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Post by Mary Margaret on Oct 1, 2012 19:33:11 GMT -8
"Yes. Peter. We've been friends since we were children but recently things have been...well, changing."
"That must be nice," Snow replied, as the young girl beamed with what must be true love. As a royal, the best Snow could hope for was an arranged marriage, a political union. But now even that had become secondary to surviving.
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Post by Storyteller on Oct 2, 2012 10:16:28 GMT -8
"That must be nice,"
"It is." Red absently toyed with the quilted pillow laying beside her, her fingers making little crinkles in the fabric before smoothing them out again. "What I feel when I'm with him or even when I just think about him is so unlike anything I've ever felt before..." She was at a loss as to how she could accurately describe the feeling. It always seemed like a rich, layered mass of contradictions. Something that defied being put into words. But perhaps Mary was familiar with the feeling.
It was very difficult, getting to know Mary without stumbling into the life she didn't want to talk about. But Red felt emboldened by her curiosity and forged on.
"What about you? Do you have someone waiting for you?"
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Post by Mary Margaret on Oct 2, 2012 18:10:56 GMT -8
"What about you? Do you have someone waiting for you?"
"Oh, no," she answered with a slight laugh and a shaking of her head. "I’m not sure that’s in my future." The way the girl spoke, the light in her eyes was clearly that of true love. Snow recalled seeing it when her father spoke of her mother, or on those very rare occasions when Robin would falter and mention Marion. But she doubted she would ever experience such a thing.
"You’re lucky, Red."
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Post by Storyteller on Oct 2, 2012 20:09:54 GMT -8
"You’re lucky, Red."
"I know," Red answered honestly. Not everyone in her village found someone to love, let alone their true love. It was something special to be cherished. Her face practically glowed with excitement as she decided to let Mary in on the secret she had been carrying since the night before. It had been begging to be told all day but her plans to see Rose were derailed with the vexing events of the morning. After a quick glance to make sure that Granny still wasn't listening in, she leaned towards Mary.
"And we're talking about going away together. Somewhere he can get work and we can share a life." Something they couldn't do there. The glow waned as that realization managed to sneak it's way into her otherwise happy thoughts. "But we don't get any time together. Granny's too afraid of the wolf to let me out alone. You saw what the wolf did." The image now burned into her mind of those poor men completely sobered her. She had never taken the wolf seriously until that morning. A few sheep, some livestock- it hadn't seemed like much to put so much worry into. Until now. "I'm beginning to wonder if she's right."
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Post by Mary Margaret on Oct 4, 2012 20:02:57 GMT -8
"Oh, she’s right about the wolf," Snow answered quickly, the vivid reminder of that morning's scene flashing in her head. "But she’s wrong to use it to keep you from love." Snow had resigned herself to a life of solitude, due to circumstances beyond her control, but it saddened her to think of Red being so close to happiness and yet so far.
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Post by Storyteller on Oct 5, 2012 3:00:43 GMT -8
"Oh, she’s right about the wolf,""But she’s wrong to use it to keep you from love."
"You think that's what she's doing?" Red asked, surprise registering even as she spoke. Somehow she had never really connected the two, but it made sense. Granny's dislike of Peter could solely be because she didn't want Red to find someone and move away from her protective eye while the wolf still stalked the village. If the wolf wasn't a threat anymore, then Granny wouldn't have a reason to keep them apart...
"Let's kill the wolf." A new determination found its way into her voice. It was the solution to everything. Not only would she be able to live the life she dreamed of with Peter, but bringing about the demise of the wolf would greatly improve her standing with the other villagers. "We'd be heroes!"
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Post by Mary Margaret on Oct 7, 2012 19:19:19 GMT -8
"Let's kill the wolf. We'd be heroes!"
Okay, that was not what she was expecting to hear. Snow's eyes widened as she slowly realized that the girl was serious. "Red, teams of trained hunters have been killed," she reminded her.
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Post by Storyteller on Oct 8, 2012 19:27:17 GMT -8
"Red, teams of trained hunters have been killed,"
"But they go at night when its got the advantage," Red explained, seeing that Mary clearly didn't think that her plan was as brilliant as she did. It was a solid plan. True, she didn't have much experience hunting, as she and Granny usually traded for most of their meat with hunters of the village, but she was an excellent tracker and knew her way around a bow and arrow. Common sense said that the creature would have to rest sometime, so there would most likely not be much of a fight. She could handle it. "If we went now, we could find it slumbering in its den and kill it in its sleep. Come on!"
