My pale salty face peered through the red stained class. My cheerless eyes were white like snow. My whole expression was deathly. One single drop of crimson blood slowly dripped down my regretful face. The pain in my eyes showed a story that no one could explain. No one knew who I was, my past, my present, my future. My record of time was lost forever. Age, name, family and birth were all lost and buried in the frozen blood of chocking death and love. No, time did not seem to have an effect on me, as if my time had been frozen, and hidden under lock and key.
My black raven hair curled down my chilled red cloaked shoulders, ending at my lower back. But my red lips put the cloak to shame. The swirling snow seemed to be singing its own song of woe. I reached my young fingers out to capture the loitering precipitation. The unique flakes lingered on my fingers, not melting away. A single tear fell from my gray eye and mixed with the blood.


My vision rested on a poignant scene before me. Inside of the deserted old cathedral lay a cold body. The red stain glass window with which my eyes were gleaming through bore the illustration of a man feeding a young girl. The picture engulfed my very being in wonder. My snow-covered hand pushed the chilly blood tear from my face, and placed it onto the image. I wished I could be that very girl, feeling so much love. Love that I had never felt before, not that I knew of.
I soon forgot about the depiction and moved my focus to the body on the cathedral floor. It was a boy. He twisted and turned in agony. Cherry blood oozed from his side. His mouth opened to let out a scream of pain but the sound waves never made their way to my ears. The walls were too thick to reveal such a sound. I stared at him with awe. I wondered who this creature could be. And why he was there, bleeding, dying, with no one to help him.
I wandered around to the front of the cathedral and walked through the open doorway. Slowly my bare feet crept along the wooden floor. An old battered organ sat at the end of the long rows of suffering pews. A thick coat of white silky spider webs covered the barren room. An eerie feeling spread in the aroma of the place, as if someone was lingering in the room with us. I walked towards the boy. With each step I wondered how he got there, why he was there, who he was and how he had become hurt. I reached the young man with my heart pounding in excitement.
I placed my hand on his shoulder, stopping his shaking momentum. He froze. Horror enwrapped his blue eyes. A scream escaped his quivering mouth.
“It is okay. I am here to help you. You do not have to be afraid. That’s right, lay still. My name is…” I didn’t know how to finish this sentence. I never knew my real name; at least couldn’t remember it. No one did. Or where I came from. They all assumed I was from another realm but no one could say for sure. “…call me…Red,” I said glancing at the red riding hood that I always wore.
I examined the wound that was placed on the boy’s side. It was a deep gory cut. I rested my hand onto the wound, and got the reply of a grunting and grimacing face. At once he began to panic again, beating his arms and kicking his legs. I quickly backed off.
“Stop! Please stop! You will just make it worse. Please stop!” I shouted.
Shocked by my outburst the boy abruptly froze cold. He looked at me with puzzled eyes.
“Please, let me help you,” I pleaded.
“Okay,” he agreed.
“First you can help me by telling me your name.”
“Moris Eiffel. Your name isn’t Red. It can’t be.” He said matter of fact.
“No, you’re right. I would tell you my real if I knew it myself. I have never known who I am. I’ve been wondering this world searching for a sign or a clue that could point me to my past. I do not even know what realm I am from. When you live so long not knowing who you are you, every day is another day of confusion and searching. You feel lost, forgotten and abandoned,” Red smiled, “but you don’t want to hear of my woes.”
Moris began to chock up clusters of bloody salvia. I took a step back as the blood coated the wooden floor.
“What happened to you?” My voice shook with terror.
“It…it was him.”
“Who?” I asked in curiosity.
“The… The Beast.” I had no idea what he was talking about. I could see his eyes going delusional. Slowly his mind began to slip away. I could tell he no longer saw me before him but the image of something disturbing. Again he wailed a terrifying cry to the heavens. I covered my ears as the sound waves penetrated through my skin.
The sound of an old door creaking froze the screaming Moris and me. A chill fell down my spin. I could hear soft feet hitting the wooden floor. I quickly stood to my feet and pulled an arrow from my quiver and loaded the bow. I poised the bow up to eye level and breathed. My heart pounded deep in my chest. My hands shook with fear, weakening my grip on the bow. I slowly pulled the string back and placed it onto my lips. I breathed gently onto the string, calming my nerves. Slowly I blinked my eyes shut and flashed them back open. There stood before me…The Beast. I had never seen him before, or had I?
He was massive, fleecy and monstrous. His eyes portrayed the evil that enwrapped his mind. He stood on all fours, the monster that he was. He resembled the shape of a wolf, but his proportions were far too big to fit a dog.
The Beast franticly glanced around the room, frightened, as if he was being watched. In such a way that he was being forced to complete a deadly deed that he had no desire to do, by an unknown power. His black eyes flashed towards me then back onto the body on the ground. He barred his teeth and showed me his sharp and grim fangs. His front paws were positioned slightly in front of himself, ready to attack.
I could hear his growling breath erupt from his mouth, sending a chill down my back. He darted for me. I readied myself to release the arrow, but my hands had built up so much sweat that when I shot the arrow it fell to the ground below me. He was right on top of me. I fumbled to reload the bow, but was knocked to the ground before I had the chance.

