To Hunt a Ruby Remedy: A Grumpy/Sunshine Little Red Riding Hood Novella

One - Scarlette

The cottage nestledin between the beech trees like it had grown there. The stone walls and roof made of clay tiles should have looked wrong in the middle of the forest, but instead, they fit perfectly. Charming, but not ordinary. No one stumbling across the house would be surprised to find it was situated on a magical node, the woman living inside a powerful healer who helped any who sought her out.

I had reached the end of my journey.

I walked up to the door and knocked. Then I waited. My hand slid into my pocket and gripped the nugget of glass within like the lifeline it was. The edges dug into my palm, the gently rounded corners of the cube a reassurance. Rosalia wouldn’t have made me bring this if she thought her grandmother wouldn’t make the charm.

The door swung open and revealed the scowling face of a man about my age. “What do you want?”

I gripped the cube tighter. The only thing soft and welcoming about this man was the thick black hair he left hanging loose to his shoulders. I wouldn’t let his stare run me off. I had dealt with worse. He wasn’t raging at me, and I had a mission.

I smiled as brightly as I could. “Beg your pardon. I’m looking for the healer. This is the right cottage, isn’t it?”

The man stuck his head out the door and looked both directions. “You see any others it could be? Yes, this is the right cottage. I’m the healer.”

“Oh.” Had something happened to Rosalia’s grandmother? I hoped not. For one, I would hate for anyone to lose a family member unexpectedly, even a relative stranger. I had lived with the fear long enough to have an idea of how devastating such news would be. More selfishly, though, I needed Grandmother Molle. “I’m sorry. You don’t match the description I was given. At all. I think I’m looking for a different healer. Is there another healer?”

The man continued to stand in the doorway, blocking my view of the interior of the cottage. Making my lack of welcome clear. “Depends. What description were you given?”

“A grandmother. Which you decidedly are not.”

He almost smiled. I was certain he almost smiled. Then he spoke, and I knew it. “I am a bit young to be a grandmother.”

“And rather . . . large.” My smile grew. Rough edges or not, this man wasn’t a danger.

He raised an eyebrow.

I wondered if I could coax a true smile out of him. “You have very big muscles for a grandmother.”

This time, he snorted. “You clearly haven’t met my grandmother.”

He sighed and looked inside the cottage, then stepped out of the doorway. “Come inside. You can tell me why you are seeking her out. You know we sell healing charms in the village? There was no need to come all the way out here. I deliver the charms to Wulfkin for that reason.”

I followed him into the main room of the cottage. The kitchen filled the back third, with a dining table and sitting area taking up the rest of the space. A hallway to my right led to the other rooms. The healer led me to the table, gesturing for me to take one chair before rounding to the other side.

“I need a very powerful charm.” I pulled the glass cube out of my pocket and placed it on the table, pushing it closer to him. “Rosalia told me her grandmother could craft what I needed.”

He picked up the glass and inspected it. “Of course she did. What kind of charm do you need that my twin couldn’t craft herself?”

He was Rosalia’s twin? There was a hint of family resemblance, I supposed, but plenty of people shared dark hair and green eyes without being related. I barely knew Rosalia, but it was hard to think of her growing up in the same environment as this man. Within a quarter hour of our meeting, she had been hugging me and offering to do everything she could to help.

I didn’t even know his name yet.

“I’m Scarlette,” I blurted, realizing I hadn’t shared my name either.

Like everyone who heard my name, he took a moment to stare at my deep red hair. A simple kerchief kept it out of my face, but did little to hide the wavy strands and their distinctive color.

The healer stared a little longer than most before replying. “More crimson than scarlet. Or maybe blood-red.”

“I am happy with my name not matching the shade perfectly. I should hate to be named Blood.”

Again, he nearly smiled, but quashed the movement of his lips before it was more than a twitch. “What kind of charm do you need, Scarlette?”

“You aren’t going to tell me your name?”

“Will it help this get moving a little faster? The sooner you explain what you need, the sooner I can create the charm and send you on your way.”

He was nothing like Rosalia at all. “My understanding is that it will take several days, so yes, I would appreciate knowing your name.”

“Ranulf.” He placed the glass cube back on the table, the soft clink a surprisingly forceful reminder of what was at stake. “Now, what do you need?”

“There’s something wrong with my mother’s brain,” I said, staring at the clear glass on the table. That future charm was my last hope. “We had healers come multiple times. They healed her, and everything seemed fine. She was herself again, but the problem always came back. Rosalia was passing through the village and heard about us. She offered to do another healing session.”

