Chapter Two
His Eyes
It had been a sad day for the forest when the man had come. The man with the symbol marked upon his calf. They could feel the eerie calm of the wind as he and his men galloped through the wood. But they couldn't do a thing. They had no way to stop him, even if they did know what he was going to do. Days later the forest lay silent. The bodies of the forest dwellers bloodying the paths. He had killed them.
He had killed almost every single animal.
The only ones escaping him were the wolf. And even they had barely escaped. But now, on those same paths the men galloped and the animals had lay, a girl walked. Her pace was quick and her eyes constantly searching the terrain in front of her. Her little red hood stood out against the dark, gray, lifeless forest.
It was the perfect thing for those stunning gray eyes to chase.
She didn't know that he was behind her, watching her, following her until much later. Not until she had traversed farther into the depths of the forest. He was quiet. His ears pricked for any noises, and his paws keeping in perfect rhythm with her feet. It was his moment to seek revenge. And he could do it. He could kill her. He quickened his pace and then prepared to spring on her, his hind legs itching with annoyance as his mind waited for that moment. That one. Perfect. Moment.
And he would have too. He could have sprung a second later. But an owl hooted in the tree above him. The girl jumped at the sudden noise and, dropping her basket and her torch, ran. The wolf growled as he watched her disappear into the distance. The stupid, stupid bird had cost him his revenge. With a snarl he began after the girl, his paws pushing him forward on the dusty pathway.
It didn't take him long to catch up to her. He, of course, was much faster. But then again, she was driven by fear, making her do extraordinary things like leap across the ditch which stood in her way. The wolf, snarling at his frustration, leap too, barely making it to the opposite side. His hind legs dangled as his front paws scratched at the earth. Finally he pulled himself up just to see a large object come towards him.
He ducked, the branch hitting him in his shoulder and making him yelp with terror and pain. But he scrambled to his feet and faced the girl. She stood, her hood down and her eyes wild with fear and anger. She raised the branch again but the wolf jumped, biting hard on the wood. He fell to the ground with the branch in his mouth only to realize that she was off again, running for her life.
Frustration drove the wolf wild as he began the chase again, this time able to catch up to her with no problem. She was a petite girl, short for her age. This made it easy for the large wolf to leap over her head and land on the other side of her. He turned and snarled, creeping closer as she trembled and began to cry.
"Please don't." She whispered as a grin spread across the wolf's maw. Pleased with his easy catch, he snarled and jumped forward. The girl shrieked and jumped out of the way, her brown eyes wide with fear. "Please!" She yelled, tears streaming down her face. "Someone help me!"
"No one is here to help you, little girl." The wolf said, his teeth gleaming in the moonlight. The girl gasped and scrambled backwards, still lying on the ground after leaping out of the way. The wolf moved closer to her, his stormy gray eyes sparkling with adrenaline he felt as he went in for the kill.
Suddenly hoof beats thundered down the path and a giant black horse erupted from the foliage only a little ways away. The wolf jumped back in surprise as the stallion reared, his pelt black as the night and his eyes holding a boldness to them that made the wolf shiver. The rider, a large man with an axe in one hand and the reins in another, jumped from the horse and threw the axe in the wolf's direction. Yelping, the wolf leaped through the foliage, disappearing the same way the horse and rider had appeared.
The girl cowered in the shadows and watched the rider walk forward; he retrieved his axe then tied it to the horses side then started in her direction. He reached out to her, his big hand rough and callused. The girl knew this man had to be a wood cutter, for there was no man in her village with hands like that but the wood cutter.
"It is alright." The man said, a thick accent making his words seem as rough as he looked. "I mean no harm. I heard scream from edge of forest." The girl took his hand and shivered as she stood. "What is your name?"
"Rebecca." She said with eyes wide in fear. "But my family calls me Red."
"I am Peter." He said slowly. "I am wood cutter in village next to forest. What are you doing all alone in forest so late at night?" She turned around; making sure the path behind her was still deserted.
"I am on my way to my grandmother's house. She lives in the village I assume you are speaking off. Her name is Rosa and she is very ill. I was going to bring her food, but I lost my basket in the wood."
"No big loss." Peter said gently. "I will take you to village. Here," He held out his hand and helped Rebecca up onto his horse. He jumped up behind her and turned the horse around then began to walk slowly down the path. Rebecca sighed, finally feeling safe. But she couldn't help shivering; something wasn't right.
As they walked in silence all Rebecca could hear was the growling of the wolf still in her mind. But it seemed stronger, and it seemed louder. She shook her head in dismay then gasped. The growl wasn't in her head at all. No, the growl was coming from in front of her and the horse. Lining the edge of the path, in the shadows so they were barely visible, sat wolves of all shapes and sizes.
"Stop!" She hissed to Peter, who seemed unaware of the danger surrounding them. "You mustn't go any farther!"
"Don't be ridiculous. Forest is safe. No worries." He said, shrugging off what she had said.
"No! You must stop! You cannot go any farther or else-" But she couldn't finish her sentence because all around them the wolves began to crawl onto the path. The horse whinnied in fear and stopped, backing up and swinging his mighty head from side to side. The wolves jumped. Three attached themselves onto the horse's hind and it screamed in terror. Peter growled in frustration but was soon brought down by two wolves who wrestled him to the ground. The wolf that Rebecca had been running from before now watched her, the same stormy grey eyes glimmering with excitement.
"NO!" She screamed as it leaped. She fell backwards, her hood ripping slightly on the axe that hung off the side of the horse, tied to the saddle where Peter had sat only moments before. The wolf landed in front of her and she scrambled away.
"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?" He growled.
"NO!"
