Red Is for Traitor

Arawn and I were walking back from the market. The air was crisp as autumn began to creep towards winter. My brother was explaining to me how terrible this winter would be. Although I knew quite well it would be (my grandmother's teachings still fresh in my mind), I let him talk to me about the different vegetables, crops, nuts and fruit that were growing. Majority of them were fat and in copious amounts so that animals could fatten up enough to survive the winter. I listened with interest because although I knew it would be cold, I didn't know why in food speak. Arawn had always been more attentive to that than I, I was more interested in medicinal practices and hunting.
We were passing the square when a large crowd and shouting interrupted his monologue. He quieted as we both turned to see what the ruckus was about. Not being able to see, we decided to investigate. We found a small opening near the back where we could see four men in the middle of the circle with sneers on their face. I crinkled up my face in confusion. This kind of occurrence never happened. Although we lived in a smog covered city, if there was a fight of some sort someone usually tried to stop it. I looked up at Arawn who was just as perplexed as me. He kept shifting positions to try and get a better angle. I tugged on Arawn's sleeve without removing my eyes from the men. "Arawn?" I felt him stop moving and his eyes on me. "I have a bad feeling about this."
His eyes went once more to the scene before us and replied, "I do too, Macha. This behavior is queer." We continued to watch until my breath hitched. For a second I watched as one of the men had a rope that was entwined with wolfsbane. My memory went back to the day I first met Sindri and the purple flower that prevented him from touching the trap. That day I had gone to my grandmother and asked about it. She had warned me to be careful. It was poisonous to humans and very poisonous to wolves thus she advised me never to go near it, pick it, or touch it. Very few creatures could touch or eat it without becoming sick. Therefore, when I saw the rope laced with the small purple flowers, I dashed through the crowd. I heard Arawn call to me but I paid no heed. I wormed my way through the crowd until I too was in the middle.
What I saw shocked me. A young man perhaps a few years only than myself laid on the group gasping. The rope was tried around his neck causing his skin to redden and in some places blister off. Infuriated by the cruelty of these men and people, I shoved the closes man to me. Not expecting it and me actually having some power behind it, the man nearly tumbled to the ground. With narrow eyes and my hands on my hips, I demanded, "What is happening here?"
The man who nearly tumbled over, barely acknowledged me as he replied, "Don't worry about it girly, go about your business."
I clenched my jaw. "I will not. What has this man done to you?" I swept my hands towards the young wolf whimpering on the ground.
"He aint no man." Another of the four spat. "He be a monster."
"How is he a monster?" I raised an eyebrow as the wolfling cringed at the terminology.
"He be a wolf in human clothing." Man two sneered. "We need to teach him a lesson about coming into our towns. He aint welcomed like all the other mutts." The wolf growled at the derogatory slang only to yelp when the rope was tugged.
"But what has he done? As far as I can tell you are being cruel to an innocent."
"They aint be no innocents!" The man with the rope glared at the his prisoner as the crowd excluding Arawn and me shouted their agreements. "Now we are going to show the rest of those mutts what will happen if they come into our cities, towns, and villages."
My heart sped up, "You will only anger them!" I cried. "You will only cause more hatred and they'll attack."
"No they won't. They will be fearing us too much by the time we be done with him."
The man took a step forward and I automatically placed myself between him and the wolf. "Leave him alone. You will not be hurting him anymore. Can you not see you have done enough?" I pleaded.
"No we haven't, he will pay for the sins of all those monsters." Again he took another step and this time I pulled out the knife I always carried on me.
"Macha." Arawn warned with worry coloring his voice. I looked his way briefly only to return my stare at the man before me.
The man merely laughed, "Put that away before-" I swiped the knife as he came closer. He back stepped twice to dodge the sharp edge. "Bitch! What do you think you're doing?"
"He hass done nothing wrong." I glared as I cut the taut rope. I turned a little to stare down at the wolf. "You have not hurt anyone ever, have you? Before answering I warn you to tell the truth, I do not take kindly to liars." The wolf looked at me startled before shaking his head; fear evident in his eyes. I nodded and brought my attention back to the crowd.
