Red~A Modern Retelling
an excerpt

CHAPTER ELEVEN: A Legendary Moment

"I think Mrs. Wallace that you'll find admitting your grandmother to our facilities not only a great experience for her, but also the peace of mind that ya' and your brother have been seekin'. Our doctors are some of the finest in the city and all of our staff have been carefully trained in takin' care of patients who are struck with this terrible disease."

Kurt sat silently next to his sister. His back was starting to itch for no apparent reason again. Because of the continual nagging sensation on his skin, he was hardly paying attention to what the admissions woman was talking about.

Annie had picked an assisted living facility about three blocks from her house and above six from Kurt's apartment. The facility was nice and everything was very cheery. The staff seemed competent enough and though it was relatively expensive, the money was not an issue for Annie. His sister and her husband made well enough money to keep their grandmother comfortable even without Kurt's help.

"Well, what do ya' think, Kurty?"

The brunette was trying to reach behind himself to get at the puncture wound that was closest to his lower right back. It was almost burning and he was cursing to himself that he couldn't quite reach it.

"Kurty?" Annie asked, her voice a little crossed.

Kurt immediately stopped trying to scratch and looked mildly chagrined. He fiddled with his hands nervously and tugged on the bottom of his red sweatshirt.

"I'm sorry, Annie, what was the question again?"

"Saints praised, Kurty! You've not heard a word of the conversation, have ya'?"

"No, that's not true! I do like this place, Annie. It's just I'm not so sure I'm happy about takin' Grammy from her home."

"It's understandable that ya' would be hesitant, Mister Mackey." the administrator interrupted. "But I assure ya' that we are more than qualified and with our open visitation policy, you're more than welcome to come see her any day of the week."

Kurt was all but sliding up and down his chair now. The wound felt really inflamed and he swore that if he didn't get relief at that very moment he was going to go mad.

"KURTY!" Annie chirped.

"I'm sorry!!!" Kurt quickly replied.

The woman behind the desk raised her eyebrow mildly.

"Um, please excuse us just for a moment, ma'am. I have to just confer with my brother."

Annie grabbed the arm Kurt was trying to scratch his back with and pulled him out of the office. She drug him away from the door and spun him around.

"What are ya' tryin' to do? Blow our chances at gettin' Grammy into this place?"

"No, Annie, I swear I'm not!" the brunette whined. "I can't help it, my back really itches."

"Oh for heavens sake, turn around." she chided. "Now lift up your sweatshirt and t-shirt. Let me see so I can scratch the blasted thing and we'll down with it."

Kurt made a sour look at his sister but turned around. He pulled up his clothing. Annie was silent behind him.

"Annie, what is it?"

"Kurty, have ya' been scratchin' your back much?"

"No, it just started itchin'. Why? Is somethin' wrong?"

"Well, those funny five puncture wounds, you've got red marks goin' between about four of them and one through the center. Ya' get another two to three and you'll have a star on your back."

"A star?!"

"Aye, in least what looks like one. No wonder your right side was botherin' ya'. Looks like you've got an awful red irritation. Didn't the doctor see this yesterday?"

"Yes, but he said everythin' looked fine."

"Well, I think ya' better go back and get somethin' for this, it looks like a very bad rash. Maybe your allergic to somethin' since the incident."

Kurt almost smiled ruefully. Even now Annie had a hard time believing that whatever had attacked Kurt was what he said it was. A flash of those green eyes in his mind made him shudder and his back suddenly burned. Annie made a strange sound behind him.

"What?! What is it?!" Kurt quickly questioned.

"Oh gross, Kurty. You've got a bit o' back hair formin'. As if your chest wasn't fuzzy enough."

"I've got back hair?!"

"Yes, not much, but you've got some. Blech, it's all fuzzy and furry lookin'."

"Annie!"

"Oh sorry. Go to the doctor proper tomorrow and then go down to Maria's place and have that little strip of hair pulled off."

"Maria? The crazy Spanish lady married Mister McMahon?"

"Crazy or not, she'll get this hair off. You'll not be attractin' many ladies with even a touch of back hair."

