Chapter Text
CHAPTER ONE
A Forest of towers and field of flowers
“I don’t get why everyone keeps making such a big deal about the woods…”
said a young girl walking through the deep woods. she wears a velvet red hooded cape, ankle length light beige dress and old beaten leather brown boots. her skin fair and her hair wavy and shoulder length with a beautiful light auburn tone, and her eyes are as big and brown as the rings in a tree trunk.
she carried a hand woven picnic basket stuffed with food and made her way through the woods along a beaten path that seemed to stretch on for miles
its quite clear that the girl is NOT in a good mood, her brows are furrowed, and forehead wrinkled.
"i know a shortcut to grandma's place, so why cant i use it!?" she shouts in frustration.
As of the past few years the people in her village have been becoming weary of the forest surrounding the village, mostly due to a certain visitor in the woods that has been causing a myriad of problems.
It started back around three winters ago, one of their farmers found his chicken coop ripped open and a trail of feathers leading to the woods, and it was brushed off as a simple fox attack, nothing too unordinary But it soon happened again...
About a three days after the initial incident one of the nearby Shepard's fence had a small hole dug under it in the middle of the night and tried to sneak up on some sheep, thankfully fully the Shepard heard the cries of hos sheep and scared off whatever was trying to make a move on them.
After the creatures first few attacks, people started taking more safety precautions like deeper fences or steal anymore livestock the attacks slowed down, but occasionally a chicken or two would go missing.
Following all the attacks on the livestock, those who wandered in the woods would often feel an unsettling feeling as if eyes were watching them every second. even the night lacked its original peace and quiet, when a single lone howl could be heard all throughout the woods.
As the days turned to weeks and weeks to months and rumors spread that travelers or those who became too adventurous and strayed from the many set paths of the woods would often never return and were most likely eaten by the creature.
After about two months of investigations, a local huntsman determined that the fiend was most likely a wolf, and thankfully there were only signs of one.
The hunts man assured his people that the wolf would be easily dealt with, and since wolves are typically pack hunters with a familial hierarchy it would only make exterminating this one easier, only one problem… the WOODS.
Each tree is a tower of soil brown and ash grey wood, their branches long thick, leaves pack by the thousands in the dense foliage, their peaks scrap the clouds. The canopy is so thick it blocks out the sun completely, making it impossible to see anything under the trees when so many of them are that close together . However there are a few paths one could follow whilst retaining their sight on their journey through the woods. The story of how these paths were carved out have been lost to time but they still remain of great use for getting around the woods.
As of now its been about three years since the wolf appeared in the forest, it still occasionally attacks the livestock and rumors about an attack still spread every so often, and of course The villagers can only assume that the wolf has grown with its abundant supply of food.
even after his many failed attempts to successfully track and put down the beast, the huntsman still rides into the woods each day for just the slightest chance at fulfilling his obsession, and each evening he comes home empty handed and defeated.
the girl, who was called Adela, had a grandmother who lived deep in the woods. she was quite an old woman who often became ill and requires company so Adela's mother often sent her to the old woman's house to care for her.
in order to prepare her for the trip Adela's mother lectured her on the "dangers of the woods!" and how she must "keep an eye out for any movement along the tree line.".
Adela had heard this a thousand times, and she HATED it...
ever since she was a little girl her father would constantly bring her in and out of the woods, he spent hours carrying her on his back as they wandered through the dark. she had been in the woods so many times by her seventh birthday she could go all the way to her grandmothers by herself.
but ever since the "Big Bad Wolf" as the young children of the village would call it, showed up in the woods her mother has been annoyingly strict about the woods.
she could practically hear her mothers voice ringing in her head now.
"No going in after dark!", or "ADELA R. HOOD WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT WANDERING INTO THE WOODS WITHOUT ASKING!!!" (her mother was especially mad that day), and of course her mothers favorite "NEVER STRAY from the path...".
Adela couldn't see why her mother was so bossy or why everyone was so scarred of the woods, ever since she was a little kid she loved the beauty of the woods. she adored the way the few sun rays shined down through the tiny cracks of the canopy like the way the light from stars would shine down through the dark nights.
before Adela left for her grandmothers, her mother dressed Adela in her favorite velvet red hooded cape, Because of her choice of attire it wasn't long before a few people around her village nicknamed her " The Little Red Riding Hood", And of course her mother gave her a basket of gifts and medicine for her grandmother.
