Chapter 86 - Granny's Story

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People gathered in a tavern, the seats lined up in front of a few men. They all shouted and muttered in fear of what had happened to the group of men who had attempted to kill the wolf.
"The one thing I know......." started the lead man of the group who had visited Red's cottage the night before. The room fell silent and the people listened to him. ".........is that last night was the very last massacre!"
The men in the room shouted, brandishing there weapons. "Yeah!"
"You know, if I had stayed with that party for another ten minutes, I too would be among the dead........"
Peter sat in the misd of the men, listening too. He heard the door of the tavern open quitly and saw Red walk inside with her Granny, and a face hidden Snow. He smiled at her and she tryed to walk towards him, but her Granny pushed her back.
".........And when I think if I'd only doubled back, maybe I could have caught it in the act. Maybe I would have been able to slay the creature."
"You would not." interrupted Red's Granny loudly.
The people in the room turned to her and murmured quitly.
"Widow Lucas." said the leader of the passed group.
"This creature is more powerful than you can imagine. You wouldn't have a chance........"
Snow and Red looked at one another for a minute, listening carefully to Red's Granny.
"........Stay inside, hide your children, forget your livestock." she said to the people in the room.
"You've said all this before." he said.
"But I haven't said how I know..... Nearly three score years ago, I was a child with six older brothers big as oak trees, all of them veterans of the second ogres-war. And my father, the biggest of them all. Come one wolfstime, he decided to go out and take on the wolf. A different wolf back then, of course, but just as fearsome. They went out there to protect me....... I was supposed to be asleep, but I crawled out on the roof ti watch and lay down in the thatch. They had the beast surrounded, the seven of them, with spears all pointed in at it........"
The leader of the departed party listened, his eyes widening in fear as she continued to tell her story.
"........ And then it started. It was lunging. Not at the men, at the spears, grabbing with its teeth, breaking the shafts. They stabbed it with the splintered end, but it didn't matter. It tore their throats so fast that not a one of them git a chance to scream, or pray........." she bent her head. "............or say goodbye........ When my father died, I tumbled from the roof. And I landed inthe blood in front of the wolf. I felt it's breath on my face." she pulled of her brown leather gloves. ".........And it clamped it's hot jaw on my arm......." she pulled up the sleeve of her dress. ".........and I rolled away." she revealed on her arm, a huge, deep scar of the wolf's bit mark.
The people murmured in fear and horror at what they had heard and seen. The leaderstood at the front of the room, now quivering a little at the thought at what he had to face. Snow put her hand over the shawl around her face in horror and Red eyes filled with fear.
"Then it looked at me with eyes so black they weren't even there. And it walked away. You ever see a wild animal just turn it's back ans walk away like you don't matter?" she looked around the room. "If this wolf is like that one, there is no defeating it. It's already won just by existing in our world. You don't kill it. You just hide."

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Red and Snow sat on Red's bed by the fire in her room.
"So, your Granny is kind of intense." said Snow.
"Yeah." Red chuckled. "A bit....... I feel like a rat in a trap." she quickly glanced into the other room at her Granny sitting in her rocking chair, knitting.
"Is this trap keeping you from......" she shrugged. "........being with someone?"
Her eyes widened a little is surprise. "How did you know?"
"Well, I saw some looks exchanged back there. And I hate to break it to you, but it wasn't subtle." she laughed.
Red giggled. "Yes....... Peter. We've been friends forever.......but now things are.......... Well, changing."
"That must be nice." she smiled.
She nodded. "Do you have someone?"
"Oh, no. And I'm not sure that's in my future...... You're lucky, Red." "I know." she glanced over at her Granny again then leaned closer. "And we're talking about going away together, but I done even get any time with him. Granny's too afraid of the wolf to let me out alone...... You saw what the wolf did...... Sometimes I wonder if she's right."
"Oh, she's right about the wolf. But she's wrong to use it to keep you from love."
"You think that's what she's doing?"
She looked down and shrugged a little.
Red thought for a moment, then she looked up quickly. "Let's kill the wolf."
Snow looked at her, confused. "Uhh........"
Red beamed.
"Hang on."
"We'd be heroes."
"Red, teams of trained hunters have been killed. But they go at night, when it's got the advantage. If we went now, we could find it slumbering units den and kill it in its sleep."
"Oh......."
"Come on." she got to her feet.
"Red, I don't know." she shook her head.
She sighed. "I'm going, with or without you. But you're right. I can't let her keep me trapped forever." she walked to the door, leaving Snow fearful of the plan.

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Mary Margaret drove her car to the Leaving Storybrooke sign. She stepped out of the car and opened her umbrella, shutting the door behind her.
She walked through the peaceful, forest, the only sound being the birds chirping in the canopy of green leave above her. She continued walking, her white umbrella over her head.
Then suddenly twigs snapping near by disrupted the peace. She looked around, but could see no one. She then heard footsteps approaching, she stood still, the only thing moving was her eyes darting around her surroundings. The footsteps turned into rustling in some small trees ahead, she walked towards them and saw David walk from them.
She sighed in relief. "..... It's you." she breathed.
He walked closer to her, but didn't look at her, his eyes searched the area around him, his mind was a million miles away and his jacket was wet.
She sighed again. "You okay?"
He didn't reply.
"You're looking for Kathryn, too?" she held her umbrella over his head too.
"I'm looking."
"She knows you didn't do anything. Emma, I mean. Shenanigans tell when people are lying. So she knows........ And I'll stand with you. I'll tell everyone this isn't possible."
He barely payed attention to her words, he looked around the forest aimlessly, confused.
"And she's going to turn up somewhere. That's why we're out here, right?"
"I'm looking."
"David?" she said, as his eyes wonders around, he stumbled back a little. "David!"
He turned and walked further into the forest.
"David!" she watched him go, fear in her eyes.

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