Hunter
The setting sun painted the sky vivid pinks and purples, rivaling the riot of color from the flowers. But it all paled in comparison to Snow; Snow with her flushed cheeks and shining eyes, her lips reddened from their kiss. He still couldn’t believe it. He’d hoped she’d understand, that she’d forgive him, but he never actually expected it. Part of him had expected this to be the end of their time together. Instead… Instead it seemed like it might be the beginning.
As happy as he’d be to hold Snow in his arms forever, the wind rustling the flowers was chilly and she shivered.
“Let’s get you to the fire,” he said, finally releasing his hold on her.
They sat on the soft grass, the fire crackling, the sun’s light fading as darkness engulfed this strange planet and stars winked to life in the sky. The flowers all around them opened, spreading their petals wide, filling the air with golden clouds of pollen. At least this time she wasn’t sneezing.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, as the silence stretched between them. Was she regretting the kiss now? Regretting her acceptance of him?
“No, thank you.” She poked the fire with a stick, the embers reflecting in her eyes. Hunter scooted a little closer to her and gathered his courage to slip an arm around her shoulders. Instead of shaking him off like he expected, she leaned into him, using his chest as a pillow, and yawned.
“What was her name?”
“Hmm?” he asked, absently stroking her hair.
“The girl. The one that betrayed you.”
He stiffened. Of course she’d want to know about that. He took a deep breath and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before he sighed.
“Callie.” Her name alone spiked his blood pressure.
“Did you love her?”
He thought about the way his heart swelled around Snow. How she could make him so angry and so besotted all at once. It was nothing like that with Callie. “No,” he said. “I thought I did at the time, but it was just an infatuation. I was only a boy.” At that age, he hadn’t felt like a boy, though. He’d felt like a man. He’d trusted his heart and it landed him in this mess.
Then again, without all of that, he’d never have met Snow.
“What happened?” Snow asked, her voice soft and dreamlike. Hunter suddenly felt the exhaustion creeping in, too. He seemed more tired than he should be and the sudden onset of it was suspicious. This planet… the flowers… He yawned and pulled her closer.
“My father was still working for the palace after you left. As I got older, I started helping him with the deliveries and she was a young maid there. I was smitten the moment I saw her, but it was superficial. I couldn’t even tell you anything about her. Her favorite color, her middle name… None of it mattered. She flirted with me and that was enough for a fifteen-year-old boy to fall head over heels. You know how teenagers are,” he said.
Her head moved from side to side slowly. “Not really,” she said with a yawn.
“Right,” he laughed softly. “Well, they’re impulsive and don’t see the shades of gray. To me, you were either with the Queen or against her. Callie never fawned over her or praised her in private, so I thought she was on our side like the majority of palace holdovers.”
Snow tilted her head back to look at him, her eyes creased with worry. He wanted to tell her there was no use in worrying about it now. It was all over and done with a decade ago. “But she wasn’t? On your side?”
Hunter shrugged, the memory was less painful now, with Snow at his side, but there had been times before when thinking about it was like falling on a sword. “I don’t know if she was really on anyone’s side but her own. I found out her brother was forced into the Queen’s Guard — back then, a lot of the kids recruited never made it out — and asked my father to help him escape. I thought she’d be thrilled to learn he was safe… and she was, but then she knew my father was a loyalist. She reported him, hoping, I’m sure, to get some kind of reward.”
“Did she?”
“No idea. After my new chip was implanted, I was sent to the Guard Academy, taught how to be an assassin.”
Snow froze and pushed back from him, her eyes wide, her lips parted on a protest.
He squeezed her arm and shook his head. “No, I didn’t end up being an assassin. Though I might as well have been. My… skills were better suited to being a huntsman, she decided. Basically, I just tracked people down and brought them to the palace for… whatever she decided to do to them.”
She swallowed, her eyes falling to the ground now. “That’s what you were supposed to do with me?”
He nodded. No use in denying it now. “I tried to make myself feel better by saying I wasn’t the one actually killing anyone. But I might as well have been. I know it’s foolish.”
She shook her head, resting it against his chest again, her hand skimming up his side to settle over his heart, fingers splayed. “You did what you had to to survive. I’m glad you’re still here.”
