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Post by Storyteller on Sept 22, 2013 14:16:03 GMT -8
"It was for your own good!" "Your grandmother wanted you to have a normal life." "Whether we agreed with the decision or not, it was not our place to tell you,"
Red gave a small, bitter laugh. "Well, that worked out perfectly didn't it? I'm sure that Peter's family will understand that he is dead because my grandmother wanted me to have a normal life. Or that the families of those men in the hunting party won't starve without someone putting food on the table this winter because I had a 'normal life'." Red knew she was going too far. That Granny was the one her anger should be aimed at and not the aunts. But they were here and she wasn't.
"Tell her what?!"
The contact of Rose grabbing her hand made Red flinch and almost pull away. But she needed her strength right now. So all she did was return the squeeze and turn to her. She gave her friend a long, sad look. What she had to tell her could ruin the decade spanning friendship they had. But not telling her wasn't an option. Red knew now what secrets could do.
"Rose. I... I mean, there's something..." Her heart was pounding a hole through her chest. The words just wouldn't come. It was like in telling Rose, it would finally be real. Her voice dropped to above barely a whisper as she finally choked out, "The wolf that's been terrorizing the village... I am that wolf. Those men by the well- I did that. And Peter-" She couldn't finish, the tears catching up to her as she turned away. She didn't want to see the look on Rose's face when she realized that her best friend was a murderer.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Sept 22, 2013 20:23:50 GMT -8
ROSE
Her aunts only looked away sadly. There was nothing that could be said in defense of the way things had gone. Clearly, they felt guilty.
"Rose. I... I mean, there's something..."
Rose turned to Red and gave her her full, supportive attention. "Go on, Red. It's okay," she said softly.
"The wolf that's been terrorizing the village... I am that wolf. Those men by the well- I did that. And Peter-"
Rose's brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand. You'd never hurt--"
"It wasn't her," the stranger that Rose had forgotten about interjected. Snow stepped forward and held up a calming hand to stop Rose from continuing. "Not really. She was not in control of herself at the time." Snow walked to the other side of Red, placing a consoling hand on Red's shoulder as she continued explaining to the girl. "As Red has no recollections of the animal, the animal has no recollections of humanity."
Rose quietly absorbed this information. It was strangely familiar. Something she'd heard of or came across in one of many books. "Werewolf," she said quietly as it came to her. Stories of werewolves had been told but as any story passed around, it had gotten to the point that some believed it to be real and others believed it to be a misinterpreted work of fiction.
She looked at Red. "The lady is correct. If you are unaware of doing or saying something, you are not at fault. Especially," she added with a pointed look at each of her aunts, "if you had no idea as to what you are and could therefore not take the proper precautions."
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Post by Storyteller on Oct 27, 2013 23:04:49 GMT -8
"The lady is correct. If you are unaware of doing or saying something, you are not at fault. Especially," "if you had no idea as to what you are and could therefore not take the proper precautions."
"Aren't I?" Red pulled away from her dear friend and looked between her and Mary. She wanted to believe both of them more than anything. Well, almost anything. What she really wanted was to wake up and realize that it all had just been a terrible dream. One that she could tell to Peter and hear his warm, comforting chuckling at how ridiculous the thought of her being such a vicious monster was. Her stomach twisted painfully, knowing she'd never hear it again.
"Granny always told me to wear my cloak. I should have listened to her." All the anger had left Red's voice now, leaving only a weak, quiet tone of despair. She leaned heavily against the nearest piece of furniture, not trusting her legs to hold herself up as a strong wave of exhaustion and defeat threatened to knock her to the ground. "But someone should have told me why. I never thought that any of you would betray me like that." She sent a mournful look to her old friend, "Rose, I'm sorry. Mary...let's go." Even in her current state, the Lucas stubborn streak was profoundly apparent. But the stumbled steps that followed once the young werewolf had attempted to walk without support was more than enough to convince Snow that they would never make it to another safe point before they were either found by the hunting party or frozen by the night frost.
"Red... I know you're upset. You have every right to be. But we should at least rest before we go back out there. Give it time for the hunting party to move on..." Snow suggested, hoping that the girl- Rose was it?- who seemed so dear to Red would understand what she was trying to do.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Oct 28, 2013 21:11:46 GMT -8
ROSE
"Aren't I?" "Granny always told me to wear my cloak. I should have listened to her." "But someone should have told me why. I never thought that any of you would betray me like that."
Rose was in complete agreement. Lately, she was getting annoyed with the different variations of 'because we said so' as the answer to any rule that she questioned. Now, that annoyance blossomed into a complete hatred of the phrase and she swore she would never accept it as an answer ever again.
"Rose, I'm sorry. Mary...let's go."
Rose made ready to steady Red but the lady, who she now learned was called Mary, had beaten her to it.
