C3 Chapter 03

"We took care of a wolfman earlier on. He was snooping around this area." One Eye continued with his sales pitch, looking around, but Red had a feeling he was lying through his gold teeth.

He must have learned of her nickname from someone in town, most likely Carlos. Her real name was Pamela, but no one who knew her had ever used her given name. Everyone always referred to her as Red, and it had been like that for as long as she could remember. Red was beating herself up for trusting him in the first place. Now she knew he was much more interested in her tavern than her.

"No one reported anything suspicious, and I don't care what you’ve done," Red said, folding her arms over her chest. She was considering using the old pistol that used to belong to her father—it was hidden under the bar—but she would prefer to resolve this peacefully if possible. However, she wouldn’t hesitate to use it if necessary.

"We done you a favour, girl, so you should be more grateful," one of his men barked, stepping forward.

"I don't think that any of you understand what I'm telling you. We don't need your protection, so you might as well leave now!" she shouted, losing her patience. The tension inside her unfurled. A lump of fear was growing in her throat. She was scared of One Eye, scared of what he truly might be capable of—he was shady and seemed dangerous, but Red refused to show any outward signs. She knew that sometimes robberies and kidnappings were common in other kingdoms, but she never thought that she would have to deal with that sort of thing so early in her career. She was still new to the whole business world.

None of the highwaymen moved, and Robin One Eye continued watching Red. He started chewing on his bottom lip, staring at her with a mixture of anger and admiration. Red knew that he wasn't just going to back away. There were too many witnesses around and he needed to maintain his reputation.

"I really suggest you think about this, Red,” he said, completely ignoring the fact she’d just told him that she wasn't planning to take him up on his offer. “Others have, and they feel much safer under our protection. Otherwise, this may complicate things for you and your grandmother. People go missing all the time nowadays, so it's better if you have us on your side."

Then he nodded to his two companions, and a split second later, the one on Ruby's right grabbed her broom. Everything happened so quickly. One of the highwaymen smashed all the glasses along the top of the bar that Ruby had collected earlier. Red wanted to reach for her pistol but thought better of it, when she saw that the three highwaymen were already walking away towards the door.

Even Ruby was too shocked to react.

"See ya’ll later, and this was only a warning, Red," One Eye yelled, just before he vanished outside with his men.

Red swore under her breath when she heard the door close. She glanced around the tavern, seeing that the customers who were left looked petrified. Ruby picked up the broom, shaking with fury. Her hands were trembling, too.

"Calm down, Gran; otherwise your blood pressure will spike. One Eye was only testing us," Red said, lowering her voice to ensure no one could hear her. The rest of the customers were nodding towards Red, paying their bills, and leaving quickly. Soon, the whole tavern was empty.

After Red had taken care of them, Ruby started shouting and waving her hands. "He can't get away with this. We must stand up to him, go after him. We have worked too hard to buy this tavern, and he is not getting a penny from us!"

"Don't worry, Gran. I wasn't planning to pay him anything. They need to understand that their intimidation tactics won't work on us," Red assured her, although she wasn't certain herself what she would do when One Eye returned. She knew that there were many highwaymen in the area, and they were all most likely armed. Red was on her own, and she couldn't stand up to all of them by herself. Things could get out of control quickly.

"You need to be more careful, Red. One Eye is a right scumbag. He’s wanted for murder in another kingdom," some other voice said. When Red turned around, she realised that Mr. Ridley was the only one who had stayed, and he suddenly appeared next to her and Ruby.

"It's all just rumours, Harold, so please, do us all a favour and don't scare my granddaughter,” Ruby said, looking at him. “King Caspian is going to take care of them soon enough."

Red noticed that her gran was a little flustered. "I'll be back. It's late and we need to close down," she said, leaving the two alone. Mr. Ridley and Ruby began discussing their options, while Red started cleaning the glass from the floor.

She was still furious with what had happened. The sudden appearance of One Eye had her worried about the future of the tavern. Red suspected that this was only the start of what was to come. Her Gran was right: King Caspian had always looked after his people, but everyone in the kingdom knew that the head of his army was known for using people. Either way, Red needed to talk to him and think about her options.

