A Tale That Never Was

Bigbad eventually slowed his pace to a quick walk after several minutes and Selvina was finally able to stop screaming, her throat sore and her arms aching from holding on to Red so tightly. She brushed back some of her disheveled hair and sat straighter, arching her spine to stretch it out and quell any tenderness.

Red glanced back at her with a smirk. “How are you doing back there? My ears are thanking you for finally shutting up.”

Selvina frowned and said hoarsely, her voice still recovering, “Sorry but where I come from wolves aren’t the size of Clydesdales and we certainly don’t ride them!”

“What’s a Clydesdale?”

“It’s a really big horse normally used for pulling heavy things. They stand about as tall as Bigbad.”

“Oh, we have those here too. I don’t think we call them Clydesdales, though.”

Selvina shrugged and glanced to the side of the dirt road, where a patch of yellow flowers sat beside a thick evergreen. “What is this place anyway? You remind me a lot of someone from a fairy tale I read when I was a kid.”

“I remind you of someone? Really? Interesting. Well, this place is just called Old Forest. Yeah, I know, it’s a stupid name but it really is very old. We’re heading to the city of Lydian, ruled by King Midas. His castle is made entirely of gold as is most of the furniture inside. I’ve heard that the king can turn anything he touches into gold and he’s always wearing gloves so I think it might be true. I’ve never seen it in action, though.”

“How does he do that? How is that even possible?”

“It’s magic. It doesn’t really make any sense. By the way, what’s your name?”

“Sorry, it’s Selvina.”

“That even sounds like a princess name. Are you sure you’re not a princess?”

Selvina sighed in annoyance. “Of course I know! My father is not king!”

Red twisted her body around in her seat and put a hand on Selvina’s shoulder. “No need to yell, Selvina. I was just asking. You sure get upset easily, don’t you?”

“If you were all of a sudden taken to a strange world where things don’t make any sense you’d feel upset too…”

Red looked away and nodded. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right about that.” She felt Bigbad’s muscles beneath her tense and she looked ahead. She saw nothing on the trail but her wolf’s ears had pulled back and the hair on his neck was standing up.

On the road was a single slice of bread.

Red sighed and urged Bigbad to stop walking. “Great, just what I need right now…”

“What’s wrong?” Selvina asked. “And why is there a piece of bread on the road?”

As if to answer her question two figures walked out of the forest and stepped onto the road from either side of it. They were a young man and woman that looked alike with their blue eyes, wheat-coloured hair, and jaded faces. They both held up one hand, urging Red to remain where she was.

The young man said, “Red Riding Hood, you must—”

“—stop and pay the fee for going any further,” finished the woman.

“You understand the laws of the kingdom of—”

“—Midae and as such must respect them.”

Red groaned. “Look, Hansel, Gretel, you’ve met me before like fifty times already. I don’t cause any trouble. Now, please, just let me go past.”

The young man shook his head. “That cannot be done. If a slice of—”

“—bread sits on the road a fee is required to be paid by anyone—”

“—who comes across it. There are no—”

“—exceptions.”

Red grabbed her fiery hair in her hands and tugged on it painfully, desperately trying to keep calm. “You guys are so annoying! Why do you have to finish your sentences like that? It drives me insane!”

“Will you pay?” Hansel asked her.

“We will not let you pass if you do not,” added Gretel.

“Yeah, I know that,” Red growled. “You tell me that every single time I come across you two. I don’t even think the king approves of this; it’s thievery.”

“Say what you will—” started the man.

“—but the fee still stands,” finished the woman.

Selvina put a hand on Red’s shoulder and whispered, “What’s the fee?”

Red rolled her eyes. “They usually just ask for candy but I don’t think I have any on me right now.”

“Can’t you just go around them through the woods?”

“Many years ago these two were tricked by an old witch in these very woods and they ended up killing her and absorbing their powers, so the tale goes. I’ve heard of some people trying to go around them only to get severely injured or even killed. I don’t see any weapons on them so I’m assuming they used the powers they absorbed.”

“They do all that just for candy?”

“The witch’s house was made of candy and they became addicted to it. If you look closely you can see them trembling. That means they haven’t had candy in a few days and they really need some. They’ll do anything for another piece of something sweet.”

“What happens if you can’t pay the fee?”

Red shrugged. “They just don’t let you pass. You have to take the long way by going through the forest and then circling back around from the outside of it. I usually always keep a piece of candy on me in case this happens but I can’t find it anywhere…”

Selvina slid a hand underneath her corset and inched it upward along the front of her chest. Resting against her ribs was something she hoped might help them. She pulled it out, the package severely squished, and offered it to Red. “It’s gum. Maybe they’ll take that.”

“Gum? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that kind of candy.” She examined the package and the sticks of gum wrapped in silver paper and pulled one of the sticks out. She went to put it in her mouth when Selvina told her to unwrap it first. Standing a few feet before them, Hansel and Gretel watched with wide, hungry eyes. Selvina placed the unwrapped gum in her mouth and began chewing.

Her eyes widened in delight. “This is amazing! It’s extremely chewy, though.”

“That’s the point,” Selvina said with a small smile, finding Red’s expression comical. “You chew it until you don’t taste anything anymore. It helps calm people down.”