"Are you actually siding with... with that thing?" The man growled as the rest of the crowd excluding Arawn shifted with anger.
"If he has done nothing wrong, yes. Since He has not harmed anyone I am not going to let you hurt him." The man's face turned red as I began to help the wolf up. The wolf was shaking with fear and whimpered in pain when I peeled the rope from his neck. "Come." I grabbed his arm gently and began pulling him towards the exit of the city.
"If you choose him there will consequences!" The original man shouted.
I stopped where I was, only having gone a dozen paces from the crowd. My head partially turned but did not actually look at him or the crowd. I knew something bad would come of this. Something bad always happened when I did the right thing. I didn't care for my sake, but Arawn... he I worried about. He did not deserved whatever happened to me to effect him. His future was bright while mine was not. Mine was looking as grey and dull as the air. Finally I returned forward and tugged the pup in the direction he needed to be. Once out of sight I hastened our pace until we were jogging. The wolf was curious about my motives but never spoke as we maneuvered through the city.
When we were at the edge between city and dirt road, I turned him towards me. I inspected his neck where it was showing signs of slowly healing. I rummaged through my medical pouch until I produced a small vile of salve. I placed it in his hand and told him, "Clean your neck in the next stream and dab the salve on it. It will help heal your neck faster than your natural healing. Be safe and move quickly, once you are out there I cannot help you."
The wolf nodded and paused before dashing off. He shifted on his feet and then finally asked, "vhy are you helping me? I am volf."
I cocked my head, "You have done nothing wrong, just because you are a wolf does not give anyone the right to harm you. If you had killed a person in cold blood then you should be punished based on your crime. Alas you have not and I would not feel right if I let you be harmed."
"You are a strange human, Miss." The wolf bowed his head in thanks. "Thank you, no other vould have helped me. If you are ever in my territory, know you are velcomed." I waved as he ran off and quickly disappeared in the nearby woods. Few wolves lived nearby because of how humans hunt then, but on occasion we did get some who roamed by or tried to use the city as a short cut. Few ever made it through a live. I turned to find Arawn waiting for me by the gate.
"The city folk are angry, Macha." He warned with a sad smile. "They are calling you a traitor."
"Because I helped an innocent werewolf? That is..." I shook my head. "Sad. Wolves rarely go near let alone harm humans."
"They do it probably more than you think. I have read many encounters where villages were ruthlessly torn through and many killed."
"Those wolves were also feral. That happens. I am sorry for the people who have lost someone to those kind of attacks, but that does not mean all wolves are going to do that. Most of the time they are content never seeing a human."
"Does not matter sister, you know as well as I that once one person is harmed by any creature, we rage war on them. It is our way to protect our kind."
"I know." I sighed, "But that does not mean it is right. It is not fair for them to be discriminated against and caused harm when they are using this or any city as a short cut. We humans are the ones who are interlopers in their territories and building cities."
"Life is not fair dearest sister especially for those humanity has deemed as enemies. Now come, we must get home before our perishables spoil." Arawn handed me a few of our items and headed home. We quietly put the groceries away and spent the rest of the day keeping busy. It wasn't until an hour before dinner that our quiet night was disturbed.
My mother and step-sister were practicing their needle work (giving me glares or disapproving looks every so often) while I read. Ferguson was conversing with Arawn about stocks or race horses, I had lost interest long ago. So except for the two men conversing, the living room was quiet. Then there was heavy knocking on our front door that caused all of us to look towards it. We could not see it, but we looked nonetheless. Ferguson called for one of the butlers get the door and within seconds shout could be heard coming closer. We all stood in alarm as five men (including the two from earlier) barged in and grabbed me.
"What is going on here?!" Ferguson bellowed, turning red and purple in the face. He did not particularly care that they went after me, he was more angry that they had barged into his home. How rude peasants could be.
"I am sorry sir-" Our butler began but was interrupted by one of the five.
"She be under arrest." He sneered at me before returning his stare at my stepfather.
