8AN: This is my little version of Little Red Riding Hood. It's not quite as innocent as the Grimm version, though.
Warning: Violence, sexual connotations ahead.
-I-
The church was silent and the autumn air smelled unnervingly sweet. Sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows while the priest slowly murmured silent prayers. He was all alone in this lonely afternoon. But not for long… He knew that she would come. She'd bring along her basket of goods - her mother's offering to the church. She came every week, at the same time, without fail.
However, time seemed to seep by slowly today. It appear mock the priest and his intentions. Just as he was about to back out, the door creaked open and she came in. Suddenly, he remembered why he needed to do this in the first place.
Look at her. She was sixteen – in the prime of her life. Her wavy black hair, azure eyes and rosy lips were enough to establish her beauty, but add to that her milky skin and you beheld a goddess. He wanted her, needed her, craved for her.
She approached him innocently, her soft footsteps echoing throughout the hollow silence.
"Good afternoon. I am here to leave my mother's offering."
He merely stared at her for a while. "You may put it on the altar, Leda." Her name came out like a whisper. His lips quivered.
Her face registered surprise. Not once has the priest called anyone by their first name. Nevertheless, Leda proceeded to the altar. She should never have turned her back to the priest. She ought to have noticed the hungry glint in his eye…
-II-
Her cheeks were stained with tears. Muffled sobs echoed throughout the church as she tried to pick herself up. Her cheeks burned with shame and her petticoat was bloodied. The priest looked at her, disgusted. Only a few moments ago he had enjoyed, coveted, her beauty. Now, she seems wasted.
"Now, my dear, listen to me." He grabbed her jaw and forced her to look at him. She refused to, casting her eyes away from his face.
"You can tell the entire town if you want, but we both know that all you'll end up doing is shaming your family. They will refuse to believe you." He crooned. The more he looked at her, the more he began to lust after her again. There was something about her that seemed so ethereal. He moved to give her a kiss on the forehead, but she spat on him and jerked away. In response, he kicked her.
A cry escaped her.
"You shouldn't tempt men, Leda. It's dangerous." The priest sneered, leaving her.
She lay there, sobbing her heart out. The afternoon began to fade into darkness. Slowly, she picked herself up and wiped her tears away. It should be a hushed matter. She would tell only her mother. Yes, her mother would know what to do. She stepped out of the chapel inconspicuously and began to make her way back home. It hurt so much, and she has never felt more vulnerable all her life. It seemed like everyone was staring, condemning.
Pained blue eyes scanned the people around her. Did they not hear her cries of protest? Were they all cowards, unable to face the priest and defend her?
Unable to take any more, she broke into a run. It wasn't as if anybody would pay mind. It only made sense that a beautiful girl her age would want to get home before darkness took over completely.
Her house…it was so near. Safety was so close, she could almost touch it. Her mother would be inside, and her mother would understand. She burst through the door and shut it behind her. Her heart pounded and her stomach was in knots. She needed to find her mother. Where could she be? The delicious smells of dinner told her that the kitchen was a good place to start.
Leda quickly made her way to her mother. Leda's mother, a short woman in her forties, glanced at her eldest child and was surprised to see the panic-stricken face greet her.
"What is it?" Her voice was concerned, but not too much. With six children running around, she couldn't fully devote herself to her adolescent daughter's troubles.
In tears, Leda told her mother everything. She explained how the priest violated her, how he enjoyed it and how he warned her not to tell. Her mother listened thoughtfully.
Her mother's thoughts were all too simple: Leda was violated. She would have to wear a red hood to signify it. She would not be able to wed a rich husband if she were violated. In fact, Leda would be lucky if she could marry at all. This ruined all her plans.
But there was one more thing she could do…She could sell Leda for a high price. Her eldest daughter was beautiful, and she would surely fetch a hefty sum. It was not that she had wanted this. Her daughter was precious, true, but she had the other children to think about. The five other children whose father had no steady job…what about their future? She had to think about them, and Leda would have to sacrifice.
She sat down on the table and motioned for Leda to sit down opposite her. The poor teen was drowning in her sorrow, but she obeyed her mother dutifully.
"Leda, I am not much of help, but I know someone who can. Your grandmother lives in the forest. She can help you…" Her voice was soothing, and she gave no evidence of the lie she spoke.
Leda stiffened. So her mother had thought she didn't know. Ha. Everyone knew who Grandmother was. Grandmother bought girls and sold them off to rich men. She shivered at the horrors she might have to go through. She got up slowly, terrified. She shook her head.
"No…" Her voice began as a whisper. "No, NO!" She backed up against the wall and put her hands to her ears.
"Leda, listen to me! You must think of the younger children! We need money for their food and education, and your father has no work right now! Please, don't be selfish!"
This wasn't right, Leda thought. It wasn't fair. Wasn't she the victim here? How could she have turned into the villain in a snap?
"I thought you would help me!"
"This will help! You'll be given to a rich man, who will provide food for you. You can live!"
'I could live all right, but as a slave,' Leda thought bitterly.
Just then, Harper came in the room. Seven year old Harper, who was the spitting image of her mother, was Leda's favorite sibling. Harper looked at her sister with her innocent brown eyes. Their mother couldn't have imagined a better timing.
Leda gathered her small sister into her arms, tears staining her cheeks. She buried her face in Harper's thick brown curls.
"Think, Leda." Her mother continued in a harsh voice. "Harper and the other children would starve to death if you don't do it. If you do not wish to do it for your own survival, then do it for the young ones! Their lives would be put to waste if you refuse to do so for your own selfish reasons!"
"What's going on?" Poor Harper. Innocent little Harper just wanted to stop her sister's tears. She returned Leda's hug protectively.
The hug made Leda realize how much Harper loved her. Would she really let this young girl rot away in this little cottage with no hope for a bright future? It wouldn't be right, would it?
"It's going to be all right, Harpie. I'll fix this mess. I will make sure you grow up to be a nice woman, and that you will live out a life you deserve." Leda assured softly, using her special nickname for Harper. "You won't go hungry again. You'll be happy, and get nice things..."
"Never...hungry...again?" Harper's eyes shone with hope. Her sister had used her special name. Her sister would never lie if she used Harper's special name, but never to be hungry again? That seemed too impossible a dream.
"Never, Harp. Never. I promise."
Leda's mother smiled satisfactorily. She had won. All she needed now was the red hood that Leda was to wear on her way to Grandmother's house.