Adela walks along the path laid out in the woods making sure to step on patches of grass while avoiding the trampled dead grass and dirt path
"Stupid rules..." she says as she kicks a rock into the shadows "its not fair, the boys play in the woods all the time!" she complained to the trees as if they were listening.
"dad used to take me through all the time..."
she thought about those times from when she was younger, her father would teach her different ways and shortcuts to get around the woods.
Of course grandma’s place was the first line location she learned to find. There was also a small pond nearby, a beautiful hilltop, and a giant circle if trees where the tree tops separated revealing a giant circular field of flowers. It had been Adela’s favorite spot to play in or have lunch with her family, the only reason she hasn’t been to it in a few years was because its far off the path, and even if she was allowed to now she had already forgotten the way to reach it.
as well as a huge river at the edge of the woods that led off a cliff, its rapids full of tons of jagged and huge rocks. Despite the hazard it was a common fishing spot for a large variety of trout and salmon that would travel through, that is before the wolf claimed the forest as its own.
Adela continued her walk along the path very much to her own dismay, though she couldn’t deny hearing the birds chirp their songs was quite soothing.
she had left the village around the late morning some time after breakfast, she had been walking for about an hour and a half at this point and it was nearing the afternoon with at least another half hour to go.
”uuugghhh!” Adela sighs in frustration. She had little to do on her walk other than think about whatever came to mind or view with little to no caution for the environment.
somehow despite it being the greatest and only direct threat to the village for the past three years she had completely forgotten about the wolf stalking the woods.
it could be considered a strange quirk of hers but, Adela is rather a strange girl, she is quite brave for her age (or stupid) which so far has allowed her to go into the woods with less caution and worry than most adults in the village. she loves climbing trees, and often tries to play with the boys whenever they dared each other to go into forest.
Despite clearly wanting to explore one of the most filthy place she could, she still wears her hood usually paired with the old beige dress gifted to her from her grandmother and her mothers old leather boots from when she was a girl, an outfit quite obviously not fit to be worn constantly outdoors. Not with that beautiful hooded cape at least.
most of the villagers were worried when the girl got too comfortable in the woods when the attacks started happening, so they tried to snuff out her adventurous nature by scaring her with stories of children being snatched by monsters and witches, or warning her that one day she would get snatched and eaten up by the wolf if she wasn't careful.
and of course none of their tactics detoured her curiosity
Adela was deep in thought about what she should make for her grandmothers lunch,
"mom said that a hearty stew should help with the cold... But can grandma even digest something like that?"
her grandmother is most likely the oldest person Adela knows, she is at least by far the oldest in the village. it also isn't uncommon for the poor woman to fall ill, so Adela's mother will often to walk her to the cottage only to leave the girl alone with the old woman while she delt with business at their house.
Adela of course found that her mother constantly dumping her on other people or just not paying attention to her was quite irritating. so Adela would spend most of her time with her grandmother because despite not being very physically active at the very least the old woman would pay attention to her.
any time Adela visited it would usually go the same, she would enter her grandmothers room and lay at the foot of the bed as the old woman told her a story, and she always loved the stories her grandmother told stories no matter how many times she's heard them.
Adela is still thinking about what to make for lunch when her thoughts are suddenly cut off by a light *snap* from a bush behind her, Adela snaps her head around to see what made the sound, only to hear a rustling sound as something zips back into the thicket.
she takes this as her cue to get to the old woman's house as soon as possible and hurries the rest of the way, for the first time in quite a while she feels unsettled as if something is watching her.
After another uncomfortable half hour of walking, Adela finally makes it to her grandmothers abode. its a small cottage with only four rooms, and not much room for more than two or three people to live comfortably.
Adela walks up to the door grabs the knocker ring and hits it against the door twice before announcing her presence "Gran, its me Adela!", "come in "dear!" the elderly woman replies through the door.
Adela opens the creaky wooden door and steps into the dark house.
from the doorway she can see the bed where the old woman lies, the bed curtains prevent a clear view of her grandmothers face, something that gives Adela a sort of strange discomfort.
"I've brought you some get well gifts." Adela says as she approaches the bed.
"leave the basket by the dining table dear, and come lay in the bed with me" her grandmother replies, her voice rough and dry.
Adela slips off her boots and slowly walks towards the bed. she lays across the foot of the bed on her stomach and buries her face in the blankets and takes a deep breath before releasing a muffled yell.
