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“I decide what is needed, and I decide whether my wishes have been fulfilled. I wanted Snow dead,” shouted the queen.
I watched as an air of unease swept over the increasing crowd of villagers. Apparently, my stepmother did not realize or care that she had a growing audience, that she was admitting to her subjects she had set out to kill their princess, the beloved daughter of their former king.
Magni stepped forward. “We will take Snow to a land far away. You have our word you will never set eyes on the lass again.”
“No! That is not good enough. I want her dead! I want to eat her still-warm heart,” threatened the queen through clenched teeth as her eyes lit with an unholy fire.
“You get her over our dead bodies,” roared Freyr as each of the huntsmen stepped back with their left foot to brace themselves for battle. Drawing their bows, they were prepared to battle over a hundred guardsmen to save me. It was certain death.
“So be it. Men, kill the huntsmen and burn the cabin down. But not before you bring me the dead body of Snow White.”
“No!” I screamed as I came running out of the sanctuary of the cabin.
Ignoring the horrified looks of the huntsmen, I tried to break through their line and reach the queen.
“Take me! Take me! Don’t kill them!” I screamed as I struggled to break Jerrik’s hard grasp on my arm.
“Kill them all,” ordered the queen.
Almost in slow motion, I watched as the guardsmen raised their bows. The queen’s guard was notorious for poisoning the tips of their arrows. The huntsmen would be felled without a chance to truly fight. Breaking free of Jerrik’s grasp, I dove in front of Dagr just as the first arrow was loosed in his direction.
The sharp point pierced my chest.
I could feel a cold, creeping blackness spread across my body. The world around me tilted as all I could hear were garbled shouts and screams.
Then all went black.
I felt like I was underwater. I could hear sounds, but they were indistinct, muffled. As I swam to the surface, I could feel the warmth of a fire on my cheek. I also felt their presence. My huntsmen.
They were stroking my arms, my hair, as they softly murmured.
Closer and closer to the surface I floated.
Their murmurings became more distinct. I could feel their anger, their sadness and pain. Instinctively, I knew it was over me.
“My lovely lass. We lost you too soon,” whispered Magni.
“I will miss her laughter,” said Freyr as he stroked my hair.
“And her dreadful cooking. What I wouldn’t give to eat one of Snow’s burnt biscuits again,” responded Tore.
“The cabin won’t feel the same without her bundled up in one of our quilts, her little toes peeking out,” said Steen, his voice tight with emotion.
“Our beds will feel empty. No one will ever replace our Snow.” Odin’s sadness was palpable.
“At least her soul can rest in peace knowing we have avenged her. That wretched queen paid the ultimate price for hurting our Snow,” said Jerrik heatedly.
“My deepest regret is we never told her we loved her. We should have done so, men. We should have told her every day the moment she opened her eyes that she was loved.” This from Dagr, the hardest and most distant of my men.
My lips were softly pressed by each and every one of them. A soft kiss of goodbye as they each whispered in my ear how much they loved me.
A tear slipped from the corner of my eye to trace a wet path down my cheek. My eyes fluttered open.
I had broken free of the poisoned trance.
Staring into their astonished gazes, I smiled. “I love each and every one of you. I love you all. My brave and wonderful seven huntsmen.”
EPILOGUE
TWO YEARS LATER.
I sat in the warm sunshine, rocking back and forth, holding my precious bundle in my arms. The day I gave birth to our daughter was the happiest of my life. My huntsmen could not have been prouder papas, each declaring the babe had her mother’s fair skin, red lips and silky ebony hair. With my stepmother’s demise, my first act as the new queen was to abolish the monarchy. I wanted everyone to live in freedom and peace without having to fear the whims of a king or queen. Besides, I wanted nothing more than to return to my life with the huntsmen in our cozy cabin.
Every moment of my life, they made sure I felt happy, safe and warm. Each day was filled with passion, laughter and, yes, still the occasional punishment when I felt the need to tease and stir them up a bit. And now with the birth of my daughter, I was happy beyond measure.
Leaning forward, I gave her a kiss on her soft forehead and began to recite my favorite fairy tale—the story of how I met my huntsmen. Of course, I had to fib a bit on some of the details.
