Little Red Ridding Hood 1 and 2

8/14/2019 Little Red Ridding Hood 1 and 2

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Little Red Riding Hood The Tale of a Runaway



Chapter One

Freedom Is Fleeting



Little Red Riding HoodChapter One Part One

Me, the Wolf, and a Red Cape

We buckled down in a small hire out shanty for the night. Ifrowned at the room, the strong smell of mold and excrement waftedin my face. I hated the slums of Woodstown, it always seemed sodepressing; anorexic babies, battered children and beefy oafish men. Itmade me sick.

Lupine wined and muzzled my leg with his gigantic snout, pickingup on my negative state of mind. I smiled lightly over at my beautifulrusty brown wolf and scratched behind his furry ears. It had beenalmost six months now since I’d first met him, and I’d like to think

we’ve become close. He’s a beautiful creature, and he’s done a good job of keeping me safe. Well, as safe as a werewolf could ever reallykeep me.

There’s only so much he can protect me from here. Thewoodsmen are one thing, and the armed guards are another. But whenit comes to starvation or depression, what could a wolf do? He’s agreat companion though, there’s no denying that. But despite it all, Istill feel lonely sometimes…

Lupine stretched comfortably out along the wet dirty floor as if itwere a cashmere cushion. I took off my red hood and sat down besidehim, spreading the make shift blanket over the two of us. Well, asmuch as I could anyway. Its kind of hard when he’s the size of a livebloody horse and I’m… well I’m short. Even by Arcadian standards.Have you ever seen the Arcadian women? Short little lady’s I tell youthat. But still taller than me… then again, I guess everyone seemstaller to me though.

I was 14 now, an adult. I suppose, Arcadians like my self didn’tstop growing until they were 20 odd years of age. But I’d been thesame height for two years now. I hadn’t grown an inch. But then again,they say stress stunts your growth. And Shirma knows I’ve had plentyto worry about.

These days, being a woman on Virden meant you had fivepossible occupational options, you can work in a brothel, you can workthe streets, you can be a mother, you could join with the Roherdironsor you can join the armed guard. None are good choices.

On my tenth birthday I was drafted into the armed guard. It wasmy destiny to become one of them, just like it was for the first born of every generation in my family. But I didn’t want to be one of the



guards, who could want to kill scrupulously for no real reason at all?But more so, who could do such things… to children?

You’d think that would be okay right? Just telling then you don’twant to join. But no. The problem is, no one refuses the armed guard.Not if you want to live. So I ran, I’m still running. My great

grandmothers living in Roherdiron, so I intended to go there. That was,until the woodsmen started following me. The woodsmen are basicallycheap hit men the guards use when they don’t actually want to usesomeone expendable.

Actually, that’s how I found Lupine. Or, well, he found me… andsaved me, in all honest truth. I was running from one, a big scarybrutish woodsmen I hadn’t noticed keeping tabs on my in the bar untilit was almost too late. The only option I had was to run through theGildarmen Forest and hope I lost him. But the problem with that wasthat I wasn’t fast enough, and he, well he was twice my size.

I tripped and feel to the ground. I told myself I wouldn’t cry, or

scream. There was no point. If I had screamed, no one would haveheard me. It wouldn’t have changed anything. But when he grabbedme, any and all thought of control went completely out the window. Iscreamed, I kicked, I cried and then he let go. I fell to the forest floorand the last thing I remembered that night was a big dark shapesnarling as it took down the woodsmen.

When I awoke, I was alone again. Or at least, I thought I was atfirst. But I hadn’t remembered a red cloak, or a burning fire. And thesecond I’d tried to move I almost screamed. A sharp stabbing pain shotout along my arm.

A tall muscular man bounded towards me and made the scream I

was holding back emerge. He hushed me and pressed me back on theground.

“You’ll hurt yourself if you move right now.” He said tenderly. Ifigured I was dead anyway so there was no real point in struggling. Hesurprised me when he started to treat my arm, instead of rip it into amillion pieces.

I watched him wearily, noting the glint in his emerald green eyesand the symmetry of his rippling chest. He caught me staring andsmiled. It turns out even werewolves like to know there hot. But thething I have to say that got me the most… was his skin. I’d never seenskin that color before. It was a beautiful reddish brown, a most coveted

color. It was said only the royals had skin like that. Only the royals willever see skin like that.

I felt almost… privileged. At least when I died I would have seensomething coveted by all of Virden. But he didn’t kill me. Instead, heskinned a dead rabbit and composed a spit roast over the fire, with notbut a few sticks and vines. He was quiet as he worked. I studied him,every move; every muscular jolt of his body… everything about himseemed so fluid. It wasn’t long before I grew fond of my savior. His



cropped short black hair glistened with the water droplets of the foresttrees.

He climbed trees in single bounds to retrieve fresh leaves for abed. He fazed in and out of form without trouble. But, clothes don’tfaze well with the wolf form. And so, it’s safe to say I grew even fonder

of my savior, and all his… assets.I remember, one night it was raining and the thunder was so loudit resonated in my very soul making me tremble n fear. He draggedme, careful not to bump my arm, to the shelter of the tree’s andtransformed right there and then. He muzzled the blanket around meand pressed up behind me. At first I was reluctant. I mean, come on, abig naked guy fazes then pushes up against you? How are you going toreact?

But he was so warm.A loud snore ripped from Lupine’s throat and tore me from my

reminiscing. I sighed and snuggled closer against him, the humming in

his chest was soothing, almost like a lullaby. He was still warm, stillbeautiful. I timed my breathing with his and found it easier to drift off.All the chaos meant little when he was with me. He had an air

about him, a pleasant tranquil feeling spread to all those around him.My head nestled against his fuzzy shoulder, my own golden brown hairspilling across it. I kissed his shoulder lightly, and within moments, Ifollowed him into the warm embrace of unconsciousness. Finally, forthe first time in months…

It was just me, the wolf, and a red cape.



Little Red Riding HoodChapter One Part Two

Vulnerability

Lupine licked a long line from my chin to my forehead with hisflat wide tongue, waking me from my dreams.

“Awe! Lupe! Gross!” I smacked at him, but he dogged and let outa barking laughter, a deep rumbling in the very depths of his chest.And strangely enough, I found myself laughing along side of him. Iwiped away the sleep from my eyes and ran my fingers through myhair. I knew I looked horrible, but then again, how am I supposed tokeep my self respectable when the only things I have in my bag are aspare change of shoes, my money and whatever little food we havewith us?

He rubbed his enormous wolf head against my own in a mockapology. I stroked the shaggy fur of his neck and kissed his warmcheek. “I think I can forgive you… this time.” I got up and stretched

feeling and hearing the harsh satisfying cracks of my back as I did so. Igroaned lightly and sniffed my clothing.

“Gross.” I grimaced. “Looks like were going to have to findanother lake some time soon.” Lupine nodded and let out a yawn as heshook out his fur. It was full daylight, and the streets would be busy.Even here in woodland it was illegal to shelter people like Lupine. Andso, Lupine wouldn’t be able to leave these confides in day light withoutshifting. And he couldn’t shift without becoming completely naked. Andso, it was now my job to go out and by the poor beggar some pants.

“Hey Lupine, what size are you anyway?” I asked. Lupine gaveme a blank look. “Right. You’ve never been here before. Damn.”Lupine had never been anywhere other than Roherdiron and theGildarmen Forest. But what I never understood was that the GildarmenForest was over six hundred miles away from Roherdiron. Andwhenever I ask him why he was there… he just changes the subject.

I sighed and pulled a long piece of what I assumed to be ropefrom the corner of the room. Lupine looked at me questioningly.“Listen, I need some way to measure you right?” he nodded his big



furry head. “Ten faze so I can measure you.” He eyes me skepticallyfor a moment, and then grinned. And believe me; a wolf grin isanything but pretty. They look like there going to bite you… not a nicethough either.

He phased in what seemed like a split second. He was still on all

four’s at first. He lolled his head up to look at me and grinned onceagain, a less cunning death worthy grin that had me smiling backmyself.

“I need to measure your waist.” I said in all earnest. The cheekygrin remained on his face. “Use the robe to cover up.” I said as I turnedaround to give him a moment of privacy. It was a few seconds before Ifelt his big warm hands on my shoulders.

“Why would you wish me to cover up?” he asked.“It is indecent for a man of you’re—” I stopped myself. “Any man

to go around flashing young women, even if you’re a werewolf.” Hisbark of laughter ripped through the air.

“So am I to believe you would prefer me clothed.”“When you are human, indeed.” Okay, so that was a total lie.“Please Lupine, just put on the damn robe.” He was quiet for a secondbefore letting go of my shoulders and I assumed, went to do as I hadasked.

“You can look now.” He assured me. I turned around withoutthinking.

“God damn you Lupine.” I cursed. He had the stupid robe tiedaround his shoulders with the rest of him readily exposed. The robethat came to the floor on me barely made it to his hips. “Can you showme no common decency at all?” he still grinned wolfishly, oblivious to

my displeasure. I sighed and walked over to him. I wound the ropearound his waist where the pants would sit, careful not to touchanything I would regret touching later. I tied a knot where the two endsof rope connected and stepped away from Lupine.

He was just teasing me. The last thing either of us needed wasfor someone to go too far. When we made it to Roherdiron we would goour separate ways. We hadn’t talked about it, but I knew what wouldhappen. I would live with grandmother, and he… I didn’t know what hewould do. And honestly, I didn’t really want to know. He was the firstfriend I’d made in years. It was going to be hard enough parting withhim, without being torture with thoughts of where he would go.

I didn’t like the idea of being alone again.“I’ll be back within the hour.” I called over my shoulder. He

waved me off without a second thought and took off the robe. Somepeople would have been pissed off by that. But I wasn’t. It was nice toknow that when the time came for us to separate, he’d be okay. He’dbe able to live without me, and I assumed, he’d be as happy as he wasnow.



I smiled ruefully to myself as I headed down Woodstown’scrooked narrow unpaved paths. He would be alright… but I wouldn’t.I’d miss him terribly. He was like a light to me, a bright, somewhatannoying befriended light helping to guide me through a world of lonely darkness. It was like having a thorn in your side. It didn’t really

hurt all that much, and over time, you realize you wouldn’t feel thesame without the thorn. But you know both you and the torn will bebetter off once you separate, even if you don’t want to separate, justso you can avoid the pain. But that seems stupid I guess. How could athorn be better off lying on the ground? I sighed and shook my head. Itwas stupid of me to dwell on such thoughts.

It wasn’t long before I made it to the Woodstown marketplace. There were people packed in at every corner and every inch of theroad was full of life. It’d be hard to imagine ever being able to findanything when squeezed among so many poor smelling peasants. Butbelieve it or not, it’s easier than it sounds, even for someone as short

as me.I loved the feel of the markets; the liveliness, the colors, thecultures. Everything was new and exciting. There were alwaysimported things to buy, exotic foods to taste, and new sounds tosample. There was a traveling band playing some distance away. Themusic was a beautiful lively Capriccio piece that made me want todance along.

As I looked over the market place I had to smile. It was as if thepeople were dancing, they were keeping time with the music as theywalked in time with the beat of the marketplace. As their bodiesmoved to the rhythm it was as if their voices were building to a timely

crescendo. And in that split second when the singer’s eyes and mineconnected, I wanted to join the dance. Not just temporarily… butforever. I wanted to stay in this market and listen to them play until Ifell asleep. But that was impossible for me here.

I shook off the thought and went out in search of a tailor.Strangely enough, it wasn’t long before I found a small stall selling onesize fits all clothing. I smiled down at the petite Beriadanwen woman.Her dark brown hair twisted into a simple delicate braid, I noticed thecolor of her hair was just a touch darker than that of her bright cleartopaz eyes.

Beriadanwen men were all bulky scary men, where as all the

women were beautiful petite little creatures. But unfortunately, thoughLupine and I fit that description, our skin did not. Beriadanwen’s had anice tanned looked about them. They were a health, prosperouspeople.

But I was an Arcadian, an aristocrat. My skin was as pail asporcelain, just like all those of my kind. And then Lupine, lupine hadthe God’s skin. A beautiful rosé color only the royals among our kindhad. Usually, red-brown skin is unheard of outside of the Roherdiron.



But it is said the Royals made a deal with the Roherdiron to give themthe beauty of their skin.