Hansel stretched his hand, reaching over Bigbad’s snarling face. “We want some—”

“—of that gum!” Gretel finished, reaching eagerly.

Red shoved two more sticks in her mouth and tossed the rest of the package at them. She chuckled as the two addicts pounced on it like starving dogs after a bone.

“Hey,” Selvina said with a firm tap on Red’s shoulder. “I didn’t say they could have it all…”

Red shrugged. “It’ll keep them busy for a while and will let us pass through.”

Chewing gum loudly, Hansel and Gretel removed the slice of bread on the ground, tossing it at Bigbad, who gobbled it up quickly. They then gestured down the road.

“Your fee has been paid in full,” Hansel said as they rode by.

“May your journey be safe,” Gretel added.

Bigbad hurried past the strange twins and continued on his way.

“We’re almost out of the forest,” Red advised after several minutes had passed. “Thank you, by the way, for helping me out back there. I didn’t want to waste a few days taking the long way.”

“I’m in a bit of a hurry, remember? I’ll do whatever I can to get home as quickly as possible.”

Red nodded. “Right. Well, thanks anyway. I don’t usually get help from anyone other than Bigbad.”

Selvina furrowed her brow in thought. “That reminds me of something I wanted to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Did you kill those three men back there?”

Red shook her fiery head. “No. Sometimes I wish I had but I don’t kill.” She patted her side, where Selvina noticed for the first time two small crossbows hanging on her belt. “The bolts don’t go deep enough to be fatal and they release a type of venom that puts things to sleep for a few hours by paralyzing their minds. They’ll be up to poaching again soon enough.”

“Why don’t you trap them or take them to jail?”

“It’s been done many times but they just break out or get released and they go at it all over again. King Midas is getting tired of them, though, and I hear he’s hired a new bounty hunter to finish the job once and for all.”

“A new bounty hunter? You’re a bounty hunter?”

“Sometimes, when I need the coins, I’ll capture a wanted criminal or two and take them to the city guards. I don’t take the bounties that need the criminal dead because, well, you know.”

“How long have you been doing that?”

Red shrugged. “A few years, I guess. After my parents passed away and Grandmother’s sons burned down my actual grandmother’s house I had nowhere to live so I decided to live in this forest. I raised Bigbad and with him able to take me places and protect me I began saving money for something.”

Selvina waited for Red to continue but she appeared to have stopped talking for good. She shook her and urged her to keep going. With a sigh, she eventually did. “It’s stupid. You’ll think I’m wasting my time.”

“What is it? Just tell me, please?”

Red rolled her emerald eyes. “A boat. I want to buy a boat but not just a rowboat. I want to get at least a schooner with a small crew.”

Selvina smiled. “Do you plan on doing some exploring?”

Red, blushing slightly, shrugged again. “My brother sailed across the sea many years ago and I heard that he lives in a forest in a faraway land, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. I think the forest is called Sheerwoods or something. Ever since hearing about that I wanted to go visit him.”

“Why don’t you just go take a ride there on a ship or something? You guys have that here, right?”

“Yes, we have ships… I guess I want to somehow impress him. Robin can be a pain at times but he’s still my brother and I miss him. If I were to show up with a ship and crew under my command he might think better of me and tease me just a little less than he usually does.”

Selvina smiled. “If I didn’t want to go back home as much as I do I might help you do that, Red. I just don’t really belong here and I’d probably be more of a burden in the end.”

Red glanced back at her, a curious expression on her face. “You’d really help me?”

Selvina nodded. “I would, but like I said, I want to go home…”

“Yeah,” Red said forlornly. “I know what you mean…”

The two girls riding the wolf soon made it out of the forest and paused to stare at what lay ahead. Before them stretched a huge valley full of rolling hills, vineyards, patches of fruit trees, small farms, and at its far end was a white beach with blue water stretching far to the horizon. In the center of the valley, surrounded by a walled city, was a massive castle with many towers, buttresses, high walls, and a magnificent keep. All of it was covered in shining gold that sparkled in the sunlight.

“There’s Lydian,” Red said, pointing to the city with the golden castle. “King Midas travelled a lot when he was a prince. If anyone might know where you have to go to get transported back to your world it’s him. If not, he might be able to tell you where to find someone who can help you. I think our best action right now would be to talk to the king.”

“Directly?” Selvina asked in surprise. “Does he do that?”

“Selvina, you could fool anyone for being a princess. Just walk in there looking like royalty and I’m sure he’d listen to whatever you had to say.”

“I’d be lying. What if I’m found out?”

“Then you run.”

Selvina shook her head in disagreement. “This is a horrible plan.”

“He’s actually a really nice king, Selvina. It might not be so difficult to meet him.”

Selvina sighed. She was in an unfamiliar world with unknown customs and laws and her best bet of getting anywhere was to put her trust into this redhead. She didn’t even know if Red really was trying to help her but she sounded genuine and Selvina had no other choice but to trust her anyway. Reluctantly, she bowed her head in defeat. “Fine, we’ll do it your way.”

“A wise decision!” Red said as she urged Bigbad to keep walking.

I hope so, Selvina thought to herself.