a reasonable request.”
“We are more than just six. You fight as if you are ten men. The Bears as if they are twenty. Goldilocks would have to have her black heart ripped out before she would quit, and Iron Hans has nine lives, seven of which he still has left. We are more than just six.”
He looked up at her, studying her. “And you?”
“Me?” She flexed her hands, “I can not wield a sword like a warrior, but I seem to have some other power that just might help.” A green glow emanated from her fingers. “A power that seems to swell as time grows short.”
“Without the one, we will lose.”
“She will come. You know as well as I do, she would never walk away from a fight.” She smiled and touched his hands. “Your love for her is strong, but do not let it get in the way of what must be done.”
Wolf pulled away from her touch and raised his sword. He swung it through the air. “I won’t.”
Hans came through the dark passageway. “The message has been passed. The people are prepared for war, if it comes to that.”
Rapunzel stood and straightened her skirts. “Let us not fail, then.”
“We won’t.”
They all turned. Red stepped out of the shadow of the dark passageway and into the dim light.
Wolf looked at her, but she did not meet his gaze.
“But know this. I fight for myself, not for some godforsaken bullshit prophecy. I will kill the Brothers, but not for the peoples of Germania. I’ll do it because they pissed me off.”
“Sounds fair to me,” Junior said as he wrapped his knife sheath around his leg. He was strapped and ready to go. A large double shot crossbow in his powerful arms.
The others outfitted themselves with their own weapons of choice.
Wolf moved toward Red. “Here.” He handed her the sword. “It is sharp and ready for battle.”
She took it. She swung it around, getting a feel for the weight. She nodded. “'Tis a good sword.” She lowered it and looked up into his face. She saw the hurt and the hope in his eyes. “I—.”
“You do not have to say anything to me.”
She nodded. “If we live, there might be something I want to say.”
He smiled. “Then I will be ready to listen.” He turned and went back to the table. He sifted through the weapons and grabbed a mighty ax.
* * *
She watched him, regret on her lips. She did want to say many things to him. He deserved that much from her. He may be not the man she had wanted him to be, but he was still a great man. She knew that now.