A few minutes later, he even started helping them put up the chairs. Within an hour, all her chores were done and Mr. Ridley offered to accompany her home, much to Ruby's delight.
It was late, and Red had quite a way to go. Gran insisted she accept his offer, saying she wanted to make sure that Red could get home safely. The forest was quiet as they walked to Red’s house, but she was glad when Mr. Ridley left her alone and headed home himself. She didn't want to be responsible for him getting lost.
Red went to bed around two a.m., going over in her head the conversation she wanted to have with the king. She was certain that he wouldn't refuse to help her; other people must have been going to him as well. Bad things were happening in Farrington, and he needed to react. Red and her gran had lived in Farrington for years. It had always been a safe place to live, and Caspian looked after his people without prejudice. He was a kind but firm leader who ruled the kingdom well.
That didn't change the fact that he was a vampire. Red only found out after her friend Cindy spent a passionate night with him in the castle before they were married.
Could he use his supernatural power to handle the highwaymen?
Red had no idea what he was capable of or he if he had any magical abilities apart from the fact that he could feed on human blood and change his appearance. She wanted One Eye gone, but she knew it wouldn’t be as easy as she thought. She had to speak to him face to face, and ask. Caspian was the King of Farrington after all, and he had never disappointed anyone before.
Red knew that One Eye was planning something and that he wasn't going to leave anytime soon. Despite telling herself the king would help and that she had to stand up to One Eye and his gang, dread settled in the pit of her stomach.
Unfortunately, the next day Red learned the most painful way that her situation was much more complicated than she’d originally anticipated. She headed to the castle as soon as she woke up. The guards didn't let her through, and it turned out that Caspian and his newly beloved bride, Cindy, left two days ago to visit some long-distance family.
Apparently, the king had been planning this trip for weeks. He wanted to visit his relatives in another kingdom and show off his new wife. Red knew that before he married Cindy, he barely left the castle, so it was understandable that he would want to introduce her to his family.
Prince Eric was away on business too, so there was no one in the castle that Red could actually ask for help. She didn't think that Eric could help her anyway, because he was a vain idiot who only thought about himself.
Now she understood why One Eye was so confident. He must have figured out that this was his best opportunity to earn some dirty money, with King Caspian not in Farrington to stop him.
Obviously the king had given specific instructions to his guards enforce the law during his absence, but Red had heard in the past that the head of the king’s army was a deceiving man himself. In general, people didn’t like him because he wasn’t very fair, and liked to gamble all of his money away.
There had been rumours in the kingdom that he could easily be bribed, and Red suspected that the highwaymen must have reached out to him somehow the moment Caspian was gone. This made sense, because now One Eye had free reign of the kingdom while Zulu, the man in charge of security, counted his gold coins.
Red couldn't be angry. Cindy and Caspian were in love, and they needed some time away. The king regularly visited his people, and Red remembered that he jailed a few thieves that had been vandalising the roads in the past.
Red went home empty handed and a worried about her future. She didn't want to waste time in town, besides, she had to open the tavern for lunch this afternoon. Her mind was racing as she tried to come up with some kind of solution. She took off her red cloak and was just about to walk into the kitchen when she saw a brown envelope on the table that wasn't there before. She became suspicious, because she specifically remembered that she didn’t leave any paperwork lying around. A cold shiver crawled over her spine when she saw that someone had written her real name across the top. She started running around her house, checking all the rooms to make sure that she was still alone.
A few minutes later she tore the envelope apart, and her stomach filled with dread.
Leave one hundred gold coins in a bag outside your door.
It's a partial payment for taking care of that wolf man last night. The werewolves are penetrating the forest and they will get to you sooner rather than later.
I was trying to be accommodating when I showed up in your tavern with my men, but that will end soon.
I hate wasting time and money. This isn't a game, little girl.
If you fail to pay me, I’ll make sure that your tavern will be empty every single day.
People don't say no to Robin One Eye.
At first Red was indignant, hardly believing Robin dared to send her something like that. But then her heart started beating rapidly in her chest as she re-read his message a few more times. Then she sat down on the chair, her breathing laboured.
She crushed the letter in her hand and clenched her fist, cutting circulation to her fingers. Anger and worry enveloped her. Things had been going so well until One Eye showed up.
The idea of obeying One Eye made her sick, and she was ready to tell him to go to hell. Again. Her pride wouldn't allow her to give in—but on the other hand, she wouldn't be put in a bind if she gave One Eye a hundred gold coins just to shut him up. She wouldn’t say anything to her grandmother about her decision to give him the gold, because she knew that Ruby would get them into more trouble. Her grandmother was very impulsive and Red knew that she could confront One Eye on her own if needed.
When she was walking to the tavern later on, she heard that a few people in town had been robbed.
Red felt stupid that she’d left her hard-earned money to a scumbag like One Eye. She told herself it was a one-time deal, and she wasn't planning to give him anymore gold after this. She decided to forget about it for now.
