NAA: I've been negligent. But apparently this story is kind of popular?

Raven: Weird.

NAA: Jerk.

Rena: Why does every Elsword writer make Raven a jerk in their A.N.s?

NAA: Because he's actually really beef jerky, but doesn't show you because he loves you?

Raven: Hah. Hah.

Rena: Onto the chapter!

NAA: Oh, by the way, Elesis is Grand Master. I dunno why, but Burning Heart just kinda feels... Weird, and un-Elesis-like.

Elesis: I'm sorry I don't do personality changes well!

Rena: ONTO. THE. CHAPTER.

Refrigerator Prophecies: Act I
Part Three

The Wolf Who Fell In Love With Little Red Riding Hood

Now Little Red Riding Hood...

Such a terrible night. Nightmares are dreadful for anybody, including the fiercest swordsman in the entirety of Elrios. Elesis, unfortunately, had plenty of them. Some had demons, others a grotesque being with blood-shot eyes, and bald head.

However, Elesis did not start awake. Her eyes opened, just like any other day. She got up, and dressed in her hunting garb, and prepared a satchel of provisions for the day.

Her head was clouded with no thoughts of bad dreams, just plans. Simple plans. They often involved violence, but that was simply how Elesis was. So, as she gnawed on a stale piece of bread, and walked with the beat of a Marching song in her head, she was unperturbed.

"One-a-two, three-a-four, on we're marchin', off to war." She sang the marching ditty silently, making the words up where she forgot. "Sing with me, as we march. On death's door, do we knock. For Heav'n's gate is surely locked. One-a-two, three-a-four, off we're marching, onto war. And don't you let thyself die, lest you want thy fam'ly to cry. For sorrow and suff'ring, are all for naught. Your mem''ry shall live on, as you fought..."

Her head swayed a bit with the tune. She kept wary eyes on her surroundings, though. Un-trusting of even the birds twittering in the trees. No sight of those surprisingly intelligent eyes.

Her singing faded. Her expression turned darker than before. The forest felt different, lighter almost. It was an oddity she did not deny. Nor did she ignore. Deeper she crept into the depths of those clusters of trees.

The stress of the night before wouldn't seem to leave. Not that it was a problem, she could deal with it perfectly fine. It was simply abnormal, and continued to attempt to draw her attention to those dingy thoughts.

Instead, she focused on her surroundings. The leaves swishing in the Autumn breeze, the trees whispering their quiet 'goodbyes'. Her footfalls paused, and her eyes narrowed. Internally, she cursed herself for allowing her thoughts to wander so far.

You see, even a great huntress (okay, not quite 'great'.) could lose her way. Elesis glanced this way, and that way, but could not recognize her surroundings. She refrained from slamming her foot into the ground.

She glanced back, wondering if she could find her way back by where her foots had falled before. The dents in the leaves were near invisible. It would take hours to track them back to the village. She was better off asking that wold for directions!

She threw her arms up in exasperation. A rookie mistake. She despised herself. She was not a rookie anymore. Outgrowing that had taken less then a year. Or had it? Perhaps she had been in such a hurry to earn her peers respect, that she had forgotten the mistake part?

Elesis groaned, despite her will's attempt in silencing her. Her eyelids shut as she slid down to the forest floor. It was strewn with the decay of leaves, and animals, and all those other woodland things.

Her distressed thoughts continued to scream out at her. What an idiot she was! Ameteur, and unfit of the title Red Knight. She sighed, and resigned herself to her position.

Standing, she decided it was far better to be lost and productive than found and counterproductive. Glancing around, she figured now would be as good a time to map the woods in her head than any other.

It wasn't until she had calculated the time from the position of the sun did she realize the prickle on her skin. Her eyes darted, followed by a turn of her head, to a spot within the trees.

The shadows barely betrayed curious, luminous, and a pleasant shade of red eyes. Elesis' own curiosity roused, she took a stepped forward. The leaves rustled.

"W-wait!" She could hardly help from crying out. "You can speak, can't you?" Her voice unleashed itself out of it's own will. She almost slapped herself for asking that question. Of course he could! If he was the wolf she was looking for, than he was enchanted, and also very unwanted.

A grunt emit from within the shaded bushes.

"U-um." Feeling very awkward, and for some reason, flustered, she attempted speech by herself. "Will you explain to me why you were Enchanted?" She demanded. A feeling of relief engulfed her as she felt the Elesis of norm return. A strict leader who wouldn't take no for an answer. Her scowl was known for it's coldness across the land.

However, all that came was another grunt. Feeling very silly, she turned, and crossed her arms indignantly. Her act of naivete almost caused her to bursst into the chuckles she only ever revealed to herself.

"If you don't want to speak from your own will, I shall have to drag it out using mine." She shot a threatening glare at the intelligent eyes. Another grunt, sounding a bit more of a piece of laughter than an actual grunt came.

Unknown to Elesis, an almost sadistic smile spread across Ran's mouth. This would be fun to him. He jolted, physically shaking that thought from his head. That was not him, but surely the demon haunting his enchantment.

