Little Red Riding Hood

Chapter 4

~
" find what you love and let it kill you "
~

It was the same dream again. The dream which wreched him awake in the middle of the night and haunted his every waking thought.

The red hood. The blood. The eyes.

Golden eyes, like the sun peering through the dark with ominous intentions.

Robert lowered his head to his hands. Sleep never came easy, and when it did, it was brief, restless and not enough to give him the energy he so desired.

He felt lost within the depths of his own mind.

The wolf was taunting him. Dangling itself before him before disapearing, forcing the search to begin all over again.

As a boy he never imagined that the world could hold so many secrets. He went along, shrugging off the unexplained and ignoring the dangers now so aparent.

He wasn't the first to be exposed to the truth and he sure wasn't the last. But he could say he was the first Huntsman.

Robert left his cabin before the crack of dawn, trecking through the thick shrubbery and mist as he made his way to the town.

He knew better than to believe the tranquil peace in the mountains would last. The beast would return.

As he passed through the streets his eyes landed on the Spencer house and the itch to see little Angelica grew. She reminded him of his own childhood love, the innocence, yet the promise to fulfil every dark desire.

His Katherine was truely the most beautiful girl in the town, a beauty few could rival. She was sought after by many boys, noble or not hoping to catch a glimpse of her fiery auburn hair.

Robert had been the lucky boy she fell in love with, and he promised her the world even if she had told him he was hers. Together they spend nights whispering secrets to each other and exploring  forbidden territories. But it was all for not.

When they were fifteen, they wondered off into the woods, seeking sanctuary from their parents who told them to let each other be. It was that fateful night that Katherine was ripped from his arms.

She died a gruesome death. Crying as her soul left her body. Robert bore scars of his own, but he survived.

He would not allow anyone else to suffer the same fate he had.

One of the locals had through to his attention a young man who had arrived during the same time the wolf began to develop a taste for human flesh. Robert doubted the young man would be the monster he was hunting, but in the game of beasts everyone is a suspect.

He was introduced to the young man by the farmer and his wife. Luc was a strong, hardworking boy of sixteen who traveled from town to town seeking his fortune. Though his phique showed tell tale signs of hard labor, he remained lanky, tall and akward, unlike the agressiveness he knew in wolves.

"I came from London." The boy explained as the two men walked together. "I was an orphan, but I ran away, they have nothing for me there."

Robert nodded as he listened to the boy speak.

"I'm going to be rich someday." He said with a grin. "Going to Africa as soon as I get the money. The boys back in London says their walking out with pockets full of diamonds."

Robert left the boy and out of habit went to the Spencer house. Clarissa was in the newly furnished drawing room brushing Angelica's hair.

"He kick Aaron and Pierre out this morning." Clarissa told him. "They said they're going to stay with Joseph." Her eyes glittered with tears. "He's gone crazy." She whispered.

Rober found Alec drunk and swaying as he tried to saddle him horse. "What the hell are you doing?"

Alec grumbled, fighting against the younger man's grasp as he attempted to pull him back. "He's out there. He's out there."

"You cannot hunt him. Not like this, and not on your own."

Alec's fist swung towards Robert, but he reacted and grabbed Alec by the wrist. The older man stumbled and landed on his knees.

Alec was wheeping. His entire frame trembling. Robert knew he could not allow his friend to suffer. He had to tell Alec what the beast was before he killed himself in the rough mountain terrain.

It wasn't until later that evening when the remaining children where in bed that Robert brought Alec as well as Clarissa to the study and sat them down.

He breathed deep. "There is something you should know. Both of you." He began. "The beast is a ancient creature. Part of a long line of shifters. Able to take the form of both man and monster."

Clarissa gasped. "What?"

"It might be living in this town. Walking amongst us."

Alec's fists clenched. "Who? Who is it?"

Robert shook his head. "I don't know."

The older man rose pacing. He ran his fingers through the rough beard he sported. "Is there a way to tell."

"They are repelled by silver. It burns their skin."

Clarissa nodded. "How would we go about luring it out?"

Robert shrugged. "We cannot cause a panic. Going around and cutting people with silver would make them retaliate."

"But we cannot let him roam freely!" Alec shouted.

"Silver necklaces. Pendants. We give them to the town's people. Those who refuse to wear them are our suspects." Robert finally said.

They talked for much longer, forming a plan.

He left much later, when the sun started to creep up from behind the alps and the farmers rose to lead their flock to the field.

He crawled beneath the thick pelts spread over his bed and closed his eyes, hoping for a hours of rest before he returned to town to continue the search.

His dreams came crawling towards his and as sweat drenched his body he was transported back to that day. The day he lost his beloved.

"Why?" He could still hear her voice, barely above a whisper. He can still feel the weight of her bloody body in his arms as he twisted the silver knife deeper into her back.

Her clothes were torn, remains of the dress which was ripped when the full moon brought out the beast which resided within her.

"You're a monster." He cried as tears rolled down his eyes. "You're a monster." He pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I love you. I love you."