She thought about Carlos and realised now he hadn’t shown up in the tavern out of the clear blue. Robin One Eye must have sent him to find out if Red was going to be an easy target. Her blood boiled when she thought about the fact she’d slept with Carlos, not once, but a few times. Either way, what was done was done, and now she had to figure out how to get rid of One Eye.

Harold and Ruby were immersed in conversation. Red quickly cleaned the floor and made sure that the bar was tidy. Her gran appeared as though she was glad that Mr. Ridley finally decided to talk to her.

A few minutes later, he had 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 ensure that Red made it 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 in the morning, going over the conversation she wanted to have with the king in her mind. She was certain 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 act. 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 learned of his true nature 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 if he had any magical abilities apart from the fact that he fed on human blood and could 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 One Eye was planning something, and he wasn't going to leave anytime soon. Despite telling herself the king would help, and 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 in the most painful of ways, 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, had left the kingdom two days ago to visit long-distance family members.

Apparently, the king had been planning this trip for weeks. He wanted to visit his relatives in another kingdom. 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 who Red could ask for help. She didn't think that Eric could help her, anyway, because he was a vain idiot who only thought of 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 to 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 General Davies, the man in charge, 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 recalled that he had jailed a few thieves that had been vandalising the roads in the past.

Red went home empty-handed and 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 removed 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 raced down her spine when she saw that someone had written her real name across the top. She began running around her house, checking all the rooms to ensure 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 wolfman last night. The werewolves are infiltrating 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 such as that—a threat. But then her heart began beating rapidly inside her chest as she reread 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 prepared to tell him to go to hell. Again. Her pride wouldn't allow her to give in—but then again, 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 Ruby would only cause more trouble for them. Her grandmother was very impulsive, and Red knew she would confront One Eye on her own if needed.

As she was walking to the tavern later on, she heard a few people in town had been robbed.

Red felt stupid for giving 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 well into the late hours.

Unfortunately, that was one of the last nights everything had gone 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 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 wine stock.

She was trying hard to forget about it and remain positive as she was 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, and by the time she reached the 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 engulfing the entire space, causing utter devastation. Smoke was billowing into the navy sky.

Red had been storing some old furniture in the wooden building, but nothing of significance. Thankfully, only days ago she’d moved several boxes of whiskey down to the cellar; otherwise she would have lost even more stock.

“What’s happened? I got here as soon as I could,” she said to Ruby, seeing a couple of local men attempting 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 out for help. We can’t save it now.”

Red rushed out to help, carrying water, but the building was slowly falling apart. Soon it was too dangerous to move any closer. They were lucky that the fire didn’t reach the tavern; otherwise everything would have burnt 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 ensure it was safe for people to walk around it. She had future plans to transform it into a hotel. The plans hadn’t been drawn up 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 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 was 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 into his demands, and stood her ground. Ruby was going crazy, attempting to hit a few with her parasol when they arrived. One Eye didn't show his face again. The coward only ever 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 had first begun, but she hoped that once she had the wine she’d promised, her customers would return.

As the days passed, Red watched as her gold dwindled. 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 every bit of her savings.

"We’re in trouble, child, aren't we?" Ruby asked one evening as 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 appeared as though King Caspian and Cindy weren't going to return 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 nearly empty, and if it didn’t change soon, Red was afraid she may 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 happening 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 within the kingdom. Some territories weren't controlled by the king, and the highwaymen had taken it upon themselves to settle there. "And Robin keeps asking for more gold, money that we don't have."

“Thieving bastard!” Ruby shouted in anger. “We shouldn't have given him anything in the first place. That fire was his doing, Red!" Eventually Red had to tell her that she’d 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 gold that she’d managed to earn while she worked for a local farmer.

She and Ruby had been working extremely hard to make the business successful, and she just couldn't let it all go to waste.

"Perhaps we should go to the banker in town and ask for a loan?" Ruby suggested.

"No, we’re already in debt, so the banker won't give us any more money," Red replied, 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 gold. 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 had taught her that magic only existed in fairy tales, and that she should always think things through 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 now, 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 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. Perhaps 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 wolfmen were to blame, but that was never the case. She knew first-hand 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. Perhaps it would hurt her pride, but she had no other choice. She needed to ask the Alpha King for help, the only man she knew who could turn into a wolf. She still wasn't certain 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.