Wicked Fairy Tales: Red Wolf

"So where are you rushing off too in such a hurry, my lady." He emphasized "my lady" with a slight bow.

Rouge did her best to wash away the feeling of disappointment she felt in her chest, she smile genuinely at the kind stranger.

"I'm off to my grandmothers she fallen rather ill lately."

"Well, I am sorry to hear that, I hope she becomes well soon, but she won't be able to do that if you injure yourself in the process." He laughed at his own joke. A deep belly laugh even made her smile.

"Well I best be on my way."

"Well of course my lady, pardon the interruption." With a small flourish, he stepped aside and let her through.

Rouge curtsied before she walked by him she had barely put some distance between them, when he called out to her.

"My lady."

Rouge turned to look back at him. "Yes."

"This may be none of my business, but I was always taught that bringing someone flowers will brighten up there day no matter what state of health they are in."

"Thank you for the advice, but unfortunately the time for flowers has come and gone." Rouge replied waving her hand at the snow around her.

"Not true, you know of the boulder that looks like a squirrel on this path."

"Yes." Rouge cautiously.

"When you get to it and take a left about fifteen paces in you will find a footpath it will lead you toward a small cave in the rock wall the cave isn't very deep you can easily see the end of it. The cave is feed by a hot springs stream; it keeps the interior warm enough for wild flowers to grow year round. You should take some for your grandmother."

"Thank you, I'll do that." Rouge waved at the man and continued on her journey.

Rouge kept her eyes and her ears open, Bardolph had more than once snuck up on her. Yet time passed and there was no sign of him. He knew she was coming out today so why wasn't he here? Rouge imagination began to run away from her. At first her imaginings were mild some were even funny, but then they became more and more frightening, that the knot of worry that developed in her stomach felt like a lead ball.

She managed to drag her thoughts away from Bardolph, when the stone squirrel appeared on the road. The man's words floated to her mind. Curiosity got the better of her and she stopped by the stone and tried to look beyond the bushes. However, it was too thick for her to find the foot path. Rouge indecisively hoped from one foot to the other. Her curiosity was clearly getting the best of her. She wanted to see the flowers and if they were there, take some to her grandmother. Yet she wanted to see Bardolph and tell him of her plans what if she went down this unknown path and he couldn't find her.

Rouge instantly knew she was being an idiot. Bardolph was a hunter by trade; he had even demonstrated some of his tracking abilities for her. He was more than capable of finding her. She looked toward the sky and calculated how much time; she could spend on this venture. Satisfied that she would have enough time, Rouge struggled through the bushes until she found the worn path the man had been talking about and followed it. Rouge was about to give up the search and return to the main road, when an unexpected breeze of heat flowed through the frigid air. Not long after she found the small cave. The man was right it was small and feed by a hot spring she could feel the warmth radiating from within and the light that reflected of the snow dispelled any of the darkness within the cave. There were all kinds of wild flowers in this spot even some that normally only bloomed during spring. Rouge set about making a nice bouquet for her grandmother.

Even though she kept herself busy with the task, she couldn't help but let her mind wander. Her wandering mind naturally drifted to the thing that dominated her thoughts the most, Bardolph. She still worried for him and wondered why he was not there. Feeling the melancholy that was threatening to fall over her, she forced herself to think of more pleasant thoughts. She thought about kissing him. She thought about him kissing her. She thought about the way he felt against her rigid and strong.

Suddenly she felt strong arms wrap around her making her tense at the sudden unexpected intrusion, before a warm familiar voice whispered in her ear.

"Sweet one."

Rouge relaxed back into the strong chest that belonged to the arms and sighed. With relief then with and pleasure as his lips began to skim, the skin of her exposed neck, while his hands gently caressed her stomach making the heat within spread throughout her. Her head lulled to the side allowing him to kiss and nibble more of her neck. She felt the shiver of pleasure when his tongue flicked her earlobe then proceeded to kiss her jaw line.

