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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Forgotten Wife
Topaz stepped forward and clasped Wolf by the hand. "I think I met your
wife today," she said. "She’s staying at my mother’s house."
"Virginia?" Wolf’s face clearly showed how much he’d been worrying about her. "Is she all right?
I mean, I smelled her."
"She seemed quite well," Topaz assured him. "And I hear you’re to be congratulated. She told me
you were expecting a child."
"Thank you." Wolf’s expression changed from one of fear to one of foolish happiness.
Aesophocles watched with interest. If he’d had any doubt about Wolf’s story before, it evaporated now. The love
and concern Wolf had for his wife gushed forth innocently from him. It was no less than Aesophocles felt for his
dainty little Topaz.
Wolf grew silent for a moment, still with Topaz’s hand in his. He cocked his head to one side and said, "It
seems you’re also to be congratulated."
"Yes," Topaz said blushing. "I can’t get used to wolves being able to tell that." She took
her hand from Wolf’s and turned toward Tony. "It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Lewis."
"Well, I’ve got to return to the forest," Aesophocles said. "I was out hunting when we met. Please
make yourselves comfortable. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like. Topaz will be glad for the human company."
Topaz stroked her husband’s head by way of farewell. And he was off.
"Please," she said, pointing to a little table at the center of the room. "Sit down. I’m afraid
I don’t have much on hand. A little rabbit stew maybe. Wolves don’t go in for canning and food preservation. They
like everything fresh. But I’ve got a few things put by. Aesophocles is even starting to get used to the idea of
bread."
"Thank you," Tony said. "We didn’t eat that long ago."
"I could eat," Wolf said.
Tony sighed. What else was new? "O.K.," he said. "But why don’t you eat some of the provisions we
brought and share them with Topaz."
"Oh, sure," Wolf said, taking the leather bag that Tony was handing him. "Where are my manners?
Please, you should share our things." Wolf pulled out the sandwiches they’d been given for the trip and placed
them haphazardly on the table.
Topaz looked at the little bundles oddly and then reached for one. "What’s this?" she asked, folding
back the paper that surrounded the sandwich.
Wolf and Tony exchanged glances.
"That’s paper," Tony said. "Haven’t you seen paper before?"
"No. But I’ve heard of it. Very wealthy educated people, great kings and that sort, write on it don’t they?
Like books and such."
"Sometimes," Tony said. "They also do other things with it too."
"You must come from a very wealthy kingdom."
"Not really. We just have different uses for things, that’s all."
"I guess. No one around here can read, so I guess none of us ever thought of making paper for anything else."
"Why don’t you try the sandwich," Tony said, trying to change the subject. "It’s chicken."
"Really? We don’t have many of those here. They keep them mostly in the south where it isn’t so cold."
"Then you should definitely try it. Your appetite is probably like Virginia’s right now."
"Yes," Wolf chimed in, "please eat."
"After I’ve brewed us some tea," Topaz said. She got up and put a kettle in the little fireplace. Then
she put a motley group of cups and saucers out across the little table. "This used to be trapper’s hut,"
she explained as she worked. "When I came to live with Aesophocles he fixed it up for me. He said he understood
that I wasn’t used to living outside the way the pureblooded wolves were."
"How did you two get together?" Wolf asked.
"We had the same vision for the area. My mother and her friends see the wolves as competitors here. And a
lot of the wolves see the humans in the same way. Aesophocles and I have hopes of finding some kind of compromise
so both groups can exist peacefully. Unfortunately, it’s been a very hard road. The wolves have been pushed deeper
and deeper into the forest as the farmers take down more of the trees. You see, the soil isn’t very fertile here.
The ground grows these tall pines readily. But it doesn’t grow much else. And the growing season is so short. A
lot of the farmers have to turn to hunting to feed their families and that brings them into direct confrontation
with the wolves, who are trying to feed their families as well. Some of the farmers keep sheep and goats. But then
they claim there’s a lot of poaching from the wolves. And the wolves in turn complain about the lack of large game
in the forest. It’s an endless circle of blame."
Topaz had finished her preparations and was now sitting down to eat. Wolf and Tony politely waited for her to begin
before they started.
"What would you and Aesophocles like to see happen?" Wolf asked.
