- Chapter 5 -

The huntsmen awoke in the middle of the forest, but he could not move, he could not talk, his hands and feet were tied and everything was upside down. He bit down hard as the apple flew out of his mouth and tumbled to the snow covered ground. His body was numb, blood violently rushing to his head. The icy wind struck him hard, causing him to sway and shiver. That's when he heard it. Footsteps. 

thump thump thump

thump thump thump

thump thump thump

He tried to scream but his voice was quiet and hoarse. The footsteps seemed to move closer.

thump thump thump

thump thump thump

thump thump thump

As they came around the corner he realized it was the queen's guards, several of them. They looked him up and down and untied him. He explained that Snow White had done this but the guards eyed him suspiciously.

“Snow White?! What a joke, she wouldn’t do this” announced one.

“Yes I agree she’s too pathetic to do something like this” shouted another.

“You must be going insane,” one added.

Eventually, after much discussion the guards took the huntsman back to the castle to talk to the queen. When the queen found out she was furious and demanded the huntsman be locked away until further notice. Reluctantly, the guards did what she asked and brought him down to the dungeon. There was a long spiral staircase that led to an underground portion of the castle where there were several cells lined up, each one with a different ‘criminal’ inside. The guards brought him to an empty cell and threw him in. The door was locked behind him without another word of negotiation. His new cellmate laughed and laughed.

“What are you all laughing at? You're stuck here too!” yelled the huntsman.
“Yes, but you don’t know what she’s gonna do to you” Mocked a man in the corner

“Wha- What are they going to do to me?”
“You’ll be executed!” 

They all laughed excitedly, but the huntsman wasn’t laughing. He sat himself in the corner and crawled into a tight ball, falling slowly asleep.