Monster March: Mary the Weresheep

Female Main Character x Female Monster

Sheep have been going  missing all over this land. Considering that most of my village makes  their money off of livestock, it’s a very big deal. Even if it wasn’t,  missing sheep is usually a sign of something lurking in the woods. For  years now, my family has been to blame for this. The stress of it killed  my mother, and my father is barely hanging on. I’ve been taking care of  things as much as possible, but even I suffer from debilitating  anguish.

The Peep Farm has been in my family for generations, and  before the ugliness, we had been known far and wide for the best sheep  and goats in the world. Our sheep had the whitest and fluffiest pelts,  and our goats produced sublime milk and cheeses. Our lambs and kids were  the cutest in the world, and would sell faster than chicks during the  spring festival. Then it all came crashing down when my brother…  No. I  refuse to talk about that.

In any case, our family’s reputation  has fallen. People have come wanting to buy our farm from us, but my  father refuses. This is all we have, and even if we did sell, we would  get pennies compared to what this farm is worth. One such buyer is Lady  Mary, who owns the biggest sheep farm in this countryside. Lady Mary and  I used to be friends; after all, we were both daughters of a sheep  farm, so our experiences were similar even if Mary had grown up a bit  richer than me. Our friendship seemingly ended, though, when I became  engaged to her brother. Maybe Mary was worried I was going to make her  brother merge our two farms, or that I was trying to exploit him. Our  friendship deteriorated. After her brother passed away in the war, Mary  and I were practically strangers.

After what happened with my  brother, Henry, I’m not surprised I never heard from Mary again. In  fact, it feels like she has just cause to hate my family and wipe our  farm off the map. She’s the most eager out of all the prospective buyers  to get our farm, and comes by at least once a month to make an offer.  It starts to feel like an attack each time. She comes by dressed  fetchingly in soft colors that show off her creamy complexion. Her hair  is perfectly coiffed, she smells of perfume, and she stands on the front  porch to barter with my father, not even bothering to come inside.

One  day, she comes when my father isn’t home, so I am the one to answer the  door. Mary has always been tall and beautiful, and she towers over me  looking statuesque, perfect and polished. She smiles as I open the door,  wiping my hands on my apron. “Good morning, Bo,” she says with a smirk.  “Is your father home?”

“No,” I sigh. “He’s gone out to try to get his shovel repaired. And no, we are not selling the farm to you.”

Mary  tilts her head and lets her eyes wander over me. “Listen, Bo, I know  you have fallen on hard times, especially since your mother passed  away.” She takes a step closer and reaches out a hand. “At least let me  buy some of the land. I know it’s hard to keep up with so much of it,  and with only the two of you, it must…”

I stop her hand from  touching me, holding it firmly in mine. “We’re doing fine. We’re not  selling you any property except maybe the shit on it.”

Mary frowns. “I am not trying to be rude, Bo!”

“Well it sure sounds like it to me.”

I  let go of her hand, and she withdraws it. Her fingers flit through her  golden locks and she sighs. “Tell your father I stopped by, and that my  offer still stands.” She turns off the porch, going up the path towards  her buggy.

It’s true. Ever since the incident with Henry, and  since my mother passed away, hard times have basically been all we know.  I try my hardest to keep the meager money we earn flowing. I take care  of our sheep, but the flock is small now. People kept stealing them from  us, even before sheep started vanishing en masse around the whole  countryside. But I swear, our family has nothing to do with this. The  Peeps are innocent - this time.

I’m making yarn these days, the  only thing we seem to be able to sell. The only reason I think it sells  is because I’ve taken the time to dye it, and have been able to create  unique colors. This keeps the farm running, and father and I fed, at  least. Even if it stains my hands and arms and makes my fingers feel  brittle, at least we have that.

I take the sheep out first thing  in the morning, so they can stretch and run and eat until they are  content. Lately I’ve had to take them between the rocky slopes of the  hills, and around lunch I’ll take them back home, hoping I don’t pass  anyone on the way. But today, when we start to make our way back, there  are twenty-one sheep instead of twenty, and the extra one isn’t one of  mine. This ewe is pitch-black, with a wild coat that looks as though it  hasn’t been sheared in ages. I have no idea where she came from or when  she might have joined my sheep. It seems as though she appeared out of  nowhere.

I wasn’t sure what to do. If she belongs to one of the  neighboring farms and they find out, it could be even more trouble for  us. But the poor thing looks abandoned, so I decide to give her a shear  and a wash. The black wool she gives would make excellent yarn. I  haven’t been able to find anything to dye the yarn this exquisite of a  black, a highly requested color. The poor ewe is quite small without all  the wool, so I give her oats while I wash her.

“That one won’t  bring us any luck,” my father tells me. “I never wanted black sheep  here, nor black goats. They’re a sign of wickedness.”

“Who says?  We never had black sheep before, and look what has become of us! Sin  doesn’t come in through color or breed, Father. Sin exists regardless.”  I’m going to keep that sheep unless I find out who it belongs to. In  fact, I’m becoming quite attached to her already. She follows me around  the farm happily, trotting beside me as I go about my chores. Even when I  take the other sheep out to graze, she stays close to me.

It  takes a long time to prepare the wool to make yarn. The skirting is my  least favorite part because it takes so long. Once I have the black wool  skirted, I begin to clean it, which has been quite arduous ever since  the press broke. I’ve been washing it twice and hanging it out to dry to  get it as clean as I like it. And since this new wool is so black, I  don’t have to dye it at all, and can move straight to the carding.

It’s  during this step that I notice something a little strange. As I’m  combing out the black wool, I notice that some of the fluffier strands  are becoming almost shiny, even metallic, and they glimmer in the  sunlight. While it does feel like a trick of the eye, I notice it more  and more as the carding process goes on.

The next day during work,  my comb breaks, which rends my gut apart. I have no other combs to use  aside from my hairbrush, and it’s not good enough for the wool. It means  I have to go into town, which frightens me. It means I will also have  to use some of the money that my father and I have been trying to save  to repair some of the broken equipment on the farm, like the press and  the shovel.

My heart is heavy as I take money from the box. All I  need is a comb, and I need it to be able to make yarn. I hate going into  town while people stare and say things under their breath. They also  say things out loud, but they don’t bother me as much as the whispers  and growls I can’t make out.

