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

Chapter Six: Edmund

He realized that this choice was a disappointment to his family, who had taken him in and formally adopted him with the idea that he would help run their business.  But his skills now were what kept them eating, even in the lean winter months.  And as a guild member, the access to a repository of information, of maps, and of stories and illustrations about the land proved even more useful.   He had begun to learn about creatures that could be hunted and eaten safely, and of those that should not.  This was far more useful information than could be acquired sitting all day in an unpatronized storefront.

As Edmund left the Winchester’s home that morning, he was thinking deeply about the stores of information at the Guild Hall and whether there might be some clue as to the strange and almost mythical creatures that had followed Elanore the previous evening.  He was certain that there was at least some information to be read and analyzed there on that subject.

However, on the subject of Elanore herself, he felt there would be nothing to be discovered.  The secret to understanding Elanore could not be answered by a book.

The conversations this morning had made it clear.  What existed between them was not understanding, but kinship based on shared childhood memories and a mutual love and respect for Elanore’s grandparents.   But childhood experiences were not a certain foundation to indefinite friendship.  He was not sure memories alone would be enough to sustain a bond now, as adults.

It was the question about Elanore that led him to drive his horse back to town, to his parents’ storefront and home.  He had initially intended to go back to the Guild Hall, but he wanted to give his parents news of Elanore. 

The Ormond home was located in the center of the small town.  It was a modest one-floor affair; its only real luxury was the stained glass that lined the windows to the front of the building.   Edmund went around back, not willing to drag his boots heavy with snow through that front room.  (Such an action would cause his mother to immediately set to cleaning it).   He eyed the woodpile, making sure it was filled, before he proceeded through the backdoor of the building.

Carefully, he kicked the snow off his boots before he opened the door.

“Did you find Miss Elanore, Edmund?”  A short lady with impossibly brown hair peeked into the kitchen and greeted him warmly.

“Yes, mother,” Edmund responded, shutting the door behind him. He leaned down to give her a kiss on her upturned cheek, and handed her a small parcel.   “She gave you and father her regards.”

Mrs. Ormond beamed. “Is she looking well, Edmund?”

“Ah yes,” he reddened slightly, betraying a bit too much of how he did perceive her.

Her eyes suddenly gleamed.   “Yes, you haven’t seen her in quite a while Edmund.   Elanore is quite a lady now.”

“I suppose, I mean—“   Edmund coughed, to avoid having to address that last statement.  “Well, she would pay a call but her grandmother is feeling a bit poorly this morning. She will be by as soon as she can.”

“It’s well enough,” his mother was fluttering about in the disarray of the kitchen.  “We hadn’t expected her yet. We thought the snows would keep her away for some time.”

“It almost did.  But Elanore persisted in walking from that last town.”

“Oh my,” the woman chuckled to herself as she noted the frown on his face. “You seem to be troubled by such an action. I think Elanore has become like her mother in many respects.” Edmund noted that she was only half-listening to him now, apparently caught up in unwrapping the small parcel that had come from Elanore. “Elanore’s mother was a good girl, but too independent-minded for the likes of the lads here. And that’s why no one in Winchester would do for the good Mayor’s daughter. Oh, the troubles she caused when she refused that young man--”