A chill engulfed my body. I attempted to open my groggy eyes. Sunlight filled my eyes. Slowly I pulled myself into a sitting position and was instantly overpowered by a sharp pang in my head. I reached my shaking hand to my head and felt a cloth wrapped around it. Blood oozed through the white fabric and stained my fingers. I blinked, pushing away the thick coat of paste from my eyes. The world before me spun in unending pain. The fog on my eyes prevented me from detecting where I was. I leaned my back against a tree. A tree? Yes. I was in the woods. But why? That’s when I noticed another human was near.
Immediately my brain took me on a delusional journey.
He was saying my name. “Willow. I’ll be back.”
I was screaming, crying. I didn’t want him to go. “No! They’ll kill you!”
“Honey, I will be ok.” He was saying sweetly.

“Abban! They’re coming!” A woman’s voice shouted.
“Good bye!” Abban kissed the woman. “I love you Jewel.”
He patted my head and another girl by my side. She was too young to understand what was going on. She was only five years old, I guess making me seven. He turned and ran from the small hut we were crowded in. Jewel tried to conceal our cries. Fire erupted before our eyes. Cries of grief echoed through the camp that night. They had taken them, or killed them. All the men from our small realm. It was so small it was more like a town then anything. The realm of Mashal.
That’s when I snapped out of my dream. Mashal. The word echoed through my skull. Home. Abban, Jewel, Mashal. These were names that struck me with familiarity and confusion. And then there was Willow. That couldn’t be me! Or could it?
“Red?” A timid voice rose above my thoughts. There stood the boy that I saw in the cathedral. But out here he looked more like a man than a boy. About nineteen or twenty. His brown long untamed hair complimented his blue dazzling eyes. His side was bandaged just like my head.
“What happened?” I squeaked remembering the monster.

“You were hurt. When The Beast jumped I pulled you to the ground. You hit your head. I pulled an arrow from your bundle and threw it at him. It hit his leg and he limped away. Then I dragged you here. How does your head feel?”
“Dizzy. What happened to you? Why were you there?”
“I cut down trees. My axe broke so I came into town to buy a new one when I heard a noise in the cathedral. Ever since The Beast came, no one ever goes in there. I stepped into the building and was instantly torn to the ground by The Beast. But then he heard a noise at the window. I’m assuming it was you. Then he hid when you came.”
“How old are you?” I blurted out.
“Huh? Oh, nineteen. You?”
“I don’t know. Remember, I don’t even know my name.”
“Ah, yes. I remember now. Are you sure you don’t remember who you are? Or me?” he barely whispered the last part, in a daze. As if we had some kind of history.
“What? How would I know you? Do you know me?”
“Well, yeah. I do. We have met before. Your name was…I mean is…”
“Willow,” I cut in.
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
“I had a dream. There was me, Abban, Jewel and another girl. I have no idea who they are though. Do you?”
“You told me about them before but I really only know you,” Moris assured.
“Where we close?”
“Nah, well kind of. At least I thought we were.”
“How?”
“When you died...”
“What? Died?” Shock ruptured from my veins. My head pounded with all this new information.
“Look out!” Moris shouted as he threw me to the ground.
My head spun. My stomach ached. My eyes watered. My muscles tensed. Sound slowly faded from my ears. I could hear Moris shouting my name. Pain struck my leg. Moris yanked the bow and arrows from my grasp. The sound of arrows shooting through the air penetrated the sound waves around me. Then someone got hit. He fell, grunting. Was it Moris? I begged myself to stand but the pain was too great. I collapsed to the dirt ground. I opened my eyes. It was all a blur. I tried hard to focus on the scene before me. A warm bloody body lay by my side. I reached my hand to feel the hair. It was short and stuck in tight curls. I sighed with relief. It wasn’t Moris. His hair wasn’t that short.
I looked around franticly for Moris. A blood bath shimmered before my eyes. Soldiers covered the ground. Not one body lay awake. Panic crept up my spine and stung my head. Moris must have died along with all those other strange men. Sorrow took me over. But why was I sad? I didn’t even know him. But there was something strange about him. He seemed to know me more than I did myself. But that wasn’t a hard record to beat.
I stood to my feet and thrust myself against a tree for balance. My left leg cried out in pain. I looked down and saw a gory arrow sticking from my leg. That’s what the pain was from. I griped my hand around the arrow and slowly pulled it out. Blood dripped from the pointy end. I threw it as far away from me as I could muster.
When you died. When you died. You died. Died.



Moris’ words echoed through my head. I died? How?
A loud cry broke my thoughts. A cry of terror from Moris’ throat. His wails grew with every second I spared.
“Moris!” I shouted, half limping and half running towards the direction of which the sound was coming from. “Moris!” I shouted again.
What was going on?
I stopped short at the scene before me. A sharp dagger rested on Moris’ throat.

