The Bloodiest Rose of All

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The moment he exited a cold brisk wind met his face. He pulled the collar of his coat up with his free hand and readajusted Snow White on his shoulder before heading in the direction of the forest.

“Get rid of her? Oh yes, so specific… thanks you your Majesty for killing the kitchen maid right in the middle of the palace where everyone could see what was going on! Couldn’t you have made an attempt at being more subtle? It certainly would make my job easier. Not that isn't easy already.” he grumbled huffing his way up the hill.

He trudged on and approached the outskirts of the trees.

“Where does she expect me to dump a body where no one can find it?? Honestly! They aren’t just little things to be flicked away with a finger. These sorts of things are attention bringers in themselves. Its not like we just see a dead body lying somewhere and say, ‘oh look there is someone lying in the grass hurt, perhaps we should leave it alone’…no, no everyone has to get all curious.” He sighed. “I hate my job.”

The frost was crackling underfoot as he walked deeper into the forest. He knew of one place that could possibly work as a burial ground of sorts. He walked for about three miles stopping once or twice and setting Snow on the ground to stretch.

“Next time I hope she does away with someone lighter…” he groaned before trudging on.

Finally, he arrived. There was a field of, what in the summer were wildflowers, but in the winter was bare and desolate.

“Sorry I couldn’t put you someplace cozier but this will have to do.”

The huntsman set the body down and started looking for a soft place to dig her last resting place. A groan came from somewhere at his feet but he paid no attention. He kept stomping and looking for softer ground. Another groan issued and this time he snapped to attention. The huntsman called Rafe looked down at Snow White and a puzzled look crept to his face.

“What in the world?” he bent down and prodded her stomach at which point she gave a sharp intake of breath. Rafe stepped back so quickly he tripped on a stone and went crashing into the grass. “I saw you die…” he said. He felt her face and was startled to find it was hot with fever.

He didn’t know what to do. All of his Majesties victims before had always been very dead and he had never found himself in this kind of predicament. Take her back to the queen and say what? “Sorry Your Majesty,  I was just about to bury her when I realized you actually hadn’t killed her at! Better luck next time…just kill me now?” No, no, no… he was going to do nothing of the sort. His sense of self-preservation was much too strong for that. Looking around he knew that he was completely alone and in this frigid weather, without proper care and that fever she would die of the elements very quickly.

He, stood and stepped away from Snow White. He looked at her and felt something like pity. Quickly he squashed the feelings down somewhere deep in his heart…someplace secret. After all, he couldn’t really afford to have emotions in his line of work. He decided the best thing to do was leave her. She would die soon and she would have died anyway if he had taken her back to the castle.

He wrestled with his consciounce a few more minutes before he started walking away.

“Please,” a voice whispered. “Help me…”

Rafe looked down at the girl who was struggling to speak, to live and saw pity and fear in her eyes, as if she knew what he was doing. He couldn’t bear that look and he fled.