AN: I do not own the character of this fiction, hence why it is a fan fic. This characterization of Little Red Riding Hood, and the Everafter Universe is copyright to Endling.

endling(dot)deviantart(dot)com (Fiction posted with Permission)

Just a note, the italics are there as a sort of narrative. I know it seems random at times, but I felt it was a nice touch.

Also, I'm no author. I don't claim to be great. This just came to me after seeing Endling's art.

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Once upon a time, there was a little girl. A little girl named Little Red Riding Hood. Well, that wasn't exactly her real name, but no one knows her real self anymore. You see, it all began one fateful night after she was told the story of the fairytale she gets her name from...

"But Mommy, I don't want the wolf to eat me!" cried Red as her mother put the book aside.

"Don't be silly, it's just a story," her mother replied as she Red into the bed. She smiled sweatly to the little girl, and gave her a kiss on the forehead, "I promise no big bad wolf will try to gobble you up, now go to sleep."

Red's father sighed audibly and shook his head, giving a glance into the girl's closet. Inside, there was a red, hooded cloak hanging up. He followed his wife out of the room and closed the door behind them before speaking, "I told you that story was a bad idea, you know how impressionable she is."

"It's the same story every other kid in the country hears at some point," was the reply Red's mother gave with a stern expression to her husband, "I think the cartoons with different versions are more worrisome than an old fairy tale."

Unfortunately, the story struck deeply in the child's mind. She tossed and turned as horrifying images disturbed her dreams. She woke up many times thinking there was a wolf standing right over her. At one time, she snuck out of her room and into the garage, thinking she was being chased. She grabbed a saw and turned to face these demons, only to find nothing had followed. Eventually she moved her way back into her room, but the saw was placed hidden under her bed as a precaution.

The next morning Red slowly crawled out of bed, the nightmares of the previous night leaving her with little rest. Her mother was already up preparing breakfast, and smiled down at her daughter. The smile quickly turned to worry as the little girl's fatigue showed, "Are you alright sweetie? You don't look so good."

Red just shook her head slowly. She didn't want to talk about last night, fearing punishment for getting out of bed.

Meanwhile her mother spooned some eggs on a plate and handed them to her, "Well, try to eat some breakfast. Maybe that'll make you feel better." Red could only stare at the food, and gulp. She was hungry, but at the same time she couldn't bring herself to try and take it.

Her mother motioned the plate to her again, but Red just shook her head and mumbled about not being hungry. Red backed away before going into the other room. Her head hung a bit over the lost meal, but in her mind she felt successful in avoiding that which tempted the wolf.

Red's mother and father continued to worry about her. A docter's visit yielded nothing wrong. The little girl refused to speak of what ails her. She only ate about once a day, much to her parent's dismay. Over the next few days, Red grew thinner, but not so much to appear too unhealthy. Her parents continued to take her to other doctors, but nothing seemed to show any differences. The pattern continued as such until one day...

"Sweetie, grab your red hood." her mother called from the other room. It was time for their visit to the Red's grandmother. Every couple of weeks they took a basket of treats down to the elderly woman in the old folk's home.

"Are you sure we should go, with what's been going on?" Her father asked his wife in concern.

"It might be just what she needs to get back to normal," his wife replied in a matter of fact tone, "Trust me. After this visit, she will be her usual self in no time."

He gave her a disbelieving look, but softened when Red came into the room. She was wearing the red cloak, but kept it tightly wrapped around herself, looking around every corner carefully. She gulped and looked up at her mother, "Do I have to go?"

Her mother's brows knit up in confusion. Red normally loved to visit, so this question was really odd to her, "Why not?"

Red gulped, and seemed to be on the verge of tears, "Because I don't want the wolf to eat Grandma to come after me."

Her mother rolled her eyes and gave the girl a stern look while her father sighed sadly, "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell her that story. She'll apply it to her own life with every similarity."

"I told you before, dear. It's just a story." Her mother's voice was unapologetic this time around, "Is this why you refused to eat, and have been acting so strange? It stops now, Little Miss."

