Red's Heart

Once, long ago, I had dreamed of a red winter. And it had sickened me.

It was many years ago. A world away from my lonely pine forest of darkness and blood. The world was a stranger to me now, but once, I had known it. It had been familiar. It had been my life. It had been my first steps. My first breaths. It had been my home.

In this world, the air had been stained with a thick musty odour that lingered uncomfortably on the back of the throat. Smiling faces greeted me with wide smiles, welcoming my presence rather than fearing it. I had a name once. In this town I had been known.

And I had been loved.

There had been a girl. So completely opposite to my Red. She’d been the sun. A bright radiance in the bleakness that had been my life. She had appeared one day like an angel stepping from the light of Heaven, golden ringlets spilling over her shoulders and a smile that stopped the hearts of all who gazed upon it.

This girl had loved me once. And I had loved her. But I had taken it all for granted.

Now I knew nothing of the word. I barely knew the meaning. Everything I had known from my life as a human had been drained. Emptied of the filthy water that it had become. Instead it filled with the beautiful crimson liquid I relished. And I became empty. I felt nothing but the delight in pain and fear. And, oh, my Little Red. She was the most tempting of them all.

She had corrupted me.

She was a splinter embedded deeply in my skin, throbbing painfully the moment my eyes swept over her long paled form. She had changed me. I was not always like this. Once, a red winter had sickened me. The mere thought of it had me shaking in my bones. But that time had long gone.

Red’s lips pressed against mine. Those tasty enticing red lips melded into my blood soaked mouth, pulling at my lips lightly as she pushed me to respond. The growl in my chest died, my tight grasp on Red’s throat slackening. I could feel Red’s own grasp on my neck relax as she slid her arm around me and pushed closer.

The shock of her kiss had my mind reeling in confusion. Her warmth soaked into my body through the thick blanket that wrapped around her. I hadn’t felt this in a long time, this strange feeling that made my heart feel like it beat again. My hands hooked into claws instinctively.

Red’s tongue flicked out through her teeth as she opened her mouth, licking over my lips, and over the blood still dripping. The touch was light at first. Sweeping over my chapped lips but she steadily became hungrier.

A sharp bite of teeth dug into my lip as Red tugged impatiently, all but sucking the remainder of her blood from my mouth until I was left with the tangy aftertaste and her tainted saliva. The simple emptiness of the palate had me grimacing in disgust. This was wrong. All wrong. This foul, putrid girl, with her beautiful sweet blood pumping through her heart was poisoning me.

The wolf snapped. The heavy darkness of its presence enveloping the small memory that was beginning to emerge. Its daggered nails scraped over my heart painfully, I could almost feel shreds being torn through. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as I flung myself away from Red’s frightened body.

I snarled. A vicious sound that shuddered through the silent forest and tingled over my skin. The warmth of Red’s touch burned in patches over my skin like acid. I could feel the icy chill of the wolf’s glare as it focused on my Little Red. My fury erupted in wrathful waves, my body hunching over as I stalked around the girl still embedded in the snow.

Her face fuelled my anger as Red stared at me with wide eyes. How dare she. How dare she do this to me. Hadn’t I given her enough? To save her life, and let her keep it?

My hatred consumed me, burning what was left of my humanity. Yes, tonight was the night. I had lingered for far too long. It was time for me to finally feast on the heart of my dear sweet Red.