Captain Canary's Fractured Fairytales

Chapter 1: Little Red Riding Hood Part I

A/N: Just a fair warning to those who are dubious about WIPs. I am working on another WIP in another fandom and most of my attention is there. I will do my best to update these chapters in between updating chapters for the other WIP.

xXx

A warm breezed washed over her, rousing Sara from a strange dream. She was lying in a small patch of daisies, napping. She was supposed to be making her way home, having delivered supplies to her father and his hunting party before they made it too deeply in the woods earlier that morning, but Spring was warming into Summer and she couldn't help but bask in the lush new grass under a clear blue sky.

Sara knew it was dangerous to linger in the woods. There was a rogue wolf loose killing livestock and threatening her village's well being. Her father, the sheriff of their town, gathered up the strongest men in the village and set off two nights prior to kill the intruder. So far they hadn't been successful but Sara was confident that if anyone could protect them, it was her father. She had wanted to go with them, being a good shot herself, and much to her father's chagrin, fearless, but her father had put his foot down. With her sister off in the city getting an education, she was the only one left to take care of the farm.

Sara sighed, sitting up and smoothing a hand through her long blonde hair to rid it of grass. As much as she wanted to stay there, enjoying the late spring day, fearless or not, she knew she was no match for a blood thirsty wolf who had already killed seven large bovines in a fortnight.

So, with little desire to do so, Sara stood, brushing off the seat of her pants before stooping over and picking up the blood red cloak she no longer needed in the warmer afternoon. She then made her way carefully out of the small patch of field flowers and resumed her journey along the old worn hunting trail.

She was not too far from her family's farm on the outskirts of the village when she came upon a man sitting under a large tree just off the trail.

"It's not safe to be out here alone." he drawled as she came nearer. "There's a wolf out here on the hunt."

"I'm aware." she replied a bit haughtily. "And if I were worried about it, I wouldn't be here."

The man smirked as he took a swig from his canteen. He offered it to her as she stopped before him. "Fearless are we?" he asked as she took the canteen. "I admire that." he continued. Sara pulled the canteen from her lips and handed it back. The man stood after securing the top and fastening it to his belt. "Leonard." he stuck his hand out to her and she took it.

"Sara."

"Awe, yes, the Sheriff's daughter, correct?" he asked. She nodded. "I was just heading out to meet his hunting party." he continued. "It would seem I've gotten a bit too late a start however."

"Yes, you certainly have. You have a ways to go and you certainly won't find them before dark." Sara told him.

"Damn." Leonard cursed under his breath. "Well then, I best get back to the village and see if the innkeeper has a room for me."

"That's probably a good idea." she replied and without much prompting they walked together back to the village. They parted at the crossroads between her farm and the village. Leonard bid her farewell, asking her to be careful on the rest of her journey. She called back to him that if the inn was full he should come to the farm. She'd be happy to put him up in the barn loft. He thanked her and went on his way.

Sara found her way back to the farm and went about her afternoon chores. By dinner time she was finished and returned to the house, locking the door behind her as she set about making herself some dinner. A pot of stew was simmering on the open fire in the hearth when a knock sounded at her door. She turned from where she was cutting bread at the table and moved to the window, peeking out to see Leonard standing on her stoop. She unlatched the door and opened it for him.

"No luck?" she asked. He shook his head. She stepped aside, inviting him in.

"It seems a group of hunters came into town to go after the wolf and left their families at the inn." he explained as he stepped across the threshold.

"That's strange." Sara replied. "My father didn't mention any men from out of town going with him." she said as she closed and locked the door behind him.

"I don't think they went with him. According to the Innkeeper they didn't get here until this morning. They most likely went out with the intention of collecting the reward themselves."

"I suppose that makes sense." she replied. Sara offered him a seat at her table and fixed him a bowl of stew and set it in front of him with a piece of bread. She then went about making herself a bowl.

"I appreciate your hospitality." he told her. Sara smirked.

"Don't be too grateful. You haven't seen the barn yet." she teased as she took a seat across from him. "So," Sara began after some time. "Do you still intend to meet my father's hunting party in the morning?"

"I do." Leonard replied. "I'm from the neighboring village." he explained without prompting. "Over the winter we lost a few animals in our herd but we didn't think much of it until the attacks started here. Between stopping the animal before it can circle back to our village and the share of the reward money I can use to replenish out troughs, it seemed like the best idea to come out here."

Sara hummed her understanding before turning back to her dinner. They ate in silence after that and when they were finished Sara stood and took care of the dishes. When that was finished, with Leonard's help despite her protests, she unlocked the front door and led Leonard out to the barn across the yard.

The barn wasn't exactly new. It, like the land it rested on, had been in her family for generations. It was well built, there was no doubt about that, but it was little shabby and the draft was a bit of a problem in the winter. Leonard didn't seem to mind it one bit.

Sara directed him to a rickety ladder at the far end of the barn. "That's the way to the loft. There's a wooden chest up there with a blanket if you need it."

"Thank you." he replied heading for the ladder. Sara turned when he'd reached it and headed back for the door as Leonard called over his shoulder. "Be careful walking back."

