Red Riding Hood

Chapter Eight

It is madness for sheep to talk peace
with a wolf.

“Let us hunt it!”

“Let’s kill it!”

“Yeah!” The small tavern overflows with angry, drunken men. In a sea of rage, a man jumps onto a table to rise above the waves of fury. Grey.

Grey bellows at the roaring crowd. “For three generations we’ve cowered in fear! Hiding ourselves away, fearing for our lives, sacrificing our best livestock!” Grey turns slowly on the wooden table, on which he stands, so that he includes everyone in the tavern. “For three generations we’ve kept the peace, and how does that blood thirsty beast repay us?” He pauses. “By slaughtering half our livestock in one night, and ripping through one of our homes, almost killing two of our own!” Everyone murmurs angrily in agreement. “Well I say enough!” Grey exclaims, the whole tavern hollering in agreement. “We will live in fear no more!” Grey screams and everyone roars, raising their glasses and weapons in the air. “There will be no more wolfstime!”

“Yeah!” Everyone shouts back. Grey raises his large, double-sided axe above his head and chants with his fellow brethren. Everyone begins slamming the hilts of their weapons onto the tables and chairs, making the whole room tremble. From the outside, the tavern sounds like an aggravated bees nest.  

 

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In Scarlet’s house, the tension begins to build again, slowly. Scarlet and her mother barely speak, but their anger starts to take up to much energy. “May I be excused?” Scarlet asks as she stands from the dinner table, taking up her and her brother’s plates. Scarlet’s grandmother smiles sweetly at her as she places the plates next to the sink.

“Jackson, you may be excused. Scarlet sit back down.” Her mother says whilst shooing her son away from the table. Scarlet bites her tongue when she feels a rebuttal rising in her throat. She sits down quietly and unclenches her jaw.

“Yes, mother?” She asks, trying not to sound spiteful.

“We need to talk about your attitude towards your engagement.” Her mother pushes her plate away and faces Scarlet, who lets out a giant sigh and slouches in her chair.   

“That’s exactly what I mean.” Her mother exclaims.

“What did I do?” Scarlet questions. “I sat down.”

“It’s the way you sat down. It’s the way you’re doing everything around here. Sighing, huffing and puffing, moping around, yelling for no reason, hiding yourself away in your room.” Her mother rubs the sides of her temples. “I don’t understand why you’re so against it.” She looks back up at her daughter.

“My problem is not with the engagement!” Scarlet spits, her fury overflowing. “My problem is with Grey!” Scarlet pushes her chair away from the table and stands abruptly. “I don’t want to marry HIM!” Scarlet yells.

“Don’t raise your voice at me, young lady!” Her mother stands as well. “Grey is the most eligible man in the village. Any other girl would be honoured to have him for a husband.” Scarlet’s mother bellows.

“If you think so highly of him, then why don’t you marry him?” Scarlet shouts and sprints up the stairs, slamming her door behind her. Silence hangs in the air as Scarlet’s mother and grandmother are the only ones left in the room.

“Well, that went well.” Scarlet’s grandmother stares at her daughter.

“What have I done wrong?” She exclaims at her mother. “I tried talking to her. I just don’t see why she’s being so hostile about the whole situation?” Scarlet’s mother collects the rest of things on the table and takes them to the kitchen.

“Well, as she stated, she’s not upset with the Whole situation, just one thing in particular.” Her mother follows her in to the kitchen.

“Yes, yes, yes. But why? I bet she can’t even come up with one reason why. She’s just being stubborn.”

“Does she really need to give you a reason?” Scarlet’s grandmother eyes off her daughter.

“What are you talking about?” She scowls back at her mother.

“I remember your father wanting to marry you to the Miller boy. If I had allowed it, would you of gone along with it?” She cocks an eyebrow and crosses her arms across her chest.

“Joshua?” Her anger soon drowns in disgust. “That didn’t happen, so it doesn’t matter.” She turns her back to her mother, tying her strawberry blonde mess into a tangled bun, on top of her head.

“It matters!” Her mother takes her by the shoulders and spins her back around. “Would you have gone through with it?” She questions fiercely.

“There is a very big difference between Joshua and Grey!”

“Yes or no?” Her mother shouts.

“No!” Scarlet’s mother pushes herself out of her mother’s reach. “Joshua is nothing like Grey, so why does it matter?”

“Give me a reason why you wouldn’t marry Joshua?”

“I…I…” Scarlet’s mother plays with her words in her head. “He…he made my skin crawl, he made me want to pull my hair out.” She throws her hands up in the hair. “He is nothing like Grey.”

“How do you know!?” Her mother screams at her. “How do you know, huh? How do you know Grey doesn’t make Scarlet feel the exact same way Joshua made you feel?” Scarlet’s grandmother queries in frustration.

“I…” Her daughter struggles with her words and drops her head in defeat.

“If you continue to push her, then you’re going to lose her.” Her mother retires to her room, leaving her daughter to dwell in her troubled thoughts.

 

 

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