snow white

seven

It felt like ages until they were able to find a feasible way out of the dark forest. Michael was constantly frustrated with the girl for lagging behind. He knew she was tired due to the enervation of her movements. Michael assumed it was the restlessness of travel. They were always on the move with seldom time to rest, the dead close behind them.

He did not know that Snow White couldn't help the languor state of her body.

Despite her growing fatigue, Michael pushed the girl. They could not afford to succumb to the perils of the forest, and Michael be damned if his life ended consumed by those demons - or unfavorably if he became one of them. He has escaped before, he can do so again.

It was two days later when they finally a way out. He heard the familiar sluggish groans behind them as he pushed through the grappling thicket. He tugged impatiently on her arm to move faster. When Michael saw the stream of light peak through the dense clearing and wasted no time in trudging his way toward that small semblance of purpose, carrying-half dragging the girl as he did so.

The hunter and the princess both stumbled out of the dark forest just moments before several pairs of grotesque hands could pull them back. They were both out of breath and covered in dried blood, sweat, and grime. Michael had relinquished his grip on Snow White as she collapsed on her knees.

"We're alive..." she said breathlessly.

"It was never my intention to die," replied Michael. He forgot to acknowledge the fact that it wasn't her intention either.

"Is this... Are we truly out of the forest?" Snow White asked.

Michael scoffed and sat down on the ground a foot away from her. "What do you think?" He fell back and gazed up at the sky, undimmed and clear. He had nearly forgotten the sensation of the sun on his skin.

For the second time in his life Michael had escaped the forest alive. A triumphant feat on his part along with the realization that he did not escape alone, which had not been the case before.

Snow White remained strangely quiet. Michael glanced at her. "What's the matter?"

She sat on her heels embracing herself, her eyes trained at forest. Michael pushed himself up on his elbows, following her gaze. The dead lingered at the shadows of the forest clearing, blindly staring ahead.

"Why are they just standing there?" Snow White inquired, perplexed. "Why didn't they follow us out?"

Michael stood up and unnecessarily dusted off his breeches. "It's part of the curse," he answered cryptically. Picking up a rock, he threw it at the undead creature. In response, it jerked it's decaying head to the side but did not move any further towards them. After sometime, it retreated back into the forest.0 "The dead can never leave the dark woods."

Deciding that they cannot stay here a rest any longer, Michael gathered up his axe and began walking away. "Let's go."

When the girl made no move to follow him, Michael looked back to find her still staring at the forest, almost as if she were deep in thought. "We can't stay here," he said approaching her. "The dead are no longer our problem. The queen however, is still searching for you no doubt."

She averted her eyes from the gloomy woods and looked up at him. He found it strangely peculiar how her blue eyes momentarily clouded into a dull gray.

***

The world beyond the forest was an entirely different division compared to the wintry wasteland behind them. Rolling hills of greenery stretched out before them, full and lush in the dawn of spring. It had been quite sometime since he had experienced a moment in spring. Snow White especially seemed to appreciate being exposed to such a thing.

Without the constant pursuit of undead creatures they were able to rest in longer intervals, allowing better recovery on their strength. They had found a stream not long after, where they greedily quenched their thirst parched from days wandering the perilous woods.

Snow White had taken the liberty to cleanse herself, washing out the muck, grime and dried blood off her body as much as she can. Michael had gone off to hunt for food.

That night they sat in front of the crackling fire and ate in silence, except for Snow White's muttered gratitude and Michael's grunt of acknowledgement.

Michael paused mid-bite into his meal, looking at the girl across from him. Unusually, she wasn't delving into her cooked bird as he assumed she would. "Is tonight's meal not up to your liking, princess?" he mocked and bit into his food.

She looked at him with a frown. "That's not it-"

"Or you can starve," he mused.

She gaped at him and he decided to ignore her for the rest of the night. He couldn't careless if she ate or not, however, it would be a waste if she didn't. Spoiled brat.

It was difficult to ignore her though, with the way she was constantly staring at him while he ate. For sometime he chose to ignore it, assuming that she was marveling at his attractiveness. That is, until his green eyes caught her staring at him in a daze, her lips parted.

He raised a brow, green eyes quizzical. "What?" he grunted, feeling uneasy suddenly.

Snow White blinked, snapping out of her stupor and avoided his eyes. "N-nothing," she stuttered as she forced down her food.

so michael is kind of/just maybe realizing that something is wrong with her fufufu