“No!” The sound erupted from my mouth. But it sounded so far off, as though it wasn’t my own speech. The word croaked and cracked in my throat. Fresh blood oozed from Moris’ arm. He was caught in the tight grip of a soldier; his dagger threatening to pierce his throat.
“Oh don’t fret darling. The queen only wants him for a short while, darling.”
“Let him go,” again the words were not my own though they came from my mouth.
“Not a chance darling. You try to save him and I’ll just kill both of you darling.”
“No you won’t. You might kill me but not him. If you kill him the Queen will destroy you. And whatever could the Queen want him for?”
“Darling, that’s for me to know and for you to find out.”
Darling yourself! I thought. I noticed my bow and arrow lying against a tree. I slowly made my way in that general direction, my back to the tree.
“Willow…”
“Be quiet you brute,” the soldier elbowed Moris in the ribs. I could see the pain in his eyes.
“So darling, you’re Willow, are you? The Queen won’t be very happy to see you.”
Moris’ blue eyes where trying to tell me something. His mouth was moving but I couldn’t read his lips. Then it hit me. Let me go. But why?
No. I mouthed back.
Moris blinked slowly.
I was standing right in front of my bow and arrows. As fast as I could I spun around and grabbed the bow and a single arrow. In less than a second the arrow was placed on the bow and released. The moment the arrow left the bow a sharp pain stabbed my shoulder.
“Willow!” Moris shouted.
I reached my hand to my shoulder. My hand rested on a bloody dagger. I looked up to Moris. The soldier fell to the ground, dead. Moris was covered in blood from today and yesterday. I had gained two more wounds.
My body shook. The bow slid from my hands, disturbing a pile of wet leaves. The pain took over my trembling body. My knees lost their strength and I tumbled to the ground. Moris was by my side. He placed his hand onto the dagger and began to pull. It slid out, dripping red.
I turned my head away. I couldn’t look. Moris bandaged my wound with a piece of his shirt.
“Are you alright?” Moris asked, concerned.
“I guess so. They almost killed you!” I panicked.
“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine.” Moris lift me off the ground and rest my back against a tree in a sitting position.
“Who were they?” I chocked up.
“Ah, just the Queen’s soldiers.”
“Why does she want you? Why did you tell me to let you go? What do you mean I died? Who are you?” All my questions poured out at once.
“Whoa! Slow down. Where should I begin?”
“At the beginning.”
“Ok then,” Moris sighed. He began his tale.

“Five years ago I was wondering the woods. I was fourteen at that time. I was on my way to her…”
“Her?” I broke in.
“Elli.”
“Who’s that?”
“I’ll explain.”
“Ok. Keep going.”
“Well, I was on my way to Elli. As you know, or don’t know, Elli is a poor woman who lives in the woods alone. Anyway I was assigned to take her the package that week. Each week the town chooses a different person to deliver her the package. The package contains food, water, a little money and a pouch of sparkling dust. Don’t ask why she wants that, I have no idea.”
“On my way back from delivering the package I bumped into you. You were small and timid. I’m pretty sure you were about thirteen making you around eighteen now. You were perched high in a tree, watching. Waiting for something or someone I suppose. You gripped a bow and arrow in your hands.
‘Hello!’ I shouted.
‘Who are you?’ you asked.
‘Moris, you?’
‘Willow. What’s your realm?’
‘Lúcháir the Realm of Joy. And yours?’
‘Mashal the Kingdom of Parables.’
‘Well, Willow from Mashal the Kingdom of Parables, what are you doing here?’
‘Going to Lúcháir. My parents are there waiting for me.’
‘Why don’t you come down and I can show you the way?’ I suggested.
Without a reply you scurried down the tree like a monkey and was by my side in seconds.”
“‘So, tell me about yourself. Why are you coming here alone?’
‘I have never met my parents before. Up till now I have lived with my Aunt Jewel, Uncle Abban and Cousin Aaleyah. But when the soldiers came and destroyed our town they took Abban. He is probable dead now. Then they killed Jewel leaving Aaleyah and me alone. Now I am coming here to live with my parents. Aaleyah stayed to live with some close friends. And that is the end of my tale.’”
“We reached the town and were separated. You found your parents. Over the next three years you and I became very close friends. In fact you were my only friend. I was skilled in cutting trees and carving and you were astonishing with that bow of yours, killing rabbits and such. You passed your skills over to me. You even showed me how to make a good solid bow. But you were still better than me.
One day when you were about fifteen we were coming back to town from the woods when the doctor greeted us. He brought sad tidings that your parents, Ledia and Cyle died in a fire. Your house burned to the ground. Now you were an orphan just like me. My parents had died when I was five. I have lived in the woods since. You moved in with some friends of yours, the Hirams.”
“Then about two years ago it was your turn to take the package to Elli. I was wondering in the woods waiting for you to finish. It was the depth of winter. It was cold but you insisted on taking the package anyway. Now being sixteen you had quite the audacity. Anyway, I was waiting for you when I heard a shrilling cry. I followed the scream, which led me to a small pond of sorts. In the distance I saw a wooly beast racing off. I am now assuming it was The Beast.
There was a deadly crack in the ice. I could see your body sinking. Ignoring the fact that the water was below freezing I plundered in after you. Somehow I managed to pull you from the water. You were frozen. I thought you were dead. This is what I meant when I said you died. I tried to warm your body but I was just as cold. Your face was pale and icy. I slowly forced my aching legs to stand. I picked you up and gradually took you into town.”
“Once we reached town soil I made a beeline for the doctor’s office. I placed your motionless body onto a table. Doctor Simon Rose ordered me to leave. That was the last time I saw you. I thought you had died. No one ever told me what happened to you after that. I’m assuming Doc heeled you but your brain never fully brought back all your memory. You’ll have to talk to Doc or the Hirams to figure out what happened to you from there.
After that I was distraught. I have never been the same since. For the next two years I spent all my time in the woods. I made my own bow and arrows like you had taught me. I killed any creature I could find. I was taken over by fear, grief and anger. Anger at myself for not being able to save you. Actually I had become very good at hunting, despite my delusional state.”
“People began to notice my skill. I would bring in game to sell or trade. Then even the Queen, Zara, noticed my skill. She would often send her soldiers to have me hunt for her. For animals and also, I am ashamed to say, people too. I became the Queen’s personal huntsman.
That’s why the Queen sent her soldiers here today. Explaining why I told you to let me go because I knew they weren’t going to hurt me. But I’m done with that life, hence the fighting.

