RED HOOD ✔

9: BLIND MICE

Kendra? So this is the being Aunt Liza was talking about. A griffin—my own griffin. This was absolutely incredible, but I needed to play it cool; after all, I was the Red Hood, and she was supposed to respect me.

"Yes, you are master."

Wait, I hadn't spoken out loud. How could she hear me?

"No matter which way you speak, I can always hear and understand you, Master. For you are connected to all beasts on a psychic level, including me."

"Okay, first of all, please don't call me master. I'm okay with just Vincent."

"I apologize, Vincent."

"Good. Second of all, do you know how to get back to Aunt Liza's?"

"Yes, Master. Do you wish me to take you there?"

"Yes, take me there. Just point it out, and I'll be off."

"Nonsense. I will take you personally."

"you would walk with me?"

"No, Vincent, as your steed."

Before I could even attempt to mount Kendra, a moment of hesitation washed over me. The sheer size and mystical presence of the griffin was absolutely intimidating, its majestic form towering before me, feathers rustling softly in the breeze. Faced with this awe-inspiring sight, a flutter of uncertainty gripped my heart. Could I truly command such a creature? Was I truly ready to take flight?

Climbing onto Kendra's back, she took a few running steps before launching into the air. The sensation was exhilarating—with the wind streaming through my dreads, I felt like I was truly living. This is a sensation that I had never faced before... calling this magical was an understatement.

As Kendra gracefully descended toward Aunt Liza's house, the wind cooled my face, filling me with a strange blend of excitement and nervous anticipation. Below, I could see Apsychos gesturing wildly, summoning the others to come out. As we landed, everyone gathered around, their faces lit up with awe. Who could blame them? Here I was, riding a griffin, a sight none in this village, save for myself, had ever beheld.

"So you finally met Kendra," Aunt Liza remarked with a knowing smile as I dismounted.

I couldn't help but grin back, a rush of adventure still pumping through my veins. "Why didn't you tell me about her before?" I asked, still buzzing from the flight.

She returned my smile with a twinkle in her eye. "Because you had to find Kendra on your own." We shared a look that seemed to acknowledge a rite of passage I had just undergone. Then, her expression shifted to one of seriousness. "Now, ready yourself," she instructed.

I blinked, puzzled. "Ready myself for what?" I wondered aloud. The discovery of a griffin felt like a climax, not a prelude.

She stroked Kendra's chin thoughtfully. "You are going to meet Maurice for lessons on spell casting."

Spell casting? This was uncharted territory for me. Maurice was an enigma, his stern, often unamused glare made it clear he wasn't my biggest fan—or anyone's, perhaps. Was it just me, or did trolls just have that permanent scowl? Yet, he never seemed to show such disdain towards others.

"I don't know why I'm here," I confessed once we began. "I read that I have an inbuilt memory of numerous spells."

He sighed heavily, the sound carrying a weight of reluctant duty. "That is the problem, Vincent. Unfortunately, I am the one who was chosen to help you access that part of your brain."

Unfortunately? His use of the word stung a bit. It seemed everyone I encountered felt burdened by my presence.

"Now, Vincent," he continued, ignoring my slight frown, "you need to put all thoughts aside. You are a Red Hood, a protector of this village. Those inbuilt memories you speak of—they're not yours alone. They belong to all the hoods before you. They're part of your legacy, accessible because you are of their lineage."

Yes, I am the Red Hood. A wave of determination washed over me. I can do this. I closed my eyes, hoping to tap into those ancestral memories.

Nothing happened. My heart sank. I was too nervous to open my eyes, dreading Maurice's likely disappointment. "You can open them," he finally said, his voice tinged with resignation. "I knew it wouldn't work like that. It never does, but Lady Liza insists I try."

"What other approach is there?" I asked, a flicker of hope igniting again.

He smiled, this time with a hint of intrigue. "Remember how you summoned the bow during your fight with Marshall's shadow? That was a summoning spell."

Hold up. "I thought spells required some hard-to-pronounce words or intricate gestures," I said, puzzled by the simplicity.

He sighed again, a hint of impatience creeping into his tone. "The complexity of a spell varies. Minor spells can be cast with a mere wave of the hand." Demonstrating, he waved his hand in a circular motion, and a dagger materialized out of thin air. "Like that. Now, hand me your sword."

Reluctantly, I handed over my sword. Despite my reservations about arming Maurice—who clearly didn't like me—he already possessed a dagger. If he had wanted to harm me, he wouldn't have waited for another weapon.

"Now try to summon your sword back," he instructed, stepping back into his house. "I'll be watching."

"Thanks for the 'help,' Maurice," I called out sarcastically as he disappeared inside.

Alone, I began the attempt to summon my sword, mimicking Maurice's hand wave. Nothing happened. I tried again, and again—nothing. After thirty minutes of fruitless attempts, frustration boiled over.

"Aaaghhh!" My shout echoed through the forest, louder than I intended. Suddenly, the trees began to part, as if clearing a path for something monstrous.

A giant rat, the size of a school bus and hairless, with teeth as long as swords, emerged, followed by two more of its kind. They had a feint glow about them that would suggest some type of magic was in play, I lacked the experience or the calm that would be required to decypher what was really at play here. Panic surged through me. I've always had a phobia of rats—disgusting creatures—and these were nightmarish.

I searched for my sword in a panic—right, Maurice had it. Just as I was about to call out to him, he signaled from his window for silence, holding up a sign: "They are the three blind mice."

"Not that scary, huh?" I muttered to myself just before they charged. I dodged at the last second, attempting to summon that mysterious ball of energy again, but to no avail. "Thought you said they were blind, Maurice!" I yelled as they prepared for another charge.

This time, I rolled away from the first rat and backflipped over the second, narrowly avoiding their gnashing teeth. I managed to evade two, but where was the third?

The ground trembled with the force of an approaching stampede from behind—the last rat, enormous and furious. The power surged within me, instinctively launching me into the air and onto the rat's back. It bucked and heaved, trying to throw me off, but I clung on, determined not to fall.

As I rode the monstrous rat, a realization dawned on me—this power wasn't controlling me; we were working in tandem. But how to defeat them? They attacked at any sound, and Maurice had been unusually quiet around them. They were blind but had keen hearing.

"Hey, you little hairless rodents! Good thing you're blind, so you don't have to see that rag of yours you call a face!" I taunted loudly. The rats charged, and I leaped from the back of one, leading them to inadvertently bite each other in their confusion. As they attacked one another, tearing on each of their flesh with their sword like teeth, their glow began to fade away. I am unaware of what change had been made but it was clear that I now held the upper hand.

The rat I had previously mounted had burst into flames, it's demise as spectacular as it was for every monster I had previously slain. I summoned my sword with intense concentration, splitting it into two with a metallic ring that made their ears perk up. Charging at the oncoming rats, I slid under the first, slicing its legs, then plunged my blade into the throat of the second. It collapsed, and I delivered the final blow.

As the last rat burst into flames, I couldn't help but think how absurd this story would sound. "The Three Blind Mice" would never be just a nursery rhyme to me again.