Ran emerged slowly, creeping on all fours out to the open. The woman amused him. He wanted to smile warmly at her, but knew that it would be received as a beckoning of violence.

Elesis glare transformed into a look of almost-astounded. Ran suspected that she was surprised he would come so easily.

"Alright, then. Explain." She looked straight into his eyes, unnerving him. Her stare was like cold daggers digging into his innermost thoughts. It was almost relieving. The moment he realized this, his eyes widened.

This was not unnoticed by Elesis. Her eyes narrowed in response.

"Begin." Her demand fell on deaf ears. In a flash, her sword was unwavering, and pointed directly at his throat. His lips lifted into grimacing growl. He wasn't sure how to speak yet, and felt insulted that she would demand something like that of him.

"Shut up." His reply was met with two responses of surprise. He jerked back as her face fell into a dark expression.

"Listen here you little puppy, you haven't half the danger I've faced. I've killed things twice as large, and twice as small as you. Now start talking before gouge those bloody eyes o' yours out." The demon within him told Ran to fight, but his human conscious still remained. He cleared his throat, and struggled to pronounce the syllables right.

"My name is Ran, and before I tell you anything, I think I have the right to hear from you." His words bewildered him. Where had that come from? Ever since that long forgotten event that he still could not quite remember, he had been independent, not needing any 'rights' from humans, or any life form at all.

Elesis considered him fairly, as she always did. Nodding, she lifted her head high.

"I am Elesis Sieghart of the Red Knights. I was sent here on a quest to kill a wolf roaming the woods-you. However, when I heard your voice yesterday, I decided to investigate a bit. I have learned that you were once a man named Aren, who was enchanted for the felony of studying the dark arts." She finished, with closing her eyes and taking a breath. They opened, and scrutinized him.

Now Ran was once again startled, he had not expected his own demands to be met. Who was this woman? She was nothing like the humans he encountered before. Those who threw piercing glares, and screams of disgust and terror at him. The ones, who he could vaguely remember, burnt something important to him. What was it again?

Elesis cleared her throat, dragging the Wolf's conscious. to back to reality.

"Er, r-right. To be honest," He relaxed into a more comfortable position. He leaned back onto his haunches, and scratched his head. "I am not completely sure how I came to be in this form." Elesis frowned, and sighed.

She also relaxed, leaning against her monstrous sword.

"That was helpful." She stated sarcastically. "But the fact is, now that I know you are at least partly human, I don't want to kill you." She animatedly tilted her head, exasperated. "Now how will I explain that to the Elder?"

Ran's head suddenly throbbed. As if wasps stung, buzzed, and knocked against the inside of his skull with angry intensity. Memories swarmed, gathered, and unearthed themselves in a painful cluster.

Flashes of a fire, burning parchment and his previous abode in hot nipping bites. He cried out, startling Elesis. Clutching his head, tears began waterfalling down his cheeks, dampening the ebony hued fur.

His head overflowed with images of a sadistic, smiling face. A young girl crying, and a hand outstretched, pointing out. That was his hand. The girl stumbled away, but didn't look away from him.

It changed then, he felt himself change. The pain as the gruesome claws and glistening teeth he currently called his own blossomed from his regular self. He remembered then, that he wasn't who he was. Physically, he was different. His state of thought had differed. He needed to return.

And just like that, that stopped. Something warm was wrapped around his neck. Someone. He opened his eyes, surprised to see the woman, Elesis, clutching him with a determined look on her face.

When she realized the violent tremors raking across his body had stopped, she opened her own eyes, and looked up at him. He looked confused. Realizing what had just happened, she jerked away, face flaming for whatever reason.

"Why did you-?" He sounded tiny. Elesis stood, crossing her arms after sheathing her sword.

"Nobody should experience a pain so great it causes them to cry out like you did." She stated, faces unchanging. Ran opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't. Choked up, he swallowed.

"Thank you." Elesis' eyes widened. Nobody had thanked her for something anyone would have done.

"It was nothing." She declared, avoiding eye contact. The Wolf looked down at his hands, or rather, clawed paws.

"Will you return tomorrow?" He questioned, feeling lonely all of a sudden. Elesis appeared to ponder this before answering.

"Yes, but only because I'm still curious. We are going to find out how you transformed, and why. More than what I've already discovered. 'Studying of the dark arts' is definitely not reason enough for destroying someones research, and home. But you have to help me." Ran nodded, wanting desperately to know himself.

For all that he had learned from those scattered flashed caused questions to arise. Who was that smiling face? What kind of 'dark arts' was he studying?

Who was that little girl crying? Why had he felt so torn apart when he saw her face?

And why was this Elesis Sieghart bothering to help him, truly?

NAA: I keep on wanting to call it Refrigerator Chronicles instead of Prophecies.

Aisha: Why is it that I feel slightly offended?

NAA is currently shrugging.

Eve: Why are you narrating your own actions, Not-Alone-Anymore?

NAA is currently shrugging... Again

Toodle-loodles,

~Not-Alone-Anymore