Kurt hoped his face didn't give anything away. Annie knew that he had been visited by Cale a couple times, but as far as his sister knew, they were courtesy visits between the two. He pulled down his clothing.

"How does it feel now?"

"Not that bad actually. Maybe whatever is makin' those bad marks on my back calmed down. I'll call the doctor first thing in the morning again."

"Yes, that's a good idea. Now then, about what we're goin' to do with Grammy."

Kurt's gaze was resigned as he looked at the office. He sighed and then shuffled his feet a little.

"All right. I don't like it, but if it's for the best."

"You'll see, Kurty. They'll take proper care of her more than you and I could ever do. We can see her any time we want too, so that's a wonderful thing."

The young man gave a slight nod. Annie took his arm and led him back into the office. The woman was waiting patiently, her hands folded lightly over the desk.

"Have ya' made your decision?"

"We both agree, we'd like our grandmother admitted to this facility."

"Wonderful!" the woman chirped. "I'll just have ya' fill out the paperwork. We'll have a space available in another two weeks, around the twenty-fourth. Until that time, we'll send nurses over to check on her progress."

"The twenty-fourth it is then." Annie chimed.

Kurt didn't know why it mattered, but he somehow instinctively knew that was the night of the full moon.

*****

The taxi cab pulled up quietly to the gates of the large Thrope estate. The cab driver let out a low whistle at seeing the wrought iron fencing and the elegantly cut trees and bushes just beyond them.

"You sure this is where you're going, buddy?" the taxi driver drawled.

"Aye, they're expectin' me."

"You got pretty high friends then." the cabbie commented.

He pushed the little button and the box made a crackling noise. A sound woman's voice came on.

"Thrope estates, how may I help you?"

"Um, my name is Kurt Mackey. I'm a friend of Cale L. Thrope's." Kurt said over the cab driver's shoulder.

"Ah yes, Mister Mackey. I know Master Thrope had meant to send a car to pick you up. We apologize as all the vehicles were taken. We hope that it was not too much difficulty arriving here in public transportation. Please go in and park at the front doors. We'll pay the fee for the driver."

The box then clicked off. The cabbie made a rather unamused face.

"She somehow just made the words 'public transportation' sound really dirty."

Kurt let out a warm chuckle at that.

The gates opened with a silent swing and the driver slipped through. The path up to the house was long and winding. The sides of the path were decorated in beautiful rose bushes, marble fountains and hand carved statues of mythical beasts.

"Like I said, buddy, you've got friends in high places."

The cab driver stopped at the front doors. An older woman wearing a long black dress and white apron was standing at the very top. She gracefully descended the stairs and opened the door before Kurt could even reach for the handle.

"Master Thrope is waiting for you in the studio. Please go in and I will take care of the fees. One of the butlers will be waiting for you."

Kurt nodded as the older woman turned her attention to the cab driver. He left behind the sound of their voices chattering about fees and went up the elaborate front stairs. The door was opened just as he reached the top stair and young man clad in a sharp black tuxedo with a crisp white shirt bowed to him. Kurt didn't know what else to do, so he bowed back.

"There is no need to bow to me, Mister Mackey. I am just the humble butler. Please follow me. We hope again your trip here was not a bother. The three limos are in use for Master Samuel's business meetings and the other two sports cars are having their bi-yearly physical inspections."

"No, 'tis fine. I don't mind traveling by taxi." Kurt smiled slightly at the butler. His back was starting to bother him again. Maybe he should have put off seeing Cale and went directly to the doctor.

The butler bowed again and Kurt followed him to the studio. They were just in the dining room where those elaborate Japanese tapestries were hanging. The brunette's attention were drawn up to them again. He hadn't realized the butler had stopped until he ran clean into him, sending them both tumbling down.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!!" Kurt was hurrying to get up and pulling the butler with him. "I didn't mean to run into you, I just..."

The butler seemed completely unoffended, instead opting to dust off his coat.

"No, please excuse me, Mister Mackey." his attention turned then to the left. "Forgive me, Master Cale. It's rare I see you out of the studio."

