Joselle - The Great Grey Wolf and Little Ruby Riding Hood

“Oh! It’s all hopeless now!” Silas screamed as he headed towards the gates while some guards exchanged confused looks. Soon Rose and the others had caught up with him. Silas turned to where the carriage was that had brought them there but he didn’t see it. “Oh GREAT!!!! NOW WE’LL HAVE TO WALK HOME!!!” Silas continued.

Rose walked up to Silas and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “Silas, I think you need to quiet down. You’re drawing too much attention.”

Silas quickly turned around and threw Rose’s hand off of him. After he did that, he pushed her away from him and ran off once again. He pushed James and Daniel away as they tried to stop him.

(rewind)

Patrick stood at the altar, it was all perfect! He was going to be the full heir to the throne and be married to Ruby. There were about seven hundred to one thousand guests there. Patrick felt his hair just to make sure it still looked fabulous. Of course it looks fabulous! My hair is never NOT fabulous! Patrick thought to himself as he repositioned his feet at the altar.

The crowd was noisy at first but then quieted down as King Riding-Hood stood up by the altar and began to talk. “Ladies and Gentlemen, Kings and Queens, Dukes and Duchesses, I welcome you to the wedding of my beautiful daughter, Jasmine, to my future son-in-law, Patrick Piper!”

Idiot... little does he know that his own flesh and blood has betrayed him! Won’t he be surprised when it turns out to be Ruby... Patrick continued to think to himself.

By now it was the end of the king’s speech. “Now I present you with the GRANDEST WEDDING in all of the Nine Kingdoms.”

The crowd politely applauded the king.

The music now began to play. Patrick looked down the aisle to see his bride-to-be come down the hall. Oh, was she gorgeous! She had a tiara connected to a veil which covered her face and her hair. All Patrick could make out was the fine outline of her face. She finally reached the altar and stopped next to Patrick.

“Today these two have come together in holy matrimony!” said the priest as he turned to Patrick. “Prince Patrick Simon Piper do you take this lady to wed, and promise to honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for as long as you shall live?” the priest asked.

“Yes,” Patrick said, and grabbed Ruby’s hand.

The priest now turned to the bride. “Princess Jasmine Wendy Riding-Hood do you take this man to wed, and promise to honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for as long as you shall live?”

She looked down and quietly said the word, “Yes.”

“Then I now pronounce you man and wife; prince and princess; heirs to the throne for as long as you both shall live to the end of your days! You may kiss the bride.”

Patrick grinned, turned to Ruby, and lifted the veil of his new bride. Patrick then closed his eyes, swept her up into his arms and kissed her - only to find when he opened his eyes it wasn’t Ruby, it was JASMINE!!!!

Silas just kept running and running. He ran until his lungs hurt, and that was a pretty far way. He was just about where he needed to when he thought that he had hurt Ruby. There he sat down, finally resting. Silas now was too tired and too sad to cry or show any signs of pain. All he did was stare blankly into the open space.

Just then he heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. Silas jerked his head up just in time to see the silhouette of a woman standing in front of him. “Oh... Rose, just leave me alone... please.” But the figure kept coming forward and put its arms around him.

“Oh Silas I thought I’d never see you again!”

Silas knew that voice. It was RUBY!!!! “Oh RUBY!!!!” Silas shouted, tears now filling his eyes. “Are you all right? Is... the baby all right? How did you get out?”

Ruby smiled warmly at Silas and replied, “I’m fine, and so is the baby.” Ruby then put her hand over the small bulge on her lower stomach. “Jasmine... she helped me... she took my place for me...” Ruby looked up at Silas now with tears in her eyes.

Silas had a look of disbelief on his face but decided not to say anything and ruin the moment.

the next day:

Rose had found Silas and Ruby together last night under the tree. Now they were walking through the forest towards the town. While everyone else was in their fancy attire still, Ruby was now wearing a sky blue dress. “So what should we do now, Ruby?” Silas asked her as he held her hand.

“I think that we should get married, Silas... really I do,” Ruby said.

“Oh, we will get married Ruby, one day... I wish I could afford it though...” Silas said sadly.

“Hey, I don’t mind helping, Silas,” James said to his little brother.

“Yes, oh that would be wonderful if you could help... what was your name again?” Ruby asked.

“James.”

“Oh yes, James, it would be wonderful,” Ruby said with a happy look on her face. That look soon faded. Silas, noticing something was wrong, looked over to where Ruby’s gaze went.

