A/N: Gah! Struggle street writing this one, it just refused to co-operate. Hopefully my efforts aren't totally wasted :/
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In a far off village, in a far off land there lived one of the greatest hunters known, feared and loathed by every wolf in the forest. The hunters' one weakness was his family – a pretty, docile wife that had birthed him two beautiful little girls who the hunter treasured above all other things.
As she grew older, the youngest girl seemed to take after her mother; with the gentlest of spirits, never roaming far from home, she was the apple of her father's eye. After one particularly dangerous hunting trip, the hunter presented the girl with a coat made from the fur of the mighty red timber wolf that he had slain. The girl was very pleased with the gift, and was never found outside the house without it. And so it was that she became known simply as Red.
Her older sister, Amelia, grew into the opposite of little Red; she became very quiet and secretive. Amelia would disappear into the forest from morning until dusk, much to the dismay of her father. Red idolized her big sister, but there was a darkness in Amelia's gaze that made her poor mother cower away from her.
One year, in the middle of one of the coldest winters in memory, the hunter set off in pursuit of a beast that had been terrorizing a neighbouring village. He followed the trail all day and all night, until as last the paw prints led him to an old cottage in the depths of the woods, long forgotten by the villagers. Creeping closer to the open door, the hunter peered into the building and spotted a shadow moving on the far side of the room. As the shape moved into the weak light coming from the window, the hunter froze in shock. As he watched, the form of the sleek wolf changed into that of a young woman. Recognizing the girl as his oldest daughter, the hunter charged into the room. Confronted by her father's deadly rage, Amelia reluctantly admitted to practising witchcraft. Knowing he should take her back to the village to stand trial, but unable to bear the thought of her sentencing, the hunter banished Amelia to live out the rest of her days in the remote cabin.
Amelia was grateful to have her life spared, and resigned herself to a lonely life in the depths of the forest. However, with the passing of the seasons her gratitude was drowned by the rising swell of anger that built within her. The growing hatred for her father was surpassed only by the increasing skill with which she wielded her magic.
Years passed by, and Amelia slowly faded from the memory of her family. At the tender age of 16, Red had blossomed into one of the fairest beauties to be found: flowing locks the colour of spring sunshine, clear blue eyes matching the sparkling depths of the nearby lake, and skin pale as cream from the many hours spent inside helping her mother. The hunter, ever mindful of the loss of his eldest daughter, kept Red close, never letting her stray from the village without him.
But one day, Reds mother received a message from her banished daughter pleading for help – the previous winter had been long and bitter for everyone, and food was scarce. The message threw her mother into conflict, but however fearful she was of the hunter's reaction, she could not ignore her eldest daughters plea for help. Knowing that it would be much gossiped of throughout the village is she left, she decided the only thing to do was to send her youngest daughter into the woods. Luckily the hunter was to set out the very next day on a hunt that was likely to last two or three days' time.
And so, the next morning she waited until her husband had left, then prepared a basket of food that she could spare from her pantry. She then bundled Red into her coat, and sent her off with directions to the cabin that Amelia lived in, and a warning to stay on the pathway. Red had been protected from the truth of Amelia's misdeeds, and so was excited for the reunion with her big sister.
It took Red half a days travel before she reached the final fork in the path that led to the isolated cabin. As she paused to check the directions she had been given, Red spied an ethereal, sunlight clearing. Weary from travel, she decided to stop for a brief rest and to gather some of the flowers for her sister. Red spent a very pleasant hour pottering around, searching for the most colourful, delicate flowers to pick, until she noticed the dark edges of dusk creeping through the trees. The growing shadows seemed to come alive, and Red rushed back to the path, wanting to reach the cabin before the full darkness of night set in. Unknown to her, one of the shadows stalked her as she travelled the last leg of the path. The dark fur of Amelia's wolf-form enabled her to blend amongst the dark trees as she raced to beat Red back to the cabin.
Amelia entered the cabin and quickly snuffed all but a few of the candles so that most of the room was cast into darkness. She then put on a sleeping cap and climbed beneath the covers of her bed and waited.
