Free Girl in the Red Hood by Brittany Fichter

first, simply walked towards Liesel with a strange,
smooth stride. It was then that Liesel realized that he had Kurt's
gait, animal-like and silent. Finally, he stopped and spoke, his
voice quiet and composed.
    "But she's already here."
    "P...," Liesel's voice was hardly more than
a breath. She swallowed with some difficulty and tried again.
"Please, just let me go home! I promise not to make any trouble. I
just got lost, and-"
    "No," the man shook his head, a few strands
of silver in his otherwise dark hair glinting in the low light.
"It's too risky. Surely Garrit will agree with that." Seeming to
speak more to himself than anyone else, he began to walk again,
circling around Liesel the way the two wolves were. They took turns
growling at her. One even snapped at her heel when she stumbled
backwards.
    "Liesel!" The girl nearly began to cry with
relief when she heard Kurt's voice from the top of the ridge that
separated them from the house. To her amazement, he ran down right
between the wolves without hesitation and drew her behind him,
glaring at the man. The man slightly frowned.
    "This is the one that believes in magic, is
she not?"
    "It doesn't matter," Kurt growled through
clenched jaws. As he did, Liesel realized his voice was really
beginning to get deeper. If she hadn't been so frightened, she
would have found it quite impressive. "I will take her safely home.
You need to return." The man looked as if he was about to protest,
but Kurt interrupted him. "I will tell him that you disobeyed his
orders. Is that really what you want?"
    "You're rather cocky for a boy," the man
said in a flat voice. Kurt didn't blink as he continued to
glare.
    "And you are disobeying orders." After the
man and the boy had scowled at one another for what seemed like an
eternity, the man inclined his head just slightly and gave a short
whistle. The wolves immediately turned and followed him over the
ridge and back towards the house. Only when they were gone did Kurt
look at the woman. They shared a sad smile before she climbed back
over the ridge as well.
    Liesel felt her knees buckle. Kurt caught
her awkwardly just before she collapsed on the ground. As he held
her awkwardly, Liesel realized she felt oddly even dizzier than
before.
    "We need to get away from here," he muttered
tersely. "Can you walk?" Liesel was trembling so hard and felt so
dizzy she could barely answer.
    "I don't know." When he started to pick her
up, however, her embarrassment was greater than her fear and
disorientation. If Kurt hadn't thought her addled before, he
certainly must now. "Let...let me see," she tried to stand again.
This time, her legs wobbled, but she was able to walk on her own.
He kept a hand on her elbow though, as he led her away from the
ridge, and she saw him sneaking worried glances at her often as
they went.
    It was only half an hour later that they
made it back up to the waterfall. Liesel realized with dismay that
she must have walked in circles before finding the house. Kurt said
nothing as she sat down and caught her breath. She tried to read
his expression through glances she sneaked when she thought he
wasn't looking. Was he angry with her for venturing into the woods
alone, despite his warnings? How did he know the man named Lothur?
When she finally looked enough times, however, she was surprised to
realize that he looked...sad. He stared out at her mountain
quietly, the look on his face much too old for a boy of almost
fifteen years. A piece of hair fell over his right eye, and Liesel
could have sworn there was a tear glistening in its corner. Guilt
burned down the back of her neck, and she could suddenly stand the
silence no longer.
    "I am sorry." He finally turned to look at
her, looking genuinely surprised.
    "What for?"
    "I didn't sleep well last night, and I just
needed to see you, so I tried to find where you lived." Kurt shook
his head, stood up, and kicked a rock absentmindedly.
    "None of that was your fault. My family
is...different