Coll and Duir move stealthily through the busy courtyard, so small and fleet they're almost invisible.
Ravenna looks on as her archers take their positions and her artillery men load missiles onto their trebuchets.
Ender suddenly sees tiny dots of firelight on the castle walls. Eric realizes what they are and rides faster. The pinpoints of light soar up in the air, growing larger and brighter, until we realize they're fiery missiles. Eric forces Ender's horse out of the way as a fireball explodes yards from her.
Fire rains down on the Duke's army now, panic spreading in the ranks. Ender and Snow White takes her father's banner and holds it aloft side by side, rallying the men and women and riding on.
Two unsuspecting guards collapse outside the gatehouse. Before the other guards can react, Coll and Duir are on them, moving fast and hard, the assault over in seconds.
Beith sees Coll and Duir signal from outside the gatehouse.
"Come on!" Beith calls.
Waves crash over the rocks. Fireballs explode in the sand. Ender sees men falling all around her, tears welling in her eyes, but she never falters.
As William rides on, he sees the castle walls through the smoke, the portcullis still down.
The guards in the gatehouse look over as the door splinters and the dwarves come crashing through in their battle masks. Even though they're outnumbered, the seven fight like demons - until the enemy are subdued.
On the castle walls, archers replace the trebuchets. Ender and Snow White holds up her shield to protect herself from the sea of arrows. Up ahead, the portcullis is still down, Duke Hammond's forces circling back as they're trapped against the walls
"You must turn back!" William yelled at Ender.
"I gave my word I would stand with them!" She yelled back and forced herself on
A huge pulley controls the portcullis. Beith, Gort and Nion draw their pickaxes while Coll and Duir tie up the guards.
"Now let's see how this works!" With a mighty blow of his axe, Beith shatters the chains holding up the pulley. The counter weights go flying down and the portcullis comes shooting up then suddenly stops jammed.
The Duke's army are still circling the gates, stones and hot oil pouring down on them from above. Arrows slam into Ender's shield but she still refuses to retreat.
Beith peers down at the jammed counter weights in frustration when he hears a fierce cry.
Gort jumps on the counter-weight, trying to bring it down. Nion follows, yelling at the top of his voice.
Duir puffs up his proud chest and leaps on too.
Ender sees the portcullis shoot up now, the dwarves hanging onto the counterweights for dear life. Smiling in relief, she gallops through the open gates with Snow, Eric and William.
Ender's POV
Tears threaten to fall as The Duke's riders charge into the courtyard along with Eric, William, Snow and I. Archers fire at us from every corner of the castle, but we raise our shields and leap off our horses, forming a defensive wedge. I fought with all I had, the pain wasn't helping. I look up at the balcony above the portcullis, and I spot Ravenna, her eyes are locked with mine. I push through running out of a blazing fire into the side door. I rush into the castle a raging beast threatening to come out as if wanted to tear Ravenna to soon as I pass the door a dozen of Ravenna's men come outside closing the trap. Third Person's POV
Now Eric, William and their men have to fight the road block. In the courtyard, Ravenna's men are losing more and more ground. Ender and Snow White's army will win.
Eric and William fight like demons, twice as fast, twice as strong . They must pass.
Eric, William and a dozen men rush in. Ravenna smiles, raises her hand.
"I'll show you thorns! In a terrifying tremor, the black ceiling of the throne room starts to shatter into millions of shards. Snow White turns back to see William, Eric and Hammond's men the shards fall down like razor blades. The men try to protect themselves. Some are caught out and skewered to the stone floor.
Ravenna looks down at them in complete satisfaction. Tears of pain and anger threaten to fall. The millions of black shards circle around Eric and his men, completely blocking them and keeping them away from Ender.
"Come! ... Avenge your father, who was too weak to raise his sword." Ravenna yelled.
The millions of shards assemble themselves into three seven foot tall, razor sharp creatures. The dark faeries: Ravenna's ultimate soldiers.
Ender looks at Eric and William - unable to help her.
Eric, William and the other men are completely surrounded by these creatures; they move so fast. Eric tries to step away from them... to no avail.
One of the creatures rises in front of William. William tries to slash the creature. His sword goes through and the creature reforms itself right away. The Dark Faerie opens it's mouth and screeches. William gets smashed aside, saved only by his shield. The Dark Faerie grabs the soldier right behind William and sends him crashing into the wall.
Ender's POV
I walks up the stairs, torn and powerless. I look at Eric one last time. Eric looks back as he fights off a Dark Faerie with his two shields. He knows he does not have much time left but he is ready to make the final sacrifice.
"Kill her!" he cried to me.
I brace myself and promptly follows Ravenna into the mirror room. We circle each other like heavyweight boxers.