"Red... I know you're upset. You have every right to be. But we should at least rest before we go back out there. Give it time for the hunting party to move on..."
"Yes, I insist upon it," Rose said as she stood on Red's other side. She linked her arm through Red's and steered her and Mary to her bedroom without a backward glance to her aunts. She was grateful that they hadn't said anything more as it would only have made things worse.
~*~
Once in her room, she closed the door behind them. "You two look ready to fall over. Take the bed. I insist," she said once again, leaving no room for argument as she laid out an extra blanket on the floor for herself.
She had been unable to help Red avoid a horrible situation due to circumstances beyond their control so she would do whatever she could at this moment to make sure Red was taken care of and right now, that meant some long needed rest. Even if it meant tying her down and sitting up all night to be sure she slept and did not attempt to leave.
"After some rest, we will be up and on our way before my aunts can miss us."
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Post by Storyteller on Nov 12, 2013 20:06:28 GMT -8
"You two look ready to fall over. Take the bed. I insist,"
Red merely nodded, too exhausted to try arguing with Rose. Her friend was just as stubborn as she was sometimes and trying to change her mind needed energy that Red just did not have left. Apparently Mary felt the same, as the girl silently led her towards the large, inviting bed and carefully helped her lower to the mattress. Immediately, she closed her eyes and felt relaxed as the tension she held in her body seemed to melt away.
"After some rest, we will be up and on our way before my aunts can miss us."
Until she heard that. Red's eyes shot open and she stared at Rose in disbelief. "We?" she spluttered out, barely believing her ears. "As in all three of us?"
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Nov 12, 2013 21:22:27 GMT -8
"We?" she spluttered out, barely believing her ears. "As in all three of us?"
"As in all three of us," she repeated with a terse nod as she pulled the blankets up over her guests before fixing her own sleeping arrangements on the floor. "I'm tired of feeling as if I'm living in a tiny bubble and being told I cannot go here nor there. Cannot speak to anyone. Cannot venture further than a stone's throw from the cottage without more explanation than a 'because we said so' or 'it's dangerous' and believing they are the wiser and it is all for good reason. But it has become quite apparent our guardians do not know what is best for us with this glaringly unwise decision to keep this from you."
She snuffed out the candles and crawled into her makeshift bed. "I think it's time we find out on our own what is and is not best for us."
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Post by Storyteller on Nov 24, 2013 20:56:01 GMT -8
"But it has become quite apparent our guardians do not know what is best for us with this glaringly unwise decision to keep this from you." "I think it's time we find out on our own what is and is not best for us."
Red couldn't disagree with that. But even as the darkness consumed the room, she forced herself to sit up on her elbows so she could see her friend in the dim moonlight.
"Rose...are you sure about this? I don't know where we're going or how safe it may be..." Or even how they were going to live. Doubt crept into Red's mind. Neither she or Rose had ever been away from home. Neither of them had ever really had to fend for themselves before. How was she going to do this? "I have no choice, I have to leave. The village is already out there hunting for me. But you can decide to stay here and be safe."
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Dec 8, 2013 11:20:09 GMT -8
"Rose...are you sure about this? I don't know where we're going or how safe it may be..."
Rose shifted to her side to face Red.
"I have no choice, I have to leave. The village is already out there hunting for me. But you can decide to stay here and be safe."
"And what makes this place safer than any other? Because our guardians say so?" she asked with a note of bitterness. Rose sighed. Misguided as it was, she knew their intentions had been good. "I think of you as my sister, Red. There is no way I can be talked out of this and I know that together, we can face anything. Especially with the help of Lady Mary."
"It's just Mary. No lady," Rose heard the woman softly interject.
"Just Mary, then," Rose said with a nod in the darkness. She turned to her back and yawned up at the ceiling with long blinks. "I've been confined to this house my entire life. If I should stay here a moment longer, I may very well go mad." Her heavy eyelids took one last blink. "Did you know I could count the people of my acquaintance up until today on one hand? Just Mary makes six," she said with a grin as she drifted off.
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Post by Storyteller on Dec 16, 2013 16:29:55 GMT -8
A smile ghosted Red's lips as she laid back against the pillows, hearing Rose's breathing steady to that of a sound sleep. While she was still worried it did make her feel better to know that she wouldn't be alone out there. As long as the cape did its job. The smile faltered as once again Red thought about what could happen any time the moon was full. She made a silent promise to herself that, no matter what, she would protect Rose and Mary. She would find a way.
Hearing that the latter was still awake, Red whispered, "Mary...this probably isn't what you expected when you took shelter in our chicken coop. But I wouldn't have made it through this night without you. You helped me when no one else would and I owe you my life. I won't forget that." The room quieted and for a moment, Red thought that Mary must have fallen asleep. Just as her own eyes began to feel heavy and her breathing evened out, a small voice came from the darkness beside her.
"Red? I need to tell you something."