Red's eyes welled up in tears after being scolded. She knew this would happen, but she had to tell her parents. They seemed to want her to be eaten. She tried to run, but her Mother grabbed her by the arm and pulled her screaming into the family car.

And so the family visited Grandma, but unlike normal there was a dreary tone in the air. Red was constantly on the verge of tears, if not actively crying. She cringed away from all touch, and couldn't even look at her Grandmother without new tears pouring from her eyes. The visit was eventually cut short, but Red didn't improve. She still refused to eat until her parents practically forced the food down her throat. Eventually, they got fed up and told her to go to bed early. It was that night that Little Red Riding Hood took measures of her own.

"Mommy and Daddy want me to be eaten. Mommy the most..." Red muttered to herself at the foot of the bed. There was a slight twitch in her neck as she pondered the last couple of weeks, the stress and exhaustion finally pushing her further over the edge. Slowly, she walked to her closet. She pulled her cloak out and put it on, pulling the hood over her face, "The wolf will not get me. Nor will my Mommy and Daddy."

She got down on her hands and knees, reaching under the blankets and her bed to pull the saw out. She then walked down the hall towards her parent's room, where they lie asleep. Red looked at them lying there from under the hood. Her eyes were almost shining in determination as she held the concealed sharp object under the cloak.

Her mother sensed she was there and woke up. Looking down the bed, she saw Red staring back at her. Sitting up, she slid out of bed and walked over to the little girl, "Hey, I thought we told you to go to bed and stay there. What's the matter?"

There was a moment of silence as Red just stared back into her mother's eyes. Finally, Red whispered very softly, "You..." Something about her look alerted her mother, who screamed before Red could even reveal the saw. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to fall back fast enough before the bladed object tore into the side of her face.

Red's father awoke from the scream just in time to watch his wife fall to the floor, and his daughter bring the saw down on her chest full force. The saw left a gaping hole in the woman, blood pouring onto the floor. Red's expression was one of pure bliss as she grinned and pulled the saw back, cutting further into the woman.

Her father brought himself out of shock to rush to the scene. He grabbed Red from behind to pull her away, the little girl screamed at the top of her lungs at the interruption, "No! She can't give me to the wolf! I won't let her!" She continued to struggle, the blade getting caught in her father's leg and causing him to let go of her.

She yanked it out and turned to him, her eyes almost pure red with fury, "You too... You want me to be eaten by the wolf!" She began to walk back toward him, while he was busy clasping the wound on his leg. He only had time to look up and let out a small scream of his own before falling back with the saw embedded in is head.

"No wolf will get me. You can't force me to eat and make him want me anymore. You can't take me to Grandma to get me eaten anymore," she pulled the saw out of his head, the blood getting all over her and mixing reds with the cloak. She seemed to blink and look at herself a moment as though realizing where she was, "I have to go now, Mommy and Daddy. I don't want to stay and let the wolf find me."

As she tried to leave, fumbling with the front door's lock, she found several police waiting for her. The neighbors heard the screaming, and called them. When she saw them she broke into tears and fell to her knees, dropping the saw. One leaned down to examine her, asking what the problem was, but she refused to answer. Finally, the officer looked back at his partner, "She looks thin, like they weren't feeding her."

Red instantly stopped screaming and stared at the officer a moment, listening, "She needs food badly. Have someone feed her while we see what happened." The man didn't even get a chance to look back before Red struck out with the saw, a trail of blood falling from the officer's neck. The other's quickly restrained the girl, who began screaming and crying about the wolf all over again.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. A little girl named Little Red Riding Hood. In fear of being eaten by a wolf, she took it upon herself to keep safe from the monster that might eat her. No matter how many restraints, or how many sedations, she constantly prepared herself to keep the beast at bay.

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Thanks for reading this one shot; I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did typing it. This was made without knowing the story itself, and just seeing a quick bio and image of the character. What can I say, instant inspiration!