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

Sixteen - Scarlette

I watched mymother putter around the kitchen and tried to smile. I didn’t want her to worry about me. She had gone through enough already. She deserved to enjoy the way the ruby charm had made an immediate difference, giving her a level of energy I hadn’t seen for years. I was happy for her, and relieved that she was doing better than she ever had after a healing session, even.

But I couldn’t summon a smile. When I caught a glimpse of the ruby, my thoughts weren’t on how it had saved my mother, but the man who had made it.

“You don’t have to go back to the tavern.” Mama handed me a mug of tea. “That bastard will make you beg for your job back, as if he hasn’t been scrambling to keep everything running while you were gone. You deserve better than putting up with him.”

I blew on the steaming tea, my thoughts scrambling to make sense of my mother’s words. The tavern. Go back. Oh. She thought my mood had to do with the thought of returning to work. I imagined tying an apron around my waist and walking back into the tavern. My face ached at the mere thought of the smiles I’d have to force to get through an evening there. I had never enjoyed my job, but it hadn’t filled me with the same sense of dread before. It simply was, and I made do. “What else am I supposed to do for a job?”

“You don’t need one, not with that purse you brought home.”

I scowled. After dropping me off in a field an hour’s walk north of my village, Ranulf had tossed the purse full of silver at my feet. The purse I had hidden under his pillow before we left the cottage. Then he blew a bit of smoke in my face when I demanded he take it back and took off. I couldn’t bring myself to leave it in the field, but that didn’t mean I wanted to live off those coins.

“It won’t last forever,” I told my mother, who couldn’t understand my reluctance to touch the silver.

“No, but it will last long enough. Or you could use it to make a fresh start. Open your own tavern, maybe.”

“Graenod is barely large enough for one tavern and the inn. A second tavern would never work.”

“Not here.”

I set my mug down. “Where exactly are you expecting me to open this tavern?”

“What about that village in the forest you were telling me about? Didn’t you say the inn served as the tavern, too? So, they could use it.”

My eyes narrowed. “It’s more like the tavern doubles as an inn when needed. They aren’t so crowded that they need another establishment.”

“What about a bakery?” My mother said quickly, her voice suspiciously cheerful. “You always loved to bake.”

The words were enough to make me remember the scent of yeast, the nutty freshness of a loaf just pulled from the fire. The look on Ranulf’s face as he took a bite. The same look, only amplified, as our bodies moved together in bed. My cheeks heated, and I realized I might never be able to bake again—not without stirring up memories best left alone. I had to find a way to distance myself from them if I wanted to live my life as anything but a shadow.

Baking was not an option. Which my mother should have realized even without knowing the thoughts swirling through my mind. The bakery in Graenod was run by a sprawling family that had no need for outside help. Then I realized that she hadn’t meant working in a bakery here.

“Mama.” I cocked my head to the side. “What are you doing? Why are you trying to make me leave?”

Her overly bright expression faded. “You’ve done so much for me, Scarlette. The least I can do is not sentence you to a lifetime of misery in return.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve hardly smiled since your return. Did you know that?”

“I’m just tired,” I protested, knowing she wouldn’t believe me. If she had noticed more than my despondency this morning, then I hadn’t done as good of a job hiding my mood as I had thought.

“Sweetie, you have always smiled through everything life throws at you. Even when you worked yourself into exhaustion trying to raise money for a healer—not to mention dealing with fear for my health on top of it—you still smiled.” She rose and walked around the table, bending over to hug me. “You are in love with that healer, aren’t you? And don’t even think of lying to your own mother. I saw your expression when you talked about him.”

I tried to smile, but my lips trembled. “It doesn’t matter. He has his own life in the forest.”

“You had to bring me the charm, but there is nothing forcing you to stay here, Scarlette. You can make a life for yourself in Drakona, too.”

“I already showed up at his doorstep uninvited twice. I can’t just go and tell him I’ve abandoned my whole life for him. He didn’t ask me to stay or come back, Mama.”

“Think about it,” Mama said, giving me one last squeeze. “Take a few days. Don’t go back to the tavern, just think about what you want to do with your life. It is time for you to put yourself first, sweetie.”

I nodded, not quite agreeing, but not arguing, either. I wasn’t sure I knew how to put myself first. My whole life I had always worried about how I could help other people. I wanted everyone around me to be happy. The last few years as Mama’s health had declined, it had only become more important that I focus on how I could be helpful.

My mother placed her mug in the sink and walked out the door, leaving me to my thoughts.

Instead of thinking about what made me happy, I thought about who I wanted to help. My mother was at the top of the list, but the ruby charm had done more than I had ever hoped. It would last decades, and already had her acting like the woman I had known as a girl. The tumor must have started affecting her long before we realized. She had tired quicker, and headaches kept her in bed or caused foul moods, but the progression happened slowly enough that I hadn’t recognized anything was wrong until it was nearly too late. Only now, seeing her completely healthy once more, did I realize how long the illness had diminished my mother, robbing her of the vitality that had been the cornerstone of my early life.

