Girl in the Red Hood (6 page)

"There you are," Kurt's voice broke the
silence as she kicked a pebble. "Why are you all the way over
here?"

"I forgot the book!" Liesel huffed.

"So you're getting yourself lost instead?"
Liesel sent him a scathing look before turning back to find the
pebble. Kurt reached out finally and took her by the elbow, forcing
her to look at him. His voice was gentle this time, though.

"Liesel, what's wrong?" Liesel felt her chin
tremble as she weighed whether or not to tell him.

"I hate this place!" She finally spat out.
"It's dark and ugly here! Not even the flowers grow, and everything
dies!" She wanted badly to tell him about her father, but the shame
was just too great. Words of anger were much easier.

"Well, at least you're in a bright red
cloak," Kurt's voice was teasing. "I still think it's strange, but
at least I'll be able to find you if you make it a habit of getting
lost like this." She just glared at him. "I'm sorry," he
apologized, all of the jest gone from his tone now. "It was a
stupid joke." He thought for a moment before taking her by the
wrist. "Come with me. I want to show you something." She said
nothing, but let him lead her. The invisible path he took seemed to
have no markings or reason to its twists and turns, but she was
used to his odd methods of getting around the forest by now.

After what seemed like an endless walk, he
let go of her wrist and bent down next to an old hollow log.

"What do you think this is?" he asked
softly. Liesel stared at the log with contempt. She had the idea a
lesson was coming, but she really couldn't care less.

"Something dead."

Kurt gave a faint smile. Silently, he lifted
the log enough for her to spot something furry beneath. In spite of
herself, Liesel leaned in to get a better look. Then she gasped in
delight. A fawn was curled up, hidden by the shadow of the aging
wood. It looked soft and sweet as it stared up at them with
trusting eyes. Softly, Kurt lowered the log again.

"Her mother will be back soon," he
whispered. "It would be best for us not to distress her." For the
first time that day, Liesel allowed herself a small smile. The fawn
stayed nestled in her bed as they left. She was the very picture of
serenity, something Liesel hadn't felt much since her mother fell
ill. But even more comforting than the baby deer, however, was
Kurt's affection towards it, the care he took to keep the creature
comfortable, and the desire to spare the mother anxiety. The
sweetness of the moment was like a healing balm to Liesel's wounded
soul.

"Thank you," she mumbled as they walked,
suddenly embarrassed of her petulance. It wasn't Kurt's fault her
father was a drunk, and although she truly did hate the forest,
there was no reason to insult his home to his face. To her relief,
he gave her a broad smile, the biggest he'd worn since they'd
met.

"I'm not done yet."

They continued exploring for the rest of the
day. Liesel was in awe at the amount of life the shadowy woods
sheltered. A nest of baby birds hidden in the shelf of a crooked
tree, and flowers that bloomed without sun were all placed near her
normal path, but without help, she never would have seen them. He
showed her how to find berries that were safe to eat, and a
poisonous plant with healing milk.

"It looks lifeless at first," Kurt conceded
as he held his hand out to help her climb the cliff face of the
waterfall. "But these woods harbor more life than one could ever
know."

"I believe you," Liesel puffed as she
struggled up the steep incline behind him. "Why exactly are we
going up here again?" The sun that covered the forest floor at the
base of the waterfall was warm and unadulterated. The cliff itself,
however, had enough trees resting atop it to escape all direct
sunlight of its own. Still, Kurt pushed them higher.

"Just think of it as your birthday
gift."

By the time they reached the top, Liesel
could tell it was much higher than she'd originally guessed. The
cliff face was at least twice as high as her old church steeple at
home. Perhaps even more. Her dress was stuck to her body with
sweat, and she was breathing so hard she could barely speak.

"What," she huffed, "are we looking at now?"
As she stood up, she had to work to keep her face from falling. All
she could see was more forest on both sides of the thin river that
fed the waterfall. Kurt just smiled, took her by the shoulders, and
turned her around. Liesel nearly fainted with joy. From the top of
the waterfall, she could see that they were surrounded by miles and
miles of green treetops. But to her left, to the west, she could
see the outline of a mountain.

