Wow! Two weeks! That must be a bloody record! I didn't have as much response to last chapter as I had hoped, seeing as I made you lot wait for two friggin' months. Maybe I deserved that. I do feel guilty about that, though.

My inspiration muse is not done with me yet, so this isn't the last chapter either. It did come fairly quickly, mainly because I knew what I wanted to happen before I even started writing it. I'll try, really try, to get the next chapter up ASAP, but it's just bloody difficult!

I hope you love it, and please, please leave me a review. It's the air I breathe! Don't cut off my oxygen;)!

Okay, I'm done with the dramatics(for now)!

Love, Lily

XVII

Blood everywhere. It is warm and wet on her ice cold skin. She keeps her eyes skewered shut, scared out of her mind for what would happen next. But the weight on her body was not moving, and she could not feel a breath or a heartbeat. She frowns, but does not dare to move. This is probably some trick he is playing on her mind. To give her a false hope of safety. But he will not fool her. He may take her body, but he will never take her soul, nor her spirit. She slowly allows herself to slip into a state of rest, unconsciousness if you will, to forget everything and just dream of her Huntsman. Her prince. Her love. She smiles softly.

"Eric..." she murmurs. Suddenly, the weight is pulled off of her and her eyes flash open, confused at the sudden change. This is not what she expected. At all. White engulfs her and she closes her eyes again quickly.

"I am here, Snow. You are going to be fine." his soft voice whispers in her ear and she smiles again. This is a good dream. "Snow, open your eyes." She just enjoys his lips on her ear and warm breath in her neck. "Open your eyes for me, Snow." His voice sounds commanding, and she reluctantly opens her eyes, expecting to see that horrible face. Instead she sees William's and Eric's faces, hovering over her in worry. "There you are." Eric is the first one to speak and attract all of her attention. She does not understand yet what has happened, but she know she is safe now. "Let go of the arrow, love." he whispers, his large hand wrapping around hers. She looks down and sees to her utter horror that there is a bloody arrow in her hand. The blood is dripping down it onto her hand and there is more on her dress and the rest of her body. She drops the arrow in horror, gasping for breath as she sees herself covered in his blood.

Finn. She should have known from the moment that he died, that he would not give up his quest for her. He would come back, and he did. She looks sideways and sees him, lifeless and limp on the floor next to her, his white hair covered in his own blood as the pool that is already there keeps spreading around his body. Snow suppresses the urge to gag.

"Wha-what happened?"

"You killed him." Eric says, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Oh God." she says, and then she surprises both of the men by flinging her arms around their necks. "I am so relieved that you are both alright. If either of you would have been hurt or killed...I would never have forgiven myself."

"You are worried about us? You were the one that was held here." whispers William, receiving an appreciative chuckle from Eric. "Are you alright? He did not hurt you?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing I cannot handle. Now what exactly did I do?" she asks, and she hears her voice tremble. She will never get used to the feeling of watching someone die at her hand. First it was Ravenna, and now Finn. She shivers.

Eric smiles and William looks down with a smirk on his face. The Huntsman is the one to speak. "Well, he launched himself at you, and it was a horrible sight to see. I honestly thought I would never see your beautiful eyes again." He holds the side of her face in his hand and looks at her if she is something marvelous and wonderful, then he shakes his head. "Anyway, he jumped you and I do not think either William or I have ever run that fast before. But he did not move after that. You were shaking all over, and your eyes were clenched shut, and for a second I thought he already had...defiled you." Hurt and worry cloud his eyes, and he takes her hand in his tightly. William looks away. "But then he still did not move, and William was the first one to react. He pulled him off you and...well, I think it is safe to say that we were both quite surprised to see you with that arrow and him with a big hole in his stomach. He was trembling and gasping for breath, his eyes glazing over. It was strange, because I had seen exactly that happen before." Eric stares in the distance, obviously remembering the day he killed Finn in those branches. Snow sits up slowly, grasping his hand tighter as if she is scared to lose him again. "Easy, love."

