Jackunzel Drabbles (The Original)

Little Red and Winter Blue

“Do you understand, Flower?”

Green eyes met the muddled brown, an angular face framed by a mess of wire like black curls. Her step mother wore her usual champagne colored dress, embroidered with gold, an expensive material saved only for her. Rapunzel had been gifted her purple corseted dress by a nice woman in town, her husband was the owner of the on,y book store within miles.

The town itself was a mile from the isolated home of the girl and her mother, a single dirt road lead to it. The forest started the opposite way, its presence was dark and mysterious, its aura seemed to keep the villagers at bay. No one dared to go in especially close to dusk. Yet her step mother had been jumpy all day, her yes shifting and scared at any knock. Rapunzel figured that she owed money again to someone or other and now it was up to her to go deliver goods to some old woman who lived on the edge of the forest.

"Stay on the path, look for a small cabin." Rapunzel repeated.

"And?" The woman glared down at the girl. The blonde flinched.

"Don’t go in, leave the basket and come straight home."

The woman smiled and opened a beautiful red cloak and put it over the girls shoulders. She tied it and put the hood up so that it covered the golden locks of her step daughter. The end of the cloak brushed the ground, keeping her warm and hidden.

"Keep the cloak on, it will keep you safe." She said, completely serious.

Rapunzel left the warmth of her home, confining shoes crunched on newly forming snow. She flinched. She was never a fan of the winter, enjoyed the sun too much to welcome the cold. She looked out to the forest that stood tall, the sun was at its highest and illuminated the dirt path just before it disappeared through the dark shade of pines and oaks. She took a deep breath and began her trek, clutching a basket in her hand.

The forest was darker than she remembered. She hadnt been through here in years and she had been with her step mother at the time. The trees felt like they were reaching out at her, their branches were long and sharp. The winter had set in and dusted the floor with rotting leaves and frost. The arms of the forest started to go bare and sharp. She kept her eyes ahead, hoping to the gods that her mother was right when she said the cloak would keep her safe.

The blonde looked at the basket in her hands, tempted to move aside the checkered cloth to see what was inside. Honestly she believed her mother was involved in witch craft. That’s what the villagers thought. Most felt bad for her since she was adopted by the woman but she was one of the few in the girls home who ever got adopted. She couldn’t complain. She took a deep breath and kept walking, the sun had already set.

"I’ll be fine." She mumbled to herself, "I’ll get to the cabin and go straight home."

A wolf howled in the distance. Her heart hammered in her chest.

"W-where its warm and-and safe…"

Leaves rustled.

Rapunzels hands shook.

"I can do t-this."

Growling rumbled around her. Her feet froze, a shiver shot down her spine. Her green eyes were wide with fear, her mouth slightly open. She slowly turned around and her eyes fell on a set of dark eyes. Multiple sets as they stalked out of the brush. Their bodies were large, paws making prints in the dirt and snow. The growls were from deep in their grey chests, their lips twitched and flashed a bit of sharp teeth.

Her knees locked, her body shook. She could hear her heart beat in her ears, her stomach dropped. The dangerous canines slowly spread out, watching her as they made sure that when and if their prey began to run, she couldn’t out run all of them. It only took one wolf to snap in her direction that had her scream and turn her heal.