CHAPTER 8 – FRESH START
Recommended for mature audiences only. Some content is not suitable for young readers.
(Updated for errors & minor context - 30-Jan-2018)
Snow sat in her elaborate throne tapping her finger, her mouth set in a hard line and her eyes hard and focused on the crowd before her. Her long ebony hair, a mixture of curls and small braids, was pinned up and twisted beneath her glittering crown, exposing every feature on her delicate face. The only sound echoing around the hall was the tap, tap, tapping of Snow's fingernail against the hard-polished wood of her thrones arm rest. The crowd of people stood in silence, including the Huntsman, waiting with bated breath for her to speak.
The night before had been a tense one. When Snow returned to the palace after her day with the Huntsman, Duke Hammond had been in fit of rage. Eric and Snow had found the Duke, Bane and William arguing just inside the palace foyer. Their yells had echoed all the way out to the courtyard, and there was not a servant in sight – they were all obviously too frightened to get in the way of the three quarrelling men. The yells ceased as soon as Snow stormed into the foyer, the Huntsman hot on her heels. All three men turned to face the pair, the Duke's face still red and heated from the argument.
William pushed past Bane and stormed over to them. Eric tensed and stepped in front of Snow through pure instinct. She went to step around him, finally ready to face William since the fight, but Eric stopped her with his arm.
"You!" William pushed a pointed finger into Eric's chest. "How dare you disappear with her!"
Eric hit William's hand away quite hard and stepped forward so the men were but an inch apart. "Touch me again," he growled, "and ye'll see what happens." Although the Huntsman towered over him, William didn't back away and instead returned the Huntsman's menacing glare, one hand on the sword by his side.
Snow's skin prickled at the sight and she stood around the Huntsman. "Enough, both of you!" Her command rang through the entrance. She gestured to William. "Stand back and control yourself!" William glanced at Snow, taken by surprise. He fumbled for words, not wanting to back out of an argument with the hunter. Snow glowered at him when he made no effort to move. "Now," she shot with impatience. William clenched his jaw and reluctantly stepped back to his father's side with a scowl on his face. He very cleverly held his tongue.
Snow flicked her eyes to the Duke. He looked as irritated as she felt.
"Where have you been?" he threw his words at Snow and the Huntsman. "We have been looking everywhere for you!"
Snow quickly shot a glance at Bane, who obviously hadn't said much about their outing. He gave a slight shrug and Snow felt a pang of guilt because she knew he was in trouble for keeping his mouth shut.
Snow pursed her lips and stared back at the fuming Duke. She didn't appreciate his tone. "Duke Hammond, there will be no more lectures from you this evening. Not to me, not to Bane or Eric or anyone." Snow felt anxious inside, but her voice was stern and she held his gaze. There was no way she could back down now, and she found she didn't want to. She was tired of taking orders from this man.
Duke Hammond was clearly stunned. When he went to protest Snow held up her hand and cut him off. "Sir, you will contain your words. As you can see I am perfectly unharmed and quite frankly, you have no say in my personal outings, nor do you oversee my security. Bane is Captain of the Guard, and he did his job by providing me with appropriate protection. There is no need for you to involve yourself." By this point, Bane had walked over to stand by Eric's side. Snow could sense their wide grins as she spoke to the Duke, but she ignored them and went on. "You will call on the council and arrange a meeting for first thing in the morning. Do you understand, Duke Hammond?"
The shock on the Duke's face was still evident as he searched for words. Before long he seemed to realise he would not be voicing his opinions that night. "Of course, your Majesty," he whispered. His face was no longer red from anger but from embarrassment.
"William and yourself are excused. I will see you in the morning at the meeting."
Both men stood in front of her, clearly hesitant to leave. Snow knew it was killing them that they couldn't throw around orders and lecture Bane and Eric. "That will be all," she said again, reminding them that their presence was no longer wanted.
The Duke slowly bowed and walked away, wisely holding his tongue. His pride had undoubtedly been stomped on and Snow hoped he wouldn't hold it against her. William followed a second later, looking displeased as he glared at the Huntsman, who had to twist out of the way as William pushed past him.
The Huntsman growled, "I will kill that runt one day, I swear it."
It was then that Mary had ran around the corner, visibly happy that her Queen had returned unharmed. She began shooing Bane and the Huntsman away immediately, declaring that the Queen needed rest. In no mind to argue with the woman, the two men wondered off and Snow was left in the care of her flustered maid and was dragged to her apartment.
It had gotten late by the time Snow had bathed, eaten and had her bandage changed. Mary had long retired for the evening, and Snow tossed and turned restlessly in her large bed, waiting for sleep, trying to switch off her mind. It was only when she felt the covers move and familiar strong arms wrapped around her, that Snow finally let sleep claim her.