I handed her the rope. “Greetings miss. I’m looking for a pair of pants that will fit a man with a waist length this size, preferably in abrown or black.” She nodded in comprehension.

“One moment please.” I took that moment to fish out my moneybag and count the few coins we had left. All I had was six silvers andeleven coppers. Well, looks like we were going to have to find moremoney somewhere…

“Here you go young miss.” She handed me a pair of dark brownsimple men’s pants and smiled. “That’ll be four silvers thank you” Ihanded over the money and put his pants safely into my bag. I stuffedthe money bag into my dress pocket and kept my hand close to it.Lupine and I would have to cross three days length of forestry beforewe even reached Beriadanwen’s borders. And after that, we wouldcross into Roherdiron; Shirma only knows what awaits us there. I just

pray we make it out alive. Three stalls down I found a quaint little food stall. The DelranBread buns were cheep, and so were the Starling Cookies, both were atthree for a copper, a good deal if you ask me. “Shopkeeper!” I called. Atall oafish Beriadanwen man came over to me, one of those pervertedgrins only the older men of his kind got around foreign women. Inoticed he had a small limp in his step, meaning he probably eitherserved when he was younger, or was a woodsman until he got hurt.Either way, I almost immediately hated him.

“I’ll take a squat of Delran Bread buns and a squat of Starlingcookies.” I took another look around and spotted something I hadn’t

seen since I’d left Arcadia. “I’ll take that last packet of ribbon fruit too.”Ribbon fruit were these beautiful little red marble shaped fruits, greatfor dehydration and supposedly, healing the sick. But more than that,they tasted delicious. It was like a sweet explosion of juices in yourmouth and for one single moment, it takes your breath away andmakes your heart skip a beat. The shop keep bagged up my order andhanded them to me.

“That’ll be eleven coppers.” I handed over the last of my coppersand put all the food into my bag, along with our last two remainingsilvers. Shirma, I just hoped Lupine wouldn’t need another pair of pantsany time soon. I don’t think we’d be able to afford it. If Lupine hunted

for meat in the forests at night time we’d have enough food to make itthrough the three day trip.

Delran Bread had this beautiful thick rich dark-brown crust thathelped to keep it fresh for weeks on end, and there was so much Faysugar in starling cookies that it could last a life time and never growstale. And if you ask me, starling cookies were always better the weekafter they’d been cooked. The Ribbon fruit would still be ripe foranother three to four days, but after that ribbon fruit had the



unfortunate curse of exploding. It wouldn’t cause a fire of course; itwas just very messy if the fruit was not properly contained.

I headed back to the horrible little shanty, careful to mind mybag and the people around me. The streets may have been alive withmusic, but among the squabbling of peasants there were always bound

to be thieves.I ran over the rationing schedule in my head just to make surewe’d have enough for the trip. If the trip lasted three to four days thatmeant we could share three of the Delran Bread and three of theStarling cookies each day. Considering Lupine was bigger than me, andwas going to be doing more of the work, he would get the largerportion. So, he could have two buns and two cookies a day, and I wouldhave one bun and one cookie a day. The ribbon fruit we’d figure out aswe went, I wasn’t even sure how many were in the packet, at leasttwenty odd I’d assume.

I reached the shanty and entered quietly, just in case Lupine had

tried to squeeze in an extra hours sleep. No such luck. “You’ve beengone for 73 minutes and twenty nine seconds.” He said, he was sittingon the floor with his legs cross and his arms folded across his chest. Ismiled over at him, he looked so angry, I hadn’t meant to make himwait.

“I’m sorry; I stopped to get some extra supplies. We’ve got along trip ahead off us; we can’t live off rabbits the entire time.”

I set down the bag on the floor and went to retrieve his pants. “Ican catch larger game.” he declared.

“That’s no what I meant and you know it.” I threw the pants athim. “Now get dressed will you? The sooner we leave the sooner I can

wash my clothes, I don’t know about you, but the smells starting to getto me.” I busied myself rearranging the bag to distract myself asLupine dressed.

“I don’t mind the smell.” He informed me.“Yeah, well, I do.” I retrieved the goatskin canteen from the

bottom of the bag and swished it around, lees than a mouth full.“Looks like we’re almost out of water too.”

“We passed a well on the way into town.” Lupine noted.“Yeah, but that’s at least a mile backwards. It’s a longer trip for

something we’ll be able to get by sun down if we keep to the southanyway. The rivers not that far away…” I buttoned the bag shut and

swung it over my shoulders as I got to my feet. “We should probablyget going then.” Lupine untied the robe from around his neck andhanded it to me. He pulled the bag from my back and lugged it acrosshis own huge shoulders; it probably felt like nothing to him.

“The bag is heavier than I remember.” He noted as he walkedout side the door. I followed behind him happily.

“I said I picked up extra supplies didn’t I? I wasn’t joking.” Ismiled slightly. “Speaking of which, you’re in for a treat tonight.”



He grinned at me and looked me over. “Is that so?” I punched hisarm lightly.

“You know I didn’t mean it that way, pervert.” I laughed it off. “Ibought Ribbon fruit, you’ll love them.” I promised.

He looked down at me, studying me I way that made me want to

both blush and fidget. He made me nervous sometimes, like he waslooking at me and seeing something I couldn’t comprehend. Suddenly,the corner of his mouth pulled into a smile. “Something tells me I will.” The blush on my cheeks grew even more profound.

I pulled the hood up over my head and my let curls fall wherethey may. It was partly to disguise myself from the woodsmen, andpartly to hide my embarrassment from Lupine. In some ways I hatedthe way he stared… and in other ways, I loved it. For a small moment,when he looks at me like that, I almost think… he might care aboutme. Even just a little bit. It’s been a long time since anyone’s caredabout me, in anyway.

Sometimes it’s nice to fantasies about things like that. And othertimes it makes me so made I want to scratch his eyes out. But I guess,I’d never really do that. Strangely enough, there were times when I’dwatch him too, when he was cooking or making a bed of the forestfloor for us that I’d stare and think… I might even care for him too. Butcaring for someone I would loose soon enough… it wasn’t a nice idea. Things like Lupine would make me weak; make me vulnerable to theoutside world.

And if there’s one thing I can’t afford in this world of cheapmurderous woodsmen and legal baby killers its vulnerability.



Little Red Riding HoodChapter One Part Three

My Fuzzy Protector

Lupine had insisted on going to the well before we started hikinginto the forests. We’d stopped off at the well and again he’d insisted

we both drink our fill before heading off, just in case we didn’t make itto the river before night fall. While drinking the water I wascontemplating using it to wash my clothes. Apparently my need forpersonal hygiene was higher on my list of musts than stayinghydrated. I was such a girl.

We hadn’t even made it to the outskirts of the city before myfeet started to hurt. Hear me out, the city houses over 29 millionpeople, now just think, that’s a lot of houses, and houses need room.So just take that into consideration before contemplating my seriouslack of stamina.

I hadn’t said anything to Lupine; he just scooped me up into his

arms and made me straddle his shoulders. I’d protested for two blocksbefore giving into the fact it was better this way, rather than havingme walk the extra couple miles and making Lupine slow to my snaillike speed. The thing is, even though Lupines a werewolf and he canlift over twenty times his metric weight I still felt bad for making himcarry me.

He never explained to me why he was helping me; he’d neverreally explained anything to me. All I knew was that he was taking me



where I needed to go, and with him, it would be at least ten times tentimes quicker than if I had to go it alone. Not to mention the fact he’sinsanely strong and can probably fight off any bad guy with one handbetter than I could with both of mine and an Arcadian dagger.

It’s true that he hadn’t explained anything to me, but in his

defense, I hadn’t asked a whole lot of questions. I’m almost sacred to. Ifeel like if I ask things will either turn out badly between us, or I’ll getan answer I really don’t want. So for the time being, I’ll let it go. Iguess, I trust that if it’s imperative to know he’ll tell me about it. But if its not then why tell me at all? Right?

It felt strange being on Lupine’s shoulders. Not because it wasuncomfortable or anything, but because of the height. I was use toseeing up to someone’s chest and not a whole lot more. So being liftedup on Lupine’s shoulders and suddenly having to look down on most of the other villagers… it felt… wrong. But at the same time, it was kindof enlightening.

“So this is what you see every day.” I mused.“Great isn’t it?”I looked over the crowds rushing through the streets, the light

bounced of their clothing and made them shimmer. “It’s so light.”Something about being up this height made me feel… untouchable. Ifelt on top of the world, and that was just me. I wasn’t strong orincredibly fast… but Lupine was. “You must feel invincible.” I saiddreamily.

But as fate would have it, as I gazed at the sky’s I saw the stormapproaching. It was a heavy grey rolling over the once clear beauty of a blue that adorned our skies. How invincible would he feel in the mists

of a storm?“Our journey may take longer than originally anticipated.” Lupine

noted.“I think you may be right.” it was one thing to travel through an

unmapped forest; it was another to do so in the midst of a storm.“We’ll be fine if we ration out our food properly.”

“I’m not worried about the food little one.”“Don’t call me that!” I thumped his head and made him chuckle.“Fine, short one.” I groaned I rested my head atop of his.“You know Lupine; you’re a real pain in the ass.”“But a helpful pain at least.”

I smiled to myself “Sure Lupine, you’re the average useful tool.”His laughter vibrated through his head and into me. I smiled a littlebrighter, I really did like Lupine. And he really didn’t have to be helpingme. “Thank you Lupine.” I said.

“Huh?”“Thank you for doing this. You didn’t have to, really.” what I

wanted to add was ‘so why did you?’ but I wouldn’t pry. If he didn’twant to tell me, then that was his business.



It took a moment before he spoke, but when he did I was glad Ihad told him how I felt. Well, somewhat of what I felt. “You’rewelcome.” I kissed his cheek before I even realized what I was doing. Iblushed harder but said nothing, I could see him smiling. If a kiss and athank you was all I had to give for a free ride to Roherdiron I was more

than happy to pay.We made it to the Beriadanwen forests within the hour.Beriadanwen was surrounded by forests at every angle; it was both asecurity and a privacy thing. The Beriadanwen may look like very calmpeaceful people, but they can get very touchy around foreigners. I wasuse to seeing all kinds of strange and wonderful people now; therewasn’t a whole lot the world could surprise me with. I mean, a littlemore than two and a half years of running from woodsmen and allkinds of other horrible little creatures soon enough you kind of get theimpression that there’s not a whole lot more these people can throw atme.

Lupine and I hiked for a while with me on his back until he wassure we were out of sight. He put me down, stripped off his pants,handed me the bag and shifted. I put his pants into the bag, careful notto crush the food; partly for practicality and practically so I could lookat something other than a naked Lupine. I shucked the bag over myshoulders and walked towards Lupine.

I hated this part, I felt so… useless. But if I rode Lupine wemoved twice as quickly. His huge horse sized fuzzy form bowed downon the ground for me. I climbed atop of him and wedged myself behindhis shoulder blades; it was more comfortable for Lupine but a littlemore difficult for me to stay astride him. I sighed and scratched behind

his ear.“Come on boy, let’s get out of here.” He stood slowly got to his

feet and let me get a firm grip of his fur within my fists. The first timewe’d tried this I’d fallen off… and the second time… and the thirdtime… okay, so I fell a lot. But you try keeping your balance whilestraddling a blood wolf. He started off on a trot then sped to a jogbefore then sprinting into a high pace run. I dug the heels of my feetinto his sides.

We’d done a lot of practice to figure out what I could andcouldn’t do while ridding him. Lupine hadn’t thought it was necessary, Iswear Lupine probably wouldn’t even notice if I stuck a pair of hooks

into his back to keep me from falling off. But that still didn’t keep mefrom making sure he was comfortable while he was carrying methrough the forest. I thought I at least owed him that much.

I held on tightly as we rode through the uneven forest floor. Theharsh crunching of the leaves as Lupines powerful paws pounded intothe earth. My body moved with his and it stretched and constricted. Heseemed so calm when he was running, so at peace with everything



around him. And yet, if I had been watching him, I’d have thought hewas a ferocious king in such a forest.

The rain was pouring down now, even through the lushness of the trees it still hit like pebbles against my body. I buried my face in hissoft fur. You would have expected him to smell, well, like wet dog. But

no, he smelt like the rainforest, it was a fresh earthy smell, almostfloral in some ways. But the thought of lupine smelling of flowers wasalmost too hilarious to even consider.