"What has she done this time?" He glared at me; I was once again causing trouble.
"For helping a mutt." The man spat the words while disgust oozed from the slang word.
My family (excluding Arawn) looked horrified as Ferguson's angered face looked at me. "Is this true?" I could feel how pissed he was.
I simply raised my chin and with all my dignity replied, "I helped a werewolf safely pass through this city to his territory."
My step-father's face turned all purple person as my mother fainted, "Look at what you have done!" He pointed at my mother as Arawn ran to help her and Evanjalista covered her mouth appalled.
Still holding my passed out mother, Arawn asked, "What are you going to do with Macha?" At least one person cared for me.
"She will be triad tomorrow at nine when the courts open. Then her fate be decided." The man grinned at me with yellow and brown teeth.
I looked at him in disgust as my brother looked at them shocked, "What are you doing with her now? That is more than twelve hours away."
"She be spending a night in jail o'course."
"You ca-" Arawn cried but was cut off by Ferguson, "Take her." His looked at me with such hatred. "She needs to know her actions come with consequences."
"Step-father!" Arawn objected. "You cannot let her go to jail!"
Ferguson slapped Arawn's cheek and growled, "I will not have you questioning me. Now keep your mouth shut."
The moment Ferguson slapped my brother, I immediately lunged forward. "Do Not Touch Him!"
"Take her away!" My step-father ordered and turned. Arawn looked at me helplessly as he held our mother in his arms. I continued to struggle but with each passing moment my force lessened until we were out of the house. Finally I stop and with my head held high and defiance in my eyes I walked with the mob to the jailhouse. People yelled, cursed, and threw things at me. By the time I entered the jailhouse I had spittle and pieces of fruit or vegetable on my cloak and dress. Without so much as a glance my way the man holding my arm threw me into the cell and locked the door.
He sneered as he cruelly whispered, "Know what it feels like to be caged." I glared harder as he left, laughing into the still angry crowd. I slammed my hand against wooden bars before leaning my forehead against them.
"Whatcher in far?" I looked over to see another inmate two cells down. He seemed harmless enough, perhaps more drunk than sober.
"I stopped an angry crowd from harming a wolfling." I replied honestly. I figured I could pass the night with someone like me. We were both in jail after all.
But our possible comradery was quickly dissolved as he looked at me like all the others. "Yer one of dem then." He spat in my direction and ignored me for the rest of the night.
I sighed and sat down. As the sun dipped further West the temperature dropped. I shivered, trying to get warmer as I pulled my dark green cloak around me tighter. At some point we were given food, although my jail partner received more than me. I barely had enough to sate me for five minutes. As I munched away on stale bread a small mouse scurried up to me, staring with its big black eyes. I looked down at my half eaten piece of bread, broke a piece off and handed it to the small creature. One of us might as well eat like a king tonight. The mouse squeaked happily while it munched away on its dinner. I watched with a small smile. I placed the remaining chunk of bread for the mouse and other creature to have. I spent the night watching the moon and stars move and the sun splash the sky with color.
When the court opened the head officer opened my door and roughly bound my hands in shackles. I looked at him as if he were stupid. Was I really going to run away because of this? Then he pushed me towards the defendant podium where a crowd, including most of my family, stood yelling at me.
"Quiet!" The judge yelled as he slammed his gavel. "I demand order in my court." The room silenced as he leaned back. "Alright, let's get this over with. What has this young woman done?"
A man in a relatively fine suit (thanks to Ferguson's store), walked over and stated, "This woman is accused of being a traitor to humans and a supporter of... Wolves." He visibly made a face as if the word dirtied his mouth.
The judge also made a face but continued, "How does the defendant plead?"
The room silenced as everyone looked at me. I didn't even need to look at Arawn to know that he wanted me to deny it, but he also knew that I never would. To save a life I would willingly sacrifice my own. Although he did not always seem like it, he would do the same. I squared my shoulders and clearly replied, "I helped a werewolf, your honor." The room erupted once more with shouts and stomping. Chaos reigned around me as the judge tried to once again gain control.
