It was a new moon night.
*swoosh*
A cold breeze flew by, rustling the trees in the area.
Countless pairs of eyes were visible between the desolate trees. Owls were hooting marking the day that had just begun.
A young girl was walking alone along the path with only a basket in her hand and a lamp to light the way.
Wearing a hood that covered her face, she was walking along the path through the woods that led to the port town Lancel. She was humming a slow melody in a low whispery voice.
"hmm hm hmmm hmm"
*rustle* *rustle*
There was a rustle between the bushes. The young girl stopped walking and turned around towards the direction of the noise.
A squirrel pecking on an acorn near the bushes.
Startled by the overlooking shadow of the girl, the squirrel dropped the acorn and climbed up the nearby tree to hide.
The girl let out a soft sigh and continued on her path.
*rustle* *rustle*
There was another rustling sound.
This time, the girl turned around to find nothing but an empty pathway. She hesitated a bit before continuing on her path.
There was a mild smell of bread in the air drifting from the basket in the girl's hands.
*rustle* *rustle*
The girl stopped walking as a large shadow overcast her own.
"What do we have here?" said a rough-sounding man's voice. There was a sense of excitement in the tone of his voice.
The girl turned around to find a man the size of a bear smirking at her. He was a burly middle-aged man with a deep scar on his forehead.
It was more like branding than a scar.
The branding meant for convicts.
He had an ax on his shoulder. It was the type of ax used for cutting hardwood.
*rustle* *rustle*
There were more rustling noises as more men started to emerge from the shadows. The men started surrounding the girl. There were a total of eight men of varying sizes.
"I'm guessin' we got a nice one this time ain't we boss" said the snarly tiny man. He analyzed the girl from head to toe, all the while calculating her worth in the slave market.
"Is that bread I'm smellin' ? " said the guy behind the girl sniffing the aroma drifting from her basket. He took a step towards her and reached out his hand towards the basket with a drooling smile.
"Hold it in Barney. We ain't done with the prey yet" said another guy knocking away Barney's hand.
Barney took back his hand with a sulky expression. The gang pulled out illuminating balls and placed them on the ground, lighting the dimly lit area.
The girl had her hood drooped down, not moving an inch. They were unable to see her face.
"What a bright red hood. Looks expensive. Ya' askin' to be robbed girly" said the man the others called 'boss'.
He got closer to her and lifted the cover of the basket in her hand using his ax.
"Where were you goin' in the dead of night with loads of food girly?" he said with a wide smile on his face.
The girl didn't answer him.
"Hmmmm" he dragged, tapping his lips as if he was in deep thought.
"Might you be visitin' your sick granny? Eh? Red riding hood was it?" he snapped his fingers sarcastically as if he had figured out a mystery. Making the entire gang roar in laughter.
*giggle* *giggle*
Suddenly there was a giggling sound.
The gang stopped laughing and turned towards the source of the sound.
The hooded girl was giggling in a merry voice. Or rather ominously.
The gang stared at her with a dumbfounded expression.
But before they could recover from their shocked state, she started talking in a sweet yet mesmerizing voice.
"If I'm the red riding hood"
There was a chill in the air when she started speaking, sending cold shivers down the men surrounding her on all sides.
"Does that make you the big bad wolf?"
A sinister smile appeared in the corner of her lips underneath the hood.