Tonight we didn’t make it to the river. Lupine stopped when hefound a rock formation that featured more than enough room for thetwo of us to be sheltered under. He stopped and let out a howl to letme know to get off of him. I did so and fished out his pants as heshifted forms. It was so dark that I could only just make out what Iassumed was his form walking towards me. He took the pants, slippedthem on and helped me into the shelter. Who knew wolves had greatnight vision. But then again, maybe my night vision just seriously

sucked banana’s.He sat up against one of the stone walls and pulled me againsthim so that my back was pressed against his chest. He was leaning atan angle to make me more comfortable, I appreciate that. I took of thered hood and spread in across our legs. Lupines huge hands foldedaround my own, I hadn’t noticed I was shaking until now.

“You sheltered me from the rain as we were riding. Its no wonderyour cold.” He yawned; a strong bellow gust of wind escaped his lips. Iturned slightly in his arms so that my check rested on his chest.

“And you carried me the entire way here, its no wonder you’retired.” His arms lined up with mine so as much of my skin was touching

his as possible. I melted against his constant warmth. “Seems like yourskins about as practical as it is beautiful.” he chuckled, a deeprumpling from his chest.

“Beautiful?” he asked. “Handsome maybe, but beautiful?”I slapped him lazily “don’t make fun of me Mr. Yeah, your

beautiful.” I yawned myself and settled as deeply against his skin as Icould. He leaned down and kissed the part in my hair.

“You should sleep; it shall be a long day tomorrow.” I laughed.“It will seem even longer to you.” I admitted dreamily. “I’m just

along for the ride.”He leaned down and whispered “And what a ride it shall be” I

would have hit him if I had had the strength, or even the presence of mind to do so. But as fate would have it, within a matter of minutes Iwas asleep within the arms of my fuzzy protector.

I awoke to a very loud, very irritable snore. One of Lupines legswas outstretched lazily some way away from me, and the other waswrapped round my waist as if he were half crossing his legs. My arms



were curled around one of his forearms, both of which were wrappedaround my body protectively. Outside the small shaded areaeverything was wet from the rain, it was dead silent out in the forests,so I assumed the storm wasn’t over yet.

I rubbed my cheek against his chest. “Wake up Lupine, come on”

I pushed away his huge arms with as much strength as I had. His bodysnapped into attention and his arms constricted me against his body. If his arms had been any higher up he would have choked me. But henoticed what he was doing too quickly for it to have likely caused memuch pain for long.

“Oops, sorry.”“Don’t worry about it.” He hugged me to him for another

moment, his face pressed against my auburn curls. And strangelyenough, I was happy to be there. I rubbed my cheek against his chestagain and let out a sigh. “We should get going soon.”

He made a sound of forced agree meant. “Five more minutes,

k?” I felt like his favorite teddy bear, the one he couldn’t help but curlup and go to sleep with, sadly, I probably was. But what was evenworse was that, he felt like my favorite blanket, one I couldn’t sleepwithout having his wrap his cushioned muscled arms around me. Isighed and relaxed back into him.

“I guess five more minutes won’t kill us.”

Little Red Riding HoodChapter One Part Four

Nude Troubles

Lupine and I had fallen asleep again after that, I wasn’t sure howlong we’d been out for, but the sun was high in the sky by the time weset out for the river. The river as it turns out was less than three hoursaway.

When we arrived things got a little… awkward, as you canimagine. I had a spare plain dress in the bag but it was just as dirty asthe one I was wearing. Lupine did show me some level of dignity byturning away as I had to strip off. But the bad thing was, I had to washthe hood as well. So, basically I had to suck it up and sit butt naked infront of Lupine.

I scrubbed my clothes until I was certain they were completelyclean then strung them over a few low branches. I took the liberty of



washing my body as well as possible, after all, what’s the point in cleanclothes if your body is still dirty anyway? I turned to Lupine and foundhim staring at my naked body. Sadly enough, I had all but forgotten Iwas naked, in a quiet forest… with a beast.

Lupine was still in his wolf form, but in all honest truth, that

almost made him more intimidating. He stared at me, like I wassomething to eat. He licked his huge wolf lips and made me back upagainst a tree. I felt my breathe go ragged as my heart rate suddenlyaccelerated. He stalked towards me, his gigantic furry form ready topounce; the look in his eyes unmistakable.

“Lupine…” I slid down the back of the tree, not taking in anymore than that furry beast and my suddenly very vulnerable self. Iaccepted that he very well may… may… “God at least change backfirst.” I managed to whisper. He stopped for a moment in his tracks. Ibrought my knees up against my chest in an attempt to hide myself.

If he was stupid enough to actually try anything I might just be

able to evade him long enough to hide somewhere until he calmeddown… maybe. But truth be told, if I lost him at this point, I’d befucked. He’d have the food, my clothes and he’d make it to Roherdirondays before me. It would take me at the very least a week or two tomake it there on foot, maybe more.

He shifted right there in front of me, his once semi comfortablewolf self now a very intimidating, very naked man. He grinned, thegleaming in his eyes unmistakable now. His russet skin stillshimmered, even without the sunshine. The water droplets that oncesparkled in his thick reddish brown coat now glistened along his skin. Itlooked smooth… wet. He continued his stalking; each muscles of his

body well define into a simple yet wondrous beauty.And then, he made it to me, his face hovering above my knees. I

swallowed hard against my now very dry throat. “What are you doing?”I whispered.

His hands came up shakily to rest on my knees, he wasn’twatching me anymore he was watching his hands. My eyes flickeredfrom his hands to his face, and somehow, I realized his hands felt goodwhere they rested, they were warm… and soft. He blinked a coupletimes and seemed to clear his mind. His hands slid down from myknees to the tops of my thighs as his head came to rest on my knees.

“You looked cold.” He whispered. I felt the tension rushed out of

my body in one quick gust. My head lulled forward and I let my handsrest over his.

“Don’t scary me like that.” I let my head rest just below his andlet my self find some level of comfort.

I had spent most of my life being told not to trust men. Theywere ugly vile creatures set on nothing but sex and money.Considering the women in my family had always developed early, andwe were decedents of the guard, I was supposedly a fine choice for



both. But Lupine was nothing like what I’d been told. He was beautifuland caring; he looked after me… at all costs. He was the one proof inthis world I had that said maybe I could have these kinds of goodthings in my life.

I want to find someone that’ll take care of me, someone who’ll

love me and wont care whether I’m rich or poor… I want someone thatloves me for me. Not someone interest in trivial things like money of beauty. After all, money gets spent and looks fade away with time…but love can last forever.

We stayed like that for quite some time. Well, until the rainstarted pouring so hard it left dents in my skin. The clothes were as dryas they were ever going to get.

I re-dressed into my thigh high white petticoat with tear droplace, my black tie up bodice that started just under my breasts andended just below my belly button and a beautiful red and whitecheckered skirt.

I turned back to Lupine and found his eyes staring intently at me.I’d asked him to dress, and in his defense he had done it. But I still feltso… uncomfortable under his gaze.

He held out the red hood for me, and I walked towards him totake it. He stood in front of me and draped the cape around myshoulders. He tied the string around my neck and spread out my hairdelicately. I blushed uncomfortably under his gaze, I hated how easilyhe could do that to me.

I turned away from him and headed towards the bag. “We shouldeat before we go.” I unbuttoned the bag. When I came across theRibbon Fruit I smiled. “Hey come here.”

He walked towards me and came to kneel in front of me and thebag. I smiled and picked up one of the small bright red fruits.

“Open up.” His eyebrows crinkled for a moment, a small smilespreading across his lips as he opened his mouth. I pricked the stemfrom the ribbon fruit and popped it in his mouth. He bit into it and Iwatched as his eyes bulged open. His eyes squinted slightly, thesweetness of the fruit getting to him.

“They’re my favorites.” I told him. I bit into my own piece of ribbon fruit and sighed in ecstasy. “It’s probably the last time I’ll everget to eat them too.” If there was one thing I was going to miss inArcadia it as the fresh Ribbon Fruit trees. Well, those and Mustafa.

“Why can’t you get any in Roherdiron?”“Because, one of the deals between our royalty and the

Roherdiron they have to be left in complete isolation. That means notrading, no imports and no Ribbon Fruit.” I sighed dramatically thenshrugged it off. “I guess I should just make the memory of it last atleast.”

Lupine burst into laughter. “What’s so funny?”



“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone more emotionally attached tofood in my life.” I slapped his shoulder.

“Shut up.” I handed him two Delran Bread Buns and two Starlingcookies. I took a bite out of my own Delran Bread Bun and smiled.Delran Bread had a beautiful savory taste. Strangely, it went perfectly

with Ribbon Fruit.

We rode long and hard into the night. The sky was ripe with rainbabies, and heavy with her thundering love. I clutched as tightly toLupines coat as I could. My legs constricted around lupines sides as hispace speed until I felt as if I were flying. The rain and rapid windswhipped at my face like daggers at a bleeding heart. I buried my facein his neck and tried to ride out the storm as best I could. If Lupinecould run all this way carrying me, then I could hold on for just a few

more hours. The sky was already at the point where I wasn’t sure what timeof the am it was when Lupine finally slowed his pace. There were nocaves or shaded spots around I could see. All that was were trees andforest ground. I sighed to myself, well that’s just great. So I can freezeto death and most likely start to suffer from hypothermia.

I climbed off of Lupine and he shifted almost instantaneously. Igrabbed his pants from inside the bag and tossed them to him. He putthem on without complaint and pulled me to him, his warm skin likefire against my frozen body. I cringed into him and let him hold mybody. He scooped me up and rested against a tree. He held me to him

as I shivered in his arms. One thing I knew in that moment was that Iwas glad for him to be with me.

I tucked my head into the crook of his neck I wound my armsaround his neck. His hands massaged my back through the thinmaterial of the red hood. He kissed a trail down the side of my face tothe base of my neck and rested his head there. He was quiet as heheld me; the only sound was the rain and the thundering from above.

And then, I felt something even colder… and sharper than mepressed against my neck. Lupines head lifted from my neck and hisbody stiffened. I turned slightly to see six members of the armed guardstanding around us, and one very sharp sword resting on my shoulder

a little too close too my jugular.“Princess Katrothia of the Robistone clan, you are under arrest

for willful disobedience and evasion of the armed forces.” A sound thatcould only be described as a deep territorial growling came from withinLupines chest. I cringed into him, my brain still not yet ready toprocess what was happening.



“Go away.” It was the only thing that made sense in my mind.Another violent shiver ran through my body and Lupines bodyconstricted tighter around me.

“You have one minute to desist your… fraternizing.”I was getting pissed, I was tired freezing and a bunch of assholes

were telling me I had to move away from the only comfort I had at mydisposal right now.“Didn’t you hear me? FUCK OFF!” I didn’t hear what the guard

said. He was mumbling something, I don’t know. “Let me sleep.”Lupine picked my up and rested me back against the tree. He leaneddown over me as the guards yelled all sorts of commands at him.“Don’t go.” I mumbled. I grabbed for a shirt, but there was nothing tograb.

“I’ll only be gone for a moment.” He leaned down and kissed myforehead. “I promise, I won’t leave you alone.” I cringed back and gotas close to the tree as possible. I heard Lupine howl and then a battle

began. I wanted to help him, or at least open my eyes long enough tosee that he was okay. But I couldn’t do it. I was too tired. So I sat therewith my eyes closed and drifted off to a horror symphony of screamsand howls.



Chapter Two

The Capture

Little Red Riding HoodChapter Two Part One

Captured… FUCK!!!

The ground below me was freezing against my skin. That was nota feeling I was use to. I reached for Lupine but all my hands found wasa more smooth frozen… metal?

I opened my eyes, blood shot and blurry as they were to findbars not that far in front of me. I took a closer look at the metal barsand found the joining door was locked. But it wasn’t just any lock; it



was a lock that bared the seal of Arcadia… a seal mostly used by thearmed guard.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position and resisted the urge tostamp my feet like a little girl. The cage must have been either onwheels or riding on the back of a wagon because we were moving, and

it was not a smooth ride. In that moment I would have done anythingto be riding with Lupine through the forest again. He was soft andwarm, but best of all, he was safe. “So I’m captured. Great, that’s justgreat. Two days fucking ride from Roherdiron and I get captured. That’s just fucking great.”