Snow sat in her throne, watching everyone as they stared back at her. It wasn't their standard meeting; all ten members from the council had shown up, including dozens of sentinels from the Guard. Mary and Greta were standing by the back wall amongst several other servants. She'd requested them all to be there, in the hopes that word would spread faster throughout the palace. Smaller meetings were often quite private, and she thought it better to have more witnesses today.
Duke Hammond and Eric were standing to the front of the crowd and she could see Bane behind them. William was somewhere towards the back, but she never bothered properly seeking him out.
Finally, Snow's finger stopped tapping and she stood up with a sigh. "I have not had the best start at being a Queen to you all." Whispers started up among the people and a few servants looked puzzled as to where Snow was going with her speech. She ignored them and continued. "I ask for your patience, and I assure you that I will try my best to give you the Queen my Kingdom needs… though I cannot do that if I am being lied to." Her eyes fell on the Duke and he immediately turned pale. "It has recently come to my attention that things are being kept from me. I do not appreciate this in the slightest."
The people in the hall abandoned their whispering and had begun talking loudly amongst each other. Snow held up her hand and the noise softened almost immediately.
"Duke Hammond, is there anything you wish to share?" Snow raised her eyebrows at the man and he darted his eyes around the hall.
"Your Majesty," he started, nervously. "I will share with you all that I know, but perhaps we could discuss the matter in private."
Snow shook her head. "No, that will not be good enough. Anything you say will be shared with all members of the council. There will be no more secrets from anybody."
The Duke swallowed hard and wiped his forehead. He moved forward so everybody in the hall could see him. "I have reason to believe, your Majesty, that there is an army rising against you." Whispers immediately started among the crowd again and Duke Hammond cleared his throat before continuing. "The Captain and I have sent a group of soldiers to seek information on the army's whereabouts. They were due back yesterday, but there has been so sign of them at this point."
Snow sat back down on her throne as the hall erupted with questions. People wanted to know everything about this so-called army, but the Duke seemed as clueless as anybody. Only Eric and Bane remained quiet and walked to stand on either side of her throne. Snow glanced up at the Huntsman with questioning eyes. The Duke's revelation wasn't news to her, but she still wasn't sure how to proceed. Eric just shrugged. He was still obviously leaving it all up to her.
The Duke managed to calm everybody down after a few minutes and the hall was quiet once again. William's father clutched his hands together in a bid for forgiveness. "I apologise for keeping this from you, your Majesty. I thought I was acting in your best interests."
Snow smiled once. "Thank you for sharing, Duke. I am sure everyone agrees that this information is better out in the open. I don't like being kept in the dark. Now you say the soldiers are due back any time from yesterday?"
"That is correct," the Duke nodded.
"Well, I suppose there is not much we can do until they arrive back. In the meantime, I want the palace on full alert. Members of the council, please return to your villages wary of this information. I would also like two sentinels to be stationed on lookout in any nearby villages until Bane's soldiers return. Bane will this be achievable?"
Bane thought for a moment before answering. "I believe I can spare six men, yer Majesty. We can send two guards to each of the three closest villages and still have enough men here."
"Duke Hammond, is this agreeable?"
The Duke nodded his agreement.
"Excellent," Snow smiled and stood, signalling that the meeting had concluded. As the hall began to clear, Snow noticed that William was walking over to her. The Huntsman, who hadn't left her side, tensed up next to her. She put a hand on his arm, silently telling him to calm down.
William hadn't spoken a word in the meeting and Snow knew he was still annoyed from the night before. She considered pretending not to have seen him and quickly slipping out of the hall, but she thought better of it. Just hear what he has to say, she told herself. She had to speak to him eventually.
William finally reached her, and they simply stood in silence for a few seconds, avoiding eye contact.
"I just wanted to apologise," William started, his eyes focused on his feet. "To both of you. I have acted like such a fool these past few weeks. The whole thing was my fault. I'm sorry for hurting you, I'm sorry for the fight, I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable. I'm so sorry for all of it."
Snow wasn't sure what to say. Did she pretend everything was fine and forgive him, or tell him how she really felt? Snow looked at William and tried to remember that little boy she used to play with as a child. She had held onto the memory of him so tightly, but she now realised that the little boy in her memories didn't exist anymore. The children who used to be so close had both grown up and become different people.
"Thank you for apologising, William," she finally got out. William seemed relieved at Snow's words and he looked up to meet her gaze. Snow hesitated for a moment but went on. "I think we need to start again. I need you to understand that I'm not the same girl you fell in love with all those years ago... And you're not the same boy I fell in love with either." Beside her, the Huntsman stiffened, but she ignored him. "I think we have to stop pretending that we are best friends, because it's clear that we aren't. We barely know each other anymore."
