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That night, Saffron was afraid of going to sleep. She knew, after her father’s story, that what would come to her in her dreams would be a mangled frightening mess of what he’d shared with her...
Standing in the middle of the forest, Saffron looked around her. Above her, the moon shone in all its glory, full and round, casting a bright silver glow over the earth. She noticed the trees in full bloom, the canopy of leaves and branches thick overhead, yet somehow, the lunar light penetrated the dense foliage.
“Saffron.”
The silky-smooth voice had her whirling around in a second, but there was nothing to see.
“Saffron.”
She spun around again, still seeing nothing.
“Saffron.”
Turning around and around, Saffron soon made herself dizzy. She shouted in frustration, “What do you want? Who are you?”
Despite now standing still, Saffron’s world still moved around her, the effects of the dizziness grasping a firm hold of her. When everything stopped moving, she slowly glanced to her left. She screamed. A pair of big brown eyes stared at her, a thick band of grey fur separating them.
Saffron stumbled backwards. As she did so, the intense moonlight enabled her to see more of the face mere feet from her own. An elongated snout, giant pointed ears, a leathery black nose...
“Oh my goodness,” she whispered, tears of fear springing up from nowhere.
The wolf opened its mouth, revealing a jaw full of enormous teeth and two gigantic canines. Saffron fell over, scrabbling away from the looming head of the massive wolf. It took one step, placing both paws either side of Saffron’s head. A sliver of drool slid off one of its canines, landing on the ground next to her head.
It lowered its head, its hot breath blowing over Saffron’s face. Saffron raised her arms to protect her face, squeezing her eyes shut as she waited to be ripped to pieces...
Gasping for breath, Saffron sat bolt upright, covered in sweat. She realised now that this beast was taunting her in her dreams, revelling in the fact it could kill her over and over. Stubborn determination ignited in her veins.
Slowly calming her heart rate, Saffron eased herself back onto her pillows. She realised that despite the other girls who would be in the running for this ‘prestigious’ position of being an Offering, her sixth sense told her this was going to be her turn.
Whether she liked it or not.
And so she lay there, wide awake, until dawn broke, thinking of ways to best this beast.
***
SAFFRON DECIDED THE first thing she needed to do was focus on her physical fitness and strength. That morning, she rose, just as the first rays of light broke through the last of the night and headed out for a jog. By the time she was halfway around the perimeter, she was doubled over, wheezing for breath. Fury and the will to not give in pushed her on, forcing her to finish her run.
Reminding herself that she would only find this easier with each day that passed, Saffron swore to herself that she must do this every morning, come rain or shine. Being so close to the treeline as well would allow her to pick out certain patterns or markers in the trees, making it easy for her to spot her way out, should she need to.
She knew once she went in the forest, she’d lose all sense of direction and navigation. Leaving a trail of breadcrumbs hadn’t worked so well for Hansel and Gretel, so the idea hadn’t even been in contention with her. Attaching ribbons to trees or shrubbery would only give away her lack of faith in her town and her people, and that wouldn’t be well received.
When Saffron returned home, she took a long bath, soothing her aching muscles. Then, she headed into the kitchen and made herself a bowl of steaming porridge whilst putting some rolls in the oven for the rest of her family.
Much to her surprise, her father waltzed into the kitchen just as she scraped the last of her oats into her mouth.
“Good morning, Saffron,” he said, placing the kettle on the stove. “You’re up early today.”
“I know I’m next, Papa,” she said, bluntly.
Walter raised an eyebrow, silently asking his daughter a question.
“The Offering. I know I’m next.”
“How do you possibly know that?”
Saffron sighed, then confessed her darkest secret. “I’ve been having dreams, dreams of a beast in the forest. Last night they intensified by a hundred. I know it’s me. It’s taunting me, showing me what’s going to happen when I get out there.”
“How do you know this isn’t affecting the other girls who are seventeen this year? How do you know it’s not visiting their dreams?”
Saffron shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t. It’s just a hunch. But I’m pretty convinced.”
The kettle whistled, cutting through their conversation. Saffron drank her glass of milk, mulling things over in her mind. When her father took a seat opposite her with his cup of coffee, Saffron dared to ask a dangerous question.
“Papa, would it be possible to perhaps learn some of your smithery?”
“Now why would you want to learn that?” he asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. “The forge is no place for a woman, lesser so for a young girl.”
Saffron shrugged her shoulders. “I’m curious about how you make things. It’s intrigued me for a long time.”
“Daughter, we had a heart to heart yesterday. Please do not go back to thinking I am unwise to your plans.”
Saffron frowned. “What plans?”
“There is a reason you want to learn smithery only now. What is it?”
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Saffron closed her eyes and whispered, “I want to craft a blade, one lethal enough to take out the beast.”
Walter leaned back in his chair and laughed. “I admire your spirit, dear girl, I really do. But no blade could take out that thing. Did you not listen to my story?”
“Yes, Papa. But I cannot go in unarmed. I need to have something, even if it won’t kill it, but at least to maim it. Anything that can help me in any way.”
“Saffron, you probably won’t survive the first night. You do know this?”
A bolt of terror shot straight through her. Suspecting something and having it confirmed were two entirely different things. “That doesn’t mean I can’t go down without a fight, right?”
Walter pursed his lips.
“Consider it a dying girl’s last wish?”
Her father sighed. “Ok. It’s Sunday today, my day off. Come to me tomorrow, after school. I’ll start teaching you the basics.”
Saffron wanted to throw her arms around her father and thank him, but she knew that would do nothing but make him uncomfortable. Instead she just said, “Thank you, Papa,” and kept her screams of joy internal.