One of the guards slammed his hand down on the top of mycage. “Quiet in there!” I couldn’t see from his waist up, the cage didn’tallow it.

“Where’s Lupine!?” I yelled at him.“Desist or Sir Endameba will beat you!”“No! Tell me where he is!” I screamed.

“God you really have changed you know that? The dog wouldn’tfit in the cage so we had to put him down.”I was stunned for a moment. Put him down? As in… as in death?

“You couldn’t. He’s strong enough to take out all of you one handed.He’s one of the Roherdiron, you are nothing compared to him!” I spatat his foot and turned away from the guard. “I won’t cooperate withyour rules if he’s harmed.” The man outside ignored me, or at least,that’s what I had assumed he was doing.

Finally he said “You really don’t remember me do you?”“I can’t even see beyond your thighs soldier. But I’m sure any

conformist bastard willing to serve these pigs wouldn’t be welcomed

into my memory.”“Kat… you really don’t remember?”Kat… I hadn’t been called that in a long time… not since… “Holy

crap! Julius? Is that you?” Julius… he was one of, well, the mainreasons why I hated the armed guard. They took him away from me… Iwas only ten when he told me he loved me. And then, a week later,they took him away. And he told me… he told me goodbye, becausewe’d never see each other, ever again.

I laughed at myself. “You know, I… I thought I’d never see youagain.” I looked through the bars and couldn’t help but laugh again.“And I guess I was right. But then again, I never really thought I’d run

away to Roherdiron with a full grown werewolf either.” I swallowed mywords and suddenly notice how freezing cold I was. “You… You didn’treally, kill him did you?” I asked.

“Na, they just pumped him full of Night Fly. He’s tied to one of the horses at the back of the line. Your boy put up one hell of a fightthough; Carrion and Vireo can’t even walk now. They’re riding at theback of the line, there’s not a whole lot the medics can do for themhere.”



“But… he’s okay? Lupines not hurt… right?”“He’ll be fine… well, as long as he doesn’t struggle too much

against the silver. He put up one hell of a fight to protect you… damn;you sure can pick ‘em you know that?”

“What can I say? I have a thing for men with big spirits and a

body to match. You remember, right Julius?”“Oh, I remember fine.” He laughed along side me as the Caravanrolled to a stop. I was about to ask what had happened, but then Iheard the only answer I’d ever need.

“—I said WHERE IS SHE!!!”“Looks like Lupines awake” I mused. “Cant you just let him go?

He’s going back home anyway, I was just along for the ride. If I tell himto go home he will, there’s no point in having anymore of your menbecome injured. And believe me, with Lupine, it won’t stop at injury.”

“I-I’ll be right back.” the legs I had come to know as Julius ranaway from my cage. I felt like a bird without a song. Caged for

another’s amusement with nothing but impending death waiting forme in a world unknown… just outside the cages door. My hands circledthe cage bars, my finger tips not even able to reach back to my palm. Isighed, if only I still had my nightingale pin, I would have been able topick the lock and help Lupine, then maybe we would have had achance to escape.

A guard opened my cage door and for a moment, I was stunnedinto stillness. “Come on girly.” A hoarse voice cooed. A pair of roughhands caught my wrists and bound them together, I didn’t resist.

“Where am I going exactly?”“The wolf won’t calm down; Captain says you’ll do it for us.” He

pulled me out of the cage, not letting me pause to get my footing anddragged me towards the end of the line. My knees were now fullycovered in mud, I could only imagine how the rest of me looked… hell,the mud was probably an improvement.

We rounded the corner of a supply wagon and came across thesource of the commotion. Lupine had gone fully wolf now, severalarmed guards surrounded him, trying to take him down. Lupine snarledand snapped at them as they got to close. I saw the look in his eyes, Iknew that look. It was a look that said, I’m ready to kill you.

“Untie my hands.” I said the rough brutish guard.“What?”

“Untie my hands or he’ll think the worst. I won’t run, you havemy word.” He took me in, looking me up and down before decidingeven if I did run I wasn’t going to get far. He undid my hands andpushed me off towards the beast, my Lupine.

“Go on girlie; you try calm the hairy bastard down.”“I’ll thank you to watch your tongue in the presents of a lady.” I

know the fact I myself was cursing just moments ago makes me ahypocrite, but in all truth, I didn’t care.



He scoffed and spat at the ground. “I don’t see no ladies roundhere, just peasant scum.”

I turned back to him, smiled and extended my hand. “PrincessKatrothia of the Robistone clan, pleased to make your acquaintance.And you are?” he stared at me, like a dear in its moment of death. “No

name then? Just as well, I have no need to know the names of ‘peasantscum’ as you so elegantly put it.” I turned from him and lookedtowards the gabble of men surrounding Lupine. “Please order them tomove away from him. I doubt he’ll be able to see me from back here.”

“Guards! Fall back!” The brutish man commanded. Thescrambled men hesitated, for fear of becoming vulnerable to myLupine. “THAT’S AN ORDER!!!” he bellowed.

I moved forward around the guards until I could see Lupine. Hewas still snarling and that feral look was still clear in his eyes.

“Lupine? It’s just me okay? No ones going to attack us, Ipromise.” I was moving towards him with my hands extended, as if I

were dealing with a feral animal, and in a way, I guess I was. I wasclose to him now, less than a meter away. Even as a wolf he was stilltaller than me. I stared into his eyes and smiled. “It’s just me Lupine,it’s just me.”

My hand gently stroked the fur of his cheek and his eyes seemedto come into focus, the feral gleam banished away to a place below thesurface. I sighed and looped my arms around his neck.

“You idiot, your going to get us kill you know that?” he relaxedunder my touched, the rage leaving each muscle of his body as slowlyas it did mine. Lupines touch seemed to bring me a kind of unexplainable peace now, as it seemed mine did for him as well. “We

can’t escape from this one Lupine. I’ll try to bargain for your life,” thehackles of his neck went on high alert. “Don’t worry, they can’t killme.” I laughed. “I outrank them.” I kissed his cheek and continuedstroking the fur of his neck. “Its okay, I won’t let anything happen.”

He muzzled my side, his sharper sense of smell taking in my ownhorrible fragrance. I pulled away just enough to look into his eyes andsmiled at him. “Don’t cause anymore trouble, K? I’ll be back.”

He licked a clean line up the side of my face. I pushed him awayand smacked at him “Gods Damn it Lupine! You got me again!” I wipedat the dog slobber and found myself laughing along with Lupine.“You’re horrible you know that?” he sat back on his hind legs and gave

me a wolfish grin. His tongue hanging out at the side like any welltrained dog. I took his face between my hands once again and kissedhis muzzle. “Wait here.” He nodded that huge head of his and sat atattention. Good puppy.

I turned around to find what I assumed was the entire caravanstaring at me. “What?”

“Only a woman.” The oafish soldier from before muttered.



“Only Katrothia could calm such a feral beast.” I spotted Juliusand melted. He wasn’t that awkward young adult anymore. He was afully grown man, and eighteen year old booming beauty. His lightlytanned skin was now free of all imperfections, and his once unshapelyform was now tall and strong. His long fluid brown curls now framed his

face. But those eyes… they hadn’t changed a bit… they were still asbright, still as beautifully blue as they ever were. I smiled.“You sure have change Julius.”“Not all of us stay the same height forever you know.” He

teased.I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t mind being short, it adds to the

general misguided belief that all small cute things are harmless.”“You always were the one for practicality.”I shrugged again. “Who’s in command?”“And there it is.” He mused.“I am in command.” I strong orderly voice came. I watched as an

armored horse came trotting towards me, atop it sat a knighted man, aman I had seen many a time before. Not in person, but on posters andin paintings.

“The fairy tale precedes it self, I always though Sir Endamebawas just a bed time story to scare bad little boys into being good.”

The man atop the horse came into focus, and I almost fell headover heels. He was gorgeous. His long golden locks cascaded over hisarmor like spindles of gold in the sun light. His gleaming armorsparkled as the sun threw down rays upon it. And then his eyes… ohgod his eyes, they were the most beautiful shade of Emerald GreedI’ve ever seen. I had to swallow a couple times before my brain could

think in coherent sentences. “We will go quietly, and so you have noneed of this chain and cage method. I give you my word.”

“And what is it your word is worth?” He asked in a velvetysmooth voice that seemed perfect for him. It was almost as if I couldreach out for his voice and rap it around me, the way I could withLupine at any moment.

“Surely a man with your reputation knows very well the worth of a Princess’s word. I will not betray you good knight, once given I keepmy word.” He stared at me, our eyes locking into a moment thatseemed to last forever.

“If you betray me, I will bring you a swift death.” He promised. To

anyone who did not understand the ways of a warrior they would havetaken that as a threat, but in truth, it was a very sweet thought.

I smiled. “What a romantic sentiment, but if it’s all the same withyou, I’d prefer to die a warriors death.”

He bowed his head to me with a cheeky one sided smile. Awarrior’s death meant I would prefer to die in hand to hand combatrather than take the mercy killing. “As you wish, Princess. Men, Move



Out!” He ordered. The men scurried away and to their posts. “We shallprovide a horse for you.”

“No need. Lupine is more than capable of carrying me.” Helooked over at my wolf. Lupine growled a deep rumble. “If I was you, Iwouldn’t deny him the right, things could get… chaotic again. I believe

we would both like to avoid such an outcome.” His brows furrowed.“To leave a Lady alone with such a creature—”“Should be no problem at all. Lupine will not hurt me nor will he

harm anyone else for that matter, provided he is not provoked of course.” I walked towards Lupine and rested my hand on his shoulder.He relaxed under my touch and I smiled back at Sir Endameba “See,no trouble at all.” He didn’t look happy about it, but he nodded. “Thankyou Knight, I shall not forget it.” He nodded again and rode off towardsthe front.

I turned to Lupine and kissed his forehead. “See, no biggie atall.” He lay on the forest floor and waited for me to mount him. I edge

myself just behind his shoulder blades and patted his shoulder as I signI was ready. He got to his feet as gracefully as ever but surprised mewhen he started trotting to the front of the caravan.

If I could have, I would have explained how the order of acaravan worked and how only the superiors stood in front. But thatwould have undermined both Lupine and I. So I sat comfortably astridehim and let him make a show of trotting to the front of the line.

Sir Endameba gave us a look of question but said nothing asLupine fell into step beside him. Strangely enough, as I sat astrideLupine I was at the same height as Sir Endameba. Lupines size stillamazed me. “It seems your wolf is an Alfa.” He commented.

I smiled and nodded. “That or he didn’t like the view of the backof your pretty little wagons.” He smiled ruefully. “No, Lupine and I arevery much the same. Neither he nor I can stand to be at the back of anything, he’s a leader.” Lupine threw his head back and howled, itspooked Endameba’s horse. I laughed and scratched behind Lupinesears. Sometimes it was hard for me to think of Lupine and my wolf asthe same creature. I was more comfortable with him in wolf form; itwas easier to think of him as an animal rather than a living breathingman.

“So you and your wolf are close I take it.”“When someone saves your life it’s almost impossible not to feel

bound to them, he’d been doing it every day for the last six monthsnow. If it wasn’t for him, the woodsmen would have killed me by now.”I looked over at Sir Endameba and smiled. “Strangely enough, barmaking it to Roherdiron you’re the best outcome we could havefound.” I laughed to myself. “Its quiet depressing if you think about it.”

“May I ask, why did you run exactly? Surely a life in the ArmedGuard is not as bad as running to Roherdiron for protection.” Lupine



growled beneath me. I stroked his neck, urging him to find a calmeroutlook.

“Roherdiron is not as bad as you perceive it. The only family Ihad left is there, where else was I to go?”

“Well, yes. But why leave in the first place? Why run from your

destiny?”“What, my destiny with the Armed Guard?”“Yes.”“The Armed Guard have taken away every person I have ever

loved in my life time… and none have ever come home alive. If mydestiny is to die in the Armed Guard, the same Armed Guard whoslaughtered innocent children less than fifty years ago… how could Inot run from such a fate?”

“They were not innocent children.” He corrected me.“All children are innocent Sir Endameba, all children are

innocent.”

