She was so frightened that she jumped out of bed, ran out the front door, and raced through the forest until she heard her mother’s voice. Goldilocks was so happy to see her mother that she promised to never wander through the forest alone again.

Hours passed as day had finally turned to night. Rima was once again found in the kitchen but this time she was preparing dinner.

“Do you think they’re okay?” She questioned the girl sitting in the same spot as this morning. Goldi shrugged in response.

“That’s a tough pair of kids. They’re fine. Watch, I bet they’ll be coming through that door any minute now.” She stated in a calm tone pointing at the front door and as if on cue the children walked in.

Rima rushed toward them and looked them both up and down, making sure they were both still in one piece. She stopped as she looked into their eyes.

“Guys, what did you find?” She questioned, worried.

Their eyes were riddled with fear, horror and complete hopelessness.

“We found it” Hansel whispered baerly audible. Goldi’s head shot up at the boy.

“Found what?” Rima continued in soft tone.

“The castle.” Gretel piped up. By now Goldi had jumped from her seat in the kitchen and walked over to the pair, kneeling down in front of them.

“Castle?” She repeated and gretel slowly nodded before clinging onto her brother once more.

Rima and Goldi looked at each other before looking back at the children. They were frightened, more than they had ever been and it worried them that a mere castle could spook them like this.

Placing her hand on the little girl’s shoulder Rima  gave her a reassuring smile.

“Can you tell us where it is and what it looks like? Please?” Gretel looked up at her and nodded.

“It Stood outside the forest atop a cliff and it was big, no huge. Enormous even, and Dark. Very dark. Whatever she’s doing in there is some strong magic. The sky and clouds that circled above it had turned black and green thunder could be seen. We were too far away to hear it but….we saw it.”

“It stood many stories high, I’m not sure how many and it was surrounded by smaller thinner towers and pointy roofs. At the bottom of the cliff; nothing but spikes. Sharp pointy spikes that would pierce straight through you and rip you in half if you fell.” Hansel continued for his little sister.

Rima and Goldi sat there for a moment as they processed the new information.

“So, even that is twisted….” Rima mumbled to herself before standing to her feet. Placing her hands on her hips she walked back into the kitchen, while the trio slowly but surely followed her.

“So we storm the place. Straight through the front door. Past the wolves and straight for the witch.” Rima stated blankly as she continued where she had left off only minutes earlier.

Goldi and the children eyed her for a moment.

“Red, you can’t be serious. I thought you were joking about that! She could kill you! She could kill all of us! Are you crazy?!” Goldi half yelled as she stood up, pushing the chair back in the process. Throwing her hands up to her head she started pacing the floor.

“And I really thought I was crazy. I’ve got nothing on you and I’m the one with a house full of weapons!” She laughed sarcastically as she blinked a few times. The children sat at the table and watched both Rima and Goldi.

“I mean, even those two are afraid. You don’t know those two! They don’t get frightened easily!” Goldi continued talking.

“And you just want to storm the place? You really are crazy….And knowing you, you probably want to go tomorrow morning, am I right?” Rima shook her head slightly.

“I’m crazy but not suicidal. We do still have to make a plan. We can’t just storm it and hope for the best. We go after we figure it all out down to the point. Some target practice too, just to see if I can still shoot and to see how good of a shot all of you really are. We need to make sure we have a foolproof plan first. Then we storm it.” She stated calmly as if it were one of the easiest things in the world.

Goldi stopped and blinked at the girl. She burst out laughing, making the children turn around and stare at her, eyeing her to see if she was okay and hadn't gone completely mad.

“And please do tell me, Little Red Riding Hood, what exactly makes you think we can win this?” Goldi questioned her, crossing her arms over her chest, staring at the hooded girl; the children’s gaze followed as they waited for her answer.

“Easy.”

Rima started with a small snicker. Taking the spoon out of the pot, she carefully placed it upon a plate she had set next to the stove earlier. She smiled as she turned around to look at the trio and their eyes widened as she grinned brightly.

Rima’s eyes had turned bloodshot red, glowing even, more intense than they had ever seen on any of the wolves.

“I am one of them after all.”