Little Red Riding Hood

"Grandmama's house? What's got to do with all this?" Robin chased after me.

I explained to Robin what happened while running. The barrier, the witches, how I became the wolf pack's leader, and about the children being under that spell.

"But what makes you think Grandmama is the cause of all this?"

"When I visited her many years ago, she showed me the lock to her house. It was a wooden maple charm, similar to the one the witches possessed. She spoke about soul magic, and how it could tie beings together. I got kidnapped by the Blackbirds before and tried to escape to her house. I arrived just at her door, but she didn't come out even once. It's odd that she wouldn't hear such a loud commotion. Unless she wanted to purposely keep me here. As if she wanted me to know about my powers. And who better to teach me than the Blackbirds.

The witches all had purple eyes, just like you and I. And they called someone their mother. They kidnapped only children- Hansel and Gretel, Thadeaus, Aurum, and the rest of the Redhead clan children. They were kept within the barrier, or under a spell. That meant no one could find them, and they couldn't cause a commotion. Eventually, they'd be considered dead or lost."

"I still don't get it," Peter shook his head. "You're implying that your grandmama is the mother these witches are talking about. What does capturing the children have to do with it?"

"I'm getting to that. Having a whole clan of innocent and naive children is easy to raise, isn't it? Easy to manipulate. Easy to breed."

Robin's eyes widened. "What do you mean- breed? Like livestock?"

"There was a kid, Nikolai. He's the piper who entered your village. He had purple eyes too. A born-murderer. He was used by Grandmama to lure away those children. And what better excuse than pretending it is revenge against an infamously stingy mayor. That means that Grandmama uses born-murderers. And she wants more. What other way is there to produce more. She can't risk her witches or they'd die, and I'm sure someone born of one of us won't share our abilities. It's soul magic that gives us our powers. Both parents must die at our birth for us to control the lives of others."

"So- she's trying to kidnap... children... to raise and breed more born-murderers? Hold on- this is too far of a stretch. Breeding and kidnapping, your imagination has gone wild, Red," Robin shook his head.

"Her witches caught two sets of children. The first in a gingerbread house caught Hansel and Gretel, the second caught Aurum and Thadeus. A male and female child each."

"Hansel and Gretel are twins."

"Do you really believe a kidnapper would care if a pair were siblings as long as she got what she wanted? She's been watching her progress too. I saw her white hair when rescuing the children. And she wasn't trying to hide that well either. She wants me to know her plan. She wants me to join her. Setting the Redhead village against the Blackbird clan was a ploy to keep them busy so no one would notice her. And the hunters are her backup plan to slow us down from stopping her."

"I don't believe it... Grandmama is a witch?"

"Someone in the village is helping her. I saw that same maple leaf charm in a vision. I just don't know who."

"Red. If we want to get there quicker, you should get on my back," Aloysius morphed into his wolf form.

"Oh no you don't! I've had enough of you masquarding as my sister's boyfriend-"

"I am her husband. In reality. It is no act," Aloysius cut Robin off.

"I don't give you my blessing!" Robin pointed an accusing finger at Aloysius. "And besides. If you run off and leave us all in the dust, we won't be able to catch up."