As I leave the farm, the little black  sheep trots along beside me, happy as could be. Standing at the gate, I  give her a few more pets. “Stay here, alright? I’ll be right back to  finish spinning the wool you gave me.” I rub her face, and whenever I  try to pull away, she keeps shoving herself into my palms. “Don’t be  silly! I’ll come back!” I stand up, but she keeps chasing after me.  “Stay, girl! Stay!” I manage to slip out of the gate without her, but  even then she follows along beside me on the other side of the fence.  When she reaches the end, she begins to bleat and cry.

In town,  I’m grateful to not see too many people around, although there are some  children playing in the street. I walk by them and let my guard down  just a little.

“Blow it down! Blow it down!” the children begin to chant.

I take a shaky breath and walk faster.

“Blow it down! Blow it down!” The children continue to yell behind me.

I  trip and fall in my haste, and the coins in my pocket scatter. I try to  grab them, but the children rush out ahead of me and begin picking them  up. “No! Stop! Give that back!” I sit up, but one of the little boys  pulls my hood down over my face, and the others shove me as they run by.  “Give it back!” I cry. I pull my hood away, and to my surprise I see  the black sheep confronting the kids. The children try to walk around  her, but she moves to block them again.

“Move!” The boy who pushed  me charges to hit the sheep, but she opens her mouth, and it is a  horrible spectacle of sharp fangs, and many blood-red tongues that  slither out like slimy tendrils. The children scream, dropping the coins  and sprinting around me to get away.

The sheep closes her mouth  and mudges the coins with her nose. Then she lifts her head, wagging her  little black tail as she waits for me to pick them up. But I start to  weep, burying my face in my hands. “I can’t do this again!” I sob. “Not  again!”

The black sheep pushes at my hands, sniffing at me and bleating gently.

“Why do these monsters keep finding me?” I sob.

“Get off the ground, Bo.”

A chill goes down my scalp to my neck. I look up through tears at the black sheep as she stares at me. “What?”

“Get  off the ground, and stand straight,” she says in a calm, demanding  voice. “Do not let the sheep of the town trample you under their hooves.  Get up.”

I stare in fear and awe. Already I have seen her gaping  maw, like a gateway to some hellish realm. Now she speaks to me! “What  is this?” I whisper. “What are you?”

She nudges me, pushing until I stand on my feet again. “I am yours, of course.”

I  stare at her in disbelief. I almost want to run, but my feet are frozen  in place. “I don’t want this. Not again. Once those children get home  and tell their families what they saw…”

“Then let them come, and  see I am nothing but an ordinary ewe. I have nothing to hide from them,  nor do you. Children are known to make up stories.”

I scowl down at her. “But their parents can ruin our farm all over again. We barely survived last time!”

She  lifts her chin. “This time will be different, I promise you, Bo. Now go  buy your comb, and I will return to the farm. No one will be any the  wiser. I am yours, and yours alone.”

I shake my head. “I can’t trust this.”

“I know I must earn your trust, Bo, and I intend to. I am not your brother.”

My  chest shudders at the mention. “What do you know?” I grab the coins off  the ground and stomp away. I expect to be attacked at any moment as I  go into the shop. I buy what I need, and as I leave I fear who will be  waiting for me outside.

Emerging from the shop, I see Mary  stepping from her buggy. She looks at me with surprise and touches a  lock of hair on her cheek, brushing it aside. “Bo, you’re hurt.”

I look at my hand, which had been scuffed when I tripped. “It’s nothing.” I pocket the comb in my apron and keep my hand there.

“You’re filthy.” Mary murmurs as I try to walk by. “Did you fall?”

“It’s nothing,” I scoff again.

Mary follows beside me. “Did something happen?”

I keep my eyes ahead and don’t look at her. “I told you, Mary, it’s nothing.”

“Did someone push you?” she hisses.

I look at her. “Why do you care?”

She stiffens and sniffs. “It is one thing for your family to be the butt of the rumor mill, but physical violence is another.”

“I’d rather you hit me than talk behind my back, Mary,” I sneer at her.

Her eyes soften, brows knitting together as a pout comes to her pretty pink lips. “Now, Bo…”

“Nope.” I turn on my heel and walk away again. Mary continues to follow.

“I never said anything about your family, not since the…”

“Don’t!” I snap at her. “You are many things, Mary, but don’t start being a liar.”

Mary’s  mouth gapes. “Now see here, Bo Peep! I never said anything about your  family after what happened with Henry. I’ve been trying to help you by  getting that farm away from you.”

“That farm is all we have!” I  snap at her. “We relied on our good reputation! You have connections, we  don’t. Your father has rich friends. Your family has connections to  Miror royalty!”

Mary closes her mouth and frowns.

“With our  reputation in the mud, all we have is land. You take that from us, and  we literally will have nothing.” I’m about to cry, but I will not let  Mary see that.

“Then stay on the farm. Let me buy it, and I’ll pay you and your father to run it.” Mary starts to smile, which angers me more.

“I  will not be your staff, Mary! Now leave me alone!” I storm off ahead of  her, trying to leave her behind so I can return home in peace. I make  it back without another incident, and go into the barn to continue  carding the black wool. The more I pull the comb through it, the more I  see the shiny metallic strands inside.

I feel eyes upon me, and  look up to see the black ewe watching me. My hands still and I settle  back upon my seat. I’m not sure what to feel. I’m far too tired after  all these years.

“I mean you no harm, Bo.” The ewe walks into the barn. “I came to care for you.”

“I’m  done with monsters,” I hiss. “I’m done with the harm they inflict and  the nightmares that follow them. My family has had enough.”

She tilts her head to the side. “What makes you believe that I am a monster, Bo?”

Tears flood to my eyes. “Just tell me what you are! You say you are mine then obey me like you are!”

The  barn doors suddenly close behind her, causing my flesh to leap from my  bones. My breath shakes as I force myself to breathe. The black ewe  rises, standing on hind legs. Fingers sprout and grow around the hooves  of her front legs, spreading out until the hard hoof becomes the center  of her palm. Her arms grow out until she reaches up and pulls at the  ears on top of her head, lifting away her face and skin like a hood. The  head underneath is skeletal, with shiny gold teeth and long, sharp  incisors. The shape of her face is still like a sheep’s, but the eyes  are larger and strangely human. She stands tall before me, breathing fog  from her nostrils.

“My name is Demeter,” she says cooly. “I have  existed in these hills longer than humans. Before the Goddess Alice came  and took on mortal life, I was here.”

“You’re a god?”

“In a  sense.” She tilts her head to the side. “I don’t like to be associated  with the divine, and they certainly don’t want to be associated with me.  I prefer the land and the creatures that tread it. That is who I exist  for.”