"now now, what's troubling you my dear?" the old woman asks as she sits up and sets down the book she was reading on the night stand.
Adela turns her head from the sheets up to face her grandmother "uuuggghh! grandma you wont believe how the people in town have been acting lately!" the girl exclaims.
her grandmother chuckles before she gently strokes the back Adela's head.
"now dear, you know they're only trying to look out for you."
“I know…” The little girl pouted.
*Gurrrrrgle*
“Sounds like I should get started on lunch“ Adela huffed.
Adela climbed out of the bed and hurried off to the kitchen. After lunch the two of them spent the remainder of the afternoon reading together
*yaaawwn*
Adela lifts her head from her grandmother’s lap, marks from the blanket are left imprinted in her face.
“Did you have a little nap dear?”
Her grandmother questioned brushing her fingers through Adela's hair.
“Mmhhm”
She groans in response.
“I should probably get going before it gets too dark.”
Adela says as she climbs off the bed and puts on her hood. Her grandmother gives her a quick peck on the cheek before sending her off.
“Walk home safe Adela!”
“I will!”
And Adela walks out the door and into the woods.
The walk home was rather peaceful, some birds chirped in the trees, she could see the sky turning yellow just above the tops of the towering tree’s.
It was a day like any other.
Once Adela reached what was about the half way point of her journey back something caught her attention. A faint smell, a sweet smell.
She assumed it was just some flowers along the edge of the tree line, but as she kept walking the smell grew, it became to distracting that she didn’t even take notice of the bird’s chirping and sounds in the forest dying out .
The smell reminded her of something, the bass of her fathers voice, the way he would so easily pick her up and carry her through the meadows.
The nostalgia was intoxicating.
Adela stood at the edge of the tree’s contemplating.
It was still getting darker and it would be a pretty long walk home, but if she left now then she might never find the smell again, especially with fall and winter approaching.
“Just for a few minutes…” she promised herself.
Adela steps forward into the forest, the ground is noticeably softer than that of the path, the air was cool and moist. As she walks further into the darkness the light is sucked in and smothered out by the trees, as the light fades it gets harder and harder to see and soon she’s left in total darkness.
With only the sweet scent to guide her, Adela wanders through the dark,
occasionally she would stumble by tripping on a stone or getting scratched by a bramble. Finally after ages of near aimlessly walking through the darkness and ear piercing silence Adela see’s a light poke through the void like stars in the night sky.
Adela huffs a sigh of relief and moves as quickly as she can to the source of the light, eventually reaching a new tree line.
She takes in a deep breath of air as she peers down at the reward for her efforts.
“Wow…”
Adela says as the euphoric warmth fills her body
Below the ledge she's standing on is a gargantuan field of flowers. the flowers reside in a circular pit with walls a few feet high.
There are a wide array of flowers ranging from roses, daisies, lilacs, lavender and even more flowers that she doesn’t recognize.
Adela sets her basket down and slides down the sloped wall into the flowers.
The sweet smell and pollen fills her nose as she twirls around, some petals are picked up by the wind around her .
“I knew it was here!”
The girl exclaims with joy as she drops onto her back .
“I better pick some for mom and grandma.” She thought, at least this way if she was home too late then her mother wouldn’t be too mad at least.
Adela dug a little around some flowers and pulled them out from the roots to put in her basket. She looks up at the sky, now its significantly darker, the east is turning a dark blue and the west is a darker orange color. Realizing she’s stayed way longer than she meant to Adela quickly shoves the last of her dug up flowers into her basket and begins to get up.
As Adela stands up to climb out she took notice of something at the ledge she left her basket at, something feel’s off. Its as if she’s being watched, but she couldn't hear any sounds from the forest anyways so she shakes off the feeling, assuming she’s just being paranoid.
After climbing up the ledge she pats herself down and wipes the moist dirt off her hands, leaving smears in her cape
“mom wont be happy about that…”
she sighs as she walks towards the trees to find the path once again.
The closer she gets to the trees the more she feels like something is wrong, like she really shouldn’t be here. Then if finally hits her, the forest is completely silent, no chirps, twigs or small branches snapping, not even rustling leaves. *SNAP* the sound cuts through the tension like a hot knife, Adela looks up straight into the tree’s and sees two large emerald circles floating in the darkness…