Chapter 1
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young woman with long auburn hair. When she was very young, her mother had made her a hooded cloak the same shade of red the girl's hair took on in the sunlight. "My sweet child, wear this cloak to shield you from the cold, and to protect yourself from danger," her mother had said. So from then on, the girl always wore the cloak, and it never seemed to be any shorter as the girl grew, but always matched her measurements every time she donned it.
After some time, everyone in the nearby village, and even her own mother, started calling her Red Riding Hood-or just Red for short- and everyone forgot one detail about the girl that she herself could never forget. The girl had another name, the one her father gave her when she was born, had called her before he vanished. He had whittled her name out of a log of fresh cherry wood and the girl kept it in her small room, right next to her cloak, so she could always read the smooth-cut letters A-L-E-X-A-N-D-R-A whenever she wished. Sometimes, the girl thought she could see an older man smiling gently at her when she read her name aloud. She had never been called by Alexandra since she received her beautiful red hood and it sometimes made her sad that not even her mother would say the name her father had so lovingly given her.
When Red turned 18 years old, her mother decided it was high time she left home and became a bride. "Now Red, take this basket of food and go up the mountain trail to your grandmother's cottage. She will take care of you and introduce you to many eligible men for you to choose from. Only the highest-class men will do for my daughter. It's a three day trip so be careful, we don't want you scarred" she said proudly.
Red just sighed, took the basket and gathered all of her most important belongings- her only nice dress, a change of slacks and a blouse, and her wooden name- grabbed her cloak and set off.
Strolling along the path, Red started mumbling to herself. "Mother can be cruel sometimes. She knows that I want to marry for love, but she wants me to marry for money. What happened to the kind, considerate mother who made me this cloak?"
When she got to the edge of the forest, Red stopped. "Before she changed, mother said I shouldn't go into the forest alone. That there was someone or something that wanted to hurt me and that would be the best place to do it. I really should find someone to travel with me, especially before it gets dark. I don't have any weapons to defend myself, mother wouldn't let me bring any; saying it would scare grandmother and the men."
After thinking for a moment, Red left the path and skirted the forest, trying to find a good companion.