This story's idea comes from a guest reviewer who commented on my story, "Home is Where My Family Is," and it gave me and idea, so this fic was born, so thank you! As always, I hope you enjoy!
"Um…Sno-Frosty," She said,"No, Margaret. No, Mary. Mary."
"Okay, Mary. I'm Red." Mary hesitantly followed Red outside and to another part of their property.
"I just need to get some water."
"Okay." Snow trailed behind Red to a water well.
"It get's a little sticky sometimes, can you help me?" Snow nodded and to the end of the rope and pulled it over her shoulders. She stopped dead in her tracks.
"Hey, look at this. Mary. Mary?" Snow was gazing upon the bodies that lay splayed around them, the snow around them covered in their blood, their weapons beside them. The pain of water full of blood splashed to the bottom of the well again.
Snow gasped and was on the verge of tears while Red struggled to control her breathing.
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The girl who she followed, Red, was absolutely gorgeous, Snow thought she was going to trip. Her sage green eyes entranced her as hard as a spell could. she was tall, skinny, and had curves everywhere, shown off by her beige dress. She wore a red cloak, the hood went over her chestnut brown hair, some strands braided here and there.
"Granny!" Red called. No reply. They talked to her earlier, but she had left to deal with the problem.
"You'll have to stay in my room," she said, leading her down to a door on the left.
"To the right is the bathroom, and this is my room." She opened the door and came in.
There was a modest amount of space. She had a bed on the wall to her right, with flowing translucent curtains, and on the wall opposite was a fireplace. There was a chest at the other end of her bed and a closet behind it, and a nightstand to the right of her bed.
Red hopped onto the bed and patted beside her. Snow sat down compliantly and fidgeted. Red placed a hand on her fiddling ones.
"Are you cold? We can start a fire in the fireplace." Snow nodded and trailed behind her, grabbing blankets.
"That's a pretty hood, I wish I had one as lovely as yours," Snow said timidly.
"Thank you, my Granny gave it to me for my birthday. It protects me from the wolves."
"That was the howling last night?"
"Yeah, our village has a wolf problem, as if you couldn't tell already." Red states bluntly. Snow carried wood from the shack outside to Red, where she was stuffing papers into the fireplace.
Once the fire was blazing, Red grabbed blankets and pillows and piled them onto the floor, in a nest of warmth. Snow and Red found themselves smothered by pillows and blankets.
Granny came from outside with bottles of milk wedged underneath her underarms and in her hands. She undid her scarf and looked at the girls covered in blankets in front of a fireplace eating freshly baked muffins.
"What on earth are you two doing," Granny asked.
"We were cold," Red muttered. Snow giggled.
"Sorry," Snow and Red apologized. Granny rolled her eyes.
"Dramatic girls," she grumbled. Red howled with laughter and settled down on her pillow again.
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The next day, Red and Granny took her to a town meeting, where the three stood in the back as the villagers discussed the impending wolf problem, or more accurately, yelled about it. Snow wore a scarf over her mouth and nose.
"We won't let that beast get away this time," a man shouted. Villagers in their seats cheered and raised pitchforks, torches, and other weapons.
Their faces and voices blurred together, but Red and Snow weren't paying attention. Across the room, a man with shaggy brown hair, a stubble, and kind hazel eyes watched Red. She could see Red wave to him out of the corner of her eye, and they both blushed.
"No, nothing will work. Nothing can stop this wolf. It is the biggest thing you will ever see, taller than any monster you will ever see, and teeth larger than any of your hands…" Granny started. Snow and Red were intrigued by her tale.
"…it surrounded all seven of them and picked them off, one by one, right in front of my eyes, lunging for their throats before they could scream…"
Once Granny finished, villagers gasped and gaped at Granny's scar.
After the meeting was finished, Granny went to run errands in town, while Snow and Red went home.
"So, your Granny's kind of intense," Snow breathed once they were in the succour of her room once again.
"Yeah, a bit. I feel like a rat in a trap." Red looked over to Granny outside the cracked open door, who was knitting calmly in her rocking chair.
"Is that keeping you from…being with someone?" Snow started. Red blushed.
"How did you know?"
"Well, I saw some looks exchanged back there, and I hate to break it to you, but they were not subtle," Snow laughed, nudging her. Red giggled.
"His name's Peter. We've been friends forever, but things are…changing," she muttered.
"That must be nice," Snow gushed dreamily.
"Do you have someone?"
"Oh, um, no. I'm not sure that's in my future."
"I'm sure it is," Red suggested.
"You're lucky, Red."
