Tears for Snow

"It's time for another game of cat and mouse. Er... maybe wolf and prey would be more appropriate."
"That isn't funny Atticus. I don't think I can do this again. I feel so broken."
Hunter sighed as she sat on her barren cot, her tail wagging listlessly. Atticus, her only friend, laid his giant head in her lap. For all his faults, this briar wolf had chosen not to eat her all those years ago. She knew that she would never have anything to fear from him. Hell, he was the only reason that she had survived this long. He was the only reason they were alive. They made a great pair in their work for the Queen. He taught her to hunt, to track, to live, and to turn off the guilt and pain. 
"You know you have to. Your heart or theirs!" snapped Atticus bringing Hunter back to the present.
"But how many more? How long before it's my heart? First there was Rain, then there was Summer..."
"Yes yes. And Dew, and Frost, and many others. Now it is Snow's turn. You know how this goes. She makes them grow up and then she takes their hearts once they are pretty."
Hunter knew all too well the Queen's wrath and whim. Who knew why she really needed their hearts. She would wait. She would raise them, make them pretty, and then she would send for Atticus and Hunter. The girl of the Queen's choosing would be sent into the woods under the guise of a favor. Then Hunter and Atticus would do what they were bred for. They would hunt the girl and kill her. And when all was done they would return with the heart. When they returned with it the Queen would sit at her long dinner table and have Hunter serve her the heart on a platter. Hunter was made to watch her eat every morsel of the heart and then her and Atticus would be sent back to their cell. 
Hunter's ears twitched as she heard the clacking of heels down the corridor above her cell. She knew that sound. Dread began to build in her stomach as they both looked to the grate that served as their ceiling.
"Dear wolf," called the Queen in a disturbingly sing song tone that made even a briar wolf's skin crawl. "I do hope you are ready dear wolf. It is time to hunt. I can hear her heart, ready and ripe."
"Yes my Queen. Your will is my own. We shall hunt or it shall be my heart you receive," Hunter replied as she was to every time the Queen addressed her for the hunt.
"Go then my wolf, my hunter. GO!" cackled the Queen as Hunters cell door opened into the forest. Hunter and Atticus raced from the cell knowing the pain of delay. As Hunter rounded the corner she snatched her crossbow out of the air. They dropped it to her from the wall every time she left and they reclaimed it from her every time she returned. Her crossbow had never missed and it never would. Not here not ever. Hunter knew this crossbow was magic. As they left sight of the castle Hunter slowed her pace. "Atticus, I cannot do this again. I will not. Snow is not like the others. She is kind. She is not shallow or vain."
"Please Hunter, now is not the time. Be strong. The Queen will torture us until she gets bored and then she will kill us."
Hunter knew this was true. She knew they were being timed. The hourglass was running. The longer they took the worse the torture. Success was not enough. "I will not do this. Snow is stronger than the others. Atticus, with all of us we can escape!"
"This is foolish, but you know I will follow you. Even to our deaths. Let us find Snow."
Hunter and Atticus tracked Snow. They used their sight and scent for Hunter's heart beat too loudly for them to listen. It felt like hours of tracking. The Queen must have been bored. She sent Snow farther than the others. Maybe on purpose so that the torture of Hunter would be that much sweeter because of the time. But to that end she might have just made Hunter's escape possible. For the first time in countless years Hunter felt hope. 
They finally found Snow in a clearing. It was the farthest Hunter could remember being in the Queen's wood. She was collecting toadstools. She was speaking with a bluebird as they approached. Without turning around she spoke, "Hello Hunter, I see my suspicions are true."
"Wh-what," stuttered Hunter, surprised she had heard their approach. 
"A little birdie told me of my fate. But it can't be true, can it Hunter?" With that Snow rose to her feet and turned to Hunter with wide tear filled eyes. "You can't be here to kill me. Why would you do that? I've been nothing but kind to you. Even when it got me beaten!"