And that is the end of my tale. And you really don’t remember any of that?”
“No,” I assured him, taking in all this new information. “What people did the Queen have you kill?”
“Her enemies. I’m not really sure why she wanted them dead; I was just too upset. I needed something to fill my time. Trust me. I am in no way pleased with the way I have lived the last two years. Except now I have a pretty good shot. But that’s not worth the lives I have killed. Are you angry at me now?”
“No. Moris, don’t expect life to be how it was before.”
“What do you mean?”
“I may be back but I’m not the same. Yes, I may still have the same nerve and personality, but I don’t know you. You can’t expect us to be best friends right away again. If you know what I mean.”
“I think I follow. And I don’t need you to be automatically my close friend that you were before, but eventually you might remember.”
“Moris, I’ve been like this for two years, I don’t think I will get it back anytime soon.”
“Now you have some explaining to do, Willow. Where have you been these last two years?”
“With Garrel.”

“Garrel!? Who’s that?” Moris asked in shock.
“Now it’s your turn to let me explain.”
“Fine,” Moris sighed and leaned back against a tree.
“I’m not sure exactly what happened after Doc fixed me up, but I found myself far from here. In Johannes the Dominion of John. There I lived for a year, thinking that was my home. I made friends. Had a family, parents, brothers and sisters. And I had friends. Or a friend named Garrel. We did everything together. Assuming I’m eighteen now I must have been seventeen then. Garrel was the closest thing to me. He was nineteen at the time, being twenty now. Actually our relationship sounds very similar to how you just explained you and me before.”
“I had a life in Johannes. My name there was Clover. One day Garrel seemed to be trying to tell me something. But he couldn’t get it out. We were walking through the meadow that day, like we always did. When Garrel stopped short. He turned to face me, tears streaming down his face. I asked what was wrong, wiping away his tears. This is what he said:
‘Clover, do you like it here?’
‘Oh course I do! Why wouldn’t I? This is my home.’
When I said it was home Garrel grimaced.
‘No Clover. You have only been here a year. This is not your home. I thought you should know.’
‘My family?’
‘They have no blood relation to you what so ever. You lost your memory and ended up here. They kept this from you because they thought it was best for you. I never agreed but who was I to disagree?’
Anger rolled in my soul. I slapped him in the face before I had time to think, scarring his cheek. I was still angry but had no right.
‘Garrel! I’m sorry! Are you hurt?’
‘My face is fine but I am not. Don’t you see I’m trying to help you?’
‘How!? Tell me how this could be helping me! I loved you like a brother! But how can I love someone who would lie like this!?’ I screamed.
‘Clover, please. Don’t get angry. You can stay you know.’
‘No, now I can’t. How am I supposed to keep living like this knowing it’s all a lie? Where is my real home?’
‘I have no idea. Clover, don’t leave us.’
‘I’m guessing Clover isn’t my real name either, is it?’
‘No. We don’t know your name.’
After that I left the Dominion of Johannes. Ever since then I have been wandering through this world of Märchen and found myself here. And apparently this is my real home, if what you say is true. It sounds reasonable to me.”
“So you and Garrel were close?” Moris asked; sounding abandoned.
I can’t believe that’s the only thing he got out of this.
“How much would you care if we were?”
“The whole world.”
This took me by surprise. The whole world. But why?
“Why? I can be a friend with more than just one person,” I snapped at him. Than I decided he didn’t deserve my bite. He had saved my life twice. “Sorry,” I murmured.
“Never mind.” I don’t think he heard me.
“I’m hungry. Is there any food around?”
“We could hunt. But then again there’s your wounds. Can you stand?”
“I can try.” I gripped my left hand to the tree behind me and placed my other hand on Moris’ shoulder as he lifted me from the ground. In a couple minutes I was standing completely. I tried to walk but the pain was searing.
“Why don’t you just go hunt something? I don’t think I can walk,” I suggest.
“I can’t leave you though.”
“Why not? There’s no harm around.”
“The Queen thinks you’re dead. The second she hears your alive she’ll hunt you down like a wolf stalking its prey.”
“How would she even know I am alive?”
“There was another soldier watching behind a tree. I couldn’t warn you about him because ‘Mr. Darling’ would have struck me again. He got away.”
I laughed at his name for the soldier. ‘Mr. Darling’. Priceless.
“But why would she want me dead? What have I done?”
“You knew something about Elli that the Queen didn’t want anyone to know. I have no idea what it was,” Moris explained.
“So what should I do, now that she knows I’m alive?” I asked.
“Learn how to die.”
“What?” confusion swept over my face.
“Learn how to die,” Moris repeated. “Kill Willow Ridding. Change your name, your face, and your personality. Everything. Willow Ridding is dead. She’s no more.”
“Ridding? Is that my last name?”
“No. Not anymore. But it was. We will now call you…I guess Red again. Red Hood. Hence your red ridding hood. How’s that sound?” Moris questioned.
“Isn’t it too made up? Like won’t she be able to tell it’s not a real name? Too phony?”
“Not at all. I once heard of a guy named Robin Hood. Same last name. Perfect. And he was precise with the bow and arrow too. Never missed a single shot. Like you.”
“Don’t flatter me. I know my place, and it’s nowhere close to perfectionism.”
“Close enough. So what do you say? Red Hood? Sound good?” Moris asked.
“Sure. Where do we start?”
“With killing you.” Moris pulled the axe from his pants. It reached for my chest.