"My mountain," she whispered as she fell to
her knees. "You gave me my mountain." Tears coursed down her
cheeks, but she let them fall. They were tears of joy. The contours
of the four peeks were mostly hidden behind thick gray clouds, but
she could see just enough to recognize it as hers.

"Why?" She suddenly turned and looked up at
him. "Why are you being so kind to me?" He didn't answer
immediately, just returned her stare as a troubled shadow fell over
him. His young face suddenly looked old.

"It's the most I could do," he finally
muttered. "The life you were chosen for is hardly the one you
deserve." Liesel had no words with which to reply. Her first
reaction was to attribute his cryptic response to her mother's
untimely death and unattached father, but something, an undertone
in his voice, send a shiver down her spine. An instinct somewhere
deep in her stomach warned her that something was very, very wrong.
But what could she do? She'd already tried to escape once.

She looked back at Kurt one more time. He
was staring out over the treetops again though, and didn't see her
gaze. His set jaw looked as if it had turned to stone, and he had
his lanky arms crossed defensively across his chest. If nothing
else, she decided, she could take comfort in knowing that he cared.
They might be powerless to stop the lonely end that seemed to be
determined to take her, but through it at least, she would have a
friend. And for that, she would be grateful.

"I don't
care how evil the rulers of Tumen are," Liesel shook her head and
pointed again at the map. "Being a prisoner of the Wasp Dunes would
be much worse." Kurt playfully grabbed her hand and moved it to
another section of the page.

"Apparently, you've completely forgotten
everything your grandmother wrote about how the Tumenians treat
their slaves." Liesel pretended to be annoyed, but secretly
relished the way his hand felt on hers. Of course, she couldn't let
him
know that. Slapping his hand away, she made a grab for
the book, but Kurt was too quick, and had it high above her head
before she could blink.

"What are you doing?" A young voice
interrupted them. Liesel froze as she reached for the book, and she
could feel the tension roll off Kurt as he did the same. Without
warning, he slammed the book shut. Liesel peeked behind them to see
a boy a few years younger than Kurt.

"Is this her?" The boy spoke to Kurt.

"Who else would it be?" Kurt replied
sarcastically. The boy turned and studied Liesel unabashedly.
Liesel couldn't help but stare back. His hair was cut roughly, as
Kurt's always was, and his face was angular, too. His appearance
was a bit softer though, and his voice was still young and
unchanged.

"Liesel, this is Keegan, my brother. Kee,
Liesel." Kurt said with a dramatic wave of his arm.

"Hi," Liesel found herself strangely shy.
The boy didn't respond at first, just continued to study her.
Finally, he spoke.

"Why are you looking at maps?" Liesel opened
her mouth to respond, but Kurt cut her off.

"Liesel's not from around here. She likes to
see where she came from." This was true, as they'd looked at maps
of the mountain earlier that morning, but Liesel wondered why Kurt
was being so careful with what his brother knew. After a brief
silence, Keegan added,

"Father doesn't like it when you're up
here."

"Well, who's going to tell him?" Kurt
challenged. They stood for another moment, eyes locked, until
Keegan turned his gaze to the ground, beaten.

"Father says we need to be home early
tonight," he mumbled.

"I haven't forgotten. I'll be there." Keegan
looked past Kurt at Liesel again.

"Can I stay with you?" he whined. "Uncle
Lothur wants me to help him when I get back." This time Kurt's
answer was gentler.

"We've talked about this, Kee." They shared
a long look in which much was said, but Liesel understood none of
it. Finally, Keegan nodded sullenly at the ground and began to
shuffle away.

"Actually, I need to go soon," Liesel took
her book from Kurt. She laughed at his confused look. "My father
realized this morning that he'd missed my birthday, so he's sending
me into Ward to order some new dresses and a new cloak. Mine are
getting too small." Kurt snorted.

"Three months is a bit late, isn't it?"
Rolling her eyes, Liesel smiled and nodded.