She ignores him and looks up at William. "I am so sorry, William." she whispers. The hurt is evident in his eyes, and it shakes her to the core. She almost wants to kiss the pain away, but she knows she cannot give him false hope. He needs to move on from her. They were never meant to be.

"It was inevitable, I guess. I always knew it was not going to be me." he says, pinching her hand. "I will always love you, Snow."

Snow smiles softly. "As I will love you." A flash of hurt crosses Eric's face, but she ignores him. "But I need to choose for me now."

He nods, leans in and kisses her forehead. "I know. I understand."

"Please, do not leave. I cannot lose my best friend."

He chuckles. "I will not. I will serve you, my Queen, until I die." He now kisses her hand and smiles up at her. "I solemnly promise and swear."

She leans her forehead against his and closes her eyes. "Thank you. I was afraid you might leave me."

"Never."

She pulls away and smiles at both men. "Now, how are we going to get out of this hell?"

They look at her like they just realised that that is another problem. Eric opens his mouth, shuts it and then blinks. "Good question. I – I never really thought of that..."

William hangs his head. "I should have asked Sahila."

The two boys look so lost and sorry, that Snow takes pity on them. "It is alright. We will figure out a way, do not worry." She rises, and both run to her aid. She waves them off irritated. "Oh for the love of God, please. I can take care of myself." When she brushes off her dress and frantically tries to get the two halves together, she thinks she can hear the both of them chuckle, but when she turns, their faces are smooth. Too smooth for her liking. "Boys..." she says, shaking her head, and now they do grin. Snow's heart warms at the sight. Eric looks a decade younger than usual, and William's face is careless again, like she has not seen since they had been children. "Alright, you two. We need to find a way back home. I need to go home. My kingdom needs me. All of us."

Eric and William nod, both still wearing a big grin. "Agreed." murmurs Eric. Snow looks around one last time, swings the bow over her shoulder, tosses the arrows to William and starts leading the men away from this dreadful place.

Passing Finn's body, her own stiffens and she stops. She cannot leave him here like this, can she? She is Queen Snow White, after all. The one with the Purest Heart of all. She sighs and crouches down. His eyes are closed, and for the first time in many, many years, his face is full of peace and tranquility She feels two pair of eyes on her back, but she ignores them. "Rest in peace, Finn. I hope you finally receive what you wanted." She presses the tip of her thumb and the side of her index finger to her lips and then presses her hand to his forehead. A silent blessing. Suddenly, warmth fills the entire room, light radiates from within her and she closes her eyes, smiling. Without even knowing what is happening, she knows. He is passing on. She is helping him move on.

Thank you, my Snow. I will always remember you.

This time it does not sound malicious, possessive or poisoned. His voice is kind, gentle and full of gratitude. "Go, Finn. Be in peace." She hears both men gasp behind her and she opens her eyes, a fulfilling peace coming over her. And then she realises...Finn's body is gone! "Did I do that?" she asks in wonder.

"I think you did, love." Eric mutters, his eyes glowing with pride and happiness.

Snow cannot help but marvel at the look he gives her. She has never felt this loved. "I hope he is at peace now."

William shakes his head in disbelief. "Only you can forgive the man that was ready to take your life from you to keep you with him."

Snow shrugs. "Everybody deserves to rest in peace. He has had a horrible life, being a lap dog to his sister. He deserves a peaceful life, away from his sister."

Eric, quite suddenly, pulls her into his strong, warm arms and kisses the top of her head. "You are genuinely the purest person I have ever known. I do not deserve you. Nobody is good enough for you. But I will try my very best to take care of you like a lover should." He turns his head to William. "I will take care of her. That is a promise I am making to you right now. If I fail, you have my permission to take care of me as you see fit."

William nods. "I will be waiting." He smirks, and Eric chuckles. Snow does not understand the connection that is between them, but they obviously have put aside their differences and rivalry. It calms her heart. There is a comfortable silence for a moment, before Snow realises that they still have to leave this place. How are they supposed to do that? She does not even know how she arrived here, let alone how to leave. She stands up from her position, and turns to the white wall. She knows it is there. God knows she has been banging on it most of her time here. But how to end up behind it? She slowly walks towards it, her hands outstretched, waiting for them to collide with solid air. It only hits real air. 'Real' as in, there is no wall. Eric and William are beside her in a flash, their hands outstretched as well. "Is this possible?" murmurs William.

