I know. I know I'm inexcusably terribly late. More than half a year has passed and I can honestly tell you that it's all because of a MAYOR blackout and writer's block. After last chapter, I suddenly lost ALL inspiration and ALL my ideas. Then my finals happened. Then I passed them (still pumped YAY) and now I'm heading towards my third week at University and I'm so swamped I'm even surprised I suddenly wrote this chapter.

I hope you can forgive me for my tardiness.

Please enjoy this chapter.

Chapter XXVI

William pushes Eric's horse to the limit, racing through the deep, dark forest with haste. "Come on, girl. You can do it. Find your master. We have to find the King." He does not even register that he is calling Eric 'King'. He just knows that the Huntsman needs to be found. For Snow's sanity. For the good of the people. "King Eric!" William shouts, hearing his own voice echoing back at him. "Huntsman!" No response. The forest did not feel right to him, there was a darkness coming over it and it made him feel anxious. He had to find the Huntsman and return as quickly as possible. The Kingdom depended on him. God, he had been stupid to volunteer for this.

The forest was heavy with humid air, small but thick wisps of mist descending to the ground, making it harder to breathe. There was something wrong here, and William felt a deep sense of foreboding. He shivered even though it was not particularly cold in the forest.

"William?" a deep voice came from right behind him and William spun his horse around. He raised his brows at the person right in front of him. He had definitely not expected this.

"Eric?" he said, astounded and a bit worried. The man looked like he had been through hell. His face was bruised and bloody, a deep cut running from his eyebrow all the way to his jaw. "What happened?"

Eric stumbled forward, his step weak, his limbs trembling. "William..."

Will jumped off his horse and ran towards him, catching him as the King's legs gave away under him. "My King!"

"We have to...have to...get back...Snow...danger..." Eric mumbled, before his eyes slid shut and his body went limp. He was not making much sense to William, so he just lifted him on his horse and began to ride back. William felt a strange sense of desperation for the Huntsman, the King. If he died, what would become of the Kingdom? Snow would be in ruins, and she would not be able to rule. He would not be able to stand his oldest friend hurt like that.

He felt worry for the Huntsman, and he could not shake it. He was worried about the Huntsman, which he, surprisingly, did not regret. The Huntsman was a good man, a man of honour and he loved Snow with burning passion. Snow deserved that much.

It took him about four hours to leave the forest and then two more hours for him to reach the castle. There it was chaos. It seemed like an entire village had spilled onto the courtyard and into the grand halls of the castle. Which was probably true. His heart went out to all the villagers that had lost their homes, and his mind momentarily wandered to Greta and he wondered briefly if she was alright. But she had been left in Snow White's care. Of course she was alright. But he had no time to think about the girl right now, he had to bring Snow's lover back to her. He grabbed a nearby guard, demanding the Queen's whereabouts and then he dragged Eric to the throne room, where Snow was indeed, with her face in her hands like she was crying.

"Snow!" he managed, his voice straining under the weight of Eric's body. The Queen's head snapped up, her eyes widening when she saw the two men stagger closer. Eric was now slowly regaining consciousness, but still unfit to walk on his own or talk.

"Oh dear God!" Snow exclaimed, jumping to her feet and rushing towards them. "Eric! William, what happened?" She caught Eric just as the man fell forward and she sank to her knees. "Eric, my love, you are safe, I am here." she whispered.

William took a deep breath and sat down next to his Queen and the Huntsman. "I do not know what happened. I ran into him in the forest, bruised and bloody and cut."

"Healer!" she calls, and immediately, people scurry over to help the King-to-be. "God, he looks like he has been through hell itself and back."

"Snow." Eric croaks out, catching both Snow's and William's attention. "Not safe...you need...flee...danger...killers...traitor."

William and Snow exchange worried glances. "Traitor? Is there a traitor in our midst?"

Eric nods even as people are trying to pick him up to carry him off. "Greta...talk to...Greta." He passes out. With one last kiss to his forehead, Snow lets him be taken away from her. It hurts more than she can possibly articulate, but now she needs to help her people. Why would she need to talk to Greta?

More and more people pour into the Great Hall, all injured, all blackened by the fire, all desperate, shouting for her help, for her to do something. "William. Get me Greta. No matter what you have to do, who you have to punch to the ground, you get that girl here."

At once, William dashes from her side, going over to Greta's room, where she was relocated just minutes before William and Eric made their grand entrance. Snow starts moving from person to person, guiding them to where the Healers are, offering them water, trying so bloody hard to help them, but knowing she cannot. They've lost their homes. How can she soothe that pain?

The cries become louder, and louder until she hardly can bear it anymore. She silently starts begging for help, for someone to support her and guide her through this lengthy and painful process of helping out her desperate people. Please, for God's sake! Someone give me strength.

"Hello, everyone!"

The hall falls silent as a man dressed in some kind of black suit enters. He wears a hat on his head, holds a stick in his hand, and Snow would never have recognized him if he had not twirled the stick and laughed aloud. "Medicus?" Snow exclaims, her jaw dropping, her eyes popping open wide. The good Healer, the Medicus' friend, looks just as astounded.

"Yup, here I am! You called?"

The Healer turns to her with a raised brow. Snow hardly notices. She is too busy figuring out what in the name of sanity he was wearing. It did not look like any material made in these lands, or any other. Even Elijah, with his slick suits, had not worn something so...otherworldly. "I – I did not!" she defends instantly, though relief floods her at the same time. The Medicus will help her. Even if it was just with his weird behaviour to brighten up the mood, he would lighten her burden.

"Oh yes, you did, Your Majesty." He bows to her, overdoing it by a huge margin. From the corner of her eyes, she sees her knights stepping forward, their hands on their swords. She raises her hand to stop them. "In fact, your call was so strong I heard it all the way across the universe!" Another one of his weird announcements. She knows he can travel great distances in an instance (how, is beyond her), so he probably means world. "Your calls usually are. How strange, hmm? Or perhaps you have something inside you that strengthens your call?"

Nobody says a word. The Medicus looks around, with an excited gleam in his eyes and a broad grin on his face. "Alright, Snow, what happened here?"

"The nearby village burned down. Some rebels set it ablaze, according to a reliable source whom shall remain nameless." Snow explains quickly.

That is news to most of the villagers. They start chatting in low voices among themselves, filling the hall with low murmurs. The Medicus joins Snow at her side, looking at her intently. "Your Majesty, I'm going to tell you something, and you can not react. Am I clear? No one can know what I'm telling you."

Snow nods, and the Medicus leans in. What he whispers in her ear astounded her so much it almost makes her jaw drop again. She catches herself just in time, schooling her features to remain blank. "I understand." she says curtly when he looks at her with a inquisitive gaze. "Can you escort me to my husband's room, please?" she then asks softly, so only he could hear. "Healer Mundich!" The old man rushes to her side instantly. "My friend William has just gone to fetch Lady Greta. Please go get them and send them to my husband's chamber. Speak of this to no one. And for God's sake, trust no one except them, me and this man here. Am I clear?" Mundich looks almost frightened, but nods assuredly. She knows she can trust him with anything.

The Medicus offers her his arm. "Shall we, my Lady?"

Snow, on guard as never before, lets him guide her out of the hall, leaving a whirlwind of murmurs behind. She knows she probably should have announced her departure, but she cannot for the life of her figure out what to say to those people right now. She needs to get to the people she trusts and tell them what the Medicus just told her.

Their lives are depending on it.

Reviews help, as proven by gothbutterfly69 whose review of last week sparked me into action :)