But it had been a long, exhausting day and Red was already asleep.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Dec 21, 2013 17:28:11 GMT -8
***The next morning***
Several hours had passed. Not enough for a well rested sleep but enough to get them going. The sun had yet to arise and they had just enough time to get on their way. Rose had awoken before Red and Mary, careful to not awaken them as they needed more rest than she after the events of yesterday. She had filled a satchel with food from the kitchen and found the other two stirring as she quietly returned to her room.
"Here," she said quietly, handing each of them one of the biscuits she'd baked the day before. "It's not much but it'll keep us until we are well on our way. I'm sorry I could not warm them." She'd been afraid of making any more noise than absolutely necessary or to awaken her aunts with the aroma of warming bread.
Rose quickly finished the last bite of hers as she placed the satchel of food by the window and dropped a few empty satchels onto the bed. "Pack whatever essentials of mine we can use," she said to the ladies. "I'll do the same and we can fight over who gets to wear what later," she smiled in an effort to make light of a situation that had her excited and terrified at the same time.
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Post by Storyteller on Dec 21, 2013 20:46:30 GMT -8
Red laid awake in the bed, staring up at the thatch of the roof. When she first awoke and found herself not in her own bed, she had been confused. Disoriented. Then the memories of the night before rushed back in, one surreal wave after another. Mostly incomplete, gaps missing from her time as the wolf. Would she ever remember? Red didn't think she would ever want to. A shift in breathing beside her told her that Mary had woken. It was an odd feeling, suddenly becoming aware of her heightened senses. She must have had them all along, they couldn't have just appeared. Being aware of the wolf seemed to make them all the stronger.
Rose crept into the room so silently that even Red's sensitive hearing almost didn't catch her. Almost.
"Here. It's not much but it'll keep us until we are well on our way. I'm sorry I could not warm them."
Red accepted her biscuit with thanks though she was not all that hungry. After the night that she had, she almost had the feeling that she'd never want to eat again.
"Pack whatever essentials of mine we can use," "I'll do the same and we can fight over who gets to wear what later,"
Both of the other girls laughed a little. From the accelerated heartbeats of her companions, Red knew that despite the attempt at merriment they were all feeling the same nervousness over their upcoming journey. Before long, the satchels were packed as fully as they could be. Enough to keep them taken care of but not too much to carry.
"Are you both sure about this?" Mary suddenly asked as they were about to leave, "It can be harsh out there with no place to go home to."
Not for the first time, Red wondered about Mary's story and if she would ever trust her enough to share it. Red looked over at Rose, knowing what her answer to Mary's question would be. Slowly she nodded, "It will be hard. But together we can face anything." She repeated Rose's words from the night before, willing herself to believe it.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Dec 22, 2013 13:53:29 GMT -8
She smiled at Red, glad that her words from the night before had lent Red a bit of hope and she hoped it would prove true.
Rose gave Red's hand a squeeze as she passed her on the way to the window. She gently lowered the satchels to the ground, looking up at mixed colors of orange and yellow in the sky signalling the dawn. Rose quietly moved the small wooden step to the window and held out her hand, steadying Snow as she stepped up and swiveled around. Rose held her hand out to Red. "Are you ready?" She was asking it of herself just as much as of Red.
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Post by Storyteller on Dec 23, 2013 1:41:15 GMT -8
"Are you ready?"
"No." Red replied truthfully. Who was ever ready to leave the only life they had ever known, even if there was little left there for her? And as angry as she was at Granny for keeping this from her, she still loved her. Would she ever see her again? Would she be alright? Where were they going to go? So many questions and no answers. With a deep, steadying breath Red continued, "But I'm as ready as I'll ever be." She took Rose's offered hand and helped to pull herself onto the step. It seemed like years ago that Red stood at that window last. Almost a lifetime since she and Rose released the wounded bird back into the wild. Is this what the bird felt like? Terrified and exhilarated, desperately clinging to the past but hoping that there was more than it out there. Red's feet touched the soft ground of the forest and she turned around to offer her hand back to help Rose down from the window ledge.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jan 5, 2014 20:10:40 GMT -8
She felt the same. Was anybody ever really ready for a life-changing change?
As Red made her way out, Rose took one last look at her room. Most of her life had been spent in this room and this house. There hadn't been more than a handful of hours that she wasn't within these walls. It was an odd sensation, knowing she wouldn't be within them for how long, she did not know.
Glancing at the note she'd left on her small desk, she wondered how her aunts would react. Bent the rules a little at times, yes, but never before had she so firmly broken any, especially their number one rule. She hesitated a moment but her strong resolve to be by her only friend's side to help her through this incredibly hard time mixed with a lifetime of wanting to see the world outside her little bubble, to meet people and hear their stories, won out.
