Chapter 8

Ellie's POV

Snow pads lightly through the old gothic castle, his old residence and his old life, possibly centuries old now. He does know it well, but every step we take through the empty halls, Snow's breath gets quieter and his ears swivel, searching for any sound.

Each corridor is wide enough but the windows seem so far away. We had to get above ground first.

Snow heads for the staircase to the ground level, leading out of the dungeons below the black rocks.

I hold on tight as Snow lopes up the stairs and waits below the bottom step.

He lifts his wet nose above one last lunge, his body hunkered to the ground.

As he sniffs the air, I watch as a purple mist sweeps towards us. Snow cowers away, but the purple fog encroaches and we can do nothing to stop it making contact.

Whatever you do. Don't scream.

"What is that?" I whisper quietly.

Hold your breath as long as you can, Ellie! Snow yells it through my mind as he finally lunges forward - barely giving me a moment to consider doing such a thing.

I try not to breathe as Snow runs through the fog - but I can't stop myself.

I gasp in a breath, unprepared for the illusions.

The moment the sour magic is in my lungs, I see ravens all around me, cawing at me.

Kill him, Ellie.

I got the dagger in my hand.

Kill Snow, slit his throat while he isn't looking.

I close my eyes in a desperate attempt to escape the fake sounds and the fake visions - however, I feel like I'm falling in dizzying waves, so I open them back up again - Snow's pack lies one by one - their fur getting ripped from their bodies as we pass one painting, where I imagine a different scenario.

I can't look at anything without seeing death, disease or plain murder.

The blood seeping from the walls. It's not real.

Snow's wolf form covered in big fat fleas, ripping his skin open. It's not real.

Breathe through it now. Snow reassures me, totally calm.

In a panicky move, I close my eyes again despite knowing the consequences as Snow is catching speed.

The dizzying effects are so strong I lose my grip and tumble away from his fur - which ended up feeling sticky like rotten flesh.

As I hit the cold stones, my side aches and I see five ravens swoop down from the shadows - they want my face!

"SNOW!" I scream as I throw punches at the air and slash through with the dagger in my palm, "SNOOOOOOW!"

Ellie! Snow snarls the warning.

I wasn't meant to scream - and I did!

I hear a woman chuckle from a raven's mouth.

The Queen is about to glide around the corner and intercept us while I'm panicking.

"Where is my lovely new face?" the Queen chuckles, but before I can see her, Snow steps over me - his fur obscures my vision and he nuzzles me behind him.

First it's comforting, then he's nipping my side painfully, snarling so loud my body quakes, Run! he commands me.

"You won't kill these little cute puppies, will you, Snow?" the Queen giggles and holds a bundle of fur balls, dropping them so they come pouncing up to Snow, tongues lolling, puppy eyes wide and begging.

I blink three times and for a moment I see these puppies are actually zombified - they're skin falls off, they don't have eyes, they aren't cute - and their breath is poison green gas.

I told you to run, Ellie, don't disobey me, Snow's tone changes.

It's something I haven't heard. It's not animal.

It's more... royal. A King's command. Okay.

I turn, naked, and I run with the dagger from the Queen's table as I stumble down the corridor.

As I gain speed as fast as I can, I turn to see an exit - the doors are open but they are guarded.

I start to hear the butcher of puppies, the fake whining and screaming of the fake dying.

It's all fake!

I scream again, to myself, to block it out, but when I look back up - I see other shapes rushing in.

Ghosts.

Familiar!

A cold chill runs through me as one form slips through my body, then hurries ahead.

It's Snow's pack, in loose breeches, running ahead of me as grey transparent ghosts. They somehow manage to attack the guards at the door - and I watch the Queens' guards limbs turn in impossible directions, right before I hear the snapping of bones and the screams of real terror.

I sprint forward despite it and I watch Noel in spirit form, pull off a guard's coat, throwing it at my feet just outside the castle doors.

"Come with me, please," I beg as I pull it up and over my naked skin. As I turn, I see the 6 of them in the door, all shaking their heads.

They were bound here, to the Queen.

We have to save Snow, Ellie, don't die or he'll bow to the Queen. He's the only one that can kill her and you're his only hope at redeeming himself. He really feels for you, Ellie. So run, now! Noel's voice is a pained whisper, as if his soul is being punished by wandering from the Queen's entrapment.

I turn and I face the pitch black forest - running into the sticks and the mud.

I just keep moving; the goal is to put as much distance between myself and the Queen as possible.

Snow's POV

I had to kill this bitch, I can see the fur lining her shoulder - my pack is bound to her. Neither dead nor living. She sucks on their souls like the leech she is.

The Queen knows everything I love and she's stolen it all and more.

It's the only reason she wins every time.

"You're looking old, Snow," the Queen tut-tuts as I prowl closer, ready to pull her apart, one limb at a time.

I had done so, so many times, but she just crawled herself back together, stitched everything in place and lived. She was some sort of immortal yet mortal shape-shifter. She used any magic to remain breathing. She would slaughter anyone and anything to keep her magic pumping her blood through stolen veins.

You're the ugliest thing I've ever laid eyes on, you exist upon other's blood, your life is meaningless and disgusting, I growl this to her, and she smiles.

