Lady Riding Hood

Elaine Belen

“She’s here!” a man tried to warn the villagers.

His cries rang out in the black woods of Schwarzwald, causing every person in the vicinity to halt. Not knowing who “she” was, Lena froze from her spot, at loss why everyone was suddenly alarmed.

Lena looked at the direction they bolted from. Five meters from where she stood, a lady in a black cloak stood unmoving amid the stream of villagers stampeding away. Curious, Lena plodded toward the lady who seemed to have her eyes closed.

But a man had gotten to the lady before she did, approaching without hesitation and yelling in front of her face, “Lady Riding Hood, I am not afraid of you! Leave these innocent people alone!”

The lady brought down her hood, her eyes still closed. Lena stood from afar, but still she noticed how the man shook out of fear even though the woman did nothing to scare him.

cold. “Where is your princess?” Lady Riding Hood asked the man, her voice

“It’s no use. The princess has been missing for a long time. Better you surrender now for you will never find her!” the man replied sternly.

Lady Riding Hood smirked as she steadily opened her eyes, the full force of her gaze bearing down on the man. “I know she’s here and I will find her no matter what you say.”

Little did the man know, Lady Riding Hood had an unbearable power that normal humans like him could not take, even though she felt weak while the princess was around. He looked at Lady Riding Hood’s hazel eyes, her pupils dilated and her transparent corneas immediately filled with the color amber. The man fixed his gaze on Lady Riding Hood’s like he would at a sunset. However, as they stared into each other’s eyes, the man stiffened and found himself unable to move away from his position. His heart started to race as stones gradually formed

from his bone marrows to his veins, until it enveloped his whole body.

“You are nothing to me but just another monolith. Now, you will serve as my own monument,” Lady Riding Hood said.

She placed her hood back on her head and hid her eyes once again. Lady Riding Hood left a statue in place of a man, his terror immortalized in stone.

Lena had watched the entire scenario unfold from where she stood. But instead of fear, her blood started to rise in anger for what Lady Riding Hood had done to the man. She attempted to run toward him to help, but one of the villagers grabbed her by the arm and contained her.

“Please, come with me! We should hide before Lady Riding Hood sees us. Do you want to turn into stone like him?!” the villager warned Lena.

Lena was struck speechless by the implication of her words. Having barely processed the man’s untimely demise, now they have Lady Riding Hood on the loose, capable of turning more people into stone. The next course of action was obvious: first, get away from Lady Riding Hood as far as possible, and second, catch up to hide with the other villagers.

“You people can’t run away from me forever! I will find you and your princess even if you hide…” Lady Riding Hood’s voice echoed throughout the clearing. “And once I have your princess in my hands, no other power can stand in my way!”

Even as she blended with the crown, Lena had been able to take one last glimpse from Lady Riding Hood’s burning irises, threatening to consume them alive.

A spark of candlelight lit up in a dark and mysterious underground bunker, which was where the villagers were led to hide from Lady Riding Hood.

“Find other lights we can use and spread it around the area,” the chief officer ordered his rank guards.

Suddenly, a ten years old boy pulled the chief officer’s right sleeve and asked, “Mister Chief, are we safe inside here?” The boy’s face was still round

around the edges, with a smidge of baby fat in his cheeks. His voice wobbled as he spoke.

The chief officer knelt down to his level and replied, “Hallo, son… Of course we are safe here! This bunker was built by our ancestors a long time ago. They made this earth-berm structure to keep us safe when the time Lady Riding Hood comes.”

“But Mama told me that the Lady Riding Hood will only come if the princess is here...” the boy aired out his worries to the chief officer.

“Yes, Lady Riding Hood is in search of the long lost princess. She thinks the princess is in our village right now. But we must not let her get hold of the princess, if she really is here, because we might lose another member of the royal family. Legend says, once the princess realizes that she is royalty, Lady Riding Hood will lose her powers for good. That’s why Lady Riding Hood is hunting the princess to sustain her power while the princess does not realize yet she is a royalty. So, you must stay here and we will find the princess before Lady Riding Hood does, okay?” the chief officer said while his hands rested on the shoulders of the boy.

“In Ordnung. I understand,” the boy replied, then he raised his fists and clenched his thumbs.

The chief officer nodded, then stood up and headed out to find more candlelights.

Shortly afterwards, one of the rank guards came up to the chief officer. He could barely catch his breath as he fumbled for his words, and said, “Chief, there are two women outside heading toward the hidden bunker while Lady Riding Hood is around the vicinity. Should we let them in?”

