Snow White (Enchanted Fairytales) (12 page)

Snow smiled. “Don’t think I haven’t thought about it,” she said. “But do we really want to live forever knowing that at any time she might come and destroy us and any chance we have of lifting the curse?”

“I don’t care,” he said fervently. “We’ll set up some kind of warning system, or guards. We’ll make sure you’re protected.”

Snow buried her face against his chest. She was sorely tempted to give in.

“What if she doesn’t stop?” Snow said. “I mean, with others. Can we risk the chance that she’ll continue to hurt others in the future?”

Philip was silent so long Snow thought maybe he didn’t hear her muffled words. Then he squeezed her and loosened his grip so he could look down at her.

“No,” he relented, “we can’t do that.”

*****

Two days later, Snow stood
behind The Seven’s cottage, where she’d first stumbled upon Fableton to begin with.
She wore some of the clothes that had been provided for her, similar to the clothing The Seven wore. She was surprised they’d provided her with “breeches”
but
somehow that the clothing was appropriate for her encounter with Katarina. She
felt
she had some of Fableton with her by wearing it.

The seven men who’d taken her in, fed her, and built her a home
,
surrounded her.

“There aren’t words to thank you guys for everything you’ve done for me,” she told them. “You saved my life. You gave me a
home
, and you became my friends. I’ll never forget you.”

“You talk like you’re never coming back,” Grouchy grumbled. Snow looked at him and saw he actually had tears in his eyes. “Everything will be fine. You’re ready.”

“I am,” Snow confirmed. “
But just in case when the curse is broken you leave before I get back, I wanted to thank you.”

They all knew she was softening the blow, that there was a very real possibility she’d never see them again. One by one they all stepped forward and hugged her. Grouchy was last, and when he hugged her, he whispered, “Be careful. Whatever you have to do to save yourself, you do it. Even at the cost of Fableton.”

“I’ll be careful,” she promised. She w
ouldn’t promise the other thing
he asked of her. She glanced one more time toward the path, hoping to see Philip. She’d spent every possible moment with him for the past two days, but still she expe
cted he’d be here
. There wasn’t anyone on the trail. She returned her gaze to the men who surrounded her and saw the sympathy in their eyes. “Well, I’m off then,” she said, trying to sound cheerful. “I’ll see you soon.”

With one last glance at the still empty path, Snow turned and walked away from them, heavyhearted. She hadn’t gone a hundred yards when she saw him leaning against a tree. A smile lit her face as she walked toward him.

“I didn’t think
you
’d come
,” she said.

Philip turned to her and she saw the conflict tightening his face.
“I wanted to say good-bye alone.”

Snow stepped forward and put her arms around him. He held her tightly, tucking his arms beneath the pack, bow, and quiver she wore on her back, his cheek resting on her head. She felt cocooned and safe
,
and dreaded walking away from him.

“I’m going to
be careful,” she promised. “
I’m going to come back and we’re going to be together.”

He squeezed her then loose
ne
d his grip as he spoke. “She’s not only manipulative, she’s also cunning. She’ll use any piece of trickery she can to defeat you. She doesn’t understand fighting fair. Her magic gives her an advantage that you must beware of.”

He’d already told her all of this, but she knew he needed to say it again. “I’ll watch for anything that seems
off
, Philip. I’ll listen to my
instincts
and if anything doesn’t feel right, I’ll walk away.”

“It’d be
better if it was me going,” he said. “I even tried again, all night long.” He jerked his chin up, indicating the area in front of him. “Three feet that way brings me out on the castle grounds.”

Snow looked where he indicated. All she could see was more forest, but she knew how deceiving looks could be. She looked up at Philip and saw him gazing at her as if he could envision her. He cupped her face with his hands, his thumbs stroking fiery trails along her cheeks. He bent and pressed his lips to her
s
, urgently, as if he couldn’t get his mouth close enough to hers. She met his kiss with her own passion, trying unsuccessfully to keep the fear of never seeing him again from her mind.

He pulled back only far enough to rest his forehead against hers. “Please let me drag you back to the castle where I’ll never let you go.”

“I wouldn’t fight you, “she said.

They stood that way for long moments, knowing that they would never do that and allow Katarina to continue her wicked ways. He continued to stroke her cheeks and finally he sighed. He kissed her again, achingly gentle, sending her heart into a tumble. Without another word, he released her. She
placed her hand in
his. He held on until she moved out of reach and their fingers slipped apart.

*****

Snow stooped to look at the ground. She’d been walking for
three
days, stopping only to eat and sleep.
It was late evening.
She felt she should be getting close
, maybe tomorrow she’d arrive home
. All of the colors around her now were green and brown. She missed the brilliant colors of Fableton. She missed The Seven. She refused to even think the name of the one she ached for.

There were footprints on the ground here, proof that s
he had to be getting close. No one came into the forest further than the very edge, or at least they didn’t if they wanted to come back out. Except for Hugo, she realized. Katarina must have made him immune to the enchantment.

Sitting on a log, she removed her pack and took out the loaf of bread. It was getting a bit stale, but she was hungry enough to not care. She had to keep her strength up for what was coming. She also ate some jerky, a peach, and drank some water. She thought about the
day she’d left Fableton. She’
d almost expected to walk those three feet and end up back at the castle. She hadn’t. She kind of wished she had.

