Once Upon A Time ~ Book 1

Chapter 84 - Red Riding Hood

David sat in the Sherif's station, but Emma's desk. Emma walked towards him and handed him a cup of tea.
"Thank you." he said, taking it.
Emma leaned against her desk and looked at David.
"I hope Kathryn is somewhere warm. Not out in the cold."
"David......... I think you need to start worrying about yourself a little bit more here. Your wife is missing. You are in love with another woman. There's this unexplained phone call......." she looked at the phone records again.
"I know. I know. I just........ I can't explain why it says that. I didn't do anything to my wife."
"I'm pretty good at spotting a liar......and honestly.....liars have better material."
He sighed.
"Now, go home." she stood straight and pit her cup of tea down.
"I can go?"
She opened the door of her office and turned back to him. "We don't even know of there was a crime yet. So, get some sleep."
"Thank you." he said standing up and walking out the door.
"And David......" she added.
He turned back to her.
".......maybe get a lawyer." she advised him before he left.

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The streets of Storybrooke were dark and cold and a wolf howled in the distance. Inside, Granny's Diner was bright and warm. Ruby stood by the table were August sat, leaning against the chair in her short shirt, low buttoned top and bare legs, her long, black and red hair hanging down, bringing out her blood red lips.
"You can't be serious." she said to August. "A whole ye at without a roof over your head?"
"Well, you get used to it." said August. "And plus I had the motorcycle, so I didn't like a place after a while........" he imitated the sound of a motorcycle whooshing and waved his hand.
"Ruby?" called Granny from the counter, glaring at her.
She sighed. "I've never even been out of Storybrooke...... What was your favorite place?"
"Nepal...... Best people. They have these prayer temples, carved into mountains that are overrun by lemurs."
Ruby's eyes widened as she listened to his words. "What's a lemur."
"Ruby!" shouted Granny, looking up from her guest book.
"Just give me a sec!" she shouted back.
"They're little animals." he explained. "Yeah. And they have these eyes that reflect light, so at night it looks like they glow."
Ruby's eyes widened in amazement and she smiled.
"Ruby, stop flirting ans get over here!" shouted Granny, knocking her hand on the counter.
Ruby turned and glared at her threateningly.

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A young man with ruffled brown hair knocked onthe shutters of a cottage window.
"Who's there?" said a young girls quivering voice.
"Ley me in." he said, opening the shutters to reveal another shutter from the inside.
"I'm just a poor old widow. Spare me!" she said on a high pitched voice.
"Let me in, or I'll......."
"Yes?"
"I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow......"
The shutters from inside the cottage opened and Red stood inside chuckling, her red hood over her long, wavy black hair. "You'll huff ans puff?" she laughed.
"I couldn't think of nothing." he said, gazing into her sparkling blue eyes.
"Oh, so you thought you'd level the house with the power of your breath?" she said leaning closer.
"Hmm....."
She leaned even closer. "Well, a case could be made......"
"Oh!" he chuckled.
"Shhhh!" she looked behond her. "Granny's in the other room. You know she doesn't like me opening the shutters."
"No, she doesn't like me." he held her hand.
"That's what I meant."
"You gotta get out of here."
"I know...... Anywhere."
"Well, a blacksmith's buy can get work all over."
"You'd leave everyone you know?....... You'd do that for me?"
"I'd do anything for you." he gazed into her eyes again.
She chuckled and looked down at the window pane. "Peter, Watch out, your air of danger is slipping."
He smiled. "Come out. Just for a minute."
She looked around. "It's already dark. She'd never let me."
"Red? Where are you? What are you doing?" said a muffled voice from the other room.
She turned away quickly but Peter grasped her arm.
"Let go." she said quitly.
"Pay the price. One kiss."
She opened her mouth to say something, but her Granny's voice interupted her again. "Red, get in here!"
He smiled, rubbing her hand, then she beamed and leaned quickly out the window, touching her lips to his.
He smiled happily ans she pushed him away, smiling too and giggling.
She then closed the shutters and locked them, leaned her back, against the wood, smiled happily.
Peter walked away, down, through the snowy forest, his sack over his shoulder.
Red stepped out of her room and into the next room, where her Granny stood by the open door, opposite a group of men.
"What's going on?" asked Red.
"Nothing that concerns you." said Granny. "Just a bunch of fools trying to get themselves killed over a few dead sheep." she looked back at the men outside her front door.
"Wolf took out a dozen last night." sais the man closest to the door.
"So you called me in here to what?" asked Red. "Just to keep me in sight?"
"Good evening, Red." said the front man. "We're just forming up a hinting party."
Her eyes widened. "You're hunting the wolf?" she said excitedly. She grasped her Granny's arm. "Can I go with them, please? I'll be safe in a big group."
Granny turned her head to her. "Don't be ludicrous. You're staying inside and you're keeping that hood on." she indicated to her red cloak. "You know red repels wolves."
"There's not wearing red." she argued.
"They're damn fools, too." she turned back to the men. "There're only two more nights left on wolfstime. Let it take a few sheep. Now, go home." she slammed the door in their faced and bolted it up.
"I hope they kill the wolf." said Red. "Then we can have lives again."
"You just want to roam around the woods with that wastrel, Peter."
"He's not a wastrel...... He works hard. He has plans." she argued.
"Oh, I am sure he does." she said, sarcasticly. "Now come on. You know what to do."
Both Red and her Granny bolted up the door tightly. Her Granny then pulled down the bars over the fireplace and they locked all the shutters tight.
"Now, go to sleep, girl." said her Granny, setting her rocking chair in place.
"Yes, Granny." she walked to her room, her hood still up.
"And I hope I don't see that boy mooning around here tomorrow." she sat back in her rocking chair and pulled her shawl around her shoulders. "And where the hood!" she added.
"Yes, Granny." she shut the door behind her and her Granny picked up a crossbow from the ground, and holding it up in front of her, right opposite the bolted front door.

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"I can't believe you did that. That was humiliating." Ruby said angrily to Granny.
"I want you to start working Saturday nights." she said, egnoring her anger.
Her mouth dropped a little. "Come on. We have an agreement about Saturday night."
"I want to start training you to do the books and the reorders." she indicated to the guest book on the counter in front of her. "Business is booming lately, and with more money comes more paperwork."
"Yeah, none of that sounds good."
"It's gotta be done."
"Is this a punishment? For talking to that guy?" she said, rage growing inside her.
"If I wanted to punish you, I'd have better reasons. For one thing, you were late. For another thing, Liza, you dress like a drag queen during fleet week." she said, scanning her inappropriate clothing.
"And you dresd like Norman Bates when he dresses like Norman Bates' mother."
August still sat near by. He put his hand to his mouth, attempting not to laugh at Ruby's combats.
"Ruby, you're a grown woman. You can't keep acting like some kid."
"You just want me to act like you until I turn into you." she leaned closer to her. "Well, I am not a fossil yet, Granny. I should be out there having adventures with lemurs!"
She collected the paperwork and closed the guest book. "Well, as long as you work here, you are gonna listen to me." she walked along the inside of the counter.
"I didn't ask to work here." she walked along the other side of the counter.
"Then what's keeping you?"
"Nothing. I quit!" she went quickly out the door of the Diner.
Granny looked up at the door slamming, a little regret in her face.

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Granny ~ Granny