The Great Pumpkin Chase

Chapter 3

Ember sat at her desk flicking her pencil back and forth across the top. Back and forth it went. Over and over again. The sound was surprisingly soothing for the girl.

The pencil finally gave up the chase and rolled right into the floor. Where it would stay till one of Ember's sons would find it and stuff it up their nose to the delight of their sister's.

She could hear her family downstairs doing what Hoods did best. Making a lot of noises with their body parts and laughing. Ember rolled her eyes and continued to stare a hole into the flyer tacked to her wall. 

It was a simple affair. Just plain white card stock with bold black lettering. Though it was simple it offered Ember a way to realize her dream. Ember was the one and only daughter to the famed Ruby Hood, or Red Riding Hood as she was immortalized by the tabloid writer August Grimm. 

It was three weeks ago to the day that she was out with a group of friends when she saw the flyer. It was an unobtrusive thing really. She had to do a double take to even fully appreciate the plainness of the flyer. No flashy colors, no glaring font. It had been easy to overlook.

It was a simple message. The effect was life changing. At least for Ember. 

Ember's mother was the poster girl for girl power to its zenith. Ruby Red was a legend before she became a celebrity. She was the youngest winner of the Sherwood Archery Contest, beating out little Lord Bran Locksley. It was a media frenzy around the little girl and her trusty bow, and the prize money was nothing to sneeze at. 

With her unprecedented win the Fairy Godmother awarded Ruby a coveted Golden Egg.The same egg that now set in its own glass case in her mother's office. Well as with any windfall there were those that weren't as happy about the Hood sudden cash flow. Nor her triumph over Bran. 

On the way home from school Ruby was snatched by The Wolf. Now The Wolf was not known as a kidnapper. He was a heist man, and a man that had never been caught. During his trial he implicated the Locksley family, but no charges were ever filed. 

The Wolf may have been a master thief and escape artist, but he had never gone up against Ruby Hood. 

Before the police could mount a proper rescue party the pint sized sharp shooter was dragging the bleeding and trussed up thief into the police station and demanding someone get her a glass of cold chocolate milk. If the media thought she was a cute kid after dethroning the bratty Locksley. They fell madly in love with her for rescuing herself and capturing public enemy number one. The magazine covers and newspaper clippings from those days plastered her mother's office and part of the family room. Her mother had grown up to open up Hood Construction. The family had just finished the remodel on the Godmother Tower, a bidding war which almost turned into a battle royal parking lot fight.

Ember didn't mind being the daughter of a powerful woman like her mother, she just didn't want to follow in the same footsteps. Sure she was tough and muscled like work horse, but Ember had dreams of her own. None that she felt she could share with her family. Least of all her five brothers. 

Where to begin with her brothers. All five of them were miniature versions of her mother, well to be honest Ember was as well, but she tried to be the lone wolf (pun very much intended) in the family. Her brother Teal was the general contractor for the family company. He was the oldest so it stood to reason that he would take the helm when their mother retired. Ember was happy to see him doing it, her mother had been hinting that she wanted Ember to take it over. Ember would rather run naked covered in honey through a bee farm than work in construction the rest of her life. Not that she was say that to her mother's face. Her third oldest brother, Cyan, made furniture which was sold out of the company's flagship office in Beanstalk City. Ember thought many of his pieces were built for giants, but there was no telling him that. He thought he was a creative genius just shy of being an elf.  

The second oldest brother Indigo was a butcher. Though it wasn't in the building business it was still physical job. He came home reeking of blood and animals, sometimes it was enough to turn Ember's stomach. How he found a wife was puzzling to her, but he married a milkmaid so maybe she was used to the smell. Her older, little brother was a banker. How he was able to buck with the family tradition and still keep his last name was a wonder to Ember and she secretly prayed she could pull the same feat. 

Her attention wandered back to the flyer tacked on her wall. It was her way out from her family. She loved them, she loved them dearly. That didn't mean she wanted to be like them. Sure the family vacation through the military's training camp was a lot of fun. And the burping contests were legedary, but she wanted more for her life.

Ember started life out as a delicate flower amidst a sea of masculinity. 

While Ember wanted to play with dolls and put bows in her hair, her mother taught her how to chop and chuck wood. Her father taught her how to track and trap all manner of animals. Her brothers taught her how to burp out her name. There wasn't any space to just be a girl. She had to sneak out of the house to buy her first bra. Her mother liked to say, "No use restraining them if no one is looking at them." Ember didn't care. She wanted to have at least one bra. Even if she had to shove it in her bag and put it on when she got to school. 

Despite all her stubbornness Ember found her gentle curves harden under a layer of muscle. The lustrous glow of her chestnut main grew slick with axle grease from the wagons she helped her brothers fix. Ember wouldn't trade her life with the Hood family for anything, but once she wished she could be herself and be a girl. 

She often stayed up late long after her parents had gone to bed. She would pry open the loose floor board under her bed. Underneath was a simple wooden box that held her hopes and dreams. The box held swatches of fabrics and magazine clippings. She loved clothes. all manner of clothes. Male clothes, female clothes, even baby clothes. Ember wanted to design clothes and have pixie models strut up and down a runway wearing her clothes for all the kingdom to see. She didn't dare share that with her family. Not only would her brother laugh and tease her merciless, her mother would crumble like waterlogged brick. Then her steely resolve would resurface and Ember wouldn't be allowed out of the house. Ruby Hood didn't believe in women being decorative and designing clothes was wholly decorative if you asked her.     

The flyer had teased her that first day. She had snatched it down from the post and stuffed it in her back pocket as she left the Drawf Ball stadium with her friends. She didn't want ot mention anything to them. Sometimes boys were bigger gossips than girls and she didn't want to risk one of them flapping their mouths around her mother.

The flyer asked for interested parties to meet at the Old Shoe Tavern if they were looking to join a Pumpkin Race team. Drawf Ball was a city sport, well liked and brought in a lot of money. Ember enjoyed it as much as the next person and if she weren't human and so tall she would have tried to play. The Pumpkin Races was attended by the queen and sanctioned by the Fairy Godmother herself. Emeber even heard that princes from Ali watched the races ont he BEN. Ember didn't even know the BEN broadcasted in Ali. 

It had lit a fire in her belly. The winner of the races recieved the Golden Egg. Which came with a heavy purse. Enough money for Ember to go to school and open her won fashion house. Without needing her mother's help nor blessing. She knew enough about pumpkins to be the team mechanic. 

The days blurred together as she formulated her plan. She couldn't remember ever being so excited about something, "Damn," she muttered under her breath. In her daydream she had let the time slipped by. Now she was going to have to hurry if she hoped to make it on time. Racing down the stairs she didn't have time to grab a chicken leg before rushing out of the house. Her mother yelled something about getting some milk.