The Hostage
"Eight dwarves, one princess, and a Huntsman against an entire dark army," Nion pointed out. "The odds are certainly not in our favour." Days had gone by filled with planning and disagreements as the land around them grew darker. Snow White noticed Eric distance himself from her as they plotted to take down Queen Ravenna. It seemed as though the farther he would withdraw himself from her, the more that he stayed on her mind, and when she asked him what he had discussed with the dwarfs that caused him such sorrow, he shrugged her off like one did to a child. Her patience was dwindling, even with the dwarfs, who made planning that much harder. "It just doesn't make sense," Nion continued, "We'll all die out there and have nothing to say for it, and I'm sure as hell too young to die."
"We've already gone over this," Snow White began, irately. "We have the advantage of stealth. Eight small dwarfs to deceive their way onto the castle and help me get to the Queen." Over the days, it was resolved that their best opportunity would be to sneak into the castle grounds. "It shouldn't be hard," Snow White continued. "She is looking for me – for my heart. She will want me to come and she will be waiting for me." The Huntsman's drinking seemed to double over the previous days, so that he would be knocked out by dinner time. He stood on the side, excluding himself from any preparations and without any ideas or help. "You know the grounds better than anyone else," Snow White had said to him. "You could give us some ideas, anything." He had shrugged her off again and filled his mouth with a burning sensation.
In-between the planning and arguments, persisted Snow White's training with weaponry. She had managed to send an arrow straight through an apple that stood thirty feet away from her, and Beith commended her for her growth. Even the dagger which she received from the dwarfs felt more secure in her hand as she wielded it through the air, nearly puncturing Beith before stopping herself. He responded with a wide grin filling his face.
That night, the sky was covered completely with clouds and the wind sat utterly still. The silence was eerie as Snow White nestled herself into bed and stared out her bedroom window. The unknown that hid behind the darkness brought shivers to her skin which lead her to cover the window with curtains. As she laid in bed, the Huntsman entered her mind like a spreading virus, as he did ever so often. He consumed her and she had not come up with any reason for why that may be. She thought back to how impervious she felt in his arms that night he had carried her to bed. Sometimes, she even felt as though some of the picture from that night was roughly missing. Seeing his bare body had not eased Snow White in the slightest. His naked chest and arms had made her feel light, and thinking back to it only made her yearn for him more. He was her shelter in this growing storm. Snow's thoughts were quickly interrupted with the light knock on her door. Gus timidly entered with a smile and settled himself alongside her upon the silken bed. He had been the only one truly there for her as everyone else withdrew themselves. Although she didn't know that he was the one who hurt the most.
"I'm going to miss your face," Gus began. "When you leave."
"Why would I leave?" Snow White asked, confusion filling her mind.
"Once the Queen is dead you'll be the only one to take care of Tabor. You are the rightful heir." Since the time that Eric had informed her of her past life, she had not taken an ounce of time to think about it. Queen Eleanor and King Magnus were merely strangers in her head. She could not even possibly picture them until that very moment. A face entered Snow White's mind almost instantly – one that she had witnessed many times before in her dreams. A woman who had lustrous, brown hair and big beaming eyes; an aura of comfort hovered around her. It was her mother. Snow White knew almost instantly, yet she had no emotional connection to her. She didn't feel special and she didn't feel like a princess. She saw herself as only one thing: the weapon to Queen Ravenna's demise.
"I may have been the rightful heir at some point," Snow White responded. "But that was another life and someone else would do a far better job at ruling the Kingdom." Gus looked down at his rough hands which twisted into one another like knots. He wished that he could tell Snow White the truth about his melancholy and what Ravenna's death would really bring, though everyone resolved that it would be best to wait. The secret that everyone held onto was only a weight pushing down on their already tiny bodies. Gus wanted the weight to be lifted until it crushed him to the ground.
"I have once told you of a place filled with beauty and life hidden behind the darkness that seeps from the Queen's hands," Gus said. "I think that it is the right time for you to see it for yourself before it is too late, and it too will be spoiled in the ruins of this hell." It had not been long that the darkness stopped at the cave's entrance before entering the dwarfs' home. Now it was all around them.
"I don't think now is a good time," Snow White answered. "There is so much to do, we can't waste a minute.
"Time spent there is not time wasted," Gus quickly replied. "It will truly open your eyes. We will go in the morning and you will not object." Snow White nodded in surrender as Gus wished her a good night, and before he left her, he gave her a long hug, encompassing his short arms as much as he could around her thin waist. "Maybe I'll go for a quick walk," he added, before leaving her bedroom.