As the axe headed for my chest, I felt betrayal, anger and hate. It made perfect sense that he wanted to kill me. After all, he was the Queen’s personal huntsman. She wanted me dead, he was the one to do it.
The axe swept right for my chest. The blade was jagged and deathly. I closed my eyes. It hit me. I could hear it slicing. Cutting deep in. But there was no pain.
I flashed my eyes open. There was no blood. Not so much as bruised skin. That’s when I noticed what he had done. He chopped off ten inches of my black raven hair. Relief flooded my veins. I gasped for air. He wasn’t going to kill me. Not yet at least.
“Now, for your face. How can we make you look completely different?” He had no idea what I had just thought of him. Good.
“Plaster it with dirt?” I suggested, feeling useless.
“Not a bad idea. You’re so pale from being in the woods so much and not in the open sunlight that we could darken your skin a bit. Close your eyes,” Moris picked up a handful of dirt and began darkening my flesh. After he finished my face he gave me the mud and I smoothed it onto my arms and legs, avoiding the piercing in my leg from the arrow.
“Does it look real, or just like I haven’t bathed for months?” I chuckled.
“It’ll pass. Now pull your hood over your head. There we go. Perfect,” he said as I did as he asked.
I didn’t feel perfect. The dirt made my face itch and crack. “You sure I look different enough?”
“I wouldn’t recognize you and that’s saying a lot.”
I smiled.
“So what do we do now?”
“Find food. Want to try standing again?”
“Why not?” Moris helped me to my feet. This time I was able to walk. I swung the quiver full of arrows over my shoulder and gripped my bow. I loaded the bow incase any creatures ventured near.
After about ten minutes of wandering the forest a small rabbit bounded into view. Without taking the time to even think I shot it dead. We roasted the rabbit over a fire. After we were full I broke the constant silence.
“So, do you want to try to regain my memory?”
“How? You said so yourself it will never come back again. I already told you your life story and that didn’t seem to help. There’s no point. Willow Ridding is dead. Always will be,” Moris gave up.
“No. I don’t accept that. What if I see other faces I knew. Talk to old friends? Anything,” I pleaded.
“But you’re dead. They all think that. And they must continue to think that if you want that to stay false. The only person we can trust that won’t tell the Queen is Elli,” Moris assured.
“How can you be sure?” I questioned.
“The Queen and Elli are not on good terms. In fact they never were. Zara, (the Queen), and Elli have been strong enemies since forever. That it part of the reason Zara wants you dead. It was your idea to feed the penniless Elli.”
“How far is she from here? Can you take me to her?”
“Eh, about twenty minutes walk. If you think you can walk for that long I’m game.”
“I might as well try.”
Moris and I stood to our feet. I could see the pain in his eyes as he touched his side and his bloody arm. I soon forgot about his pain when mine shouted out in agony. My shoulder ached. My head dropped an instant bomb of dizziness across my body, and my leg almost dropped me back to the ground with its unsteadiness.
“Do you think we could wait for tomorrow? I don’t think I’ll make it without collapsing,” I hesitantly asked.
“We could but the woods might be filled with soldiers by then, looking for you. Or even for me. Zara doesn’t spare anytime. I should know,” shame swept his face.
“In that case, we better get moving. You lead.”
Moris picked up his broken axe and homemade bow and arrows and lead the way. I followed suit. After about fifty yards my leg cried out in unbearable anguish. I tried hard to keep up with Moris’ steady pace, not wanting him to notice my weariness. But soon that would be impossible. Moris seemed to tell I was struggling because he slowed his speed, though I could tell he was eager to move on swiftly. That made the going easier to swallow.
But soon my leg tensed and threatened to go completely out if I took one more step.
“Moris, I can’t keep walking. My leg is stiff.” I left out the fact that also it hurt like crazy plus my other wounds were beginning to beg for attention.
“We can stop for five minutes.” I could tell he was distressed and annoyed. But he looked glad for a rest too.
“How long do you think we’ve been walking?”
“About seven minutes. This might take an hour instead of twenty minutes with your wounds.”
“I’m sorry,” and I really was.
Moris didn’t answer. Instead he found a sturdy stick and began forming it into a walking stick. Once he finished he tossed it to me. It was brown and smooth.
“Try it out,” Moris commanded.
I lifted myself onto the weight of the stick and began to walk. It definitely improved my situation.
We began to move again. Still at a slow pace but with less pain on my part. Then suddenly I got an idea.
“Moris. Knock me out,” I demanded.
“What?” Moris turned around and looked at me as though I was crazed.
“Knock me out. Last time I went unconscious I remembered my aunt, uncle and cousin. Maybe if you knock me out I will remember everything. It’s worth a try. Please?” I pleaded.
“No it’s not worth a try. You are already beat up badly. I’m not going to hurt you more. And how do we not know that if you get knocked out this time you might not come back or something terrible? I’m not going to risk that. And anyway, maybe Elli can jog your memory. Please, just wait,” now Moris pleaded.
I didn’t want to wait. “No,” I shouted as I knocked my head against a tree. The world dropped in spinning circles. Moris opened his mouth in a shout. I couldn’t hear him but his lips formed my name. As I fell to the ground, Moris caught my hand in his arms. I could see his face. It was distorted and fuzzy. The last thing I remember before blacking out completely was Moris whispering, “Don’t leave me again. I need you.” His words echoed through my head. “I need you. Need…you…leave…me…again…don’t…you.” A tear splashed on my face. Darkness.