My vision is going dark, fading to tiny bright pinpoints  before I lose consciousness all together. I fall into the dream I’ve had  so many times before, and find myself standing before the big, red barn  doors, having just put the sheep and goats away for the night. I turn  away from the doors to see something darting between the bales of hay, a  dark shadow that comes closer and closer. I turn to head home, and am  grabbed and shoved against the barn doors. Massive, clawed hands pin my  shoulders back, and I see the gaping, bloody jaws of a wolf before me.

I  scream, and as always, I wake up from my horrible nightmare. I sit up  from my bed and see Demeter watching over me. “Please, let this still be  a dream,” I sob.

Demeter sits down on the side of my bed and  strokes her long, strange fingers through my hair. “Little Bo Peep,” she  whispers to me. “You need to sleep.”

“I can’t,” I whisper. “I have nightmares all the time. I can’t face them. So I won’t sleep.”

“Your  nightmares are in the waking world,” she says. “What you face in  slumber is nothing compared to what you suffer through daily, is it  not?”

I sniffle and look up at her. “Why are you here? What do you want from me?”

Demeter  slips her fingers under my chin. “I have grown weak over the centuries.  I have been sleeping far too much. I wish to be taken care of, loved  even.”

I stare at her and frown. “Then you should have remained a sheep.”

Demeter’s  chuckle is soft. “I would love to be nothing but your doting pet, but I  am afraid I have never been one to let things go easily.” Her wide,  blinking eyes appear soft as she breathes a thick fog into the room.  “The cult that worshipped me, before the Chess Court wiped them out, was  all women. They gave me strength to make the land fertile, and their  livestock strong. Since they were chased from this land, I have let  myself and the land fall into a sort of slumber. My power comes from  affection.”

“But why choose me?” I grumble. “Aren’t there better people in this world to do that with? Better farms?”

Demeter  tilts her head. “If you keep thinking that way, Bo, you will only end  up hurting yourself. The measure of a person isn’t by what makes them  ‘better’ than everyone else.”

I look away from her and pull my knees up to my chest.

“I  will continue to play the doting pet, if that is what you require. I  will also be your friend, your confidant, and your protector. I just ask  you to let me stay by your side. My powers will return, and I will help  you flourish.”

I look away from her briefly, staring back into  her eyes. “I can’t give much. I don’t know why you think I can. You  would be better to go and find affection for someone who has not had  their mind and soul weakened like mine.”

Demeter brushes my hair  away from my face. “I want to help you as you have helped me. You  believe you only sheared wool from me and fed me, but what you did is a  kindness no one else would offer. Not since I was forgotten.” She pulls  her hands away from me. “Get some sleep.” She turns into a black ewe  again, her limbs pulling back inside her body bit by bit until she  stands on all fours. “I will guard you while you do.”

“You can’t guard me from what’s inside my head.”

Using her teeth, she pulls my blanket up over me. “I am a sheep. Count on me.”

I  lay my head on the pillow, knowing I won’t get any sleep that night,  like usual. I close my eyes to pretend, but then something strange  happens. I wake up. I had fallen asleep! I’ve not just fallen asleep  since my brother had…

I look up from my pillow to see Demeter  resting under the window. She lifts her head and meets my gaze. “Sleep  well, Bo?” she asks as she stands.

“It’s been so long,” I whisper.

Demeter  walks over to the bed and lays her head on the edge. “I’m glad you did.  Come now, let’s go take the sheep out this lovely morning.”

I get  up and prepare for the day. I put on my clothes and tuck my hair under  my bonnet. As I make breakfast, I can hear my father in his bedroom. I  leave before he wakes, going out and gathering the other sheep to take  them out. Demeter bleats loudly and I turn to look at her, only to see  Mary and her buggy pulling up. Mary steps out and looks at me with a  strange sort of awe. She stiffens, smoothing her palm down her skirt.  Demeter places herself before me, nuzzling up to my side and acting  quite cute.

“My, what a pretty ewe you have there.” Mary  approaches. “Where did you get her?” She extends her hand to pet her,  but Demeter pulls away and places her head in my palm.

“I found her,” I answer. “She was abandoned. What are you doing here again?”

Mary’s  eyes dart around as if looking for an answer. “I came to check up on  you.” She laces her fingers together. “Is that wrong?”

“I’m taking the sheep out. Obviously, I’m fine.” I turn to leave.

“Bo!  Wait.” Mary presses her hands together. “Sheep have been going missing  lately. You should be careful out there on your own.”

I shrug. “I’m well aware. But no one wants our cursed sheep, believe me.”

“Bo…”  she says again, and the only reason I stop is because of the urgency  and fear her voice holds. I turn and look back at her, seeing a slightly  pained expression on her face.

“What now?”

Mary approaches me cautiously. “I need to talk to you, privately.”

Demeter bleats, and I put my hand on her head. “What about?”

Her eyes grow wet, and her pout is less pretty from fear. “I think I know what is taking the sheep.”

I furrow my brow. “Why tell me? Tell the constable or anyone else.”

Mary grabs my arm. “I can’t.” She looks around like a frightened rabbit. “Only you could understand.”

She  pulls me to the barn, with Demeter close behind. She shuts the door  behind us and begins rolling up her sleeve. “It happened a few weeks  ago. I saw him in the yard, chasing down one of our rams.” She finishes  rolling up her sleeve to show me a healing bite mark. “The ram hit him  in the head, and I thought he was unconscious, but he…”

I touch Mary’s arm around the bite mark. “Who?”

Mary  blinks, and tears form from her blue eyes. “It was Braun. At least, I  think it was him. It had his eyes, and said my name…” She licks her lips  and pleads with me with her eyes. “It was like what happened to Henry.”

I move my hands down to clutch Mary’s. “No. Say it’s not true!”

She  nods her head. “I’m so afraid, Bo. I didn’t know what to do. I was  afraid if I came to you, it would…” She places her head on my shoulder  and weeps openly.

I look down at Demeter as I stroke Mary’s back.  Demeter’s eyes widen and turn golden and she bleats at me, pushing  against my legs.

“It’s okay, Mary.” I hold her up and cup her face in my hands. “I don’t know what to do, but I am here for you.”

She cups her hand around mine, closing her eyes as more tears fall. “Thank you, Bo.”

I  have her sit down and fetch her some water. “When Henry came back, he  was covered in bite marks. He said the creature that did it looked like  some strange, malformed wolf. Is that what Braun looked like?”

Mary shakes her head. “No.” She wipes her eyes. “He looked like… like a big, horrifying sheep.”

I furrow my brow. “A sheep?”