“Roherdiron and Arcadia have an agreement that Arcadians arenot to set foot in their lands, the same goes for us. Those children werean abomination; the men who disposed of them were heroes.” Lupinegrowled again.

“I’ll have to disagree with you Knight. A man with a child’s bloodon his hands is a murder to me, plain and simple. Its one thing to fightfor your country and another to defend one’s self… but newly bornchildren are incapable of sin.” I played absently with a tuff of Lupinesfur. “They say even Shirma, our patron goddess cried for the deaths of those children.” I looked over at Sir Endameba and tilted my head tothe side. “Tell me Sir Endameba, was it raining on the day of

cleansing?” his body went suddenly stiff and ridged. “I thought so.” Isighed and ran my fingers through Lupine soft coat. “I promised myself that if I ever came back here, I would make it so that such a tragedywould never happen again.”

“At least your goals are of Noble birth.” The corner of my mouth twisted up into a smile. “I thought the

Armed Guards would think it more a weakness than a noble goal.” Ilaughed it off and smiled fully. “But no matter, it is not their opinions Ineed bother my self with.” Lupine let out a bark of agreement thatcaught even Sir Endameba laughing. I scratched behind his ears andsmiled. “I’m glad you agree Lupine.” And in that moment, I truly was.

Little Red Riding Hood



Chapter Two Part TwoCamping… Yay…

We rode with the Armed Guard until sunset. At that point, SirEndameba gave the orders for the men to unload and started abonfire. Of course, the very first thing to be set up was Sir Endameba’spersonal ‘chambers’ which in my opinion was a just large tent with alot of unnecessary decoration.

In all honest truth, I was starting to think… I didn’t really mindsleeping under the stars with Lupine. It was comfortable, and open.Sure a small tent to shelter us from the rain would be nice… but suchluxuries as a four poster bed or expensive silken robes would meanlittle to me. As long as I had Lupine for a blanket I wouldn’t needanything else.

I ended up bribing the biggest guy I could find for a spare pare of pants with the last of our starling cookies. It seems in his heroicattempt to protect me he’d shifted forms without removing his pants.And pants do not shift with a werewolf. Lupine was sitting at attentionwith his back to a large Oakland tree, his eyes scanning the camp sitebefore him, looking out for any sign of danger or deception he couldfind. I came up beside the huge werewolf and smiled.

“Time to shift ‘Alfa’.” he grinned at the nickname and shifted. Ialways found the transformation so strange. One second he was a wolf,and a then the next a swirl of colors took over, moving to fast for myeyes to see and then suddenly he became human again… a verynaked, very obvious human. He was still on all fours when I droppedthe pants in front of him and walked back to the campsite. Justbecause he refused to show me any common decency doesn’t mean Iwasn’t going to show him his fair share.

Julius spotted me as I walked towards the camp. It was dark now,and the bonfire had only just started flaring, it would be at leastanother half an hour before it truly started going.

I caught him in an unexpected hug the second he got to my side.“What was that for?” he asked.

“The cage prevented an earlier hug.” He laughed openly beforebending down and kissing my forehead.

“It’s been too long Kat.”“Yeah… it has.”“Katrothia!” I turned my head towards Sir Endameba and sighed.“The royal nightmare calls. I’ll see you later.” I reluctantly pulled

away from Julius and took my time in making it to Sir Endameba. “YesGood Knight, what can I do for you?”

“Why are you fraternizing with my First Capitan?” he asked.



I sighed. “In all honesty, Julius is one of my loved ones yourprecious Armed Guard has stolen from me. I haven’t seen him in fouryears.” I smiled over at Julius giving some lowly page boy orders. “ButI’ll tell you this; I believe he has at least found himself a home withyour troupe. I’m happy for him.”

“And there is no current romance between the two of you?” heasked.“Oh, no. No more so than that which is between Lupine and I. We

have our chemistry… but still… I forgot about Julius as a lover a verylong time ago. Though I hope he will still want to be my friend, I am inmore need of those than lovers Sir Endameba; surely you canunderstand my situation.”

He nodded once. “You and your… pet are welcomed to sleep inmy tent tonight.” He offered.

“No thank you Sir Endameba. It is a generous offer and I amflattered, but I am too much accustomed to the wilderness, as is

Lupine. If you could spare a simple blanket we would be mostcomfortable.”“No.”“Excuse me?”“No I cannot allow it. A Princess riding a wild beast is one thing,

but sleeping outside in such dreadful whether, it would be a tragedy.No, if you will not use my chambers then one of the men shall givetheir tents.”

“With all due respect Sir Endameba, I do not need babying.Werewolves run at a much higher temperature than Arcadians do. He’swarmer than any fire you could set me beside. The shade of a good

tree and a blanket is all we require Sir Endameba, please don’t fightme on this.” I sighed. “I am weary lately. I don’t have the energy toargue with you.” It was true. I had been feeling… drained lately. Likemy energy was deteriorating. Perhaps it was simply because of aging,the childish energy I once had now leaving my system as I became anadult.

“No. Tonight you and you’re… Lupine shall sleep under theprotection of my tent. I shall be in the war room for most of the nightanyway.”

“Why?” I asked.“Well, most of the Caravan is going to settle in Woodstown and

then head to their next individual posts after that. I’ll have to handover command of the caravan to Julius and sort out the paper workhe’ll need to sign over his troupes to their next missions.”

“Sounds boring.” I said.He smiled. “Indeed Princess. It is quite boring.”“Would you like some company?”His eyebrows furrowed. “Company my lady?”



“Yes company. Surely it would be a more entertaining eveningwith someone to talk to.”

His face softened; his military mask melting away as he smiled atme, a real smile. “I am sure it would be more entertaining Princess, butI fear it may also be more counterproductive.”

I smiled and nodded. “You’re probably right.”“I appreciate the offer Katrothia, but I shall attend to mypaperwork alone. It appears to me you need your sleep more than youneed to keep me from the dreadful fate of boredom.”

“How would you know? It could be my ‘fate’ to prevent yourboring evening”

“If that was so Katrothia, I would say the gods have a terriblesense of humor.” I smiled.

“Thank you Sir Endameba, we shall use your shelter for thenight.”

“Good.”

“I best go find Lupine before he gets himself into trouble.”“You do that.”I ignored the fact his last comment seemed more like a

command than an agreement and let it slid. I walked away andtowards the campfire to find Lupine staring at the flames as the othermen ate. I bounded my way over to him and landed in his lap. Hedidn’t even blink.

“Hello? Is anybody home?” he shook with an intake of breath andlooked down at me.

“When did you arrive?” he asked. I laughed at him and settledback against his chest. His strong arms wound around my waist and

held me to him with their warmth.“You know, I don’t know what’s warmer, you or the fire.” He

chuckled, the vibrations tingling their way down my spine. He kissedthe top of my head and sighed.

“Do you think I’ll ever get you to Roherdiron?” he asked.“Honestly, no. I think no matter how badly I want it, nothing I

ever truly want will go my way.” I got as comfortable as I could inLupines arms and closed my eyes. “Tell me about it again, your homeland.”

“In Roherdiron everything is brighter; the rivers are clearer, thegrass greener, and the fruit sweeter. It makes you feel as if every

experience is your first, even if you’ve already experienced it a milliontimes. The people are a true community; no one is ever left to strugglealone in poverty. Everyone is equal to one another, just as the godsintended.”

He took in a deep breathe, his heart beat pounding against myback as the crackling fire set bright red sparks adrift in the night sky.He let his fingers play along the skin of my forearm, following the trailof blue and red lines. “Roherdiron is a land of magic, it pulses through



the land like blood trough our veins. Everything you once thoughtbeautiful becomes nothing compared to the beauty you can find ineven the simplest of flowers.”

He chuckled quietly to him self. “They treat every day like it willbe their last; they make the most of their lives while they can. They

even have a festival each month to celebrate the changing of moons.”He breathed in the scent of my hair and moved his head so that hecould whisper in my ear. “They have names for everything, beautifulnames you could never imagine for every day thing.” He took inanother breath of my scent and kissed my cheek. “They would call you,‘életh’ the stars daughter, for you shine with a light known only tothose of darkness. Or perhaps they’d name you ‘Lothel’ for yourblooming beauty.”

“Okay, you’re starting to embarrass yourself now.” I told him. Helaughed.

“I’ll never be embarrassed while speaking of you.”

“Well I will, so stop it okay?”“You asked me to tell you of Roherdiron.”“Yes, Roherdiron. Not of the romantic names its people would

call me.”“You call that romance? You haven’t lived until you’ve seen our

weddings.”“Tell me of them then, your masterfully romantic concepts of

matrimony.”He was quiet for a moment; the only sound I could hear was the

thrumming of his heart and the constant crackling of the beautiful fire.He took one of my hands and entwined his fingers with mine. “The

husband and wife would spend one week in the forests together,perfectly alone. On the first day he would cook for her, the second dayhe would wash her body, the third day he would make her a presentfrom the forest itself,” he kissed my neck, his lips soft and warm on myskin despite the already insanely high temperature of my body. “Onthe fourth day she would cook for him, the fifth day she would wash hisbody, the sixth day she would make him a present of the forest.”

“And on the seventh day?”“They would make love. The day after, they would wed. Their

closest friends and family would take them away to a secret place andprepare them for the ceremony. He would carry her in his arms to their

special place, where a great fire will wait. He will take her as his Arves,his noble wife, and she would take him as her Ariven. They wouldspend their lives together, blissfully as one, eternally happy in theirlove.”

“Damn, that sounds so much better than a big drunken party andthen a long life of bitter disappointment. Maybe the Arcadians need anew tradition.” I mused. He brought our entwined fingers to his mouthand kissed along my hand.



“The ceremony isn’t important; it’s the emotions behind it.”I smiled to myself. “Such words Lupine, I never would have taken

you for a romantic.” He laughed a full hearted joyous sound.“I never was much for the romance,” he kissed my cheek and

strangely, I leaned into it. “But it seems you bring out the romantic in

me.” “You make me seem like some great heroine beauty.”“But you are.” He said stubbornly,“Then you’re eyes betray you Lupine.” I sighed and scooted off

of him. “I’ll go get us something to eat.” I told him. He grabbed my armand pulled me back to him before I could get away and pressed his lipsto my forehead.

“Do not stray for long. I do not trust these men with your life asyou seem to.” I laughed lightly and smiled at him.

“Is it my life or my virtue your worried about?”“Both.” He decided.

“Well I shan’t be gone long.” I promised. I walked about thecampsite, trying to find some sign of intelligent life. It took me almosthalf an hour before I found Julius giving more orders to a small pageboy, the same small page boy I had seen him giving orders to before.

“Julius!” I called to him. He turned to me and smiled.“Katrothia my princess, what can I do for you?” he asked. The page boy shuffled nervously on his feet. “Umm, Capitan

Cross—”“Go tend to the horses Carlo, the messages can wait for now.”

The young boy bowed and ran off to tend to his duties for fear of angering his superior, smart boy.

“I’m sorry if I’m delaying your work, I just need to know wheremy bag is.” He nodded and took my hand.

“I’ll lead you to it.” He pulled me towards one of the larger cartsand opened an all too familiar cage. He leaned in and pulled out mybag. It was the same simple button up brown sack as before. “Here, Ibelieve this is what you looking for.” I smiled at him.

“Thank you Julius.” And then it hit me. “Hey, when was the lasttime you came across Ribbon Fruit?” I asked.

“It would have been… two years ago, just after I left theacademy.” I smiled and opened the bag.

“Guess what I got my hands on.” I said as I pulled the small

packet out of my bag. “It was the first box I’d seen for miles. I couldn’tgo to the Roherdiron without at least saying goodbye to my favoritefood first.” I took out two of the small red fruits and de-stemmed them.“Open up.” I told him.

He smiled and opened his mouth for me. I popped one of thesmall fruits in his mouth and watched as he closed his eyes in ecstasy.“I remember spending all day in the Ribbon Fruit fields with you, do



you realize ridiculously obsessed you were with feeding them to me,every day. You insisted they were good for brain development.”

“And obviously they are, why else would you have madeCapitan.” He laughed along side me.

“Gods forbid I gain a promotion through hard work.”

“That just doesn’t sound like you.” I smiled and popped my ownRibbon fruit in my mouth. “I’ll let you get back to work.” I turned fromhim and headed back to the campfire. I could feel his eyes on me as Iwent. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

Lupine watched me as I skipped my way over to him with thebag in hand. “Look what I found.”