After having passed out earlier that day, Eric awoke from his too small cot and walked to the kitchen for a glass of water. It must not have been too late, for the candlelight on the table was still shining brightly. He had just awoken from a dream that Sara was with him once again, and that they lived together in his worn down hut. In his dream, he held her so tightly and had her so close to him that he could faintly feel the thump of a heartbeat. The beat played like a smooth song, mellowing him from his daily stresses – from Snow White's utter agitation to defeat the Queen. Once his wife pulled herself away from his sturdy arms, it wasn't Sara at all, but Snow White herself. Her pale skin shimmered against the full moon in the sky, and her eyes stared at him with fire. But before he could truly appreciate her beauty, he felt a warmth trickle down his hands and when he looked down at Snow White's stomach, it was concealed in pouring blood. He awoke with sweats, the water drenching his sheets, and his mouth was sand dry.
In the kitchen, Snow White's bouquet of flowers remained alive, adorning the dining table. She had saved them from all the other flowers that had withered within days. Her touch itself brought life. Eric poured himself a cup of water.
"Awake so late?" a familiar voice croaked behind Eric. He turned around to see Muir, his eyes a pale blue.
"Had some trouble sleeping," Eric said. "Bad dreams."
"When one is going through such stress, it affects one's conscious. I can assure you that almost everyone is having trouble sleeping as of late, knowing what is to come." Eric stood silent, as Muir examined him. "You should really consider giving the girl a break, before it is too late and she is gone for good. You're the hardest one on her out of all of us and yet the one that could come of most help." He hesitated before continuing. "You're the one she cares about most, I can feel it. The one she can connect too aside from us. It's nice for her to have met someone else, someone who can take care of her. Yet you keep breaking her down."
"It's too hard," Eric admitted. "I've already lost one I loved and now another? I promised to take care of her, so how am I supposed to help her bring herself to her very death. Tell me, how is that fair?"
"I can't tell you how that's fair Huntsman, but everyone has been left with their struggles. Hundreds have died in the Queen's Massacres, families were torn apart, villages were left without food, while people turned to cannibalization. Snow White is the solution and she knows it. She knows she can't wait for someone else to do it, as much as she may want to, and she's accepted that. Now you have to as well." Eric's eyes began to water. "You've already taken such great care of her, and I can assure you that Queen Eleanor would be proud of the girl that Snow White has turned into today. She has to do this, as much as any of us do not want her too. It's what she was born to do."
"We're all just born to die, aren't we?" The Huntsman asked, smugly.
"I believe that there is a reason for everything," Muir replied. "And when an evil arises, something good is born to take that evil down." Muir patted Eric on the back. "Now I am off to bed. I'll see you in the morning Huntsman. And remember, she doesn't have much time left."
Queen Ravenna's castle smelled of rust and smoke. William, remaining in his cell, had been given just enough food each day to maintain his survival. At first, he sat hesitant to eat the bread that was slid through the cell by one of the guards. But that night, as his stomach ached in tremendous pain, he couldn't bare it any longer. He bunched the bread in his hands and quickly devoured it. It removed the pain, but left his stomach feeling hollow. Hollow was not only his stomach, but his mind. He felt himself going crazy staring at the same four walls; counting the same bricks over and over again. The only thing keeping him sane, he figured, was knowing that Snow White was still out there, alive and well. And with all the days that he remained alone in his cell, Queen Ravenna had yet to approach him.
After counting the one hundredth and eightieth brick, the ground beneath him began to pulse as swift footsteps approached his cell. These were not the loud thumping footsteps of the guards, but of someone with a slight demeanour. These were the footsteps of the devil herself. When William turned his head, Ravenna already stood in his presence, watching the young man as he immediately lifted himself from the ground. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered, the only thing not letting him get lost in her charm was having the knowledge that it was all a facade. The Queen's beauty was false, and under all of her skin was a hideous soul. He had often heard the screams of girls whose beauty would be consumed by Ravenna. While he did the best to block them out, he still heard them in his nightmares.
"Prince William," Ravenna spoke. "The oh-so-charming William, come to save the princess from her petty little life." She laughed at her own words, which sounded like the caw of a crow.
"What did you do with her?" William demanded. Her light face turned to one of stone as her eyes turned to pierce William. She felt a jealousy with his words – his determination to find the girl. Men had always been the ones to turn to her, to beg her for her flawless body and charming allure.
"I'm truly sorry to give you this news, but Snow White will be dead no matter what. You see, while she was held captive with me under these castle walls, I managed to perform a spell." She could see William's eyes flicker with a pain that he was trying to hide. His pain brought her pleasure. "I performed a binding spell, so essentially, her soul is bound to mine." William's eyes fluttered back and forth as he was trying to comprehend what the Queen was saying. It hit him as she spoke the words, "If my death were to come, Snow White would die along with me." She laughed her cawing laugh, as the breath in William's lungs desiccated.