Eric lowers his hands. "It must be." he says, his thumb stroking the blade of his axe absentmindedly.

"How?" Snow asks.

"If I had to venture a guess...this wall was connected to Finn. The moment he vanished, so did the wall." Eric takes a few large strides and smiles. "At least we are out of that place." He offers Snow his hand and she takes it, blushing slightly. "The only thing to do now, is walk."

William groans. "I think I have done enough walking to last a life time."

Eric nods in consent. "Yes, I agree. But there is no other alternative."

Snow sighs. The sound of walking does not sound welcoming, but she also sees that their options are limited. "Alright. Let us walk."

So they walk. Endless, the white world surrounds them. Limitless, borderless. Colourless. Depressing. Even Eric's warm hand cannot comfort her. She sees no way out.

What is more, she has not eaten, drunk and slept in days. She is hungry, thirsty and tired. Her feet get heavier and heavier as time progresses, and she starts tripping over them. "Snow, are you alright?"

She looks up, and Eric's face swims in front of her eyes. "I – I am so thirsty." Her legs give out the next moment, and she drops to the ground. Two strong arms wrap around her and lift her.

"I am here, Snow. I have got you. I will not let you go." She snuggles up to his chest, closing her eyes and surrendering to the tire, the adrenaline and the shock. The realisation of what had happened and what could have happened only dawned to her now, and the shock creeps up on her, making her heart pound and her body tremble. "Calm down, Snow, I am here. It is alright. You are safe, you are perfectly safe." He kisses her forehead. "Go to sleep. Forget. We will find a way out of here. Go to sleep." To his warm, low voice, the noise reverberating through his chest, she starts feeling drowsy and sleepy. "I love you, Snow. I will keep you safe." Snuggling even deeper into his chest, she lets herself drift off to a peaceful slumber.

Eric POV

He feels incredibly confused. He had thought that he would feel euphoric when she would choose him, but he does not. He is at peace, more than ever before. He does not feel the need to rub it in William's face, like he thought he would do. But William saved her. He came after her, willing and voluntarily, to safe her, no matter whom she would chose. He simply cannot hate him for that. She is snuggled up to his chest, her body small and light. It is disturbing really, how light she is.

"Are you alright, Huntsman?"

Eric looks sideways, seeing the Duke staring at his feet while walking. "Yes. But are you?"

"I do not know. It is...difficult, seeing you two like this. I always thought she and I were meant to be. But I should have known. I should have known the moment your kiss woke her, and not mine. True love's kiss is most powerful. It means your love was written way before either one of us was born. You are meant to be, Snow and I were not, I understand that now. It does not make it any easier." William takes a deep breath and looks up, new light shining in his eyes.

"You are going to find your own happiness, my Lord William. If even I am meant to be with someone, than you certainly are." He looks down at Snow, a thought bothering him deeply. "The idea that she is hurting you must kill her. I hate to see her hurt."

William nods, and Eric almost laughs. They agree on many things lately. "So do I. I will talk to her. I will make her see that I can live with this." He laughs, suddenly, startling Eric. Never in a million years had the Huntsman thought that the Duke would be laughing at this. "I thought it would be harder. Do not misunderstand me, it is still difficult, but not as difficult as I had suspected. Perhaps that is another sign."

"Perhaps." Eric strokes his Snow's hair and smiles at her. She looks so peaceful, and it is a sight for sore eyes. "What I promised you before, it was the truth. I will let you do whatever you want with me if I ever hurt her. I really do love her, William."

William rubs his face, and a small smile is playing his lips. "I know. And trust me when I say that I will. If you hurt her. Which I seriously doubt."

Eric doubts it, too. But you never know. "Alright. Now, how do we get out of this godforsaken place?"

And a special thanks to Lefty11, LenaLove95, beauty0102 and gothbutterfly69 for reviewing on last chapter! You are amazing!