“Papa!!!” Silas said startled and wide-eyed.

Cassin had found them. “Silas, what is going on? Is that girl you are with a Riding-Hood?!” Cassin said with hatred in his voice.

“Papa! Please, I can explain!” Rose said stepping forward. Cassin shoved her aside.

“YOU DARE GET INVOLVED WITH A RIDING-HOOD!!!!!!” Cassin said, now screaming. Ruby cowered back while James began to explain what happened, but Cassin wouldn’t listen. He just kept stepping towards Ruby ignoring whatever anyone else did. Cassin was only a few feet away from Ruby when Silas jumped, pushing him to the ground.

“No!!!! I won’t let you hurt her!!!!” Silas said as he tried to pin his father to the ground. Cassin and Silas rolled one over another about three times before Cassin yelled back, “STAY OUT OF THIS SILAS!!!! THIS DOESN’T CONCERN YOU!!!!” Cassin shouted grunting.

“YES IT DOES!!!!” Silas shouted back.

Ruby had now gotten behind Rose for protection, while James tried to find a way to make them stop and Daniel did the same.

“How could it concern you!?!?” Cassin asked, now pinning Silas to the ground. Silas punched Cassin in the face and used this as an advantage to get him pinned back on the ground.

“SHE’S MY MATE!!!” Silas shouted.

This only seemed to get Cassin angrier; with that he revealed his true strength, and shoved Silas up into the air, causing Silas to slam into a tree. Immediately Ruby ran to Silas and tried to tend to his wounds.

“What did you say?” Cassin said with a strange gleam in his eyes.

“I said,” Silas said, beginning to stand up and walk towards Cassin. “She’s my mate, Grandpa.”

The moment was silent, when suddenly a look of realization appeared on Cassin’s face - one of shock and disgust. “YOU SICKEN ME!!! You have betrayed our family, and all wolves out there! How could you? How could you do this?!?” Cassin shouted at Silas. “My own SON!!!” Cassin turned his back to Silas as if to try and calm himself down. After a minute or two Cassin turned back around, still looking like he’d explode from anger, but he talked much more quietly. “I never want to see you again; you are not allowed any of the shelter, food or other needs from the pack. You may get your things. You may stay in contact with family members - I do that only for your mother - but if I find anyone from our pack giving supplies that we have worked for as a family to you, they will be disowned as you have been. NOW, I will let you get your things, but after this you can not ever come back to camp!” Cassin said bitterly, almost sadly, as he walked off and motioned them to follow.

Ruby sat there on a log with everyone staring at her... usually she was used to people staring at her because she was a Riding-Hood, but this was, on the other hand, extremely awkward and uncomfortable. Ruby slowly began to take in her surroundings. There were blankets and pillows lying on the ground; in the center of the camp there was a large fire pit, and logs surrounding it. There were also some ropes above the camp like clothesline. There was a hand cart with all types of tools in it, and in different spots of the clearing there were what seemed to be games like marbles and checkers. Finally there was a large stone with the top smoothed into a flat surface. Ruby assumed that was where they ate their meals.

Ruby glanced over to where Silas was. He was rolling up his sleeping bag and gathering a few items around the camp. Ruby felt terrible - it was her fault that he was disowned; it was her fault that he got hurt; it was her fault that all of this happened. Then Ruby saw an older woman coming towards her.

“So... you’re Silas’s mate?” the woman said when she'd sat down on the log next to Ruby.

Ruby shifted uneasily and replied quietly, “Yes...”

“Well, although I really don’t care for humans, I can see that you are a fine girl... And that he made a good choice...”

“Why, It’s my fault all of this happened...” Ruby said sadly.

The woman turned to her and looked her in the eye. “Don’t ever say that, sweetie; If Silas loves you, then he does. He doesn’t give his heart to anyone that easily... I will be there when you get married... and I will be the proudest mother ever.”

“Why... I’m not just a human... I’m a Riding-Hood,” Ruby questioned.

“Oh it doesn’t matter whether you are a Riding-Hood, human, fairy, wolf, or even a troll. It’s what’s inside that counts. So I’ll be happy to help you in any way that I can,” Silas’s mother said, smiling warmly at Ruby.

Silas walked up to Ruby with a huge sack over his shoulder and a wooden box under his arm. After saying goodbye to his family, Silas walked off with Ruby and Rose following.

the next morning:

“So Ruby... you know what you need now?” Rose said to Ruby as they sat on the ground under a tree.

“What?” Ruby asked.

