Update 24-03-2012: I reread this chapter and changed all the grammatical errors I could find. I especially focused on the language. In later chapters, the talk without aggregations. That wasn't so in this chapter until now. Enjoy!
Hey guys! This is my first fanfic, so every review is appreciated.
I wasn't very satisfied with how the movie ended, between Snow White and the Huntsman, so I just got lost into my imagination and wrote an extended ending and a new story.
Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own SWATH, sadly, I just used the characters for your fun only!
Enjoy!
I.
"Hail to the Queen! Hail to the Queen!"
Snow White looks down on the people that are yelling to her, hailing to her for all the good in the world. Tears cloud her vision, feeling that everything is finally over.
Her eyes wander over the crowd, looking for her friends. The Dwarfs, duke William…Eric the Huntsman. But the last is not to be found anywhere. She frowns, looking over the crowd again. When everyone stops shouting her name, she sees him, finally. He walks up to the middle of the row of people and nods, smiling. She smiles back, feeling happy and confused at the same time. Happy to have won over Ravenna, but confused about her feelings. She has loved William ever since they were ten, but the Huntsman has saved her more than once. She knows that it had been his kiss that had saved her, not William's. What does that mean? She has heard that a curse like Ravenna's can only be broken by a true love's kiss. So why did she wake up after the Huntsman kissed her? Does she not belong with William? Was that not her destiny?
Her destiny is to be Queen. Was that not what Muir meant when he said that she was Destined?
Her head spins with all those questions while run through her mind, overwhelming her.
The Coronator hands her his hand and leads her down the path between the people. The soldiers raise their swords above her head and then she walks past the Huntsman. Their eyes meet and her heart leaps.
"What am I going to do now?" she whispers to William's father, Duke Hammond, who joins my side.
"We will escort you to your chambers, where you will rest for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, your Royal Duties will begin. Do not worry, you're new at this, I understand, we will guide you through all of it."
The Queen nods and follows the Duke to her new chambers. When she is finally alone, she sits down on the poster bed. She looks around, taking in the interior. The last time she has seen it, her father was lying dead on this bed, killed by Ravenna. The memory flashes back to her painfully, the 11 years spent in the highest tower of this castle.
Oh god, her father…she buries her face in her hands, tears silently flowing down her cheeks. Would he be proud of her if he could see her right now?
There is a soft knock on the door. She wipes her eyes, smooths her clothes and straightens her back. "Come in."
Her heart stops as the Huntsman enters. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" he says, softly. She nods. He closes the door and bows. "If I may, your majesty."
She waves her hand up in the air. "Do not bow for me, Huntsman. You saved my life, I should bow for you."
"You never have to bow for me." he says, his eyes locking with hers, his stare to drown in. "Can I sit down?" He points to the chair across of the room. Snow nods. He sits down. "I think we have to talk about this."
She fiddles with her dress, feeling very uncomfortable. "Yes. Of course."
"I think you look beautiful." whispers he.
Her eyes widen in surprise. Did he just compliment her?
He blinks furiously. "I – I – I am sorry, that is not what I wanted to say, I – I do not know why I said that."
"Because you meant it?" she whispers, hope coursing though her system. She suppresses it before she loses control of it. "Do not apologize for complimenting someone."
"I – I just – we need to talk about this. You woke up from the death after I kissed you, you should know that. You did not when William did." He rubs his hands over his eyes and sighs.
"I know." she whispers.
He stares at her. "You do? You remember?"
She nods, remembering how she had hovered over her own body, seeing the Huntsman mourn over her, spilling about his life. About Sarah. About her. And then being pulled back into her body suddenly, still feeling his warm lips on hers and his tears on her cheeks. "Yes."
"You also know that a curse like that can only be broken by a true love's kiss, right?"
She nods. "Eric…" whispers she, but he cuts her off, definitely confused.
"Look – I meant what I said. Every word of it. Still do. But I know that you long before we met were destined to marry William."
She shakes her head. "I thought I was. Destined to marry him, that is. But he was the one who left me. He left me behind that day, when Ravenna took over. He left me alone in that tower for eleven years. He left me alone in the woods, while he knew I was alive. You were the one that saved me in the Dark Forest. You protected me and even when William was around, he did not. Your kiss saved me from Ravenna's curse, William's did not. Need I go on?"