"I know. And we're talking about going away together."
"But, I rarely get to see him, with the wolf. Granny never lets me outside."
"She's right about the wolf, but she shouldn't keep you away from love." Snow could tell Red was lost in thought.
"Then let's kill the wolf."
"Hang on..."
"We'd be heroes."
"Red, teams have been trained, hunters have been killed."
"They go at night, when the wolf has the advantage, but if we go in the day, then we can get him while he's sleeping, in his den and kill it."
"I don't know."
"Well, I'm going with or without you. But I'm sure of one thing. It won't keep me trapped in here any longer." Red grabbed her cloak and Snow looked up at her from the bed. She sighed and followed her.
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The two trudged through the treacherous cold. They looked around trees and through deep banks of snow.
"Is this it?" Snow asked.
"No, that's a dog, the one we're looking for is bigger."
"How about this?"
"That's a rabbit. What we're looking for is big, bigger than the dogs but similar."
Snow stopped.
"Like these?" The print was big, bigger than a normal print should be.
"That's the one," Red whispered. Snow looked for the second set of prints. From behind her, Red whispered.
"There's the second print."
"One stride from here…to there," Snow breathed. The next bloody print was around seven feet from the last one.
They continued on, following the prints that were slightly covered by snow. Then slowly, they began to change. They got longer and thicker, until it was a full boot print.
"Oh, my god," Snow whispered. Red gasped.
"It's…half man?" Snow nodded briskly.
"Peter." Red muttered.
"I'm so sorry, Red."
"We need to tell him," Red said. Snow nodded and they headed back to the village.
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"Red?" Peter answered,"who are you?"
"I'm Mary."
"Peter, we found something,that I think you need to see." Peter nodded and followed the pair back to the snowy foliage.
"May I ask why you're covering your face?" Peter asked Snow.
"Um, someone's trying to find me," she muttered. He nodded and they trailed behind Red. They reached the last tracks of wolf before they turn human.
"Peter. I think…you're…the wolf," Red said.
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Red led Peter to a tree with chains in her hand.
"I'm sorry, I don't want to do this," Red murmured.
"It's fine, as long as there is no possibility of me hurting you." She nodded and finished fastening him.
"You should go," Peter commanded.
"No, I'm not leaving you," Red assured.
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"Red, where is Mary? She could be eaten," Granny asked.
"Talk to me, girl." In Red's place, lay Snow in her cloak.
"Where's Red?"
"We think we found the wolf, Peter. We have him tied to a tree."
"What the hell, Peter isn't the wolf, Red is." Snow's mouth dropped at their mistake.
"We need to get to her, quick!" Snow jumped off the bed and removed Red's cloak, replacing it with her own. They ran as fast as Granny could.
When they got there, Peter's remains were strewn about, and a wolf almost as tall as Snow stood, teeth barred and covered in blood.
Granny raised her crossbow and shot a silver tipped arrow at the wolf, but not before it bit Snow's arm. She dropped to the ground.
"Don't worry, it'll just keep her down," Granny assured a shocked Snow. Snow covered the wolf with the hood, and seconds later, the violent wolf was replaced by a confused Red.
"Get her away from here," Granny instructed, as they heard hunters shouting in the distance. Red collapsed and Snow held her wounded arm against her chest.
"Peter," she screamed. Snow held her close as Red broke down crying.
"We need to leave," Snow urged. Red kept her feet planted on the ground, sobbing. Snow pulled her away from the scene and into the woods. A few stray hunters followed them, but not for very long.
Snow pulled Red inside the house and into their nest of pillows and blankets. She cradled Red soothingly.
"I killed Peter, and I wounded you, she murmured,"I'm the big bad wolf that's terrorizing this village."
"You had no idea what was happening, this is not your fault."
"Yes it is. If I wore my cloak, then Peter would've been alive, and you wouldn't be hurt."
"Hey. Look at me," Snow ordered. Red looked up at Snow tears-eyed, and it broke Snow's heart. "You are not blaming yourself for this. Okay? I'll be fine.
"What if you aren't. This magic is unpredictable."
"I'll be fine," she uttered. "Your granny was, why wouldn't I be?" Granny clumped through the door and into Red's room.
"Mary, let me see your arm." Snow got up from the nest and over to Granny, who took her arm and examined it closely. Granny looked grave at the woman in front of her
"Magic like this is unpredictable," she said,"watch that closely."
"Granny, what about your bite? What happened with it?"
"I become one. A werewolf. Don't worry too much, but just be prepared," Granny warned, shutting the door. Red looked at Snow with sympathy.