CHAPTER 11 – Tense

Recommended for mature audiences only. Some content is not suitable for young readers.

(Updated for errors & minor content - 25-Mar-2018)

It was dawn when Snow and Eric made their way through the thick pine forest surrounding the outskirts of the mountains. Small birds chirped to announce the coming of a new day as soft light gradually appeared around them. Morning frost covered everything, and a soft layer of fog floated around them, making Snow's cheeks sting, her nose frozen and her lips cracked and dry. Puffs of white misty air appeared when she breathed, and her teeth chattered together relentlessly, making her jaw ache where she had been hit during the attack on the palace. Despite being sore and chilled to the bone in the early morning gloom, the constant shivering helped Snow keep her heavy eyes open just that little bit longer. They had ridden all night since leaving Eric's village without so much as a pause and Snow was exhausted.

Eric looked over his shoulder to see if Snow was keeping up, something he had done repeatedly all night. Each time, after telling her to keep up and stay close his alert eyes would gaze past her, skimming the horizon and searching the wilderness around them. At first Snow had copied him; her eyes darted around, always aware of everything around them. Fatigue had then started to set in and her senses began playing tricks on her, keeping her on edge and jumping at the slightest rustle of leaves or the crack of a twig from the horses. Now, she was too tired to care and had long given up searching for danger as the Huntsman did.

"We'll stop soon and have a rest," the hunter added this time as he turned back around, still satisfied they weren't being followed. The words were like magic to Snow's ears. She pulled Eric's spare coat around her tighter and followed his horse up the winding path towards the mountains of Tabor.

The thick forest that surrounded the base of the mountains and the somewhat flat terrain that had led them there had become steeper and rockier with each cautious step. Much to Snow's delight, they soon found a small flattened clearing where they dismounted. They hitched the horses to a nearby tree and Snow sank to the ground not a moment later. Eric rummaged through the canvas sack that was attached to his horse and pulled out a small loaf of bread and a water flask. He went and sat at the base of a tree near Snow and motioned for her to come and sit by him. When she did, he tore the bread and gave her the larger half. Snow didn't protest; she had become accustomed to this while they were in the Dark Forest. Starting an argument over who got the larger portion of food was something she quickly deemed pointless; she always ended up with more than her fair share.

"Eat, we cannae stay for long," Eric's words were meant for Snow, but his eyes never met her face; instead they continued to scan the wilderness around them. Snow groaned to herself, wishing they could set up camp and make a fire, but that too would have been a worthless argument.

So, Snow did as she was told and ate her bread without speaking. They hadn't spoken of the attack since they left Eric's cottage, and Snow was quietly glad. She couldn't bring herself to think about it; not yet. Instead, she focused on chewing and when she was done, she rested her head against Eric's arm and lost the battle to keep her heavy eyes open.

"Snow!"

Snow woke up in a panic. Her eyes flew around looking for the attacker, but there was none. Instead, Eric knelt before her with his hands on her shoulders, evidently responsible for waking her.

"Get up, we have to go," he commanded gently.

"Is there something wrong?" Snow mumbled as her initial shock wore off and tiredness crept back to her.

Eric stood and offered Snow his hand. "No, but there will be if we dinnae move. I let ye sleep longer than I should have," he said as he pulled her to her feet.

Snow rubbed her eyes and cheeks as she followed Eric over to her horse, trying to put some feeling back into her cold and numb face, "Did you sleep at all?"

"No," he said, and Snow bit her tongue and didn't press the matter further.

Before Eric helped Snow mount her horse, he fastened a belt around her hips. On it hung a dagger in a leather sheath. "Precautions," he simply muttered to Snow as he helped her mount and then jumped onto his own horse.

Snow's horse – having followed Eric the entire night – now dutifully shadowed him, so she rarely had to direct it. Instead, Snow took some time to look over the spider bite on her arm. Pulling up her sleeve, Snow was glad to see that her arm had almost returned to its natural colour. A crusty red-ringed circle now sat where the bite had been. She let out a silent breath, thankful Eric had been right, and it wasn't life-threatening. A few times during the past night on the way to the mountains, Snow had needed to halt and find a bush to vomit in. It wasn't her proudest night, having coughed up everything her stomach had to offer. Eric had never been far behind her, rubbing her on the back and offering her the water flask each time. "It's just yer body trying to expel the poison," he had said. "Ye'll feel better in the morning."