I plunked back down into his lap and his arms found their wayaround my waist almost instantly. It seems we’d been together so longit’s almost like cellular memory now. We knew each others body, weknew how we did and didn’t fit together. We knew what the other likedand hated. If we ever did end up in a relationship we’d have all the

ground work covered.I grabbed myself a Delran Bread Bun and started chewingmethodically; not really tasting what was in my mouth and stared atthe open fire. Lupine on the other hand ransacked the bag and enjoyedevery moment of his food. What can I say, the boy eats.

The night seemed to toil on. The same cloudy wet darknesssurrounded us as it did any other night, but tonight seemed… different.Like the calm before the storm. It worried me, I mean, if beingcaptured wasn’t the worst fate possible… then what was?

We spent most of the night listening to the men regale us withstories of strange lands, and creatures I’d never dreamt of. It reminded

me of Lupines own tales of wonder. It seemed as if everyone had seenthe world… except me. It was a lonely fact, but a fact all the same.

I settled in against Lupine and found myself falling in and out of consciousness. The first biggest hint was when I realized I was under astrangely warm blanket with a blazing hot Lupine snuggled up behindme instead of being in front of a raging bonfire under an array of stars… with a blazing hot Lupine snuggled up behind me.

I settled in against Lupine as deeply and comfortably as I could,and within minutes, I was out like a light yet again, ready to dream of strange lands and even stranger people. Hoping one day, my dreamsmight become my reality.



Little Red Riding HoodChapter Two Part Three

Goodbye Dreams

We traveled with the caravan for what seemed like a full week.Everyday seemed longer, and more tedious than the last. Until final, Ifound myself wishing for the way things use to feel. I longed to rideLupine as I had ridden him before. To feel the wind in my hair as thesun blistered along my skin. I wanted to feel the same freedom Lupinehad shown me as we flew threw the forests of Beriadanwen.

I sighed and lay down across Lupines back as he trudged alongside Sir Endameba. Lupine wined, the tedium of such travels weighing just as heavily on his mind as my own. I stroked the fur of his front legand kissed the hackles of his neck. A shiver ran through his body as mylips touched his fur. It made me smile.

“Does something trouble you, ma lady?” Sir Endameba asked.“No Good Knight. It is simply tedium that troubles me; I doubt

one such as you could do much to save me from such a fate.” In thetime I had spent with Sir Endameba, though I was incredibly drawn tohis beauty, I had found him to be quite the bore. All he seemedinterested in were rules and regulations. Father would have loved him.

Sir Endameba sighed. “We should reach Woodstown bynightfall.” He said. “And then by morning the five of us will set out forArcadia.”

“Why must I go back? I have no desire for that kind of life… Idon’t want to serve under—”

“Under others lesser than your self.” Sir Endameba assumed.“Under Murderers.”He sighed “Princess, The Dark Angel herself sent me—”“Please don’t speak of her in my presence. I can’t stand that

woman.”“But she’s—”



“A horrible worthless person who made every moment we spenttogether a living hell” ‘and every moment we spent apart even worse’ Iadded mentally.

Sir Endameba said nothing more about The Dark Angel, well; atleast he knew his place. He may have been a living legend, but by his

own rules, I was his superior and he would obey my orders… unlessthey conflicted with the orders of someone with a higher rank than myself. And unfortunately The Dark Angel was higher ranked than I; afterall, she was a Queen.

Lupine wined again, I smiled. “It seems I’m not the only onewho’s bored.” I let my hands wander over the fur of his cheeks andsmiled as he leaned into my touch. “Just think Lupine,” I whispered inhis ear. “Soon we can ditch this caravan and run again. If SirEndameba can’t keep up then that’s too bad.” I sighed. “Imagine howgood it’ll be to feel the grass beneath your paws and the wind slidingthrough your fur as we run. And once again we’ll be completely free,

no cares, no fears—” I looked over at Sir Endameba and smiled. “Nogrumpy Knights slowing us down… or holding us back.” I took in adeep breathe and let it out slowly, imagining being alone once again.“Just you, me and the trees.” A gentle humming thrummed through hischest and vibrated in his neck. I kissed his shoulder and rubbed myhead against his fur.

“And you call me romantic.” Sir Endameba mumbled.“I’m not a romantic Good Knight; just a sentimental fool.”“Is that not the same thing?” I laughed lightly and sighed once

again.“I suppose it is.” Lupine growled low in his throat. “But I think

Lupine would disagree with us.” He huffed, his huge chest expandingfurther for a moment. I sighed and stroked his fur once more. “OhLupine, you’re more the sentimental fool than even I.” I smiled andkissed his neck once more. “Don’t ever change, k?” he barked a happyagreement.

I scuffed his ears and pushed myself into a seated position. SirEndameba seemed to be happier about that. Proper ladies should rideany beast properly. I groaned inwardly. I wanted to escape from allthat; all those rules and regulations, the constant stupidity. Wars andmurder were not what I had planned for my life. I wanted to beEmpress; I was going to spend my life achieving that goal. And once I

had, I would put a stop to all of this racism. The countries wouldn’t bedivided by huge growths of forests. We would be more like Roherdiron;no one would be left behind.

It was a big dream. But why dream at all if your dreams areeasily achieved? What do you do after you’ve achieved your dreams?Surely you can’t simply find a new dream with the snap of your fingers.But for Arcadians having big dreams was good. After all, we had



roughly 500 years to achieve them. And if I don’t achieve my dream…at least I can say I’ll die trying.

“What are you thinking about?” Sir Endameba asked. I lookedover at him and smiled.

“Just thinking of how I’m going to end up changing the world, got

any idea’s?” he smiled and shook his head. “Didn’t think so.”“Tell me Princess, how is it you plan on changing the world?”“I want” I stopped myself. “It’s hard to explain really. I-I want all

the hating to stop. Everyone’s so… singular. It’s like living in a work of stranger.”

“We are living in a world of strangers Princess.”“You know what I meant Sir Endameba. They’re all so…

untrusting. It’s like all of Arcadia is walking around like they’re scaredsomeone’s about to turn around and stab them. And you know whatthe problem is Sir Endameba?” he shook his head. “Its you. You andyou’re men. Arcadia is scared to death of the Armed Guard. And why

shouldn’t they be? There numbers have triple in the last twenty yearsat least. We’ve never needed this many guards before, so why do weneed them now? And why on earth are we building more and morebarracks? Are we going to war? And if we are what the hell do we haveto fight for? No one’s attacking us, and as far as anyone can tell no oneever will.”

“If we ever were attacked princess our assets would beprotected.”

“No they wouldn’t. The royals would be protected and if the wallsheld so would the middle classes, but what of the peasants? Whowould protect them? No Sir Endameba, if we were to be attacked our

people would burn before the walls were ever touched.”“They are only peasants.”“They are human beings! They work harder than any royal ever

will. Who’s working in the mines Sir Endameba, who are tending to ourcrops? Certainly not the royals I tell you now.” I sighed and startedplaying absently with Lupines coat again. “Have you seen how theylive? I ask you, how is that fair? They work the hardest and live in theworst of circumstances while our royalty are born into luxury and doabsolutely nothing to benefit Arcadia… How can you people honestlybe okay with that?”

Sir Endameba was speechless for a moment.

“I’ll tell you why you’re all okay with their poverty. It’s because itdoesn’t affect you Sir Endameba. You’ve never had to live as they do,and you never will. So why should it matter to you?” I sighed and ranmy fingers through my hair. “Don’t dwell on it too much though SirEndameba, even I don’t understand what they truly go through. Livingin the forest isn’t like being a peasant. Its not even close… but I stillwant to help them.”



He was quiet as he thought. You could almost see his thoughtsturning like the wheels behind a clock. “I wish you the best of luck withyour goal Princess.” He finally said. “If there is anything I can do tohelp—”

“I’ll come find you.” I looked at him, and for the first time all

week, I thought highly of him. “Thank you. Really, I… it means a lot tome. So… thank you.”“You are welcome Princess.” He smiled at me, that perfect godly

face softening for the second time since I had met him. He was soguarded; my father really would have loved him. I smiled at the idea.

What I would have given to have had a real father. A father whocame home at the end of the day, a father who loved me enough toremember things like my birthday… or a father who at the very leastsmiled once in a while. I sighed. Through all there hardships andpoverty, I still envy slaves of that. Peasants know the love of a familyin a way I will never understand… in a way no family that had been

touched by the Armed Guard could ever possibly understand.“Why did you join the Armed Guard Sir Endameba?” I asked.“What do you mean?”“Was there a reason? Or were you just drafted like the rest of

us… given no real choice in the matter…”“I was never drafted. I joined the Armed Guard of my own free

will.”“Why?” I asked.“Because I wanted to be able to protect my family.” He chuckled

lightly. “I wanted to be like the Knights from my books. Like the greatBlack knight of Kalontria or the Red Knight of Berradeque. I wanted to

save the damsels and fight mighty dragons, a young boys dream Isuppose.” He smiled lightly, as if remembering something fond. “Itmay interest you to know, Katrothia, that I am not of the royal circle,nor am I of the middle classes.” I looked to him and saw his eyes dullslightly with the mentioning of his heritance. “My father was Palos of Varmilia, a simple farmer, and I, a simple farm boy. On my 14th

birthday the Armed Guard started paying the families of Varmiliansoldier’s money for their commitment to the cause. My youngerbrother was very sick but we could barely afford the roof over our headlet alone treatment for a sick child.” He sighed. “I had long wanted tobe a knight Katrothia, and this way, I was able to not only follow my

dreams, but help my younger brother as well.”“What happened to your little brother?”“Merlin has survived through the worst of it I believe. But his

illness has caused many problems with his mind. He still thinks andacts as any normal man, but he has troubles with his memory.” Hesighed again. But this time, it was a painful sigh. “His mind hasprogressed to that of an old mans. I fear the worst for him Katrothia,there is little I can do for my family out here.”



“There is little you could do if you were standing right beside himGood Knight. Do not torture yourself for following a dream.” ‘Even if your dream evolves murder’ I added in my mind. “As long as you holdhim in your heart there is little more anyone could ask of you.”

He nodded. But to me, that nod was more ‘I wont disrespect your

thoughts’ more than ‘your totally right’. I sighed and ran my fingersover the soft fur of Lupines back. He made a low purr like sound thatvibrated through his entire body.

“A troubled man needs love more than he needs to be babied,even if he needs the extra care.” I smiled to myself. “I believe as longas you love your brother he will forgive you any wrong doings. For hewill surely love you in return.” I laughed to myself and turned my eyesto Sir Endameba. “Blood is thicker than water Sir Endameba, even if there are lieges of it separating the two of you.” I reached across thesmall space between us and rested my hand over his. “Have faith inlove Sir Endameba, have faith in your brother.” I saw the gleam in his

eyes, the run of water threatening to break the barrier of his eyes. Ismiled when he attempted to clear his eyes. “Tears are nothing to beashamed of; after all, they only form when the heart runneth over withfeeling.”

“Feelings are a weakness.” Sir Endameba said, I noticed thestubborn set of his jaw and the frosty gaze his eyes gave off.

“And yet again Good knight, I shall have to disagree with you.” Isaid shortly. “If feelings are a weakness then what of bravery andcourage? Love is stronger than both Sir Endameba; it can make you dosome of the stupidest things imaginable without allowing you so muchas a second though.” I smiled at Lupine for a moment. Was it love I

shared with him? Or was it a one sided love? “But more than anything,love makes us wiser.” Lupine barked in agreement and made melaugh. “Even Lupine thinks so.”

“I beg your pardon Princess, but how would a… young womansuch as yourself know anything about love?”

“When I was about five years old I lost my father. He didn’t die,no, but he left my mother and I for another woman. I spent most of mylife teaching myself never to trust any man. ‘They are dirty, lyingcreatures only after two things in life, wealth and the body of abeautiful woman’. My mother never cared much for me, nor was sheever home enough to notice any difference in me, emotionally or other

wise. And so, I was unloved for a very long time as a child. But then Ibefriended Julius, or he befriended me, I forget which. He was nothinglike what I had come to believe. He was my very best friend for longerthan I myself can remember. And then, when he told me he loved me…I was ecstatic. I felt like a fairytale princess.”

