AN: Thank you so much for those who reviewed my first chapter. I really appreciate the feedback. I hope you enjoy my continuation of Snow White and the Huntsman's journey.

Disclaimer: Again, I own nothing save the imagination with which I wrote this chapter.

A Touch of Kindness

Snow White woke in the night shivering from the chill in the air and the remnants of her dark dreams. The sound of movement served to draw her further from sleep. Uncertain who or what was moving about the camp, she peeked out through a half-lidded gaze and found the Huntsman adding another log to the dying fire. The crackle of fresh fodder for the flames echoed about the camp and pushed the cold darkness farther away. She was thankful for the added light but could not stop the trembling that assailed her. She had been cold before, having spent most of her life locked in the north tower of her father's castle. Ravenna had provided her only with rags to wear and just enough food to keep her alive. Show White was accustomed to cold, but the chill of the night air was different. Perhaps it was the forest itself. Her first night within it had been filled with nightmarish visions, brought on by the mushrooms which the Huntsman had since warned her to avoid. Now, she lay by a fire with her unlikely guide sitting a few feet away. The fire kept the shadows at bay, yet a stark coldness seemed to cling to her as though the dark wood wished to smother her in an icy grip of fear. She risked a glance at the Huntsman to see how he fared.

He sat with his back to a rock, his coat and a majority of his weapons removed. He watched the fire and occasionally glanced into the surrounding forest as he sharpened and cleaned one of his smaller axes. He did not seem affected by the cold the same as she. As though feeling her gaze, the Huntsman turned his attention toward her, and Snow quickly shut her eyes, feigning sleep. She evened her breathing but could not control the shivers that continued to course through her body. For a few minutes, she could feel the Huntsman's gaze. She was accustomed to being watched; she had endured Finn's attention for years. But this was different. Unlike Ravenna's brother, the Huntsman did not cause the same uneasiness as he studied her. At least, he did not cause her worry until she heard him rise and draw near. She had to remind herself to continue breathing when he came to a stop directly behind her. For a moment her heart seemed to stop when she sensed he had lowered himself into a crouch beside her. A second later she felt a welcomed warmth settle over her as the Huntsman spread his large coat over her shivering frame. Unbidden, she expelled a breath she'd not even realized she held, earning a soft chuckle from her companion.

"Still flattering yerself," he murmured with amusement. Her eyes flew open, and she felt her face grow warm as her green eyes met his blue. He gave her a soft smile that was less caustic and more soothing as he added, "Get some sleep. We've another long day tomorrow."

"Thank you," she whispered in response, burying herself deeper within the folds of his coat.

"Aye," he acknowledged with a quick nod before rising and once more returning to his seat by the fire. The clink of whetstone to metal began again, beating out a rhythmic tune that she found strangely comforting in the gloom of the night. Nestled beneath the warmth of the Huntsman's coat, Snow felt oddly at peace. With a start, she realized this was the safest she had felt since the night her father's kingdom fell. How odd that she should feel thus in the presence of a highly armed stranger, surrounded by a dark forest she could never hope to navigate on her own. Perhaps her new found security lay in the Huntsman's refusal to abandon her. For the first time in years, she was not alone. The knowledge warmed her, and Snow White gradually drifted off to sleep.

From his place across the fire, the Huntsman watched his charge slowly relax and melt into a gentle slumber. Again he wondered just who she was that the duke would pay a hundred gold pieces to see her safely within his walls. Perhaps you should have asked the Queen that, had been her simple rebuff to his query. Little did she know that he had questioned Ravenna about her prisoner's identity. The evil woman had been just as vague in reply as the innocent girl that now lay sleeping beneath his coat. Putting aside the ax he'd sharpened, the Huntsman reached for another of his weapons and began the process again. Maybe the girl was Hammond's daughter, taken as a pawn in the never-ending match between queen and duke. She might be the child of one of his comrades, one of the nobles loyal to King Magnus who'd taken refuge within Hammond's keep. Then, she might be no one at all, simply a prisoner seeking escape even if it meant playing upon his need for gold. The queen had offered him the impossible to send him into this forsaken wood. Might not the girl have offered him something beyond her means to lure him into leading her out of it? There was merit to the possibility. Though she seemed the complete opposite of the kingdom's ruler, there was just enough air of secrecy about her for him not to trust her. Unbidden a low grunt surfaced at his own folly. His first assessment had been correct. She was trouble, and he was losing his touch. What huntsman found himself protecting the very prey he'd set out to capture? The question and several others surrounding his new companion plagued him long after he'd finished tending to his weapons until he finally drifted off into a restless sleep.