She nods. “I didn’t believe it myself but, yes. Braun had turned into some sort of horrible monstrous sheep.”

My  whole body becomes covered in chills. What happened to Henry I would  never wish on my worst enemy, and I wouldn’t consider Mary that. “And he  bit you so…”

She touches her arm where the bite mark was. “What happened with Henry?” she whispers.

I  shake my head. “I’m not sure. After he came home, he was very  withdrawn. He barely talked to us. He stayed out most of the day. I  sometimes saw him at night, but…”

Mary sinks. “I’ve been feeling sick at night. My bones hurt, my joints ache, and my body hair has begun to change.”

My brow pinches. “How so?”

Mary’s cheeks rogue. “It’s…” she looks down then back at me, “personal.”

I bite my lip. “I just meant how has it changed. Not where.”

“Oh!”  Her cheeks grow darker. “It’s becoming white and dense, more like  wool.” She looks to Demeter who is watching her. “Like a sheep.”

I nod, unsure what to say or do that would offer any comfort. I reach out and touch her shoulder. “Oh, Mary.”

Mary  weeps openly, pressing her hands around her face. “I’m so scared I  don’t know what to do. I’ve considered just killing myself so I can  escape what has happened to Henry and Braun, but I…”

“Don’t!” I  snap at her. “Please, don’t do that. I’ll help you, I’ll try.” I look at  Demeter then shake my head. “I’ll go through Henry’s things, and see if  he wrote anything. But until then, you need to tell people about Braun.  You don’t even have to say it’s him, just say you saw another monster.”

“What about you? What if they think it’s Henry again?” She suddenly clinches up and whimpers. “What if they think it’s you?”

I  gnash my teeth together. “They already think it’s me. Better than you  acting reckless.” We stand up and I take her back to her buggy. “Go  home, tell your parents you saw something on your property, and I’ll see  what I can find.” I give her hand a tight squeeze. “Try not to worry  yourself to death, alright?”

Mary holds my hand with both of hers.  “Thank you, Bo. I owe you my life.” She places a soft, warm kiss upon  my cheek. “I will never be able to repay your kindness!” She waves to me  as she pulls the reins.

I touch my cheek, and as she drives away  Demeter sits down beside me. “Give me some sugar cubes, and I’ll help  you save your pretty little girlfriend.”

I grimace at her and scoff. “Mary isn’t my girlfriend.”

Demeter looks up at me. “Just give me some sugar cubes.”

/////

Several years ago, Henry and Braun went off to war. Land disputes  between the kingdoms had come to our lands, and our people decided it  was not up for grabs. We defended our turf as well as possible, but  Miror still ended up taking us as part of our property. My fiancé died  in battle, and my brother, Henry, came back changed. War changes  everybody, especially the soldiers, so we expected him to come home  perhaps less of what he was.

I was mourning for Braun and suffered  many sleepless nights, as did Henry, so we often stayed up together,  talking in the dead of night. He told me about his nightmares, of a  creature taking him and biting him repeatedly until he was riddled full  of holes. I thought his dreams were about the guns of the Miror army.  Then Henry showed me his wounds, once they were healed enough. They did  look like bite marks, dozens of them. Henry told me that Miror had sent  wild animals into their camp. But the animals were strangely shaped,  large, and vicious. They had attacked many of the soldiers, killing  some, wounding others. One had dragged off my Braun, who Henry had  thought was dead.

I begged Henry not to tell me more, but I still  began having nightmares of this monster attacking me and stalking me on  the farm. It took time, but eventually Henry returned to life on the  farm. About a year after, though, strange things started happening  around our village. There were reports of a creature attacking people’s  chickens, which were at first blamed on foxes. After that the attacks  began to escalate as the creature started to hunt down geese, who are  quite dangerous themselves, then goats, and sheep. The villagers built  bigger and better barns to protect their animals at night. Some used  straw fortified by mud or cement, others used strong sticks and lumber,  and those who could afford it built stone structures to defend their  livestock.

Eventually, the creature began taking pigs after  destroying the stick and straw structures. Hunts for the creature began  in earnest, with large sweeps going through the woods. At night, men  would hide out with their weapons, hoping to catch a glimpse of  something strange stalking around. One man allegedly exchanged words  with the monster, and when he told it his livestock were safe in a  structure, the creature told him: “I’ll just blow it down!”

For a  few weeks, the hunt was all anyone could think about. Rewards were put  up for the capture of this monster, and people began setting traps.  Henry would guard our barn every night, going as far as sleeping out  there, while our father stayed inside with mother and me. Then, one  night, someone actually shot the creature. They were able to track it  because of the trail of blood it left behind, which led right to our  barn.

I was terrified. Henry was in the barn! What if that monster  had him? Father kept me and Mother locked in the house while he joined  the hunting party. Then the truth of the matter got out, and it ruined  our lives forever.

Whatever had bitten Henry had made him a  monster. He was able to run off that night, but everyone was still on  high alert, even against the rest of the family. And now, apparently,  something similar has done the same to Braun. Now Mary’s family is in  danger of suffering like mine did. They’re not my favorite people, but  even they deserve a fate better than that.

I’ve been thinking hard  about what to do, and I still can’t find the key to Henry’s room.  Mother hid it somewhere after she locked the room up. All I can do is go  about my day as usual, and ponder my next move.

The sheep are  grazing, wandering around between rocks at the base of the hills,  happily playing between bites of grass. Demeter is standing beside me,  and she lets out a long, heavy sigh. “What do you know about this?” I  ask her.

Demeter tilts her head to the side. “About how to save your girlfriend?”

I grit my teeth and huff. “She is not my girlfriend. She is just a girl I know.”

“Sure, sure, sure.” She tilts her head again. “I may know something. But my powers aren’t quite what they used to be.”

I  kneel beside her so I can look Demeter dead in the eye. “Mary’s life is  at stake here! What’s it going to take for those supposed powers of  yours to come back? You’re a sheep! Surely you know the way to stop  this. Do you know the monster that caused all this? The evil sheep that  bites people?”

“Calm down! Just because I’m a sheep deity, you  think I know them all?” Demeter sniffs. “These things take time. Great  power requires a lot of care and nurturing. You can’t just take it, or  else you really become a monster.”

I frown. “Is that what happened to Henry and Braun?”

“They  had power forced upon them.” Demeter looks out across the field. “I may  not be able to save your girlfriend, but I may be able to protect her.”

“She’s not…” I huff and let it slide. “Fine, what is it?”

“There is something in the mountains. I need you to trust me if we are going to go there.”

I huff and rub my face between my hands. “What is it?”

