The Huntsmen (12 page)

Snow looked up to Dierk and smiled, “I thank you for the kind offer; however, I believe my Huntsmen have it right. We truly need to make it through your lands as quickly as possible so we don’t place any of your people in danger.”

“As you wish, Princess,” Farhan bowed low, something in his expression though told her he knew something she did not. “We’ll be moving quickly, you may at any time let us know if we’re going too fast. Please, follow me,” he said and spun. With a trilling sound he took off running.

“Ready?” Dierk asked her with a smile and, slipping his hand into hers, started to run after Farhan.

Snow ran along at Dierk’s side, she paced herself and breathed in and out with concentration so she could keep up with the men. After a good long while Snow shook her head, “Dierk, we must stop.” She was gasping for air, her side pinching and she knew if they didn’t stop now, she’d drop.

Shaking his head, he caught her arm and pulled her up onto his back, “Grip my waist with your legs,” he told her. Moving his hands to her ass, he held her up and kept running, his eyes on Farhan’s back as the Elven Guard ran swiftly.

Wrapping her legs around his middle, Snow held onto him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered in defeat, trying to catch her breath as she clung to him. Some Queen she was, she couldn’t even run alongside her Huntsmen trying to get to safety. She was a hindrance to their cause not a help.

“Don’t be, Snow,” he said quietly as they jogged down a hill before speeding up again. “You were cooped up in a dungeon for much of your life. We were out here running around on a daily basis. If it makes you feel better, we’ll have to stop in another hour or so to let the burn ease. We can’t keep up with the Elves, they’re on some supernatural high or something that lets them just keep moving.”

“Will we lose our way?” she asked him softly. “If we will then I’ll take the Elven Queen up on her offer,” she had a feeling they shouldn’t. She had a feeling that taking the Elven Queen upon her offer would be very bad.

“No, we’ll call a halt in an hour and we can all have some water and relax. It’s best we don’t take her up on any such offer, especially one through the night,” he said quietly. “Last time we ended up having to stay the night she put on a show then tried to use us all and many of her Guard to fulfill her sexual needs. Some things, my love, you just can never un-see.”

“This is very true.” Snow rubbed her cheek to his and pressed a kiss to the side of his neck. “I don’t want anyone else to ever see you three making love with anyone other than me.” She didn’t make sense, but in her exhausted mind it did.

“There’s no one else but you now, Snow,” he chuckled softly. Pressing his cheek to hers, he squeezed her ass, “Don’t worry, darling, I’m not letting some Elven type get their hands on me again. I only like yours,” he whispered.

“Good,” Snow smiled and breathed him in. “I only want your hands and my other Huntsmen’s hands on me from here out,” Snow confessed. “No one else, just the three of you.” There would never be anyone other than them for her.

“Damned good thing too, Snow, we’d have to kill any other that thought to touch you,” Dierk muttered as he leapt over a log. “Stream up ahead,” he murmured and then let out a whistle, high, low, and high again that slowly trailed down. Easing to a jog and then a walk, he carried her toward the stream. Moving to a boulder in the sun, he set her bottom on it, “You okay to sit up, love?”

Snow nodded, “I’m good.” She’d just been exhausted, out of breath, and a stitch in her side, but she was fine now. “When we begin again I should be able to run on my own once more,” she whispered to him as she accepted the water flask that Niklaus presented to her.

Sitting at her side, Nik grinned at her, “We’ll be there when you need us, Snow, always. Just like today, if you’re tired, need a moment’s reprieve we’ll lend a hand and do whatever is necessary. Try not to worry about it, we’re good at it and like doing it for you, it’s not a burden in the least.”

“Thank you.” She felt honored that these men were hers, they’d be her Royal Consort, her Kings, her Guards and she‘d hopefully be able to be their world in return. “So do you get to carry me next?” she teased him and bumped her shoulder to his.

“If you’d like,” he said softly, rubbing his chin to her shoulder. “I’m up for the pleasure,” he told her with a grin. Pressing a kiss to her cheek, he sat back and pulled out some fruit, “Eat and relax, we’ll move out in a few minutes so be ready but don’t drink too much water, you’ll cramp if you do.”

