Red Riding Hood

Chapter Twenty Nine

Can one really

forgive and

forget?

An hour later Scarlet emerges from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her, her mother helps her into her room where Scarlet insists that she is capable to dress herself, and her mother leaves to check on everyone down stairs. Feeling warm and refreshed, though she could use a good nap, she forces herself to walk away from her bed and step behind her changing screen, where she dresses herself in a warm, thick dark blue dress.

Knock, Knock.

There's two sharp thumps on the door before Luca enters slowly, shutting the door behind him. Scarlet peeks around the screen before emerging fully whilst adjusting the strings of her corset - Luca subtly eyeing off her half exposed chest with his hazel eyes. "Feeling better?" He asks, sitting on the end of the bed.

"Yes, thank you."

"Good." He pauses. "We need to talk."

"I know." She finishes lacing her corset and retrieves her hair brush. "What did you tell my grandmother?"

"Nothing. I said that you'd be able to relay the story better than I could."

"And what story am I going to tell everyone?" She brushes out her tangled damp hair and begins braiding it.

"That's up to you. If you want to tell them what happened then that's your choice."

"Why do I have to make all the big decisions?" She looks at him in the mirror. He smirks and walks over to her.

"If you want to lie then I'll help with a story. But it's your decision." He kisses her shoulder lightly. "Keeping in mind, if they take it badly the whole village will quickly learn the truth and I'm sure they'll all come running with their pitchforks." They hold each other's gaze in the mirror, a fearful expression wandering over her features. "I won't kill anyone if they want to fight, but I won't be able to stay here. You know that right?" Luca adds, unsure if her expression is for him or the villagers.

"I know." She sighs. "We'll lie. For now." Luca nods and kisses her shoulder lightly again before walking back over to the bed. "Any ideas?"

"After it jumped the wall, the wound on its shoulder became too much to bare and it dropped me and continued on whilst I crawled away and hid in the undergrowth before it could circle back." She starts.

"And what about me? The village already thinks I'm gone."

"Well." She paces in front of him. "Um, you were leaving when you wandered past me and I got your attention. You pulled me from the undergrowth and helped me back to the village."

"Why was I leaving?" He begins poking for flaws in the story so they have every possible base covered.

"Um, at first you had already planned on leaving because ... because you were in love with me and couldn't bear to live here knowing that you couldn't have me. But after you heard the wolf had taken me then you decided to hunt the wolf in the direction you were heading in." She cringes slightly, thinking that that doesn't sound quite right.

"Alright. Why didn't we use the front gates?"

"We did. You carried me and you slipped past everyone to avoid attention, wanting to deliver me home first."

"Okay, think you'll be alright telling that convincingly?" Scarlet shrugs and goes over the lie in her head. "Well, you've got time to practice it. Do you want to talk about something else? Any questions you want to get out of the way?"

"I have a thousand." She breathes looking him in the eye. Luca smirks and nods, sliding back to the head of the bed, crossing his long legs he beckons for Scarlet to sit down. She crawls forward and sits in front of him. "The first night you arrived, why did you –" She tries to replace the word attack. "'Terrorise' the village?" She bites her lip hoping that she didn't offend him.