Thirteen: A Gothic Tale Inspired by Red Riding Hood

*

Madame sparkled with jewels in her high-backed chair near the fire. Her dark red hair, held in place with a furred wolf's claw, was a like flame rising from the smooth, pale oval of her face. She gazed at me down the length of her nose with narrowed green eyes. 

A maid came in. Not much older than I, and rather gruff looking for such a grand household, she seated me across from Madame.

Struggling to still my trembling limbs, I sat down.

"Don't be afraid," said Madame. "I am not your enemy, but your benefactress. There are many wonders in store for you. What is your name?"

"Flora, Madame."

"Flora, for a flower. A charming name. And flowers you shall have."

Madame rang a little bell and the maid returned.

"Elspeth, bring us some tea and cakes. And the box with the lupins on the lid."

"Yes, Madame," said Elspeth. She curtseyed and hurried away.

So softly that I was not sure if I heard them or not, wolves howled. The full moon shone into the tall windows onto Madame's face and for a brief second, perhaps due to a trick of the light, I thought she was one of them.  I must have looked startled because she smiled in such a way that I thought I might have seen true.

"Why do you laugh?" I blurted out.

"Because the moon in her ineffable wisdom has sent me child with rare gifts. Not everyone can see me as I am."

I was startled again by the arrival of the tea tray. On its golden surface were china cups and saucers, a steaming silver pot, and a box filled with dried violet flowers that Madame sprinkled into our tea. Her fingers entranced me with their rings and long, sharp nails. She pushed the teacup towards me, but I did not drink.

"Who are you, Madame Silvanus?" I asked.

"That you will discover soon enough."

"What of me? What part am I to play?"

"You are my companion, and when I am gone this house and all its grounds shall be yours. My house is very old and has, like a small foreign country, many strange traditions that must be maintained. Traditions much misunderstood by the outside world."

"Why me?"

"The moon chose you out of thirteen. That is good enough for me."

I swallowed my sense of foreboding, not daring to ask the questions that quivered like a bowstring between us.

*

Elspeth showed me to a room at the top of the house. There was the bed, the carpets, a dressing table, and windows that opened out onto a wide balcony overlooking a garden. The moon had fallen low among the trees, and out of that mass of shadows stepped a tall, dark man. He raised a winding horn to his lips and blew a somber note. Suddenly a large white wolf sprang out of the shadows below my balcony, and dashed away into the forest.

*

I never saw Madame Silvanus during the day, but was expected to join her in the drawing room at twilight. As all the gowns in my wardrobe were red, it was in a red gown that I sat with her.  She wore a black gown blistering with diamonds and rubies.

We feasted alone every night on foods I had never dreamed of eating. So rich and savory, so sweet and fragrant were they that I had all I could do to not over-fill my stomach. I was fascinated watching Madame handle things gracefully with her long fingernails, never trying to conceal the fine white fur on her palms.

One night, before she handed me the wine, she pricked her finger and let three drops of blood fall into my goblet

"Do not be afraid, Flora. That is one of our old traditions to celebrate the dark moon. Drink up. You will not taste my blood diluted in the wine, but it will form a bond of eternal friendship between us."

I dutifully drank my wine and felt my stomach grow instantly hot. I fell into a fever that lasted for several days and when I came out of it, I learned that Madame Silvanus had died.

She lay in state on a red cushion in a casket of glass wearing a pale, jeweled gown.  Lupins were gathered in vases around her. Tall candelabra, numerous and bright, gave the impression of a forest burning.

As I marked the serenity and beauty of my late mistress's face, the dark man stepped out from behind the curtains, pulling them away from the window and letting in the night. He was very handsome in the candlelight, magnetic, mysterious. Yet I drew back, and fled out into the yard.

A pack of wolves drove me back inside straight into the arms of the huntsman.

*

Rays from the full moon shone across the foot of my bed onto a girdle of soft, scarlet leather stamped with gold. I stood at the mirror and put it on, admiring how well it suited me. I heard the sound of the hunting horn and instantly lost all track of time.

In the morning I woke, exhausted, lying in a field of blood-spattered lupins.

It was not long before my true fate was revealed to me. I was sitting in the high-backed chair beside the fire when the huntsman appeared in the room.

"Having fallen into wickedness to acquire her great wealth, Madame Silvanus was fearful for her immortal soul. The only way to save herself was to transfer her obligations to an innocent, and thus freed, leave this world unstained. You were that innocent. You now have the dubious honor of redeeming the sins of a werewolf."

I drew back, horrified. "She has damned me? But I've done nothing wrong."

He smiled.

"You dined at Madame's table on human flesh, and drank wine containing Madame's blood. Of your own free will, you wore the girdle made of Madame's skin. You, my child were chosen by the moon to ascend to Madame's place as Mistress of the Wolves."

All of my wild protestations fell like snowflakes in a forest of ice.

*

The moon shines down full and bright. Thirteen blasts of the hunting horn, and thirteen wolves encircle the huntsman. Our paws beat a spiral into the snow. White and shaggy, I am the strongest and most eager. I lead them through the forest, to the lanes of villages unknown to me, and do the biddings of my lover, the huntsman.

I no longer wear the red cloak with the red hood, for I am red with my deeds.

_________________________________________

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