Little Red Riding Wolf (Book 1 of Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs the Series)

Interlude

Phillip
Phillip turned his head (while walking and leading Axle by the reins) upon hearing the question, almost forgetting to look down to face his (now dwarf) brother.

Out of all the things he thought would have befallen his brother and the other F7 to make them disappear, this was not one of them.

Sure it was possible for Princes to get cursed. Although, that mostly happened when his parents were young. Not these days. With the exception of Merlin's older brother Tristan being cursed into a mouse

"That those two seem suspicious? I am with you there, bro."

"Obviously," Arthur said. "Those two instantly knew who I was."

"Weird," Phillip agreed. "I thought no one knew about the curse except yourselves."

"No one does," Arthur replied. "At least we thought so. The only other person who does is... that fairy." His eyes widened as he mentioned this last part.

Phillip knew what his brother was thinking. Was it possible that the fairy princess told other people (or fae) about the curse? Which somehow gotten to their current allies? It was the only logical explanation.

"You think these guys have heard about it from her?"

"Got to be. That wouldn't be surprising though. Probably bragged about how cursed us even though we saved her from a dragon and all." Arthur scowled.

"Didn't you says you attacked her soon after?" Phillip sternly reminded him.

"How many times do I have to tell you? We thought she was a witch!" Arthur growled, annoyed.

Phillip ignored that and continued on. "Anyway, what's weird is that they didn't reveal your secret."

"Yeah, and more so they seem to know Red. How is that even possible?"

"She did say that her curse was cast by the Fairy Queen," suggested Phillip. "The mother of the one who cast yours. Do you think one of them told someone who later told these guys?"

"No doubt," Arthur grumbled. "Or maybe the fairy sent them to spy on me to make sure my curse doesn't get broken!"

"You really think she would do that?" Phillip asked.

"Why not? After all it appears cursing innocent people runs in her family. I mean her aunt is the one who cast the sleeping spell on the princess of Sommelier when she was only a baby! So it would make sense she would be a nasty, cruel witch too!"

"Hey watch it Arthur," warned Phillip. "She's still a princess, despite her appearance. Ok, yes I can agree with you about the aunt, but as for the Princess Moth, she did it for a reason. You guys did attack her after all."

"Again, it was a misunderstanding!" Arthur said, exasperated. "Besides, we are supposed to be talking about Red, not me."

"Speaking of," said Phillip, curious. "I'm surprised to see two getting along."

"Yeah, me too," Arthur said. "Despite what I originally thought about her she's becoming a good friend."

"Really?" Phillip asked, giving his brother a sly look. "Because from my point I see it differently."

"What are you implying?" Arthur asked, confused.

"Oh, come on, Arthur." Phillip may have been 15 and looked like his older brother, but he wasn't dumb like him. "I can see what's going on, and it's obvious that whatever's between you two seems way more than friendship."

"What?" Arthur asked, looking flabbergasted. "You are crazy! There is nothing going on between us."

"Oh? Because you seemed really protective of her back there."