While working in the tavern, Ruby didn't mention One Eye again. Red was hopeful that her gran had already forgotten about the unpleasant incident, but knew it wasn’t likely if she heard what was going on in town from the locals.
That night, the tavern was packed with people drinking beer and whiskey and Red felt relieved. She was making a lot of money and people were still drinking into the late hours.
Unfortunately, that was one of the last nights where everything went smoothly. One Eye demanded more money and left her two more letters a week later. Red didn't pay him and ripped his messages to shreds, knowing that she shouldn't have encouraged him in the first place. She’d made a mistake paying him the first time.
A week later, someone broke into her cellar and stole all the remaining wine that she’d been keeping for special occasions. It was the last of Red's stock.
She was trying hard to forget about it and stay positive when she walking to work a few days later. Things hadn’t been going well lately, but she was determined to turn it around. She wore her red cloak that evening and hoped that the tavern would be filled with customers.
Red was halfway to the tavern when a young local boy ran towards her, shouting:
“Red! Red! There’s a fire in the tavern, a huge fire.”
Red had never moved so quickly in her entire life, she ran alongside the boy with her heart in her throat, thinking that this was it. Her luck had run out and she was going to lose everything. Her heart was jackhammering loudly in her chest, and by the time she reached her tavern, her chest was burning.
She saw her gran outside and quickly exhaled in relief, thanking God that Ruby was safe. Moments later she saw that one of her outbuildings was on fire. Flames were swallowing the entire space, causing devastation. Smoke was bellowing into the navy sky.
Red had been storing some old furniture in the wood building, but nothing of significance. Thankfully, only days ago she’d moved several boxes of whiskey down to the cellar, otherwise she would have los
t even more stock.
“What’s happened? I got here as soon as I could?” she asked Ruby, seeing how a couple of local men were trying to put out the fire, throwing buckets of water along the walls.
“The building just lit up in flames. I was sorting the bottles in the bar when I saw it. It was too late for me to do anything or call for help. We can’t save it now,” Ruby said. Red rushed out to help, carrying water, but the construction was slowly falling apart. Soon it was too dangerous to get any closer. They were lucky that the fire didn’t reach the tavern, otherwise everything would have burned to the ground.
More and more people began to approach, staring as the fire slowly turned the outbuilding to ash. Red was devastated. The repairs were going to cost her a fortune—money she didn’t have, and she would have to pay to make sure it was safe for people to walk around it. She had future plans to transform it into a hotel or stable. The plans hadn’t been drawn out yet, but now there was no way she could afford to rebuild.
“Did any of you see anything this evening?” she asked a group of boys who were standing behind her. They all shook their head.
Red knew that One Eye was behind everything that had been going terribly wrong lately. That night she opened the tavern, but not many people showed up. Soon everyone in town were talking about the fire.
As the days passed by, fewer and fewer people showed up in the tavern. The whole town was talking of nothing but robberies and new kidnappings. People were scared to go out after sunset. On top of everything, One Eye kept coming back, demanding more gold and threatening the remaining customers.
Every second day, he sent his men to threaten Red, but she refused to give in, and stood her ground. Ruby was going crazy, trying to hit a few with her umbrella whenever they came. One Eye didn't show his face again. The coward always sent his men. Red was determined to resist. She was waiting for her new stock to arrive. Many people had stopped coming to the tavern when the trouble first started, but she hoped that once she had the wine she’d promised, her customers would come back.
As the days passed, Red started watching her gold dwindle. Her situation was becoming even more alarming. She and Ruby still had to pay the bills, but after such a disastrous month, Red was forced to use all of her savings.
"We’re in trouble hon, aren't we?" Ruby asked one evening when they were doing the accounting.
The tavern was quiet, there were just a few people sitting at the front table, minding their own business. Red kept rubbing her forehead, thinking that things were far more complicated than she thought. Something had to change, because Red was beginning to feel trapped. One Eye wasn't going to leave her alone and it looked like King Caspian and Cindy weren't going to be back anytime soon. And there was no way for Red to send them a message through the courier. According to the royal guards she wasn’t family, so she shouldn’t be disturbing the newlywed couple. Besides, she had no idea which kingdom they had travelled to.
Day after day the tavern was almost empty and if it didn’t change soon, Red was afraid she might have to close the business altogether.
"Yes, we’re barely making any money and people are still scared to go out because of all the robberies and kidnappings that have been going on lately. And there are rumours that werewolves are behind it all. Personally, I don’t believe that it’s even true," Red replied, aware that One Eye was doing a good job spreading fear amongst the people. Some territories weren't controlled by the king, and the highwaymen took it upon themselves to settle there. "And Robin keeps asking for more gold, money that we don't have."
“Thieving bastard! We shouldn't have given him anything in the first place. That fire was his doing, Red!" Ruby shouted in anger. Eventually Red had told her that she paid him one hundred gold coins in the beginning.
"I know, but we can't prove it. And you’d best believe I won't pay him another cent. We just need to be more careful from now on." Red thought about her options. She’d used the money that her grandmother had saved up and her own cash that she’d managed to earn while she worked for a local farmer.