“It is our duty to keep all of the villagers safe, we must not leave any of them behind,” the chief officer replied.

“But Chief… Lady Riding Hood–”

“Let the two women in. We are safe from that creature if we all remain underground,” the chief officer cut off the guard’s sentiment. Emphasizing clearly on the all.

“As you command, Chief.” The guard firmly nodded, acknowledging the chief’s order.

Lena and the villager hurriedly entered into a one-way glass mirror, the entrance of the safe haven. As soon as they both entered, two guards immediately met them and led them underground.

Three days have passed after Lady Riding Hood’s latest appearance. Since then, the village grew quieter than ever, as its people continued to hide in the bunker while guards scouted around the area for Lady Riding Hood’s whereabouts. There was still no sign of the cloaked figure, but the guards received multiple reports about young women she killed all over the town. There was still no news of the princess despite the killings, which meant that Lady Riding Hood was still at the height of her search.

At the same time, residents of the bunker took the liberty to share bedrooms filled with bunk beds. Lena caught herself lying down on one of them, right at the bottom bunk of a fairly spacious room. She wondered if Lady Riding Hood also searched for the princess from where she came from, which is the neighboring country not so far off from this town. Lena’s sole wish had been to find her longlost mother in Schwartzwald, and who knew she’d come in such a precarious time. Yet for some reason, she also could not stop thinking about the whole legend the village had been talking about. Hoping to find answers, she rose up from her bed and strolled toward the resources area. She then came across with the villager who warned her about Lady Riding Hood.

“Hallo! It’s nice to see you again!” Lena greeted the villager.

“Likewise, Lena.”

“Listen. Thank you for saving me back there. I was hoping you could share a few things to me about the legend of this mythical creature, Lady Riding Hood, and the lost princess? I’m new here, I just came from the neighboring country. I hope you don’t mind,” Lena cut straight to the point. “Sure. Shall we talk about it at the mess hall?” the villager replied while wearing a smile.

Thankfully, the bunker was restored with food every month for emergency purposes, which was how Lena and the villager were able to help themselves both with Bratwurst sausage and Sauerkraut on the side. In between bites, the villager

enlightened Lena with the local Schwarzwald legend, and how Lady Riding Hood will scour the whole world to spill royal blood. According to the story, the princess would realize her true heritage in the end, making her confrontation with Lady Riding Hood inevitable.

“Does the legend say how the princess will realize she’s the one Lady Riding Hood is looking for?” Lena found herself asking, ridiculously enraptured by the tale.

“Hmm, the legend ended with Lady Riding Hood searching far and wide for the princess, she remains unknown ever since...” the villager continued, then paused. The villager’s next words would then change everything Lena had just learned

know.” “...But since you are new here, there’s something important you have to

“What is it?”

“It’s only between us and the villagers… but I am the only one who knows everything about the identity of the princess.”

Lena’s eyes widened.

“I’ll show you something...” The villager reached out from her pocket, taking out a gold emblem.

Lena gasped. “That’s—”

“Yes. An insignia of Schwartzwald, bestowed only to the most trusted servants of the King and Queen. This badge shows in my official recognition that I am the last one left from our generation to look after the royal family. That’s why it has been my duty to track the princess, keep her safe, and make her realize that she is who Lady Riding Hood is looking for.”

“What?! I never would have thought I would meet the princess’ servant. How would you find her?”

“Well, you see, there is this song…”

Before the villager could explain, they were interrupted by the sound of rushing footsteps, revealing two guards and the Chief officer who signaled the residents for an emergency meeting. Everybody including Lena gathered

around the safe room and quietly waited for the guards to check on them for safety precautions. Minutes later, the doors opened and they saw two guards with one helpless lady in her dirndl in the middle.

“Attention, all citizens of Schwartzwald! This is Alice, we found her in the middle of the field looking for help. It is a good thing the outside guards immediately brought her in the bunker after all the reported killings of women. So, please help her settle in,” the chief officer announced, his voice carrying with both comfort and authority.

Tension started to fade around the safe room, then, Lena and the villager approached Alice instantly to help her. They led her into the ladies bedroom and gave her the available bunk bed at the left side of Lena’s bed. She then asked Alice, “It’s been three days since the whole village evacuated here, how did you manage to be by yourself out there?”

“Lena, she just got here…” the villager reminded Lena.

