The Crimson Cape

Chapter Four

Phoenix did not get a wink of sleep that night after the wolf attacked. Neither did Tobias or Esmerelda. Tobias stayed awake the entire night guarding his house with his crossbow at the ready. By morning, the entire village knew what had happened to Phoenix and they all came to help anywhere that was needed. They brought gifts, offered to help around the house, and offered to do whatever they could to help cheer Phoenix up.

Tobias left the porch for the first time since midnight. Since the attack, he stood in front of his door on the porch with his crossbow in hand. He went to retrieve the arrow that struck the wolf that last night. It was embedded into the dirt, the tip stained with the wolf's blood. On the ground next to the arrow, he found a round object covered in blood. After rinsing the object with water, he realized that he was holding a wolf's eyeball. Apparently, when he shot the wolf, he had shot its eye out! He took the eyeball inside and placed it in a box to hide it from Phoenix. He had a plan for what he would do with that eyeball.

Hennessey and Bud brought a keg of apple cider to Phoenix as a gift. They were sure that Phoenix would not leave the house for a long time, so they made sure that she had a small supply of her favorite treat.

"How are you doing?" Hennessey asked Phoenix, sitting on the end of her bed.

"Great given the circumstances." Phoenix replied. "Where's Calvin?"

"We don't know." Bud said "When we opened the tavern this morning, he was nowhere to be found. We checked in his room but he wasn't there."

"If he doesn't show up today, I can only fear the worst." Hennessey said.

"We'll keep our eyes and ears open." Tobias said.

Hennessey and Bud left the house and went back to their tavern. Esmerelda was making a special dinner for Phoenix, and the cider Hennessey and Bud brought her would be a great treat to go with the meal. One of Phoenix's favorite things to eat for dinner were breakfast dishes. So, Esmerelda had made a special porridge topped with sweet berries and other dried fruits. She ladled out a bowl of porridge, poured a glass of cider and took them to Phoenix.

"I have your dinner." Esmerelda said opening the door to Phoenix's room.

Phoenix was holding her red cape and was fiddling with the rip in it. Esmerelda entered the room and saw the rip in her granddaughter's cape.

"It's ripped!" Esmerelda said.

Esmerelda set the cider and the porridge on a table next to Phoenix's bed. Sitting down next to Phoenix on her bed, she took the ripped cape from Phoenix and examined it for herself.

"I think the rip eradicated the enchantment." Phoenix said. "That explains why the first wolf was docile and why the second one attacked. So, the rip must have happened between your arrival at my house and when you left to retrieve your nightgown."

Esmerelda, having not heard about Phoenix's first encounter with the wolf, was shocked when she heard that Phoenix talked to a wolf and the wolf audibly talked back to her. Phoenix and Esmerelda believed that the cape was ripped sometime between the first encounter and the time Phoenix entered Esmerelda's house.

"Can it be fixed?" Phoenix asked, knowing that she cannot go anywhere without it.

"No it can't be repaired easily." Esmerelda said "If it is repaired, it will have to be reenchanted. I can sew it up here, but I'll need to have it reenchanted by the wizard that I bought it from. You'll have to come with me for that, so that the wizard can apply the right spell on the cape for you."