Red Hooded Secrets
A Red Riding Hood Fanfiction
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.
Chapter 2: Full Moon
Valerie sighed as she hung the red cloak on a hook right inside the front door of her home, the home that had once belonged to her grandmother. "How was your full moon?" Valerie asked Peter.
"Just peachy," he responded fatly. Peter hated full moons. So did Val. For one, it meant that they were forced to separate once a month, but it also meant that Valerie's life and the lives of those who lived in Daggerhorn were in danger. With every full moon, Peter would return to his wolf form. "It gets rather boring," he told Valerie. At first, he spent his time distracting himself from following with his natural instincts of ravaging the town. He also thought about all the people—Valerie, her family and friends, his family and friends—he would hurt in the process if his instincts were to take over. That usually helped in calming his thoughts, though. But now that he was fully in control of himself, Peter mostly spent his time just sitting there, waiting to return to his human body.
Valerie liked to imagine Peter out in the forest sitting beneath a large tree in his wolf form with his black fur lightly rustling in the wind. At night, when he was gone, she would lay in bed, conjuring up an image of Peter licking his paw. She opened her eyes, laughing.
"Actually," Valerie began, "I need to run into town to get something from my mother. I'll be back. Do you need anything?" Peter shook his head in reply as she turned to grab the red riding hood. She always enjoyed the walk between home and the town; it was calming, walking along the same familiar path that she had walked along since she was a child. The path had changed slightly, though. Peter had made the pathway more distinct by lining it with stones, bricks, and logs. This way, it was harder to stray off the path and therefore, get lost.
The cold, sinister looks Valerie would receive from people whenever she walked through Daggerhorn had slowly decreased. People had come to accept—or most likely, ignore—her. Yes, she was the girl who spoke to the werewolf. Yes, she was the girl who was sacrificed for the werewolf. Yes, she was Valerie, the girl with the blood red riding hood.
Stepping up onto her mother's porch, Valerie heard her name being called. "Valerie?" a man's voice rang out. She quickly turned around to face Henry, and a smile instantly spread across her face. "Henry," she said, memories flooding her mind like they did every time she laid eyes on him. "How are you?" she asked him. "Oh, congratulations! You two must be very happy, no?"
"Yeah," Henry replied, looking down at his feet. "I guess." Valerie detected a hint of regret in his voice. "How's Peter? I haven't seen him in a few days." Neither had Valerie.
"Really? Well, he's great! You know, you and Prudence should come over tomorrow night. I'll fix supper and we can all have a chance to catch up. I haven't spoken to Prudence in quite some time." And there was a reason for that.
"That sounds great, Valerie. Thank you! I will ask Prudence if she is free. Will you still be at your mother's house a short time from now?" he asked.
"Yes, but I want to be home by night fall." They exchanged goodbyes and went on their way—Henry to talk to his fiancé and Valerie to her mother's.
Henry found Prudence sitting outside her home with her little sister. Prudence immediately told her sister to go inside so she could speak to Henry. "Do you have plans tomorrow night?" he asked, not noticing the look that washed across her face. It was a look of...excitement? Conspiracy? Maybe it was pain? One would never know.
"To do what?" she asked, a subtle smirk taking over her mouth.
"Peter and Valerie have invited us over."
At first, Prudence wanted to say no. Why would she ever want to go to a witch's home? "I'd love to," she responded instead. She might was well—there had to be something that girl was hiding, and Prudence was going to make sure all of Daggerhorn discovered Valerie's secret, whatever it was.