Free Shadows on Snow: A Flipped Fairy Tale (Flipped Fairy Tales) by Starla Huchton Page B

we arrived at the first stop of the hunting expedition. We were to make camp and spend the rest of the day hunting game. It was a small clearing, soon dotted with the men’s unrolled sleeping pallets and a ring of rocks for a fire. Without being told, I hurried into the trees for firewood after tying up the horses. When I returned, Prince Leopold was gone, as was one of the Royal Guards. Suspicion raised the hairs on the back of my neck, but I showed nothing of the sort as I arranged kindling inside the ring of stones.
    “It doesn’t sit right with me, Sergeant,” one man said quietly. “I can’t believe the prince would be capable of such a thing.”
    “You’ve heard the evidence as well as I,” the other said, so low I almost couldn’t hear it. “We have our orders from the king. Come back with his heart, or don’t come back at all.”
    Willing my hands to work without trembling, my mind raced.
    “Is Jamison the one to do it, then?”
    “He’ll send the signal when it’s time. That one’s too good with a sword. One isn’t enough a match for him.”
    “And what of the boy?
    There was a pause, and I intentionally knocked the circle of stones into disarray.
    “Take the horse. Let the wolves have ‘im.” He chuckled. “That one isn’t bright enough to find his way around a tree, let alone back to the palace.”
    They shared a good laugh at my expense, but, as always, I feigned blissful ignorance and headed back into the woods. Hiding myself, I watched them, waiting until I saw them sit up, attentive. With a look back at the treeline where I’d disappeared, they disregarded me entirely and fastened their sword belts.
    A single arrow flew into the air past the far side of the clearing. The two guards broke into a run, hurrying in the direction the shot had come from. The moment they were gone, I bolted out of the woods, grabbed my bow and quiver, and cut around slightly to the right of the way they went.
    The idiot guards were none too quiet as they trampled through the forest. I caught up and passed them without so much as disturbing a twig, beating them to their destination.
    When I came in sight of Prince Leopold and the last guard, I scrambled up into a nearby tree. There, perched on a branch, I sank low with my back against the trunk and readied my weapon.
    “A fine shot, Highness,” the guard said as the prince approached a downed stag. An arrow protruded from its eye. It had been killed instantly, a mercifully accurate shot.  
    Prince Leopold knelt, setting a hand against the animal’s side. “A handsome one, indeed, though he was old and wouldn’t see many more winters.”
    As he reached for the arrow, the man behind him rested his hand on the pommel of his sword. My own arrow nocked, I pulled back on the bowstring and took aim.
    Quietly, the soldier unsheathed his sword.
    I took a deep breath.
    “Be swift,” I whispered.
    He lifted it above his head to strike.
    With a last exhale, I made my choice. “I will keep him safe.”
    I released the arrow, and it whistled as it flew, disturbing the prince’s hair moments before finding its mark. He stood and spun to face the guard, the man’s arms still raised for the blow, but his face a mask of stunned surprise. With a single cough, he collapsed, sword falling away.
    The prince turned again as the remaining guards came crashing through the trees, stopping short when they saw their compatriot laying in a growing pool of blood. Their faces darkened, and they drew their weapons.
    “What’s the meaning of this?” Prince Leopold demanded as he unsheathed his own blade and shifted into a defensive stance.
    “By order of King Alder,” one of the soldiers said. “You are hereby sentenced to death as atonement for the murder of Queen Muriel.”
    “For the…” His face paled, shocked. “My mother? What insanity is this?”
    “We’ve heard the proof of your treachery,” the other guard sneered. “You cannot run from justice.”
    Without