Hunter hung her head. "It is true. That is why the Queen let me out. Atticus and I are meant to kill you and return your heart to the Queen." Hunter told Snow the whole story of her life and her work for the Queen. Of all the other girls and the tortures she had endured. "But Snow, I will not kill you. I can no longer do this."
"We mean to escape," added Atticus. "We want you to come with us."
"I don't know. Do you really think we can make it?"
"I do and we shall," vowed Hunter. "We must get going!"
The trio raced through the forest as the bluebird and Atticus guided their path. They had traveled for about an hour almost at a full run. Snow stumbled and slowed.
"Keep going girl," growled Atticus.
"I cannot! I need water," panted Snow. "Hunter do you have a waterskin Hunter?
Hunter choked back a bitter laugh. "No way I do. I'm lucky to even have clothes. Look Atticus is right we need to continue!"
"I so parched I can barely breathe. The bluebird says there is a small pond just beyond that tree." Off Snow shot, diving around the tree and stumbling to the edge of the pond. She fell to her knees and drank greedily until she thought her stomach might burst. She tried to catch her breath as she slupmed against the trunk behind her.
"We need to go now Snow. The Queen has many eyes and ears" As Hunter was speaking the clearing grew quiet. There was no sound and even the water on the pond seemed to still and hold its breath. The surface became like glass. On the wind Atticus heard a whisper that made him shiver. "Mirror mirror once a pond, now fall my gaze on those who've gone."
"The Queen has found us! Disturb the water," screamed Atticus as he bound into the water. "She is using the water as a mirror! We must run!!!"
They ran at full speed occasionally slipping and stumbling. Snow's dress tore and Hunter's bare arms were ripped by the branches. The bluebird stayed with them guiding them chirpping words of encouragement and haste. As they reached the final clearing they saw the edge of the  Queen's land. The end was shrouded in mist. They skidded to a halt. 
    "What do we do now? The forest just ends," panted Snow as she tried to rip off the bottom of her dress. It had been torn to shreds that kept getting caught around her legs. 
    "We go through. There IS something on the other side. Its where I come from," assured Atticus. He then turned to Hunter, "The Queen is near I..."
    "Oh dear wolves, here I am. My you've gotten quick," crooned the Queen as she wrapped her long fingers around Hunter's throat. 
    "Hunter!!!!!" screamed Atticus and Snow as they both went to move closer. 
    The Queen visibly tightened her grip on Hunter causing Snow and Atticus to halt. Atticus growled in his throat as he tried to think of a plan to save Hunter. The only thing he cared about at all was going to die in front of him. 
    Hunter's eyes shifted to Snow. She was not going to let the Queen kill her or Atticus. She would die fighting to redeeem herslef for all she had done in the Queen's name. Her hand started to reach for her crossbow as Snow set the bluebird upon the Queen's face. In her surprise the Queen dropped Hunter as she screeched about her beautiful face. Hunter scooted away as the Queen swatted the bluebird into a tree. Its poor brave body smashed against the tree with a crunch and fell lifeless to the ground. In her rage the Queen turned on Snow. She fell on her and plunged her long fingers into Snow's chest reaching for her heart. Hunter roared in pure rage as she leveled her crossbow at teh Queen and fired three bolts into the back of her head. The silence was deafening as Hunter watched the Queen slump to the ground. It wouldn't kill her but those bolts would keep her out for just a bit. Hunter raced to Snow's side and pulled the fingers from her flesh. Snow coughed blood as she tried to speak.
    "No Snow, don't speak. Atticus can carry you. Let's go," she cried as tears  streamed down her face. Hunter tried to stop the bleeding but Snow pushed her hands away. The Queen began to twitch as life returned to her body. Snow tried to clear her throat as the Queen started to breath. As Hunter leaned close Snow took a rattling wet breath and managed one blood soaked word, "Run."
    Hunter sreamed in pain as Atticus yanked her to her feet. And as the Queen started to stir they ran. Through the mist and  beyond. They Ran. 
Category:Fiction