Before the Hood

Wolf knew that this had to be done quickly.

He led the group of vigilantes to a small alleyway where he knew the guards of queen Nova's palace could not see them. In the dark they crept up the side of the building and entered the palace through a small window. Wolf couldn't help but feel a sentimental twinge as he remembered all those nights he crept through this exact window to meet his queen for their secret trysts in the tower. He cringed at his foolishness, he had believed her when she told him that it was her husband, and not her who had raised the taxes that left the people of this country starving, had believed her that she was afraid of the king, and was treated like no more than a servant and kept like a prisoner in the palace.

He believed her when she said she loved him.

Wolf snapped out of his reverie when one of his group whispered a question, "Which way now?" Silently, Wolf led them to the narrow stairs, his tall and muscular form taking up most of the space. He would never forget the night the king died, he had let himself be convinced of the king's wickedness, and had vowed to assassinate him to save Nova. That had all changed when he discovered that it was her behind it all. The king was a broken shell of a man, abused and kept like a prisoner in the tower room, while Nova claimed all the power for herself and filled her greedy pockets while her subjects starved in the streets. When he had refused to kill his king, Nova had shown her true colors and killed him herself, and now she had absolute control.

She had to be stopped.

It had to end now.

The group of assassins quietly entered the tower room. Nova was laying down in her bed with her dark hair splayed around her face, she appeared to be sleeping soundly. The sight of queen Nova's beauty now only sparked fury; he no longer felt any of the affection he once did. What big eyes she had, he reminisced to himself, All the better to deceive me with. The room she slept in was stark white. White walls, white door, white roof, white floor. It was beautiful but soulless. It fitted her perfectly.

He crept across the room towards her and stood directly beside her bed, drawing his dagger with a slight shing. As he lifted the blade, her eyes flew open and she leaped from the bed with a startled cry, revealing the small swell of her belly through her sheer white nightgown. He hesitated, stunned at the sight of her pregnant form, giving her time to shove him backwards and flee past the startled group. In his shock, Wolf lost his balance and fell against the jagged white iron bedpost, resulting in a deep slash to his back, staining the white floor crimson. The rest of the assassins remained with their injured leader, allowing the queen to escape.

As Nova absconded from the tower, she heard her ex-lover shouting out to her in his fury a promise she would remember for the rest of her days. "I will find you! And when I do, I'll seize everything you hold dear." His sincere promise made shivers run up her spine.

She quickly made her way to her mother's small stone nondescript cottage on the base of the mountain. Before she could compose herself enough to knock, the heavy oak door swung open with surprising ease, revealing the small woman with honey colored hair. When she noticed the tears in her daughter's green eyes, her own warm brown eyes widened and she pulled Nova in for a hug, knowing that now is when they must run.

In a rush they grabbed the prepared bags and stowed-away on the first ship they could find that would take them a significant way from Nova's land. Once they were safely stowed among the cargo in the ship, Nova's mother turned to her with a thoughtful expression, "Will you ever tell your child of its father and the throne that you abdicated?"

Surprised with the sudden change in conversation Nova unfurled her long legs that she was sitting on and answered honestly, "I didn't abdicate. I have been consumed with avarice and power for so many years, that I neglected any feeling of compassion. The night I learned that I would become a mother, something changed inside of me. I now see all that I have done, and I can't ever change that. It's too late to repent, and those people I was supposed to protect now wish me dead, and rightly so."

After a pause she continued, "The right thing to do now would be to acquiesce myself to them. Let them have their justice against me and face the repercussions of my actions. If it weren't for the life growing inside of me I would."

Nova turned to her mother with an inferno of conviction in her eyes, "No, I will scamper, and I will hide like a coward. I will find a village where we will live out the rest of our days quietly. I will raise my child to be benevolent, compassionate and magnanimous." Nova placed a hand on her swollen abdomen.

"As for the baby's father... I pray that Wolfe will never find us. I know he will attempt, I heard the determination in the words he spoke. He will never conclude his search for us. I did too much wrong by him and the rest of my people. So no, mother, my baby will know nothing of our past."

Many years went by, and Nova was voracious to her word. Her daughter, Emma, was a benevolent and selfless child, and Nova had left behind her wicked ways and was now a devoted and loving mother. Nova raised Emma in a small cottage in a quiet village on the edge of the Blackwood forest, and Nova's mother lived nearby through the woods, in a tiny cottage of her own. Because of her fear of being discovered by Wolfe, Nova rarely let Emma out of her sight, even just to go and visit her grandmother, as she often longed to do.

On the morning of Emma's ninth birthday, Nova was braiding her daughters long golden hair that mimicked the young girl's father, and finally decided that Emma would be safe enough to visit her grandmother. It had been so long now, and Nova had begun to feel that there was no way for Wolfe to locate them. They were safe. She tied off the braid and got up. She handed her daughter her birthday gift and began to pack a basket full of fresh bread and fruit for Emma to take with her.

While the child uncovered the gift Nova apprehensively instructed her, "Just go straight to Granny's house, do not leave the path and please don't talk to any strangers along the way. And please don't go and see Mrs. and Mr. Bear on your way again! They weren't very happy when they found you in their house last week." Emma smiled in response to her mother's thoughtful concern.

While wrestling with the wrapping paper to open the gift, Emma responded, "Oh, don't worry mother! I'll be fine, I know the way, we've traveled it many times before. I promise I won't leave the path... Oh wow!" Emma exclaimed as she quickly shook out the gift she had unwrapped. Emma's green eyes that were identical to her mother's shone as she thanked her mother and kissed her goodbye. She put on her new red riding hood and skipped out the door on her way to Granny's.