I was a small child or baby. Laying in a basket. Set at the opening of a hut.
Fire covered my vision. Cries of horror belted through my burning ears. Jewel’s dieing head lay in my seven year old arms.
Moris shot through my vision. He was fourteen, young and fresh. He was in a tree, then on the ground shooting a bird, then in town trading, then at my house singing. Then he was fifteen, sixteen, seventeen and then he slipped away.
Two faces flashed before my eyes. Ledia and Cyle. My parents. Then they were gone and I stood in ashes. My home burnt to the ground. I tumbled to the ground.
Gennifer Hiram led me through her house. She showed me my new room.
Familiar but strange faces came and went. Doc Simon Rose, the Queen Zara, Aaleyah, Elli, and more I couldn’t name. Then The Beast flashed into view.
I was running through wintry woods. Bloodcurdling words echoed through the woods behind me. Then The Beast stood before me. I sunk through the water. I froze.
I lay on a bed. Doc telling me what happened. Then he was knocked to the ground. A pale face showered over me. “Die. Must die. She die. No. Send away. Garrel.” The words blared in my head. I was knocked out.
The name Clover appeared before my numb eyes. My fake parents, Dustin and Karol. My false siblings: Luc, Elana, Jace and Karlie.
Garrel. Garrel. Garrel. Long walks in the meadow. Fishing. Loving him. Like a brother. Slapping him. Leaving.
Moris’ body in the cathedral. In the woods. Blood. Screaming. Attacking me, but not. Willow Ridding. Saving my life twice. Red Hood. Knocking myself out. Tears on my face. “I need you. Need…you…leave…me…again…don’t…you.”
New words formed, “I…you…love…will…always…had.” They jumbled and mixed their natural form but kept the same meaning.
~
Sunlight burst through my eyes. I was walking in the woods. Holding a basket, wearing a little red ridding hood that covered my small form of a thirteen year-old girl. I knocked on an old shabby wooden door. Elli opened it, smiling.
“Hello dear Willow Ridding. Come inside.” She closed the door behind me. I set the basket on her table. She eagerly took the contents out. Food, water, money and the pouch of sparkling dust. She held the dust before my eyes. She said, “Willow. Never forget. This dust is one of the most powerful magic in this world of Märchen. Next to love this magic can stop any evil. Keep it safe and you will be safe.” She sprinkled a couple grains into my open pouch. She tied it onto a rope that surrounded my waist.
“What’s it called?” I asked.
“Fairy dust.”
“Why do you have it? Are you a fairy?” I asked amazed.
Elli laughed, “No dear. But my grandmother was. I’m something somewhat similar but quite different. But I think you’ve had enough excitement for today. Run along home now.” Elli patted my head and I gave her a hug then ran from the cabin and back to town.
~
I walked through a meadow. Garrel carried a bucket with food and a fishing pole over his back. I swung my bow across my back and chomped on a bright red apple. We reached the river. Garrel swung his rod into the water and waited. I wasn’t as patient. I had good aim, why not take that advantage. I aimed the arrow, waiting. But not waiting as long as Garrel. Once two fish crossed parallel to each other and to me I shot, killing two birds with one stone. Or in my case, two fish with one arrow.
We camped out there all day. Cooking our catch and enjoying a nice meal of packed bread, water, vegetables, fruits and our caught fish. We laughed, joked and sang. No, he never sang. Garrel had a prejudice against singing. But than where was the singing coming from?
The scenic meadow turned into lovely woods. Instead of Garrel by my side Moris sat gnawing on a rabbit’s leg while attempting to sing. It was a song the whole town knew. It was completely meaningless but had a fun tune. It was called ‘Daybreak’. I swallowed the meat in my throat and joined in:

Dawn broke the night’s bitterness
Slowly the sun peered up from behind
The peaks of the trees
Owls crawled back into their homes

A thin wispy fog settled across the countryside
Water dripped off the leaves
A wet feeling lingered in the air from
The previous night

The birds chirp their sunrise songs
The lush grass blew in the light cool wind
While leaves swirled
About as if in the midst of a dance

A rabbit ran across my path
A bird landed on a tree
Children ran through the street
All was steady and joyful


I was happy then. But what I couldn’t figure out was if I had been happier in Lúcháir or in Johannes. I guess it didn’t matter because I was never going back to Johannes or to my false family. Or to Garrel.
“I…you…love…will…always…had.” Those words came back to me. My vision began to clear. A face peered over mine. Tears splashing my face, clearing off the dirt on my face. Moris sobbed over my cold body. The one he thought to be dead, or dieing. Maybe he was right. I was dieing.