Rouge felt her breath hot and ragged escaping from her lips in silent pants of pleasure, that turned into silent moans, when she felt his hands cupping her breasts, gently kneading the soft flesh until her nipples grew tight and aching. Though she wanted to turn around and touch him. The way he was touching her, she was revealing in how he was making her feel, she simply lifted her arms and gently gripped his hair. She was now fully opened to him. He could do whatever he wanted and she wouldn't dare try to stop him.

His hands seemed to explore more wildly now, his hands slid up and down alongside her body as though he didn't know which part to touch first. She didn't much care as long as he kept touching her. Then she felt it, the tingling of skin on skin contact, as his fingers gently glided up her inner thigh before his hand cupped her possessively. Her body arched into his hand without her willing it to, now her breaths came out in sighs and sharp stuttering gasps.

Her body was awash with such pleasure, being saturated with it after what seemed like such a long drought, it was becoming too much for her. Suddenly his mouth was over hers kissing her. She was so enticed by the kiss that she squealed in pleasure, when she felt him bury his fingers within her. In that same moment, he deepened the kiss as though he wanted to devour the sound that climbed from her throat. Her body instantly clenched, her grasp on his hair tightening probably painfully, as her body spasmed through the crashing waves of pleasure. Finally, her body relaxed. She was wet and wrung out, her body feeling boneless from the sudden overdose of rapture.

Rouge felt her body gently slide against his not really recognizing that she sliding lower and lower until she saw the long stems of lavender surround her head. Then the feeling of emptiness overcame her when she felt his fingers slide from within her. Her oversensitive flesh was thankful for their departure, despite the pleasure that they had brought with them. Rouge was floating and was trying her best to bring herself back to earth, to get her mind to work, but it was proving rather elusive.

Finally, her rapidly thudding heart was beginning to force a rhythm that the rest of her senses could follow, when she felt him again. He was at her entrance immediately she was of two minds. The first that she was still too sensitive for his touch the other part of her though craved him as though she was dying of thirst. Her muddled thoughts gained some focused and they searched for him to tell him to wait a moment, just a moment to let her catch her breath. Then she found his dark eyes and breath fled from her faster than she could regain it.

She could see the heat and desire swirling within him. She also saw his iron will which held the vortex of need in place. That was all she needed for her mind and body to come to a simple agreement. She shifted her hips pulling him deeper inside of her. She watched him close his eyes as the look of bliss and ache washed over his face. Then she felt him sliding forward settling the rest of himself inside of her. He hovered over her as still as a statue once their bodies were fully connected to one another. She cooed to him and whispered nonsensical things to him until she felt him relax in her arms.

He rested his head on the crook of her neck kissing it before he began to move, the pace was steady and slow, allowing her to feel the difference of their joining and separation. She felt a pang of loss at his retreat and burst of joy at his return. All the while a feeling of warm heat built in her center, it grew becoming stronger and stronger. The heat made her move, made her try to find her rhythm with him. Yet she could not find the tempo because the more she moved, the more his pace began to pick up. Even though their movements were cacophonous, the pleasure and heat wouldn't stop rising. Soon she forgot about trying to match his movements and in that, moment instinct took over allowing them to flow into harmony.

There tempo was fast now, it nearly matched the tempo of their beating hearts, Rouge was saturated in pleasure, she focused on it. She could feel the crest of it coming. She reached for it willingly wanting to be awash in satisfaction once more, wanting to be lost in it. She felt him become rigid once more before a hoarse groan ripped through him as he emptied himself inside of her. His release was the final push she needed, as she followed him into the abyss.

The rivulets of bliss that coursed through her startled her awake. Rouge sat up quickly dazed and confused, her heart pounding heavily in her chest. It took her a moment to realize that she was still in the cluster of wildflowers and that she was alone. Rouge couldn't help but groan a little in frustration, realizing that it was all a dream. Though still disappointed with the truth she could not help but recall the pleasant things about the dream, her eyes wandering to the sky as she recalled the events.

All thoughts except one vanished from her mind and that thought was how long had she been there, for the dying light of the sun filled the sky. If she didn't hurry the sun would be gone and it would be dark. She picked the bouquet she had made for her grandmother and dropped it into her basket. She picked up her skirts and began to run back down the path she had come all the while berating herself for having fallen asleep.

