The Black Bride

"In my opinion, fairy tales don't exist. I hate all of them. What I really like, is adventure. I'm not a little kid. I work for the Black Bride. She's almost as old as me. She's probably 21 years old. Maybe I exaggerated on the age. I'm actually 16, so maybe a five-year age difference. That's not what's important. What's important is that I live this dangerous life. The catch is, fairy tales surround me. My name is Red, short for Little Red Riding Hood."

I opened the gigantic doors of the Black Bride's castle. She sat upon her throne without any king. As I expected, she was an individual just like me. I really liked her because of how she ruled in style. I still hated my life, when all I did was capture princesses. There were rules in her book.

First, you don't become beautiful. You just don't. Second, you don't tell her what to do. She especially hates men telling her what to do. I looked around at all of her guards. All of them were women. I laughed and kept going straight to her. The third reason is why I adored her. Thirdly, you don't compare her to someone or something else. She'll kill you right off the bat.

I walked to where I was supposed to stand. Three feet apart from her makes her feel safe. She asked everyone to do that.

"Your good highness, I present myself to do your services," I bowed.

"Ah, Red, my favorite assassin. I have yet another job for you to do," she clasped her hands together.

The Black Bride always wore black, obviously. Her dresses were all made black, obviously. She still looked very beautiful though. Yet, another reason why I adored her.

"Yes, your good highness. What shall I complete for you today?" I asked willingly.

"Today's selected winner is Rapunzel. I'm sure you know how to get up to her tower?" she asked, almost forcing it.

"Of course, my queen. Shall I take the kill or bring her to you?" I asked.

"The usual," she commented.

I nodded and proceeded down her throne back to the outside world. I pushed open the doors to find more corridors. I hate her castle because of how confusing she makes it. The only place I know how to get to is her throne and my bedroom. Yes, I live off of the Bride. I have a lot of money, but I couldn't think of a better place to live. Don't tell me I live off of her because I don't. We've never argued about that before. I reached the village just outside her beautiful castle. I looked around to view the disgusting habitat. Peasants both dirty and very dirty walked about. Some fights broke out here and there about stealing. I always laughed because they were animals that couldn't be tamed. As I walked throughout the village, almost time had stopped. People observed me, like I was famous. That was the truth.

"The famous Little Red Riding Hood. Your mother would be ashamed," one muttered.

I never listened to anyone because they all hated me. I was notorious for becoming a killing spree for the Bride. I didn't have low self-esteem to care what they thought of me. I loved myself just how I was.

"Red, why do you even serve her?" one asked.

"Agreed. You're just a child," another whispered.

I quickly turned my eyes toward the peasant. My most frightening death glare washed upon the peasant's eyes. They couldn't stand it and hurried back into their nasty cabin. I huffed and kept walking. One thing that gets on my nerves is when people call me a child. I'm almost an adult. A child is like Hansel or Gretel for instance. I trekked a long time before I found the tower of Rapunzel. She sat about the ledge, combing her long hair. I was never jealous of her.

"Rapunzel, it's your turn," I called out.

"I prepared for this day. Just to let you know, I'm willing to die," she stopped brushing.

"This time, the Bride lets you off. You're just going in the cells," I explained.

"Thank the Gods! Still, that's no matter. It's the same thing except I'm being held on the ground," she laughed.

I snickered, but didn't get into the laughing matter. She held up her finger and disappeared from the ledge. I leaned against the wall for a few minutes. I wanted to look up to see what she was doing. When I did, about 20 pounds of hair landed on me. I huffed and puffed to get up.

"Are you kidding me?" I yelled in frustration.

"I am so sorry. Let me help you," she started grabbing all of her hair.

"How do you carry all of that weight?" I asked brushing my self off.

"You get used to it when you're a kid having that length since birth," she shrugged.

She held out her hands so that I could cuff her or at least bind her. I only liked Rapunzel because she was obedient. She wasn't like all the other melodramatic princesses in this world. She had guts. It was easier for me to take her back and not put up a huge fight. I knew Rapunzel didn't want to deal with the drama but I wanted to be sure.

"Why are you being so obedient?" I asked.

"Well, I have nothing to lose. I'm just a soon to be princess. I've waited long enough to get out of that tower. Princes don't matter to me anymore," she replied.

