AN: This is the last chapter of this story. I hope you will like it. If so – as always – let me know. Once again I'd like to thank my beta readers who made this story much better.
Enjoy!
Chapter 10.
Queen Regina was pacing in the throne room when a guard came in and reported that the troop that was sent after her wayward pet was back. It was just on time, too. When her djinn appeared and explained what the Huntsman had done, she got so angry that she could barely see. She took out the Huntsman's heart immediately and actually threw it against the stone wall, not once but three times. That calmed her down enough to think more rationally. She squeezed the living organ long enough that she was sure that her pet passed out. They had enough experience together by now, so that she knew how far his endurance lasted.
"Tell them to bring him in." she ordered.
Two knights led - or more precisely pulled and shoved - the Huntsman into the room. His wrists were tightly bound by thick ropes, the end of which was in one knight's hand, while the other one pushed him forward by his shoulders. The man looked beaten, his face bruised and tight with pain, his clothes torn. Bloody gashes could be seen through his tattered clothing. The knights obviously worked him over some on their way back.
She wasn't surprised by that. She knew that most of her knights despised the Huntsman. Not just the knights but most people in the castle considered him more animal than human. But the knights were also jealous of him because the Queen let him in her bedchamber and gave him the most special tasks. She actually enjoyed exploiting the knights' hatred, that's why he ordered the Huntsman to participate in the latest knightly tournaments. The hatred just grew after that, as the Huntsman had beaten all of the knights in archery and most of them in hand to hand combat. He was quite pathetic with the sword but he was making progress with that weapon, too. All in all, the knights – and also the guards – used every opportunity to act out their revenge and this time was no different.
The knights pushed the Huntsman some more, until he fell to his knees in front of Regina. He stayed that way, with his head lowered. Her training had some results at least.
"Do you know what happens to pets that turn against their owners?" she asked and then answered her own question. "They are beaten into submission, or put down. I suspect you wish for the latter but you should know by now that it would never be that easy. Sir Ryker, if you would be so kind..." she waved at the knight.
The knight stepped forward and with his mail-gloved hand, he backhanded the Huntsman.
"Again." Regina said.
The second blow knocked the kneeling man to the floor.
"Pull him up." she ordered the other knight but the Huntsman pulled himself back to his knees on his own power, in a very meager act of defiance. "Again, Sir Ryker."
After the eighth hit, the man stayed down. The left side of his face and his beard was drenched in blood from a cut under his eye and from his – probably – broken nose, and he was breathing heavily. Regina waved at the knights to step back. She didn't want her toy to suffer permanent injuries, as she liked his face the was it was.
"You know, while you were away I had time to think about a proper punishment for you." she said conversationally.
She walked over to a side table where the inlaid box containing the Huntsman's heart sat.
"You know, that if I crush your heart you're going to die. Other than that though, I could do anything to it and you would survive. You would of course feel the pain and probably would wish to die, but you will survive. Raise his head so he can see me!" she ordered the knights.
She picked up the heart gently, this time. It was thrilling to feel the power of keeping a living heart in her hand, no matter how many times it happened. At times like these, she could understand her mother a little better, too. She turned back towards her prisoner, and with a deliberately slow motion, pulled a decorating pin from the corset of her dress. The Huntsman flinched – obviously anticipating what was to come -, but he couldn't turn away. Sir Ryker held one hand over his neck, the other grabbed onto his hair and so he was effectively keeping the Huntsman immobile.
She plunged the pin into the heart, pushing it in deep, so only the black head of it could be seen. The man on the floor shuddered and gasped in pain, his face went pale under all the blood.
"I will tell you again; you can try as hard as you'd like to defy me or escape me, but you will always belong to me. This pin stays here until I decide that you have learned your lesson. And don't think that this makes me happy. It actually saddens me that I still have to resort to such ugly methods."
At this point the man's eyes were glazed over with pain, but she was positive that her message was understood.
The Huntsman was a wild thing - that was what made him so entertaining and also useful to her. She didn't want him broken, just tamed to her own will and no one else's. Regina thought of the Huntsman as kind of an attack dog – or wolf, in his case – who was obedient to his master, but dangerous to anyone else. She had thought that they had already reached that point, but obviously not. Despite the fact that the man was brought up in the wilderness by animals, he seemed to be more compassionate than anyone else in the castle. Even his heart being ripped out, didn't really make him as emotionless as Regina wanted him to be. But it definitely gave her a power over him that he couldn't withstand, no matter how hard he tried. They had time to work on the obedience thing, though and she could be creative in her training methods.
She turned to the knights.
"Take him to the dungeons and chain him in a cell until I order otherwise."
ooo
Sydney was the one who informed Regina about the Sheriff.
As a volunteer deputy, Sidney was the emergency contact for Graham, so he was notified by Doctor Whale, when the sheriff was found injured. Sidney called Regina from the sheriff's department and told that Graham was in the hospital, and also that he had left something for Regina in the office. She hoped that he had found the blueprints and that's what he had left for her. She hurried to the Sheriff's office immediately.