“No, it’s fine. I was stuck home alone hiding from Lady Riding Hood until I got the courage to find this bunker.” Alice responded as she looked around the area, she then asked, “Do you have any idea who might be the princess?”

“Oh, we don’t know yet but my friend here knows how to find her. She’s the royal family’s most trusted servant.” Lena whispered to Alice while she pointed out the villager.

“Is that so?” Alice realized and looked into the villager’s eyes.

“Yes, I am. Everybody knows my position here and I know almost all the citizens living in the community. But I’m afraid this is my first time meeting you… Are sure you’re from around here?” the villager asked Alice with thinly-veiled suspicion.

Alice smiled slightly and said, “Of course I am! I just don’t go out too often so maybe that’s why you never see me. I’m just curious about the princess, that’s all.”

“The guards are on their duty trying to find the pri—”

“But how would they know who the princess is?” Alice cut off the villager.

“The princess will know,” the villager replied. “Excuse me for a moment,

Lena, will you join me at the mess hall?”

“Yeah, sure. Take your time settling in, Alice.” Lena said to the newcomer as they headed out of the bedroom.

Alice leaned back to where Lena and the villager headed out. When they were finally out, a devilish smirk lingered on her face.

The villager pulled Lena’s arm toward the restroom, she closed the door behind them and grabbed her arms. “I have something to tell you.”

As soon as they were inside the restroom, Lena then asked, “What is it? Aren’t we headed to the mess hall?”

“No. I don’t think we can trust Alice. I know every citizen around the village, even the newborns. I really think Alice is not from around here. She even keeps asking about the princess.” the villager reasoned.

Fair enough, except Lena raised another point, “I am the one who is new here, and I asked you so many questions about the legend too, but you never suspected me like you do with Alice.”

“You told me the truth that you grew up from the neighboring country, and admitted that you were new around the village. I suspect Alice was lying about where she came from,” the villager pressed.

Suddenly, Lena heard a humming tune similar to a lullaby coming from the bedroom. She tried to follow the sound but the villager held her back and asked, “Where are you going?”

“Somebody is humming a familiar tune, I can hear it from here.”

“W-wait, you can hear something?” the villager uttered in shock, “Lena, you said you grew up from the neighboring country, where did you hear this?”

“From my mother, why did you ask?”

“Lena, only the princess of Schwartzwald can hear that humming tune. That was the royal family’s last message to me, the only way to identify the princess! You are who Lady Riding Hood is looking for! You should not follow that

sound, it could bring you harm! Please remember the time you heard your mother sing that song to you.” The villager composed Lena from following the sound in her head as she was being reminded of who she really was.

The villager was about to call out the authorities when the humming rang stronger. Lena’s thoughts brought her back to her childhood days, and remembered how her mother helped her sleep by humming that same song she was hearing… How she wished she could still remember the look of her mother’s gentle face as Lena’s glimmering memories saw a woman, humming the tune, glimpsing back from Lena’s point of view. A black hood shielded her whole head and eyes. That woman then turned around, her eyes now opened, transmitting Lena to open her eyes. There was fire in her pupils.

“I remember now,” Lena gaspingly said as she opened her eyes. At the same moment, Alice suddenly slammed the restroom door and hummed through her mind while holding a knife.

“I knew that I would find you, princess. Your mother sent me here to deliver her message. Your time is over!” Alice grinned before throwing the knife at Lena.

Fortunately, the villager was quick to their feet n and shoved Lena to the ground just in time, so the knife wouldn’t graze the princess’ body. Instead, it landed inside the villager’s sternum, directly hitting her heart and lungs. Blood streamed down from her chest to her stomach, then to the floor, her eyes still wide open as she met the killer’s dark, malevolent stare. The villager fought for her to catch her breath until there was no more, and her body finally slumped on the cold restroom floor. Watching Lady Riding Hood kill in front of her for the second time, Lena’s blood roared as her eyes burst into flames. She fixed her gaze on Alice with one thing on her mind.

Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.

Alice looked into Lena’s eyes and screamed, “This does not stop Lady Riding Hood from haunting you down, princess! She will eventually find this bunker until you have nowhere safe to go! You will be dead soon!” At that, Alice’s legs stiffened in place, like being submerged in cement. Her veins dried into ashes as her heart stopped in an instant, leaving nothing but a statue with her mouth open, frozen mid-threat. Lena then approached the human-formed rock and whispered, “Thanks to Mother’s song, I found myself as the princess.”

Her fiery eyes turned into hazel. Power flowed into her veins, triggered by her first kill.