I heard sounds. Saw nothing. Feet scurried through the forest. Crunching twigs. Then running along smooth grass, and onto a battered road. Wagons passed. Horse’s hooves pranced. People shouted, laughed, chatted, cried and sang. Children ran and played in the streets. Then the sounds changed. A rumbling sounded when the gate closed. The sounds were hushed inside the courtyard. My feet stepped up steps. We walked for a while, going straight. Dead straight. Forever. Nothing changed in our step.
This gave me time to think. To reveal myself to myself. Two words to describe myself: Spunk and audacity. Nothing scared me. Except this. Darkness. Not knowing where I was, what’s happening or even who I was. But I knew now. Willow Riding. No, Red Hood. But they didn’t buy that, so I guessed I’d stick with Willow Riding.
My spunk came from wandering this world looking for my true identity, never giving up. I was determined to find my true friends and family. But as it turned out I had no immediate family. But then something struck me. In my flash backs there was a face, almost identical to mine. Maple Riding. Could she…
I was slammed to the ground. My back forced against another. I was guessing Garrel. A tick rope tied us together. The bags were lifted from our heads. Bright light stung my eyes. But it was not the light of daylight for the sun was almost down. But the light of a room filled with candles.
Before us sat the Queen, Zara.
“Willow. Welcome back. But I know. You probable don’t remember me. Or anything from here. Perfect,” she grinned, up to no good.
“I do!” I blurted out. Shock seemed to enwrap her face.
“How could you?”
“My parents, Ledia and Cyle died in a fire. Garrel and I were good friends. I froze in the water, losing consciousness. And I remember Elli…” I stopped when I felt Garrel tense at my back. He grabbed my hand and squeezed. Pain shot through my arm. I pulled away but I got his meaning. Shut up. If she knew that I remembered about Elli I was in a lot of trouble. But I didn’t remember, not everything. I knew that she wasn’t a fairy but something similar but different. And I only knew that because of my flash back.
“Continue dear. What do you know about Elli?” her face appeared to be kind and sweet. I knew better.
“Nothing. I forget,” I murmured.
“Are you sure? Because we can always make you remember, or you can forget and never remember again.”
“I forget.”
“Guards!” she stood to her feet and shouted.
‘Mr. Darling’ picked me up to my feet. The bag shot over my head again. Garrel was still at my back, tied to me. They began to rip the rope off that entangled us to each other when Garrel grabbed my hand again. His hand was sweaty and shaking. He was scared. But why?
“To the dungeons,” Zara shouted.

That’s when I understood Garrel’s fear. Dungeons meant imprisonment, or worse: torture. I stood strong. As I said, I wasn’t scared of anything. I thought. I gripped Garrel’s hand back. It seemed to settle him a little, until we were torn apart. His hand slipped from mine and that was the last thing of him I could feel or hear. My vision was completely gone like before. We marched down the long hall again, but not for as long as last time. We went down stairs, a lot of stairs, meaning we were going very far down. Then finally we stopped. They tore the bag from my head and untied my hands.

I looked around the room surrounding me. There were rows of jails. Dirty, rusty and smelly. I saw as they threw Garrel into a jail about five cellars away from the one I stood in front of. They opened my door and shoved me in. I landed on stale hay and hard rock. It was cold. I didn’t want to move. I lay there, shivering, aching and crying. Ok, maybe I wasn’t as brave as I thought. Why had I come back? I was perfectly happy in Johannes. Why did Moris have to tell me? I cried myself to sleep. More memories flashed through my eyes. The same ones as before. When it came to the one with Moris being tortured, I shot up. “Moris!” I yelled like before.
Darkness swallowed me. It was colder than before. My body was caked in sweat.
“Yes?” a voice spoke from the prison beside me. It startled me. It sounded familiar. Too familiar.
I stood up and walked over to the poles separating us. There lay a body curled up in a ball. Bloody and bruised. His hair was red and his eyes were dark from suffering. His bare back was scarred and gory. He smiled. Why?
“Clover,” he croaked.
“Moris?” I whispered.
“Yes. You shouted my name. Why?”
“I had a dream of you being tortured. I guess it was more than a dream. They were asking for me. Maybe that I’m here now they’ll let you go?”
He shook his head. “They told me they found you, with no help from me. They said I’d pay for keeping quiet.”
“But you didn’t know I was here!”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m as good as dead,” he said matter of fact.

