A/N: This fic is based on a darker production of the show where Jack and Red were older (15 and 14 respectively at the start of the story) and the relationships between red and the wolf (and to some extent jack and the giantess) were more sexual, so it's a bit different from the other Red/Jack fics. Oh, and also, the harp is a live woman in this version. CHAPTER ONE: Bloody Red Five Months after Slaying the Giant
Jack the Giant Killer. He'd never get used to that title. It was as enticing as it was frightening. He woke up every morning thinking it was a dream and he would wake up. He thought he'd be in the same shanty house, with the same frazzled mother, the same skinny cow...
But when he woke up each morning he would remember again.
Oh... right... I'm a Giant Killer.
His now almost lavish house was filled with gold that they hadn't spent yet.
"Fe Fi Fo" the Harp trilled at him. She shone a bright gold all over and smiled at him. It'd taken a bit of getting used to, but soon the two were good friends. He still thought she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen; that was the reason he stole her. But he'd realized a long time ago that she was made of metal, so he couldn't do much more than admire her.
"Good morning, son!" said his mother.
He never got used to her sounding happy. He'd never heard her speak any lower than a yell in his entire life. He liked that she was happy, but it would take some getting used to. After a hearty breakfast, she told him she was going off to market, and that his friends would be coming by at some point.
Friends. More than one. That was another thing he needed to get used to. He admitted, he would've much rather his friends just include Milky White, the harp, the hen, and maybe the girl in red. He was never sure what she was to him. Were they friends? Were they enemies? Something in between?
But after he'd killed the giant, things had changed. People flocked from miles around to see the wreckage. He became a hero hailed throughout the kingdom, and because of that, he'd gained some new "friends".
He didn't know why he kept them around. Maybe because part of him liked the attention he got, but there was a gang of boys that would come around and try to get on his good side. There were some girls too, of course. Some of them were pretty, but they were a bit... strange.
They came around noon and they went to the market with him in tow. There was Blue, Pinocchio, Simon, and a couple other boys whose names he couldn't remember. They chortled on about girls and hunting and how manly they all were. He'd never spent much time with other boys and was pretty awkward about it, but to them, he could do no wrong. He wasn't a smart boy, but he definitely knew they wouldn't be this nice to him if he weren't this famous.
They walked on aimlessly. He told his mother he would stay at home, and it was just nice to be disobeying her. He loved her, but it was awfully fun to go against her wishes. Suddenly the tone changed. There was a group of girls up ahead. The group assumed the position, catcalling and wolf-whistling at them. A few of the shy ones just looked away from them awkwardly. Jack was among that group, though he didn't fancy any of them.
Florinda was Blue's girl. They'd been courting for a while behind her mother's back. Simon, a large, brutish boy even duller than Jack was, had Goldilocks. It was a wonder she hadn't ended up like the Girl in Red, ever since her experience with the Bears, but she'd escaped in time. She was a whiny girl, constantly complaining that it was too hot or too cold, while Simon tuned her out, just staring at her blankly. Pinoccio, the snobbish rich son of a woodcarver, had no girl, but acted as though they couldn't resist him. And then there was Jill.
Everyone said she was Jack's girl, even though they didn't speak much. She was considered one of the prettiest girls in the land who hadn't already been made a princess. Surely the future wife of a Giant Killer was the next best thing. She was rather clumsy, and almost charming, but there was just something about her that Jack didn't like. He couldn't explain what it was: she was beautiful, with big blue eyes and long blond hair and a tiny waist, but there was something about her that made none of that matter.
"Hello, Jack," she said flirtatiously.
"Hey Jill," he mumbled.
She started babbling on about how great he was. He should've liked that, but even he could tell she was lying. She didn't know anything about him other than he was famous, and that was all that mattered. Still, she was a pretty nice girl.
He drifted off into a reverie, ignoring the loud voices around him. He was thinking about the kingdom in the sky. He missed it even though it was frightening. The giantess was kind to him, though he knew she'd hate him now for killing her husband. But she didn't seem to like her husband anyway...
Suddenly the chatter around him stopped abruptly. He shook himself out of the reverie. This could only mean one thing.
She sashayed by, her eyes scanning across the group. They only stood there, silent, suddenly stopping. They shuddered when they met her gaze. It was the girl in Red.
Ever since the incident with the wolf, people had treated her differently. While before she was just another little girl on the street, recognized only by her red cape, now she'd become almost as famous as him among the children, but especially among the young men in the land.
