Part 2: Where Queen Snow White resolves the issue of the Huntsman

For the second time in his life, Eric was called to the throne room. Very little had changed since he has been here last. The room was the same, and he was the same. The only thing that changed was the queen. But what a difference it made.

Standing just behind the throne, taking the place of Ravenna's weasley brother, was Duke Hammond. The guards looked much the same, but their demeanor was different.

No one would push him on his knees this time.

Still, some respect was required. She deserved it. He raised a hand to his chest and inclined his head, ever so slightly. "Your Majesty."

She bowed her head as well, wordlessly returning the salute. She then turned to face the Duke. "I will explain the matter to the huntsman in private."

"Are you certain, Your Majesty?" The Duke was one of the few, quite possibly the only, man in the kingdom who would permit himself to question the queen in such a way.

"I am. Please wait outside. I will call you back when you are needed."

The Duke bowed and left the room, the guards following him.

Eric studied the queen, waiting for her to explain the situation to him. She got up, began to slowly pace in front of her throne. He noticed for the first time how nervous she was.

"I have a mission for you," she finally said. "One I believe to be of the utmost importance. I could trust no one else to complete it, and I hope that any … personal feelings you might have would not interfere with it."

"Personal feelings?" Eric was greatly confused by the queen's words.

"Yes. The mission in question would take you away from the castle, and from the village as well, for quite some time. I can't begin to guess how long. I wish you would not take this as a rejection. I care about you a great deal, and I do not wish to cause you harm. If this was not so important ..."

"Wait! Wait!" Slowly, the queen's words placed themselves in his head, and it all made sense. "You think I'm in love with you?" The idea was so ludicrous, Eric could not help but start laughing. He laughed and laughed, until he was short of breath and crying from it.

Through his tears, he caught the expression on the queen's face. There was more than a little indignation there, but there was also a bit of relief.

"How presumptuous of your Majesty. Or perhaps this is a clumsy attempt to convey your feelings for me? I am flattered, of course."

" You... I don't... You kissed me."

"What?" The queen's words stopped his laughter, and his heart, cold. He did what? Of course he didn't kiss her. She was but a child. Besides, he would remember, wouldn't he?

"In Duke Hammond's castle. You were talking about your wife, and how I reminded you of her. You apologize for not protecting either of us, saying we deserved better, then you kissed me and you left."

The description did ring a distant bell. However … "You were dead."

"No, I wasn't."

"You looked dead. You were still, you didn't even breath."

"Ravenna needed me alive. She needed my beating heart to obtain immortality. The spell she used was never meant to kill me, only to immobilise me. I was alive, confused at times, but aware of my environment. I was never dead."

"If you weren't dead, why did it take you so long to wake up?"

"I don't know." The queen's voice, which had been to that point strong and confident, in a word regal, was now much softer. She was speaking more to herself than to him, it seemed. "I think … it was being there, in the castle, with all the people there who needed me. For their sake, Ravenna had to be destroyed, and I was the only one who could do it. I had to rise, and so I did."

She turned back to Eric, then. "If you do not love me, why did you kiss me?"

Eric was more than a little embarrassed by the situation. "Well, you see, Highness, it is the sort of thing that happens when a man gets more than his share of spirits."

"Which is something you've done a lot in the last few weeks, or so I gathered. Were there many other inadvisable kisses?"

"None that I remember." Eric answered the queen's teasing carelessly, using false bravado to disguise the sudden doubt in his mind. He didn't exactly remember kissing the queen, either. What if …

"Have you ever heard of The Queen's Journey?"

"What?" The complete change of subject, and the queen serious tone, brought his attention back to the present conversation. "It's a game that the village children play," he answered after a moment.

"It isn't just a game, unfortunately. Since the coronation, some of the village children have been daring each other to follow in my footsteps, so to speak. To recreate my escape. Four of them so far have gone missing, lost to the dark forest."

"Then they're dead." Eric's tone was cold and harsh, much as his feelings were. It was too similar to the last time he came here.

"I know," the queen replied softly. "It's been months for some of them. There's no food in that forest, no water. And that foul smoke, and ..."

The memories of the Dark Forest, and the pain she felt for the village children who were now undoubtedly lost forever, were plain to see on her face. She took a moment to compose herself.

"I have survived the journey, and it is enough encouragement for some to try and do the same. More children will die unless something is done to stop them."

"Like what? What does that have to do with me?"

"I am creating a special corps-de-garde, that will be stationed around the edges of the forest, and whose mission will be to discourage people from going into the forest, or if they insist on going, to guide them through safely. I want you to be in charge of it, and to train the men."

"You expect me to go back there?" Eric knew there was more to what the queen asked then this, but it was the only part that mattered. Would he ever escape that cursed forest? It would have been better for him to die when he first attempted to cross it.

"I'm asking you to keep my people safe, as you kept me safe once," replied the queen solemnly. "How could I trust anyone else?"

Yes, what a difference the queen made. For no one else would he ever consider doing this. He was hesitant as it were.

"You'll need a lot of soldiers to guard the whole forest," he said slowly. "Can you spare that many men?"

"The duke will be able to tell us. I believe we can, especially when one includes the younger men who are beginning their training."

"What of William? Should he be included in this guard?"

The queen lowered her head, seemingly unable to look Eric in the eyes. The expression on her face was answer enough. He had no intention of taking William on this mission, in fact he was still hesitant to accept the mission for himself. He only wanted to see for himself whether the young queen felt anything for the son of the duke. It was now obvious that she did. It was equally obvious that young William had feelings for the queen. And yet they did nothing. They stood awkwardly around each other, saying polite nothings wrapped in formality.

Eric was now seriously considering the queen's offer, if only to get away from this nonsense. Haven't they learned their lesson already? Did they not know that life is fleeting? That love should be seized with both hands, because one day it will be gone, and all that will remain are guilt and unbearable memories?

"If William is essential, of course he must go," replied the queen in a small voice, and it was obvious to anyone who knew her that she did not mean it.

Eric sighed. "No, he's probably more useful where he is. Well, let the Duke come in, and see if this mad scheme can even be done," he said in a resigned tone.

The queen raise her head back. "You'll do it?" she asked hopefully.

"If it can be done at all, then yes I will. I would not disobey a royal command."

"Thank you, Huntsman. Thank you." The queen went up to Eric and grabbed his hand for the briefest moment, before running to fetch the Duke.

The Huntsman and the newly formed Forest Guard left the castle a fortnight later. Thought there was a rotation between the palace guards and the Forest Guards, the Huntsman himself only returned to the palace four times in the following year. On every occasion, he brought with him one of the lost children.