“I  can’t tell you. I have to show you.” She looks up at me. “Is it a  relief or a burden knowing it isn’t your brother this time?”

I rub my eyes and lift my gaze, looking over my sheep and doing a quick count. “What do you know of it?”

“More than you think.”

I tighten my jaw and shake my head. “It isn’t something I like to think about. I try to ignore it and hope it goes away.”

Demeter  stands and faces me directly. “That is why you cannot sleep and why you  are having the nightmares that you do. You’re forcing down all these  things that need to be faced”

“Once again, what do you know?” I  snap at her. “If you’ve just woken up, how do you know? What could you  possibly understand about what happened to my family?”

Her eyes  take on the glint of humanity again. “I know that you still love him, or  else the this would not wound you so much. I also know Mary means more  to you than ‘just some girl you know.’”

I scowl at her and turn  away. “She is not my girlfriend.” I look out over the hills and grass,  up to the rocky, jagged base of the mountains. I pull my knees up and  rest my head on them. “Just tell me what I have to do so I can get all  of this behind me?”

Demeter stands up and nudges me. “Can I show you something?”

I lift my head and glare at her. “Like what?”

She nods her head, then walks away. “Follow me. That’s all you have to do, Bo.”

The  sheep begin to move, walking along a path that leads to the mountains. I  stand up and scoff. “I don’t have time for this. Where are they going?”  I follow after the sheep, with Demeter following along beside me. The  path is old and littered with stones, and twists around rocks and under  cliffs. Eventually the ground becomes lush and earthy, with thick  patches of moist moss. The path finally ends in a sea of moss and  mushrooms. At the back, under a beam of light, there is a small shack of  a house. Along the side is a big fence containing three pigs that snort  as they watch us.

I frown as the sheep spread out, sniffing the  moss and nibbling at the mushrooms. “What is this?” Then I gasp in alarm  as one of the sheep is engulfed in a cloud of spores, and abruptly  grows to twice its normal size.

“Get out of here!” a voice shouts  from the house. Someone comes out the door, shooing away a sheep from  the porch. Then the man stops cold. “Bo?”

I stare in alarm. My  body flashes between cold and hot. My heart races then slows to a dead  stop. My stomach churns, causing my knees to go weak. Tears flood my  eyes, and I almost scream, but instead, my voice comes out weak and  chopped. “Henry?”

He steps off the porch with a strange look on  his face. His body is shaggy and extremely thin, and his long muzzle has  hints of white to it. Before he vanished, he had not become a wolf  completely yet. He had been a jigsaw puzzle of human and wolf.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he breathes.

Demeter nudges her head against my legs, and I move forward. “Why are you?”

“Look at me,” he snarls. “I’m the big bad wolf.”

“Yeah, I see that!” I snap at him. “But how?”

“He has been chosen by a brother to mine,” Demeter replies. “Someone very much like me, but attuned to blood and mayhem.”

Henry’s lips curl as he looks at Demeter. “Why is that thing talking?”

“Henry,” I stand before Demeter and extend my arms. “How long have you been here? Why haven’t you come home?”

His  eyes flick to mine again. “What good would it do? Dad would try to kill  me. Mom would hate me. The whole town would want to see me hanging from  my neck over a pyre. Think, Bo! Why would I ever want to go back there?  To die?”

“Then why stay so close?” Demeter asks calmly.

Henry points to her and snaps his jaws. “Seriously, what the fuck is that?”

“I  honestly don’t know, Henry!” I snap. “She just showed up one day. But  she’s right! Why remain so close to home? Why not try to run north, or  to the Tulgey Wood?”

He stiffens and turns when the pigs start  squealing. “What would be the point? I just found myself here. The  mushrooms calmed my nerves. They made the change less painful, less…”  His hand hovers around his head before he drops it. “I couldn’t go  anywhere looking like this, so I just remained here.”

Demeter lifts her chin. “Sometimes the tether to home is quite short.”

“I  don’t like you! A talking black sheep - Dad was right! Black sheep and  goats can’t be trusted.” Henry stomps over to his pigs, pulling a rope  that allows slop to pour down from a hatch on the side of the house.

I  chase after him, and my feet sink into the moss, so I have to trudge  slowly. “This isn’t about Demeter, Henry. Braun came back, and he bit  Mary!”

Henry turns and scowls at me. “What?”

I nearly fall  over, but I grab the fence for balance. “Braun is back, and he’s some  giant sheep monster.” I pull myself up as Henry just glares at me. “He  bit Mary, and now she’s changing too. I need your help!”

“I thought…” His brows furrow, and he scoffs. “I don’t know what I can do. Obviously nothing worked to save me.”

I smack his arm, like I used to when I was pissed at him. “Braun is wild, but you’re not. What did you do to stop that?”

He  motions around himself. “The mushrooms here. I came here after I was  chased from home. There was nothing to eat, so I started to eat the  mushrooms. They did something, leveled me out, but they made this change  permanent.”

“Permanent?”

He nods. “That’s why I stayed in  the barn most nights.” He turns to look down at his pigs. “I would shift  at night, sometimes gradually, sometimes all at once. But I always  changed back in the morning.”

“So maybe Braun does, too,” I murmur.

“Maybe,” he grumbles. “But I don’t know the long-term effects of this curse.”

I look around. “Which mushrooms did you eat?”

“Any and all? I needed food,” Henry says. “If you need them for Mary, take what you want. They grow back overnight.”

“Perhaps that’s the key, then,” Demeter murmurs thoughtfully.

Henry just glares at Demeter. “Perhaps. But why would you want to help Mary? I thought you hated her.”

I fold my arms and frown. “I don’t want her to suffer. I’m bitter, but I’m not cruel, Henry.”

Henry  goes and sits down on a log before his house. “Well, I told you all I  could. Take the mushrooms, take your sheep - talking or not - and go on  home.”

“Can I come back?” I ask him.

Henry rubs the back of  his neck. “It’s best you don’t, Bo. Go back to thinking I’m dead. Go  home. Your sheep should return to normal by morning. If not, blue is  small, red is big.”

I look down and nod. “If it means anything, Henry, I’m glad to see you.”

He  grunts in reply, not giving me anything more than that. Demeter nudges  my hand, urging me to go. My sheep are roaming around, changing sizes  depending on what mushrooms they eat. I whistle and they come to me,  some bigger or smaller than they were before. I leave the mossy valley  and lead the sheep back home.

Once returned, I get back to preparing Demeter’s wool for yarn as she watches me. “You’re angry with me,” she says.

