The woods are not a place for a girl like her. She knows. But it only makes her more curious. Curiosity killed the cat, she was warned. She did not give heed for she was no cat.
Red, or at least what everyone calls her, the girl in the red hoodie wa...
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6
Her ears were practically bleeding from her Nana's yelling the next day.
"You left the house at midnight into the woods where you could get killed?! Have you lost your mind, Ruby?"
"Nana," she groaned.
"Don't you dare Nana me." Grandma Baker pointed her cooking spoon threateningly at her. "How many times do I have to tell you that the woods is a dangerous place. You shouldn't go there."
"I saw the wolf again." She heard her grandmother groan probably thinking she was lying. "It's true I did. It was there. We talked."
"Really? A shape shifting wolf aka hunter talked to you? What did you discuss? Let me guess, it asked you, hey, I was just wondering what kind of method would you prefer to be cooked, boiled or grilled?" her grandmother suggested sarcastically.
"Nana, I'm serious here. It said it didn't want to kill me. It wasn't like the rest of the hunters."
"It is lying to you and you're too blind to see it!" The words came out harsh from her grandmother's mouth. She bit her lower lip to stop herself from crying.
"I'm sorry, chickpea," her grandmother apologized coming to sit by her side. "It's just that ever since your parents died at the hands of those beasts, I've gotten so scared. I don't want the same fate for you. You're all I have left, Ruby."
Ruby understood, she did. It was neither of their fault. Her going to the woods scared her grandmother of losing her. Ruby hugged her Nana close. "You won't lose me, Nana. I'm not going anywhere."
"I know, I know. I just don't like you going there." Grandma Baker sniffled.
"I'm not a little girl anymore, Nana. I'm twenty two, a full fleshed adult. I can take care of myself. All I need is for you to trust that I'll be fine. Can you do that?" She smiled at her grandmother.
Grandma Baker nodded. "But you'll always be my chickpea, Ruby."
"Right now this chickpea needs a bath." She withdrew from her grandmother and grabbed her bathing materials. "I'll be in the river," she announced and left the house.
*:*:*
The warm river water felt good on her skin and she allowed herself to be basked in its warmth. The river was a safe distance from the village. No one went there, just her and her grandmother.
"Care if I join you?" someone asked. An intruder. She sunk deeper into the water to avoid being seen.
"You can come out, Red. It's Lycus." Lycus? The prince? What was he doing near the river? What was he even doing in the village?
