Chapter 43: Rejecting Fairytales

Ruby prays in the corner as grandma takes care of grandpa's wounds. She prayed for her mother to arrive immediately so that they can be saved already. She prayed that grandpa could hold on for a little bit longer while Grandma Rose sewed his wound shut making him release groans of pain. Ruby trembled harder as the monstrous wolves tried to break down the door relentlessly while the old wood barely held on its hinges. She whimpered as the wolves howled loudly into the night air dedicated to get inside the room and do god-knows-what to them.

Ruby tried harder to keep her mind off from the danger being shielded only by a weak wooden door. She tried reciting the names of all her mother's knights in alphabetical order to keep her mind focused. Surely enumerating the names of brave and strong men will give her courage as well to be able to endure this crisis and not break down until they arrive to rescue her. She's like a princess right now like the ones from Grandma Rose's stories, pretty kind souls being rescued by dashing brave knights rushing in to save her from harm's way. She just needs to be good, hopefully, and behave well like Cinderella when she got imprisoned in the attic and then the handsome prince will come to save her. Or in this case her beautiful mother. Yes, her mother is pretty better than a flashy prince because she's braver and stronger than any prince charming because she's a king.

"Aban, Agravain, Bedivere, Bors, Constantine, Dragonet, Ector, Galahad, Gareth, Gawain, Lancelot, Lionel, Lucan, Mador, Pellias, Sarif, Tristan." Ruby paused when she noticed the noise get softer until it vanished.

"They're retreating?" Grandma Rose wondered listening for any noises.

For a moment there was only a painful silence as they trained their ears to listen closely to the most minute sounds made outside of their four-cornered safe haven. Their hearts drummed harder against their ribcage in anticipation of what might happen next. Ruby prayed harder for the beasts to just leave already so that they can be safe. However, the gods seem to be asleep in this deep of the night. Or simply they do not exist in this world.

The heavy footsteps of the wolves can be heard banging over the roof and soon noises can be heard going down through the chimney as the first wolf landed of the hearth. Grandpa quickly grabbed his gun and pointed it to the wolf but found it empty so Grandma Rose stood instead and sliced it with her scythe.

The beast was too rabid while her blade is quite dull so the wolf managed to cut through her arm until she was able to bury the tip of her scythe on its neck killing it. Another wolf soon arrived followed by another. Grandpa Oscar tried to stand only to fall back on his bottom groaning in pain due to his injury leaving the old lady to defend them all by herself.

"We need to get a fire going in the chimney to keep them from coming down from there!" Grandpa Oscar suggested while clutching his bleeding side.

"That is a good plan until we can somehow get rid of these bastards!" Grandma Rose replied parrying the strong claw of the wolf before kicking the other on its maw. The wolf suddenly clawed at her stomach successfully cutting through her flesh making her crimson blood pool from her gut. Grandpa Oscar snapped and pushed himself up with his bayonet before stabbing the wolf and beating it down to the ground. It whimpered as it died while its companion pounced on the old man biting down hard on his throat making blood gush out in a fountain. His tortured screams reverberated through the air as the wolf sank his fangs deeper against his neck, draining his soul.

Ruby ran to him and stabbed through the monster's nape over and over again until it fell limp over her grandpa. She kicked it off of him with all her strength and released a strangled cry as she saw the pitiful state her grandfather is in. His throat had an ugly gaping wound where blood squirted out as he tried breathing. He choked from his own blood that gurgled in his throat while flooding his lungs with the liquid that was supposed to replenish his life instead of helping it end in a painful way.

"G-grandpa?" Ruby managed to mumble with fearful teary eyes as she watched the old man open his mouth to speak only for blood to spurt out.

"F-f-fi-rree." he managed to say. Ruby nodded before taking the sheets and putting them in the fireplace since there are no firewoods nearby. She poured gas on the fabric before hitting the flint and steel together creating the spark that ignited the flame making another wolf whimper as it fell into the burning hearth. No wolf followed it as the heat began to rise but the banging on the door continued.

