The Forgotten

William gripped the confining bars so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He pictured Greta waiting for him at the end of the aisle, all alone as the realization would slowly hit her. Of course that wouldn't happen, he thought. His father would have informed her by then, and she would surely have broken down. If he made it out alive from here, he wouldn't live much longer, having to face a furious Greta back in his Kingdom. Maybe it would be better, he thought, if he had stayed back and married Greta as he was supposed to. Then he would not be in this mess. But he knew even so, he would be living a lie for the rest of his life, a lie that was unfair to Greta.

The last he heard of Snow White was that it was too late. He didn't know whether to take it as a sign of hope or as a sign of loss. He determined that hope was the more sensible option. If Snow White had already been killed by the Queen's hands, he would surely come of no use to her. She would be immortal and he would already be dead.

William turned and stared out the window, the bright sun irritating his eyes. He puzzled over how he let himself get into this situation. How foolish he was for thinking he could somehow face the Queen, the one woman who killed almost an entire village. Tears began to well in his eyes, but he would not let himself cry. The last time he had ever shed a tear was when he was eleven and his mother had died. He prided himself with this attribute, for his father said that crying was a sign of weakness, that men do not ever cry. He would not show any weakness, especially not under the walls of the Queen's castle.

Thoughts of Snow White, of Greta, and of his father's sure disappointment in him entered his mind all at once, overwhelming him until he managed to block everything out, leaving only one thought in his presence: What did the Queen plan to do with him now?

Snow White awoke with a buzzing in her head and the sun shining on her face through the small window in her room. The sun seemed much brighter today than any other. She pulled the blankets over her head and made a promise to herself; to never touch another ale again. She wasn't made for it and after only one drink, the previous night had left her hazy in sporadic memories. The last thing she remembered was gleefully dancing with Gus while Eric conversed with the dwarves. Eric had given her a look of nervousness at the time and now she wondered whether it was all in her head. His eyes had seemed to look at her with an aching sorrow, a look that he had given her when he spoke about his wife, Sara. She decided that she would confront him about it that day, but not until after getting the dwarves along with her to stop the Queen.

After managing to pull herself out of bed and washing up, Snow made her way outside, the fresh air instantly revitalizing her. The sun no longer burned, but merely brightened as she admired the flowers growing along the edges of the cottage. She began picking them for a bouquet to place in the centre of the dining table. She encountered luscious pink flowers with yellow flecks, and thick, velvety flowers of blue and purple. She picked a bunch until encountering a black frail flower that sadly stood next to the others. When she grabbed it, the flower disintegrated in her hand, turning into dust.

Behind that flower stood more and more flowers, not dying, but being consumed by a deadly poison – one unleashed by Ravenna's powers, one that was slowly killing the land. The path of flowers led to the entrance of the cave where there were no lively flowers to be discovered. The Queen's darkness was seeping over more and more of the land. She knew they wouldn't have much longer to act against her and stop her once and for all.

A sudden rustling came from within the home of sleeping dwarves until Eric Emerged. He looked at Snow White in surprise.

"You're awake," He pointed out. "I thought you would still be sleeping."

"No," Snow replied, shaking her head. "My head was spinning and I couldn't lay there any longer. I wasn't feeling very well."

"It gets worse the older you get," he said, laughing to himself. "Back in the village whenever I would feel sick the next morning," (which was most mornings, he kept to himself) "I would take a swim in the ocean. The cold water chilled my body until all the sickness shook out of me."

"There's a creek just down the forest if you want me to show you."

"That would be nice," He said, as they began their way through the still unaffected parts of the woods. The kiss that Eric had shared with Snow White the night before had stayed with him all night long. His mind was unable to think of anything else. He felt guilty, as though he had been cheating on his wife who had not been with him for many years now. Inside, he always felt a glimmer of hope that she was out there, that someday he would be with her once again. The kiss had almost shattered those thoughts, created a feeling of permanence with his wife's absence, a sick realization that she would be gone from him forever. He hadn't had feelings for someone else since his wife had left, let alone a friend to talk to. He was sure that Queen Eleanor would disapprove. He could even hear her words: "This is how you take care of my daughter?"

"I'm sure you had a nice time last night, being back with the dwarves, in your home." He hoped that he wouldn't have to be the one to mention their late-night encounter first, but he knew it would have to come up eventually.

"It was nice," Snow said. "Although, it would be nicer if I could remember more of it," she admitted, embarrassed.