I stopped myself, remembering my own tragic childhood andsighed. “But fairytales are fiction Good Knight, and the universe isnever kind to those who live in one. Shortly after his confession he was



drafted into the Armed Guard. He left me the way my father left me.After that, I swore never to let another man into my heart SirEndameba; it would be unwise for me to do so.” I shook off the badmemory and tried my best to smile convincingly. “That is how I knowabout the power of love Good Knight, it can destroy you, or it can make

you stronger.” I laughed lightly. “For me, it did both. Love ruined myheart, but it also gave me the strength to leave Arcadia. The strengthto realize I was completely alone in my decisions, no one dictatesroyalty these days, for no one can be bothered with the troubles of ayoung one.”

Lupine wined and made me smile again. “Until I came acrossLupine.”

“And you love your beast?” Sir Endameba asked.“I…” did I love Lupine? The thought had crossed me many times

before. And yet… it never seemed completely clear to me. Even now.“I believe I do. But it is a different kind of love I think. I don’t feel for

him the way I felt for Julius, nor the way I felt for my father… but I dofeel for him, strongly too.” I looked over at Sir Endameba and sighed.“Time has clouded my mind with too many questions Good Knight. Itseems I can’t even tell the difference in my own emotions. ” I lookeddown at Lupines back, watching his shoulder blades rise and fall as hewalked. “Time makes fools of us all Sir Endameba, in more ways thanone. I am one such a fool.”

We didn’t take after that. Whatever had possessed us enough totalk of our pasts seemed to dissipate along with the falling sun. It wassunset when we reached Woodstown ad left the Beriadanwen forests. Isighed with relief. No more slow walking through the forests of

Beriadanwen followed by a caravan rolling slower that even I walkwhich was depressing considering the way back to Woodstown wasmostly downhill.

I leaned forward so that my head was next to Lupines. “Just thinkLupine. Now we can run.” Lupines ears pricked up at the sound of theword. “I thought you’d like that.”

I turned to Sir Endameba and smiled. “So, is your horse ready fora good few solid weeks of riding?” I asked. “I’ll warn you, there’s areason we staved off capture for so long. Lupine is by no means slow.”Lupine threw his head back and howled at the rising full moon. Ilaughed heartily at him and strangely enough, so did Sir Endameba. I

smiled at him as the final rays of sun light trickled over the edges of the forest, turning the tree leave from a shadowed gold to a coal blacksilhouette against the darkening blue sky.

“We sent the page boy ahead to make reservations at a smallinn I know of. The men shall make camp on the outskirts of town andwill be delivered their papers of transfer in the morning before weleave. I trust you would take a liking to the clean baths and washingservices.” I beamed at the idea of a hot bath and clean clothes.



“It would be most welcomed.” I said. “Perhaps we should stockup on supplies while we are here Lupine, considering you attacked thelast of them last night.” I sighed “You should probably shift before weget too close to town. Its bad enough were traveling with the ArmedGuard, but if they saw you…” he was quiet for a moment as he trudged

on. I leaned down and kissed the top of his furry head. “I’m sorryLupine. No one should have to hide who they are.” I rubbed the fur of his cheek and sighed. “I suppose you’ll have to shift anyway if youintend to stay in the inn. Or else, they’ll probably string you up in thestables.” Lupine pulled out of formation and trotted to the right and outof the caravan’s way. I laughed heartily and kissed his cheek.

He lay down on the ground and waited for me to dismount. Iwent trough the traveling bag as he shifted and found his pants. Ihanded them to him and turned away as he dressed. At least he hadthe decency not to turn me around and make me watch.

“I’m decent” he said. I thought about the last time he had said

something like that. Well, he’d actually said ‘you can look now’, butstill.I turned to find Lupine sufficiently buttoned and nodded. “We

shouldn’t keep Sir Endameba waiting.” I said. “I’d like to be insidesoon.” I told him.

“Of course, we wouldn’t want to keep your precious Knightwaiting.” He spat the words at me; I resisted the urge to jump back orat least out of my skin.

“Excuse me?”“You heard me. I don’t like it Kat, you and that… Knight.” He

hissed the word as if it hurt just to say. “He’s no good.”

I looked over at Sir Endameba, his long blond curls swaying withthe wind as his pail skin shone with the moonlight. “He’s a fine manLupine.” I admitted, but as I looked at him… I looked up at Lupine andsmiled. “But I don’t think he’s for me. I need someone…”

“Like me.” Lupine said, his eyes twinkling down at me with asudden wistful playfulness. I smiled and elbowed his side.

“Just someone else.” I told him. “I don’t know what I need rightnow Lupine.” I sighed. “Maybe I just need time to figure it all out, Idon’t know.” And then it occurred to me. “Maybe I don’t need anythingat all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe I’m one of those people who don’t need someonespecial. Maybe I’m one of those people who just don’t get one. Notbecause I don’t want one, but because I’m just supposed to be alone.Maybe that’s why—” I cut myself off before I could say something I’dregret.

“Maybe that’s why what?”“Don’t worry about it okay? Just forget I said anything.”



“Kat!” he grabbed my arm and swung me around so that I staredinto his beautiful brown eyes. “I wont you to be honest with me.” Hestared into my eyes. But… I didn’t feel it. There was no magicalconnection, no staggering spark of light… no electricity.

“Fine. You’re cutting off my circulation.” He looked down at my

arm and noticed the sudden discoloration. He let go and I walkedaway.I just walked away.

Little Red Riding HoodChapter Two Part Four

A Kiss

Lupine followed shortly after, I hadn’t expected him to. And in all

honesty I had expected him to leave me a great many times now. Whywas he coming with me at all? I mean, wasn’t following me detrimentalto getting himself back home? Why would he be following me to aplace of struggles and hardship? And in truth, I doubted they’d even lethim past the gates… unless perhaps I could convince them he was justa forest wolf, bigger and stronger than anyone we’ve ever seen before.

But then, he’d have to be in wolf form 24/7. I’m sure that wouldbother him after a while. But surely Lupine would have bigger dreams



than to be at my side for the rest of my school days. I only had twoyears at the institution left I suppose, but still, it was more than Ibelieved even I could live with. The rules and regulations always got tome. I felt like I was being suffocated by it all. Like a great riddingpressure was pressing down on me.

I shook off the horrible thoughts of training and looked over thecaravan. They were already setting up camp, the armored menunloading their supplies and dividing it all among themselves for thelong journeys ahead of them. I sighed and fell backwards. I landed onmy backside and stared up at the slowly emerging stars.

The week long storm had just started settling down and theheavy clouds were just passing away, the grey puffy mess now lightand flimsy against the sky. You could even see the stars through them.It was like a thin veil slid over the beautiful twinkling lights above me…

Lupine’s head was suddenly floating above me, blocking off bothmy view of the night sky and my somewhat random train of thought.

“Are you calm now?” he asked.I sighed. “Yeah, I’m calm.” I said. He lay down beside me, hisarms behind his head and stared at the skies. He opened his mouth tospeak “But I don’t want to talk about it, okay?” He closed it again andmade me smile.

“Just tell me why you don’t love me?” he said.“I do love you Lupine… I’m just not sure what kind of a love it is

yet.”“How can you not know? Love is love. It’s as simple as that.”“So you want to love your mother the same way you want to love

me.”

“Don’t be crude.”“Then if those two kinds of love are different obviously not all

love is the same.” he was quiet for a moment. “Look Lupine. I just needtime to figure out what this means. I love you, and I care greatly foryou… but I don’t know if it’s a romantic kind of love or…” I stoppedmyself. “You’ll always be more than just a friend to me Lupine, and if its not a romantic love… then I’ll count you as family. After all, familiesare people who love each other beyond reason; they’d do anything forone another. So, in a way, you’re the only real family I have…”

“I’ll wait for you Katrothia, you’ll come around one day.” I lookedover at him and saw him smiling confidently with closed eyes. He

looked so peaceful under the rising moon light. I wanted to lean overand kiss his cheek, just a small innocent peck. I found myself leaningtowards him involuntarily, but stopped myself short. Was this love? Iswanting to be next to someone a definition of love… to want them towant you at their side, or was that just a form of admiration?

I lay back down and stared at the sky again. I was so clueless…why did everything have to be so confusing? Why did everything in mylife always have to be complicated… had I done something wrong?



Was Shirma punishing me from running away? Or was it my doom toforever stay ignorant to my own feelings. I sighed. What was the pointin worrying anymore? If it comes, it comes, if it doesn’t… then itdoesn’t.

But what if it doesn’t? Just because I can’t feel that way for

Lupine doesn’t mean that his feelings will suddenly dissipate as well. Ilove him, I’m certain of that. But as to what kind of love it is… itconfuses even me. I care deeply for him, he’s saved my life a milliontimes over, and he’d kept me safe and warm… and alive.

And I felt this… this click with him. Everything was so simple, Icouldn’t upset him. he understood me fully, there was nomiscommunication between the to of us, t was almost impossible foreither of us not to get what the other meant straight away, it was likethis… well, click. There was no other real way to describe it, we justworked.

Maybe that was love, in a way. They say when you love someone

your either absolute opposites or a perfect match. Lupine was verydifferent from me, but in a lot of ways we were very similar. Our views,politically or other wise, many of our likes and dislikes were similar aswell… but then… we were very different in other ways.

He was a wild gorgeous Werewolf from a beautiful free land builton love and prosperity. Where as I… I was an Arcadian Princess, awoman meant to let down her life and charge into great bloody battlesin full knighted armor and murder all those who stand against me.

We come from such different backgrounds… and yet, in a way,were both looking for exactly the same thing.

An escape.

I had never truly sat down and talked to Lupine about it, but intruth, we were both running from something. I didn’t know what Lupinewould ever run from, it’s hard to imagine Lupine running ‘away’ fromanything. He was so… big and… and strong. He would be wonderful ina battle.

And then it hit me. That would be my excuse. Lupine would besuch a great warrior. Of course, I would never actually allow him to bestationed in a battle… but still. It would give the high council reasonenough to at least try the idea. Any advantage they could possibly gainwould flash before their greedy eyes, and Lupines strength would beone hell of an advantage.

But then… it was all up to Lupine now.“Your going to have to tell me what you plan to do now.” I said.“Huh?”“You were heading to Roherdiron. I need to know… if you’re

going to keep heading in that direction.”He was quiet for a moment, the only sound were the crickets and

the Mara-Frogs as the luminescent stars giving off an ominous light.“I’ll take you to Roherdiron one day. And to do that, I have to be by



your side.” He turned his gaze towards me then. His beautiful browneyes stared into my own and in that moment… I felt as if he wasstaring into my very soul. “I want to stay with you Katrothia, I want tobe with you.” He said, his voice so low I would have mistake in for awhisper. “There is nothing in Roherdiron for me without you.” He

reached out with one of his hands and pushed the hair from my face. “Ilove you, Katrothia.”He moved towards me slowly, cautiously, I could see it in his face

that he was testing me. He didn’t want to scare me off. My heart wasin my throat and my skin felt as if it were on fire. Did I want this? Did Inot want this? A million questioned fluttered through my head and forone short moment I almost thought I had the answer.

His face moved slowly, our eyes locked together as one. His wideset full lips invited and entranced me. And for a second, I foundmyself… leaning towards him.

“Princess!” Sir Endameba called. I stopped dead in my tracks.

Lupine cursed under his breath and stared into my eyes.“Were finishing this later.” He said. I had to laugh. He made mesmile, if nothing else Lupine always made me happy. I took his chin inmy hand and left the gentlest of kisses across his forehead.

“Sure.” I said. “We’ll finish up this ‘talk’ later.” I sighed and let gofor his face before getting to my feet and heading over to SirEndameba. If anything, this just made me more certain Sir Endamebawas a party pooper. Is it impossible for this guy to make good timing orwhat?

“Yes Good Knight?”“We’ve had a change of plans. It seems Carlo is more useful than

any of us had expected. He has organized for the Purple Rose to takeus across the Black Sea to Arcadia; it should be ready to leave bytomorrow morning.”