Kurt felt his cheeks blush when he realized Cale was standing in the dining room. The man's long raven hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. Most of the braids were falling free and the little red ribbons framed his face. The jingle bells tinkled pleasantly as he approached the two men. His voice was very quiet when he spoke, not even a hint of the seductive pleasure that Kurt had heard only the night before.

"It's all right. Are you all right?"

"Of course, Master Cale. Thank you for being so kind and thinking of me as you do." the butler said gently. "Mister Mackey is here today, I do hope you both have a good evening."

The butler bowed again and bustled away leaving the two men standing together. Kurt rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, I must seem like I'm no good on my feet."

"You were looking at my tapestries?"

"Ah, yes!" Kurt's expression brightened. "Your older brother showed them to me for a moment when I came last time. He said they were Japanese."

"They are." Cale said softly. "They tell my favorite Japanese folk story."

"What's it about?" Kurt questioned, his eyes drawn up to the series of tapestries hung beside each other.

Cale gestured for Kurt to come to where the first one was hung and raised his hand up to point at the illustrations.

"Once upon a time when the world was very young, there lived a young prince who wore a red hakama. He traveled from city to city searching for his perfect bride." Cale began. He guided Kurt then to his next tapestry. "He arrived at the Forbidden City of the Moon. There he did not find a bride, but he found a wolf spirit in the shape of a man. The wolf spirit rescued the prince from being attacked by the other wolf spirits."

Cale then drew Kurt to the next tapestry. The image was stunning of the wolf spirit being wrapped around the young prince in the red hakama, their lips only a mere inch apart.

"The two fell deeply in love. The prince wished to take the wolf spirit back with him." Cale continued. "However, it was forbidden for any of the spirits to leave the Forbidden City of the Moon. The young prince was so in love with the wolf spirit that he decided they should never be apart." Cale guided Kurt to the second to last tapestry. "In the still of the night, the prince took his own life and allowed his spirit to join with the wolf spirit's."

The final tapestry showed a mix of a man and a wolf wearing a red hakama with long talons, sharp ears and fur.

"The two became one, but the prince could never return to his city for he was no longer a man and the wolf spirit could never return to his city because he was no longer a wolf. So the two remained one and lived together in eternity traveling alone but always with each other." Cale finished the story.

Kurt eyes were brimmed with tears. He felt Cale's fingertips gently touch just below his lower eyelashes. He felt a little flustered by his reaction.

"The story upset you?"

"No, far from it!" Kurt quickly replied. "It's just so beautiful to me. To love someone that much. To be alone and never alone. It's so movin'."

Cale's fingertips glided over the one tear sliding down Kurt's cheek. The saline stained his fingertip and Kurt watched him raise the tip to his lips. His smooth tongue darted out and drew the tear off his finger, tasting it.

"You even cry sweet, Red." Cale's voice was soft and inviting.

Kurt felt himself grow warm and he moved close, his hands raised to rest on Cale's chest. The taller man slid his arms around Kurt's waist, leaning down to bring their foreheads together.

"I want to show you the painting I've made of you."

"Okay."

Cale's arms slid free of Kurt's waist. His long fingered hands caught Kurt's shorter one and drew him forward. Not once did Cale look behind him as he walked backwards. The young man's attention was locked with the vivid blue eyes gazing into his dark ones. It felt as they all but floated into the studio down the hall. Inside, the room was warmed by the sun hazing into late afternoon in the distance. Cale kicked the door to the studio with his long leg and it quietly closed shut behind Kurt. Only then did Cale change his position and move around to stand behind Kurt.

"To the wall, tell me what you think."

Kurt's attention turned to the wall. There against it on a large easel was a nearly photographic representation of him in wearing the red sweatshirt in the pose that Cale had sketched only a couple days earlier. Everything in the painting was a variation of red, but the shade that stood out most was the blood red accents on his skin and hair. Kurt was speechless as he stepped forward and stared at the painting.

"Cale..." the young man whispered.

The artist approached again from behind and looked over Kurt's head.

"You don't like it?" his question was worried.

"No, it's... I don't think I'm that beautiful..." Kurt whispered.

Cale's arms around his waist drew him back and the bare brush of lips against his neck. The words were a warm promise in Kurt's ear.

"Tonight, let me show you how beautiful you really are."