Sorry for the long delay, I've had to make some changes in this chapter. I also start my college classes tomorrow, so chapters may come out slower but I will try my best to get them out.

Enjoy this chapter and please review if y'all don't mind. Thank you!

"Bigby!" She called out as she aimlessly wandered through the Black Forest, and made sure her red cloak didn't get caught on something.

She heard the adults fearfully gossiping about the Big Bad Wolf living in the forest. It had been over a year since that day and many believed that he was dead, but she knew that he wasn't. It turned out that she was right and now she was sneaking into the woods, looking to see if she could find him.

Many would think she was suicidal or insane, but she wanted to see him. He may have eaten her, but she didn't think he was evil from and felt that he deserved a second chance, especially when she felt all the emotions when she was in stomach.

She came to a clearing and immediately felt his presence but she couldn't see him; she wasn't afraid because she felt that he was curious rather than threating.

"I know you're here Bigby." She stated and waited for a reply, when she didn't get one she continued,

"The villagers are saying that you've come back to this forest, and I wanted to know if it's true." Again she was met with silence,

"I've never been afraid of you, not back when we met and not now." Yet again, he didn't reply.

"I'm not leaving until you show yourself." She said stubbornly and sat on the ground. She stayed there for hours and she knew that Bigby hadn't left either. When the sun began to set, she finally got up,

"I need to go home, but I'll be back." She vowed loudly and walked in the direction she came in, but because she walked aimlessly, she became lost and began to be fearful; not afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, but the other creatures that would prey on her if she didn't get home soon.

She suddenly felt a gust of wind pushing her in a direction, and she was dumbfounded by this strange wind until she felt it was Bigby's doing; he was guiding her home!

She followed the gusts of wind until she found her cottage. Tired and hungry, she eagerly ran to the door without caring that she'll get a lecture from her mother; but before she went inside, she turned back to forest and smiled,

"I'll be back."

Eighteen-year-old Rouge smiled at the memory as she brushed the tangles out of her hair from last night's sleep.

After that day, she went back six more times to find Bigby but wasn't lost like before, and each time, he would playfully toy with her to see if she could find him. Finally she gave up after the seventh time, but he would still interacted with her without revealing himself.

It'd been like that for about five years, and she knew it was only a matter of time that they'll meet with the way things were going. For some strange reason, that made her heart pump excitedly and she smiled.

In the mirror, she glanced at the cloak on her chair. It used to be bright red but after that day, it became darker because it was stained with Bigby's blood. It could never return to its original color, no matter how many times she washed it, and she refused to get rid of it. To her, it symbolized a turning point in her life that made her into the woman she was today.

She placed her brush on the table and took off her white, cotton nightgown and put her attire for the day: a white with long sleeves and low-neckline, a light blue dirndl skirt that reached her ankles, a dark blue bodice, and dark brown boots. She then tied back her waist-length auburn hair in dark blue ribbon.

On her dresser was a belt with a hunting knife that belonged to her deceased grandfather; it was her most prized possession beside her cloak. Once she secured it, she took her cloak and went downstairs to the kitchen, where her mother was placing food on the table.

Her mother was a beautiful woman despite nearing forty, with her long, dark auburn hair (which was a shade darker than hers) put up in a messy chignon, dark green eyes, and her attire was similar to hers but more modest and had on an apron on.

She and her mother greeted each other before eating their breakfast in tense silence. When she was younger all she wanted to do was please her mother, but then she began to realize that her mother hardly cared about her happiness, and that's when she started spending more time in the Black Forest instead of meeting potential suitors that her mother approved of.

She loved her mother but at the same time she resented her…

"I'm going into town to get some groceries, did you need anything?" She asked before she went outside.

"I can't think of anything." Her mother replied stoically as she cleared the table.

She breathed in the cool morning air. It was around early April, but it was normal for the weather to be slightly chilly in the morning, especially when it had been raining like last night. She hoped that today would be nicer so that she could go into the forest; while the rain brought a sense of calmness to her, she hated it when it would rain for days for it meant that she would be cooped up inside.

She grabbed her basket and made her way to the village.

"Guten Morgen." She greeted at the passing villagers as she walked along the cobblestone path; her village had less than 100 people here and was a farming community where everyone knew everybody. Despite it being a small village, she could appreciate its rustic beauty.

Her town was located near the edge of the Hesse and right on the edge of the Black Forest. It was also a common rest stop for travelers and merchants from the Aquitaine; most of the residents were either born here in the Hesse or were from Aquitaine, or a little mix of both.