Rose took a deep breath and turned to the window with determination. She gave a hesitant smile and took Red's proffered hand with her slightly shaky one and gently dropped to the soft ground. She quietly closed the window and shutters and shouldered one of the satchels beneath her cloak before drawing the hood over her head against the cold dawn air. Before either could think to ask her again if she was sure, she headed for the forest.
***Rose, Red, and Snow/Margaret leave for The Forest***
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 18, 2014 22:06:42 GMT -8
Silence reigned as they walked quickly through the forest. It had been several minutes since they left the cabin, the biting chill in the air already stung Red's cheeks and numbed her nose but she barely took notice. She had never gone in this direction before. The trees were unfamiliar here, their bare branches twisting and bending at all sorts of odd angles. Ice crystals clung to the bark, glistening softly in the dim light of the early morning sun. The twinkle reminded her of the fairy stories that Granny used to tell her as a child. It was fascinating to the young girl headed off on her own for the first time. Or perhaps it was just that she so needed something else to focus on that made it so interesting.
"If we head south, the weather won't be so bad." Mary spoke up, shattering the quiet. "But we'll be traveling right through King George's hunting grounds so we'll have to be careful. He doesn't take kindly to trespassers."
Not for the first time, Red was thankful that Mary had come. Having someone who had already been on the road would be helpful.
"I should be able to help us there." Red spoke up, "I should be able to pick up the hunters' scents. It'll make it easier to avoid them." They walked a few more steps before she broke the silence again, "We've been walking for a while, we must be almost at the end of your property, Rose."
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Feb 7, 2014 14:01:19 GMT -8
"I believe so. I've never gone this direction nor this far away from home but my aunts told me of markings at the borders of our land." They'd warned her of never going too far from home and if she should find herself lost, to never pass beyond the markings.
"There," she said, pointing to the line of trees ahead, all holding an intricate marking of intertwined circles. She stopped and admired the beautiful design, running her fingers in the smooth grooves cut into the tree. She looked to her left, then right, seeing the symbols as far down as she could see as they curved along the border. "They're beautiful. This must have taken a long time to do." She wondered who, exactly, had done these. Each so perfect and identical that it seemed impossible to have been done by hand, let alone man-made.
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Post by Storyteller on Feb 14, 2014 23:04:58 GMT -8
"There,""They're beautiful. This must have taken a long time to do."
"Where did they come from?" Red mused in amazement, taking in the complex symbols marking each tree. "There must be dozens of them." With each step towards the tree barrier, the sinking feeling that had dogged her since their parting grew. Her heartbeat picked up, the thumping resonating painfully in her chest. Maybe it was just nerves but Red was beginning to think that this was a really bad idea. One last time she looked over at Rose and asked, "What if your aunts had a good reason to keep you here? Something they aren't telling you."
All she could think of was Granny's warnings. How many times had she been lectured on wearing the red cloak? And how many times had she disobeyed? If she had just listened, they wouldn't be in this mess. Peter would be alive.
"Red has a point..." Mary chimed in, her attention called away from the tree carvings. "These look pretty...intense."
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etickner95
Slightly Addicted
Cashy-money: $100
I'm a fairy you may want to try believing in me/This is my happy ending/Noone decides my fate but me
Posts: 106
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Post by etickner95 on Feb 14, 2014 23:42:29 GMT -8
REGINA Regina watched all of their activities through her magic mirror. Snow thought that she could hide from her with these new friends of hers. It was cute, but, it wouldn't work. Snow should know by now that she can't hide from her anywhere.
However, Regina decided to let her think she was safe for now. She'd go after her later, after all these friends of hers didn't know her true identity and even though Regina loved spoiling this type of stuff, however, it just seemed less full-filling when it was this easy. Regina smiled, as she continued to watch Snow and her friends through her mirror.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Feb 15, 2014 2:40:38 GMT -8
"Where did they come from?" "There must be dozens of them." "What if your aunts had a good reason to keep you here? Something they aren't telling you."
"Red has a point..." "These look pretty...intense."
Rose's hand dropped from the tree as she turned toward Red and Mary. "They've never been specific about their rules," she said as her eyes fell on Red's cloak as her aunts' and Red's grandmother's specific warning of wearing the cloak came to mind. "Just never to wander far from the cabin because it is full of danger and dangerous people." She glanced at Mary, who had thus far shown nothing but kindness and loyalty by staying by Red's side and that automatically endeared her to Rose. "I know them to be wrong on at least one count."
Mary gave her a small smile but continued to appear wary.
"I've spent my lifetime hidden here. I have no family but my aunts and no friends but the two of you. I'm practically a nobody," she reassured matter of factly. As far as she knew, her aunts never traveled very far from the cabin either.
Rose turned back toward the road ahead and squared her shoulders, feeling the tremor of adrenaline running through her. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, ready to break the biggest and most important rule.
***Rose, Red, and Mary leave for King George's Kingdom - Forest***
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