"Ten years you locked Snow White away! Ten years since you destroyed my family!. Inclding myself!" I yelled at her
Ravenna seems to relish this "And every day, every hour led you to this ,moment. It burned inside you. It drove you forward, and here you are.." Ravenna snears.
Listening only to my heart, I lunge towards Ravenna and tried to strike at her with my sword. Ravenna steps aside and with very little effort before throwing me to the other side of the room.
"That's it. Fight. Fight for your land... for your loss and for Hope!" Anger causes through my bones but pain caused through my veins.
My body slammed and slid across the floor, stopping under the archway at the top of the stairs. I feel dazed.
Ravenna treads on my back, then grabs my hair, pulls my head up to see William and his men being massacred.
"Watch them die. You gave them hope and they believed you. You have lead them to their deaths. How foolish your followers." Ravenna whispers in my ear. My gaze turns towards Eric as he fights for his life.
Eric is trying to stay alive. He rams a Faerie into a pillar. Shredding the stone, the Faerie explodes in shards and reforms immediately behind Eric. Grabbing the first man in sight, the Faerie throws the poor soldier to the other side of the room.
On the opposite side another Faerie slides faster than the blink of an eye, grabs the man in flight extending it's cutting limbs and claws the soldier to his death. I look back at William, he is being overrun by a school of shards. The shards shape up into a Faerie taking William up high.
In a violent arm blow, the Faerie projects William onto the banquet table six feet lower. The table shatters in splinters, William bouncing like a rag doll. Spinning around on it's way down, the Faerie skewers a soldier and impales another one into a pillar. The Faerie drags him ten feet up, tearing and digging deep into the stone column.
Enraged, I jolt my body and free myself from Ravenna's grasp. I swung my sword at Ravenna. She parries every attack with her bare hands. I'm breathless. One more strike... but Ravenna blocks it again, and this time she doesn't let go.
"You were never ready for this princess!" she yelled in my face.
I struggle to get out of her lock. Ravenna is too strong. My wrist is twisted. I hold my sword tight but can't use it. Ravenna forces the twist. My bone cracks and I scream in pain. The sword drops on the ground.
"I will... defeat... you... I am the only..." I grunt
"Oh... please!"Ravenna back hands me, sending me crashing to the wall. Ravenna looms closer, through the fire in the middle of the room. She stands in the fire, unaffected but for me it is a vision of pure hell.
So much power, so much hate."I have lived many lives. Ravaged entire kingdoms, I have been given powers you can't fathom. You cannot defeat me? .you are but a child!" Ravenna laughs my pain was growing but it only made me angrier that I was letting her do it. Ravenna's skin blisters and heals. Ravenna then raises her arms and black shards start to cover the walls behind her... entombing them in darkness... the trap closes.
"But you are right... it is over." Ravenna's laughter pierced Ender like a dagger. I feel powerless and lost, spitting blood and exhausted.
'What else can I do?' I gather my strength and stand up, stumbles, my right arm limp, blood dripping down my face. I stare at Ravenna, I won't back down... I will never back down.
Third person's POV
William, stumbling upon the dead bodies of his comrades, sees the shards starting to obstruct the entry of the mirror room. He runs towards it. Eric sees him and goes for it too. Behind William and in front of Eric, a Dark creature shapes up. William doesn't see it. The Faerie claws William from behind through his armor, stopping him still and sending him backwards against a pillar like a stone ricochet. The Faerie spins it's head 180 degrees and goes from turning its back to Eric... to facing the huntsman.
Eric stops and tries to pull back. The Faerie powers up gathering shards from another creature, doubling in size and density. Like a fire hose of black shards, the Dark Faerie unloads a stream of razor blades at Eric. Eric digs his heels in... slowly grinds and slides on the floor, double shields up.
The shields are being shredded. One shield gives way completely torn slicing Eric's arm. Eric has one shield left. He kneels down... it is a matter of seconds.
Ravenna approaches and grabs Ender by the throat, squeezing hard. Ender is chocking.
"I will never stop... I will give this wretched world the Queen it deserves..." Ravenna slams Ender down onto the stone floor next to the mirror altar.
Ender stretches for her sword as Ravenna approaches. Ravenna un-sheaths her dagger. "A life .for a life." Ravenna mutters to herself.
Ender tries to reach her sword with her left hand, but it is too far. She tries to drag herself a little closer... still too far. Ravenna straddles Ender, raises her dagger above her head - smiling, relishing the imminent death blow. The black tomb has closed in around them.
Eric watches despair wrought on his face as the knife falls.
"By fairest blood it is done!" Ravenna strikes... in the blink of an eye Ender blocks her strike, reaches for her dagger and plunges it into Ravenna's chest,just as she did to the mercenary.
Ravenna gasps, locks eyes with Snow White.
"By fairest blood... it is undone!" Ender whispered to Ravenna. Ravenna looks down. Three drops of blood fall onto Snow White's armor.