"Wow, you know your own story," I said surprised.

"Of course. It's obvious what would've happened to me. I'm not a idiotic blonde, you know," she said patting her good hair.

"Of course. I'm sorry you never got to really experience the world," I told her.

"It's not a problem to me. I might be oblivious, but I know some things," she argued.

I snickered again and continued to lead her back to the Bride. We had to go through the dreadful village again. I was a little embarrassed that Rapunzel had to see all of this.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience. The Bride is trying to get rid of this awful village," I motioned to some of the people.

"It's no huge problem. Maybe these people are nice and you just don't know it," she rebutted.

She broke away from me to come and greet some of the dirty peasants. They shook hands with her and she let them touch her beautiful hair. Eck! Would I want dirty hands on my hair? I don't think so.

"Don't let that repulsive assassin take your youth! Fight back, Rapunzel!" one shook her hand.

"Rapunzel! Your parents would need you alive! Don't give up now!" another yelled.

"Don't worry about me. I'm going to be all right. If I ever see you again, I'm going to reward you with everything I have," she waved to the last of them.

I took her back to my side and hiked up the stairs. She still waved and kissed them all goodbye. I was about to hurl on the side. The Bride wouldn't like that, though.

"Why do you have such good ties with these people? You haven't met them before and they already know you," I shot her a look.

"It's all in the individual. I'm a nice person. You're number one on the most hated list," she folded her arms.

"But, I help the Bride! I do everything for her. Isn't that not nice?" I asked.

"You don't get it. You're a supporter for the Black Bride. She's evil," she responded.

"I'm not evil. Don't forget, I was forced to do this," I folded my arms.

"Yes but do you like it now?" she asked me.

"Absolutely," I smirked.

She shook her head and nudged me to take her to the Bride. I nodded and led her throughout some crazy pathways and into the throne. Rapunzel didn't bother to stare at the great décor of the room. I always stared at it. All of the black and blood red reminded me of why I was here. Black lace decorated her crown and the chair she sat on. We reached the three feet mark.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair," she laughed. "I always loved that one," she came towards us.

"Thank you. It's my motto," she hissed at her.

"I'm not a blonde. Would yellow hair look grand on me, Red?" she pulled the hair to her own.

"Absolutely," I nodded.

"Good girl. Don't worry Rapunzel, you'll still have hair," she came back to her throne.

"You're terrible. Do you know much the peasants outside hate you?" she tried to come closer. I didn't let her.

"Absolutely. That's why I'm trying to get rid of them. It's superbly easy," I knew she lied.

"Not what I've seen," she looked at the décor.

"I'm sorry my magnificent. She doesn't speak right," I tried to cover Rapunzel.

"You bet she doesn't. Well, that's a shame. We could've gossiped about the other princesses. I guess that will be a problem," she touched her cheek.

"I would gladly share some-" the queen stopped me.

"Not you!" she shouted at me. I nodded. "Take this garbage away from me," she whisked her hand.

I nodded and pulled Rapunzel back to where I was. She shot me a glare but I ignored. I continued throughout the dark castle to the bottom of it. A bunch of prison cells were held there. The Bride was infamous for holding the most cells. She respected that people hated her. I led to one that was completely empty. The others tried to grab and motion Rapunzel for help. She didn't look at one emotion. I sat her down in a chair with her arms still bound.

"Good. I guess I'll be seeing you when we're dead," I said that to everyone down here.

"Good. I guess I'll be seeing you down here when you take in others," she copied me.

"Rapunzel, don't get smart. This is a bad place to lose it," I kneeled next to her.

"Why? Everyone else has lost his or her breaking point," she motioned to everyone else.

"You're not going to be everyone else are you?" I asked her. She nodded in agreement. "Good. Well, I'll leave you to it," I said standing up.

She didn't stay anything for the rest of the time. I closed the door and whipped out my keys for the cells. I locked it with accomplishment. The prison cells were like my hobby. I collected people and put them here to observe. They didn't know they were my collection. The idea made it better. I continued back up to the throne. The Bride still sat in her same position.

"What do you want?" she asked menacingly.

"What shall I be doing tomorrow?" I asked.

"I decided you should spend some time with the Witch," she responded.

"There're a lot of witches," I responded.

"Hansel and Gretel's witch," she smiled a sinister smile.