Cassandra
Burning. Alight. The forest was on fire. The smoke was stinging my eyes and the heat was singeing my lungs. I ran through the flames, branches scraping my legs, roots grabbing at my feet.
"Cassandra, little mouse."
I recognized that voice, and a moment later, the black serpent emerged from the ground, but this time, it wasn't a measly worm. Its head was larger than a horse and when it rose to full height, it blotted out the moon, casting a dark shadow on the land. The snake cackled as I turned and fled.
"Run, run," it crowed, "for I love a good chase."
The ground rumbled, and I dared chance a glance behind me. The snake slithered through the undergrowth, flattening flames and flora alike as it pursued me. Suddenly, my foot caught on a root and I tumbled to the ground, and when I peeled myself up off the ground, I was face to face with the corpse of a wolf. The wolf.
Bloodied white fur, glazed blue eyes. Dead.
I noticed a shadow growing overhead, and I whirled around. The snake hovered above me, tongue flickering, poised like a cobra. An evil gleam shone in its black eyes.
"Found you." And then, it lunged.
I woke up with a start, chest heaving up and down, sweat soaking my brow, limbs tangled in my sheets.
A dream. It was only a dream.
I pulled my legs close to my chest. "Claire was right," I said to myself. "I am crazy. I'm insane. Mother is going to have me taken away and locked up for the rest of my days." I frowned. "But on the plus side, I won't be betrothed to Mr. Murphy's son. He wouldn't want a mad woman for a wife."
Sighing, I rested my chin on my knees and directed my gaze out the window. The forest loomed at the end of the glade, encased in a fog of shadow and suspicion. I had spent my whole life as an acquaintance of the woods. It was my friend, and now it seems foreign, an alien entity harboring dangerous secrets it never thought to share. Wolves and serpents and fear, things brought to light that I had wished stayed in the dark forever.
As the trees shivered in the wind, I caught a flicker of fur amongst the underbrush, and I perked up. A wolf poked its head out the bushes, peering around the glade, before promptly returning into the thicket.
I sat motionless on my bed. "I'm not crazy," I whispered.
Throwing my sheets off, I leapt to my feet, pulled a cloak over my shoulders, and slid open my bedroom window. I crawled out of the house and took off running down the glade toward the awaiting forest. Breaking the treeline, I pulled my cloak tighter against me. The trees spoke in raspy whispers as the breeze rattled their twigs, and the confidence I had been feeling moments ago vaporized like a drop of water in the summer sun.
"Hello?" I called out into the darkness.
And, as predicted, I received no response.
I let out a sigh. "What did I think was going to happen?" I grumbled. "That I could somehow find the creature that holds all the answers to my delusions? What in the world was I—"
I turned around, intending to return to my bed, but instead, flinched with a frightened squeak. The wolf stared me down with its curious, glowing eyes. My breath hitched in my throat as the canine took a step closer.
Then another.
And another.
It was close enough to touch. I reached out with my hand, but the wolf flinched away and darted into the brush. I started out into the forest, squinting my gaze, trying to catch one last glimpse of the creature. The moment seemed like a failure, but deep down I knew I was making progress. With a little more coaxing, I believed I could convince the beast of my good intentions.
⥷⭃
"Jenkins lost the rest of his chickens last night."
I set the plates and silverware out, one at each seat as Ma came around with plates of bread, fruit, and eggs.
"Said there ain't nothing left but a couple of feathers," she finished.
Pa sat down at the table and loaded his plate as Jon and Ralph mosied into the kitchen, one by one, eyes half open. Sam and Arnold followed shortly after, much more awake.
"Decent amount of cattle's been slaughtered too," Pa said. "Berger and Hansen had a chunk bitten outta their herds."
I settled into my seat and stared at my plate, my stomach empty, but my appetite gone.
"I say we rig the Eastern part of the woods," Arnold said. "It's denser and more inhabited."
"Right," Sam interrupted. "And if anything big and tooth ridden lived in these woods it'd be there."
Pa puffed his chest out, a big grin on his face. "That's my boys." He slapped each of them on the back. "You've grown to be fine trappers. Now, there's not a moment to waste!" Pa left the table and took his shotgun down from the wall. "We'll set up the traps deep in the woods and check on them first thing next morning. Maybe it won't be our mysterious beast, but we're bound to catch something."
Sam and Arnold stood and followed Pa out the door as did Jon and Ralph, eager smiles on their faces.