"We would like the farmers to stay out of the forest all together and leave it to the wolves. The wolves in
turn would stay away from the farmers and their livestock. But at the moment, that doesn’t seem likely. And to
confuse things further, there are also the trappers, like the man who built this hut. The wolves don’t care if
there are a few of them. But when they come in great numbers, it lessens the game still further. It’s upsetting
to the wolves especially, when the local hunters take the large animals like the elk and moose. Those are the animals
the wolves prefer. But of course, you know that."
Wolf nodded and smiled uncertainly. The truth was, he’d been brought up to think of small game mostly. Probably
because there weren’t that many of the big herbivores left in the woods of his time.
"Aesophocles mentioned he has an adolescent son," Tony said.
"Oh, yes," Topaz said, "Scythian. You weren’t introduced, but he was with Aesophocles when you met
him in the forest. He was born to Aesophocles’s first mate, Siba. From what I’ve heard she was a shy little thing,
killed by a trapper when Scythian was still very young. Her death has preyed heavily on the boy’s mind. He hates
humans. It took him awhile to warm up to me. But I think I’ve worn down his resistance somewhat. He now seems to
accept his father and I being together. I’m glad you’ll be staying with us. It will give Scythian a chance to see
that other humans besides me can be trusted."
TWENTY-EIGHT
Partial Reunion
Wolf and Tony spent the night by the fireplace in the main room of Aesophocles’s one bedroom cottage. In the morning,
Topaz fed them breakfast while her mate slept in after his night of hunting.
"After breakfast," Tony said, "I’ll go see Virginia."
"I’m coming too," Wolf announced.
Tony smiled a great big smile and forced himself to act pleasant. He didn’t want to argue in front of their hostess.
"Now, Wolf, we’ve talked about this. We know Topaz’s mother doesn’t take kindly to wolves. It’s better if
you stay away from there."
"I don’t care. I’m coming."
"Remember what our friend Snow said before we left?"
"I don’t care," Wolf repeated. "I’m coming."
Tony kicked Wolf under the table and Wolf growled back. Then they both glanced over to see if Topaz had noticed.
But she seemed to be more interested in stirring a pot on the fire.
"You can walk me most of the way," Tony said. "I don’t think I could find my way back without your
help. But I really think you should stay away from that house. Just in case."
"He’s probably right," Topaz said standing. "You look human. But my mother has such a hatred of
wolves. And my being involved with Aesophocles hasn’t improved things. I’ve been putting off telling her we’re
having a child because I know how much it’ll upset her."
"You see," Tony said. "It’ll help Topaz if you stay away. We don’t want her mother getting any more
upset about wolves than she is already, do we?"
Wolf growled. He wasn’t happy about this. Not at all.
On the way to Emerald’s cottage, Wolf said nary a word. Finding the way back was easy. In fact, Wolf wondered that
Tony couldn’t have done it by himself because the goats gave off such a sharp tangy aroma. The only good thing
was the tantalizing scent of Virginia around the edges. She was obviously outside this morning.
They were still a good distance off when Tony stopped and said, "All right. I think you should wait here."
Wolf whimpered but Tony tried not to hear. Instead, he turned and continued on down the path by himself, looking
back only once to see if Wolf was still there. He was, watching after Tony with the brokenhearted expression of
an abandoned puppy dog. How am I supposed to keep them apart, Tony wondered.
When he walked into the clearing at Emerald’s cottage, Tony immediately saw Virginia. She had just finished the
milking and was urging the goats out into the field. She didn’t see Tony at first, but when she did, she came tearing
across the yard and threw her arms around him.
"I was afraid I’d never see you again," she cried.
"It’s all right." Tony said, hugging her.
Emerald was just inside the barn collecting pails of milk, so she saw Tony arrive. She came at once to inspect
their visitor, throwing the end of her cloak resolutely across her shoulder.
"Whatever you do, don’t mention Wolf’s name," Tony whispered into Virginia’s ear when he saw Emerald
marching toward them. "Let me do the talking." With a pat, he pulled away from his daughter and put on
his best friendly face. Hi!" he said. "I’m Virginia’s father."
"Anthony Lewis," Emerald said, making the name sound like a title.
"That’s right."
"Dad," Virginia said. "This is Emerald."