Snow was expecting an outburst, but it didn't come. Instead William just stared at her, quietly thinking about what she had said. "You're right. We should start over. I really am sorry, Snow. I hope one day we can be friends again."
Touched that William wanted to mend things, an idea came to Snow's mind. "Let's start with my birthday party. You said you wanted to arrange it, but maybe we could do it together."
William shook his head. "I'm sorry, your Majesty, but this is one thing I'll have to refuse. It's your first real birthday in years and I want you to be surprised."
Snow didn't bother protesting. If he wanted to organise it on his own, then she would let him. William bowed and left then, leaving Snow and the hunter alone on the hall.
She looked up at him and smiled softly. "I really believed William and I were going down a dead-end. I'm not sure we'll ever be friends like we used to be, but I think we can try at least."
The Huntsman, who had somehow held his composure during William's apology, shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Ye two may be civil again, but I still want to ring his neck."
Snow sighed loudly and frowned. "Eric, he apologised to both of us. He is trying to do the right thing. If I can give him another chance, then you can too." Somehow her pleading seemed useless. Snow knew the Huntsman and William would never fully get along.
Just as she had predicted, the Huntsman shook his head. "We'll never be friends Snow, and ye know it. Don't try and make me out to be the bad guy. I'll try and be courteous, but I will no' act like the sun shines out of his ass like everyone else does."
Snow tried to ignore the Huntsman's crude comment, but a giggle escaped her anyway. She'd never heard somebody say that before.
The Huntsman just rolled his eyes and shook his head. "What do ye want to do today?" he asked.
Snow looked around the hall as she thought. "First, I want to get something to eat." Snow rubbed her stomach, careful not to touch her injury. "Then I want to train."
Eric gave her a questioning look. "Train?"
Snow nodded. "I haven't been practising lately. Now that you're back, and I'm feeling better, I want you to train me again." Snow hadn't picked up a sword since the battle against Ravenna, and she didn't want to lose the skills the Huntsman had taught her. "You're the one who told me to be the warrior Queen again."
Eric frowned as he thought. In theory Snow shouldn't have to protect herself now that she had the Queen's Guard protecting her. But, Eric knew that it was foolish to rely on others for protection. "Alright," he nodded. "I'll train ye again, but no' yet. Ye're no' well enough."
Snow frowned back at him, "I can still practise while I'm healing. I'll take it easy."
Eric nodded. It was true. A little exercise wasn't going to hurt. "Fine," he shrugged. "No' today. We'll start tomorrow."
Snow agreed, and Eric walked with her to the kitchens. The cooks were surprised to see the Queen, but they made her and the Huntsman comfortable at the back of the kitchen, out of the way and out of the commotion.
Greta was thrilled to see Snow and made a pot of tea. "It is yarrow tea again, your Majesty," the girl smiled, pouring the hot liquid into a goblet. "I hope you don't mind; I put a little sugar in this time to help with the bitterness."
Snow took a sip straight away. It was hot and scolded her tongue slightly, but she found the taste much more pleasurable today. "Thank you, Greta, it's wonderful."
Greta beamed. "I'm glad, your Majesty. What can we get you to eat?"
Snow was quick to answer. "Oh, please, anything you have. I'm starving." As if on cue, her stomach gurgled, and she grinned, flushing pink.
Soon, Snow and Eric were both enjoying a large plate of eggs, sausage, beans and potatoes. Snow devoured her food and ate the lot in half the time it took the Huntsman to eat his. "Didnae ye eat breakfast?" he laughed.
Snow pushed her plate away and reached for a bread roll in the basket in the middle of the bench. "Yes, I ate in my chamber before the meeting. It wasn't very nice though. Grains and wheat or something, Mary said." Snow scrunched up her nose at the memory and the Huntsman laughed.
"That's good for ye," he said.
"Good for horses, maybe," Snow replied under her breath before she took a large bite of her bread roll.
Finishing his own plate, the Huntsman turned and faced the young Queen sitting beside him. "So, ye're having a birthday celebration. Nineteen, eh?"
Snow nodded. She noticed that the Huntsman had never really questioned her age until now, but she supposed everyone was already quite aware of how old she was. She wasn't sure how old Eric was, she realised, but she knew he was older by several years. Then again, perhaps it was just his size and nature that made him seem older. Soldiers seemed to grow up quite quickly. The thought saddened her a little, but she wasn't sure why.
"Will you come with me?" Snow asked, referring to the celebration.
Eric nodded, picking up a bean shoot and putting it in his mouth. "I have to. It's my job to follow ye everywhere."