We couldn’t afford to pay her. The first time a healer treated Mama, we had scraped together the funds without too much difficulty. It used up our savings, but we could pay. The second time, the villagers had helped. I saved every copper after that, certain we’d need a healer again. We put it off for as long as possible, but Mama’s symptoms grew worse. It reached the point where she couldn’t work. So, we summoned another healer from the city.

It took everything to pay him. Every copper I had saved, every item we could sell, every coin we could beg from sympathetic friends. I had known that we couldn’t do it again. If this healer didn’t cure Mama completely, that was it.

Then Rosalia came. She demanded to treat my mother, not caring that we couldn’t pay. We couldn’t do more than offer her a pallet to sleep on.

“She used some charm before she did the healing, examined Mama to find out what was wrong. She said there was some sort of growth causing the problems. A tumor. After she healed Mama, she examined her with the charm again. The growth was reduced, but not gone. She doesn’t think it is possible for it to be healed completely. Mama will need treatments for the rest of her life. We can’t afford that.”

“Thus, she sent you to Grandmother to get a charm to keep the tumor in check.”

“Yes. She said that even the power of the node wouldn’t be enough to cure Mama, but it could be used to make a charm strong enough to last for years. Mama’s headaches returned within a day; we had waited too long to get her healed that last time. Rosalia made a charm to help her, but it won’t last longer than a month.”

The healer hadn’t even been certain it would have enough power to keep Mama healthy enough to make the journey to Drakona Forest herself. I had to get the charm and bring it home. It was our last chance.

Ranulf sighed. “Grandmother is down in Ortfel. One of the women there is due any day now, and she’s had a difficult pregnancy. I don’t know when Grandmother will be back, but I can make your charm. To do what you want, it will take time. Probably about a week.”

It had taken me a week to travel from home to the healer’s cottage. It would take me another week to get back. The charm Rosalia had made would last long enough.

“Thank you.” I had mentioned my lack of money, but I had to make sure Ranulf understood. “I can’t pay you. The glass for the charm is all I have to offer. But I can work while I wait. Cleaning, cooking, that sort of thing. I know it won’t come even close to the value of the charm.”

“You’re not staying here.”

I flinched at his tone. There was no give, no room for misunderstanding. But I didn’t understand. Rosalia had assured me there was a guest room in the cottage. That her grandmother would welcome me and appreciate any help I could offer around the house.

But her grandmother wasn’t here. Ranulf was.

I should be thankful he wasn’t suggesting I pay for the charm by warming his bed. Not spending a week with him, isolated in the middle of the forest, should be a relief. I’d have no recourse if he wanted to overpower me. But I had already decided he wasn’t a danger, and I trusted my instincts.

And maybe, I admitted, taking in his broad shoulders and rugged jawline, he wouldn’t have to overpower me.

But Ranulf didn’t want me around. Instead of relief, I felt vaguely insulted.

And tired. My gaze darted to the windows and the sunshine slanting through the trees. I hadn’t left right at sunrise that morning, so it was already mid-afternoon. It had never occurred to me that I’d have to return to the nearest village today. “The village is half a day’s walk away.”

Ranulf must have understood what I was thinking. “You can stay tonight, but tomorrow, you’ll return to Wulfkin. I’ll bring the charm there when I’m done.”

I’d have to wait a week, uncertain of what was happening. If Ranulf didn’t make the charm, would I have enough time to track down Grandmother Molle and get her help? Would Ranulf even give me back the glass cube needed for that charm? It was a risk I didn’t want to take. Trusting him not to attack me wasn’t the same as trusting that he would perform hours’ worth of magic on my behalf for nothing.

I summoned my smile once more, realizing I had let it slip. “Wouldn’t it be more convenient if I stayed here? I can take over the household chores, and you won’t have to travel to and from the village, wasting a full day of your time.”

“What would be convenient is not having you underfoot. If you want me to make the charm, then you need to return to Wulfkin tomorrow.”

“Surely there is some way I could be of help here? I want to repay you whatever way I can.”

“You can repay me by leaving.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Apparently, even looking at me was too much for him. After several heartbeats, he lowered his hand and looked at me with forest green eyes. “I have a batch of charms and enchantments that need to go to the village. You can bring them with you when you leave, all right? That can be the favor you do in return for getting a charm.”

I kept my smile in place and nodded. Perhaps, if I made myself useful in the interim, I could convince him to let me stay tomorrow morning.