"Yes, but it's better than him not
remembering at all." She gave a small sigh. "My mother was always
the one who remembered those things." They began climbing down the
cliff beside the waterfall. The climb no longer taxed her the way
it had the first time, but she wasn't tall enough yet to use the
footholds Kurt used, so she still needed his help. As they made the
descent, she thought about the evening before, when Warin had
finally realized his mistake.

"Liesel!" He'd barged in the door, so
excited he'd nearly run to the table she'd just placed supper on.
"I have somethin' special!" He had proceeded to tell her all about
the annual autumn festival that was approaching, something she'd
known about for weeks after overhearing a conversation after
worship on Holy Day. "Now you're not old enough for the jigs," he'd
mused. "You have to be fifteen for those. But you can still dress
up like your mama used to. Your birthday is coming soon, isn't it?
You'll be what, fourteen?"

"I'm already fourteen," Liesel couldn't
bring herself to look up as she'd sliced the bread, the old anger
returning even after three months.

"Already? When did that happen?"

"Three months ago," Liesel had felt the old
resentment rise up in her heart again.

"What was I doin' then?"

"Drinking," Liesel had responded icily,
finally putting the knife down to look at her father. "You were
drinking, Father! Now sit down. The fish is growing cold." Warin
had obeyed, but he kept sending confused, wounded looks in her
direction as he ate. Neither of them said anything else the rest of
the night. Liesel thought he had forgotten the exchange the next
morning until he dropped a small bag of coins next to her
porridge.

"Go to the tailor," he'd said quietly. "Have
'im make you some dresses that your mum would be proud of. Get
whatever you think she would like." Liesel had gaped at the amount
of money when she'd opened the pouch.

"Father, I can't-"

"Yes, you can." He turned away as he stuffed
his trousers in his boots. "I can do without a drink for a while."
And without another word, he'd stalked out of the house.

"What color will your new cloak be?" Kurt's
question drew Liesel from her musings as they reached the bottom of
the cliff. "Red again?"

"I don't know. Red was my mother's favorite
color, but perhaps it's time I choose something different." And
yet, moving on in even such a small way was still painful to
consider.

"But if you get a different color," Kurt's
eyes twinkled, "I won't be able to find my strange little friend
the next time she gets lost in the woods." Liesel felt herself
blush pleasantly.

"Will you be at the autumn festival this
year?" In her heart, she begged him to say yes. The idea of being
around all those villagers who stared at her made her
uncomfortable. It was bad enough on Holy Day every week, but at
least she and her father had a purpose when they went into town
then. Going to a giant celebration to do nothing but watch others
dance and be watched herself sounded like torture. Her father would
be there for sure, but he seemed oblivious to much of what made her
uncomfortable. He still thought she was imagining that the
townspeople stared at her. Besides, she allowed herself to admit,
she wanted Kurt to see the fancy new dress she was going to have
made. She would never be able to wear it out in the woods without
tearing it to pieces on the bushes and briers. When she looked at
Kurt, however, she realized he looked very uncomfortable.

"I don't think so."

"But you're fifteen, aren't you? Father says
when you're fifteen you can dance at the festivals."

"Almost." He looked even more uncomfortable,
staring down at the ground and shifting his weight from one foot to
the other. Liesel tried to swallow the disappointment that burned
in her throat before it could show on her face. She wasn't even
sure why she was so disappointed, but the feeling of rejection was
there. Kurt must have sensed something, however, because he
eventually spoke, his voice breaking twice. "It's my father," he
finally mumbled. "He says it's going to be my job to take care of
the family one day, and he thinks it's a waste of time to go to
Ward."

"Oh," she thought about that for a moment.
"Is that why he doesn't like for you to go to the waterfall
either?"

"Yes," Kurt sounded bitter. "He says there's
no use dreaming about things that aren't going to happen. I'm
needed here, so there's no use in hoping for the impossible."
Liesel had the sudden urge to reach out and comfort him. It made
her angry that someone could care so little about Kurt's dreams.
Again, the sudden swell of emotion took her by surprise. What was
wrong with her? Liesel fought the urge shake her head and clear it
as they stood there awkwardly.