When she arrived at the department, she found Sidney sitting at the sheriff's desk, writing in one of his notebooks. She noted absentmindedly that both jail cells were occupied. She threw a only a quick, disgusted look at the men in the cells and then burst into the office without knocking.
"Where is it?" she asked.
Sidney looked up, surprised.
"Regina! I thought you were going to the hospital." he said and actually smiled.
She didn't smile back, of course. Sidney was hopelessly in love with her in this world, too and Regina wasn't squeamish about exploiting that love, but she never encouraged it. She knew that Sidney had his suspicions about her and Graham and that made him extremely jealous of the sheriff. So it was probably a bit cruel that Regina insisted on him becoming a volunteer deputy, but she wanted an eye on Graham, just in case.
"I will, after I have the package Graham left for me." she said., shooting down Sidney's hopes again.
"Oh. It's here." he said as he pulled the leather roll from under the desk.
"Did you open it?"
"No, I didn't. It seemed personal." he answered with a slight frown.
"Good" she took the package and turned her back on Sidney before unrolling the blueprints.
Everything was in there, undamaged. She looked over every sheet and sighed in relief. She started to roll up the papers again when she saw something at the edge of the plan of the crypt.
Her relief turned into dark fury.
What she saw was a bloody fingerprint, faint but definitely there.
It was so like Graham to do something like this. Always disobeying her at the worst moments. Did he go to the crypt, too? she wondered. Regina had to find out right now. She rolled up the blueprints and rushed out of the station without saying another word to Sidney, actually she had already forgotten that the man was even there.
She arrived at the cemetery in record time. She opened the secret passageway and hurried down to the vaults. She wouldn't have noticed the signs of someone being there if she hadn't been looking for them specifically. But, after a thorough investigation, she found some blood on the floor and also on one of the cases. The one case Graham should have never touched. She had no idea what consequence this would have, but nothing good for sure. In the worst case scenario, Graham would remember everything, but even if not, he would surely have questions.
She opened the case with dark resolution, and pulled the heart from it. It was still glowing with the same brightness it had when she ripped it out. It was probably the brightest heart she has ever seen and sometimes she admitted to herself that it was maybe better that the Huntsman had spared Snow White. He was a good catch, really.
But now it had to be over.
With resolution, she squeezed the heart.
She felt it flutter under her fingers and suddenly- just on the edge of crushing the organ – she felt that she had to stop. Killing Graham was not something she was prepared to do. It would be a waste really, because Graham was useful in more ways than one. He kept order in town, he did her bidding - most of the times - and he was a lover who never asked for anything.
Her eyes wandered over to the small alcove on the opposite side of the chamber and landed on a green vial sitting there. Maybe there was another solution for the situation. She released the heart and put it back onto the silk pillow almost gently.
The green liquid was a very complicated memory potion that would made it possible for Regina to control what Graham remembered and how he remembered it.
With the vial secure in her pocket, she closed down the chamber and the crypt, and then drove to the hospital.
To her dismay she found that slut Ruby in Graham's room.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she snapped at her.
She looked up like a frightened rabbit, her eyes wide and red-rimmed. She had clearly been crying. Regina didn't like that. She never liked when someone started to care for what was hers.
"I... found him like this and I didn't want to leave him alone. And then his heart stopped and..."
"Well, he's obviously not alone anymore. I'm here now, and Doctor Whale said that he is going to be fine. His heart is better now, as well. So leave and don't come back." she said.
Ruby went red and seemed like she wanted to say something but then simply lowered her eyes, picked up her sweater and left.
Regina closed the door behind her and pulled out the vial. She opened it and bent over the prone body of the sheriff. She needed only a few drops in his mouth and then she had to concentrate on what she wanted; Graham to forget that he had seen the blueprints or that he went to the vaults. She wanted him to remember that he owed his obedience to her and only to her. With the power of the potion she would regain control over his mind... if everything goes well.
After she had made Graham swallow three drops of the green liquid, she sat down and waited patiently. She even held his hand for a while and whispered a few encouraging words.
Graham woke hours later. His eyes were tired but found Regina's face unerringly.
She saw no accusation and no suspicion there, just some confusion.
"What happened?" he asked quietly and in a hoarse voice.
"Don't you remember?" Regina asked with pretended worry.
His eyes moved around the room, then zeroed back on her.
"I got stabbed?" he asked hesitantly, clearly expecting the answer from her. And that was good. That was what she wanted.
"Yes, but you are going to be all right. You should rest now some more." she said and squeezed his hand.
"Are you going to stay for a while?" he asked, his eyes already dropping.
"Yes, I will stay." she said and half asleep Graham smiled at her with utter devotion.
Her magic worked perfectly.
THE END
Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter and answered my question. I already have an outline for the next story, so there will definitely be a next story.