Hey everyone!
Quick A/N here: My name is Maria I am brand new to the fanfiction world (but just the writing, not the reading). After going back and forth with myself a little bit I finally decided to put something up, an idea that has been going around in my head for some time now.
On with the story: Caroline lives in a village right on the edge of the woods, a place she had been taught to never step foot in. But how long could that last?
It will be a mix of Little Red Ridding Hood and Beauty and the Beast, but it will be subtle and it won't dominate the whole story.
This chapter will be excruciatingly short, only because I want to introduce the idea to everyone. How fast I put up the next chapter (hopefully today!) just depends on the reviews.
Enjoy!
Prologue
They had told us never to go into the woods. There was no scary name for it like "The Forbidden Woods" or anything like that, like they named them in horror stories told around the bonfire in the village gatherings. But since you were little, you were taught to never go into the woods- unless you never wanted to come out. At first, I didn't question it- when you are young, you tend to do everything adults tell you to do. But the place was so mysterious, that I would be lying if I said that I had never ventured close as the years passed.
I started out just wandering around the edge, when I was around eight years of age, with the pretext of picking flowers or berries or following a small creature. But when I turned 13, whenever my father would have me run errands and it conveniently took me close to the woods, I would try and get as close as possible. One time, I even weaved through a few trees on the edge before a long etched fear creeped up and I quickly returned to the marked path.
Not much has changed. The forest still looks the same as it did ten years ago when I would chase butterflies to it's edge. People still tell their children to avoid the forest at all cost, and children still listen to their elders. But now, as I walk through the marked path that snakes around village, I can only imagine what it would look like passed the thick green foliage. The leaves of the trees probably form a thick canopy, so when the sun is at it's peak in high noon, you can just see the rays creeping through the gaps, but they still offer shade. The soil, untouched by man is probably the most fertile within miles of the village. I could picture myself sitting down against the rough trunk of an old tree, reading a book with only the song of birds and the bristling of leaves interrupting the silence.
I shook my head, clearing my mind of such thoughts. I would never go into the woods. I'm too much of a coward to even pass a few trees.
Noticing that I was so caught up in a daydream that I had stopped walking, I picked up the pace and started heading towards my father's home.
It was not the best home in the village, and we lived about a half a mile away from the bustling streets and shops. But my father had built it with his own hands when he was a young boy, trying to impress my mother. He had laid down every rock and pounded every nail. It was well built and sturdy, yet it was a cozy cabin.
I stepped over a stone bridge that provided passage over a crystalline river. Today, as the wind blew through the countryside, flowers were blown away from their stems and fell delicately on the water's surface, making a trail that went as far as the woods' edge. There must be a lake in there somewhere that the water comes from.
I finally reached the small hill that my home rested on. I walked up the steps and opened the door, putting my basket of bread, cheese, and fruits down on the dining table. My father would be home from work in a few hours, so I would have to get started on my chores.
I made my way to my bed chambers and opened my dresser, finding a ribbon and tying my hair, pulling it away from my face. I grabbed an apron that was hanging on my door and tied it around my waist.
The rest of the day was spent cleaning the house, which consisted of my bed chambers as well as my father's, the sitting room and dining room, the kitchen and finally, father's study. Once I had finished, I started supper, making a broth that would go deliciously with the bread I had picked up from the bakery.
Just as the sun began to set, and the sky started turning all sorts of beautiful colors, a figure appeared on the horizon, making it's way across the bridge and up the steps.
"Oh, daughter!" a gruff voice called out from the front door. I had been sitting in my father's study, reading a book when I heard his voice. I quickly jumped up from his chair and set the book down, running over to the door. I stopped when I saw him taking off his boots and setting them on the floor next to the door mat. He straightened himself again and took off his coat and hat, placing them on the coat rack.
"Father" I said firmly, and we stared at each other with the most serious faces we could muster. But soon, I couldn't help the tugging on the corners of my lips, and I broke into a smile. I ran forward and into his grizzly bear embrace.
"How's my girl today?" He asked, kissing the top of my head and stepping back to get a better look at my face.
"Good; I got some bread from Miranda's bakery and I was able to barter some of my famous blueberry pie for some blocks of cheese."
"Did you give away all the pie?" He asked. I shook my head.
"No. I still have two left." I beamed, proud at the bargain I was able to pull off. He smiled, approving.
"Good job, kid" he said and made his way to the head chair at the dining table. "What's for grub?" He asked rubbing his belly.
"I made some broth, which we can eat with the bread, and maybe some slices of cheese" I said as I started serving two plates of food. I sat down across from him as he tried it out.
"Delicious as always, kid" He said with a big smile, his cheeks puffy because of the bread and cheese. I laughed. We sat in silence.
As I ate, my mind started to drift and I began to think back to the woods. I had lived right across from it for eighteen years and I had yet to ask the most vital question that had been ringing in my mind since the day I was told not to go near it.
When my father began to hint at the fact that it was dangerous to go in there, I had merely nodded my head obediently. But as the years passed, I wished I would have asked for a reason.
"Bill?" I asked, using his name as a sign that the conversation was turning into unwanted territory. I never asked any of the other kids from the village if they ever asked their parents; it seemed that everyone agreed that it was a subject that shouldn't be discussed.
"Yes, daughter?" He asked, still stuffing his mouth, but looking up at me.
"Why aren't we allowed to go into the woods?" I asked, feeling like a child asking as to why the sky is blue.
He tensed visibly. Every muscle in his body rippled and his faced altered. He looked away from me, passed me, anywhere but me. I waited patiently, but after what felt like forever, I began to get impatient and started tapping my foot on the ground, tapping my spoon on my plate.
"Well?" I inquired, trying to get his attention and the answer to my question.
He sighed, placing his elbows in the table and resting his head in his hands. He mumbled something that sounded like "Not today". I continued to wait.
He looked up at me.
"Would you let the subject go if I said that we would talk about it some other time?" He said hopefully, but knew the answer already.
I shook my head. He sighed and buried his face in his hands again.
"It was a very long time ago" He said, his voice muffled. I waited, expecting him to continue, but instead, he got up and walked to his study, pausing at his door "And that's all you should know." He said, walking into his study and shutting the door.
Some time later, I realized that I had been staring at the door for a while, so I got up, picked up my plate, and made myself busy- his words resounding in my ears.
That's all I should know. That's all I should know.
I kept repeating the words, trying to will myself not to be curious, or want to just run into that woods right now and wait for something important to happen to prove what everyone had to fear.
But I did not do it. Instead, I washed the dishes, cleaned up the table and tidied the cabin even more, all the while trying to figure out a way to find out what was so unmentionable about the big bad woods.
Love? Hate? Tell me what you think!
I have a lot of the chapters mapped out and ready to go. Some of them may even already be written...
Bye for now!
~M