Little Red Wolf

Chapter Fourteen~

   

                                                                            Chapter Fourteen~

They carried Heidi's remains to the village in what remained of Rebecca's wool blanket. It was singed from the flames and it smelt strongly of smoke, much like Rebecca's hair did, but it would serve Heidi well.

Her father was the one to carry her, crying the entire time. His nose was running, and Rebecca wondered when he'd run out of tears.

Rebecca felt awkward, walking back with the odd group. She was situated between Archer and Mr. Ainslie. Archer kept glancing at her nervously, as if afraid that she was going to wolf out once again and attack him. Mr. Ainslie told Rebecca through his tears that he didn't blame her for the way that things had turned out. He explained that Heidi had told him everything, and that she wanted to do it.

Rebecca didn't seem to care very much about what had happened. She knew it would come back to haunt her just like the first time, but somehow, having Heidi sacrifice herself made it less bad.

"I'm taking her to our family," Mr. Ainslie said once the group reached the village. "We need some time to grieve before we arrange the funeral." He went about his way, hugging Rebecca tightly with one arm before he did so.

"What are we supposed to do with her?" The mayor asked one of the older men in the group. He shrugged and Rebecca stepped up to speak.

"I think I need to leave," She said. She was no longer hungry, and she didn't feel any sort of wolfish urge, but she did not want to have to go through any of it again.

"No!" Archer cried, reaching for her hand. "You can't do anything to her," He continued, addressing the men and particularly the mayor who had a very shifty look in his eyes. "Can't you see that she'll be grieving the loss of Heidi for years to come? Not to mention that she'll be torturing herself with thoughts that it was her fault," Archer sounded incredibly wise and Rebecca realized he had put quite a lot of thought into what he was saying. Archer turned to look straight at Rebecca and squeezed her hand. "Please don't torture yourself over this. Heidi made her choice."

Rebecca nodded, her throat stuffed with the emotions starting to break through the barrier that separated her from them.

"Now see here boy," The mayor began, pointing a vaguely threatening finger at Archer. "She's dangerous, she is, and I intend to keep all danger out of my village."

"Knock it off, Steven," One of the men called angrily. "Can't you see that the boy is right?" he sighed. "Just because it was your momma's sister that first time doesn't mean you can continue to take it out on Red."

Rebecca felt her cheeks warm. She hadn't known the girl from the first attack. "I'm truly sorry, sir," She said softly.

The mayor nodded and waved a hand. "Get! Before I change my mind."

"Actually," Rebecca bit her lip hesitantly. "I was wondering if I could bury my Grandmother."

This time Rebecca squeezed Archer's hand for support. The mayor nodded and one of the men led Rebecca to Grandmother's body which had been moved and prepared for burial.

Archer and Rebecca walked to the empty plot reserved for Grandmother in the cemetery and began to dig in silence.

"You're not afraid of me, are you?" Rebecca asked once the hole was nearly dug.

Archer leaned against his shovel and looked at her, his eyes twinkling in the light morning sun. "I'm not afraid of you," Archer assured her. Rebecca continued to look uneasy, so Archer pulled her close and kissed her tenderly.

"I love you, Red Holloway," He said loudly and Rebecca clutched him tightly.

"I think I love you too, Archer," She whispered and Archer kissed her again.

"That's good," He told her. "Because you're stuck with me forever."

Rebecca laughed and they finished burying Grandmother's body. When Archer lowered her into the ground sans casket, Rebecca gazed upon the face she'd once looked up to, and realized that she didn't need to live burdened anymore.

Heidi Ainsley had sacrificed herself to save Archer and to save Rebecca. Rebecca wouldn't let her sacrifice be in vain.

"What are you thinking about?" Archer asked, looping his arms around her waist as soon as they had passed out of the cemetery.

"Heidi," Rebecca said with a smile. "I think the curse has been lifted," She added. "And it's all because of Heidi."

"Well," Archer teased. "Not all because of Heidi; I helped too you know."

Rebecca smiled even wider. "I know." And she kissed him.

Archer kissed her back, and Rebecca felt her smile grow even more if it was possible. She didn't feel anything from the monster that had been inside of her, and she knew that Heidi was going to watch over her.

                                                                                         The End

******* So as you can see, this is the end of LRW. I want to say thank you to everyone who's read, voted, and commented on this story-it really means a lot to me :) I hope that you enjoyed Rebecca's tale and that you'll be willing to check out some more of my work in the future. Happy New Year to everyone.********