"Now hold up there," Ma said. "Just a minute, you two." Jon and Ralph froze in the doorway before turning around.
"Yes, Ma?" They asked in unison.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Ralph pointed to his father and brothers as they walked to the back of the house. She looked at them, then at the door, then back at them again. Ma shook her head. "You ain't going nowhere until this house is spick and span."
They groaned and trudged back inside the house, and I took the opportunity to slip out the door…
"You too, Cassandra."
A hand pulled on the collar of my shirt, dragging me backward. I held onto the sides of the door frame for dear life. "Wait, wait," I cried. "I don't wanna clean!"
Ma tugged harder and my fingers began to slip. "Cassandra Anne," she said. "If you don't—"
"Hi, Mrs. Anne!"
Ma and I looked up. Claire stood sweetly in the doorway, hands tucked in the front folds of her dress. Ma dropped my collar and I fell to the ground with an oomph.
"Hi, Claire, sweetie," she said. "What brings you here?"
"Oh, I was just hoping if I could borrow Cassandra for the day? I really, really need her help."
Ma eyed me on the floor and sighed. "Of course, you can borrow her. Just bring the lass back in one piece."
"Thanks, Mrs. Anne."
Ma turned back to my brothers. "Off to the yard with you. Wood needs to be split, and the cow needs to be tended to. Chop, chop!"
I picked myself up off the ground, dusting off my legs, and left the house with Claire. "You are a lifesaver," I said.
Claire cheesed, skipping beside me. "I know. Now, what shall we do today?"
"Well," I began, "we could…" My voice trailed away and I slowed as I caught a blur of fur weave in between the trees. "We could go for a walk!" I finished. I grabbed Claire's hand and led her toward the forest. "Let's go!"
"Wait, what?"
I hiked up a hill and stood at its crest, scanning the forests.
"Stop… running… so… fast."
I glanced over my shoulder to see Claire straggling behind, gasping for air. Her hands were grabbing at her dress, hitching it up to her knees as her short, brown hair flew out of her hat. I snickered and turned back to the forest.
No wolf, no wolf, no wolf, there!
"Look, look!" I pointed out the creature to Claire as it ambled along the treeline.
Claire stared on in awe, her eyes and mouth round with curiosity. "Oh, it's beautiful," she cooed. "It's like he's surveying his kingdom."
"Or she's surveying her queendom."
The wolf looked up at me and I sucked in a breath as our gazes clashed. My legs began to move out of my own will towards the creature.
"Andra," Claire hissed. "What are you doing?" She grabbed my arm, but I tugged it out of her grip.
"It's so beautiful," I said. "Why would it ever hurt me?"
"Um, maybe because it's a wild animal? Come back!"
But I couldn't hear her anymore. The wolf took a step forward, head tilted, closing the gap between us. I held up my hand and whispered, "My name is Cassandra. My friends call me Andra."
The beast stood still for a moment, listening, might have even been understanding. It brought its muzzle close to my hand, inhaling its scent and for a beat, I thought I might have made a breakthrough, but then it parted its jaws and clamped down on my appendage. I squeaked in pain, and the wolf released me, its eyes darting wildly between me and the panicked, screeching Claire behind me. Pressing its ears against its head, it dashed into the underbrush, leaving me with Claire.
"Oh my gosh." The words spilled from her mouth. "It bit you!"
I looked down at my hand and at the blood spilling down my palm. "Yeah, I-I guess it did."
Claire gasped. "You're going into shock! Oh, oh, dear me. We've gotta get help!" She started back for the village.
"Wait, no!" I said.
She looked back at me. "What do you mean, no? That thing bit you! You're hurt!"
"It was my fault, not the wolf's. I provoked it." I forced a breath out. "Let's just get my hand cleaned up, bandaged, and nobody has to know anything, okay? Please?"
Claire shut her eyes, fighting a battle with herself. "Okay, fine," she said with a sigh.
"Thank you."
"But you have to promise that you'll stop getting involved with that animal."
I stared at her. It attacked me today, but even then, I still felt the urge, the need to protect it. I didn't know why, but all I knew was that I wasn't backing down. "I'm sorry," I said, "but I can't promise that I'll just leave it alone. I've found such a beautiful creature in this boring, old town, and I'm not going to let them kill it."
Claire was silent for a moment, but at last, she muttered, "You always were so stubborn. At least promise me you'll be more careful? Don't do anything reckless like you did today."
I nodded. "That I can promise."