“A wedding.”

About three weeks later, everything was planned. Since the wedding was very small it was surprisingly easy to plan.

It was a warm fall day and Silas waited in a navy blue silk suit by a man with snowy white hair holding an old musty black book. There were only a few people present at the wedding including Silas’s brothers, sisters and mother (all except Tino and Cassin), and Ruby’s closest friends Mr. Kinston, Lavender, and Daniel. James and Daniel were in charge of the music. James had a few sticks and bells (xylophone effect), and Daniel had a wooden flute. There was no food, but still everyone was happy. All of this was in the middle of a clearing in the forest.

The music began to play and Ruby appeared out of the trees and walked down the green grassy aisle. She was wearing a glittering white dress with open sleeves that flowed over her arms, but not all the way; the neckline was a low circle, and where it was close to the skin at the top, the dress flowed down smoothly behind her. Only one foot of the dress followed behind Ruby. Ruby’s hair was put up now because it was longer, with a crown of rose buds and wild flowers laid on her head. A thin veil of white just covered the front of her face.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity to both Silas and Ruby, Ruby reached the altar. The music stopped and all became silent as the man became to speak. “Do you, Silas Michael Greyson, take this woman to love, honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer for as long as you both shall live?”

Silas glance over at Ruby next to him and smiled. “Yes...”

The man now turned to Ruby. “Do you, Ruby Marie Riding-Hood, take this man to love, honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer for as long as you both shall live?”

Ruby looked at Silas with tears of joy in her eyes. “Yes.”

“Then, if anyone believes that these two should not be wed, say so now...” Everyone stood silent. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Ruby and Silas turned to face one another. Silas carefully pulled back the veil, pulled Ruby into his arms and kissed.

As the months went by Ruby and Silas began to build a home. James, Rose, Daniel’s family, and anyone else Ruby and Silas knew, helped to build their home. Now so far they had built a little cottage near a brook with one room that had a bed, a crib for the new baby, a table, fireplace/stove, and a few windows.

It was a dark night on March seventeenth, but there was still a large amount of activity going on. Ruby lay on the bed with her head drenched in sweat. Silas was by her side doing all that he could to comfort her, while Rose had Daniel boiling water and getting towels while she checked on Ruby’s progress. Rose now stood in front of Ruby. “Okay Ruby... I think you can push now...”

Ruby groaned as another contraction hit her body; she had been in labor since four in the morning. Silas now had a bone crushing sensation in his right hand... it was Ruby. “Uh... I’m going to go out and get some fresh air... Yeah that’s it, fresh air.” He was so nervous! He felt like he wouldn’t be able to handle it... even though he had seen the births of four of his younger siblings that he could remember.

Just as Silas began to get up from his seat he felt something jerk him back down by the neck. “OH NO YOU DON’T!!! YOU’RE NOT LEAVING ME NOW SILAS!!!! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO DID THIS------ TO------- ME!!!!!” Ruby yelled at him as she pushed, then rested. Daniel turned his head wide-eyed.

“All right Ruby, Silas, the baby’s crowning! Now, Ruby I want you to give a hard push on the count of three... one... two.... THREE!” Rose said to Ruby.

The whole time Ruby was pushing she kept repeating the words: “I HATE YOU, SILAS, YOU DID THIS TO ME!!!!! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THIS WHEN IT’S ALL OVER!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!”

After about ten seconds (what seemed like hours to Ruby, and Silas because he was so nervous and his hand was being crushed) the baby’s head was out. “All right Ruby, it’s almost over,” Rose assured her. Silas looked as if he would faint. “Now just concentrate on this last push and it’ll be all over.”

As Ruby bent her head down and began to push one last time, Silas just kept telling her: “It’s almost over, you can do it, it’s almost over.”

Finally they all heard the cry of the new baby. “Congratulations, it’s a boy,” Rose said warmly as she cleaned off the baby. “Daniel I need more clean rags.”

Daniel came over and gave Rose the towels she needed. Before going and getting some more he said, “Boy, ye won’t treat me like that will ya? When we have are first child?”

“From what I’ve seen here, I don’t want one for a very long time,” Rose said as she handed Silas the baby, and walked off to talk to Daniel and let them enjoy the moment.

“Ruby, look, look at how beautiful he is...” Silas said as he handed him to Ruby, admiring the dark eyes looking up at him and the small tuft of black hair on the top of his head.

“Yes, and he’s all ours - yours and mine... He’s our little Wolf,” Ruby said quietly.