He didn’t deserve her kindness or acceptance. He didn’t deserve a girl like Snow. But knowing that, he just pulled her tighter against him, his throat closing up as his heart expanded. “Me too.”
The silence lingered, punctuated by the song of a million nighttime insects chirping and buzzing. His eyelids grew heavier.
“By the time I came back to the palace, the Queen had done a full sweep of the staff, installing all new people. I never saw Callie again. I don’t even know what happened to her.”
“I’m sorry,” Snow whispered.
“I’m not. If I’d seen her then, thinking my father was dead and with all my new assassin training… I don’t think it would have ended well.”
She nodded. “That’s understandable.”
How was it possible that such an understanding and compassionate woman existed? And that she was in his arms of all places? He lifted her chin with a fingertip and kissed her softly, just a whisper of a touch between them, but it set his body aflame with need for her all the same.
“How are you dealing with everything Doc told you? About your father?”
Snow let out a big sigh, breaking away from him to stare into the fire again. “I don’t know. I know children think their parents can do no wrong and idolize them despite everything. I always knew that most kids were wrong about their parents… but…” she gave a humorless laugh. “It’s silly, but I always thought my dad was the exception to that. Everyone loved him. Or so I thought. I guess that’s probably not true. No one is loved by everyone and the rebellion already existed for a reason…”
“It’s hard, thinking of him as flawed and human like us,” Hunter said, nodding.
“I guess that’s it. Yeah,” she said, nodding along. “I always knew he’d made at least one mistake, marrying her, trusting her… But it seems there were others. I always pictured him as this great leader, but who knows with these chips… Maybe he wasn’t as great as I thought.” Her shoulders sagged and Hunter drew her into his chest again.
“I’m sure he had reasons. We may not ever know them, but I don’t think you should give up on that image of him. He was loved and people still miss him every day.”
She nodded, but didn’t respond, still enthralled by the fire.
“There’s a reason the whole Empire is praying you’re still alive, Snow. And it’s not because they think King Stuart was a crummy leader. They’re hoping the family resemblance goes deeper than shrewd eyes and stubborn determination.” He grinned, trying to lighten the mood, but she didn’t look back at him.
“I just hope I’m not a disappointment. I mean… assuming we’re even able to take the palace back, is anyone really going to trust me to run the Empire? I don’t even know if I can do it.”
These were the fears that kept her up at night. That gave her nightmares that left her crying out in her sleep. These doubts and uncertainties were the monsters he’d never be able to protect his princess from.
“I know you can,” he said.
She offered a sad smile and another yawn. “That’s sweet, but you’re only saying that because—”
“Because I know it’s true. Because I’ve seen with my own eyes that you can do anything you set your mind to. And because I know how much you’ve already sacrificed for your people without them even knowing. You care about them a hundred times more than the Queen ever will, and that already makes you a better ruler.”
“Maybe you’re right…” It was hard to tell in the glow of the firelight, but her face looked flushed and warm.
“I am,” he said matter-of-factly, “and I’m also right when I say you should get some sleep. We both should.”
“But the riddle…”
“Will still be waiting for you in the morning.” He was sure by the way her forehead wrinkled that she was preparing to argue with him some more, but another cold breeze swept through the flowers, showering them with golden dust. They yawned in unison and Snow chuckled.
“Alright, alright. I guess it’s bed time,” she said, standing, stretching, and turning toward the tent. Why hadn’t he bought two tents? It was an obvious oversight now, faced with the prospect of sleeping out in the open on the grass.
“Just be glad that you don’t have to sleep all cramped and curled in that chair on the ship.”
“Mhm,” she answered, holding out her hand. “Aren’t you coming?”
He didn’t have to be asked twice. Hunter sprang to his feet and followed her into the tent where they both snuggled under a blanket on the firm camping mattress. Hunter snaked his arm around her waist, his nose buried in her hair. Snow wiggled back into him until his body cradled hers.
“Purple,” she muttered, her voice fading.
“Hmm?”
She yawned again. “My favorite color. It’s purple.”
Hunter grinned and kissed the back of her head. “I’ll remember that.”