The Huntsman smiles uneasily. "No, I understand. But...I should not have kissed you while you were lying dead. I – that was perverse."
Snow White rises and walks to the window, chuckling. "You had rather that I died?"
"No! God no, that is not what I meant!" He rises to and walks over to her. He puts a hand on her shoulder and sighs. "I am truly glad you lived, but I feel guilty over kissing you. I mean – oh, this is hard to explain. I love you. I have from the moment you ran into my life. But it was not right that I kissed you while you had no defense against me."
"For Heaven's sake, Eric, you saved my life! You should not be sorry for that!"
She hears the Huntsman struggle on words, but then his grip on her shoulder tightens and turns her. "I – God, Snow, I cannot do this."
What happens next, surprises her more than anything. He pushes her against the windowsill and kisses her passionately. At first, the Queen is just stunned, but the warmth spreading from his lips and the hands on the small of her back make her move. She returns his kiss gingerly and buries her hand in his hair. Her mind shuts off, completely leaving her at the mercy of her body. Every touch, every sensation is new to her, because of her solitude in the tower all of her adolescent life, and her only kiss had not really been a kiss, since it was Ravenna whom she had kissed. His hand move up to her neck where it rests for a moment, before moving on to her chest and resting there. She moves her hand up over his and then they break apart for a moment, catching their breaths, staring at each other.
"Snow..." he whispers, his hand moving away. "I am sorry."
She grabs his hand tighter. "Do not go." she whispers, tears forming in her eyes. She now realizes what she has done, and instantly feels guilty. What has she done? To Eric, to William, to herself? "Please. I do not want to be alone tonight." She does not know why she is so desperate not to be alone. Maybe because she has had her share of alone. Maybe because she does not want to be without him. It does not matter. She does not want to be alone, that is what matters.
He turns back, wipes a tear away with his thumb, puts his arms around her and then they just stand in the middle of the room for a while, holding each other. "But what about William?" whispers he after a while.
She feels a pang of guilt at the mention of his name, but she shrugs. She knows that she needs the Huntsman right now, not the Duke's son. She knows she loves William, but she also knows that she loves the Huntsman more. Or in a different way. "William is my friend, my dearest, oldest friend. And I love him. Just...I do not know yet. Please, go easy on me, I am just eighteen! I have been locked up in a tower for eleven years! I do not know what "love" is. I know what I feel and what I want, and right now, I do not want to be alone tonight." He strokes her hair and smiles.
"Alright." he whispers.
The Queen sighs, feeling guilty to put him through this after Sarah, but she cannot lie to herself. Lying to herself would mean unhappiness, and she does not want to be unhappy again. "You deserve to know how I feel about you. And I am so sorry that I cannot give you that right now. But I cannot tell you right now, because I do not know myself. But when I do, you will be the first to know." She rests her head against his chest and listens to his strong heart. His loyal heart that has been broken so many times. She does not want to be someone who breaks it, too. She cannot do that, not after all he did for her. Not after he saved her life like he did. He does not deserve all this heartbreak that he has been through. He deserves so much better.
"It's alright. I can wait." He strokes her hair and looks at her. "What do you want me to do now, my Queen?"
She smiles. "Just hold me. Even if it is just for tonight. Hold me like you did in the Dark Forest at night, to keep me warm. Please."
"Shh." the Huntsman shushes. "It is alright. You need only ask, I will do anything for you."
Her heart leaps and a sob escapes her throat. "I am scared, Eric. Scared for what I am about to face. I do not know anything about ruling. How do I rule my country in the same, just way as my father did?"
"Have you not noticed how the castle has changed?" he says, taking her back into his arms and rocking her gently. "It is light again." He pulls her to the window. "Have you not seen," he continues, pointing to the seas and the land beyond that, "how the land has come to bloom again?" She looks at the blue sea, remembering how it had looked from her barred window. Grey, dark, and tumultuous. Now it is blue, light and calm. And the land beyond the seas; marvelous. The hills used to be black, scorched, abandoned. Now it is blooming, all green, colorful, alive. "See? That is your doing. Muir called you Life itself. You give life to everything around you. You heal people." He puts his hands softly on her shoulders and strokes her arms softly. "You have healed me."