By the time she arrived at her grandmother's house, the shadows of the trees hung heavily around her, the last glimmers of the sun's light still managed to glimmer through the tree leaves, like stars in the night sky. However, unlike the stars in the sky these artificial stars slowly began to wink out of existence. Rouge silently cursed herself once more before stepping into her grandmother's home.

"Grandmother," She called out "I'm so sorry i'm late." She immediately noticed the heat; the air was thick with it, along with the smell of cooking meat. "Grandmother?," She called out as she removed her cloak in the presence of the oppressive heat. "Grandmother?," she called out again as she made her way into the kitchen. She spotted her grandmother's largest cauldron sitting above the fire. She could hear the contents of the boiling within, but as she got closer to brew something didn't smell quite right. Part of her thought perhaps this brew had been left on the fire for too long but some unknown instinct told her that wasn't the case.

"I'm in here child." came a voice from her grandmother's rooms, before it settled into a fit of coughs. Her Grandmother's voice was so garbled and gravely that she sounded like a man. Rouge immediately ignored the boiling cauldron and she stood as stiff as a board her heart beating faster as her body began to prepare itself for her next response.

Rouge quietly and calmly walked to her grandmother's room. The only true light was that of the kitchen and it barely managed to reach her grandmother's door. The door lay ajar allowing her to see the deepening shadows that lay within. Taking another deep breath to steady herself she opened the door and looked within.

Rouge did her best to keep her poise, so that her true feelings would not be revealed to whoever was behind the door. Rouge had positioned herself slightly to the side in order not to obstruct what little light there was. Yet, it wasn't enough to light the room, it simply gave the shadows forms within the darkness. She found her grandmothers shape laying within in the bed, her glasses reflected the little light that entered the room and made twin pools of dim light floating in the darkness.

"Sweet child at last you're here, I was beginning to worry."

It was her grandmother's voice sweet and melodic like a cello. However, it still sounded garbled and rough as though the one playing the cello had struck the wrong note. It must be because she's sick. Rouge tried to convince herself, but some primal instinct in the back of her mind kept niggling at her.

"I'm sorry grandmother, time slipped away from me."

"Well, I'm glad you're here, I was worried that I was starting to go senile and confusing the dates." Her grandmother gave a small chuckle that went into another fit of coughing. Rouge didn't move from her spot in the doorway.

"Sweet child is everything alright? Why are you standing all the way over there?"

"No reason grandmother, I was just remembering the first day I saw you with your glasses and I said "grandmother what big eyes you have,"" Rouge pasted a wide smile on her face ""and you just smiled wide and said "all the better to see with my dear.""

Rouges grandmother gave another soft chuckle, "yes, I remember that day well my dear."

Grandmother smiled a wide smile; her teeth nearly glowed in the shadows, one of her teeth even winked at her. Rouge felt the spike of fear course through her even as she struggled to keep her smile in place.

"Well, I better take out all of the things mother sent for you." Rouge stepped away and calmly walked toward the main room, where the basket and cloak waited for her. A primal chill ran up her spine, it warned her that something was stalking her, on instinct she reached in the hidden pockets of her dress. She barely grasped what was inside, when strong arms encased themselves around her. She felt a hard body press up against her back as a voice growled gently in her ear.

"Where do you think you're going?" The growling voice chuckled.

Rouge felt the hold around her tighten; on pure instinct she pulled out the knives in her pockets, she reversed her grip on the blade in her right hand and sunk it into her attacker's leg. Before he could even shout in pain, she twisted the blade before she tried to force it across his thigh. The muscle was thick and with her arms pinned she had no real leverage but she managed to move it. Her attacker barked in pain as he inadvertently leaned toward his injured side this put his face over her right shoulder. Though her upper arms were trapped in his embrace, she thrust her knife toward his face.

Normally this wouldn't have worked with her arms pinned as they were but the blade in her left hand had been hidden in the pocket in the folds of her skirts, because it wouldn't be able to fit any other of her other pockets. The blade alone was a foot long and it was thin like a rapiers blade. She heard the pop crack of glass as the blade broke through the lens of her grandmother's glasses that her attacker was still wearing. She then felt the blade slide into flesh before her attacker bellowed again and let go of her.