After she finished her grocery shopping, she started making her way home but as she passed the tavern, she heard slurred singing from a familiar voice,

"…Und ich will's nicht leiden~

"Röslein, Röslein, Röslein rot~

"Röslein auf der Heiden…"

She went down the alley and saw a bald-headed and bearded man, wearing a simple green, plaid tunic, and brown trousers, and boots. He stopped singing when she stood in front of him,

"You've been drinking all night again haven't you?" She asked with her hands on her hips. His eyes were bloodshot and she could smell the alcohol off of him.

"Fuck off Red, yer not my wife." He slurred and narrowed his hazel eyes at her. Despite his harsh words and daunting appearance, she was not fazed.

"Good thing too, or else I would be constantly worried about my husband. Come on, you need to go home." She said with a soft but firm tone.

He looked at her strangely, but he didn't say anything as he tried to get himself up but stumbled. She quickly caught him, nearly starring because of his heavy weight, before he tumbled to the ground. He was a head taller than her and quite burly, but she was a bit stronger than girls her age.

"I don' need yer help…" He griped but made no attempt to push her off of him.

"You can barely walk straight and your cottage is not that far." She placed his arm around her shoulder and held his waist so that she would have some balance. She adjusted her basket and led him through the village.

They'd only walked several steps before he looked like he was about to throw up. When they were near the town's fountain, he emptied the contents of his stomach into it which made some of the villagers look at him disapprovingly.

She knew he wasn't quite a popular person, even after he saved her from Bigby. While some saw him as a hero, others still saw him as the violent drunk he always was, but everyone wanted him here in case the Big Bad Wolf decided to eat up the village; he was the only man to fight the Wolf and live to tell the tale.

She also took note of a couple of boys her age leering at her, but she knew that they wouldn't come near her because of the Woodsman.

After he was done vomiting, he stood back up but he was still a bit woozy. She coaxed him to lean on her again and they continued walking. His face was close to hers and she cringed because his breath reeked of vomit and liquor, but she tried to ignore it.

"Why d'ya bother with a piece of shit like me, Red? Is it because I saved you from that Wolf?" Despite being a violent drunk, she knew that he could be quite vulnerable when intoxicated.

"Savior or not, I couldn't just leave you there." She admitted honestly. Despite defeating Bigby, he never once tried to use that to seduce her into bed with him, nor ever shamelessly flirt on her like other men did, and for that she had some respect for him.

A few minutes later, they reached his cottage, which was on the outskirts of the village. She opened the unlocked door led him through his bare, one-room cottage.

"Here, just rest here for a while." She said as she helped him into his bed.

"Why haven't you married yet?" His sudden question made her speechless and she looked at him strangely.

"I'm just wondering why you haven't latched onto a fella yet." He continued, "A kind girl like you could have any man." The way he looked at her was almost tender and that made her hesitated on answering, but he was drunk and most likely to forget this conversation later,

"Well, I don't think a man would want free-spirited woman like me as a wife." She stated and then left before she heard his words,

"I would…"

"It took you longer than usual, what kept you?" Her mother asked curiously when she returned home.

"I saw the Woodsman drunk again, so I took him back to his place since he couldn't walk straight." She shrugged.

"I hope you don't plan on eloping with him." Her mother looked at her with narrow eyes. She, like most others, wasn't too fond of the Woodsman.

"Of course not!" She exclaimed, clearly offended that her mother would ask that, "I'm not interested in marrying him."

"I'm just worried. Even if you're not romantically interested in him, people will talk and no suitable man will want to marry a woman who had a questionable relationship with another man." Her mother reasoned,

"I'm grateful that he saved you from that Wolf, but he's a poor choice for a husband: He can barely provide for himself and spends what he earns on alcohol."

"I get it." She said in order to avoid her mother's lecturing. Once the groceries were put away, she made her way into the woods, unaware of her mother's forlorn look…

Bigby sniffed the cool morning air, scouting for prey. It had rained for a couple days, washing away his prey's scents. Now he had no difficulties in tracking a prey during the rain, but he had to hunt when the weather was nice on account of his 'helpers'.

He turned and saw seven cubs trailing behind him; five of them were black like him and the other two were pale gray like their mother. He had promised his current litter that when they were older, he would take them out and showed them how he hunted.

This was his and Selene's fifth litter and so far their largest one yet. His five sons and two daughters still had their blue eyes and were weaning; but coming this fall, Selene would take them to her family's pack to gain the experience of being in a pack. Even though they'd agreed on the arrangement, he wanted them to stay longer for he cherished his fatherly role.

Despite his frightening reputation, he was a loving father to his children and they adored him. It brought back the feeling when he first became a father…

It was a cool spring night as he ventured back, with a dead boar in his massive jaws, to the den he and his pregnant companion shared.

As he neared the den, a strange scent entered his nostrils and then he heard sounds of whining and yelping. He dropped his kill and peeked inside the cave and saw Selene licking one of the three newborn cubs. He shrank his size and went inside for a closer look; they were all black like him, blind and feeble, and he wondered if that's what he'd looked like when he was born.