She nodded and took another sip of the water leaning back. Closing her eyes, she lifted her face to the skies and felt the heat of the sun filtering through the clouds. She immediately felt at ease. She’d been without such basic things like sunlight for so long, now she craved the sensation.

Splashing water onto his face and neck, Baldric shook his head hard and looked to Dierk as he crouched next to him. For long moments they just stared at one another until he nodded and straightened. Moving toward Snow, he sat down in the sunlight and let out a breath.

“What’s happening?” Snow asked softly as Baldric sat next to her. “Don’t tell me nothing. I saw the look.” She didn’t know how they did it, but her men seemed to be able to communicate with just a look, a glimpse, and a nod. It frustrated the hell out of her.

“Nothing much,” he murmured softly, leaning in. Pressing a kiss to her throat, Baldric nipped her skin gently. “Just noticed a few things I thought Dierk needed to know before we headed out again. He’ll likely tell you later, for the moment we’re not overly worried, just keeping tabs.”

Snow nodded and leaned into him. “I know, I’ve noticed some as well,” she admitted and leaned in closer to him and sighed. “You don’t think they’ll lead us to the Queen do you?” she whispered against his ear, barely a sound leaving her lips as she spoke.

“Farhan will lead us to her, we can give her our thanks and all the Royal ass kissing then we’ll be on our way,” Baldric said, nuzzling her throat. “It’s the others following us, circling us, that I’m worried about. I think they mean to slow us enough to force us to remain on her lands for the night.”

“I had noticed that as well. Is that why you keep forcing them to lean the run to the right instead of racing straight across the open fields?” They’d been going in an odd direction, not exactly straight but more to the right as if nearly at an angle to the ones circling them.

“Good eye,” he complimented with a grin. “That’s exactly why we’ve been doing it. For the second part of the run we’ll push them back toward where we need to be for the noon meal with the Queen. The trick is to not get pulled into all her elaborate gifts, showings and such while we’re there so we don’t lose track of time.”

“Ah, I understand. We need to appreciate what she offers, just not fawn and accept them right? I don’t know how to deal with her, Baldric, and that scares me.” Snow had been in captivity for so very long that she had no idea how to deal with anyone at all, sadly.

“Be respectful but firm, appreciative but decline all offers,” Niklaus told her as he settled in at her side again. “She’ll want to ply us with food and drink, put on a show and shower you with pretty empty words. Only drink the water, stick to the fruits and breads and do not, once, look at the entertainment or you’ll end up enthralled and want to never leave.”

Snow nodded, “It’s good I’m not hungry so that’s not an issue in the least.” The run had been enough to make her not want anything other than water and perhaps a bit of bread. “I’ll allow the three of you to give me the cues necessary in order to make it through all of this intact.”

“We will, Snow,” Nik promised, wrapping an arm around her for a quick hug before he pulled back. “We need to get moving, the ranks are closing in and we need to drive them where we want to go,” he murmured getting to his feet. “Come on, Princess, you’re with me this time, and we need to get running.”

“I’m ready to run,” she told him softly. “When I’m ready to stop I’ll let you know.” She was ready to stretch her legs again, ready to run some more. “It does me good to be moving. I spent far too long holed up so I need as much exercise as possible.”

“Well, say the word when you need a break and we’ll do as Dierk did earlier,” he smiled at her. Taking her hand, he pressed a kiss to her fingers, “Ready?” he asked softly. At her nod he gave a whistle and jogged along the stream with her, taking some stones across carefully then they went into a full out run.

Snow didn’t speak, she ran along with him. She kept to the side of her men, ensuring she kept up pace so they didn’t run behind the others. It was a very long time in the run before she was able to finally shake her head, reaching out she placed her hand on Baldric’s arm and gasped, “Enough.”

Nodding, Niklaus scooped her up, “Hold on,” he told her as Baldric headed off, slightly changing course again promptly. Holding onto her thighs, he threw her a quick look, “You okay back there, Snow? You sound like you’re fighting for breath, love.”

“I’m gasping for air and can’t freaking breathe,” she grumbled. Her arms around his neck she watched where they were going and locked her legs around his front just above his navel as she had with Dierk.

Chuckling, he shook his head, “We’ll have to work on that won’t we? It’s okay, Snow, we’ll work you up to full day runs with us,” he assured her, squeezing her thighs. “Don’t want to wear you out at anything we do so we very definitely need to get you in shape.”

