The Prince was getting nervous. She had begun to circle him like a vulture and, although he couldn't see her eyes, he imagined that there was a hungry look in them.

"The second part of my riddle… Are you prepared?" she queried.

"I…I am, I suppose," he mumbled.

She smiled briefly, and he saw the corners of her mouth turn up behind the veil.

"Who wears a hat adorned by a single hawk's feather, carries a bow, and hunts beasts, but is not a hunter?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry," the Prince replied, after a pause.

"That's a shame. One clue left…"

After the scene in the kitchen, Emma had picked up her skirts and daintily left the kitchen, feeling that much more like a lady because of Henry's simple gift. He watched her go with his mouth open, for she scarcely behaved as she had done in her youth, in the Duchess's palace. Now she marched like a lady, out of the kitchen and through the servants' quarters.

She reached the little wooden house and climbed in. A little cat was curled up in the corner, its furry stomach rising and falling as it breathed deeply in its sleep.

Emma took the branch and set it down next to the little box that held her treasures. She took out her mother's mirror and inspected its little glass window. The face that was reflected in it was smudged with soot and framed by lank hair. A stray strand fell over the forehead, which she brushed away with a dusty hand.

As her arm came back down with the mirror, the little branch of hazelnuts fell from the small shelf where she had placed it and onto the floor.

"Oh!"

The cat, which Emma had raised from a kitten and was called Birch, for the strange pattern of sparse black stripes on her white fur, woke up at Emma's exclamation and walked lazily over to the branch with an inquisitive meow.

"It's such a silly thing, Birch, but it means so much. I hope it isn't broken," Emma whispered nervously.

As she picked up the branch, she noticed that one of the hazelnuts had cracked. Disappointed, she inspected it more closely, only to discover something soft protruding from the inside of the hazelnut.

"What in the…?"

She took the small strip between thumb and forefinger and pulled.

"Oh my!"

The little nut had cracked open and its two halves fell on the floor and rolled into the little niches and grooves in its grain. On the floor, where Emma had dropped it in shock, was a complete hunting costume. The leather jerkin was entirely new, and perfectly folded. On top of the leggings and camisole, there lay a hat, sculpted to perfection, with a bold feather protruding from the end. A pair of riding boots stood by the little pile, next to a crossbow and a quiver of arrows.

"Oh…oh…this is mine! This is for me! Oh! Oh! Oh!"

She picked up the hat and playfully twirled it in her hand.

"Why, look, Birch, a fine hat! As fine a hat as even the Prince and his hunting party might have." She tenderly fingered the silk material of the stockings and the camisole and grinned. Tomorrow, the Duchess and Maria were going out in the afternoon, presumably to catch a glance at the ever-elusive prince. What a perfect chance to take Snowflake and her new clothes out…

From her vantage point on the shelf, by the remaining two hazelnuts, Birch purred. Her dear girl was to be rewarded for her patience and kindness. A bright intelligence shimmered behind her large blue eyes.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Dominic was having the time of his life. Sometimes, it really was worth it to be a prince, he thought to himself as he rode through the forest on his stallion. With him, a hunting party the size of a small village rode along, followed by a large pack of hunting dogs.

A little fox was being pursued by this entire party, and it feared the worst. With reason. In no time at all, the Prince had aimed his bow from horseback and killed the little beast. He dismounted and placed a little frond of leaves on its wound. The crowd cheered.

The head huntsman dismounted, as well. He looked proudly at the Prince, who was turning into a fine huntsman, indeed. His shot was as sharp as any, and his riding skills were impeccable.

"Bravo, Your Highness!" the man cheered. "And now, for the crowning glory." Here, he paused for dramatic effect, while taking something out of his pocket. He lifted it into the air and waited for the reaction.

In his hand, a brilliant ring glimmered in the daylight. It was emblazoned with the royal crest in diamonds, and the crowd was awed into silence.

"Whosoever is able to shoot a falcon from the sky will be named king of the hunt and awarded this prize!"

The crowd cheered again, and the younger men prepared their crossbows. A screech came from overhead announced the presence of the sought-for prey and many shots were fired, all in vain. Dominic, haughty and prepared to win, raised his own bow, after everybody had finished and prepared to shoot. He looked up into the sky and saw how far away the bird was in the sky now.

"It's impossible. He's too high. The arrow simply wouldn't reach," he sighed. The crowd seemed disappointed and, just as he was about to lower his bow, a shot was fired from a short distance and the bird fell to the ground in a few seconds.

"How…?" Dominic wondered aloud, staring, perplexed, at his bow, which still had the arrow firmly lodged in its place.

His question was answered by the arrival of a young huntsman, carrying a bow and smiling smugly.

"Was that your shot?"

"And who else might have done it?" the huntsman inquired, looking around at the open mouths, amused.

"Let me see your bow," Dominic demanded suspiciously.

The man extended it, glaring at Dominic all the while. The latter was left feeling very strange. He had done nothing truly to harm this youth, but he seemed to dislike him, in spite of this being their first meeting. He looked over the bow, but saw nothing unusual.

"It's fine. It's normal," he admitted after a pause.

"What, did you expect magic, perhaps?" the youth inquired sarcastically.

"That was an impossible shot," the Prince frowned.

"Ha! Any of our girls could accomplish such a thing."

"Where did you say you were from?"

"I didn't," he snapped. His hair was cut into a fashionable bob and the feather in his hat was quite long. His hunting costume was every bit as fine as Dominic's. This bothered him, somewhat. Still, he had won, fair and square.

