The sun had gone down again and only the light of the almost full moon entered the cracks in the barn's roof. Hal felt hungry. Charlotte was asleep in his arms and he nibbled the silk cold skin of her shoulder trying to wake her up gently so he could teach her how to hunt.
They had been in that barn for the whole day. After she killed the whore they had sex until she said she was hungry again. Hal sent Fergus to fetch someone else. He complained but brought a peasant that was hunting in the woods. They gorged on his blood and had sex again until the sun set down.
It could be just the high from the blood, but holding her in his arms made Hal feel happy. A feeling he didn't even think he could experience again. The guilt from the killings, from her killing, had gone, and he also didn't feel the urge to go killing everyone in town. He felt a comfortable balance inside him. Maybe he didn't have to be the monster nor the nice man. Maybe he could be just this, just in between those two.
Then, Hal felt the presence in the room and turned to the barns door. Snow was standing a few feet from them glaring treacherously. He had made no noise entering the barn.
"You can't follow orders, can you?" He said softly.
"She's not dead." Hal replied sitting up.
"Isn't she?" Snow asked slowly. The threat implied in those words made Hal tense.
Charlotte woke up and, when she saw the other man in the room she reached for her clothes. Hal stopped her, holding her close to him, without taking his eyes from Snow. She wanted to ask what was going on and who was that men, but the tension between the two was intense and she remained silent.
Snow walked closer. Hal remained still, considering attacking, even though he knew it was hopeless. He stood no chance against Snow.
Snow stared at Charlotte for a long time then offered his hand to her. She looked suspiciously at him then questioningly to Hal. Snow remained with his eyes on her and his hand open on air, waiting for her to take it.
Hal nodded to her and moved aside.
Charlotte gave her hand to Snow and he helped her stand. She felt vulnerable and exposed and tried to cover her naked body but it was impossible. He stared intensely at her for a while.
Then he gallantly kissed her hand and smiled. "It's an honor to meet you, Lady Charlotte. I've heard so much about you. Especially about your beauty, and I can say it was not exaggerated."
"And you are?" Charlotte asked trying to remain poised considering the situation.
Snow smile wickedly. "You can call me Mr. Snow." He said lightly. "And you can vow your eternal loyalty to me now." He completed in a sinister way. She smiled confused. "Kneel." He ordered.
Charlotte looked again at Hal, unsure about what to do. "Kneel." He said.
"Why?" She asked with indignation.
"Hal, leave us alone." Snow ordered.
"You don't need to punish her." Hal protested. "I didn't have time to explain things to her."
"No. But you had time to kill two people and to fuck her all day, while the town organized a rescue party to search for her and the monster who took her." Snow said smoothly, moving his gaze from her to Hal. "Leave." He ordered again.
"I'll clean this up. You don't need..." Hal stopped talking when he saw Snow eyes turning black. That meant he was loosing his patience. Hal looked at Charlotte and saw the confusion and the plea for help. He couldn't help her now. Not when Snow had her so close.
He sighed frustrated, put on his trousers and left the barn, without saying another word.
Snow eyes turned back to blue and he looked back at Charlotte with a smile. "From predator to protector in a week. I'm impressed." He said, letting go of her hand. "And I don't impress easy."
"I don't understand." Charlotte said carefully.
Snow walked a few steps and picked up her gown offering it to her. "You can cover yourself now." She dressed herself and waited.
"You and your maker have made quite a fuzz in this town with all the carnage and talking to the press about it. Things need to be normalized." He said. "You have to normalize them."
"And how am I going to do that?" Charlotte asked.
"You'll impress me again, I'm sure." Snow said flatly. There was silence for a while, as if he was waiting for her next move.
"Why should I care about impressing you?" She asked breaking the silence.
Snow tilted his head a little. "Hm. I see what he likes in you."
"And what's that?"
"You're cluelessly inconsequent and overconfident."
"Is that a compliment?"
"No. It's a warning." He said unemotionally. "You'll do what I said until tomorrow or I'll rip you apart." He said walking to the barn door. "Oh. Tell Hal to explain things to you quickly. Next time we meet I won't overlook protocol." He said before walking out.