"They were born right after you left." She said contently. He sniffed and slightly nudged them and one of them touched its small nose on his.

He felt like the happiest wolf on earth…

The sound of yipping brought him back to reality and saw some of the cubs picking on the runt of the litter, a male black cub named Blackghost. Now he wasn't really a strict parent, but the only time he would be stern toward his cubs was when they would pick on the runt; he always had a special place for runts because of the fact he was one.

"Don't pick on your brother." He said as he nudged the cubs away from their small sibling.

"Why not Dad?" They asked him curiously.

"Because I used to the runt of the litter and now I'm bigger than my brothers." He chuckled at their surprised expressions, "So it would be best to not pick on him."

His nose then picked up the scent of a bull moose, not far from here, and he hushed the cubs. He peeked over some shrubbery and found the moose grazing on an opening clearing. He quietly ushered his children into a thick shrubbery, and then grew to his natural size as he crept to his prey.

The bull sensed him but instead of fleeing, it charged at him and this amused him. Very rarely would he get a chance to play with his prey and this gave him a good opportunity to display his wind powers.

With a very deep breath, he blew out a strong gust of wind which nearly picked up the one ton moose and it staggered. Within seconds, he sank his jaws into its neck before the bull could react. It tried to put up a fight but it was futile as the blood poured out, and then it ceased fighting.

The cubs then came out and were in awe of him. At this size, they looked like pebbles.

"Will you teach us that father?" His pale gray daughter asked. He set his kill down so that he could speak,

"Maybe another day." He smiled. His children had inherited his wind abilities and he would give them some lessons, but he always told them to use them for good instead of bad.

He was about to pick up his kill until a familiar scent and voice stopped him dead in his tracks. He went over and through the dark trees, he saw Red Riding Hood sitting on a flower meadow, humming that song as she made a flower crown.

He immediately noticed his old foe's scent mingled with hers, and he wasn't pleased despite being very faint; selfishly, he didn't want any man to taint her pure scent but he knew that he had no right for such a request…

"Who is she Dad?" One of the cubs asked, all of them looking curiously at her. Their mother always told them to stay away from humans, so they were naturally curious on why their father was so fascinated with this one.

"She's…" He hesitated, finding the right words, "someone very special to me."

He saw a songbird perched on her finger and she lightly caressed its head before releasing it, a feat that no normal human could do. He always knew that she was magical since she and her grandmother didn't die very easily, and he was glad or else he would've never seen her grown into an adult.

He fondly remembered the times she tried to find him. Because of his wind abilities, he had the advantage but that didn't stop her. He would use his powers to toy with her, but it was the only way for him to interact with her without revealing himself, for he feared that she would be frightened of him…

He then saw that Blackghost had curiously wandered to her and he was too late to stop him.

She ceased her singing as she noticed his son coming up cautiously to her.

"Well, hello there." She smiled at him as he sniffed her. She brought her hand to him, letting him sniff it first before softly stroking his head. Before he knew it, the rest of the litter went over to her. Like their sibling, they sniffed her and let her caress them. His heart melted as he watched as his children licked her face affectionately and she had a joyous expression.

He knew that anyone else wouldn't hesitant to kill his cubs but he knew she wouldn't; she would only kill if her life was in danger, like she did that day, but never on an offspring.

He was amused that she placed her flower crown on one of the cubs head and then she laughed as two of them played and tugged on it.

He desperately wanted to join his cubs but he knew he couldn't, so he watched afar.

Maybe someday… He thought longingly.

I'd planned on introducing Woody in the next chapter, but as I was talking to HybridmakerV2 the other day, he was concerned on how I would portray Woody and I like to thank him for bring that to my attention. He wouldn't exactly be like Gaston from 'Beauty and the Beast'; Due to how he was in the game, I'd imagine that he would be the town drunk back then and not quite popular (though some people truly did see him as a hero), but everyone would want him in their village because of Bigby living in the forest.

The song Woody was singing is 'Heidenröslein', a German folksong that tells of a man's rejected love of a woman who is a rose. This is an allusion of his feelings toward Red specifically during "The Wolf's Company".

In Bigby's backstory, he'd mentioned that Red was magical for she didn't stay dead so I'd expanded on that. I decided to give Red a magical power which is basically like 'wild magic'.

Since Red Riding Hood is a popular German and French tale, I've decided to make Red's village on the edge of the Hesse region, near the Aquitaine. The Hesse and Aquitaine are the Fables version of Germany and France respectively. It would also make sense since Germany's Black Forest is located near France's border.

In the next chapter Red will finally come face-to-face with Bigby, so stayed tuned!