Arriving at the cabin at last, Red was dismayed to see the black windows which showed no sign of life within. Gently knocking on the door, she heard a gruff voice call out bidding her enter. She lifted the latch on the door and entered the cabin, glad to see pinpoints of light coming from a few candles scattered about the room. She placed the basket of food, and the handful of flowers onto the table, then approached the bed where she could just make out the shape of her sister huddled there "Oh dear, are you very sick sister? I've brought you as much food as our mother could spare, shall I make you something to eat?"
Reds beauty and pure goodness sickened Amelia, and only hardened her resolve to get revenge upon the family that had banished her to the lonely depths of the forest. It was difficult to speak in her wolf form, but she growled out as best she could "No my dear, that can wait. Come and sit on the bed next to me so we may have a chance to chat comfortably."
Suddenly, Red found that she wasn't so excited to see her sister: something in that rough voice set her nerves on edge, and so it was with more than a little reluctance she moved over to the bed. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the room, she found that her sister looked odd. "Sister, what big arms you have." "All the better to hug you with beloved sister – come closer so that I may do so." Red took a small step closer "And what big ears you have." "All the better to hear your sweet voice with. Now sit up on the bed next to me." Red ignored this request, instead peering a little closer at Amelia's face "What big eyes you have." "All the better to see you with, if only you would come closer."
Feeling a shiver of fear run up her spine, Red took a step back as she whispered "And your teeth….what big teeth you have." Sensing that her prey was about to flee, Amelia sprung out of bed, growling "All the better to eat you with!" Luckily for Red, Amelia became tangled in the covers as she tried to rush after her, giving Red the chance to spin around and make a mad dash across the room and through the door to the night outside.
Red ran as fast as her legs would carry her, but she knew her sister would be faster. Red was no fool, and knew that she couldn't outrun Amelia. The only other option was to hide from her and hope that she wouldn't be found. From all her father's stories over the years, Red was quite knowledgeable about wolves: they had pretty good night vision, keen hearing, and a powerful sense of smell. Recalling all the sights she had seen that day on her walk to the cabin, Red realized that there was a stream not too far off, and began formulating a plan. Reaching the stream, she jumped into the cold water which reached just below her knees and began back tracking towards the way she had come, hoping to fool Amelia just long enough to escape. After about a minutes travel in the stream, Red climbed out on the other side of the bank and looked for the nearest tree with a branch low hanging enough to climb up. Finding the perfect tree, she scrambled up it just in time – not half a minute later she could just make out the wolf sniffing along the edge of the river, getting closer and closer to her hiding spot. Knowing that wolves couldn't climb trees, Red hoped that Amelia would change back into her human form, giving Red a chance to fight her off. Red needn't have thought that far ahead though – just as Amelia raised her head to scan the trees above her, a shout came from behind her and grabbed her attention. Recognizing the shape that stepped out from amongst the trees into the moonlight, Amelia charged at her father, jaws snapping and snarling in rage.
The hunter had returned early from his trip to find that Red had been sent out into the woods to her sister's cabin. Fearful of what Amelia had planned, he had immediately set out after Red, hoping to catch her before she reached the cabin. He had little luck, arriving just in time to see Amelia disappearing into the woods in pursuit of Red. However, thanks to Reds cleverness he had time to find them before Amelia was able to hurt her. Seeing the wolf rush at him head on, the hunter pulled out his favoured knife and moved forward to meet her. The battle was fierce, both knowing the fought for their lives, however the hunters experience and strength won out and he managed to hit Amelia with a killing blow. He felt little remorse as she lay dying – he had spared her life once, and look how she had repaid him. Red climbed down from her perch in the tree, and flung herself into the safety of her father's arms. Glad for his youngest daughter's quick thinking, the hunter picked her up and set out towards home, leaving Amelia's body for the scavengers that resided in the woods.
When the pair arrived home the next morning, they found Reds mother sobbing and remorseful for her actions. The hunter tried to harden his heart against her, but Red was so forgiving towards her that the hunter couldn't help but be the same. And so it was that the family was finally rid of the treacherous Amelia. Her mother did her best to forget about her lost daughter, while the hunter took Red under his wing and taught her the art of hunting the numerous beasts that roamed the countryside, terrorizing man. The villagers became used to Reds coming and goings with her father, still never to be seen without her red fur coat.