Red
I hated being ill-prepared for errands.
Yet here I sat, across from the most damning, smirking, errand I've ever been assigned.
Queen Harley sits at the head of the long dining table, her effortless beauty still as shocking as when I was a little lass. My childhood best friend sits across from her at the other end of the table.
I wasn't surprised when the former gleefully invited both of us to join her for the morning meal. Ingrid seemed less than thrilled at the prince's presence, however, her mood quickly shifted when I walked in behind him.
But as the queen chatted on about foreign politics with the prince and made some not-so-subtle comments toward her daughter, who still was uncourted, I couldn't help but feel like a stranger— an imposter.
I didn't belong here in a fancy castle. I didn't belong sitting beside the Queen whose husband I had murdered several months ago. I didn't belong here in my ripped wool sweater and my leather pants.
I was just an orphaned girl who did what she had to in order to survive.
Nobody else that sat at the table around me knew what it meant to just survive. I knew the lavish life that Ingrid grew up in, servants always there for her every whim. Niles was the descendant of the richest patriarch ever known. Queen Harley grew up noble, alongside my mother, and was predestined to marry into the royal family.
I may have been born in the castle, but every second of my life after that cushioned drop from my mother has been a battle.
Gods. Listen to me. Prattling on about my troubles.
This is why I hated being ill-prepared for errands. My mind worked too hard to make up for the gaps and always sent me spiraling.
Curse Ezekiel and this bloody errand.
The lazing leopard at my feet shifted, his head coming to lay on my boots.
The rest of his body served as a solid barrier between me and the Prince across from me, who last time, had a problem keeping his feet to himself. MK - clearly - wasn't going to allow that to happen now.
My newest companion gave a reassuring squeeze around my bicep, his head lounging on my shoulder as he seemed to also be relaxing.
The queen and princess had made plenty of worried glances towards the serpent, though no one has yet to question his presence. They were used to my crazy habits.
Even when I was little, I terrorized the inside of these castle walls with peculiar creatures. Any creature I could find on Ingrid and I's outdoor adventures tended to come back with me. My mother never bothered to scold me and neither did the queen. My handmaidens, on the other hand, ran away screaming from me and my finds many of times.
I suppose some things never do change.
"We can discuss this at a later time, Mother," Ingrid politely smiled at the queen, though her words were clipped.
Queen Harley gave a slitted glare towards her daughter but honored her wishes and switched the topic away from potential marriage prospects.
Which, honestly, I had completely blocked out.
My errand was to discover why the prince was still here and as far as I could tell, that had nothing to do with the princess. Which meant I had to put up with minimal court gossip and politics, thankfully.
"Very well, you could learn a thing or two from Ru- Red," the queen muttered towards her daughter.
Who thankfully hadn't noticed her slip-up. I wish I could say the same. Instantly, all the blood drained from my face as I stared down at my barely eaten-plate.
YOU ARE READING
Red's Demise
Fantasy(Previously known as Little Red Riding Hood) "I wish I could say I was doing good in the world. Ridding it of its waste and evil. But really, I'm no better than those I kill. I liked killing. I liked holding life in my hands. I liked proving I wa...
