"RED!" a shriek called out from the kitchen, a normal occurrence in the home.
"Coming!" Red, now a lovely young woman, came out of her room while tightening the belt of her vest. She had grown from a child to a beauty that her mother was once known for. "Yes, mother?"
Scarlett glared at her daughter, her skin looking worn from the years of stress and her hair a big not on the top of her head, turning dull and unappealing. "You have to go to your Gran's house. There's an order there for you." She handed her the parchment.
Red took it and read it. Her grandmother's writing was on it. "I'll go now." She hid her smile as she packed her basket with supplies, sneaking some meat into it. She was about to leave when she remembered her cloak. She wrapped it around her shoulders and threw her hood up before leaving the small house. She moved toward the woods and jumped when she hear growling. She looked over and took a step closer. "It's me."
Bigby stopped growling and waited for her to come to him, playfully blowing wind around her to blow her cloak and her skirt around lightly.
"Stop it, wolf." Red laughed as she petted his ears and placed a kiss onto his nose, laughing again as he lightly licked her cheek. "My mother thinks I'm helping Granny, so I can spend all day with you. And look!" she reached into her basket and pulled out his favorite lamb.
Bigby ate some of the slices off her hand before nuzzling into her, nearly knocking her over. He loved spending time with her and loved when she made his favorite. It showed that she thought and cared for him. Of course, he'd kill a lamb and bring it to her so she could make it when he came across one, but he'd normally hunt for her so she wouldn't starve. He knew her mother did not take care of Red, so he did.
Bigby stayed by her side as they moved to a meadow to have some lunch. He munched on the meat Red gave him, saving her some to eat with her bread.
After eating, Red and Bigby laid down in a meadow that they had made their own a long time ago. Red would make flower crowns and place them lovingly on Bigby's head, who would snort but not shake it off. He knew she would just give him a look and make another one with even more flowers than the one before. He'd done it before when they were younger and she'd given him a mean look that made him whine like a pup until she placed a kiss on him.
"Wolf?" Red's voice made him open his eyes to see her frowning. "Have you met the beast that haunts these woods?"
Bigby raised his head from his paws as soon as he fully heard the question. "What?"
"The villagers…" she played with a flower, twirling it between her two fingers. "They talk about a beast that terrorizes hunters that live in these woods. A beast so big it could swallow you whole in one bite. They were talking about getting together and killing it but I think it's just talk." She turned to Bigby. "Is there really a beast out here?"
Bigby hesitated for a moment. "Yes."
"How come I've never seen it?"
"Because I keep him away." His answer was rewarded with a bright smile and another kiss to nose. He adored the affection she gave him, taking as much as she was willing to give. He hadn't been given kisses since his mother had died...
"Thank you, wolf."
Bigby never told her his name, for fear of her knowing who he was. He'd gotten so attached to this human since she had walked into his woods when she was a little girl. He nuzzled into her dark brown hair that was flowing down her back. He was enjoying the peace around them when his ear twitched when he heard the sounds of men.
"What's wrong?" Red asked, quickly noticing his actions meaning that something was coming. Something dangerous.
Bigby got up quickly. "We have to go."
"Is it the beast?" She gripped onto her wolf, getting close to him for safety.
"It's something." He bit her hood and raised it to cover her head. "Keep that on and go, I'll keep it away from you."
Red pressed her hand on his fur before grabbing her basket and running off.
Bigby ran toward the small mob, who foolishly were wandering through the darker parts of the woods. He used his wind to blow out their torches, causing them to panic and scream.
"The beast knows we're here!" one of the men whispered as he looked around, holding the blown out torch tightly to his person. "He will kill us all!"
"Hush!" The 'leader' snapped. "If you want to be a coward, leave, but we will stay and kill the beast."
Bigby let out a low growl that echoed around the men. He bit back a laugh as most of the men went running back to Red's village.
"Cowards!" the 'leader' hollered.
"Rodrik!" one of his men called the leader's attention. "We cannot fight the beast now. We have to go back to gather strength!"
Rodrik glared at the young man and pushed him onto the ground. "Then leave." He grabbed the young man's sword and walked off, into the dark woods alone.
Bigby shook his head. Why did the humans always enter the darker parts of the woods for him? Why weren't they smart like his Red?
The other men watched as Rodrik walk away, not seeing the large wolf following in the shadows. He followed the foolish man until he saw him suddenly stop and crouch low.
Bigby wondered what he was doing until he caught a scent from the light breeze that came toward him.
Red.
He moved slightly to see Rodrik was watching as Red looked around.
Red cursed to herself for just running blindly when she was so reliant on the wolf to help navigate her through the woods now.
Rodrik smirked as he saw who it was. It was Red, from his village. She was very pretty with her long dark brown curls, fair skin with rosy cheeks, green eyes that was compared to the greenery around them and a body she hid under her cloak. He looked around to see if anyone was around, not seeing Bigby glaring at him. He raised the hood of his own cloak and put away his knife. He made sure the hood kept his face hidden so the young woman wouldn't know it was him. He stepped out of the shadows. "Hello."
Red jumped and turned quickly to see a cloaked man come out of the shadows. "Hello." She greeted him slowly, not trusting the man since she knew no one really hung around the woods for fun—except her of course and that was only because she had her wolf to protect her.
Rodrik grinned. "You're Red, aren't you? The whore's daughter."
Red tensed her jaw, not liking his grin. "My name is Ruby." The comment about her mother didn't bother her anymore. She'd gotten used to it over the years and it didn't bother her anymore.
The man bowed at the waist. "My name is Rodrik, my beautiful lady. I've seen you around the village and I'm sure you've seen me before." He took off his hood, shooting her a 'charming' grin.
"No, I haven't."
Bigby laughed under his breath, catching the humans' attention. He was happy to see his Red wasn't falling for the idiot's ridiculous so-called charm.
Red bit back a smile as some soft wind blew into her face. It was her wolf. She felt safer now knowing that her wolf was watching her. Her wolf would protect her should the man do anything.
Rodrik was shaken, not knowing exactly where laughter was coming from—that was until he saw two yellow eyes that was looking down at him from the shadows. A growl came from where the eyes were and then a growl-bark made Rodrik jump and run away, not caring about the red cloaked woman or her safety.
Red greeted her wolf with a smile, a scratch under his chin and a kiss on his nose. "Thank you, for scaring him off."
"Be sure to stay away from him." Bigby closed his eyes as Red scratched him. "He is trouble."
"Don't worry so much, my wolf. He is not the type of man I wish to be around."
A low growl escaped the back of Bigby's throat at her words, an acidic taste in his mouth at the thought of someone else in her life. "Stay away from all of the men in the village."
Red laughed and fixed the flower crown that was still around Bigby's head. "Do not worry, my wolf. No man can match you."
Bigby's tail wagged at her words and the way she smiled at him. A happy whine came from him before rubbing his head against her, scent marking her.
She was his and no one would take her away from him.