“Moris, I’m so sorry! This is all my fault! If I never left…”
“Don’t say that. It was my fault, for not telling you sooner. You had to go. To find your real family, and friends,” Moris insisted.
“That’s just the thing! I have no family! Except maybe a sister, but I don’t know for sure. And about friends, that seems to be the only thing I have. But only one. Garrel. And he’s a murderer.” I know deep inside that’s not how I felt about him.
“Hmm…sounds tough. Try being beaten to an inch of your life sometime then tell me how you feel,” Moris grinned.
“Sorry. But that might come true. I didn’t tell Zara what she wanted and now she’s really angry. Garrel and I might end up like you,” I grinned back, afraid.
“I won’t let them,” Moris said firmly. Slowly he adjusted his position and brought himself to his feet. His face showed pain and sorrow. He sauntered over to the bars and slashed his hands onto them, holding on for dear life. He was unsteady and weak.
“Moris, sit down. Your hurting,” I pleaded.
“No, I’m fine. I want to see you up close one more time before I die.”
“But you’re not going…”
“Hush,” he reached through the bars and placed his finger on my mouth. “Just let me look. Your hair is cut. Your head? What happened?”
I reached my hand for my head and remembered the two wounds. “Ah, the one’s from Garrel knocking me over to save my life and the other is from knocking myself against a tree, on purpose.”
“Why would you do that?” Moris chuckled.
“The first time I got knocked out I began to remember some things so I wanted to try it again.”
“Did it work?” Moris asked.
“Yes, somewhat. I remember something’s but not everything. My name’s Willow Riding,” I explained.
“I’ve heard. I like it. And your potential sister? Know her name?”
“Maple Riding.” It struck that now Moris was here, I had to choose between him and Garrel. I could feel the war in my blood.
Pain swept Moris’ face. His legs shook. He began to tumble to the ground. I reached through the bars and steadied his body. He leaned in to support his body against mine. It ended in a hug.
“I don’t want you to go. Don’t let them kill you!” I stuck my head through the bars and laid it on his shoulder. My hands wrapped around his back, tracing his deep scars. Tears slipped from my eye and rolled down his bloody back.
“I’ve missed you,” he whispered in my ear.
“I’ve missed you too.”
“I love you,” Moris said, too loud.
Over his shoulder I saw Garrel’s face. He heard. A tear rolled down his cheek. His words echoed through my head: “I…you…love…will…always…have.”

I pushed Moris away.
“I don’t love you! Not like that,” I gulped in a hushed voice.
“What? Like what?” Moris asked, confused.
“As a lover. But only as a brother, or a good friend.”
“Of course. That’s the only way I have ever thought about you, as a friend.”
“Of course.” We awkwardly stepped away from each other.
But I was glad. In the end I didn’t want to have to make a choice between Moris and Garrel. But I didn’t love Garrel either. I didn’t know what I felt.
I didn’t want to think about this now. I had more important things to think about: keeping Moris, Garrel and me alive.
I walked back to where I had been sleeping. I curled back into a ball and dozed off.
~
A shout awoke me from my sleep. It was my name. From the mouth of Moris.
Guards hauled him from his prison. His hands were shackled.
I sprung up to the bars. My sweaty hands gripped the bars. I squeezed them, to tightly. My knuckles turned white. Blood dripped from my hands, taunted by my pressure. I ignored these pains.
“Moris!” I shouted.
“I told you. I’m dead,” he barely mustered out before a guard slugged him in the stomach.
“No!” I shouted. The pain was evident in his eyes.
They pulled him right passed my prison. I reached my hand out and scarcely touched my fingertips to his shoulder. Then he was out of my reach.
There was no more I could do for him. He was gone. As good as dead.
I saw his struggling and fighting feet disappear through the doorway. Finally I accepted the pain from my hands and let go of the bars.
I clobbered to the ground. Tears begged to come out. I fully welcomed them. My face was soaked and salty.
“Willow,” Garrel spoke.
I lifted my eyes. He stood at the very edge of his prison, holding on to the bars. He was five prisons away from me but no one accompanied the rats that lived in those jails, so we could see each other’s faces.
“Yeah?” I sobbed back.
“If you look out the window you can see him.”
I didn’t want to see what was going to happen. I nodded my head and took for the window anyway.
The sight was horrifying. Crowds of people stood around a large platform. In the middle of the platform stood a tall post. A rope was hung from the top. The gallows.
Zara gave some sort of phony speech about how Moris broke a major law. I wasn’t paying any attention to her words. My eyes were on Moris’ eyes. He stood on a stool right under the rope.
Terror engulfed his dark eyes. His hands were bound behind his back.
“Willow, I found a way to get out,” Garrel was saying.
My heart jumped with hope. But my rejoicing was soon crashed when I looked back out the window at Moris. Lament covered my soul.
I couldn’t save him. They threw a bag over his head.
A trumpet blew. I didn’t want to see him die. I quickly jumped away from the window.
It didn’t help. I could still hear it. People screamed out in protest and in consent as they placed the rope around Moris’ brawny neck.
Drums began to beat. The shouts grew louder. My heart pounded deep in my soul.
I heard him drop. He was hanging. Dead. The air was still. Not a mouth gave way. Everyone was waiting. Waiting for that sound. The sound of his neck cracking. Then it came. Clear and sharp. A snap, like breaking a twig in half.
I let out a loud shriek, disturbing the dead silence. I berried my head in my hands. There went the life of a very dear friend.