Disclaimer: It's not mine. Sorry.
A/N: This is a one-shot that technically is a rape scene. It's not very graphic, but it's very clear that that's what is happening. so tread carefully, please.
The Huntsman liked to sit outside at night, when he knew no one would be around. He liked to be alone. He couldn't remember exactly how it felt, but he knew that he used to hate people. Back when he could hate. His hatred for men was just a shadow now; sometimes when the guards around him were particularly vile he thought he could almost feel it again.
But he knew that wasn't true. He couldn't feel anything. His heart was gone, and he was a prisoner in the Queen's vast castle; no, he thought, he was a pet.
He believed his fate was worth it; his protectiveness over the one truly noble human he had ever met was the last emotion he ever felt. It was the only emotion that he was able to hold on to. It wasn't a mere shadow, it was a whisper. In the back of his mind, he could always hear the last remnants of his heart urging him to protect the kind, forgiving Snow White. It was all that kept him sane.
He looked out over the dark and sickly grounds, grateful for his time away from his slaver. The only indication she had ever stepped out onto these grounds was the one, single, thriving apple tree. He made it a point to face away from the monstrosity. He hoped Regina would never come back to this castle.
But then he felt the familiar pinch in his chest where his heart should be and he knew she was back. He felt his feet begin to move without his beckoning them to do so, and he knew what would happen next. If he had his heart, he was sure he would be afraid. He tried not to think about what was coming for him, though he knew it was no use.
He walked past the jeering guards standing watch over the Queen's bed chamber and straight into the room. His body didn't knock, of course not, she was the one bringing him here.
The Huntsman was surprised by what he saw when he entered. It was the Queen, yes, but she appeared to be happy. He had never seen her like this before and it almost distracted him from the glowing red heart she held in her hand.
"My pet, so kind of you to greet me." The Queen grinned wickedly at him.
He said nothing.
"I had a lovely outing, I must admit." She waited.
He still said nothing.
Finally she sighed and gave his heart a small squeeze that caused him to feel an unpleasant pressure in his chest and his mouth moved without his bidding.
"Is that so, my Queen? I'm glad to hear it."
"Yes." The Queen began triumphantly toward him. "I finally defeated Snow White."
The protectiveness that would not leave him made him take a threatening step toward Regina before a squeeze of his heart stopped him in his tracks. He felt his last whispers of feeling fading quickly with this new knowledge.
"Now, now, my pet," the Queen patted his cheek. "Don't you want to know how?"
She squeezed again. "Of course, my Queen."
"A simple sleeping curse. Can you imagine? All that work and a simple sleeping curse was all that it took." Her eyes were positively manic.
This time he didn't need any bidding. "And has that fulfilled your need for vengeance?"
"It has sated it for now." The Queen held out his heart.
She did this sometimes when she was feeling charitable. It was this that he craved so fervently. The Huntsman reached up and placed a finger gingerly on the organ.
In an instant he felt it all. He felt how much he missed his brother wolf, how much he mourned the loss of Snow White, but mostly he felt a bitter hatred and a burning rage toward the woman in front of him. All of the emotions that he was forced to live without came tumbling in and he almost felt whole.
Like always, it was too much and he fell to his knees before her and she ripped his heart out of his reach again.
Without another word his felt the all too familiar pull and he stood up and pulled the Queen close to him and he pressed his lips to hers. He did his best to ignore when he began slowly undressing her, instead focusing on the fact that all of this was for nothing. Snow White was gone and he was still this woman's slave.
He lay her down on her bed and began kissing down her body. He felt his own body responding to a desire that wasn't his. He didn't want this.
He looked up at her face and he knew her eyes would be closed; her eyes were always closed. He heard his voice begin to whisper things to her, but he ignored it. They weren't his words. He didn't even think them before they came out. If he didn't listen, then he would never know what tender words she craved so badly to hear that she would force him to utter them.
She used to whisper another name during these times. Daniel. He used to wonder who this man was, but now all he wondered was how long it would last this time. Sometimes it lasted only minutes, her way of showing him how helpless he was. Other times it lasted hours. She didn't whisper his name any longer. She only ever sighed and moaned.
He used to wish that this Daniel would come back and beg forgiveness for whatever it was he had done, or offer her forgiveness for whatever it was she had done. He knew it would have to be the latter. She clearly was not angry with him, so it must have been him that left her. Regina clearly loved this Daniel too much to enslave him like this. The Huntsman envied him that.
He felt her smooth flesh underneath him as his body positioned itself between her legs and he squeezed his eyes shut. He focused on good memories and tried to bring his mind somewhere else, anywhere else.
He thought that this was why she always kept her eyes closed. She didn't want the emptiness that was happening. He thought that she must be pretending that he was Daniel and that he was happy to be doing what he was doing. If she opened her eyes she would have to accept that that was not the case.
Sometimes he thought she looked like she felt guilty for what she was doing to him. That maybe she was doing it because she felt as empty as he did. Maybe this woman underneath him was almost like a kindred spirit and should be pitied.
But those times never lasted long because he would open his eyes and know that, no, this woman would never have his pity. Even without his heart he knew that he would never feel anything but hatred for this woman holding him prisoner.
He felt his body reacting and hoped she would soon release him and allow him to return to his solitude until she desired him again. He prayed that with Snow White gone that Regina would grow tired of him and grant him his freedom soon. He knew that the only freedom this Evil Queen would ever grant him would be the freedom that would greet him in death.
Still, he prayed for it.