“I’m  not angry, I’m just thinking,” I mumble. My hands work faster and  faster on the wool. “My brother is alive, that’s good. That’s fine.”

Demeter approaches and stands beside me. “What do you want, Bo?”

“What do you mean?”

Demeter  rests at my feet. “Out of life. What is it you’d like? You were going  to marry once before. Is that something you still wish for?”

“Does it matter?”

“Of course it does.”

The  comb gets stuck in the wool, and rips from my hands. It falls to the  ground and Demeter sniffs at it. I sigh heavily as I stoop to pick it  up. “I don’t know,” I grumble. “I’ve never known. Even when I was  engaged to Braun, I didn’t know.” The faster and harder I comb the wool,  the more it begins to shine like gold. “My whole life is ripped to  shreds!”

“Then spin it back together,” Demeter says gently.

I rub the tears from my eyes. “My life isn’t fibers of wool.”

Demeter  lays her head against the side of my leg. “Perhaps it is. When was the  last time you felt sure of something? Or that life was going in a  direction you felt you could live with?”

I sniffle and rub my  eyes. “I’m not sure. I just remember as a kid I would have been happy  with anything as long as I had Mary as my friend.”

Demeter lifts her eyes to me. “Is that when it went off the rails?”

“Maybe,” I murmur thoughtfully.

Demeter yawns, and her mouth splits open into that horrifying maw. “Mary is your girlfriend for a reason, Bo.”

“Stop  saying that! Mary is just someone who exists in my life.” I scoff,  gathering up the wool. Now that it has finally been carded, I have to  start the roving process. I like this part, as I can focus solely on it  and nothing else around me. Once that’s over, I will start spinning, and  make bolts of yarn to sell. Hopefully this will sell well because of  the deep black color.

I must have fallen asleep, as I wake up with  my head on the table. I’ve messed up some of the roving strips, but I’m  too tired to focus. I look up to see Demeter standing on her hind legs  again, looking down at me. I rub my eyes and sigh heavily.

“I never fall asleep like this,” I murmur. “Are you putting some sort of spell on me?”

“It  is not a spell. Your brother was a wild thought in your mind, roaming  around and causing those nightmares. Now that you know where he is, he  is no longer in your mind.” She stretches out her arm and points a  finger to the center of my forehead. “Your sleep is yours now. Although I  am surprised you don’t dream about your…”

“She’s not my girlfriend!” I growl sleepily. I gently push her hand away. “You said it was your brother that did that to Henry.”

“Yes,”  she breathes. She folds her hands together and turns her head away.  “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. He once created an army of wolves to do  his bidding. I thought he would have slumbered too, after the Chess  Court persecutions, but apparently, he does not sleep long.”

I look up at her sorrowfully. “Is there a way to change Henry back? Braun, too?”

Demeter  bows her head. “I’m sorry, Bo, but the effects of my brother’s curse  have no cure. Your brother will be a wolf till the day he dies.”

I sigh heavily. “Can you do the same? If you bite me, will I turn into a sheep?”

Demeter chuckles. “Is that something you want?”

I glare up at her, brow pinched. “Did you bite Braun?”

“Not  me, but perhaps one of my children.” Demeter says thoughtfully. “It is  possible it is descended from me. But I have not been close enough to  someone to bite them until you.”

I stare slack-jawed up at her.

“Oh,  don’t go blaming me,” she huffs, putting her hands on her hips. “The  Miror army sending in these creatures seems to be the one to blame.”

I stand up and point sharply at her. “If it is your fault, then maybe you have a way of curing Mary and Braun!”

Demeter  rolls her eyes. “I told you, there isn’t. And it isn’t entirely my  fault. I didn’t go around biting people unless they deserved it.”

“Well,  apparently, those who deserved it didn’t quite follow your strict moral  code!” I plop back down in the chair. “Some fairy godmother you turned  out to be.”

There’s a knock at the barn door, and Demeter shifts back into a black sheep. I stand up. “I’ll be inside in a second, Dad.”

“No, it’s me,” Mary’s strained voice cries. “Please, let me in!”

/////

I open the door and Mary falls inside. I kneel to pick her up, and am  struck by her eyes. They look like sheep’s eyes, but are still the same  crystal blue. Her hair is even more curly, and turning pure white. The  tips of her fingers are very stiff and turning brown, and her legs look  painfully bent. “What are you doing here?” I gasp.

Mary cries and wraps her arms around me. “It hurts!”

Demeter  comes trotting over with the basket of mushrooms in her mouth. “Here!” I  grab one and offer it to Mary. “Try these. They’re supposed to help.”

Mary whimpers. “I hate mushrooms!”

I roll my eyes. “It’ll help you! Trust me, you have to eat it.”

She  hides her face against my shoulder, whimpering in pain. I huff and put  the mushroom in my mouth. Then I lift Mary’s head and kiss her. She  gasps in alarm, and I shove the mushroom inside. I keep kissing her,  hoping she’ll swallow. Once she does, she sighs. The metamorphosis  halts, but it doesn’t go away all at once. She lifts her head up, tears  still streaming down her face.

“How did you get here?” I whisper to her.

She  sniffles. “I didn’t know what else to do. I started walking through the  woods when I saw my eyes begin to change. My parents have traps set all  around the house after what I told them. I knew I couldn’t go back  there.”

I sit beside Mary and mop up her face. “It’s okay now. These mushrooms should help, whether you like it or not.”

Mary leans into my palm. “Thank you, Bo.”

I smile softly at her. “You have buck teeth again.”

“What?” she blurts and covers her mouth. “Don’t be cruel! I’ve suffered enough tonight! But I won’t suffer those teeth again!”

I try to keep from laughing, but it’s hard. “Like when you were little, only bigger somehow!”

Mary shoves me. “Don’t tease!”

I look at her with a large smile on my face. “I’m not! I always liked your teeth. You were my little bunny, remember?”

Mary’s eyes soften, and she lowers her hand. “I remember.”

“I miss that,” I murmur. “When we were kids.”

Mary nods, stretching her legs out before her. They’re shaped like a faun’s and covered in thick white wool. “So do I.”

I move my hand and place it over hers. “Why did that change?”

She  remains quiet for a long spell, until Demeter comes over and lays her  head in her lap. Mary smiles, stroking her black wool and rubbing her  ears. “She’s a very pretty ewe. Are you making yarn from her?”

“Working on it.”

Mary  looks back at me. “I’m sorry,” she says quietly, her voice cracking as  she gathers the nerve. “I know I became horrible when Braun announced  the engagement. I tried to blame it on so many things, but it was me and  just me.”

