Snow White — Deleted Scene!
Hey guys! Things have been pretty quiet 'round here while I wrangle the new book in my brain, but in the meantime, I wanted to share this deleted scene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarf Planets with you. I don't often have things like this, but this was a scene I really wanted to write even though I knew it wouldn't make it into the final book. (Some spoilers ahead, you've been warned! If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, what are you waiting for?)
This scene doesn't really need any set-up. It happens before any of the events of the main book. Enjoy! :)
"Hunter! Where is my Hunter?" the Queen's voice echoed in the great hall, reverberating from shiny chrome and glass surfaces. Mirrors lined the hall -- it was said that the Queen had them installed to appease her vanity, but Hunter thought it to actually be a rather astute tactical move. No one could sneak up on you if every surface was mirrored.
"At your service, Your Majesty," Hunter said with a stiff bow, his eyes not following, staying trained on the Queen's face. As much as he was her favored huntsman, he knew better than to trust the woman enough to take his eyes off of her.
"Hunter," she cooed, a slick smile stretching her still-plump and wrinkle-free lips. Regardless of the practicality of the mirrors, the Queen was a vain woman. She'd had more than her fair share of augmentations throughout the years in an effort to stave off the effects of aging. "I have an important task for you. Perhaps the most important task," she said, her shrewd silver eyes sparkling with a maniacal gleam.
"Anything for my Queen," he replied, ducking his head in deference to her again, his eyes still on her face. No one else in the palace dared to look at her as much as he did, but with Hunter's skills, he was afforded certain... leeway. He knew he was a valuable asset to the Queen, and as long as he kept doing his job like a good little trained lap dog, he'd keep his freedom -- and his life.
"Excellent!" she cried, clapping her hands together as gleefully as if she were a child as she turned toward her throne, voluminous skirts swishing around her. "Just what I was hoping to hear."
"What is the task you ask of me, Your Highness?"
Her smile slipped, dropping into a frown, then a scowl, pushing her forehead down, and her sculpted brows together. It was an expression that showed every year of the Queen's true age -- and every bit of the dark bitterness she harbored within.
"There's been an error in calculations," she said coolly. Hunter stiffened; that meant someone had made a mistake -- a big one by the looks of her face. "The matter has been dealt with--" So that someone was most certainly dead now. His skin prickled, his heart beating just a little faster. "But I need someone I can rely on to finish the job for me."
He dipped his head. "I'm honored to be at your service," he said, the words now so rote that they'd lost all meaning. Not that he'd ever meant them before.
Sure, there was a time in his past when he'd felt a little pride in being so close to the Queen, in being so favored and so skilled. He still took pride in his skill, but his job was not one to boast about. He'd only been a boy when the Queen took power. His father, a merchant, brought him on deliveries to the palace frequently in the Before times. But when the Queen ascended to power and Hunter's father slighted her, she'd sentenced him to death.
Hunter had begged for his Papa to be freed. He even offered to take his place, amid his father's protests. The Queen had regarded him carefully, stroking her chin, those silver eyes piercing through to his very heart. It seemed, she'd taken a liking to him that day. She changed his father's sentence to life imprisonment and told Hunter he could work for her, to earn his father's freedom.
That was nearly a dozen years ago now. Hunter still didn't know if his father was truly alive, if he was even working for anything any more. But the Queen had given herself a fail safe -- another way to ensure Hunter didn't fall out of line, even when the threat of killing his father didn't work anymore.
She'd taken control of his heart.
The Queen gave him a simpering smile, crooking her finger to beckon him to her side. He was used to the routine, so Hunter approached the imposing seat, its every surface polished to a mirror finish. He knelt and bowed his head, instantly feeling the icy tendrils of her fingers curling in his hair. He fought the urge to recoil from her caustic touch, to ignore the sickness that boiled in his gut, the acidic taste in the back of his throat. He tried to ignore the stench of other peoples' fear and death that clung to her. He didn't know if it was really there or if he only imagined it, but the odor clung to his nostrils and tainted the air around him, making his lungs feel clogged with the filth.
"There is a girl," the Queen said, her voice soft. "I'm sure you've heard the tale?"
Hunter nodded. "The late King's daughter," he said, keeping his voice level and neutral.
"Yes," the Queen sneered, her upper lip curling and twisting her carefully sculpted face. "She is a danger to the Empire, Hunter."
Hunter had heard the rumors around the galaxy. The whispers of the lost Princess. Reported sightings cropped up all the time, but if she were alive, why wouldn't she make herself known?
"You don't think this girl is still alive, do you?" Hunter asked, his brow furrowing with the consideration. Snow White still among the living? An honest heir to the Empire's throne? Could it be possible?
The Queen's fingers tightened in his hair, twisting so tight Hunter thought she might be able to pull his scalp clean off. He was careful not to wince, not to show her any weakness. A weakness might as well be a death sentence. "I know she is," the Queen hissed, her fingers mercifully relaxing a bit. "And that is the problem. She threatens my Empire with her very existence."
Hunter took in a slow breath and exhaled just as slowly, giving her a moment to calm down before he said the exact words he knew she wanted to hear. "Your Majesty, surely no girl could hope to rival the brilliance and wonder of Your Highness's Empire."
Her fingers relaxed completely and the Queen resumed her loving stroking of his hair across his forehead. Hunter swallowed another surge of bile.
"You always know just what to say, Hunter. Such a smart boy you turned out to be. I knew I saw something special in you all those years ago." She was so self-congratulatory that Hunter could hardly stop his hands from balling into fists.
He grit his teeth together, struggling to get out the next words. "I'm forever indebted to Your Majesty for your perception and conviction. What can I do about this girl?"
"I want you to bring her to me. I've tried to take of this in other ways, with more discretion, but she's proven... slippery. You are my best and most trustworthy huntsman; I trust you can find her and bring her to me?"
Hunter nodded. It was his job, his duty, and his obligation to do it, whether he wanted to or not. He was almost afraid to ask, but he had a burning need to know. "What will you do with her once I've brought her to you?"
The Queen raked her fingers over his forehead, chuckling to herself. Then, as if it were the most simple obvious answer in the world, she said, "I'll kill her of course," laughing the whole time.