"I will." she answered sliding the barn door closed. Sara made her way back to the house, locked up the doors and windows tightly and retired to bed.

xXx

Sara was having the strangest dream when she was startled awake later that night. The howl's of a wolf echoed through the old wooden farm house, sending a chill up her spine as she sat up in the pitch blackness. On the second floor she had no reason to worry for her safety and she climbed out of bed, unlatching the window and peeking out into the dark woods. It was too dark to see and the howl seemed to be at a distance but her thoughts immediately went to Leonard out in the barn all by himself and against her better judgement she decided to take the risk and check on him. She cursed herself as she dressed realizing that she had every reason to throw convention and edicate out the window, and invite Leonard to stay in the house. It wasn't as if she couldn't defend herself if he turned out to be dangerous and honestly she'd never cared for societal convention before so it seemed ridiculous that she would send him out to the barn with only the hatchet at his belt for protection.

As quietly as possible, Sara picked her way across the yard to the barn, lantern in hand. When she got there she slid the door open and stepped in, sliding it closed behind her. She set the lantern on a high shelf and walked to the ladder carefully climbing up and peeking over the edge. There was a clear impression of the place Leonard had been sleeping but now it was empty and a shot of worry nagged at her mind as she climbed back down and reclaimed the ladder.

Sara was torn between going to look for him and returning to the house and hoping for the best. Realizing, despite the danger, that she couldn't let her guest wander the wood alone in such a dangerous time she resolved to return to the house and take up her shot gun before returning and searching him out.

She was halfway back across the yard, her mind lost in thoughts of her plan when she heard it. A snorting huff up ahead of her. She looked up to find two giant yellow eyes staring back through the darkness. Every ounce of her strength was screaming at her run, but her body wouldn't listen, her feet stiff in the muddy grass. It all seemed to happen in slow motion then. The eyes drew nearer until they were close enough to catch the light of her lantern, revealing to her the most beautiful and terrifying sight she'd ever seen.

The wolf was massive, easily coming up to her chest, even on all fours. His coat was grey, dappled here and there was fine black hairs. His yellow eyes glowed in the light of the lantern and after a moment of staring, she realized she was scared. The rush of emotions that kept her feet planted wasn't terror, it was adrenaline. A blood thirsty predator was staring her down not more than a few yards away and she felt nothing but exhilaration watching this powerful creature watch her back.

And then time spd up again and the wolf leapt at her, but still she did not move, until a force from the opposite direction collided with her, knocking her to the ground in time to miss being tackled by sharp teeth and claws.

"Run!" Leonard's voice cut through the rush of blood pounding in her ears. She could feel his arms around her as he hauled her to her feet and took off toward the house, practically dragging her with him when her legs refused to work. Before she knew it Leonard was shoving her through the front door, slamming it behind them and bolting it tight. The door rattled ominously as a heavy body collided with the other side once before an anguished howl cried out, dying away as the wolf moved away.

"Fuck." Leonard breathed deeply, resting his forehead against the solid wood door. "Are you alright?" he asked turning to face her as she lit a new lantern.

"I'm fine." she replied looking up once the light was lit and gasping at the sight of him. The front of his dark shirt was stained with even darker patches and his hands were red with smeared blood. "You're injured." she exclaimed moving to him, fussing over his supposed injuries until he stopped her.

"Sara." he said finally gaining her attention and she looked up at him. "It's not my blood." he told her.

"What?" she asked confused stepping back. "What happened?"

Leonard sighed moving to the wash basin in the corner. "I heard men in the woods behind the barn. I thought it was one of the hunting parties and I went out to meet them. I was going to invite them back to the barn. I didn't think you would mind and I knew it would be much safer than sleeping out in the open." he paused scrubbing at his skin in the blood soaked water. "When I got to their camp they were all dead." he explained. "They were torn to pieces. I heard the wolf's howl and came back here for cover. That's when I found you."

"How does one wolf kill an entire hunting party?" she asked horrified. "One man maybe but the other members of the group would have had time to react, kill it before…" Sara cut herself off the worst case scenario playing through her mind. "It's not a rogue." she whispered. "It's a pack."

Leonard looked over his shoulder at her, the regret in his eyes telling her that he had come to the same conclusion. "My father." she said. "The villagers, they have no idea." she continued. "They think their after a rogue, if they find it, they'll be ambushed."

Leonard had seen the look in her eyes before, on desperate men in dire situations and suddenly he was moving, putting himself between her and the packs on the far wall. "You can't do anything about it tonight." he told her as she stopped short as his intrusion. "If you go out there now those wolves will come for you too." he continued. "Your father and his team are far enough into the woods that there is no way for that pack to get to them before dawn. They're safe, at least for tonight." she didn't look convinced. "Listen to me Sara, you can't help your father if you're dead. Just wait until morning. We can leave at first light meet up with him before night fall."

Leonard didn't quite know how, but he managed to convince the fearless young woman to stay put and with reaffirmed promises that they would leave as soon as the sun was up he sent her off to bed before making a small place for himself near the hearth.