The Queen and The Huntsman

Chapter One: Black Suits Me

The room was dark and cold, even with the fire crackling in the fireplace. The Huntsman entered the room at the hand of a knight of the Queen’s court. “Wait here,” the knight ordered and left the room. The Huntsman stood, his hand resting on the bag hanging over his shoulder. He heard footsteps coming down the corridor leading to the room in which he stood. He turned and saw the Queen standing in the archway. She was dressed in a long black gown with a large silver, beaded collar, her hair in a beautiful up-do with two strands in the shape of an upside down heart on her forehead.

“I see you’re still in mourning,” the Huntsman said, surprised she would still be wearing black this long after the King’s death.

“The time for mourning is over. I simply found that black suits me,” she said making her way through the archway. “Now, tell me, is Snow dead?”

“The young girl’s heart, as you requested,” he said gesturing toward the bag he was holding. The Queen stepped forward to take it from him, but he pulled away. “First, there’s something I must do.” He pulled out a small piece of folded parchment from his breast pocket and handed it to the Queen.

“What’s this?” she said, not yet taking it from the young man.

“The girl wanted you to have it,” he said. The Queen stood still for a moment, pondering what she should do.

She smirked, “Read it to me,” and she walked further into the room and listened while the man read her the note.

“Dearest Stepmother, by the time you read this I will be dead. I understand that you will never have love in your life because of me. So it’s only fitting that I’ll be denied that same joy as well. For the sake of the Kingdom, I hope my death satisfies your need for revenge allowing you to rule my father’s subjects as they deserve: with compassion and a gentle hand. I know what you think you’re doing is vengeance; I prefer to think of it as sacrifice for the good of all. With that in mind, I welcome the end. I want you to take my last message to heart: I’m sorry and I forgive you.”

The Queen marched forward and ripped the note from the Huntsman’s hands. She crumbled the parchment in her hand and tossed it in the burning fire. As she watched it burn she yelled, “DON’T TELL ME YOU’RE BECOMING A SHEEP!”

“She put others before herself and yet you hate her. What did she do to you?” he asked. His curiosity was not only to justify her anger, but for him to understand it.

“I shared a secret with her and she couldn’t keep it. And that betrayal cost me dearly,” Regina said, with pain in her heart and tears in her eyes. Every second that passed, Daniel was on her mind and everything she did was to avenge him and bring her happiness. The thought of Snow White being dead made her smile again and she turned to face the Huntsman,  “Now, show me her heart!”

The young man removed the bag from his shoulder and held it out toward the Queen. She walked toward him, making great strides, and ripped the bag from his hands. The doors to her private chamber swung open and she placed the bag on a table set in the center of the room. A small gold box was open, already set on the table waiting for the heart that belonged inside. The Queen’s dark heart pounded happily in her chest as she placed Snow’s lifeless heart inside the box. She walked slowly toward her wall and held the box before its proper place among her collection. Nothing happened. Not even a single stirring in the wall.

“It should open… This isn’t her heart!” Regina turned and looked at the Huntsman, angrily. She stormed toward him with the heart in her hand, a vein protruding from her head and spit flying in his direction. “THIS ISN’T A HUMAN HEART! What did you do?” She slammed the heart down on the table again and used her magic to close the doors. “Did you think you could fool me with the heart of a stag? You’re not going anywhere.”

“She doesn’t deserve to die,” he said, standing his ground.

“That’s not up to you. I wanted a heart and a heart I shall have,” she said with a ruthless rasp to her voice as she reached forward and ripped the Huntsman’s heart from his chest. The man grabbed at his chest and cried out in pain.

“What are you going to do to me?” he said, clearly frightened now of the woman standing before him. She looked from his heart to his face and smirked. She grabbed his face and kissed him passionately. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and bit down gently on his lip. She needed him to know that he was her property now; he belonged to her and there was nothing he could do about it.

“You’re now mine… My pet,” she said as she pulled away and walked over to her heart collection. She turned back to face him and said, “And this is your cage. From this moment forward, you will do everything that I say. And if you ever disobey me, if you ever try to run away, all I have to do is squeeze,” she squeezed his heart in her hand and watched the man fall to his knees in pain. She glared at him and suddenly decided exactly what she wanted to do with him.

“GUARDS!” she called out and continued to speak to the Huntsman as they entered. “Your life is now in my hands. Forever.” The knights grabbed the man by his arms and lifted him to his feet. “Take him to my bedchamber,” she said with a smirk as she placed his heart into the box and added it to her collection in the wall.