“Good night,” she whispered.
“Sweet dreams, Princess,” he answered, pressing a kiss to the back of her head. Her breathing slowed and he struggled against sleep, wanting to be there for her when the nightmares came. But they never did. She slept soundly and peacefully, and eventually, Hunter drifted off too.
With the first rays of golden morning light, Hunter squinted, his eyes still closed. He rolled over, blindly seeking out Snow and her soft welcoming curves, but her side of the tent was empty. Already cold. He opened his eyes, blinking away sleep dust, and confirmed that she wasn’t there.
“Snow?” he called, exiting the tent, hoping to find her making breakfast at the fire. But he’d have smelled breakfast if she was, and the fire was already dead.
The flowers, which had opened so beautifully in the starlight, were zipped up tight again, hibernating in the sun. Through their stalks, he spotted a trail leading back to the ship. A moment of panic gripped him. Would she really have left without him?
But no, the ship was still there. He picked his way through the flower forest and headed up the stairs into the ship. She didn’t even notice when he arrived, hunched over a computer screen, her face twisted in concentration.
For a long moment, Hunter afforded himself the luxury of just observing her. Watching how she chewed on her bottom lip while she was lost in thought, how she kept twisting her hair together and tossing it over her shoulder, only for it to fall in her face again the next time she leaned in to look at something closer.
He never would have been able to turn her over to the Queen.
Silently, he approached, leaning down to kiss her on the temple. “Good morning.”
She practically jumped out of her chair before she realized it was him and smiled. “Oh, hi. I didn’t want to wake you.”
He crouched down, resting his chin on her shoulder, looking at the screen with her. “Any luck?” But before she answered, he could tell she wasn’t any closer to solving the riddle.
“You’ll get it,” he added quickly.
“I just feel like I’m missing something. Some crucial piece of the puzzle,” she sighed.
“Wouldn’t surprise me, given Doc’s mental state.”
Her frown deepened. “Yeah, I know. But that doesn’t really help me. I’m pretty sure the first part of this is talking about a planet, and then… things on the planet? But…”
“There are only a billion planets in the Empire,” he said.
She nodded. “Exactly. I need something to narrow it down.”
Hunter stood and stretched, his nerves calmed now that he’d found her and confirmed that things weren’t awkward between them. “Have you had breakfast? That always helps me think. What am I saying? Of course you haven’t. I’ll whip us up something.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Shush,” he said, kissing her. “I want to.” Then, on his way to the galley kitchen, he paused. “Maybe Beaver would know something?”
She nodded again. “I suppose it’s possible that he’s only got part of the riddle, too.”
“Worth a shot,” he said as he retreated.
The kitchen wasn’t exceptionally well-stocked, but he’d bought enough fresh food on Avuuna to feed them a proper breakfast, even if it wouldn’t be winning any culinary awards. He’d spent many years as a kid growing up on porridge and not a whole lot else. If he had it too many meals in a row nowadays, the sight and smell of it would make him feel ill, but for one day, it would do.
“Here you are, Princess,” he said, delivering the porridge and a cup of tea, prepared just the way she liked.
“Thank you,” she said, her eyes still glued on the screen.
“Snow,” he said, his voice turning stern as he pushed the bowl directly in front of her. “Eat.”
She lifted her eyebrows, giving him an incredulous look out of the corner of her eyes. “Yes, sir.”
He hovered behind her long enough to watch her take three spoonfuls, making a big spectacle out of it for his benefit. He didn’t care if she wanted to be cheeky about it as long as she did it. When he was satisfied that she didn’t need supervision to feed herself, he said, “I’m going to go pack up the tent and everything. You should call Beaver while I’m gone since he doesn’t like talking to you in my presence.”
She actually rolled her eyes at him, the corners of her mouth lifting in a small smile. “You’re ridiculous. But I will.”
He couldn’t resist giving her another kiss before he left. He kept expecting her to protest that, but so far, she didn’t seem to mind.
No sooner had he stepped on the soft grass than his communicator chirped. With a deep breath, he opened the compact, but instead of finding the Queen’s visage greeting him, it was a simple text message on the screen: Bring her to me NOW.