"How do you do?" Tony said bowing politely. "I’ve been trapping in the area and I heard my daughter
was staying here."
"You’re a trapper?" Emerald said questioning. "Virginia said you were an inventor."
"I am," Tony said, fumbling just a touch. "But that doesn’t pay much, so I hire myself out as a
trapper too to help make ends meet. I’m working with another man in the forest. We’ve been hunting beaver. We’ve
done pretty well too. See?"
Tony handed a beaver pelt to Emerald, who turned it over and over in her hands.
"Good fur," Emerald said. "Good quality. But it looks well seasoned. Not fresh."
"Well," Tony said, fumbling again. "I didn’t want to bring you a fresh one. They’re so messy. This
is a gift for taking care of my daughter."
A smile broke out over Emerald’s face as she stroked the fur. It would make a perfect little jacket for her year-old
granddaughter. "I accept your gift Mr. Lewis," she said. "Why don’t you go inside and Virginia will
give you something hot to drink. I’m just in the midst of separating my curds from my whey. I make my own cheese
you know. You’ll excuse me for awhile, won’t you?"
"Of course," Tony said, smiling his biggest smile again. Let Mrs. Muffet get back to her tuffet. He needed
to talk to his daughter alone.
As Emerald returned to her work in the barn, Virginia escorted Tony to the cottage as calmly as she could. But
as soon as the door was closed she yelled out, "Where’s Wolf?"
"He’s all right. He’s waiting in the woods. You have no idea how worried we’ve been. Do you know whose house
this is?"
"Sure, Emerald’s. And it’s sometime before Little Red Riding Hood."
"Maybe. But do you know who Emerald probably is?"
"Yes," Virginia said with a touch of impatience. "She’s a nice lady who’s taken me in and given
me shelter."
"She’s also Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother."
"What?"
"And guess who WE stayed with last night? The wolf who’s going to try and kill Little Red Riding Hood."
"You’re kidding."
"I wish I was. This place is so crazy. You start making tea or whatever it is she expects you to do before
she gets back. I have a lot to tell you."
Tony hastily told Virginia the story of Snow White and their quest for truth while keeping a look-out for Emerald.
"Here," he said. "This is the piece of the Mirror of Truth they made up for you. Wear it. I think
you’re meant to stay here with Emerald for awhile longer. I’ll tell her I’ve got to continue hunting and it would
be safer if you stayed with her."
"O.K." Virginia said. "And you can tell Topaz that I’m staying here because I’m hoping to soften
her mother up towards her."
"She’ll probably believe that. She said you were very encouraging about her mother coming around and accepting
her husband. Course that was before you knew who all these people were."
"Maybe I can change history."
"Virginia! Remember what Snow White said. What’s been done, can’t be undone."
"But I have to try."
"No!" Tony could already see how hard this whole thing was going to be. Wolf wanted to rush in where
smart wolves feared to tread. And Virginia wanted to try and undo all the wrongs of history. "You’re here
to watch. That’s all!"
Virginia made a face as she put the piece of mirror around her neck. "It seems pointless, just watching."
"Look. I figure it’s the price of getting you back."
"How is Wolf taking all this?"
"Not well. He’ll probably have dissolved into a puddle of tears by the time I get back. Or maybe he’ll just
haul off and bite me. I’d actually prefer that."
"It’s not going to be easy for us to stay apart."
"I’m beginning to see that. You look like a sick puppy dog too. All right. Maybe I can figure out a way for
you to meet in the woods some night."
"I don’t think Emerald would let me out then. It’ll have to be during the day when she’s gone."
"Do you know when that might be?"
"No."
"If only there were some way of your getting a message to me. What am I saying? If you go walking in the woods,
Wolf will probably smell you and come running."
"You know. It just occurred to me. Emerald’s granddaughter Pearl must be Little Red Riding Hood. I thought
her name sounded familiar. I think Wolf mentioned it once."
"Shush," Tony said suddenly. "She’s coming. Just stick to our cover stories. And, remember, your
husband is still off fighting the trolls."
When Emerald came into the cottage she found Virginia serving tea to Tony.
"Oh, Emerald," Tony said, smiling and rising to his feet like a well trained gentlemen. "I’m glad
you were finally able to join us."