She and Ruby had been working really hard to make the business successful and she just couldn't let it all go to waste.
"Maybe we should go to the bank and ask for a loan?" Ruby suggested.
"No, we’re already in debt, so the bank won't give us any more money," Red stated, dragging her hand through her hair.
"Well, there is no point worrying about it, darling. We’ll figure something out, we always do. The highwaymen are going to move to another territory once Caspian returns." Ruby patted her on the back. "I will bring you a drink, love. I think you need one."
Red watched as her grandmother calmly walked to the bar and began pouring her a pint of beer. Deep down, Red’s heart was breaking. She had no idea how they were going to survive the next few months without a steady flow of cash. Robin One Eye and his men only just settled in this part of Farrington, and they were using their sleazy methods to swindle money out of hardworking people.
"It's true. The wolf men are real and they’re settled near the Forbidden Forest."
Red glanced in front of her, staring directly at a baron from the nearby kingdom who had just joined a few other men. She’d been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't seen them walk in.
"Werewolves are just a myth, Rodrick," the other man said, chuckling, and Red frowned. Lately, a lot of people had been talking about supernatural creatures. The Forbidden Forest was filled with wild animals and no one ever dared to go out there. Even foreign travellers knew to avoid it.
"It's not a myth,” the baron said. “My son spoke to their alpha. Apparently, they were supposed to only be passing through, but their alpha heard that highwaymen were terrorising people around town while King Caspian was away, so they decided to stay in the forest for now to keep a lookout."
Red had always kept her feet firmly on the ground and didn’t believe in supernatural stories about fairies, witches or spell books. Her mother taught her that magic only existed in fairy tales, and that she should always think things out logically. However, nowadays more and more people had been saying that werewolves were seen in Farrington. Every day someone else claimed they saw a man turning into a wolf. She wanted to ignore it, but right then someone was talking about it in front of her, so she couldn't help but eavesdrop.
"So, they’re real wolf men, they can shift and everything?" another man asked, staring at the baron, his eyes bulging.
"They certainly are real, but people believe that they’re the cause of all their problems," the baron explained.
"Yes, people are stupid. They believe in gossip and rumours."
"My own son saw them shifting into wolves. Their alpha’s tied to Caspian in some way. I’ve heard stories about him. Apparently, he takes from the rich and gives to the poor. Maybe he’s going to sort out One Eye and his dirty bunch," the baron said, sounding hopeful.
Red didn't know what to believe anymore. She knew that people were convinced that the wolf men were to blame, but that was never the case. She knew firsthand that it was One Eye and his gang.
"Their alpha’s the only one who can stand up to them,” the other man added, “so let’s have a little hope. I know that he helped renovate the dressmaker's old barn from town and he refused to take money from her when she tried to pay him."
The baron laughed out loud. "Yes, that's their Alpha King for you. His heart is definitely in the right place."
Red looked for Ruby, but her gran must have gone down to the cellar. Suddenly she knew what she needed to do. The tavern was her life, and she had to find a way to save it. Maybe it would hurt her pride, but she had no other choice. She needed to ask the Alpha King for help, the only man that she knew who could turn into a wolf. She still wasn't sure if she believed this story, but she was desperate and willing to try anything. She couldn’t allow One Eye to continue to drive her patrons away or terrorise her business.
Chapter Four
"Are you sure that yo
u want to go see him alone?" her gran asked for the third time tonight. Red exhaled sharply, trying not to roll her eyes. She quickly put her hood up and zipped her cloak around herself.
"Yes, Gran, I'm sure. Someone has to stay here to keep an eye on things, and it's better if I face him alone," she explained, still not convinced if it was such a good idea. She didn't know anything about the alpha king and deep down she was nervous. The truth was that she’d run out of any other ideas.
The tavern was quiet, so Red decided to close it up earlier than normal. She thought that she could at least save some gold from running the extra electricity. In any other circumstances, Red would never go to a man for help, but she had to forget about her own rules that night. Robin One Eye wasn't giving up. Money was tight, and the alpha king was her last and final option. She didn't even know if he could help her, but she at least had to try.
"Okay fine, but just be careful. Everyone that I’ve spoken to blames him for the robberies and kidnappings. I don't know if these stories about him taking away from rich and giving to the poor are even true," Ruby said, but Red didn't reply.
They had been discussing this since Red first told her about her plans. In the end, Red managed to convince her that the alpha king could help them. It was a risk Red was willing to take for now.
Since the incident with Robin One Eye, Ruby had been spending more and more time with Mr. Ridley, who was staying with her tonight. The two of them had grown very close. Red didn't mind at all. She wanted her gran to be happy again. The elderly gentleman was making an effort and her grandmother was having too much fun. In the past, she’d dated a lot of available men in town, but no one seemed right for her. Red hoped that maybe this time, she would finally settle down.
"See you later, Gran, just make sure you lock all the doors behind me," Red reminded her, and the older woman nodded.
A few minutes later, she was walking along the road, heading towards the forest in the dark.