She was already reaching for her cloak, anxious to get started.
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Post by Mary Margaret on Oct 8, 2012 19:48:18 GMT -8
"Red, I don’t know," she said slowly, her brow furrowing in concern. Red seemed quite confident in her plan, but plans didn't always turn out as one wanted. After all, the now deceased members of the hunting party probably thought they had a good plan as well. Since the idea was in her head that this was the easiest way to be with her beloved Peter, Red wasn't likely to consider any other options. But it was so nice and warm and safe inside the cottage....
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Post by Storyteller on Oct 10, 2012 10:46:22 GMT -8
Red's face fell slightly. As confident as she was that she could take care of the wolf, she didn't particularly want to do it on her own. That didn't mean she wouldn't if she had to. She'd never force Mary to go along with her if she didn't want to. That wouldn't be right. Not going though...now that the idea was in her head, not going was unthinkable.
"You don't have to come but I'm going- with or without you," she pulled on her red cloak and stood from the bed. "But you're right- I can't let her keep me trapped forever."
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Post by Mary Margaret on Oct 11, 2012 7:08:44 GMT -8
It seemed unlikely that any amount of words was going to change Red's mind. "Well, I suppose you're going with me, then," Snow relented. "I'm not letting you go out there alone. If the wolf didn't kill me, your granny certainly would." She rose from the bed and pulled on her own cloak. "Where do we start?"
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Post by Storyteller on Oct 14, 2012 20:25:55 GMT -8
Red grinned broadly, "The woods. We see if we can pick up its trail and follow it until it leads us to its den." Back to task, she retrieved a long bow and a quiver full of arrows from where it resided in the corner of the room. She did not often use it for anything more than shooting at pallets of hay during target practice. Once she came to live in the cottage, Granny insisted that she learn her way around the archery instruments as well as the crossbow. To defend and provide for herself, Granny had said. So far, Red had needed no such defense and rarely were hunting trips needed when there was a trade to be made but with her newfound purpose she was glad she had the weapon to fall back on.
"We'll tell Granny that I am going to give you some lessons in tracking and the bow and arrows are for protection."
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Post by Mary Margaret on Oct 18, 2012 20:33:30 GMT -8
"We'll tell Granny that I am going to give you some lessons in tracking and the bow and arrows are for protection."
"Sounds plausible," she agreed. Though she was hesitant, she would try to match Red's enthusiasm. The bow and arrow gave her a small measure of relief. "I'm not in a rush to return to where those hunters fell, but we do know for certain that the wolf was there."
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jul 14, 2013 14:33:20 GMT -8
***Rose enters***
ROSE
Rose peaked through the treeline and seeing nobody near, she stepped out and quietly made her way to Red's window, slowing as she spotted the boot prints heading up to Red's window. Her eyes darted around the clearing but there were no signs of anyone. With curiosity knitting her brow, she studied the boot prints in the snow, wondering who but herself ever visited Red via her window. Rose and Red were always careful about leaving proof of Red sneaking out her window so she knew they couldn't be Red's either. Then she recalled Red's secret meeting and the corners of her lips quirked up. It must have been Peter sneaking another visit with Red. How sweet and romantic it all was, she thought with a sigh, but he was being careless leaving prints behind.
Rose snapped to attention and her heart raced as she heard a woman's voice she did not recognize approaching. She couldn't make it to the treeline in time so she opted to hide around the side of the house trying her best to smooth over her previous tracks in her haste while avoiding making new ones.
"...close to the cottage?" "Who’s gone to your window, Red?"
Automatically assuming her tracks had been spotted, Rose flattened herself against the side of the house.
"Is it Peter? Red, has he been at your window?"
The female stranger was referring to the other tracks. Rose quietly let out the breath she'd been holding and listened as a voice she recognized answered the stranger.
"Last night- before the killings. He never joined the men to hunt for the wolf." "He wouldn't have killed them. But when the wolf takes over..."
The wolf! It was back. And it had killed. 'Killings', Red had said. How many lives did it claim this time? And where was it now, she wondered as her eyes darted to the trees. No wonder her aunts had forbade her to go anywhere today. If only they weren't so overly protective, withholding information and answering her "Why?" with a "Because we said so, it isn't safe." To them, it was never safe so she'd stubbornly sneaked out despite their warning. How was she to know that this time, it truly wasn't safe?
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