Hi all its Kizuna! Once again posting a fan-fic she hasn't finished while another one sits and collects dust…to those of you reading "Come Back to Me"…I'M SORRY *bows over and over* I'm so so sorry but the muse has left me…I'm hoping writing a new story will help!

So I saw this picture of Ruby/Red walking Graham's wolf in her Red Riding Hood outfit and this story just (almost in completion) jumped into my head! And I loved it! I thanked my brain for giving it to me because it was such a cool story! The problem is getting it all written before it disappears! (which happens more often than I'd like -) But I've got a wonderful roomie who's been pushing me to write it so maybe I can get it done!

Btw if you like TMNT or Percy Jackson you should run right over and read her stuff! It's awesome! She's Huntress of Light ;)

Well I hope you enjoy!

If I owned Once Upon a Time: Neal would definitely be Baelfire, I'd know what the *bleep* was in that box, Belle and Rumple would be in WAY more episodes, Daniel would have actually been revived *sobs*, and this story would be happening….since none of that is true I suppose that I do not own Once Upon a Time…..how sad.

PS: Yes every time you see Wolf or It (in relation to Wolf) it is capitalized because Wolf is how Red thinks of It so Wolf is its name! (confusing enough for you?)

Chapter 1: Headaches and Pins

"Ruby! Come on get to it!" Granny…again. My head was killing me just like it always did the couple days before Wolf's Time…but it had never been this bad before. I couldn't even open the curtains to the light, much less find the will to get out of bed!

"RUBY!"

'O gods she's coming up the stairs…she only does that when she's really pissed.' I thought as I tried to turn over in bed getting ready to sit up…and only realized moving was a bad idea when my stomach churned violently.

"Uggh..." I moan just as my Grandmother stormed into my room.

As I watched her I saw her face go from furious to curious to panicked to pure sympathy as she rushed to the side of my bed.

"O Liza sweetheart what's happened? I thought you said you weren't having symptoms?" She only called me by my real name when she was really very worried about me.

"I lied…" I moaned from my curled position on the bed.

Granny's hand finds my back and gently rubs…which worked when I was little and just had a bug, but does nothing for my stomach now….though it does sooth my frazzled nerves.

"Granny what am I gonna do?" I was scared…I'd seen firsthand what the Wolf could do when I had that slight control over It….what was It going to do when it hadn't been free in almost 30 years?

"Are you sure Ruby? Are you sure the cloak's magic isn't working?"

"Yes," I moan again as I slowly sit up, "I've NEVER had a headache this bad and the nausea's new…"

"I used to be sick every time…Ruby…I know you've been completely against this but…I think it's time to bite the bullet and go ask Gold if there's anythin' he can do."

We'd been arguing about this for a week now. Did Gold (Rumpelstiltskin whatever) owe me a favor for finding Belle? Yes…did I WANT to take him up on his offer? Not really. But Granny was insistent on me at least trying.

"What could it harm?" she would say.

"My pride?" I'd reply, which she'd immediately scoff at. I knew it wasn't a good excuse but it was all I really had. So I made up my mind (after I discovered that I also couldn't keep down food) to go and at least talk to Belle.

As I was walking (slowly and with the darkest sunglasses I could find) to the library I looked towards the forest. If Rumple couldn't help me I would have to leave today, so I could be far enough into the woods by the time the Wolf emerged. I sighed at that…the way I was feeling now I REALLY didn't want to try and make that trek.

It was what I had done when I took Snow food and supplies. I would leave during Wolf's Time so I could run at night as the Wolf, towards where I knew Snow was, and sleep during the day. Finally I'd be close enough that during the day I could take her the food and supplies, then start back towards where Granny and I lived. Snow had been far enough away that it took the whole week as the Wolf and I didn't have to worry about hurting anyone.

I didn't know if I could GET far enough away now to make everyone safe….I needed this to work!

As I came up to the library I saw a group of kids through the window. Belle had finally opened the library up, after much cleaning and maybe a little magic (I couldn't be sure but I thought I'd spied Rumple dusting a whole shelf of books at once when Belle wasn't looking).

Belle was walking around, happier than I'd seen her, helping kids find the books they wanted. It was during school but this seemed like the perfect excuse for a field trip.