Everyone mocked her, but at the same everyone was terrified of her. In the place of her red cape was a pelt of wolfskin that she wore, even in summer, and at her waist hung a hunting knife. She was a scary sight for even the toughest hunter. No one knew her name, and no one really wanted to. They instead made up their own, some more unsavory than others, but no matter the name, you knew who she was.
She swaggered across the group until she reached Jack.
"Hey Jack," she said, in a voice too low and womanish for a girl her age. Jack knew she didn't always talk like that, but no one else did. It was the voice she used to scare people.
"Hey you."
"Not selling any milk today?" she said jokingly. He hadn't sold milk since before the giant was slayn.
"Afraid not."
"Oh well," she said almost seductively, "I'll try again tomorrow."
That was their usual exchange on the road. She used to be a regular customer back when he was still poor and she was still cloaked in red. When she was still a little girl.
He kind of liked her new voice. It raised chills up his spine, like everyone else's, but, in a strange way, he kind of liked it. It was very different from Jill's girlish giggle.
She sashayed away. His eyes lingered on her for a second longer than he knew they should have, but either she didn't notice or didn't mind. He then turned back to the group.
They looked at him incredulously.
"Did you just... talk to her?" asked a boy whose name he forgot.
"Well, yeah. She talked to me. What else would I do?"
The children hadn't heard her speak much. They didn't really talk to her, so she had no reason to reply.
"Wow," said Jill, twirling a lock of hair in her finger, "You sure are brave."
They went on and on about how brave he was to have spoken to her and soon they had somehow collectively decided to stop by an apple tree at the side of the road. They all sat in the grass, and soon the topic turned to the scary girl in red.
"I heard she laid with a wolf!" said Florinda.
"Not just one!" said Blue.
"No, she was eaten by one," said Jack.
"Yeah!" said Simon, "The wolf ate her."
"-After he laid with her," Blue interrupted, "And she went completely crazy. She goes into the woods and skins wolves with that knife as her revenge. The hunter who cut her out gave it to her."
"No, she's a witch!" said Jill, "She used witchcraft to get out. She can move things just by thinking about them, that sort of thing. And she carves up wolves now."
"Oh, and not just wolves!" said Pinocchio, "They say she carves up some... other things as her revenge. She hates all men and wants to get her revenge by..."
"Ew! Don't make me think about that!" another boy said, crossing his legs in sympathy.
Jack thought he would protest again, but wanted to hear what else they thought she did.
"Does anyone know her name? Does she even have one?" Goldilocks asked.
Blue shook his head, "No one can ever hear her name, or else they lose their mind. They just call her Bloody Red, for the red dress she wears."
"Oh, that's not why they call her Bloody Red. Though, personally, I prefer to call her the She- Wolf!" said Pinocchio.
"The Wolf's Whore!" shouted Florinda.
"No!" said Jill, and they all looked at her, "she's the Bitch!"
They were all rolling in laughter at that, except for Jack, who didn't like them insulting his friend, and Simon, who didn't get it.
After nearly five minutes they calmed down for a moment, until Simon let out a loud "OHHHHH! Because she's a wolf!"
And they all broke into more uproarous laughter at this. Jack was getting madder by the second. He knew she was infamous, but he didn't know how much everyone really hated her. They thought it was funny, what happened to her. Of course they'd never laugh in front of her, they were all too scared. They were all cowards.
Finally, the laughter died down.
"Why do you all hate her so much?" Jack asked.
"What?" Blue asked in disbelief, "what's not to hate."
"She cuts boys up!" Simon exclaimed.
"No, she doesn't..." he said, a little frightened that he could be wrong, "and she's not a witch or a whore!"
"Why are you sticking up for her?" Pinocchio asked.
"Because I-"
"JACK'S IN LOVE WITH BLOODY RED!" Goldilocks cried out, forgetting to agree with everything Jack said.
"No I'm not!" he said. Why was he so defensive about that? Did he really believe all of this?
"Oh my Narrator, you can't be!" Florinda giggled.
"Of course he isn't!" said Jill, and for a moment he thought she'd seen reason, "How could a hero like him ever love a fallen woman?"
Now he knew why he didn't like her.
"Yeah," said Blue, "She's used goods. No man would want her."
This was just getting worse and worse. What if he just said he was. Would everyone leave her alone then? No, they wouldn't. She was too hated for that. They would just think he was trying to tame her like all the other monsters they said he'd faced. Oh yes, there were rumors about him too. About the giant having six heads and riding a tiger, and about him killing a dragon in the kingdom in the sky. He supposed they had both become legends, in their own right, and nothing would change that.
But why did it have to be her?