Little Red

Chapter 6

The king was -and still is- a cold man who seeks refuge in revenge. He is currently forcing me to marry him, and watch Vince's execution. I admit, at this exact moment, all of me hates Vince, the wolves, the kingdom, my past, my dead family, and most of all, this fairy tale.

I mean,aren't fairy tales supposed to be happy or joyful like Cinderella, when she could go to the ball and meet her prince charming? Then soon after they married and yada yada? Well why does mine involve no positive ending? Or does my story continue on forever?

-----

We gather at the feast table for three meals, all between 5-6 hours apart. Vince is down in the dungeon, and that's all I can ever think about at the table. While the royal court blabbers on about ideas on improvising the castle, or what flowers will be present at the wedding, Vince is on my mind. My wolf man buddy. My amigo?

I visit the elegant garden outside, and wait as the hours tick by. The sun goes up, then it goes down. All in sync, each moment is ironic.

This castle mocks my existence. If the wolves were truly going to drop me off here, then they would've done so without consideration, but instead they chose the long and difficult route to care for I, a infant child.

Someone is bound to be lying, but whom?

-----

At night, the king watches as I sleep, and I can feel his nasty breaths on my shoulder. Some nights, I manage to escape the bedroom, just to sleep on the bare concrete floor in the dungeon by Vince.

Even so, his execution is planned and set for a little under two weeks from now; The day of the king's and I's wedding.

"My love, would you mind taking that tray of soup to the prisoner?" The king ask's coldly, one afternoon after lunch, and I do not object. The soup is cold, but it gives me an excuse to actually talk to Vince since he turned himself in.

I carefully carry the tray down the stairs, following the path of torches leading to the cells. Some contain skeletons, and it sends shivers up my spine.

I walk slowly, nearing his cell, and the only visible sight is a black shadow.

Standing in front of his cell, I call out to him.

"Vince." I whisper, fumbling for the correct key to open the gate. Suddenly, when I unlock it, Vince shoots out, gnarling at me. I fall backwards against the wall. He clawed at me, only apply cuts in some vulnerable locations. I encased my arms around his neck, even though he jerked violently in each way like a angered bull on rampage. His tail smacked the teacup over, spilling hot tea onto the muddy ground.

"Vince!" I cried, pushing his urging body away from me as hard as I could. He kept forcing himself onto me, and I knew they'd changed him.

However, when I'd finally given up, a dart shot from the dark had impacted his fluffy mess.

"My love! Are you okay?" The king asked, taking me into his arms as I rubbed the deep cuts on my legs and arms. A guard was dragging Vince into his cell, just before slamming the door shut.

"Yes." I whisper, still trying to take in the list of current events.

"Well then, it's about time for you to get ready for tonight's ball with the other king's and queens from around the land." He gestured his hand towards me, as if signalling me to place my own into his. "C'mon."

I took his hand, not looking back at Vince once.

-----

I applied a alabaster toned blush then both pink and black eye shadow to match my puffy, formal gown that went below my knees. Thankfully, it covered about 60% of the cuts from the attack. The bruises I had where covered with my gold blush that I'd never used during my stay here at the palace.

A knock on the door signaled that the guests where arriving and I had to be down in the ball room prepared for the evening.

I followed the king and he told me all about his friends. Idun and Agdar were the king and queen from Arendelle, along with Aurora and Prince Philip.

----

After all the guests arrived, we had received news that the boat carrying Idun and Agdar, had sunk tragically in a storm.

Exhausted, I leaned against a wall and watched everyone dance in pairs, twirling all in sync with one another.

Pain shot threw my arm where the cuts where, and I leaked out a sharp squeal. The king rushed to my aid, but I had Philip escort him away. Then, I rushed to the nearest restroom, and examined the laceration.

The slits where harsh to look at, but I managed to wash it out with a towel. Once I was done, I ran downstairs to demand an explanation from Vince.

---

Vince's smile radiated the gloomy cell for what appears to be a short minute.

"What do you want?"

I pointed to my arm. "What the hell is this?" It came out more of a statement than a question, but it still got my point across, I believe.

"Claw marks. You won't die sweet heart." He gloated stubbornly.

"Vince! Snap out of it you jerk!" I pounded on the bars, and he stood up. Facing me, while leaning up against the bars on his side, he began to vocalize.

"Your about to be a queen to the king of this land! I'm about to die in public for being this beast!" He pointed to the cuts on my arm, and that's when I pushed my face against his and kissed him. He didn't reject me, until finally I broke away.

"We're in this together, and as long as your a beast, then I'll continue to go by Red, not Queen Audrey." I muttered under the silence of the room, and I could feel his content eyes bore at me.

"I'm sorry...for all of this." He finally said, calmed and not a complete pig. He wasn't raging anymore, and I actually wanted to stay by his side, but I could hear the king asking about me upstairs. "You have to go...heh?" He saw the tension in my fists as I drew them together.

"I promise." I stared at the ground. "I will save you from yourself." Then I left, leaving him alone in the dark dungeon.

---

The king didn't ask many questions about my whereabouts. Instead, he dragged me around, forcing me to meet new people who seemed far from being sober.

I began to scoop up a plan to save Vince from execution day....