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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9
She wept. All the way home.
I need to see you one last time to say goodbye.
I'm sorry, Lycus. I can't.
She replayed their entire conversation in her head and she convinced herself she was doing the right thing. But why did doing the right thing hurt so badly?
She flung open the doors of the cabin. Her grandmother's eyes found hers immediately. She had a visitor. Mr Fletcher the gardener.
"I'll be on my way now, Mary." Mr Fletcher stood up from the wooden stool.
"Thanks again for the flowers, Fletcher. I promise I'll take care of them this time." Her grandmother smiled her signature- when I'm done here, I'm going to murder my grand chlid kind of smile.
"Red." He tipped his farmer's cap at Red in greeting and left the house.
Time for some good ol' reprimanding!
"So today, I was getting some things from the market like usual when I got informed by a certain gardener that my grand chlid was spotted sneaking into the woods with some boy." Her Nana made air quotes on boy.
So, Mr Fletcher had been the tattletale this time. How great! Note the sarcasm.
"I need to sit down, Nana." She walked past her grandmother and sat down on the bed which made a small creak when she did.
"Oh, you're tired from your little rendezvous in the woods now, eh?" Grandma Baker was pissed. "What were you doing in the woods alone with him? Do you have a secret boyfriend?" Her grandmother raised a suggestive eyebrow.
"The white wolf is the prince, Nana. Prince Lycus le Roux is the wolf I met in the woods!" Ruby told her grandmother.
"I don't understand. It's treason to speak ill of the prince, Ruby," grandma Baker warned.
"I'm not speaking ill grandma. The prince is the wolf," she repeated.
"How?"
"He went to the woods, got cursed by hunters at the expense of his life and now he's going to be a wolf for the rest of his life because of," she choked out the last part, "me."
Grandma Baker could tell that something serious was up. "Tell me what happened in the woods today." Her grandmother got comfortable on the bed beside her.
And she did. She told her Nana everything. How she was sure she had feelings for the prince. Feelings she couldn't confess because they scared her. And maybe because of her he could become a wolf for the rest of his life.
"Wow," her grandma said, taking it all in. "This is huge. But before anything are you okay?" Grandma Baker asked first.
"No, I'm not, Nana. I don't want him to become a wolf for the rest of his life and I also don't want to lose him," she confessed. Her grandmother hugged her close. "I don't know what to do, Nana," she cried.
"There are two things you could do and each of them have consequences," her grandmother told her.
"What are they?"
"First of all, you could chose to stay away from him. That would be doing the right thing by custom. A prince should marry a princess. But the consequence is that you both lose each other forever and live sorrowful for the rest of your lives."
That didn't end well but it was a safe option.
"What's the second option?" she looked up to her grandmother and asked.
"You could go to him and give him the biggest kiss ever to save his humanity. The both of you get to keep your love. Now the consequence however is that life as you know it changes. You'll lose this safe simple life you have and become a member of the royal family. You'll take on the responsibility of a princess. The entire kingdom becomes your responsibility."
That was nice but it didn't end well. She wasn't sure she could handle that.
"Why can't I eat my cake and have it?" She groaned.
"Because you're eating it," her grandmother replied. That made no sense but she couldn't tell her Nana that. "Follow your heart, Ruby. It's the safest way." She missed her head and walked to the sink to wash the vegetables.
"How did you cope after losing grandpa?" Ruby asked out of the blue. "I know he died at a full age and all but it still hurt, right?"
Her Nana heaved a breath out loudly. "It did. It still does. I miss him but it gets better."
"Alright." Ruby felt bad for reminding her grandma.
"What would have really hurt however, is if I didn't give him a chance. I would have hated myself for the rest of my life if I did that." She stared at nowhere in particular. "His parents didn't want me with him. I wasn't what they wanted, they said. But he made it clear he wanted me and I wanted him too. That was enough. The question is, is Prince Lycus enough?"
And she left it there.
For the entire day, Ruby kept thinking about Lycus. They barely knew each other, yes, but he saved her life. They shared a cake. She dressed his wounds. Those memories were one of the best she had he entire life.
He was a prince, she was a pauper. He had a castle, she had a cabin. He wore expensive regalia, she wore red hoodies and faded jeans. He said he wanted her, she did too. They were two different people but they were two different people that wanted to be together.
He was enough. Prince Lycus le Roux was enough.
She didn't care. He needed her or else he would become a wolf for the rest of his life. She needed to help him. He needed her, she convinced herself again.
She knew what to do. She couldn't wait till tomorrow morning anymore. The plan was in place what was left was execution. She was going for option B.
*:*:*
The next morning, Ruby got up from bed earlier than her Nana. She didn't even need the stupid crowing cock. She reached for her red hoodie and ran to the only woman who could get the job done.
The streets were filled with decorations. The prince was becoming a prince today and all the women and men had fancy attires on ready to attend the occasion.
She knocked twice and waited.
Mrs Weaver came out of the house, yawning.
"Red, what are you doing here at this hour? The kids didn't order anything, did they?" She rubbed her sleepy eyes.
"No, Mrs Weaver. I never thought I'd say this but...I need a gown."