BOOM... BOOM... BOOM Ravenna stares in shock and disbelief.
"NO!" She pulls out the dagger, her face starts to age. Ravenna is aging at an incredible pace. Her body gives way and she slumps to the floor, below the mirror.
She looks at the mirror above her, gasping, reaching out, her pale eyes looking for a friend, a miracle... but nothing. The black shards that entombed the room start to shatter and fall to the floor.
William is on the ground, out of strength and has given up the fight. A dark creature is slowly close to reaching William's face with his sharp claws as William tries to hold the creature's arm with his bare hands, severely bleeding.
The Faeries have slowed down dramatically. Eric grabs a sword on the ground and slices the Faerie in front of him... the Faerie shatters. William looks at Eric, in desperation begging for help. The two men lock eyes. A silent understanding.
Eric throws his sword and blows the other Dark Faerie in pieces, releasing William. A silent pact has been made at this moment between the two men. The remaining Dark Creature freezes. Eric and William are barely alive.
Ender approaches Ravenna and kneels beside her, Ravenna is weak. She ages dozens of years within seconds, her face shows no anger, no hate, just a strange understanding.
"Why this? Why all of this?" Ender, overwhelmed by compassion, places her hand on Ravenna's chest. Ravenna puts her own wrinkled hand on Ender's. Ravenna smiles. She gently taps on Snow White's... in a strange and affectionate motherly way.
Eric and William, exhausted and battered climb the steps of the mirror chamber. It is over. Ravenna stares up at Ender's face in a shining halo of light above her from the ceiling.
"See child,... we are bound." Ravenna whispered.
"It will be all right..." Ender whisper calming Ravenna whispers incomprehensible words with a peaceful smile on her face.
The clouds move in the disc of light above Snow White. The light falls over Ravenna's face. The light fades out of her eyes and she dies.
In the cloister gardens, a blossom flowers on the apple tree and the world is born again
In death, Ravenna's beautiful blue eyes are wide open, fixed on the halo of light that surrounds Ender's head.
Present day: The queens, Snow White, coronation. A slim figure a hood placed over their head looks back at the castle as if debating something.
Packed for the coronation. Duke Hammond and Bishops surround her. Snow White smiles and looks out at all assembled her subjects, her friends, the people she's come to know and love meeting the eyes of Rose, looking young and beautiful again ,Anna and Lily,the seven dwarves, who all wipe away tears.
She sees William off to the side, smiling, looking on adoringly. But her eyes continue through the crowd, looking for Eric, in the very back of the cathedral, near the door. Their eyes meet. A figure comes from behind Eric drawing her attention, the figure lifts their hood to reveal a smile Ender 'I always knew you'd be queen one day' Ender mouths to her sister. Snow White looks down as Ender walks further out, to see the two hold hands, figures entwined. Snow was brought back to reality when Beith yelled out: "Hail to the Queen!" Ender and the Huntsman smile before walking out. Ender's POV
'I always knew you'd be queen one day' I mouthed to my sister. I would have left but I wanted to see my little sister before I did well with a little persuasion, due to the entwined hands with Eric, Now I know I love Eric and he me and we had decided to take things slow but I still feel like I should have killed him not literally but you know what I mean.
After the fight with Ravenna everything had turned back to normal I mean as normal as it could get. I was brought out of my thought when Beith yelled out "Hail to the Queen!" that's what my little sister is now a Queen. Eric and I smiled at her before walking out.
"so how good are you at cooking?" Eric asked I turned to look at him, eye brow raised, he just smiled innocently.
"I don't know am I a good cook Huntsman?" I asked a smirk playing on my features as we swung our hands back and forth.
"maybe I should have a taste" Eric said his he stopped me from walking pulling me back to were he had stopped walking.
"are you sure I burn them" I smirked with a laugh. I moved forward as I wrapped my arms around his neck as he did around my waist his hands resting just above my butt.
"I'm sure i'll love it either way. Just like I love you" he smiled
"cheesy but it will do" I chuckled he brought his face closer to mine resting his forehead against my staring into my eyes.
I pecked his lips before pulling away and running up the beach. I heard his laughter and his running after me. 'This was my destiny. It wasn't to be queen or to become one of the people. It was to find true love and live Happily ever after' Third person's POV
Ender ran up the beautiful beach that had once been a battle ground, Eric her true love chasing after her laughing as he watched his beauty smile.
But little did they know that a pair of black-grey eyes watched them envy for the girl he loved and hatred to the man she kissed and made her smile.
"I'll get you one day. Just wait." They spoke a loving voice at first then turned dark with hatred.
The land was healed, and the rightful Queen brought an age of peace and prosperity. As for the huntsman... He returned to the forest where he belonged. But not without the one who had healed his shattered heart and nearly caused him death. Ender Black...