She stood and unstrapped the sword, which was bulky and wieldy
.
Sh
e refused to sleep with it strapped to her side. She lay down with it next to her, along with the bow and quiver of arrows. She put the pack beneath her head and tried to relax. It was only now that she allowed thoughts of Philip to enter her mind.

She pictured them together in the water, his eyes clear and laughing, watching her. She could imagine them as they grew darker with intensity just before he kissed her. She felt the warmth of his hands against her cheeks, the strength of his arms as he pulled her close.

Suddenly she sat up. She looked around her in the darkening gloom. She thought she’d heard something. She picked up the quiver and placed it on her back then picked up the bow as she stood.
She pulled a
n arrow
from the quiver and notched it as she turned in a slow circle, looking and listening.

She spun around at a
crack
ing sound
behind her. She didn’t see anything. Still, she crouched to make a smaller target of herself and waited
. And then like a charging bull
Hugo burst from the trees, running right at her. She took a breath,
aimed and let the arrow fly. It
struck him in the thigh as she’d intended and he went down with a howl. She quickly notched a second arrow and pointed it at him.

He continued to howl and roll on the ground as he grasped the arrow and tore it from his leg. When he looked back at her, his face radiated pure fury. It was that same fury that seemed to push him to his feet. He pulled a small knife from his belt, and she aimed, the arrow lancing his arm above the elbow even as she notched another. He dropped the knife with a scream. A bellow of pure rage burst from him as he ran at her again. This time her arrow pierced his shoulder, knocking him to his back.

“Enough!”

Snow spun t
o the right at the
voice, the same one that’d commanded Hugo to bring her Snow’s heart. Her notched arrow rose to Katarina’s heart. Katarina simply lifted a brow at the gesture, continuing her walk to Hugo. She kneeled down
next to
the man who
s
e
scrunched face indicated his pain.

“It would seem you’re not as effective as you used to be,” she said to him. “Brought down by nothing more than a small girl.” Hugo’s fear-filled eyes turned to Katarina.
Quicker
than Snow’s eyes could process, Katarina brought Hugo’s own knife up into the air and plunged it into his heart. A
pant
of sho
ck escaped Snow at the gesture and her arrow sagged. It was too la
te for her to help Hugo now.
S
he’d never forget watching him gasp and wheeze as his last breath left him. As if she hadn’t been the one to cause his death, Katarina gently touched his face before she stood to face Snow.

Snow immediately brought her arrow back up, planting her feet. Her arms trembled with shock and fear. Katarina smiled at her as she began walking toward her. Sn
ow moved to the side,
keep
ing
enough distance between them to
have time to shoot.

“Stop,” Snow comma
nded. Her voice quivered, not
as forceful as she’d intended.

“What are you going to do, Snow? Shoot your mother?”

“You’re not my mother,” she said.

Katarina stopped at her words. “No? Then who am I, Snow White?”

“I can’t let you go on hurting people, Katarina.”

Katarina tilted her head in curiosity. “Who taught you to shoot a bow and arrow, Snow?” Her eyes grazed the bow, then widened. “Where did you get that?” she demanded, rage lining her voice.

“From a friend,” Snow said, refusing to name a single soul from Fableton. She tipped the point of the arrow directly at Katarina’s heart. “And he taught me how to use it very well.”

“Not well enough,” Katarina said, taking another step.

Snow loosed the arrow, which aimed straight and true toward Katarina’s heart. Faster than Snow could imagine possible, Katarina stepped to the side a
nd caught the arrow in her hand,
Snow halfway in the movement of pulling another arrow from
her quiver. She
froze in astonishment at the arrow in Katarina’s hand.

Katarina laughed as if they were playing an amusing game. “Your little arrows won’t hurt me.
”

Snow pulled the arrow down and
notch
ed it against the bow. She glanced to the side, looking for the sword and realized Katarina had moved so that she stood between Snow and the sword. She gritted her teeth against her stupidity in removing it.

“Not to worry, Snow, you wouldn’t be able to hurt me with the sword either.” She looked down at the arrow in her hand and an angry flush flooded her cheeks. Her hand shook and she gripped the arrow so hard that it snapped in two. The sound caused Snow to jump. Katarina’s livid eyes turned to her. “
Where did you get this
?” Her voice shook with the force of her rage as she held the broken arrow toward Snow, shaking it. She suddenly thrust it to the side and turned to scoop the sword up. She didn’t turn to Snow with threat though, only pulled it from the scabbard and examined it. Dropping it, she turned to face Snow.

The absolute rage Snow saw on her face terrified her more than anything she’d ever seen in her life. She definitely didn’t look beautiful now.

“You’ve been there, haven’t you?” Katarina spit.

“Been where?” Snow asked, proud of how calm she sounded. Inside, she was quaking.

“You’ve been to Fableton
!
I’d recognize these weapons anywhere. They belong to
Philip
.”

Snow hated hearing
Philip’s
name on Katarina’s lips. She let the arrow fly once again. This time it struck Katarina right in the chest. However, she only glanced down at it as if a fly had landed on her. She pulled it from her chest and tossed it to the side.

Snow’s jaw dropped at the action. She notched another arrow and let it fly. Katarina caught this one, prepared for it. She walked toward Snow,
stalking her as a panther stalks its prey. Snow released two more arrows, but Katarina caught them both without even a hitch in her step. Realizing the arrows were futile, Snow tossed the bow to the side and shrugged out of the quiver. She quickly dropped into a crouch, bringing her fists up. Katarina hesitated.