"iF YA'LL DON'T QUIET NOW, i'LL THROW YA'LL OUT!" Within seconds the room was silent. "Thank you. As is the custom you Miss," He looked down at the papers in front of him. "Macha Lightwood have a right to defend yourself. Who shall be defending you?"
I was never appointed a defense lawyer and after a moment of coughs and sniffles, I replied, "I am, your honor."
He looked at be baffled, "Never had a woman defended herself before."
"No one will defend me now so I might as well do it right." I shrugged.
He nodded, "Okay, I will let you defend yourself but are you sure?" I nodded and the trial began. It was ruthless as the prosecutor bombarded me with questions. At one point you could feel the air crackling with tension from everybody.
"Wolves kill savagely and the wolf you helped is no different!" The persecutor accused.
"You have no evidence that the wolfling hurt anyone." I shot back. "And yes, some wolves have killed but-"
"So even you agree wolves are dangerous to humans." He smirked.
"Those wolves are synonymous to murders in our culture." I held his stare. "Not all humans are Jack the Ripper and not all wolves are feral."
"Statistics tell us that wolves kill on average 200 humans a year, that is not some number that we can ignore."
"And how many wolves have we killed just for being a wolf? 100? 200? Consensus shows that humans kill over 500 wolves a year. Most unprovoked."
He scowled. "So you are siding with them in that killing innocent women, men, and children is okay because we kill more of them?"
"No! I am-"
"You seem to be justifying that we should not protect ourselves from these creatures because we happen to be better at defending ourselves." The room started shouting, not as loud as last time but it still drowned out what I would have said. I looked at him helplessly with anger swirling in my eyes. "You even threatened Mr. Barclay with a knife in order to help a dangerous animal escape. You Miss Lightwood are a traitor!" I looked around in amazement as people shouted that I was a traitor. I had lost and there was no way for me to redeem myself in their eyes.
"I will gladly defend another wolf if it means protecting it from scum like you." I bit out as I kept eye contact with him. I did not back down until he was the first to look away. When I looked up at the judge he was shaking his head sadly at me. He knew my fate would not be good and since a jury was to decide, he could not help me.
It only took the jury two minutes to decide I was guilty of being a traitor. My punishment could have been far worse than I received. I could have been jailed indefinitely, put to death, anything really. Instead the judge tried to have some mercy on me although my fate did not seem to be any better. Instead I was to wear a red cloak for the rest of my life. If I was ever caught without it, I could be jailed or killed. It would make me a pariah in human society and warn everyone that I was a traitor to human kind. That I supported them. A clause the judge added so I wouldn't become homeless was that Ferguson had to take me in. I was still 'family' therefore he could not throw me out to die. He tried to object but the judge gave him two options: leave with me quietly or spend the day in jail. He begrudgingly took me back.
We spend an extra half hour at the courthouse finishing paper work and then retrieving the red cloak. The red cloak was rarity. No one had donned one in over fifty years and the number of people who have worn one could be counted on maybe two hands. By the time I was able to return home only Arawn waited for me.
"You do not need to wait for me." I informed my twin as I shifted my blood red cloak around my shoulders. "If you are seen with me, you too will be shunned."
Arawn cupped my face and looked at me with earnest. "I am walking you home. I do not care what anyone thinks, you are my sister and I will stand by you always. You are not the only one who supports werewolves. If I must I too will brand myself a traitor and wear red."
I rolled my eyes at his dramatics even though I was touched. "You do not need to be that dramatic, Arawn. One of us needs to pass on the Lightwood name." I smirked.
"You do not plan on having kids?" He looked at me with a quirked eyebrow.
I snorted, "Who would want to marry me? I am too independent and now I wear this thing." When he went to object I placed a finger on his lips. "However, if I happen to find a man who does not care about either I would not object to marrying him."
"He must pass my approval."
"Of course. Let us go home, I am hungry." I looped my arm through Arawn's and we headed.
I did not think wearing red would be so difficult. I knew it would be hard, but I did not know that it would cost me dearly.