"Ruby!" I heard Henry exclaim as I came in the door.

"Hey buddy!" I said more cheery than I felt…the kid really had an effect on people…he could make you happier with that cute little smile of his.

"Ruby look, look what I found!" He said holding up a book to me. I had to laugh. It was a Grim Fairy Tale book with a little girl, in a red hood with a basket, on the cover. In the back ground you could see the yellow eyes that where suppose to be the wolf.

"Wow (I chuckled again) would you look at that."

"Yeah! I've never read the originals," his was so excited I thought he might bounce away at any second "so I saw it and got it off the shelf and then saw you on the front!" He laughed, "I was gonna come show you but my teacher said no."

I laughed and rumpled his hair as I walked towards Belle.

"Let me borrow it when you're done k!" I hollered back with a wave. He smiled, waving back, and re-joined his friends.

I kept looking for Belle and finally found her upstairs with one of the teachers.

"Yeah we can set up a schedule for a different grade to come in once a week, just let me know what you decide and I'll print up the schedule for you!"

"Oh thank you so much!" the teacher gushed. I recognized her as the 5th grade teacher who had taken over Snow's class…I couldn't remember her name though.

As the teacher walked off I touched Belle's shoulder to get her attention.

"Hey girl." I said a bit more subdued than usual.

"O hey Ru…" Belle gasped "Ruby what's wrong?!" I guess I hadn't realized that I looked horrible, especially after Henry had been so happy. Maybe he'd been so excited over the book he hadn't really noticed…or maybe the climb up the stairs had drained me more than I thought.

"It's almost Wolf's Time…it…can take a lot out of me." I didn't want to elaborate.

"Well here sit," Belle directed me to a comfy looking chair (she'd bought all new furniture) and as I sat I explained the situation to her.

"So…I guess what I'm asking is, will you come with me to ask him?" I was being a coward but I really didn't want to go alone…especially feeling like I did.

"Of course! I'll take a break and we can go over there as soon as the kids leave."

So I waited while she went to finish with the school kids. Henry came up a few minutes later to find me almost asleep curled up on the chair.

"You ok Ruby?"

"Yeah buddy I'll be alright…just a bug I think." He gave me this 'Don't treat me like I'm stupid' look and sat down on the floor with his back against the chair.

"Want me to read one of the stories?" he asked deciding not to push the issue…smart kid.

"Sure." I said actually a little curious…I'd never heard the "original" (ha!) stories either…just the main stream ones Disney and other nicer versions people had come up with…and, you know, the REAL ones.

"Which one?" he said flipping through the index and looking back at me.

"Mmm," I didn't really want to hear my story…I knew it was waaay off. "how 'bout Snow's story?"

"Ok!" and he proceeded to read. It was pretty off too…in the Grimm version Snow never even met Charming…and he was some kind of necrophile or something. Prince Charming saw Snow's body in the glass coffin and wanted it so he could "look at her beauty forever." And no true loves' kiss either, just when they jostled the coffin the piece of apple lodged in her throat fell out and she woke up…and they got married….yeah Grimm Brothers, real romantic.

"Henry are you up there!?" his teacher suddenly called.

"Yeah I'll be right there! Sorry Ruby I gotta go!"

"It's ok Henry, thanks for reading to me." I said as he ran off and Belle came up the stairs pulling on her jacket.

"Ready to go?"

No I really wasn't…I didn't want to go anywhere I wanted to just curl back up and go to sleep…but this HAD to be done or things were only going to get worse.

As we walked into the Pawnshop Gold looked up with a smile on his face. Seeing Belle did that to him…I was still getting used to it. Then he saw me and the lovey-dovey face was replaced with a curious one.

"And what can I do for you today Ms. Ruby?" he said a bit sarcastically as Belle kissed his cheek and whispered something in his ear before turning and smiling sympathetically at me and walking into the back room.

"Well I was hoping you owed me a favor for helping you find Belle." I said with my usual boldness.

"Ah," he said knowingly "yes I believe I do."

So I explained the situation to him.

"So is there any way my cloak transferred over somehow and I just haven't found it…or a way you could make a new enchantment for me?" Even though I had the usual carelessness to my voice I still felt like I was begging.