Grandma Rose cried as she crawled her way to her dying husband and Ruby could only watch in shame for being too weak and useless. She watched as her grandmother cradled the dying body of her husband who only choked out blood trying to tell her his last farewells with much difficulty. Grandma only shushed him as she hugged him closer while she as well bled in agony.

Ruby could only cry silently while wistfully thinking that it was all a dream, that the blood on her hand wasn't really her grandpa's because no one is bleeding right now. It's just a dream, it's not real. Soon grandma will wake her up to tell her that she was just dreaming and reassure her that all of it was only a nightmare because bad things don't happen to good girls. She behaved and waited patiently for her heroes to arrive. She did what Cinderella did, just wish for it dearly with all your heart and keep faith in your soul that's why she was rescued from her evil stepmother. Snow White was a good girl who cleans her house that's why the prince came to rescue her.

She was just as much as a princess as they are and yet why is this tragedy happening to her? Why is the world being cruel to her when all she did was be good?

She suddenly heard the loud cry of her grandma as Grandpa Oscar drew his last breath before closing his eyes and going limp. Ruby's attention snapped to them. Her innocent and naive heart broke into a million pieces as she watched her beloved grandma cry her heart out while she cradled the corpse of her grandpa in her chest. An unbearable piercing pain shot through her heart as she felt the vile rising from her throat.

All of this was her fault for being too weak. If only she was strong like her mother she could have protected both her grandma and grandpa from being hurt by the wolves. She only hid and prayed like "a good girl" from the fairytales but this right here is clearly far from the likes of such genre. The real world is never a fairytale realm where there's always a hero who's going to suddenly show up and make everything better for you. No, because the real world is far from fairytales. It is cruel, harsh, relentless, and unmerciful. It doesn't matter if you're good or evil, bad things will always happen to you and no hero will come to rescue you because everyone is alone in their own fights.

The only things that matter in this world are the strong and the weak, the powerful and the powerless, and the brave and the cowards. There is no true salvation for anyone. There is no such thing as a happily ever after. Those are all bullshits that adults feed to children to keep them behaved but they are also chains of illusions that blind a child from the real reality of this unforgiving world. Perhaps it's also an act of mercy because the truth is as ugly and painful.

Ruby's bright emerald eyes turned dull as a fallen leaf. They lost the shine of her innocence as she stared at the despondent scene, her heart becoming cold and empty like the corpse of her grandpa. She went to her grandmother's side knowing that she as well is at death's doorstep. The blonde girl held her nimble shriveled up hand filled with blood as she can only lament their pitiable fate.

"It's all my fault... I'm too weak to protect you and I'm too cowardly to do anything. I failed you. I should have been the one to die instead of grandpa." she mumbled softly as she cried. Grandma Rose frowned at her words before cupping her cheeks.

"Hush now child. Do not regret our lives because we know one way or another we are going to die as all of us will. Do not say such foul things. Your life is precious because you still have time. You didn't fail us. You never did. You provided the brightest days in our lives with every visit that you made and it meant the world for the two of us because we have been forgotten by the world but you saw us and you loved us. That is the greatest thing that we've always wanted." she whispered, mustering all her energy to give the girl a smile.

"But..."

"You mustn't cry now. Do as your mother had said. Be brave and do not cry. When I leave this world I want to take the memory of your smiling face as I part from life. Surely, once you grow up, you will be the most beautiful girl in town and all the boys and the princes from distant realms will visit here just to get a glimpse of you. When the time comes and you find the man, show him your worst and if he still wants you after that then never let him go. That's what I did to your grandpa." she chuckled as her voice slowly faded while her eyes tried very hard to blink open.

"Yes. I will make sure to follow your advice. So you must stay with me for a little longer. Just for a few moments please hold on. The next time I see you will be an eternity. I don't know what to do anymore or what I am. Please. Just a few more seconds." Tears slowly fell from her eyes, each one holding a magnitude of grief as heavy as the ocean that falls lightly like the rain.

