Snow White ran through the bushes, tripping over branches , but she wanted to be as far away from the chase as possible. She will die hard in this forest, but she has no intention of having her heart ripped out by the Queen. Something grabbed her in half and before she could scream she felt a hand on her mouth. She started to pull away but the strong grip did not allow her to escape.

-Silence- whispered a voice. It was the hunter. Snow White slowly calmed her breathing and looked him in the eye. He nodded his head and she answered him with the same. He moved his hand away and Snow White took a step away from him. Together they listened in silence to see if anyone from Finn's pursuit was approaching.

-They are gone now. At least now," the hunter said. He turned and went his way as if nothing had happened. The princess caught up with him, not wanting to be alone.

-Thank you,‖ she muttered, -eek for your help.

The hunter muttered something and then stopped.

-Go north all the way, there will be an exit from the forest and human villages. But I don't know if they will help you.

- Please don't leave me- she said quickly and the man furrowed his brow.

- I have encountered nothing but trouble through this case. I have to get the hell out of Tabor because I've fallen foul of the queen, who tricked me into being an old fool and a drunkard. And I killed her hatchetmen, and grievously wounded her ugly brother. So, girl, I don't know something for one, but I'm not looking for trouble.

Then he turned around again and went on.

-I can't do it without you. And I've got the money," groaned Snow White .

Eric stopped and laughed out loud.

-You have torn clothes, nice ones yes, so I'm assuming you were, I don't know, the courtesan who broke the queen's comb, so she sends a whole troop after you. Sounds like a joke to me. But I don't think you have cash on you.

-I might have. If you know Duke Hammond , know that he will pay for your protection against me. You have my word.

Eric bit his lip

- I wonder why Duke would be happy to see you.

Snowball stepped back. She didn't want to reveal her identity to him.

- Perhaps you will find employment there-she said-since you say there is nothing waiting for you here.

Eric hung his head and sighed.

-Good. I've got nothing better to do, unless I'm going to lie down under a tree and go to sleep. I'll take you to Duke's but I've got my price.

-He'll pay. I promise. I'm...his niece. Greta," she held out her hand, but Eric did not return the handshake, "I was seduced by Ravenna and forced into service.

-You said something about eating hearts, kid,- replied Eric.

-I think it was a threat, but I managed to escape. Enough about me. Why don't you introduce yourself?

Eric nodded as a sign that it was time to go.

After a while, however, he stopped.

-Which leg are you stronger with?

The girl shrugged her shoulders and the Hunter suddenly swung at her. Snow White instinctively stretched out her left leg and covered her face with her hands.

-Left- declared the hunter- Here you have a knife.

He handed her the weapon and Snow White took it in her hand and looked at it like an expensive specimen. She had her wand with her, but it was now worthless.

Eric grasped her left hand.

-When someone attacks you, you block the blow with your left hand and wrestle with your leg. With the other you attack and plunge the knife up to the handle in any place, preferably the heart. Then you have a chance to survive. Remember this, because it may come in handy.

They moved north, and after a while over his shoulder the man added

-I am Eric. If you need anything.

-Greta- replied a slightly calmer Snow White.

The Ravenclaws went around the Dark Forest after two days and, almost torturing their horses to death, rushed through the guesthouse. Finn sensed that either Hunter or Snow or both might be heading north. The obvious step would be to head for Hammond's hidden fortress or the human villages . Such they intended to penetrate in depth. The wind and rain chopped their coats, but they did not stop for a moment . One of the villages along the way was High Tower, whose feature was a soaring tower in the middle of the town.

For several hours they searched the houses for any trace of Eric or the princess , throwing the inhabitants to the pavement, plundering the remains of their belongings. However, as in other villages they had attacked before, they found nothing. Finn spat, and the saliva mixed in a puddle with the mud and the incessant rain.

He could not return to Ravenna with anything. He would trail it all the way to Hammond, and then at most call in reinforcements. Only the old lord, constantly subordinate to Magnus, had his headquarters hidden somewhere near the Moon Gate, the seat of the elves.

