Red Riding Hood: She-Wolf

Chapter 1

The icy wind kissed Faline's cheeks as she trudged through the thick snow that covered the road. Her hands were numb from the cold. She shivered and not for the first time, wished her grandmother's cottage wasn't so far away from the village.

After a few more minutes of walking, she paused to warm her stiffened hands, grimacing slightly. Her grandmother had told her that this winter was expected to be bad; the farmer's hadn't done very well this harvest season and food would be sparse throughout the land. Then she had patted Faline's hand and told her not to worry, that the village wouldn't allow for them to starve. Faline's grandmother had been the daughter of  a wandering warrior who supposedly killed a werewolf that had been terrorizing the village for years.

Now that she was older, Faline knew that her grandmother had lied about her father killing a werewolf, but back when she was nothing more than a child, her favorite past time had been sitting by the fire with her older brother and listening to their grandmother retell the story of her father.

The wind blew again, causing goosebumps to erupt on her skin. Faline grimaced and pulled her tattered cloak tighter across her body and glanced up at the sky. With winter upon them, the days were shorter, and if she didn't hurry, she would still be in the forest by evening.

It wasn't the cold that made Faline shudder, it was the thought of traveling the forest alone in the dark. These were dangerous times; the last time her brother had visited them, he had told them stories about how the bandits were growing desperate, stalking the countryside and woods in hopes of stealing enough coins for a decent meal and, if they were lucky, a warm bath at the nearest inn.

When Faline was younger, it wasn't stories of bandits and thieves that had terrified her of wandering the forest alone at night, but stories of vicious wolves that tore apart children and of witches and wizards that stole children away and turned them into toads that had haunted her dreams. At the age of eight, she had woken screaming in the middle of the night from a nightmare of being torn apart by a wolf that for weeks, she hadn't been able to go out to the forest to even  gather berries without having her older brother with her, armed with their grandmother's biggest kitchen knife.

She quickened her pace, spurned on with memories of her childhood terror. The sun was beginning to set, she had little less than an hour before the forest would be enveloped in darkness.

Thirty minutes later, Faline arrived at the cottage, cheeks flushed and her breathing uneven. She had practically ran the last half to reach her grandmother's cottage in time.

Faline could see smoke puffing from the chimney and couldn't resist the wiggle of pleasure at the thought of eating a warm supper besides the cheery flames. She brushed the snow off her clothing and boots before entering the cottage.

Her grandmother looked up from stirring something in the cooking pot and smiled warmly at her granddaughter. "How was the trip to the village?" she asked. Faline grimaced. "Cold. Very cold" she replied dryly, tugging off her cloak and draping it over its designated peg. Grandmother Faye chuckled. "I meant how is everyone in the village."

Faline sighed dramatically and moved to feed another log to the hungry fire. "Aithna and her husband are still deciding what to name their new baby, Connor plans on asking Daphne's father for her hand, Ector and Godwin have exchanged words over the price of Ector's meat, which Godwin says is too much, and neither is speaking to each other at the moment, Leofwine has taken on Eanwulf as his apprentice and it seems that Abisina is being courted by Sven and Osric" recite Faline dutifully.

 Now that her grandmother was past her sixtieth winter, she was rarely able to manage the long walk to the village square and gossip with the rest of the woman, so along with Faline's weekly visit for groceries, she was charged with learning the latest, tastiest bits of gossip and repeating them for her grandmother.

Grandmother Faye clapped her hands together in delight, like a young child would upon hearing that they would be receiving a special gift. "Ector and Godwin are both stubborn fools, but I highly doubt their wives will allow them to continue this for long. It is a good thing for Leofwine to take in his wife's nephew as his apprentice, especially since he isn't getting any younger."

Faline laughed and leaned over her grandmother's shoulder, inhaling deeply. "As for Absinina, that girl loves nothing more than to make men fight over them, and then reject the winner." Faline's lip twitched and she moved to sit besides her grandmother. "Have you any word from Rhys?" asked the elderly woman. Faline sighed and shook her head. "Nay, though the last time he sent a messenger, he said to expect him for Yule this year."

Grandmother Faye shook her head. "It seems like only yesterday I had to bend that boy over my knee for a good spanking after pushing you into the mud, and now he has gone off to serve Lord Blackthorn. Why, next year you'll be eligible for marriage and I'll be all alone in this cottage" sighed Grandmother Faye.

A slash of crimson cut through Faline's cheekbones and she glanced away. She didn't dare tell grandmother about how none of the village boys had ever shown an interest in her, the girl without parents, unless it was to tease her. But that had been years ago, and since then Faline's body had changed into that of a young woman.

"Go wash up Faline, dinner is almost ready" said Grandmother Faye, leaning over to look inside the pot, spoon in hand. Faline nodded obediently and hurried to wash the grime from her hands and face.

After a brief dinner, Faline curled up on her bed of furs by the fire, watching the bright flames lazily. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled, but in her grandmother's warm cottage, Faline felt safe. She closed her eyes. The fire crackled and hissed. Soon, she was fast asleep.