“Usually only innocent, virgin princesses have that kind of effect on forest creatures,” Blue muttered to himself in a wry tone. The fairy knew for a fact that Snow was no virgin, but perhaps these animals could tell that Snow had a kind, pure heart. His trusting nature and desire to see the good in others had definitely gotten him into this mess to begin with.

A determined expression settled over Blue’s face as he watched a deer lick Snow’s cheek. I’ll take Prince Snow to the Enchanted Forest. He can have a chance to heal from his emotional wounds there. I have the feeling the fickle fae will accept him.

***

The five Wizard Guards entered the throne room at Apple Castle, and all five of them paused for a moment to take in the unexpected changes to the room’s décor. The images of snakes that had been carved into every available wooden surface were the most startling addition. Snakes now coiled around the images of the trees and apples that decorated the throne room.

The Wizard Guards all came to the same conclusion at once. The emblem of the League of Villains was a red apple with a yellow snake coiled around it. It had suddenly become quite obvious that Reginald Appleton was the Leader of the League of Villains and that he no longer saw a reason to hide this fact from the realm now that Queen Isidora was dead.

“He’s not even trying to hide it anymore…” one of the guards muttered darkly.

“Shhh! What if he hears you!” the guard standing next to him snapped.

“Are we really okay with serving the League of Villains?” the third guard hissed.

“Yeah…if we want to keep our heads,” the first guard snapped.

Reginald was seated upon his gilt throne on the raised dais. Isidora’s throne had been removed from the room. Reginald was drumming his fingers impatiently on the arm of his throne. He raised an impatient eyebrow at the guards who’d continued to gawk at the changes he’d made to the throne room. He supposed their reaction was to be expected. “You may come closer,” Reginald said.

The Wizard Guards startled and began to walk down the center aisle. “Yes, Your Majesty.” When the guards looked down they noticed that the red rug runner that led all the way to the dais now had the images of green and gold snakes on it. The snakes were so detailed they looked alive and made the men shudder as they walked over them.

“So…how do you like it?” Reginald drawled casually.

“There’s a lot of snakes-” one of the guards began to say before his companion elbowed him hard in his side to shut him up.

“What he means, Sire, is that the additions you’ve made to the throne room add to its…elegance.”

“Elegance?” Reginald echoed, and he let out a heavy sigh. “A pity. I was hoping all the snakes would be terrifying.”

“Oh, don’t worry, we’re…suitably terrified,” one of the guards was quick to add.

“Good.” Reginald smiled. “I was worried the portrait may be a bit…much.”

“Portrait?” one of the guards said before his gaze flicked up to the wall behind Reginald’s throne. He blinked and wondered how he’d managed to miss the gigantic oil painting of Reginald before. In the portrait, Reginald was riding a white, winged Pegasus and with the way the wings were outstretched it almost appeared as though the wings were sprouting out from Reginald’s body and not the horse’s. He was dressed in his golden battle armor, and wielding a sword that was engulfed in red, orange and yellow flames.

“Well?” Reginald asked expectantly. “Too much?”

The guard shook his head vigorously. “Oh, no. Not at all. It’s a great portrait. An excellent likeness. You look very…gallant in it.”

“Hmm.” Reginald hummed. “Again, not really what I was going for. I wanted to look fearsome. Maybe I should have the artist add more fire. I might need to remind everyone that if they piss me off I can just burn them all to ashes.”

“I think you look suitably terrifying in the painting, Your Majesty,” the guard amended.

“Enough with the adulations,” Reginald snapped. “Make your report. You had better be bringing me good news…”

“Prince Snow is dead,” the guard captain quickly announced.

“We regret we weren’t able to capture the prince alive,” another guard added helpfully.

“Regret?” Reginald drawled coldly, his eyes narrowing on the guard that had just spoken and causing the guard to gulp in fear. “It’s a blessing that traitorous murderer is dead. Wouldn’t you agree?”

The guard had started to sweat. “Oh, er, yes, of course, Your Majesty. But…if I may, why do you think Snow killed his mother? It was so out of the blue…”

“Snow’s affections towards Isidora had grown rather…inappropriate,” Reginald revealed with an evil glint in his ruby-red eyes. “When Isidora rejected Snow’s advances…he decided to kill her. Hell hath no fury like a man scorned, as they say.”