-Lord? - asked one of his soldiers- We have found nothing.

-I know, it's for fuck's sake, Willis. Let's move on. There's a couple of these homesteads, along the way, where they might have been hiding. Then we'll go into the woods. They won't get any further than Hammond. We're off," he roared.

The troop set off, leaving the inhabitants terrified and even more poor than they had been a few hours earlier. However, at the gate from the town stood a lone figure in a green cloak and a hood pulled over his head.

Finn stopped the troop.

-You are looking for an Bowman? ‖ the figure shouted.

Finn's archer laughed, as did the Queen's brother.

- 'And you're looking for a bump? I already have one- exclaimed Finn- Kill him- he threw to the archer carelessly.

At that moment the figure twitched and instantly hit the archer with two arrows, killing him on the spot. The body fell off the horse and into a puddle next to the horse.

-I asked, are you looking for the bowman ?"-said the figure emphatically and coolly. Finn snorted under his breath.

-Well, come with us,‖ he chuckled, and after a moment William mounted the horse after the dead man and together with the Ravenclaws set off.

Eric and Snow White walked for a day or so, with a slight pause, through the forest, until, as time went on, the treetops began to thin out more and more.

- We headed towards the village of Callberry. We have about half a day-Eric announced. The time of the hike was occupied with observing Eric's behaviour. The hunter regularly reached for the beaker behind the breast pocket of his leather jacket. He took a sip and croaked while doing so. This worried the princess, not angered her. As a child, she was often surprised that adults would reach for alcohol as a remedy for sadness or joy. Her brother Philip often told her

-I don't know why it's like that, I think it disgusts us up to a certain point, but in time when we try it we'll like it too.

Eric didn't do it regulatively. He tried to control his sips from the beaker. He didn't accost her, but just pointed the way every now and then .

Left, right, straight, stop, go.

They emerged from the bushes into an open space where there was an old crumpled bridge.

-We are out of the Dark Forest. Now we have a couple of hours to go to the village. Let's go," he announced.

-Will we rest there? And for how long?

-And for how long? -You'll get enough sleep, kid.

They walked onto the bridge, when suddenly Snow White felt a vibration around her. The vibration suddenly turned into a tremor as she heard Eric shouting

-run away, Troll!

Followed by a roar that pierced the air.

Snowball quickly ran off the bridge down the ditch surrounding the dried-up creek. She turned around and to her eyes appeared an approximately four-metre-long, enormous troll. It had horns on its head and its blue eyes glared at Eric, who swung his axe in an attempt to scare the creature away. Suddenly, the troll swung its paw and the man was thrown down next to Snow White. Luckily he landed in the grass however , Snow White heard the crunch of a hand being crushed by his body. Eric groaned , however, he tried to push himself up.

- Run away, Greta !

Snow White stood and watched the troll hit the bridge with his paw. After a moment, the structure collapsed in half and debris blocked the stream. The troll jumped down and landed a few metres beside the princess. It roared at her, and bits of saliva landed on Snow White's face. Eric shouted something to her, but Snow White focused her gaze on the monster. She could have used her wand, but something compelled her to look into the blue eyes of the beast. The troll was gasping, as if it was not attacking for fun or to satisfy its hunger, but as if... It was defending a territory. It stretched out its other paw and slammed it against the ground, as if it was setting a limit to its strength for humans.

Snow White noticed that the troll was blocking something with its body. After a moment when she gently looked out from behind it, she saw...three eggs. Cubs that were about to hatch. The troll was a female!

The princess held out her hands

-We will not harm you, you or your children. We just want to pass through. I will take my companion and we will leave you alone.

The troll growled another warning growl then calmly began to retreat to its cubs.

-What have you done?" asked a breathless Eric.

-I saved your life, Eric- replied Snow White lightly. They left the troll's nest as quickly as possible and continued their journey through the clearing.