She Dressed in Red

She was a pretty, little thing.

Everyone knew about her, about how she lived with her grandmother deep in the forest, about how she frequented the village once a week, about how she always wore a red hooded cape.

They called her Red. I called her mine.

She was my ideal type.

I preferred to call it watching over her. I walked her home when it was dark and I made sure nobody else approached her in case they were dangerous. She didn’t need to know I was there or what I was doing for her. I liked to think of myself as her guardian angel.

By the time she left the village, the moon already hung high and bright up in the sky. Though the colour of her cape dimmed in the night light, I knew it was her the moment I saw her skipping down the path.

She usually didn’t stay out this late. At the sight of her, I felt every knot in my body unravel.

I stayed in the shadows underneath the swaying trees until she passed me, swinging her empty basket happily. It was probably a good day at work.

The silence was broken by a string of voices trailing behind her. My ears perked, my eyes narrowing in on the three male figures following her from a safe distance. Immediately, a growl vibrated through my whole chest.

I wouldn’t let them touch her.

It was methodically and efficiently done. I didn’t want to waste another moment being left behind by her, so I finished the business and wiped the blood from my mouth as fast as I could. Already, she was out of my sight.

The forest was so dark. How could she protect herself? She needed me.

I ran all the way to her. But what I hadn’t taken into consideration was how much noise I made. My huffing and puffing disturbed the quiet, the sound of my paws pounding the ground loud and clear.

I slowed down when I saw her waiting for me in the middle of the pebbled path.

My heart beat uncontrollably as I approached her. This was the closest I’d ever been to her awake. She would find out what I looked like. What would she think of me? Would she be scared? No, there was no way she knew what I was really like. I still had a chance to run away.

I didn’t run. Instead, I called out, “Hello.”

After a painful pause, she gave me a small smile. “Hello, stranger.”

“I’m afraid I got lost.” The lies felt heavy on my tongue. “Would you mind showing me the way?”

She tilted her head, staring at me with those large, unblinking eyes. As if I passed her test, she gave a little nod. “Oh, I don’t mind. Where are you off to?”

“Just somewhere to rest for the night.”

“I know the perfect place,” she grinned, startling me with her pure-white teeth.

With that, she led me further down the path. My heart almost burst at the thought that she was leading me to her home willingly.

A glint caught my eye, something reflecting the serene moonlight my way. I glanced at her, not expecting her to smile at me again. Her guard was completely down.

“You have a nice smile,” I said. “Does that sound weird? I’m sorry, I-”

“No, no, that’s sweet of you to say.” Her voice was melodic, almost soothing.

We stopped by the side of a field dotted with glowing flowers. I didn’t recall this being on the way to her house, but seeing her face light up erased the doubts from my mind.

I asked, “Do you want to go through the field?”

She nodded excitedly. The grass was surprisingly tall, brushing my thighs as we wandered further in. How perfect could this be?

We stopped near the middle of the field, where there was a small clearing.

“Your eyes look really pretty in the moonlight,” I said. It seemed like the right moment, with her black hair shining just so. “You’re very beautiful.”

A smile took over her features once more. She was so mesmerizingly close, that I could smell her sweet, refreshing scent.

I lost my mind for a second. I bent towards her, trying to get more of her, more of anything related to her. My eyes fluttered shut as I soaked in as much as I could.

I barely caught a glimpse of a something flashing before a red-hot, searing pain sliced across my stomach.

While I was bent over, hissing, a material was tied around my limbs and mouth. Once I regained a vague sense of control, I worked to lift my head. She was facing me, in nothing but a little, black dress revealing her stark white arms. Her red cloak was used to tie me up.

Her scowl surprised me. It looked forced, like it didn’t belong on her pretty features.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Her thin, red lips were twisted into a smirk. “You haven’t been the only one waiting.”

Breathing heavily, I couldn’t move. The pain coupled with the shock rendered me helpless as I watched her run her slender fingers on the edge of the blood-smeared sword.

I’m only trying to protect you, I tried to shout around her cape. It only came out as incomprehensible muffles. Why are you doing this?

“You don’t think I know that you’ve been following me for four years now?” She raised her hand at me, the jagged slice stark against her pale skin. “Does this make you hungry? When were you going to stop playing with your food and take me whole?”

I shook my head furiously, but she ignored it. “I know what you did to my grandmother. But this time, you won’t have anyone to find you, not like I found her rotting in her bed.”

The first stab didn’t hurt as much as her words.

“Good night, wolfie.”

Nobody knew about her, about how she lived with her grandmother’s corpse deep in the forest, about how she sold wolf meat at the black market once a week, about how her red cape hid the blood stains on her clothes.

They called her Red. Now, she had my head.