She turns her head towards him, questions in her eyes. "How?"
"Before I met you, I was broken."
"Sarah."
He nods, placing his chin on my shoulder and staring out of the window. "Sarah. I drank away my sorrow, my pain, worked myself into dangerous situations, hoping to get killed. My heart was broken. And then I met you. I felt better again. My heart was healed. I stopped drinking, or at least less. I became whole again. You healed me." he whispers into her ear.
"Really? You think so? Life itself?" She stares out of the window, smiling softly.
His hands trail upwards again, taking her hair in his hands, binding it together and brushing his fingers through it. She closes her eyes at his touch, allowing him to touch her. "I do not think so. I know so."
She leans her head back against his chest and sighs. All of her muscles that have tensed up so much are relaxing now, and everything seems lighter. "Eric, will you let me go change? I need to change out of this uncomfortable dress. I liked my old dress better."
"Before or after I ripped it? I am sorry about that." he grins mischievously.
She punches his arm and chuckles. "After. Don't flatter yourself." She says. He grins widely and releases her so she can change in her father's – no, her bathroom. When she is finally out of her uncomfortable dress, she finds her dress – the dress she wore in the forest when the Huntsman tore it – hanging there for her, washed, cleaned and repaired. Tears form in her eyes, she can feel them burn, as she looks at herself in the mirror with that dress. It reminds her of the time she spent practicing with Eric in the Dark Forest. For the first time in eleven years, she had had fun.
"You should keep your feet firmly on the ground, like this." the Huntsman says, positioning her feet with his right foot equally apart and pushing them into the hard ground. "Try to strain your muscles in your legs."
She tries to, immediately feeling burning pain in her legs. She bites her lip and ignores it the best she can. She holds the knife firmly in her hands like he showed her. Fingers firmly grasped around them, her thumb resting on her fist, the blade at eye height. "Alright. Am I doing this right?"
He circles her and nods appreciatively. "Yes, perfectly. Now attack me. Remember what I told you. Use my strength against me."
She starts moving, focusing on her muscles in her legs and arms. He uses no weapons, but she would bet that he won't need them. His arms alone look like they could kill a petite girl like her. He pushes forward, and she leaps back. She looks for a weak spot in his defense. Remember what he said, she thinks, no matter how good one is, there will always be a weak spot. So she looks and looks, until she thinks she has found one. Just below his right arms, there is an open spot, unguarded. She charges and fights furiously until the weak spot is open again and she stabs forward.
He grabs her arm and grins. "Very, very, very good. You are a quick learner."
"I am learning from the best." She says panting.
"Why thank you, miss."
She smiles at the memory. That was before he knew who she was, before everything changed so fast. She turns away and walks back to the room. The Huntsman is lying on the bed, his eyes closed with tire. She smiles again and lies down next to him. He opens his eyes and smiles at her.
"This is much better." he says agreeing. "This is more...you."
"Why thank you, sir."
He grins and pulls her in his arms. "So, that trick I taught you, worked really well, did it not?"
She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and rests her head against his chest. "Yes, very. It helped me kill Ravenna." She feels warm and safe in his arms, and he strokes her hair ever so softly, as if she is something precious that can break as easily in his arms. Which is most likely true. "Thank you."
"It was my pleasure." he whispers, stroking one rough but tender finger along her cheek. She shivers and smiles. "Go to sleep, my Queen. It's been so long since you've had a good night's sleep."
She feels herself drift off, but she still finds the energy to talk. "If you do not count – you know, the being dead part."
He chuckles low in her hair. "If you do not count that, indeed, milady. Just go to sleep. I will protect you. Even in your sleep."
She pulls his arms tighter around her. "I know. Goodnight, Eric."
"Goodnight." he whispers. Her head grows heavy and her eyes close and then she falls asleep in his warm arms.
Okay, thanks to my first reviewer, I have revised my story a bit. Feel free to correct me, I'm pretty new at writing in a style like SWATH's - specially the way they speak and all that. Thanks!