Snow bit her lip. "Well, I was hoping you might like to escort me, but I understand…" She looked nervously at her hands and began playing with the sleeve of her emerald green gown.
The Huntsman looked puzzled for a moment then understanding hit him and his eyes softened. "Ye mean as yer companion?" He cleared his throat and shifted nervously. "I dinnae think that's a good idea."
Snow looked up. She knew the celebration would be heavily guarded, but she couldn't deny that she was a little annoyed at the thought of Eric watching over her the entire night, instead of celebrating with her. She stood up before he could say anything else and wiped her hands on the front of her dress. "Don't worry, it was a silly idea anyway. Let's go."
Snow thanked Greta and the other ladies for the food and the two left the kitchen, Eric following close behind her. She tried slowing a little, so he could walk beside her, but Eric just slowed when she slowed, stopped when she stopped, and sped up when she walked a little faster. Snow rolled her eyes, thankful he couldn't see it.
The days that followed began to develop a pattern. Every second day the council would meet, and there was still no report from Bane's men about any potential rebel army sightings. His soldiers still had not returned and the Duke grew more anxious by the day. It made him very unpleasant to talk to, and Snow tried to avoid him as much as she could.
Snow and Eric developed a habit of eating breakfast in the kitchen every morning before venturing out to the training yard.
The first day of training had been the worst. Fidgeting in her new training leathers, Snow looked around the yard at the other soldiers. Most were sparing with partners, but she couldn't help but notice the sneaky glances in her direction every couple of minutes. The men were curious to see what the Queen was doing in the training yard. Snow was curious as well as excited. Her muscles were aching for some exercise, and she bounced on her toes, ready to go. She looked at the Huntsman, waiting for instruction.
He gave her a small, sly smile that made Snow immediately dread her decision to start training again. "Run," he said simply.
Snow swallowed. "Run? I thought we were training?"
Eric smiled again. "Ye're training," he corrected her. "Swordplay will come later. For now, run."
Snow gaped at him. She hated running. "For how long?"
"Until I tell ye to stop," Eric crossed his arms. "Off ye go."
With a groan, Snow started running, following the faint track the other soldiers had created in the dirt around the perimeter of the training yard. She could do it, she thought. Eric would make her do a few laps and then she'd have a sword in her hand in no time. Of course, she was very wrong.
Snow ran until her lungs were screaming and her legs were burning. The cold air of the morning was like a dagger in her throat as she gasped for oxygen. Sweat dripped from her face and trickled down her back, wetting her white cotton shirt. Her knees began to wobble, but she remained upright, pushing herself through the pain.
Eric watched from the middle of the yard as she ran around him. Sometimes he crossed his arms and tightened his mouth, and other times he stood with his hands on his hips. Either way, he always watched her intently, his eyes never moving from her body.
When would this end, she wanted to scream at Eric, but she didn't look at him for fear of him seeing the begging in her eyes. Please, let it be over!
"Enough," Eric finally called what seemed like a lifetime later, and the word was magic to Snow's ears.
She stopped immediately and had barely sunk to her knees before vomiting on the ground. Wiping her face with the back of her hand, she glanced up at Eric, who was now beside her. He looked down at her with a tight mouth, but he had the good sense not to say anything.
"I don't think I can get up," Snow mumbled. Her pride had vanished by that point and wasn't bothered with the stares from the soldiers. Eric offered her his hand and helped her stand. "Please don't make me do that again."
Eric gave her a knowing smile, but said "Ye'll do it again tomorrow, and the day after, and every day until ye can do it without losing yer breakfast all over the ground."
Eric was true to his word. Each day Snow ran a little more and each day it became a little easier. The days turned into weeks and eventually Snow was deemed healed and fit enough to pick up a sword. She was a little rusty, but Eric was a great teacher and she caught on quickly. Bane came down to the training yard often to watch her lessons, and shouted hints and comments from the sidelines. Her favourite part of the day was when she could collapse with exhaustion and watch Bane and Eric spar. She watched them eagerly and took notes on their movements.
After her lessons with Eric, William would catch up with them around midday and then Eric would continue his guard duties in and around the palace. Snow tried her best to be cordial with William, and she soon came to find that she didn't mind his company. The two tried their best to get to know each other again, and Snow spent a lot of their time together asking him questions about the years she was locked in the tower. In doing so, she learned about the riots and attacks William had led against Ravenna's men and found she was impressed. Slowly but surely, William was gaining back her trust.
Then every night, after she had bathed and eaten, Snow would wait in her large, empty bed, fighting the urge to sleep. Not until the Huntsman's arms found their place around her, would she give in and let the darkness catch up with her.