"You're the devil!" He spewed at her as he continued struggling to hold back the tears. He wouldn't show her his weakness.
"That's unfortunate for you to think of me like that, because I'm going to need you to help me," she said.
"You're even madder than I thought if you think I'm going to help you."
"Oh, you're going to help me whether you like it or not," She spoke with confidence. "My pitiful excuse of a brother is nearing Snow White's home accompanied with two of my finest guards. And if he fails, like I'm sure he will, you will help me find the girl."
"Like hell, I'll help you find her," He spat his words at Ravenna, his face reddening in anger. She smiled at his insignificant words.
"By the time I'm finished with you, you will be begging to help me." And with those words, Queen Ravenna was gone.
The eerie silence remained in the small cottage that Snow White settled herself in. Her mind ran, unable to descend into unconsciousness, eventually leading her to resolve that sleep might be out of the question for that evening. She stirred in bed, until finally deciding it would be best to get up and move around. Maybe the sleepiness would hit her eventually, she thought. After rising from her bed, Snow White stretched her arms up high and released a gasp of air. She tip-toed to the end of her room and slowly creaked open the door as to not awake any of the others. The silence was quickly disrupted by to muffled voices coming from the kitchen, one from Eric and one from the blind dwarf, Muir.
"I've already lost one I loved and now another?" Snow White overheard coming from Eric's deep whisper. His words had taken her back. Had he been talking about her? She knew it wasn't polite to eavesdrop but she couldn't help herself. "I promised to take care of her, so how am I supposed to help her bring herself to her very death," Eric continued, and then it hit Snow White like the thunderous roar of a lightning strike. Eric was merely distancing himself from her because he thought she would die. The lightness of relief overcame her followed by the guilt for the pain that she was causing him. She quickly wandered back to bed, and fell back against the cushion of her pillow. "I've already lost one I loved and now another?" Snow White repeated in her mind. Eric couldn't have loved her, she thought, and then she brought to mind her feelings for him. But had she loved him?
Snow White's mind ran wild for what seemed like hours longer, thinking over all her times with Eric and the feelings that she had towards him, until finally deciding that she didn't know what love was and that she that didn't want to get involved with the pain that came with it. She turned her head over, finally ready to put her mind to rest, until she heard the faint creak of her opening bedroom door. She turned over to see Gus entering, trembling and alone. She squinted her eyes in confusion until realizing that the small dwarf wasn't alone at all, but was being gripped in his shadow by a tall man with greasy, white hair – Finn.
"Quiet, or the dwarf dies," Finn ordered in a slithering whisper, a sickly smile curved on his gaunt face. Snow White nodded in complete understanding when she saw the glittering blade against the dwarf's stubby neck. She would comply, unable to handle having Gus die at her hands, let alone die at all. She crept passed Finn who trailed right behind her quiet steps, his hot breath exhaling onto her neck like a sweltering fire. They silently came face to face with the outside air, the cloudy sky hovering above them like a wall trapping her without any escape.
A few feet away from the door stood two guards covered completely in black, in their hands were two torches ablaze. Snow White followed Finn as they trailed away from the cottage, along the way he informed her of his discoveries, "We've been watching you," Finn said. "Listening in on your plans with such joy knowing that they would be foiled before you even knew it." Snow White had thought that her hate for Finn could not grow any stronger, she was horribly mistaken. She continued following him, submissive to every command, but her anger growing stronger every second. Gus continued to tremble so violently that she could no longer watch over him. The look he gave her every few seconds of walking only revealed the stream of tears that travelled down his cheeks and the fear that overwhelmed his face. She knew she wouldn't be able to take everything much longer.
Behind them, the two vile guards poured a liquid over the edges of the house making sure to cover every inch surrounding the small cottage. Snow White already knew what was coming when both guards put their fiery torches to the liquid and her home turned to flames in an instant. There was no longer any point she figured, as she let out a bellowing scream.
"You stupid, stupid girl," Finn said as he took the blade from against Gus' neck and shoved it into his trembling body. His eyes flashed to hers as blood coughed up from his mouth. On the poisoned ground beneath him fell his tiny knees followed by the rest of his plump body. He clutched the wound tightly with his hands, blood spewing from between his fingers.
"Gus," Snow cried, as she ran to the tiny dwarfs body and cupped his face in her hands.
"It's okay," he managed to cough, and before he could say how happy he was to die with the sight of such beauty, his body stopped trembling.
"Now, we haven't got time for that," Finn scoffed as he pulled Snow White up by her hair. Her eyes burned with tears as she looked from Gus' motionless body back to her blazing home.