"Your prize, sir," he intoned, placing the ring, which he had taken from the head huntsman, on the youth's gloved hand.

He peered at it, and his eyes opened with wonder.

"You want to give this to me?"

"You shot the falcon. This is the prize."

"Oy, why don't you show us what else you can do?" Thom called out.

The youth frowned again, and turned to him.

"You needn't make fun of me, you know."

"I'm not! I just want to see what you can do. Tell him," he pleaded Dominic.

"Please, sir, we would like to see what you can do."

"What would you have me do?"

Thom thought a bit. "See those pinecones? At the top of the tree?" He indicated a very tall spruce. "Shoot them down, then."

"Any fool with a bow and arrow can do that."

"Well, show us if you can," Dominic rejoined, pouncing. He was pleased to see the young huntsman squirming, for he been upstaged just recently and wanted to have his revenge.

"Very well," the youth replied, again glaring at Dominic. He seemed familiar somehow, but Dominic could not quite place it. The youth raised his bow to shoot and the arrow flew through the air with a whir. The crowd ran forward to see its descent.

When they reached the fallen arrow, they saw how it had cleanly pierced one of the pinecones. Amazed, they turned to again applaud the huntsman. Dominic did so rather grudgingly. However, when they turned, he was gone.

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"What an idiot he is! And what an idiot I am!" Emma muttered as she ran. Her hat did not stay as she flew by and she held it in her hand. Her hair, no longer bound up, flew behind her wildly.

She could hear the sounds of the pursuing company and thought quickly. Snowflake was at least thirty yards away. They would catch her before that and then…

"No, they won't catch me," she asserted. She spotted a high tree with limbs sticking out from all sides. "Right, to work!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Where did he go?" Dominic shouted. They took of in pursuit in all directions. Dominic, who was good at tracking, thought he detected footfalls and ran in that direction. Just as he was running through a patch of dense shrubbery, he heard a giggle from above.

"Now what!"

"Oh, Sir?" an angelic voice came from overhead.

Frustrated, Dominic looked up. At a distance, he recognized the dirt-stained face of the little peasant girl.

"Why, you-" he stopped himself and changed his tone. "Miss, will you please tell me, have you seen a young huntsman come through here?"

"Why don't you come up here and I'll tell you?" she tested.

"Please come down," he said through clenched teeth, forcing a smile.

"I told you to come up!"

"And I am asking you to come down."

"No, I don't want to…"

"You terrible little shrew!"

"Overstuffed peacock!"

"Dirty simpleton!" But there was no response this time. He looked up again, shielding his eyes from the sun, but she seemed to have temporarily vanished. Well, she was up a tree: where could she possibly go?

"Sire? Have you found him?"

"No, just the girl."

"What girl, Dom?" Thomas asked curiously.

"The little peasant from yesterday!"

"Where!"

"In the tree, right there!"

"Ah, Dom, there's nobody there."

"Well, she was there just before!"

"Whatever you say, Sire."

"Don't call me that," he snapped.

"Why not?"

"Nobody's around. You know I hate that title."

"Do you prefer 'Your Highness'?"

This was met with a growl.

"Oh, fine. Forget the girl. Let's go. We need to get back anyway."

"I suppose you're right," Dominic conceded. As they walked away, he cast a last glance at the giant tree, where he knew the little reprobate was hiding, no doubt giggling to her heart's delight.

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The voices carried up to Emma.

"Whatever you say, Sire."

"Don't call me that," he snapped.

"Why not?"

"Nobody's around. You know I hate that title."

"Do you prefer 'Your Highness'?"

Emma took in a breath with a sharp gasp.

"Your Highness?" she thought to herself. "That imbecile is the prince! Well, no wonder Maria likes him…"

After she was certain the two had left, she climbed down and ran towards Snowflake, who was tied up and patiently waiting for her.

"Come on, dear. That was very foolish for me to do. The next time I try to show off in front of the royal hunting party, remind me not to," she said with a smile, caressing her new ring. It shone brilliantly and reflected every beam of light.

As she rode towards the Duchess's palace, all she could think of was: "I hit the Prince in the head with a snowball and I insulted him!" The servant in her was certainly feeling remorse for such an act.

But, then again, another part of her was thinking as well. This was the part that had been taught to shoot by her father, the Lord de Winter, the part that had looked down upon balls from the balustrade, knowing that in a few years, she might take part in them. And this part whispered to her: "You know he deserved it…"

A/N: Well, what did you think? This is my favourite part, so far! I apologise about the killing of animals; I do not condone it in any way. However, it is a part of life and a major sport, then more so than now. Emma needed a way to show off that didn't involve snowballs!

I very much appreciate all of your reviews and I hope to have the next chapter up soon. As long as you keep reviewing, I will keep writing! I just want to know that people are enjoying it, so if you like it, let me know…

To InChrist-Billios: I very much like your reviews and I am glad you like the story. I think you will like the rest very much. I already know what is going to happen in the end!

To LauraShrub: Anybody who greets me in French is wonderful, so I thought you should know that. Oh, about the Prince… he's just a kid. That's why you want to whack him across the head, most likely. I hope this chapter doesn't make you hate him more!

To ShinyObjectsLover: Again, glad you liked it. The way he finds it is rather interesting, isn't it? Well, now you know it wasn't just random…

I love you all, as always!

Titania