Pushing the embarrassing memories aside and locking them away with everything else that had happened to her the previous night, Snow pulled down her sleeve and tried to concentrate on her surroundings. They had moved further through the forest by now, the ever-present smell of pine filled Snow's lungs. In the distance, she could hear the faint trickling of water and if she peered hard enough, a small lake was only just visible through the fog.

The sun was soon clear from above the mountains and midday was upon them. The forest had begun to thin out and their small winding path led them further towards the mountains. Streams of sunlight now made its way through the trees and added a small amount of warmth to the air that hadn't been present in the morning. As the afternoon progressed, everything gradually got quieter and Snow could no longer hear the birds chirping in the trees and she had long since seen a rabbit scurry across the path in front of them. It wasn't until Snow's ears began to ache that she realised how high they actually were. Glancing behind her, the pine forest was now far below them; the tips of the trees just sticking out of the layer of fog.

Snow rubbed the tip of her frozen nose and breathed onto her hands, trying to warm them. She glanced at Eric in front of her, who hadn't spoken since their rest earlier in the morning. He hadn't been very talkative, and neither had she, but one question had hung around in her head since the night before, so she decided to ask him, hoping to start a conversation.

"Eric?" The Huntsman grunted to show that he was listening so Snow continued. "Now that Ravenna is dead, why has the Dark Forest not died with her?"

He was silent for so long that Snow thought he was going to ignore her completely. Just before she was going to ask him what the matter was, he sighed and answered. "Ravenna was no' associated with the Dark Forest – she had no powers in there. Why do ye think she sent me in after ye, instead of simply getting ye herself?"

Snow considered Eric's words for a moment. "Then what is it? Where does it come from?"

"There are many dark things in the world, Snow. No' everyone knows why. Some say the forest thrives from death – full of lost souls said to be wallowin' in anger and depression for eternity."

"And what do you think?" Snow's voice was so small; she thought the idea of being trapped inside the Dark Forest for eternity sounded awful.

"I think it's a pain in my arse, that's what," he replied gruffly.

Snow ignored his crude comment. "I am grateful to Ravenna for one thing. Had she not sent you after me, I would not be alive. In doing so, she accidentally saved my life. It's quite amusing when you think of it like that, isn't it?"

Eric scoffed, "No, I dinnae think it's amusing at all. Nothing about her was amusing."

Snow frowned at Eric's back. Even from behind him she could see he was tense. A conversation about Ravenna was probably not the best idea, so she left it. "Shall we stop for a while, so you can rest? I can keep watch."

"Are ye mad? Ye would be asleep before I'd even get the chance to close my eyes."

Snow smiled at the hint of humour in his voice and decided not to pester him anymore.

The pair continued for the remainder of the day, only stopping long enough to quickly eat. Eric let Snow close her eyes for what seemed like a few seconds and then they were back on their horses. Not once did Eric close his eyes and Snow never protested. She knew it would be wasted breath. Instead she watched him as he watched everything else. His shoulders were tight with tension and she wanted nothing more than to run her fingers over him, to soothe and comfort him the way he always did for her.

At sunset, they stopped again briefly. Even with her small naps Eric allowed her each time they stopped, Snow was finding it more and more difficult to get moving again. Even in the Dark Forest they had rested more than this, and with her lack of sleep, Snow was getting ill-tempered. As Eric began to pack up again she grabbed his hand.

"Eric, let us stay here and rest for the night." She knew he would protest and he did, but Snow wasn't going to let him win this one. "You have had less sleep than I, and I can barely stay awake on my horse. You are being foolish, Eric!"

"Snow," he argued. "This isn't up for discussion. In case ye haven't realised, there is an army after ye, and I'm no' going to just sit here when they could be upon us any second."

"No!" Snow folded her arms and pouted. She knew it was childish, but she couldn't have cared less. "I'm not getting back on that horse until we've both had a decent rest."

Despite his anger, Snow saw a flicker of humour in Eric's glare. It made the whole situation a little less tense and gave Snow a shred of confidence. Then it all evaporated into thin air when he stood up and pulled her with him. "Act like a child, and I'll treat ye like a child," he said as he threw her over his shoulder and smacked her bottom.

Snow gasped. It didn't hurt, it was the loud smack that shocked her more than anything. "Eric! Put me down right now. That is an order!" She yelled at him and he dropped her to the ground in an instant. Picking herself up off the ground, Snow was relieved to see that the glimmer of humour in his face hadn't vanished completely as she had previously thought.