“I suppose a week aboard a ship with a hearty crew beats twomonths alone with you and Lupine ridding through the forests of Virden.” I said. “But I was looking forward to riding again” I sighed. “Isuppose as long as everything goes according to plan one day we’ll beable to ride again… ”

“To plan?” he asked. “What Plan?”“You didn’t think I’d walk into Arcadia with a giant wolf without

having a plan now did you? Is your impression of me that lowly? I don’t

know whether to be upset or… pissed.”“I beg your forgiveness Princes… might I ask, what plan?”“It is fairly simple Good Knight, though it will involve treachery

on my part. I would prefer not to involve you in this Sir Endameba; Iwould not like to put your lively hood on the line.”

Aggravation was clear on his face as I spoke. “I am a grown manKatrothia; I believe I can handle keeping the secret of a petulant child.”



I felt my eyebrows lift in disbelief. But I wasn’t angry, if anything I wasamused. I laughed softly at his sullen face.

“Oh dear, and you accuse me of being but a petulant child.” Isighed yet again and shook my head. “I will tell you Dear Knight, butonly if you answer me one question first, and this I will not budge on.”

“Fine, what is your request?”I smiled at him. “It’s simple, tell me your name.”“Leopold Archer Endameba.” He said.“Leo…” I said wistfully. “a great lion… ” I looked him over, his

gleaming golden locks and strong features made me smiled. “It suitsyou well.” I told him. “May I call you by your name?” I asked.

“Only if I may have the same pleasure.”“Of course, though you have already been calling my by my

given name, good knight. I hope you do conduct yourself better withinthe royal court.”

“I apologize for my forwardness.”

“No need to apologize” I told him. “If I hadn’t of liked it I wouldhave told you so Leo, I am very forward my self.” I laughed heartily. “Isuppose I take after my mother in that area.”

“Yes you do, very much so I believe.”“Do you like my mother?” I asked absently.“She is a great warrior—”“I know what she is Leo, but do you like who she is?” I asked.“I do not know her personally Katrothia,” he admitted. “I have

not had the opportunity.”I sighed and shook my head lightly “No one does Leo. I suppose

you imagine she comes home at the end of a good months raid, puts

her feet up and tells me all about her day just before picking up hercross sticking in front of the fireplace? No Leo, in truth, you see moreof her true self than many ever will. My mother intends to marry me off to the most important wealthiest suitor she can find and then havenothing to do with me or my children if she can avoid it. My motherwould prefer I were never born in truth Dear Knight, well really, shewould prefer my father had taken me with him, and then she would nothave to pretend she cared for me at all.”

“I’m sure that’s not true Kat—”“And I am most certain it is.” I cut him off short. “You may have

been taken away from your mother when you were young but at least

your mother did not stay away from you simply because of yourpresence. Your mother has never cursed your name or sworn on theirlives they would see you in the ground before themselves. Please donot be little my horrors because they are beyond your imaginings.” Hewas silent for a moment, the ice of my words settling in. “Oh dear, I’msorry. Reminiscing upsets me I’m afraid… just thinking of what awaitsme back in Arcadia… it makes the hairs on the back of my neck crawl.”



“With what you’ve been through I understand why.” I nodded.“Thank you Leopold.” I turned to see Lupine talking with a short

man. Well, he was probably normal height for the men in Leopold’stroupe, but next to Lupine he looked about as dainty as I.

Thoughts of kissing Lupine came back and mingled with the

thoughts of my mother. Even if I did love Lupine, there would be nochance for us when we reached Arcadia. Not with mother out to sell mybody for a few bargaining chips.

“I will need friends in the world soon. I fear, I will not be able tocope with all of these happenings. I am afraid…” I stopped my self dead in my tracks. No point in admitting to fears when the can alwaysbe turned against me.

“Afraid of what?” he asked.I had to laugh. “Everything! It’s our condition. In the times we

live in no one can be without fear! And me, I’m sitting atop of it all!” Ifelt myself go into a fit of hysteria. “I mean, I have to worry about

whether or not I’ll survive tomorrow with all these God damn—”“Nothing will ever harm you while you’re in my presence.”“Oh of course not, heavens forbid anything bad happen under

the watch of Sir Endameba!” I swayed on my feet as a sudden dizzyspell hit me. “Oh… dear,”

“Katrothia?” Sir Endameba asked. I grabbed onto his arms andtried to steady myself as a wave of sharp pains over took my body. Iscreamed, what was this? Had I been poised? Undernourishment Icould believe but these weren’t like any hunger pains I’d ever feltbefore. “Get the medics!” he bellowed.

“Kat!” I heard Lupine scream. “Get away from her!” Leo’s arms

disappeared from around me and I toppled to the ground, it wasnothing compared to the insufferable pain coming from inside of me.Lupines shadow came over me and I could smell his breath upon myface.

“Kat can you hear me? What’s wrong?” he asked.He picked me up, his hand landing between my thighs before

stopping… completely frozen. There was something between his handand my thigh, something… wet. And then he laughed a deep openbellowing sound.

“Oh, Katrothia! How surprisingly naïve you are!” He laughed. Hestarted walking, I didn’t know where, I didn’t care. I just wanted the

pain to stop. I felt like my insides were tearing open.“Medic, do you have some Iron-Clad flower and Dillies leaves?”

He asked.“Why would you need those? There only used for—”“Yes, It seems our Princess has reached her time of flowering.”

Flowering? Oh god! This… this was… Oh my! Through the pain I couldstill feel the crushing embarrassment.



The medics were rummaging through bags of leaves trying tofind me something. Lupine took me into a tent and lay me down on theground with a simple straw pillow beneath my head. He took my handsbetween his own and kissed them lightly, a huge grin plastered on hisface. Great to know someone was happy while I was writhing in pain.

“You realize most men would run screaming when this kind of stuff happens.” I said.“In Roherdiron we have ceremonies to celebrate this moment in

your Life Katrothia. You’re a woman now, I real woman. For my people,this step represents your right to control your own life. You can choosewhatever life you wish to have at this point love.” He leaned down andkissed my forehead, grinning as widely as he could. “You can bearchildren now.” He said. “My children” I laughed

“I don’t think I could handle having a litter of puppies right nowLupine.” I expected him to maybe look a little hurt, but he wasn’t. Helaughed along side me and swept the hair from my face.

“Unless I’m furry when in your embrace Katrothia, that will neverhappen.” Good little tid-bit to know. He was running his hand down theside of my face. Another wave of pains came over me and I grippedonto his hand for dear life. He hushed me and ran a soothing handdown the side of my face faster than before and couldn’t help butsmile. “Life will always be painful Katrothia. But think of this as abeautiful pain.” He said. I nodded and tried to time my breathing. ‘In…

Out… In… Out…’ .“You wouldn’t be saying that if you were going through this.” I

told him.“Your probably right.” he said. “But men have a higher pan

threshold.” He said.“Sure.”“Here we are.” Said one of the Medics, he leaned down beside

me and uncorked a small vile of what looked like a pure black liquid. Ididn’t want to drink it. “This will stop the pain for at least three days,but judging from your body size it may remain in your system for up toa week. I’ll have to make sure Sir Endameba packs extra food supplies.It’s too dangerous for such a young woman to go without food.”

“I don’t go longer than I have to without food.” I informed him ashe handed over the small vile. “but I suppose after being on my ownfor more than two years has taught me not to waist all my money on

food.” I threw back the vile and drank its evil contents, grimacing atthe ugly bitter taste. “Oh that’s horrible!”

Lupine smiled again, obviously amused by my sudden disgustover the foul tasting concoction. “I’ll send in a nurse to help you cleanup. She’ll have supplies you can borrow for the night but I’ll prepare asmall bag for you and have it waiting at your hostel by morning.” Saidthe medic. He was an older man, his skin starting to flatten and wrinkleout as so many of the peasants faces did. If he was one of the royals



she would have guess he was at least 400. but the peasants didn’t livethat long. They’d be lucky to see the inside of a century, juts as themiddle classes would be lucky to withstand three. His eyes were abeautiful soft emerald green that sparkled when the looked into thelight. His long brown hair was tied back in a tight pony tail and his

beard was clean and short.I smiled at him and nodded. “Thank you sir, may Shirma smileupon your house.” A blessing from one of the royals was highly valuedamong Arcadians and the significance was not lost on this man. Hebowed at the waist to me, I noticed the grin across his lips.

“May Shirma guide and protect the noble house of Robistone.” Ismiled lightly at the medic and could feel the pains slowly slippingaway from me. I think Lupine noticed too. Not because I looked anydifferent, but because I wasn’t squeezing the living color out of hishand. He stroked my face again and smiled.

“Your glowing, did you know that?” he said.

“Aren’t you only suppose to say that to women when theirpregnant?” I asked. He shook his head, and looked at me… reallylooked at me. I felt as if those beautiful chocolate brown eyes couldstare straight into my soul, and for a moment, I wan convinced he likedwhat he saw.

“You always glow.” He whispered. “Its like sunlight gathersaround you… even when the sky turns dark.” His finger spread out tocup my cheek as he took in the gleam of my skin. “It’s beautiful.” hewhispered. “You’re beautiful.” he leaned down to kiss me, but Icouldn’t. I turned my head to the side and his lips pressed against mycheek. He moved back to look at me, and I smiled apologetically.

“I’m sorry Lupine.” I said. I took a second to steady myself against his wounded gaze. “But there are things you don’t know aboutme… and more so, what awaits me in Arcadia.” He was watching mewith a steady curiosity that made me even more uncomfortable thannormal. He took my hands in his and held them to his chest.

“I want you to be honest with me Katrothia.” He laid a gentle kisson the back of my palm and stared at my fingers. “I want you to wantto tell me.”

“I do want to tell you, I just don’t want you to know.”“That doesn’t make any sense.” He said.“I want to be able to tell you these kinds of things. But at the

same time I wish telling you didn’t have repercussions.”He nodded slowly. “I’ll try to be open minded then.”I took in a deep breathe and let it out. Trying to calm my nerves.

“You’re going to hate me for this.” I told him. “When I go back toArcadia I have to finish my studies. I only have another year or so of training ahead of me. But still, they won’t let me have a… guest withme.” I took in another deep breathe and let it out. “But… I wasthinking, maybe they’d let me have a pet.” He looked down at me



confused. “They’ve never seen anything like you before. I don’t thinkthey know you should even exist. You’re bigger than any wolf they’veever seen before, but none of the Arcadians have ever been that closeto Roherdiron before. If I tell them you’re a forest wolf… I think they’dwant to keep you around.”

“So they can use me?” he asked, the acid clear in his voice.“Yes… but that’s not the worst of it. Actually, that’s the goodnews.” I gave myself a moment to steady myself and collect mythoughts. This was the part where I would loose him… no one can stayhopeful with a lost cause. “My umm… my father left my mother when Iwas little… but ever since she’s hated me. Mostly, because I lookexactly like him. or at least, for what I remember I do. I’ve got herfeatures… but my eyes, and hair… my spirit. I’m just like him, or somum said.” I sighed. “but the point is, she hates me for it. And the onlyway she can get rid of me is either have me murdered as she’s beentrying to do, hope for me to find death on my own or…”

“Or?” Lupine asked.“Or she can marry me off. That’s the only possible reason she’dbe bringing me home now. If she can arrange for a marriage totranspire between someone higher than herself, then she…” I took in adeep breathe and found myself shaking. “Then she can gain enoughbacking to kill my father. In Arcadia you can petition the courts forsomeone’s life with no real motive at all. The offended can be a perfectmodel citizen and it wouldn’t matter. But it’s the legacies that get tochoose who to side with in court. And the legacies smile on those of equal or higher statues. Besides, if she has her way, she can use me asa bargaining chip. ‘I’ll give you my daughter if you vote in my favor’

kind of thing. But the point is, even if you come to Arcadia with me…we can’t be together as we are now. As far as people could ever knowyou could be my creature… no more than a horse to Arcadians. ”

I looked up at him and felt the sting of tears in my eyes. “But Idon’t think I can put you through that.” He was quiet. He hands stillclasped around my own, his eyes staring intently at them, as if theycould give him the answer to whatever questions were racing throughhis mind. A nurse carrying a large bowl of water and rags stepped intothe tent.

“You should wait outside until the young princess and I arefinished thank you.” Said the nurse as she set down her things. Lupine

hesitated for a moment before dropping my hands and leaving thetent. He didn’t say anything, but what had I expected him to say?

All I know was that it was his turn to walk away… and my turn tofeel the cold icy sting of loneliness.

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