The Beginning: A Guarding the Vila Novelette

The Beginning 

A Guarding the Vila Novelette 

By: J.B. Wise

I want to thank all of my family and friends, my beta readers and my editor Courtney Diles Henderson for all the inspiration, help and knowledge that lead to the making of the Guarding the Vila series. You have all been awesome.

Copyright © 2014 by JB Wise 

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Printed in the United States of America First Printing, 2014

And this warning take, I beg; 

Not every wolf runs on four legs.

The smooth tongue of a smooth-skinned creature 

May mask a rough and wolfish nature.

These quiet types for all their charm, 

Can be the cause of the worse harm.

-Charles Perrault; Little Red Riding Hood

France, Fall of 1697 

* 

The dew had yet to be disturbed and the leaves lit the ground on fire with their color. The wooden cabins lay laced with mist, hardly visible from my window, while they sat in the distance. I should have been soaking up the beauty, loving the morning before the winter turned it cold, but Mama had woken me too early after her long trip from Grandmere's, causing my mood to turn fouler with each passing breath. No amount of beauty, or threat of its extinction, could soften the sour look I gave the dawn.

"Scarlett," she called. "Wake up! Grandmere is sick and cannot get out of bed. The wolves are said to roam this time of year, so I need you to get up so you can go and light the fires for her tonight. She is too weak to do them herself and I must go to town and fetch your sister to help take care of her."

I mumbled sleepily and rolled over, trying to ignore the urgency in her voice.

"Girl, wake up!"

She shook me heavily as I tried to burrow deeper under my covers, when suddenly she tore them off completely. She scowled, tapping her foot impatiently, as I crawled begrudgingly from my bed to get dressed. I did not want to be up and I did not care to walk the distance to Grandmere's. This could wait, I was certain, but if I did not do as I was asked, I would be left no coin for food, and Mama's temper would flare when she returned. It seemed far better, for now, to appease her. She quickly kissed my head as she pulled on her cape.

"You know what you must do?"

I rolled my eyes with my back still turned towards her.

"Yes, Mama. Light the fires at Grandmere's." I could hear the rustle of her skirts moving away from me.