<h4>Chapter 503: 503-Little Red Riding Hood And The Wolf</h4>
<strong>Clementine:</strong>
Mom asked me to take my little brother out for a walk, so I did.
I held him in my arms and rocked him back and forth with difficulty while he giggled at me.
He was adorable. He always giggled,ughed, and tried to say jumbled words when he looked at me. He even touched my face, grabbed my nose, and pulled my hair.
He was really cute.
"Okay, what story do you want me to tell you today?" I asked my little brother as I reached the main road.
There were warriors everywhere, and I knew they were keeping an eye on me, my mother, and my little brother because they were afraid we would run away or escape my father’s control.
"How about I tell you about Little Red Riding Hood again?"
As soon as I said that, my brother let out a small coo, and Iughed at how cute he was.
He was still a baby, but I treated him like he was only a month old.
"Pstt! Listen to me."
I heard a barely formed voice from the woods, and my head snapped toward the trees.
"Who is there?" I asked, looking around to make sure I was not imagining things.
"Come here," someone called, making me look around in confusion.
"Come here. I will tell you the Little Red Riding Hood story."
The voice sounded strange, as if the person had just learned how to speak.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" I mumbled.
As I walked toward the woods, I noticed the warriors were busy talking, which was probably why this person chose to speak to me when they were distracted.
"Who are you?" I called out again when the person did not respond.
"Keeping. I want to speak with you," the person continued.
I reached a tree and looked behind it. Instantly, my heart seemed to stop at the sight of a very old-looking, strange man I had never seen before.
I stepped back at once and let out a quiet groan in horror.
"What are you?" I asked softly.
"I’m a friend," he replied.
His mannerisms and bodynguage were odd. He looked human from what I could tell, but he was not like anyone I had seen before.
There was something about him that confused me. He looked old, but he was not. His voice sounded young, yet it also sounded like someone who had not spoken much before.
Overall, he was terrifying.
"What do you want?" I asked, still holding my baby brother close to my chest.
"I want you toe with me."
The moment he said that and reached toward me, I stepped back.
"No," I refused, watching an unsettling look cross his face before he forced a creepy smile.
"Hush. Nobody will find out. Juste with me," he muttered, holding his hand out to me.
At that moment, I remembered something my mother had told me. She had always warned me never to follow anyone who did not look human.
I used to think she was just trying to scare me with stories of monsters.
She often said she came from a ce where she had seen many monsters, but my father imed she was lying.
I never knew what the truth was. But now, looking at this man, I remembered all of my mother’s warnings.
"Come on. But if you do not want toe, that is fine. Give him to me. He needs care, and I can take care of him," the man said, pointing at my brother.
"No, you will kill him," I cried.
My vision blurred with tears and panic.
"I will not. Trust me, I will keep him safe."
His face twisted into something uglier, and that was when I noticed his hands. His fingers were long and scaly, almost bony, with strange pointed tips. I realized then that he was a monster.
"No. I will not give him to you. Not this time."
As I shouted, he tried to rush at me, but he suddenly stopped when someone came from behind and struck him hard on the back of the head with a log. His eye patch fell off too.
My mother kept hitting him, but he would not pass out.
When he fell to the ground, something rolled out of his pocket, and my mother lunged for it.
I was screaming, but when I looked at my mother, I covered my mouth because I did not want the warriors toe and get us in trouble.
My mother rushed toward the watch while the monster reached for it at the same time.
Right before my eyes, my mother stepped on the watch before the monster could grab it, and suddenly he was gone.
It was like I blinked and he disappeared.
Even the small scream he let out when he saw my mother step on the watch was cut off.
"What just happened?" I cried.
My mother hurried to me, took my baby brother from my arms, and hugged me as she dropped to her knees beside me.
"Oh goodness. It has already started," my mother whispered while rubbing my back.
"What has started? What was it? Who was it?" I asked, crying hard.
I did not know what it was about that monster, but it left me feeling like something had been stolen from me, maybe even my heartbeat.
"It could be anything. It is all right," my mother said, biting her bottom lip.
"But what was it? Who was it, Mom?" I asked again, letting out a small, shaky yelp.
"These are the monsters of the north," my mother whispered into my ear. "But do not worry. You are too young to think about it for now. Just remember, when the timees, you are going to fight, and you are going to fight harder and harder."
Her words made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
That was when I jolted awake.
I was still in Yorick’s bedroom. He was sleeping in a different room now because he wanted to respect my privacy.
But something bothered me. Why had I dreamed of such a distant memory again?
That had happened when I was a child. I hadpletely forgotten that moment until now, when a monster had tried to take my brother from me.
Then I remembered my mother’s words.
I rubbed my arms and then the back of my neck before looking around.
Where was Yorick now?
Last time I saw him, he was acting strange, screaming at his mother and telling her that she had poisoned me.
Then I heard the door creak open, and his mother stormed inside, pointing at me.
"What the hell did you do? What did you do?" she shouted.
I leaned back against the headboard and stared at her in confusion.
I had no clue what she was talking about.