He awoke in the early hours when dawn was but a flicker of a promise on the horizon. Taking stock of their surroundings he found the fire nearly dead and the girl still sleeping. Slowly he flexed his muscles and stifled a growl at the pain in his shoulder. It would need to be cleaned, the paste of spit and herb he'd used to staunch the bleeding replaced before they set out once more. They had crossed a small stream the day before. It now lay several yards behind them, but he could reach it easily enough and hopefully find some breakfast in the process. Gradually, the Huntsman rose, stretching the kinks out of his muscles. He re-stoked the fire enough to keep any animals at bay that might lurk in the grey haze that crept toward them as the morning fought to take hold in the black wood. Then gathering what he needed for his walk to the stream, he placed a small knife within the girl's reach should she have need of a weapon while he was gone. For a moment, he merely stood, listening to the forest and searching for any threat that might be prowling nearby. When he was satisfied that no immediate harm might come to his companion in his absence, the Huntsman melted into the shadows about the camp and disappeared into the gnarled wood.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Slowly the haze of jumbled dreams lifted, and Snow White's eyes fluttered open to find a low burning fire and silent camp. The Huntsman was nowhere in sight, but his coat remained a soothing barrier against the cool air and a small hatchet rested against the rock he'd occupied the night before. She rose to a sitting position and noticed the knife he'd left a few inches from where she lay. She lifted the weapon and found it uncomfortably heavy. The blade's burden stemmed not from its weight but more the knowledge of its purpose. She had struck Finn with a nail out of fear, and she'd drawn this very knife from the Huntsman in defense. But could she truly wield the weapon and take a life, ripping the flesh of another to expose and slaughter his soul? The idea bothered her, and she dropped the blade as though it were a hot coal.

Turning her mind from such dark thoughts, she made use of her solitude to say her morning prayers before running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to undo the tangled mess it had become. She had just worked out the last knot when a sound from the grey wood drew her gaze. Snow froze as the rumble of a low growl met her ears. Slowly her head turned in the direction from which the noise emanated. There, hunched as though ready to pounce upon her, a wild dog watched her from the edge of the mist. For a moment, she felt stark fear only to have it replaced by pity at the creature's appearance. Its fur, though far too dirty to tell its color, was dark and matted with tufts completely missing where briars and brush had torn them from its scarred hide. The dog's skin lay taut against its bones. The poor creature was hungry. She understood hunger, had felt its fingers claw at her stomach, and knew the sorrow that one felt when the hollowness could not be filled. As she stared into the dog's wild gaze, her eyes filled with the compassion she felt for the animal's plight. Time seemed to stand still as girl and dog measured one another. Gradually, the beast's growl softened and then melted away as it stared into her softening gaze. Its body relaxed from a ready crouch into an almost subjective bow. Then, suddenly, as though spat out of the tangled wood, the Huntsman reappeared in the camp. The dog cringed at the man's arrival before turning to bolt away into the mists from which it had come.

"Are you alright?" The Huntsman's query left her uncertain as to the answer. She had not been harmed – and she nodded to set him at ease – but Snow was not sure she fully understood what had happened. For a mere breath of a second, she had felt a connection with the animal, as though she not only felt its pain but the dog understood her sympathy. She did not know what to make of these strange thoughts and let herself be drawn from them by the Huntsman's movements. She tried not to think of the game she'd glimpsed upon his return to camp and was thankful he'd turned his back to her as he cleaned his kill. To occupy her mind, she folded the coat he'd lent her and set about smoothing her rumpled appearance as best she could then tended the fire, knowing he'd want it ready to cook the meat when he was done.

The Huntsman was swift in his preparations and, once he had their breakfast cooking over the fire, he led her back to a stream they'd crossed the day before and left her – with a knife and small hatchet nearby – to wash and tend her other needs. He retreated out of sight but within a close enough range she could call to him should the need arise. By the time she returned to camp, the food was nearly finished and Snow White felt that at least her face and hands were cleaner than they'd been in quite some time. They ate in silence, the sounds of a waking wood drumming to life about them. When they were done, the Huntsman wrapped the rest of the meat in a cloth he'd pulled from somewhere within his coat. As he worked, securing the food and rearming himself with his various blades and axes, Snow put out the fire and scattered the ashes to ensure no small embers remained. She finished her chore and turned to find the Huntsman had re-donned his coat and stood studying the remainder of his game's corpse as though debating what to do with it.

"Leave it," she urged, thinking of the wild dog that probably had not gone far.

"You'll have buzzards and strays a plenty guiding the queen's men right to us," he grumbled in a tone similar to the one with which he'd labeled her trouble the day before.

"Please Huntsman, just this once," Snow White entreated. "The poor creature is hungry." He stared into her eyes for the briefest of moments before turning away from the carcass, growling something indecipherable under his breath, and heading off into the forest. She hurried to keep up with him. The grey haze was receding with the rising sun but refused to completely dissipate, casting a dull pall over their surroundings. A few feet ahead of her, the Huntsman ducked through a thicket of branches that would completely obscure their camp from view. She glanced back at the site now several yards behind them and saw that the wild dog had found the meal that had been left for it. Sensing her gaze, the animal turned its head to look at her and favored her with an almost jaunty wag of its tail as though to thank her for its feast. Turning away, Snow White felt a rare smile tug at the corners of her mouth before she ducked through the thicket and joined the Huntsman who waited for her on the other side.

That is all for now. As always, feel free to review and thank you for reading my story!