"An order? Well, well, my dearest Queen. Please, if ye want control then by all means, take it." He stared at her, challenging her. "Go on, order away. I'll follow ye for a change, Yer Majesty."

Snow groaned. This wasn't at all what she wanted to happen. "Eric, I don't want to lead, I don't want to order you around and I don't want to make you angry. I trust you with my life, but I don't know how long that will last if you end up passing out from exhaustion half way through an ambush. You were never like this in the Dark Forest, so what on earth is the matter? Why can't we just stop for heaven's sake?!"

There it was; all traces of humour vanished from Eric's face and his eyes became dark and hooded. His jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth. "Do ye know how Sara died?"

Snow swallowed hard. "Not exactly. It's not my business, I never wanted to ask." Snow immediately regretted ever saying anything. She wished she'd just kept he mouth shut, got on the horse and did as she was told.

Eric went on, his face grim. "The Queen's brother came for her. He told me just before I killed him."

Snow felt her stomach churn. She didn't want to hear this.

"He went looking for women for Ravenna. Knowing Sara, she put up a fight and he killed her. But no' before he'd had his way with her. People in the village heard her cries but nobody tried to stop it. It makes me sick to think of it, of her on the floor dying while he..." Eric stopped and Snow saw his knuckles turn white as he clenched his fists.

"It's all right," Snow begged him. "You don't; need to tell me this."

Eric shook his head. "Ye dinnae understand, Snow. Last night after they'd taken ye, and then I saw ye there, pinned down with those pigs about to do the same thing. Words cannae explain what came over me." He gripped Snow's shoulders, his eyes dark and intense. "And ye wonder why we have to keep moving? I must get ye as far away from these people as possible. Do ye understand? I won't lose ye the same way I lost Sara."

Snow stared into his eyes. They carried so much pain, they had seen so much. "Yes, I understand, Eric. I really do." She put her hands on his face. "But this isn't going to help me, or you. It might just get us killed. I know you can see sense in that."

Snow wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest. She just wanted all of it to go away. Eric's arms went around her immediately, encasing her protectively the way they always did.

Snow sighed into him as the warmth from his body spread through her. "Sometimes I dreamed of this; us running away together. No problems, no commitments."

"Ye know we cannae do that," Eric whispered into her hair.

"I know. But it would be nice to live in a little cabin in the woods. Where I could be a normal person with a husband that wasn't picked out for me."

Eric's grip on her tightened for a moment then he said suddenly, "Come."

"Where are we going?"

"We'll find a better place to spend the night," he said as he dragged her towards the horses.

Relieved he'd finally given in, Snow looked around the small clearing. "Why? Surely this place will be enough?" They were definitely high, but they weren't well and truly deep in the mountains yet. With the sun quickly disappearing, Snow didn't fancy spending another minute venturing any further.

But Eric shook his head. "No, it's too open."

Snow rolled her eyes. Fine. As long as he was agreeing to spend the night somewhere, she could spend a few more minutes looking for somewhere better to camp.

It was dark before she knew it, but the full moon shone brightly above them, giving them enough light to continue searching. Before long, and much to Snow's amazement, they stumbled upon cave. It was small, hidden in the side of a rocky foothill and just big enough for two or three people.

"I suppose this'll do," Eric said as he jumped off his horse.

Soon the horses were tied up at a nearby tree and Snow and Eric sat together inside the small cave. Now that it was dark, it was getting colder by the second. Snow clenched her teeth to stop them from chattering and pulled Eric's coat around her tighter. The wind had picked up outside and the trees blew around fiercely.

"I'm glad we found this cave," Snow shivered as she spoke. "Do you think the horses will be alright out there?"

Eric wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. "They'll be fine. We may have to leave them soon. Even though they are faster, the further and higher we travel, the more difficult it will be for the horses. It will be easier for us to walk."

Snow didn't say anything. She'd become attached to her horse and saying goodbye didn't sound very appealing to her. "Is there any more food?" she asked, changing the subject.

Eric rummaged through the sack he'd untied from his horse and pulled out the nearly empty water flask and strips of dried beef wrapped in cloth. "This is all that's left," he said, offering her the meat. "I'll have to hunt soon, and we'll go to the stream in the morning to get water. Now eat up then close yer eyes. We have to leave before sunrise."