"What's so bad about that? I can live forever, like you, except I'm a product of many beautiful species, I have nature's beauty," the Queen pulls off her robe slowly, showing off her naked body.

I see faces stitched into her stomach of other pretty women, they are set to smiling. Her legs are reptilian from crocodiles in the swamps. Her whole form can shape shift at will into these things that are apart of her. She had many faces she tried on me.

None worked, because no face could hide the disturbed and grotesque soul behind the mask.

I wait for her trick, knowing exactly what it'll be; something to push me out of my sane mind, to confuse me.

The Queen drops to her knees and she slowly morphs into a black wolf, with red eyes and white shining fangs.

I'm going to pull her limb from limb and then I'll take that pretty face; won't you hunt her with me, Snow? Like we used to?

I won't let you near Ellie.

Sooooo protective.

The Queen tries to dodge past me and I snarl forward, she's half my size as this wolf - no one beats me in power or size. Even she wouldn't dare try, or she'd lose interest in her only love.

When the Queen tries to run past my other flank, I make sure to ram into her side, snapping my jaws around her neck, pushing her to the ground.

Oh, yes, please, you should rape me, Snow, like this, she pants through my mind, please, oh please -

I crunch my jaws together, her skin tears, toxic blood runs out tasing like tar - and I hear her moan, more.

Disgusting witch! I pull back and she lunges past me as I'm distracted, she sprints for the woods.

The Queen bounds after Ellie - and I follow close behind.

Ellie's POV

The ground is both rock hard yet slimy from deep treacherous puddles. I've already sprained both ankles badly. I have to stick to a narrow path, it's the only way I can navigate without getting stuck between dead trees, sticky dirt and more trap holes.

I move as fast as I can without running, limping and lurching over fallen logs, knowing that sprinting will simply make my condition worse.

For a few minutes, I'm running through the forest in peace.

But then my moment of freedom is banished as I hear a deadly howl - and it doesn't sound like Snow. It's high pitched and broken; a disturbed sound.

"Run, Ellie," I whisper to myself as I look ahead and find an easy tree to climb.

Yes.

Up!

I make my way there, hearing the ground shivering in rejection of the monster coming for me.

Where has my pretty face run to? the Queen warns me, hoping the terror sets me frozen.

No!

I keep moving.

I reach the tree fast enough, climbing and snagging the coat, I pull it off and it drops to the base of the tree. I abandon it for now, jumping and scraping my skin to get up as fast as I can.

When I look down, I feel a sense of doom and dread.

A black wolf moves from the shadows, towards the base of the tree, sniffing the coat and looking directly up. I'm only half way up the tree.

I freeze on a branch, watching the red eyes watch me.

The black wolf grins sharp teeth.

I can fly too, silly little girl, it was the Queen!

Oh my god. A shape-shifter. How the hell could I escape someone who could run, fly and hide at will?

I look down, preparing to jump if I have to. But I'll probably break a leg from this high up.

Don't move, Snow whispers, and keep her eye.

Shit. I gulp and show the Queen my terrified gaze. I trust him. I shouldn't really but I didn't have a choice in the matter. Snow was one kind of bad. The Queen was the worse evil right now.

I do not move - and she starts to morph - into a raven.

She's going to fly at my face! I think it loud, hoping Snow hears me.

He says nothing.

Still, I wait, trusting him blindly.

The Queen, now a bird, flaps her wings, rising in height, savouring my frozen form.

We do not break gazes.

She is hunting me and I am her scared little prize.

I act like the prey - and she can't focus on anything else except this victorious moment.

I imagine she'll go for my eyes first.

As the Queen darts up suddenly - a snow wolf lunges out of the brush to snap the raven up in his jaws.

Snow crushes the bird to death and spits her out, pawing at it for good measure.

I see the raven is certainly crushed and bent, bleeding and twitching still, even as Snow hits it with his front paws many times for good measure.

I can't look anymore, I just jump down each branch, my ankles hurting like hell at this stage. When I reach the bottom, I land next to the coat and I lift it up to cover my naked body.

I pull it around my middle and I lean back into the trunk of the tree.

I stare solemnly at Snow as he picks up the raven in his mouth and throws it into the forest as far as he can.

Snow's wolf is fearsome but he's lost his left eye. The hole is red, black and gaping.

He eyes me with his last red eye that contrasts with the blue in his mortal physical form.

I slide back against the tree until my bum hits the ground, and even then I wince from the pain of the bruises Snow gave me from that thorough ass beating before.

I breathe heavily as Snow approaches me, he leans down his head and licks my cheek, from the bottom of my chin, to my eye.

I pull back from his hot breath, so exhausted I can't even speak let alone complain.

Snow drops to his stomach, lowers his head and waits for me to jump on. I wipe the saliva from my cheek and I crawl forward and collapse into his fur, holding on, I cry out in pain as I pull myself up, my skin scraped, my ankles swelling, my heart almost giving way.

I somehow make it on top, I lie on his back and I hold on tightly this time.

I whimper into his fur, burying my face down, but once I'm securely on top, Snow rises back up and runs off; he doesn't need to say a word.

We're safe.

At least for now.