Little DEAD Riding Hood?

Chapter 11: The Dagger

"Hadley!" The voice sounded like a girl. She sounded like she was around my age, when she died that is. But there was something about that voice that was strangely familiar.

The little girl jumped up and called back. "I'm in here, Sis!"

Sis?

That's when a VERY familiar figure came in the room. The person came up to the little girl and did a quick check to make sure the girl was okay. Then she hugged her. Then it finally hit me and I called the figure by name.

"...Suzette?" I hesitantly stood up and looked at the figure with curious eyes. The figure let go of the little girl, stood up, and returned my look with a mirror image of it.

"It's me...Tatiana." I stated my identity and her eyes widened. She didn't hesitate for even a minute as she came up and gave me a huge hug.

"Tatiana!"

"Suzette!" I hugged her back. After a few seconds, we separated.

"I thought I would never see you again, you know, after you were found dead. Irving was heart broken..." As soon as Suzette made that statement, there was a sour taste in my mouth.

"Yeah...let's not bring him up." I looked over at Bradyn. Suzette followed my gaze and looked between us.

"Wait a second... Are you two...together?!" I smiled widely at her.

"Surprise!" I gave her jazz hands. She squealed and gave me another huge hug, but shorter than the last.

"Well...aren't you going to introduce us?" I gasped.

"Right! Suzette this is Bradyn, my 'knight in shining armor'. And Bradyn this is Suzette, my best friend from when I was alive." I did introductions and they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you", Bradyn said.

"Pleasures all mine!", Suzette answered. She turned to me. "Wow! I thought for sure that you would have one of those 'couple reunited' moments with Irving when you got down here." Suzette said it with a smile, but, when I looked closely, I could tell it was forced. I looked at her.

"You know, don't you." She looked shocked, but then she nodded her head.

"I thought you didn't, so I put on an act."

"Oh please! You think I wouldn't know who killed me? Besides...", I looked at Bradyn,"...I'm happy now."

"Aww! That's awesome! You know, me and Ashton are still together", Suzette said excitedly.

"Really? By the way, how did you get here?" I gave her a confused look and she started messing with her bracelet.

"Well...I guess you could say I found out what Irving did and was going to report it the next day. Well, he didn't like that idea and there was a little massacre." Suzette rubbed the back of her neck and gave an awkward laugh. I was shocked.

So he killed my best friend and everyone close to her too?!?! That just makes him even worse!!!

"Umm...by the way, do you know why the bears were killed?", Bradyn asked. He must've noticed that the subject wasn't going in a good direction and changed it. Suzette gasped in horror.

"Oh no! The Dagger!" Suzette began looking through everything trying to find something.

"Sis?" The girl Suzette called Hadley tugged on her dress.

"What is it, Hadley?" Suzette looked at the girl, obviously annoyed. The little girl held out a dagger in a case and Suzette's face was washed over with relief. "Oh thank goodness! Good job, Hadley!" Suzette patted the girl on the head while Bradyn and I stood there, confused out of our minds.

"Um... What's so special about that dagger?", I asked. Suzette motioned for us to sit down as she held the cased dagger tightly. Once we sat, Suzette began telling a story.

The story was this:

People knew that Irving had come to power through marrying the queen, Goddess Hel. What no one knew was that, after the marriage, Irving trapped Goddess Hel in a dagger (the dagger Suzette know holds in her hand). He was planning to destroy it. If the dagger was destroyed with Hel inside, she would be destroyed and there would be no one to stop him. At the time, Lorica (mama bear), Aldis (papa bear), and Byram (baby bear) Cadby were all workers in the castle. They were loyal servants to Hel, so, when they heard about the king's plan, they decided to stop it. They stole the dagger from the castle and went into hiding in a little cabin in the woods (where they are now). Since then, the Cadby's had been protecting the dagger until they could, one day, find a way to set Hel free. Suzette and Hadley had joined in their protection.

"They were probably killed by someone coming to look for the dagger. Although, none of them have been this strong before." When Suzette had finished the story, Bradyn and I sat still so we could process it all.

"Suzette... I want to help protect The Dagger. If we can find a way to set Goddess Hel free, we can stop Irving." Bradyn and Suzette looked at me, stunned.

"I agree." Bradyn took my hand and looked me in the eye. "He needs to be stopped before he can do more." We kept staring into each other's eyes.

"Oh for crying out loud! If you're gonna kiss just kiss already!" Suzette sounded annoyed, but her smile was huge. In the next instant, Bradyn kissed me. It was the same as our earlier that day, only sweeter, since we were free now.

"Aww!... okay back to reality lovebirds!" We pulled away and separated with the coaching assistance from Suzette. "Here's the thing, I need to go to the market to get some special herb. That herb will put a barrier around the cabin. I'll take Hadley with me. I don't think she should stay here, since she has been through so much with the bears. We also need someone to make sure no one comes to the cabin until I get back and someone to stay here with The Dagger. Got it?" Bradyn and I nodded.

Soon enough, Suzette left with the blonde girl she called Hadley.

"Are you sure you'll be okay if I go patrol the perimeter? You could come with me and bring The Dagger too." Bradyn looked at me with worried eyes.

"If I go it will just be another thing to worry about. You go. I'll be fine." I smiled to reassure him. He smiled back.

"Okay." After a quick kiss, he left and I sat in a room, dagger in hand. As I sat there, sleepiness over took me and I dozed off.

I was soon woken up by a knock at the door.

That's odd. Suzette would just walk right in, since she lives here. And Bradyn would have called out or just came in.

I stood up and walked to the door. I opened it to reveal a man I had never seen before.

"Good evening, miss."

It's evening already?! I guess I slept longer than I thought...

"Can I help you?", I asked, obviously putting up a barrier between me and the man.

"I was sent by Bradyn to come get you. It seems he is hurt", the man said. He had on a poker face and his voice was flat. My eyes went wide.

"He's hurt?! Where?! Is he okay?!" I was frantic.

"I am just the messenger. For all I know, he could be dead again right now." At his words, I quickly grabbed my hood and basket, The Dagger in my basket.

"Take me to him!", I demanded. At the time, it never struck me that his calm demeanor was odd for someone who had found someone badly injured and was running to get that person's partner.

I quickly shut the door and followed the man, not giving it a second thought.

Please Bradyn! Please be okay!

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A/N

What's up guys! Thank you guys so much! I now have 175 READERS!!! Hope you enjoyed that chapter. We're getting closer to the good stuff. Don't forget to vote and comment!