Girl in the Red Hood Read Free

had still been light enough. But on
the second day, even the brightest spots made the forest appear the
way the sky had during the darkest storms back on the vineyard.
Liesel looked down at her bright red cloak, suddenly glad for the
vivid color in such a dull place.
    They arrived at the town late that
afternoon, or what Liesel guessed to be afternoon at least. Glad to
see signs of life after their strange, solitary ride, Liesel smiled
at the first passersby she saw. Men, women, and children came out
of their thatch roofed cottages to stare at the newcomers, but
oddly enough, no one returned her smile. Further into town, a small
child raised her hand to wave, but her mother pushed it down and
hurried her out of the street. Soon the houses grew closer
together, and shops, stalls, and larger buildings all blended
together until they could see what looked like a town square up
ahead.
    "Father," Liesel called in a low voice. "It
doesn't look like there was an illness here recently."
    "What do you mean?"
    "All these people...the shops are full, and
people are everywhere."
    "Bets are they're like us," Warin said with
a shrug. His nonchalant attitude didn't fool Liesel, though. She
could see him looking at the people as well, a small frown
furrowing his brow.
    When they reached the well in the center of
the town square, Warin pulled the horse to a halt and instructed
Liesel to stay with her mother. He was on his way up to the steps
of the largest building Liesel had seen yet, when a rather rotund
man walked purposefully towards them, Izaak trailing nervously
after him.
    "You must be our new blacksmith!"
    "Which is odd, considerin' I just passed one
up back there," Warin frowned at Izaak, his lilting accent making
his displeasure even more obvious. "You said there had been an
illness that wiped out the village." Izaak paled a bit, but the
other man, unfazed, stepped forward with an overly friendly
smile.
    "We can always use another blacksmith,
especially as ours is getting along in years."
    "And you are?"
    "Odo, town mayor."
    "Well, Odo, we're here to see your healer."
The mayor's sweaty smile faltered for a moment before reappearing
on his face. “Surely you'd like to see your new home first-"
    "The healer. Or we're leavin'." Liesel felt
a small flicker of hope in her heart. Perhaps this healer might
know something the others didn't. And when Amala awoke, she could
convince Warin to leave the forest and take the family home. The
mayor looked a bit unnerved, and paused before answering. Finally,
though, he glumly nodded and turned, motioning for the family to
follow. Warin hopped back up into the cart and clucked at the
horse. Just two streets over, they stopped before a small
cottage.
    It looked no different than the other
cottages, with the exception of an herb garden that lined the path
to the door. Liesel felt another stab of unease as she glanced at
its contents. The garden itself was barely larger than her mother's
had been, and she recognized every plant in it. Most of the plants
looked sick, which Liesel guessed was from the lack of direct
sunlight. The weedy plot hardly looked like it belonged to an
herbalist from another land, just as the woman walking out of the
house to greet them hardly looked like she was from the Far East.
She had pale skin, as did everyone else in the forest village,
mousey brown hair pinned back carelessly beneath a dirty blue cap,
and a thin face with dull eyes.
    As Warin gently lifted his wife from the
back of the cart, the mayor fairly sprinted over to whisper in the
woman's ear. Her eyes widened a bit, and she looked over the
mayor's shoulder to glare at Izaak. By then, Warin was heading up
the path. Liesel didn't miss the look of panic that flitted across
the woman's face as she opened the door for them to walk
inside.
    The cottage room was dark with just one
candle to see by, but there really wasn't that much to see. Liesel
had been inside the healer's house back in her old city, a