Eric laughed with a mixture of relief and disappointment. It was stupid, he thought, to get involved with such a young girl, not just any young girl, but Snow White. He concluded that it was irresponsible and best to be forgotten. He knew that he didn't deserve her and he was okay with that. She didn't remember and it wouldn't have to be brought up.

"And here it is," Snow White said as a flowing creek appeared in front of their path. The huntsman was taken back by the sight. A rainbow glittered within the waters, as his eyes stared in bewilderment. You would never see something like this back at the village, he thought. The closer to Ravenna you were, the more ugly everything appeared. As he took a few steps closer he noticed that the rainbow was merely luminous fish swimming through the waters. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Snow asked, admiring the sight.

He glared dumbly at the waters.

"It's nice knowing," he paused before continuing, "that there is still beauty left in this world." He looked at Snow White, his eyes moving across her face until fixing upon her eyes. She smiled at him and he shook his head out of the trance that Snow White unknowingly put upon people.

The Huntsman removed his shirt that was spotted with dirt and grime and threw it on the ground beside him. Snow White witnessed his scarred body for the first time. Marks covered his arms and chest from the blades of knives and daggers. Beneath those scars was a body made up of rugged muscle. The scars were something unsightly, yet on him they appeared beautiful like a map revealing his past. She had always imagined him to have a gut beneath his shirt with all the ale he drank, but he had abdomen muscles, big and lean. His chest was covered with a thin layer of hair and another trail of hair ran down his stomach. Snow White quickly looked away when she realized where her eyes had trailed, but she somehow managed to focus her eyes back onto his body. Seeing his large arms brought back a faint memory to her mind. Her being carried in his arms the night before and the comfort she had felt being so close to him. A tingling filled her stomach. She figured that she was hungry.

"You might want to avert your eyes, Princess," Eric said. He began to slide off his worn pants as Snow White shyly turned her head. When Eric was submerged in the cool water he noticed Snow White's bright pink cheeks and laughed. "It's okay now," he said. "I'm in." Snow White turned her head back to Eric whose eyes now glistened in the reflection of the water. He was submerged up to his waist and without another word he descended his whole body into the water.

The chilling water suffused every inch of his skin. He had never felt more alive or hopeful. The water was like the relief after a wretched burn.

When he arose once again Snow White made sure to avert her eyes away from his body. Stupid, she thought. She knew there were far more important things to be thinking about. She felt like a child, though when she was younger she never experienced those desires. All her life that she could remember, she was surrounded by the dwarfs. She couldn't get distracted and she wouldn't allow herself.

"Everyone should be awake by now," Snow White said. "I'm going to go back to the cottage and start talking with them, we don't have much time to waste." After Snow White left, Eric let his body float on the creek in a state of bliss. He dazed up at the cloudless blue sky while enchanting birds soared above him. However, like all good things his bliss quickly ended. He recounted what the dwarfs had told him the day before and knew there was no happy ending to the story. Snow White wouldn't stop until Queen Ravenna was obsolete and that meant that Snow White would be gone too.

The dwarfs were up and about when Snow White returned. "Breakfast is ready, Sunshine," Quert announced when Snow White entered the cottage. She placed the bouquet of flowers that she had gathered onto the centre of the dining table which was already covered with mounds of food. Once all the dwarfs were situated at the dining table, Snow White began.

"I know that none of you want to hear it, but we must do something about Ravenna," Snow White exclaimed. A sudden uneasiness fell upon the dwarfs. "Someone must! We cannot let her terrorize our kingdom, these innocent people. She's killing and she won't stop. Before long, Our land will be nothing but ashes." No dwarf spoke. "I thought that," She paused in disappointment. The dwarfs had always supported her, had always been strong in her eyes, but now they all looked weak. Even Gort who was always ready for a fight."I thought that you would want to help me. This has all gone on for far too long."

"You are right," Muir finally said. "It's just that, this isn't easy. It's far more complicated than you think."

"Nothing is easy," Snow White quickly answered. "But she wants my heart and she won't stop until she gets it. At least help for my sake."

"We will help you, child," Beith finally said, nodding to the other dwarfs at the table. Each and every dwarf gave in to Snow White's wishes ending with Gus who managed to hide the tear that fell down his cheek. At that moment, Eric entered the stuffy cottage, filled with sorrowful looks.

"What's the matter?" Eric asked.

"We'll start planning for the Queen's demise today," Nion informed. The Huntsman took in the double meaning his words expressed and turned to Snow White's flawless face. He grabbed a glass, filled it with liquor, and began to drink.