The Gesture
A white, milky substance filled the bath in which Ravenna stood before. She admired its richness, as the liquid glistened in reflection of the candlelight. The room was ornamented with statues of griffins and headless ancestors of the King. Ravens sat upon them which could be mistaken as sculptures themselves. Her brother, Finn, entered the room as Ravenna disrobed herself and entered the bath. "Sister," he said as he reached the basin's edge. "I've heard the good news." Ravenna turned to face him and grinned.
"Before long I will be unconquerable," Queen Ravenna announced. "No one will be strong enough to resist me and I will be capable of things only minds have pondered. I will have the power to be beautiful forever. And your hand," she said glancing down at Finn's stumped arm. "It will be mended to it's original form." Delight ran through Finn's bones.
"Where is the girl now?" He asked curiously. "Where is Snow White?"
"She's locked away in the tower, along with the Huntsman." Finn looked at her, intrigued. "He is no longer of any use. By the time he is dead, I won't need any assistance." The Queen took one last look at her brother before emerging her body into the white substance. She descended into the thick liquid which evenly edged over her skin. It reminded Finn of when their mother had done it to maintain her own beauty. For she always told them, beauty is power. Ravenna rose from beneath the liquid's surface and the white liquid appeared to linger on her skin. She opened her death-filled eyes and stated, "Tonight we feast and tomorrow we shall kill."
Snow White peered at the gleaming moon from the window carved through the cell's wall. Four bars barricaded any attempt of escape. Nevertheless, leaping from the tallest tower of the castle would likely culminate in death anyhow. The Huntsman sat speechless in the corner of the bare chamber, staring down at the ground, Snow White shackled beside him. "Eric," she said, muttering his name for the very first time, but he didn't reply. It reminded her of when she stubbornly ignored him as they ventured through the dark forest. She looked around her in search of she knew not what. The Huntsman was stripped of his sack and felt naked without his weapons. Snow White inched closer toward his motionless body and grazed his arm. "I'm sorry about your wife," she said, her voice delicate. The Huntsman looked up at Snow White, whose faced radiated in front of the moon. He wiped away the obscuring dirt, and came face to face with the natural beauty she held.
It must've been true, he thought. Only a girl of such innocence and purity could forgive a monster like him. Forgive a man who has brought her to her life's end. The girl whom he searched for saviour was the girl whom he brought to kill. He felt sick, not knowing what to say, he could only get lost in Snow White's enticement. "I should've known better," he said, snapping out of the trance and breaking the silence. "Hope is a feeling that always brings disappointment. The Queen took my wife many years ago for her beauty, and here I mindlessly thought that she would keep her alive. But the Queen always taunted me, made me believe it could be true." Snow could see a tear form in the Huntsman's eyes. "And now I've done it again," he continued. "I've given the Queen everything she needs to conquer. You, the girl of fairest blood. Snow White."
Snow White looked at Eric in bewilderment. "I'm not Snow White," she said certainly. "I have no name. The dwarves found me in the dark forest many years ago and have raised me ever since." The Huntsman looked at her with pity, wondering what could have happened to her after she escaped from behind the castle's gate ten years ago. He decided to explain from the beginning.
"Before you were born, your mother and I were great friends, and we maintained that bond since the day that she died," He began. "In a way, I had loved her, but a peasant such as I could not be blessed with the approval to be with your mother, Eleanor. And so she was acquainted with your father, King Magnus and I stumbled upon Sarah, whom became my wife. Your mother and I were required to converge in secret from then on." Snow White listened to the Huntsman's story intently as he continued. "Then one day a rose blew through the wind in one of the coldest winter's the Kingdom had ever seen, and your mother, bewitched by it, wished for a daughter whom possessed the fairest of beauty. Nine months later you were born.
"Just as a child, every person in the kingdom of Tabor could distinguish your allure, and as you grew so did your beauty. Until a darkness entered the kingdom." The Huntsman choked back before he proceeded. "I had promised your mother that when the time would come, I would keep you safe. The day that Queen Ravenna penetrated the castle walls, you had been off with your friend, William. I was to acquire you from Duke Hammond that night, but when I arrived at the meeting place, I was informed you returned back to the castle early. Your mother was there, aiding people in escape, but she could have survived," he said, his voice now shaking. "However, she was a selfless human being, much as I see in you, and she had faith that I could protect you well. I had failed her.
