Remember Me

Chapter 11

Ava

I wake up in the morning with a stiff body and barely any memory of last night. I remember I told Lupa I knew who she is, and that Moira-or Maria Sophia?-and I talked a lot. I remember she told me to wait, that Lupa would answer my questions soon. I remember Moira helped me home with Lupa, and that I fell asleep with Moira sitting beside me and a massive wolf keeping watch from the floor.

Thank god Mom didn't pop in. I stretch and listen intently as voices drift up from the kitchen. Moira and my mother are having a heated debate over what is better on pancakes. Moira thinks cinnamon, but my mom is dead set on whip cream.

I open my eyes and see Lupa sitting at my desk as a human. I swear quietly as a jolt of alarm shoots quickly through me. Her topaz eyes drift from the pencil and paper she's holding over to me.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" She asks softly.

I shake my head. "No," I yawn, "I was getting up anyway. What are you doing here? As a human?"

Her eyes look over at the alarm clock. "The moon set at seven thirty this morning, therefore releasing me of the curse."

She looks down at the clothes she is wearing and I follow her eyes. She is wearing my mother's plain black t-shirt and a pair of my skinny jeans. The clothing sticks to her form and expresses her curves and muscles. I feel slightly jealous. She's perfect. Well, except for the scars. Which I gave her.

"So how did you wind up with my mom's shirt?" I ask her.

"Well, when she came in around eight this morning to check on you, she saw Moira and I and assumed that since she went to bed early last night that you had invited us over. Of course, right when I changed, Moira threw a blanket over me, so I just said that I had no other clothes besides my pajamas which I was slightly embarrassed about. So she gave me this to wear. Does it look ok?" She fiddles with the collar of the shirt a little.

"It looks fine," I reply with a small smile. "Since when are you and Moira best buds though?"

"Since she Awakened."

"What do you mean, awakened?"

"Well, her memories of Maria Sophia were blocked, so I told her the story I'm about to tell you to help her remember. And hopefully it'll do the same to you."

"Okay, well come here then," I say, patting the bed beside me. She walks over and sits cross-legged beside me. I turn to face her. Her brilliant eyes hold a certain strange intensity to them.

"Once upon a time," she begins, "There was a girl named Ella Reddingale. When she was a little girl, her mother bought her a cloak of red fabric. It was so vibrant that it gave her the nickname Red Riding Hood. And she would be called Red by all of her friends for-"

"For as long as long as she was living," I finished impatiently for her. "I know this story. If you're going to recite Little Red Riding Hood to me then you are S. O. L. for getting me to remember."

Lupa waits for me to finish before she holds up a hand to hush me gently. She then continues with her story.

"Red didn't have a grandmother who lived in a cottage in the woods. That part is a mistake. She lived in the village on the edge of where the forest met the moor. She was a poor child, but she was happy. And she was happy because her best friend Lupa lived next door.

"They lived a great childhood filled with laughter and happiness with their friends; Jack, Hazel, and Maria Sophia. But soon came the day that the lord of the village, Lord Harold XII, passed away of plague. Many of the more capable townsmen fell ill to the disease that claimed their lord's life, but one young and greedy man rose to become the village's lord. This lord, Lord Cooper, had an iron rule on the village, and even some of the noblemen became poor."