"I’ve been trying to get ahead on my cheese making," Emerald said, hanging her cloak on a nail by the
door. A stray blond hair had fallen down into her face and she pinned it back. "I need to put a fair amount
aside right now for some trading I have in mind."
"Yes," Virginia said. "She’s been working night and day."
"Well, not too much at night," Emerald said. "Just an hour or so. Virginia’s being here has made
the work go faster. Please, sit down."
"Oh, but I can’t," Tony said. "Not while a beautiful lady like yourself is standing. You must be
very tired from your work." He pulled out another chair at the table and said, "Here, you sit down and
I’ll serve you."
"In my own house, don’t be silly," Emerald said, wiping her hands on her apron.
"I insist," Tony said. He motioned to the chair grandly and raised his eyebrows flirtatiously.
Emerald smiled and said, "Well, if you insist."
"That’s better," Tony said. He helped her into the chair and then proceeded to wait on her with a flourish.
"So, what kind of things do you invent?" Emerald asked.
"Well, a lot of different things, really," Tony answered. My last major invention was something to take
the seeds out of cotton."
"Really?" Emerald’s eyes widened with interest. "Farm equipment. We could use a man like you in
this community."
And so it went. Tony had a wonderful time drinking tea and talking about himself. He was very pleased with the
wonderful job he was doing of charming the lady with the lovely green eyes. He even went so far as to tell her
something about the time he’d helped a prince who’d been changed into a dog. Virginia sent him several disapproving
glances. But he didn’t care. There wasn’t any harm in a little playful come-on, after all. When he left, he promised
Emerald that he would return in a few days to bring her yet another pelt and visit his daughter. "And,"
he said with a wink, "I hope I will have the pleasure of seeing you again."
"I look forward to it," Emerald said with a wink back.
When Tony went back down the path, he found Wolf pacing back and forth restlessly. As soon as saw Tony, he came
dashing over.
"Why did you take so long?" Wolf asked. "How is she? How did she look? Did she ask for me? How’s
she feeling?" As he asked these questions, he circled Tony like a dog begging for a treat.
"She’s fine," Tony said, grabbing Wolf’s shoulders in an effort to hold him still. "And she misses
you very much."
"Oh!" Wolf couldn’t help but jump again. "And you told her how much I miss her?"
"Yes, straight away. But I’m still not sure how we can get you together. I met Red Riding Hood’s grandmother,
by the way. Her name is Emerald and she’s got bright green eyes like Topaz and beige blond hair."
"Yeah, so?"
"I told her I was helping a trapper in the forest and asked if she’d mind looking after Virginia till we were
finished."
"And she believed you?"
"Of course," Tony said confidently.
"Really? I mean, you don’t look much like an outdoorsman, Ton. In fact, you look more like somebody who’s
been eating a lot of rich palace food lately."
"I do not." Tony sucked in his stomach and tried to stand taller. "I have a stocky build, that’s
all. She believed me completely. I’m a very impressive guy when I turn on the charm."
Wolf rolled his eyes but said nothing.
"In fact." Tony straightened his clothes and smoothed his hair back. "I think she rather liked me."
Wolf licked his lips and wondered how much he should say. Then he remembered how horrible he’d felt being made
to stay all this time by himself in the forest while the woman he yearned for was barely more than a few bounds
away. "Tony, in your dimension I know the story of Red Riding Hood makes the grandmother sound old and feeble.
And maybe she was by the time that took place. But the history of the Nine Kingdoms says she was a very smart and
powerful woman in her youth. Don’t start playing around here. This is not King Wendell’s castle where you have
a fine title and an important position with a nice income and a big reputation as a national hero. Maybe that all
works together there to make you into some kind of love god. But here, you’ve got to be a little more realistic.
Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother is not someone you can trifle with."
"So, I like having a little fun with the ladies. I’m sure you did plenty of that before you met Virginia."
"Honestly? No. Your daughter is my first and only love. Face it Tony. Lately you’ve been acting more like
a wolf than a wolf. And this is one lady you’ve got to be careful of. If you get too friendly with her, who knows
what she might get you to say?"
"O.K. Maybe you’re right. I’ll try and be more careful. But the ladies really do like me, you know."
Wolf sighed deeply and said, "Yeah, yeah. Dream on."
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