“I like how that sounds.” Snow smiled and rubbed her cheek to his once more before kissing it. “Then again I love being held by you, feeling your body against mine,” she said with a smile. “I love the feeling of you carrying me.”

“And I love carrying you around, you’re very light and soft in all the right places,” he teased with a grin. Jumping over a small bog, he changed directions again as soon as he heard the short whistle. “We’ve got another few miles then we’ll be there, Snow, you ready for the Elven Queen?”

“As ready as I can possibly get.” Snow hated it, a great deal. She didn’t like that the first Royal she’d meet as an adult was the Elven Queen, a woman that made men and women quake in their boots more often than not.

“Just be yourself, Snow, and if you get stuck we’re here to help you,” Niklaus said quietly. “Just remember to show her respect but don’t bow or scrape to her. She may be Queen but you’ll be in that position soon enough, now is the time to show her how strong you are in your core being. She’ll likely try to trip you up but listen to your heart and gut, they can’t be fooled by whatever illusion she may attempt.”

Snow nodded and said, “Thank you for the advice. I’ll try to recall all that mother had done when she was alive as well.” However, the simple truth was that her mother had died well before Snow had been able to glean much information from her on how a Queen should behave.

Squeezing her thighs, he shrugged, “Just trying to be helpful, love. Each King and Queen are different, you just have to find your own inner Queen. One thing I will also suggest is to ensure she knows Dierk will be your King. Present a united front before her, find your rhythm together, and let it go from there.”

“We’ve been working on that part. Are you certain you aren’t upset it’ll be Dierk who’ll be King not yourself?” She never wanted her men to ever think they didn’t mean as much to her as another did. She was worried they’d think that with her asking Dierk to be King.

“Oh hell no,” his large body shuddered. “I’m not the sort that can always say the right thing or act the right way. I can manage it for short periods of time but after a while I just can’t help but say what I mean, which usually means I get into shit and have to run dragging my poor hapless friends along with me.”

“Yes that’d be bad. In this case it’d be an entire kingdom and we can’t have that,” she shrugged and continued, “You’ll always be there at our sides though. I know you’ll never back down from a fight, no matter how much you claim you would.” That meant a great deal to her.

“True enough,” he agreed and chuckled as he jumped a log. “I do love a good brawl now and again. Plus you know I’ll always be around, I love you, Snow, and you aren’t getting rid of me. I suppose you could but I’ll go kicking and screaming for the record.”

“Then it’s a very good thing I don’t want you going anywhere for the rest of our lives,” Snow said with a smile and brushed her lips down his neck, nibbling gently as she did. “I certainly don’t plan on ever letting you go, just for the record.”

“That’s very good to know,” he laughed and skidded to a stop. “Shh,” he held up a finger and tipped his head. “Hold on,” he warned and turned to their left to start running again. “Sorry about that, but apparently there’s a ravine ahead we need to avoid.”

“Yes ravines are very bad. I didn’t bring my ready to die clothes so I’d really prefer if we remained as far from one as possible. I’m afraid of heights you see. That’s why she locked me in a tower, she knew I wouldn’t be able to try to get out even if I could fit through the small hole that was my window to the world.”

“So not only was she evil, she was devious and sadistic too,” Niklaus snorted. “Just makes you want to hate her even more. I’m going to think up even more vicious things to do to her before letting her finally perish and quit this world.”

“Nope, I don’t want her hanging on any longer than she has to. I need her to draw her last vile breath as quickly as humanly possible so we can begin to rebuild our worlds.” Snow squeezed Niklaus’s neck and added, “So I can live out my happily ever after with my Huntsmen.”

“That’s almost so sweet I’m about to burst into tears,” he said with a chuckle. Slowing down, he nodded to the others as he eased her down. “Now I know you said you’ve issues with heights, Snow, but we only have one way across this crevice here.” Nik stepped to the side and waved to the bridge dangling over the ravine.

Snow gasped looking at the gorge. Shaking her head, she stepped back, “There has to be another way.” She had to look up. Needed to look up otherwise she’d be looking down, which would be very bad, she’d throw up. She didn’t think the Fae would appreciate that too much.