Snow nodded as she chewed the beef strips. Just sitting still for a few moments out of the wind and huddled next to Eric made Snow's eyes droop. It didn't take long at all before Snow found herself drifting to sleep, the dried beef still clutched in her frozen hands.

Snow woke up in a cold sweat and gasping for air. She clutched her head; she could still hear people screaming, images of people dying around her, and Duke Hammond's lifeless eyes still flashed through her mind. It was as if the rotten smell of the man who captured her still filled her nose and she coughed and choked as she tried to catch her breath. She had tried hard to push the attack from her mind. Now it seemed she was reliving the entire thing in her mind. She needed to think about something else. She needed an escape.

Snow stared outside the cave. It was still dark, and the wind still ripped through the trees. Eric sat beside her, leaning against the cave wall and finally sound asleep. Snow sat back quietly and rested her head against him. His deep, gentle breathing and heartbeat calmed her a little, but she couldn't close her eyes again.

She lifted her shaky hand and touched the huntsman's face gently so not to wake him. Maybe if she just touched at him, her mind would settle. Since her birthday, he'd felt so distant. Reserved and hesitant almost. Snow knew it was the attack; the situation was weighing on him heavily. Her fingers trailed over his lips and down his neck, skimming just inside the collar of his shirt. He stirred and Snow froze, but his breathing went quickly back to its deep and even rhythm. She hardly got to see him sleeping for he was always gone when she woke, and it saddened her for it was such a glorious sight. He looked ten years younger when he slept. With a sudden urge to kiss him, Snow waited until she was sure he was sleeping soundly then quietly and carefully moved onto his lap. Just as her lips were about to touch his, they spoke.

"What are ye doing?" he mumbled with his eyes still shut.

Snow froze and bit her lip. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you," she whispered.

"Hmm, wonderful effort," he mumbled back sarcastically, this time opening his eyes to look at her. "Ye should be asleep."

"I had a bad dream. I can't sleep."

"Aye? So ye decided to wake me as well?"

"I said I was sorry. I tried not to."

Eric laughed quietly. "It's alright. I've been woken in worse ways," he said as he ran his hands up her thighs and over her hips.

Snow took that as forgiveness and waited no longer to kiss him. The smell of him was intoxicating, the feeling of his hands moving all over her sent shivers down her spine but warmed her all at once.

"I feel like I haven't touched you in years," she whispered as she took a breath.

"Aye," Eric whispered heavily as he kissed along her jaw, down her neck and along her collarbone.

The feeling was making Snow's head spin and the memories of the attack began to fade like smoke in the wind. Her arms found their place around the hunter's neck and she kissed him again, pressing herself into him.

Eric groaned. "What are ye doin' to me, Snow?" It was more of a statement than a question and he smiled into her kiss. "Ye have bewitched me woman, I swear it."

His words only added fuel to her fire. Snow thought she was going to convulse any second. Suddenly feeling very bold she climbed off him, tore off her thick stockings and boots and began fumbling with his belt buckle.

Eric grabbed her hands and held them by her side. Even in the darkness Snow could see his bewildered expression. "Snow–" he started.

"Don't," Snow cut him off. "Please don't stop me. I need this; I need you," Snow climbed back on him, somewhat expecting he would throw her off and tell her to go back to sleep, but he didn't.

"So stubborn," Eric whispered almost to himself and he kissed her, trailing kisses down her throat the way that made Snow melt.

If it wasn't so bone-chillingly cold, she would have torn his shirt off and run her hands over him, touching and memorising every contour of his well-build chest and stomach. Instead she focused her attentions elsewhere, and she managed to finally free him, ripping off his belt and tearing at the laces in his trousers. Snow gently sat down on him, exclaiming softly as he filled her. She was well accustomed to him, she knew his body; how he felt against her and the way he moved, and she loved it. Snow cried out as she moved on him, letting him fill her again and again, until all the empty places were gone.

Eric had felt Snow's anxiety the moment she woke him. He knew she was seeking comfort and he was only too happy to help. He could sense the way his touch calmed her; he heard it in her voice, the way she sang his name. His kissed her, pinning her mouth to his, and bit gently on her lip.

Snow's whole body tightened around him as she finally let go of everything, letting him wash away the pain and sorrow. He too came to his own, flooding her, filling her, making her complete in all the ways she wasn't without him. Being together was like coming home; the familiarity, feeling and smell of all the things one loves in their home. And Snow knew hers was with Eric, wherever they were.