She didn’t need my help anymore.

I listed villagers in my head. There were plenty I liked, but it was a superficial relationship. Smiles and jokes shared on market day, nothing more. I might use some of the silver to repay them for the help they had given the second time Mama needed a healing, but I didn’t feel the urge to do more for them. They had their own lives, and they had welcomed me into them only so far. I was the friendly woman everyone said hello to and nothing more. I had never had the time to develop deeper relationships.

There were also plenty of villagers I would be just as happy to never see again—most of them the regular patrons at the tavern.

Rosalia. If I ever saw the traveling healer again, I wanted to do something to thank her for everything. I had spent less than a day in her company, but I felt closer to her than most of the villagers. There had been a spark of recognition between us, the sense that we could be friends if life gave us the opportunity. But Rosalia’s feet itched to roam the kingdom, sharing her healing power with all she found. I’d never be happy with such a nomadic existence.

I wanted a home.

And Mama was right: this village didn’t feel like my home.

The people of Wulfkin ran through my memory. Their warm welcome and determination to protect their healers. The laughing children who didn’t know hunger, who could play on a dragon without fear and accept the end of playtime with smiles still wreathing their faces.

Grandmother Molle, who had welcomed me without hesitation.

Ranulf.

I closed my eyes. I wanted to make Ranulf laugh. Seeing his lips twitch when he was amused—but refused to admit it—gave me joy. Listening to him talk, the words all the more powerful after his stubborn silences, sent a shiver down my spine.

I wanted to build a life with him, but I could accept the disappointment of him not wanting the same so long as I knew he was safe and happy.

I had no such assurances.

“He was happy with me,” I whispered. I tilted my chin up. I would not doubt myself or what we had shared. Ranulf might not have been able to accept that happiness, but he had felt it. Perhaps it wouldn’t last beyond the strange week where we had been forced together, but it was just as likely to last the rest of our lives. If we let it.

If not for the threat posed by the huntsman, would Ranulf have tried?

My chin dipped once more. A dragon hunter was after the man I loved and I could do nothing to help. I wouldn’t even know if anything happened.

In the end, it was the uncertainty that had me packing my bag once more. I couldn’t sleep at night, worrying about what the huntsman was doing. When I managed to fall asleep, I’d jerk awake covered in sweat only a few hours later, terrified that Gideon had killed Ranulf.

I told my mother that I hadn’t made a firm decision, that I was returning to Drakona Forest in order to decide. She responded that she would come to visit as soon as I was settled.

I had everything ready and was only waiting for my mother to return from the market, because she insisted on buying me a few extra supplies, when there was a knock on the door. I opened it, unsure who to expect.

When I had first seen Ranulf, I was shocked to learn he and Rosalia were twins. Apart from the black hair, there was little resemblance. She was petite, with a wide smile and eyes of a darker green. Seeing her on my doorstep now, I saw the similarities I had missed before. It was in the shape of their eyes, the stubborn tilt of a chin.

“Rosalia.” I stepped back, letting her walk inside.

“You’re back already!” She spotted the pack waiting for me on the table. “Or did you not even leave yet? I came to make sure the charm I gave your mother was holding up, but if you haven’t even left for the forest, she’ll need at least another two weeks. A charm with the power of a node behind it will make a big difference, Scarlette. I know you are reluctant to ask for what you see as charity, but Grandmother won’t see it that way.”

“I got the charm. I left hours after your last visit.” I crossed my arms. “You could have warned me about your twin.”

Rosalia let out a noisy breath, her lips vibrating. “Bah. I didn’t want to scare you off. And he avoids people as much as possible, so I didn’t expect you to even talk to him.”

“He was the only one home when I reached the cottage,” I said dryly.

“Oh. Sorry.”

My lips twitched. “We figured out how to get along, eventually.”

Rosalia’s eyes went wide. “You and Ranulf?”

“I didn’t say—”

“Oh, I can imagine it now. He wouldn’t have had any idea how to deal with you. It’s perfect. Is that why you are packed for another trip? Are you going back to Drakona?”

“Yes, but it’s not what you think,” I told her before she could jump to anymore conclusions. “I want to make sure he is safe. There’s a hunter.”

As quickly as possible, I explained the situation with Gideon. “So, I’m not sure what I can do, but I feel guilty. If I hadn’t snuck off to watch Ranulf transform, the huntsman never would have learned who the dragon is. He would have followed the trail to the mountains and left Ranulf alone.”

Rosalia drummed her fingers against the table where we had settled about halfway into my story. “You are right. Something will have to be done about the hunter. He won’t give up, and the villagers can only do so much. I’ll go with you to Drakona. I’m sure we can think of a way to deal with him if we all work together. When did you plan to leave?”

“I was just waiting for Mama to return from the market.”

“Alright. I’ll run out and buy a few supplies right now. I’ll be back within the hour, then we can leave.”

Rosalia didn’t wait for a response, practically running out the door before she finished talking.