She let go of the blade her right hand as her attacker attempted to step back away from her. The torn muscles in his right leg gave out and he dropped to his knee, while he swiped the glasses away from his face. Blood was pouring from his left eye socket. Yet Rouge only noticed this in passing. When she had become free from his grasp, she stepped forward and then quickly turned on her heel and thrust her thin blade into her attacker. Normally she was right handed however; this did little to affect her accuracy, her technique was textbook perfect.

Unfortunately, what did affect her accuracy was her target. Though half blind he had seen the attack coming and turned his chest so the blade missed his heart, but it still did some massive damage as it pierced his lung. Just as quickly as she had attacked, he dropped a heavy hand on the flat of her blade. He did with just enough force to snap it before he dropped onto his side. Rouge quickly raised her leg and retrieved the other hidden blade in her right boot. Her foot had barely touched the ground when she felt the primal chill ran up her spine again. She turned on her heel quickly; the front door flew opened from a strong gust of wind, which made her blink, before an explosion of pain made the world go black.

"So then what happened?"

"He fell through, I waited but it looks like the currents under the ice did our job for us."

Rouge heard these words from a distance as though she was at the end of some long tunnel but she felt weightless, floating through the abyss on an invisible current.

"Well thank lord Ferus for that, that son of a bitch just refused to die."

"Indeed, he was one of the best hunters we have ever faced. I might be, even persuaded to say the best of the best."

The word hunter, tugged at her mind it sounded familiar to her, yet she felt no real connection to the word.

"Shall we toast our enemy?"

"Indeed, lets, to Bardolph Luna may you forever be the prey of Lord Ferus."

Rouge heard the clink of the porcelain cups but that only registered secondary in her mind. Bardolph, blazed through her mind dispelling the darkness and throwing her into a world of pain. Pain in her heart but also pain in her body, she focused on the physical pain because there was nothing she could do for the pain in her heart. Bardolph was gone and the pain from that thought, threatened to undo her, but she couldn't let it, she would have time to mourn her lost future, for now she focused on the pain, and focused on surviving.

"Megálos, it seems our honored guest is finally waking up."

"Well, it looks like we'll get to have some fun, after all."

Rouge tried to move but soon found out that, her hands had been restrained behind her back and that she was laying face down on the floor because all of her hair had curtain itself around her face. A foot dug itself into her stomach before it flipped her over onto her back, putting more pressure on what she realized were numbed hands. Flipping her over gave her one advantage it allowed her to see her attackers.

The lit candles in the room, allowed her to see the two men who stood over her. The first was the broad man she had met earlier on the road, with the golden tooth. The other man was just as tall as the other man was but he had lanky thin compact muscle that would deceive most people about his strength. He had long dark hair that reached the nape of his neck and was streaked with red highlights. Both men had beards, where the broad man had a full but trimmed beard that matched his trimmed hair. His partner however, had a beard that only covered his jaw giving him a rather leonine look. The lanky man crouched closer to her.

"Careful Schlecht, this one full of surprises," said the broad man as he touched the bandages that covered his left eye.

"No worries Megálos, just going to ask our friend here, how she knew it was you. What gave him away?"

Rouge wet her lips, a move she noticed, that both men followed with their eyes, she already had an idea of what they had in mind, "are you looking for a specific tell or do just want me to list all of them."

Megálos growled.

"I know that you caught on a bit at the beginning because my associate had fallen asleep waiting for you. That wasn't very nice of you to make him wait so long." Schlecht said with a humorless smile.

"Well thank the lady for small favors, but that wasn't the only thing. I'll admit, I thought I was being a little paranoid, when he actually sounded like my grandmother. Yet I knew something was off, I now realize it was the smell of blood. The fragrance from the boiling broth covered it up a bit. Yet the smell of it, still lingers in the air. The other thing that gave your friend away is the fact that my grandmother never wears her glasses to bed, she puts then on the cupboard next to the door. But perhaps the most damning piece of evidence is his very unique smile."