I furrow my brow. “What do you mean?”

Her grimace crinkles her nose, and she avoids looking directly at me. “Because I was jealous.”

“Of me?” I laugh.

“No! Of Braun, my brother.” She looks me in the eye and pouts. “He got to marry you and I… I couldn’t…”

Demeter bleats and snuggles to Mary happily. Meanwhile, I can barely breathe to make any sort of sound.

“I loved you immensely, and when Braun said you were engaged, it choked the life out of me,” Mary sniffles. “I wanted to…”

“Oh, Mary,” I whisper.

She  shakes her head and, when she tries to run her fingers through her  hair, she grows frustrated by the curly wool on her head. “Don’t say a  word. I don’t need it. I don’t blame you for hating me. I would too.”

“I don’t hate you.”

Mary looks at me. “I ruined everything, and when you needed me most, I was a thoughtless coward. You really should hate me.”

I shake my head. “I can’t.”

“And why not?”

I  stretch my neck and kiss her, planting it on her cheek before moving to  the side of her mouth. Her fingers caress the sides of my face, and I  feel her lips move upon mine. The kiss is soft and warm, and I lean into  the touch. As the kiss deepens, Mary turns her body towards me, leaning  closer.

Demeter bleats and I slowly open my eyes and see her  walking out the door with a waggle of her tail. Mary chuckles softly,  touching her lips as she sits back. “I thought it was one-sided.”

“It  was,” I murmur. “I never realized. I still barely can.” I look back at  her and smile shyly. “I lost sight of what I wanted when I could no  longer see you, though. Now that you’re here again, even if the  situation is dire, I am happy.”

Mary kisses my cheek and neck. “I wish I was not a coward. I have wasted so much time without you.”

I  wake in the morning with Mary in my lap. Sun shines through the cracks  in the boards and hits me painfully in the eyes. I grumble irritably and  try to swat it away. Mary rises, rubbing her eyes. They’ve returned to  normal, as have her legs, but they are still covered in curly white  wool. Her hair, too, has remained pure white.

“So it was not a dream,” Mary sighs sleepily.

“Sorry, it wasn’t.”

Mary  cups her hands around my face and kisses me. “No, that’s a good thing.”  Her smile is radiant, blinding me more than the sunlight. “I should  probably head home. But this is awful. I can’t go home looking like  this.”

“I can shear the wool, if you like.” I stand and go to the tools on the wall.

“Will it hurt?”

I  carefully take her leg. “Of course not.” I tend to her legs, shearing  off the white wool gently and slowly. I run my hands up her long legs,  marveling at how perfect they are. Mary’s cheeks redden as I touch her,  and I notice her thighs press together. When I finish, there is a pile  on the floor beside her. I gather it up and stuff it into a bucket.

“Thank you,” she sighs heavily. “Now, I really should go. My parents must be worried.”

“I can take you back, if you’d like.”

Mary  kisses me again, bending down so she can meet my lips. “Stay here. Take  care of your father.” She brushes my hair away from my face and tucks  it behind my ear.

“Take some of these.” I offer her a handful of the mushrooms. “Eat some through the day, and especially before the sun sets.”

She sneers, curling up her lip at the sight of them. “I hate mushrooms.”

“For me?”

Mary kisses me again. “Fine. I’ll try.”

I  walk with her to the gates, waving goodbye as she walks away. I leave  the roving to be finished later and go back to bed. Though I am  perturbed by the kisses we shared, I go back to the house and begin  making breakfast. While I am cooking, my father wakes, none the wiser to  what happened the night before. I contemplate telling him about Henry,  but the conundrum of how I might explain the situation and what he might  say in return makes me remain silent.

There is a knock at the  door. My father answers to find the constable outside, with Demeter  beside him. The constable says that the stolen sheep were found in one  of the stone buildings belonging to Mary’s family. “It was abandoned, or  so the master of the house said,” the constable says. “It looked like  someone was living there, so they’re starting to destroy the excess  stone buildings. Lady Mary claimed to have seen something stalking  around the farm a few nights ago. Her folks almost trapped something  last night, but all they got was a finger. But, this little ewe was one  of the ones locked up. Mary said I should return it right away.”

“Could’ve kept this one. My daughter brought it home. But thank you for letting us know,” my father says.

He  takes Demeter back to the barn, then lets out the remaining sheep. When  he comes back, I see a smile on his face. He laughs when he sees me. “I  bet they’re kicking themselves, the whole town, right about now.  Blaming us this whole time. Now they have to eat crow.”

“I doubt we’ll get an apology,” I murmur.

He shrugs. “Maybe not. But I bet you’ll see them being a whole lot nicer to us now that Lady Mary cleared things up.”

I  go out to find Demeter in the field with the other sheep. She trots up  to me and nudges her head under my hand. “What did you do?” I whisper to  her.

“That show of affection you and your girlfriend had last  night gave me the juice I needed. I went and found Braun, and sent him  to Henry.” She looks smug. “I’m sure Henry will be able to help him  now.”

“I thought you said you couldn’t cure their condition?”

“No!  Of course not, but like minds need like minds. That’s why Mary needed  you.” Demeter wags her little tail. “And now, Braun can be safe, Mary  can be safe, and you get to keep your girlfriend.”

“She’s-” I stop myself and smile. “Well, okay. Thank you, Demeter.”

Later  that afternoon, people begin coming to the farm, asking my Dad how  things are and whether the farm is okay. After that, food is dropped off  - big loaves of bread, pies, even some cured meats. A few days later,  people even begin bringing back animals they had taken from us a few  years ago, or replacing the ones they did take. We have goats again,  more sheep. It’s gotten so busy settling these new animals, I haven’t  spun the wool yet.

Knowing we need funds to make repairs, I get  back to it. I’ve noticed the golden strands in the fibers when I was  carding it, but as I spin it, the wool turns completely into gold. The  black disappears as it goes around the spinning wheel, turning into  fine, pure gold. It is like a miracle, but I know it has to be something  Demeter has been aiming for all along.

The gold yarn is sold for a  high price to several bidders. Some pay  in excess to get one of the  bundles of yarn. My father and I are able to repair our tools, the barn,  our home. We are able to hire staff again and begin production on the  goat’s milk products like we used to.

Since word has spread about  our miraculous golden yarn, Demeter has become the prize of our farm.  During the nights, I keep her locked in my bedroom with me, often  allowing her to sleep beside me in my bed. I enjoy putting my arms  around her and snuggling against her back. My father thinks I am crazy  for wanting to sleep with a sheep, but he lets it be. He doesn’t know  the full truth about Demeter.