"Well, dearie, I don't think the enchantment carried over in any way…and even if it had, magic is different here so it most likely wouldn't work." As he said this he walked behind the counter.

"As for making a new enchantment…that I should be able to accomplish." This piqued my interest as he pulled out a big cardboard box.

"So what's the catch?" I asked. Knowing full well there'd be one.

"O no catch this time, dearie." He said a little bit of excitement in his voice…whether over making a deal or getting to do magic I wasn't sure.

"You see I would rather not have a wild wolf running around town devouring people. So this benefits me and you…just as a deal should." I realized if Belle hadn't been in the picture I, and the town, would be screwed….he really did love her.

"So what are you looking for?" He'd been digging through the box of stuff this whole time and seemed to be getting a little peeved that he wasn't finding whatever it was.

"Ah-ha!" he said as he finally found, and pulled out, a little…pin. A wolf pin to be precise. It was standing sideways but it looked outward so you could see both its eyes….one black and one ruby red…how fitting. I could see in the box now and actually recognized the top item…a leather jacket.

"Is that…is that a box of Graham's things?" I was shocked…I would've thought all of that would've been in the trash or given away by now.

"Yes," Rumple said "he had no family so I gave the walkie-talkies to Emma and Henry and kept the rest…just in case." He said the last part in true Rumplestiltskin fashion…like he had a gleeful secret.

"So…can you make that pin work like my cloak did?" I was curious now…and a bit excited…if it worked I'd finally start feeling a little better!

"O yes I think so…when do you need it?"

"Today!" I said quickly…I'll admit I was desperate.

He laughed quietly and told me to come back in a couple of hours….dearie.

I did go back 2 hours later on the dot. He had the pin ready and when I put it on I felt the symptoms start to abate. Thank the gods. I thanked him, and Belle, and hurried towards home. The next night would be the test.

When I got home and up to my room I examined the pin a little closer. The ruby eye on it was brighter now…almost like it was glowing. I figured this was more proof of the magic. At that point Granny came in to check on me.

"Well…is it workin?" she said her country accent coming through.

"Yeah I think so...," I sighed "I don't wanna risk it though…I'm going out into the woods tomorrow…get as far away as I can."

"Well just be careful…don't accidentally cross the line." It was a real fear now…one that I didn't know if the Wolf would be cautious of.

So the next day I trekked out into the woods…I felt a little better, though the headache was still there…annoying.

I got as far as I could and….the whole time I couldn't shake this instinctual feeling that something was following me…whatever it was was downwind though so I couldn't get a good read on what it might be…if there actually was anything there. It was probably some curious squirrel or a bird that happened0 to be flying the same way…stupid paranoid Wolf.

Finally the sun started to set…I was far enough away from town that I decided to sit and wait till nightfall instead of walking further…I didn't want to risk the line. But I did want to test if I could still (in some fashion) control the Wolf. I used to have an okay grip on It…I could point It towards my target and, mostly, remember what it had seen and smelled. It was how I helped Snow and James in the war. But it had been almost 30 years…I had no idea what to expect now.

I knew all I had to do was step on the pin (or touch it somehow) to change back. It had been the same with my cloak…with the slim control I had I could force the Wolf in the direction where I'd left the cloak and crawl under it. I was trying to figure out the best way to do something like that with this tiny pin, when I heard something…something close...and definitely bigger than a squirrel or a bird.

And I could see its glowing eyes in the light from the setting sun.

Dun Dun DUUUUUNNN! Lol well there it is who's eyes could those be o.o

Also can you tell I obsess? That I caught that once Granny called her Liza back in the episode where she and August are talking about Lemurs...you know the one where we find out Red's back story and they cleverly call her boyfriend Peter like in Peter and the wolf and…..*Huntress slaps Kizuna*

Huntress: Stop!

Kizuna: *pouts*

Huntress: They don't need to know how obsessed you are.

Kizuna: ...fine…

Lol annnyways by the time this is posted and read it's probably going to be AU but I don't care! Lol like I said this has been buzzing around in my head since I saw that picture! I hope you enjoyed and I (hopefully) will have the next chapter up soon!

Love you all!

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Thanks!