"When I passed through the gate, I witnessed hell on earth. People were crying, limbs torn off, while blood was spattered all across the ground. And there I saw you in the midst of it all, nearly killed by the Queen's brother. I took you, just as the gate began to close, and knew that I would have to come back for you thereafter. But you were gone, with word that you had entered the dark forest. For days I searched, but you didn't appear. I presumed you had been killed, until just minutes ago in the Queen's throne room." Snow White considered the Huntsman's story, but in the end was filled with doubt.
"That wasn't me," she said. "That can't have been. I would remember, I would know." She tried hard to focus until it occurred to her. The devil's twisted smile, a woman's final breath, the trails of blood. The pieces were falling into place and it all turned into a blur. She shook her head, ridding herself of the images from her nightmares. "I would remember," she repeated. "I couldn't forget."
"I know it's a lot to take in," he said comforting her. "It was quite a shock for me too." She stared dimly at the wall, unable to accept the Huntsman's words. The only life she knew was the one with the dwarfs. She attempted to stop thinking, without any success.
"The dwarfs," she said. "Did you harm any of them?"
The Huntsman looked at her in reflection. "Some may have received a bruise or two," he coughed. "But none were killed. The last thing I need is a stack of dwarfs out to kill me in vengeance." She took his words as truth, but wondered if the dwarfs would come regardless. In search of her, or in search of the Huntsman's demise.
The two of them sat in the room, dumfounded as to what to do next; the moon continuing to glow in the sky. By that time, it must had been the middle of the night, the sun would be rising soon and they knew they wouldn't have much more time to take action. Birds began to chirp in anticipation of sunrise, and one flew through the window, between the bars, and onto the ground amid Snow White and the Huntsman. It chirped a melody, while trotting across the floor. Snow White gazed at it in awe, as the bird began to scuttle towards the window and flew back up to the window ledge. It chirped louder now, as though to gain their attention. Snow White looked at the Huntsman in perplexity and they approached the window where the petite bird sat. It joyously chirped as Snow White approached, and the bird jumped from the ledge, outside onto a nail. It fluttered it's wings, beginning to fly, and Snow White took the rusty spike in her hand. She turned her gaze to the Huntsman and revealed the object in her hand.
"We could sit here and await our deaths," she said. "Or we could find a way to escape." The Huntsman smiled in return to Snow White's remark.
The same bird that had fluttered in the tower that night, now scurried through the courtyard the following afternoon. It chirped triumphantly at it's success in revealing the spike to Snow White, and flew up to the lowest branch on the apple tree to shelter from the rain that appeared seconds later. It restfully sat, until it's peace was disrupted. Queen Ravenna took the bird in her hands, compressing it tightly. The strength she imposed on the bird caused its wings to break, making it unable to fly. She took the bird inside the castle with her and entered the dining room where Finn sat, expecting her. "Lunch?" He asked, peering at the bird in Ravenna's hand.
The Queen sat down at the dining room table, without any response to her brother. She flipped the bird, revealing its stout stomach, and began to dig her nail into its body. The warmth that came from inside the squirming animal brought gratification to Ravenna. She hollowed out it's beating heart with her finger and licked her lips before placing it in her mouth. Finn watched his sister as she savoured the taste that had suffused her mouth, but once the heart was devoured, she was still hungry for more. "Bring me a girl," she commanded to her brother.
"But sister," he said, distraught. "You no longer need to destroy the lives of innocent girls. You have Snow White's heart in your possession, that is all you need now." The Queen eyed her brother in irritation for he refused to obey her order.
"Bring me a girl!" She now shrieked, and Finn dismissed himself from the table, heading off to find another beauty for Ravenna to demolish.
Ravenna irately withdrew herself from the dining table and made her way up the spiral staircase to her mirror room. She saw herself multiple times in the reflection, but the sight brought her distress. Her beauty wasn't potent enough. A tear ran down her cheek as she gazed at her appearance until Finn returned nearly an hour later with a young girl. Ravenna examined the beauty before her sight. She had dark brown, lustrous hair, sea-blue eyes, and unblemished skin. The anonymous girl began to tremble as Ravenna approached her and took her neck in her hands. The Queen elevated the woman and began to suck every bit of life out of her. The girl's skin began to wrinkle and spot, her hair turning from brown to grey. As Ravenna absorbed the girl's beauty, energy regained itself within her body. She felt powerful once again. The girl fell to the marble floor once Ravenna was finished with her. She took in a deep breath and proceeded to Finn.
"Now brother, I am ready," she said. "Go to the tower and bring me Snow White."