It Cannot Be
Snow sat quietly in the Hall of Mirrors, hands gripping the armrests of her throne so hard her fingers glowed white. Her crown felt heavy on her head, a burden she wasn't sure she could handle. Apprehension clawed at her throat, hesitation clear in every one of her taut muscles as she stared down the door at the opposite end of the room. She was waiting for someone.
That someone didn't leave his queen much time to ruminate. Before too long, the door was opening, a small crack in the golden panelling appearing just wide enough to give a broad-shouldered man access. He stepped inside, his eyes carefully averted from Snow, and shut the door deliberately behind him before turning around to face her.
Snow stood from her throne, hurrying down the three steps and long stretch of marble flooring that separated her from the Huntsman. Something held her back before impact, however, and she dug her heels into the ground a foot or so away from her guest.
"Your Majesty," the Huntsman said quietly, bowing. Snow was released of her temporary paralysis, and reached forward to grab the Huntsman's shoulders and drag him upright again.
"You don't have to bow to me," she whispered, her dark eyes searching his for some sort of emotion. What she found unsettled her: sorrow, guilt and a touch of sympathy. She released his arms as if burned.
Instead of answering, the Huntsman cleared his throat and looked about the room. It was grand, grander than any place he had ever been before, and that made him ill at ease. He preferred the over arching canopy of a forest to these columns of marble, a leafy ground crackling with branches to this cold, hard stone. "Strange," he said.
Snow blinked. "What's strange?"
The Huntsman turned his head and captured her gaze. "Strange that you were dead. And now you're not." He gave a small shrug. "It rather defies the laws of nature, doesn't it?"
Snow wasn't sure where he was going with this. "I suppose," she began hesitantly. "But…but we both know why I'm here. How I'm here…don't we?"
The Huntsman gave Snow a sad smile. "Perhaps, Your Majesty."
"Stop calling me that, Huntsman." Snow drew breath, and paused. "Is that really your name?"
The Huntsman just shrugged and smiled sadly once more. "I'm leaving," he murmured softly. "I'm not made for places like this…palace walls and battlements mean nothing to me."
Snow swallowed. She had been afraid of this, afraid of his flat refusal of them. It had been hard enough in her dreams - nay, her nightmares - but in reality it was so much worse. "I'll come with you," she blurted out, without thinking. The Huntsman's smile widened at her words.
"You cannot."
"Says who? You can't stop me, no-one can, we'll run away together, and-"
"And you'll give up your father's throne for a mere woodsman?" His voice was soft, the same tone he used when talking to a scared deer he was preparing to kill. "We both know it cannot be."
Snow was breathing hard. This couldn't be happening, this couldn't be true… "But you can't leave," she whispered. "You're the one who woke me up. You know it. I know it. The only thing that could have done that was- was true love's kiss." Snow's voice was barely audible now, but the Huntsman, blessed with the sharp hearing of a forest-born man, could hear her easily. "You can't deny that, Huntsman. You- you're my-"
"Enough." The Huntsman's voice was also quiet, but there was something in it that made Snow's throat close up almost unconsciously. "I told you, once, that you reminded me of my wife." He closed his eyes for the merest moment, remembering his love - the way her hair caught in the sunlight, her green eyes sparkling like jewels. "That is still true. You have something of her within you, something that makes me- makes me like you for more than a friend." He took a deep breath. "But it's Sarah I need. Not Snow White."
With a shock, Snow realised that that was the first time the Huntsman had spoken her name. It made her wish even more that she knew his real one. "But- our kiss-"
"Our kiss was a kiss. Nothing more, Your Majesty. I'm flattered that you wish to…" he broke off, searching for the right word. "That you wish to be with me, but like I said before: I cannot live here." He swept his arms around in a wide circle, making Snow's eyes follow his hands as they scanned the room. "Gold and jewels? I don't need them. But what I do need is to feel the sun on my face, to wake up beneath a leaking roof with a tankard of ale in my hand." The Huntsman turned back to Snow. "I cannot live here," he repeated.
"Besides," the Huntsman continued, the hint of a grin reappearing on his face, "William cares more for you than he does for himself."
"But I don't love him, Huntsman; I don't feel anything but friendship for him-"
"But you will learn to. He will do more for you than anybody else. He'd move mountains for you, Snow White, ford rivers. You're everything to him, and I'd rather not get in the way."
Snow couldn't think of anything more to say. With a small sigh, the Huntsman bowed to her again, and turned away to leave. Snow found her voice just as he reached the door. "Please- Huntsman. At least tell me your name."
The Huntsman swivelled slightly, at an angle so his lashes cast a long shadow against his cheeks. "It's Eric, Your Majesty. My name is Eric."
And he closed the door.
Author's Note: I saw the movie today, and I couldn't resist writing this, since the ending was left unresolved in relation to the whole Snow White/Huntsman/William situation. I was actually quite annoyed at this. I thought that one of the men should've died, leaving the other to be with Snow White - but no, they just had to both miraculously survive, didn't they? To be honest, throughout the whole movie I was a serious shipper of Snow/William. It just seemed so right to me. And even though the Huntsman woke Snow up with true love's kiss, I still think it's William Snow should end up with. He's just done so much for her, and really, the Huntsman only liked Snow because she reminded him of his wife, Sarah. I seriously ship them, too (Eric/Sarah), and I couldn't fathom Snow getting in the way. So, here you have it. The missing scene of the movie, in my opinion at least. ((P.S. The Huntsman didn't actually say Snow White's name in the movie, did he?))