The Wolf's Den

Path 3: Tilli, Chapter 8: Part 1

        Before too long, they ran into a girl in a red hood, staring at them with a blank curiosity. "Excuse me, may I ask you something?" Tilli said.

        "I suppose, yes, but you'd best come into my home to do so. It's not safe out here," the child said.

        When settled into a comfortable living room with food to eat and a warm drink before her, Tilli, set Heinrich gently into the bowl of water the girl--- Red Riding Hood--- had made for him. Studying the child without her hood, she looked to the door anxiously before Red shook her head slightly.

        "He won't find us here."

        "How can you be so sure?"

        "Neutrality has its benefits, he doesn't mess with me because I can roam free. It's the second rule, and while I'm neutral, you unfortunately aren't. Your friend, however, is, which might explain why you've been left alone, because what damage can you do? Wait, no... He's not anymore, he was but now he's become good. Whatever you did, it's rather... Intriguing."

        "He's been helping me to find my siblings."

        "You have... Others that came here with you? I'm impressed you haven't died yet."

        "What do you mean?"

        "If you get sent back here, and you have been before, most don't realize it until someone's told them. I've met you before, doing this exact thing, only... That time, he killed your two siblings and let you roam while hunting you down the entire time. There's something wrong with this time, though."

        "Like what?"

        "There is... It's hard to describe well, but it's like there's more than just you out there, only you'll never meet them. No one's story is the same, but the one with your sisters is still... Ongoing."

        "How, if I may, Miss Red?" Heinrich asked. At this point, both girls had been slowly eating their meal, while Heinrich just listened.

        "Well... You can put it like this: every time they're sent out, they mess up, and that means that they need to do everything over again, coming back here because their story is incomplete. In their case, they escaped first, the Wolfe got mad, and loops their story. Make sense?"

        "Ah, in that sense, yes."

        "Mm." Nodding to Heinrich, she looked back to Tilli. "And I don't know how to fix it, because it's an odd energy to know you're in three areas at once. You're shifting the balance for worse, you've forever set Rapunzel free in every universe she could exist in, and that's one less body here. And... I noticed Mr. Catly died, but no one knows how. Somehow, evil and good are keeping a balance while ruining their own."

        "Do you... At least know how I can leave here with my sisters? And Miss Snow? Can I save her?"

        "You can try, I'm sure. I won't go with you, I can only answer questions for good characters and only truly help neutral characters, a sub-law you don't need to know, but I do know how to help you find them. You need to find the center of the labyrinth. They're there, but you have to go alone. Your companion may leave with you, but you need to set his curse free first."

        "Just... How? He needs a princess' kiss."

        "That I can help you with. Find the princess with the purest heart, and once you find her, if she's not met her prince, it'll ruin her story, but that prince ceases to exist and your Frog King becomes that new prince. Make sense?"

        "Well, yes, but what if---"

        "If?"

        "What if I want it to be me?"

        To this, a smile tugged at Red's lips, having detected Tilli hadn't wanted to tell him that, due to the whisper her last question held. At the very least, Heinrich hadn't heard her. "Just try my method first, and if it doesn't work with them, then he's yours."

        "Thank you, Red. Is there anything I can do in exchange for a meal and answering my questions?"

        "You could keep me company for the night, if you like. I'd appreciate it, it's been a while since I've had any company."

        "I can agree to that. Heinrich?"

        "That sounds fine, Tilli."

        Grinning, Tilli took the dishes to the kitchen, refusing to let Red do them, while Red and Heinrich chatted.