Soon the door burst open but Ruby couldn't care less about it as Grandma Rose drew her last breath. She watched closely how life flickered out of her eyes as her soul left her body. She didn't cry out loud but the tears that fell from her eyes are like silent screams that symbolize her lamentation.

Althreya came inside the room as the last demonic wolf fell dead on the floor. She knelt before her daughter draping her cape over her shoulder but said nothing knowing that no word of reassurance can console her grief. She understands her feelings to some extent. That's why she knows that silence is the only thing she can offer her as of the moment.

"Happily ever after is a lie." Ruby whispered with a blank look as she held her grandmother's cold lifeless hand.

"There has never been one." was Althreya's solemn reply.

🌹

"Ruby, what story do you want me to read? Cinderella? Sleeping Beauty? Snow White? The Little Mermaid?" Bedivere asked with a kind smile as he browsed through her bookshelf.

"I don't like those stories. They make me think that I need a man to save me from my own problems when I should be the one to deal with them. It makes me feel inadequate. Fairytales are garbage. They make you think that just because you are kind, pretty, and faithful then everything will work out well for you but they won't. Grandma and grandpa are kind people but bad things happened to them. I don't want to hear any of those stories ever again. You may as well burn those books." Ruby frowned as she lay in bed tucked in her sheets.

Months had passed since the incident but Ruby still kept the wounds deep which is very understandable for a girl her age who went through such trauma. This was actually a development since she rarely spoke during the first few weeks of the tragedy and Bedivere partially blamed himself for being not there when his little mistress needed him the most. If he was there with her then things could turn out differently but there's no use dwelling in the past.

"What about I read this to you instead?" he suggested, keeping his smile while presenting a new book to her.

"What is that? What story does it have?" Ruby asked, finally looking at his direction instead of her window.

"It's a compilation of dozens of stories about fantastic fighter women. Like Atalanta who never lost a race even to the fastest men and the first to land a hit on the monstrous boar, or Princess Merida the Brave who saved her own mother from a witch's curse. There's also about Queen Daenerys Targaryen, the Dragon Queen who started as a woman sold by her own brother to a barbarian Horse Lord but when he died she picked herself up. She built an army of her own, conquered kingdoms, freed slaves, and repelled evil forces from decimating the land. Are you interested in hearing any of these, my lady?"

"I suppose they'll be perfect to keep my head occupied." Ruby mumbled as she settled in a comfortable position on her bed trying hard not to show her excitement which made the knight smile in amusement of her cute face.

"Sir Bedivere can you find someone who can teach me how to use a scythe?" Ruby suddenly requested.

"A scythe? Why that weapon my lady? Surely a sword will be much easier for you to use." Bedivere wondered furrowing his brows in curiosity of her request.

"A scythe is the weapon used by the Grim Reaper. I want to be feared like Death but not in black but red. A burning color like vengeance or justice." she answered looking at him with a determined face.

"I needed a hero... That's why I will become one."

Bedivere was speechless by her words. His sweet little lady had grown so much in the span of a short period of time. She may still be sweet but she's no longer naive and innocent. Life had finally slapped her hard on her face and pulled her out of her cocoon of childish bliss. The old Ruby was still there but her eyes had changed. They no longer shined with the brightness of stars because they now illuminate with the burning brilliance of an inferno. It oddly reminded him of the eyes of a dragon he once met.

"Of course my lady."

"Thank you. Now let's get on with the story." she cheered with a beautiful smile. The knight smiled at her enthusiasm. Her innocence may have fled but her kind and gentle heart still remains. She may have changed a bit but her soul is still as pure and she will forever be his passionate little lady.

"Okay let's begin." he chirped before taking a seat on the stool beside her bed. He opened the book and flipped through the pages while Ruby waited expectantly for him to begin.

"Once upon a time..."