Looking back over the events of my life, I tried to be an honourable man. I did everything I could to feed my wife and daughter, even when winter was at its bleakest. I tried to keep them safe. Before I met Vala, that was my only goal in life. One moment, one mistake, was all it took to change everything. If I hadn't left the safety of the Black Forest and wandered on to the royal hunting grounds that day. If I hadn't been caught. But I was, and Vala came into my life. The most evil influence I have ever known came to me that day, in the guise of a beautiful woman. Why didn't I sense her corrosive nature? Instead I was flattered that she liked spending time with me. I didn't even realise I was lonely until I met her. We embarked on an affair which seems silly to even think about now. We had no future. She, betrothed to the king, me a huntsman with a wife and daughter. She made sure my family was safe and fed, and in return she asked for my loyalty. I happily gave it to her, until that day, when she asked me to do the one thing I could never do. She told me to murder a girl. Then everything was ruined. My wife and daughter are long gone. Vala punished them for my disobedience. Not that I escaped my evil queen's wrath. The curse she laid on me ensured she would forever haunt me. Even as her dark actions faded into fairy tale, I would be forever reminded of her. Forever. What a long time that is... Dark and haunting, The Huntsman's Tale is a retelling of the familiar Snow White fairy tale, told from the point of view of the huntsman who refused to murder a young girl, and was cursed by an evil queen. Length: 23 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Genre: Fantasy
Used availability for Shiromi Arserio's The Huntsman's Tale