Tales of the Big Bad Wolf: The Red Riding Hood Arc (A Fairy Tale)

Chapter 23, Part B: The Queen's Gambit

The beast mimicked a song it heard in the air this evening --  a song of owls, lions and wolves.  To its two companions, it was simply spouting more of the lions’ ridiculous rhymes.

But the creature was not wholly itself  as it sung.  The song was one it had heard while at the hunter’s home - a whispered riddle that once repeated wove itself around the minds of those who heard it, until the presence of the woman was entirely forgotten.

In the Ormond home, the lady Ilva sat in the darkness brushing her long hair as she hummed that same tune.   And in the kitchen, the young man read through the message those same men had delivered to him.  

Edmund would not return to sleep,  too displeased by the current state of affairs to do so.  As he sighed, a flicker of shadows danced about the kitchen maniacally. 

With a bright voice Ilva announced her presence and the shadows ceased. “What message did that man bring at this hour?”

The head of the young man snapped to his left, startled to find the woman standing there beside him.  

She spoke more softly.  “I did not mean to frighten you. I had been woken by the voices.   Is it bad news?”

As try as he might, Edmund’s face could not remain calm.  Tightly he spoke. “Miss Ilva, tomorrow I won’t be able to drive you about.  I have been summoned to the estate of one of our esteemed lords. A Count Wolfram.”

She knew that had been so, but did not tell him.   The woman clutched her shawl about her as she sat down in a chair across from him.  “I had no idea you were acquainted with the master of that estate.”

“Unfortunately, I am.”  Edmund leaned back in his chair, away from the light of lamp.  ”But the summons comes from my friend’s guardian. They have been taken there this evening.”

“Your lady friend,” the woman prompted softly. “The one who makes cakes.”

His shadowed face grew tender at the funny description. “Yes, that is Elanore. Miss Redley. ”

They had spoken of her often.  At times his references to her in their conversations were subtle.  But it had been obvious to the woman that Miss Redley was never far from his mind, delighting him and making him unhappy at the same time. 

His feelings had offered the woman a look at another form of human love different from the bond she had observed while living at the inn between the twin children.   It was a strange kind of feeling to her, a kind of magic in itself.   It could not be bent to the will of others, it could be both simultaneously rational and irrational.  The emotion had an intoxicating effect... and it was also affecting the young boy for reasons he did not understand.  

“She wields magic,” she stated.  

“You knew?” Edmund looked troubled by her assessment. “It’s that obvious?”

She spoke carefully and patiently, for this was a new topic for the both of them.  “Magic is like a fragrance to those who know it.  I could taste it in the food she made and could see it when she walked by.  As the world becomes dark, it will also become more evident to others who are less sensitive to it and can not use it.” 

He saw through her then.  “You use magic,” he concluded.  “You’ve been using it all along. That night I woke up--”

“Yes,” she nodded. “That object you received was tainted by magic that had to be countered. Otherwise it would have done something to you.” 

He rubbed his arm absently while frowning at her.  His recollection of the incident was hazy, at best. 

“It won’t do that again,” she said firmly.