Mary has been coming around more as  well, and the effects of her transformations are growing less and less  traumatic for her. In fact, only during the week of a full moon does the  change fully take effect upon her. Mary has begun staying the night  with us as well, sometimes staying so long my father insists upon it.

I  feel awkward sometimes with Demeter in the room, but affection is how  her powers grow. But on nights when Mary stays over, sometimes we don’t  exactly sleep much. We kiss often, touching lots. We giggle and whisper  under the cloak of darkness, pressing our bodies close to one another.

Finally,  one night, I can no longer take it. I kiss Mary, moving so that her  back is pressed onto the bed. I stroke my hands down the velvety skin on  her arms. She arches her back at the touch, moaning against my lips  until I kiss down her neck. She stretches, sighing as my lips press down  her arm and onto her fingertips. I straddle her hips, looking down at  her like I did my fiancé so many years ago. I hadn’t thought about that  night in so long. I push away the sad thought and strip off my  nightgown.

Mary reaches up, cupping my breasts in her palms and  squeezing gently. “I knew they would be beautiful. But then again, every  breast I have seen has been perfect because of the creature who wears  them.” Her thumbs flick over the nipples, and a smile perks the corners  of her lips.

I press myself further into her palms. “How many have you seen, exactly?”

Mary  laughs. “It doesn’t matter. None of them were yours.” She rises up off  the bed, removing her night gown as well. Her breasts are small and  perky, while mine are full and soft. She kisses my neck and chest,  nuzzling her face between my bosom.

Demeter gets up and bleats,  causing Mary and I to freeze. But the sheep only leaves the room,  pushing the door open, and I reach out and shut it when she’s gone. We  both start laughing and fall back onto the bed.

I kiss Mary again,  grabbing hold of her arms as her hands move down my back. I feel the  heat within me come to the surface, melting my skin so that all she  touches is raw nerve. Her fingers slip between us, touching me below  where the heat is strongest. She breathes into my ear as her fingers rub  circles against my mound. Her tongue bathes my skin, moving down my  neck and between my breasts. She lays me back in bed, spreading open my  thighs and laying them over her shoulders. Her fingers find the little  bud above my labia, teasing it gently while she watches me. My breath  hitches, and my voice comes out cracked but elated.

“Delicious  little thing this is.” Mary’s tongue darts over it, and I can feel her  fangs against my thighs. “So sweet and sensitive, but so very easily  forgotten.” She blows on it while her finger rubs around it.

“Mary!” I whine.

“Is  it too much?” she chuckles. “Perhaps I should coax you here for a  while.” She slips two long fingers inside, moving them slowly.

I  bite my lip and throw my head back. That night with my fiancé before he  went to war felt awkward. He had gone inside me after a few moments of  kissing, and he struggled getting himself into place. Something didn’t  feel right then, but something feels extremely right with Mary. Her long  fingers stir my insides while her other hand squeezes around my breast.  She makes me so wet I can feel it seeping out and onto the sheets.

Mary  laps it up, moaning under her breath. Then she sits up, tying back her  long white hair.  “Now, let’s see.” She uses both hands to open me.  “Such a beautiful sight. Everything is plump and eager.” Her eyes look  like a sheep’s again as she stares at me, glowing almost ice-blue in the  dim light. I fidget in her palms, but she holds my hips still.

“Not  to worry, my love, you will come to crave every kiss I give you.” She  lifts my hips up off the bed and pulls me up so I am almost upside down.  My legs dangle over her shoulders as she bends her head down. I feel  her slick tongue squirm around on me, and it plunges inside me while her  finger glides over that sensitive bud.

I moan and whimper,  throwing my head to the side as she holds me up against her mouth.  Mary’s slurping fills my ears while a fog fills my sight. She growls  against me, pushing her tongue deeper inside me. I feel myself almost  frothing at the sensation. I never felt this good with my fiancé. Mary  touches me in places that make me feel unhinged and excited. I have to  cup my hand around my mouth out of fear my father will somehow hear my  sounds of pleasure, but I still make so many.

Mary coaxes  something powerful and deep from me. It erupts inside my belly and pools  through my body, taking away any other sensation besides this release.  My toes curl, my back arches, and I sink slowly against her. Mary lays  me back down against the bed and rests herself on top of me. She places  her head on my breast, and I begin to rub my hands down her back.

“You feel things so strongly, Bo,” she whispers into my ear.

“It was my first orgasm from someone else,” I pant.

Mary kisses my cheek and nuzzles into my hair. “The first of many.”

“What about you?” I sigh. “What can I do for you?”

“I’ll show you later,” she kisses my cheek. “Right now, I want you to enjoy this first so you can remember it.”

In  the morning, I wake with Mary still on top of me. I don’t want to move  her, but eventually she does rise. I kiss her lovingly, then make her  breakfast. Then I take her out with me and the sheep that day. Demeter’s  wool is as thick as it was when I first met her. I shear her and begin  the process of making wool again, telling Mary about it as I do.

I  bring Mary to the mossy valley where Henry had been, and possibly Braun  was, but when we arrive, I find his home abandoned and his pigs gone. I  tell her we should pick mushrooms while we are there, so we can have  her a good supply. “Did someone live here?” Mary asks me.

“The big bad wolf,” I tell her.

I  decide to take care of the shack, hoping Henry will return one day and  we can truly reunite. I make the cabin into my own personal escape,  somewhere I can spin my gold yarn with Demeter, and be with Mary in  comfort and privacy.

“Tell me, can you?” I ask Demeter one day. “Where did he go?”

“I can’t say,” she murmurs. “But the big bad wolf will roam this land to find peace. Hopefully, he will come across it one day.”

I  pray I will see my brother again. I don’t think he’s big and bad, but I  cannot say what the changes have done to him. All I can do is wait and  pray the next word I receive is good. Until then, I’ll keep his house  warm, and I leave a bundle of gold yarn for him in case he needs it.

Mary comes into the house with a snack for me. “What do you think people do with gold yarn?” she asks.

“Something  ridiculous, I am sure.” I kiss Mary softly and return to spinning the  yarn, watching it shift from black to gold. Mary sits down beside me,  taking one of the bundles into her hands. “Have you ever tried spinning  my wool into anything? Perhaps I make silver.” She gives me a smile.

I smile back at her and kiss her. “Should I try? I still have a bundle back at the barn.”

“I’m curious.” She sets the yarn aside and kisses my cheek. “Come take a break with me,” she whispers.

“Of course, my love,” I giggle.