The guard’s curious expression turned horrified and disgusted. “I knew the prince was overly fond of the fairer sex, but to think that he lusted after his own mother! Apparently, he was even more depraved than I thought!”

“Indeed,” Reginald said. “It certainly took me by surprise as well. I trusted Snow and he betrayed that trust. I must commend you guards for killing that criminal. It’s hard to find good people you can place your trust in these days. I hope that I can continue to trust in all of you, and that you won’t let me down. I expect great things from each of you in the future.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” the guard captain began. “We live to serve you and to protect this Kingdom.”

“Lies!” a female voice shrieked. All eyes in the room went to the oval-shaped mirror that had been set up beside Reginald’s throne. The surface of the Magic Mirror rippled and when it settled it revealed Cordelia’s reflection. “He’s lying!” Cordelia pointed at the guard captain.

“Cordelia?” Reginald asked.

“Prince Snow is alive. I have seen him,” Cordelia revealed, glaring down her nose at the guard captain who’d begun to pale. “The prince survived his fall from the cliff. When he fell into the river the water cushioned the blow that should have killed him. The rapids swept him away and he was taken to the outskirts of the Enchanted Forest. The fairy that was with him decided to take Snow into the Enchanted Forest even though humans are forbidden from entering there. But the fairy wanted a peaceful place where Snow could recover from the emotional trauma of killing his own mother. I am able to spy using any mirror in the entire realm. Luckily, there are many vain fairies living in the Enchanted Forest and I was able to find our lost prince easily.”

“Prince Snow is alive!” Reginald shouted, standing up from his throne. “How dare you lie to me, Captain?”

“I didn’t mean to lie to you, Your Majesty,” the guard captain quickly began to explain. “I thought he was dead. There’s no way he could have survived a fall from such a height. It’s a miracle he’s still alive.”

“A miracle?” Reginald scoffed bitterly.

“Yes. I’m sorry. Please, forgive me,” the guard captain pleaded. “We’ll go after Prince Snow at once.”

“It must be because Prince Snow is a hero,” one of the guards blurted out.

Reginald whirled to face him, his red eyes flashing. “What did you just say?”

The guard swallowed. “I only meant that the reason why Prince Snow is probably still alive is because he’s a hero of Fantasia…and you’re a villain. And we all know that heroes are destined to defeat villains. It was his destiny to survive that fall. Just like how it’s his destiny to defeat you. I’m sorry. But that’s the truth. That’s the way things work here in Fantasia. And I know you must be aware of this as well, Your Majesty.”

A vein throbbed at Reginald’s temple. “Are you saying that I chose the losing side?”

The guard raised his trembling chin and nodded. “I’m sorry to say so…but yes. I believe Snow is destined to defeat you. You’re the Leader of the League of Villains.”

“Yes. I am,” Reginald agreed. “But you’re wrong about something. I’m not going to be defeated by Prince Snow because I’m not just a villain. I’m a god.”

The guards shared confused looks. “A god?”

“Yes. I came here from another world,” Reginald explained casually. “No one knows this…and no one should know this for obvious reasons. I’m afraid this means that I’m going to have to kill all of you now. What a pity.”

“Wait! Please, Your Majesty! We promise not to tell anyone your secret! Spare us!” the guard captain begged.

“Hmm.” Reginald tapped upon his chin as if considering the man’s request. “Yeah. Nope. Request denied.” He raised his hand, conjured a ball of Blackfire and threw it at the captain. The fireball hit the guard captain, and he was disintegrated instantly. Four more balls of Blackfire disintegrated the other Wizard Knights in quick succession. “Bunch of incompetent fools. I can’t believe they let Prince Snow escape.”

“Good help is so hard to find these days,” an unfamiliar, husky female voice remarked casually.

Reginald’s body had been trembling due to his pent up rage, but now he stilled at the sound of that unfamiliar voice. There was an intruder inside of his throne room. Someone had managed to enter there without him noticing, and that was unheard of. Reginald whirled in the direction the voice had come from and stared at the unexpected sight before him.

A mysterious woman wearing a waist-length, green, hooded cape was currently seated sideways on his throne with her legs thrown over the arm of the throne in a nonchalant pose. She had her hood raised and it was shadowing most of her face. Reginald was able to tell that she was female though due to the tight, brown leather pants she was wearing that accentuated her womanly curves. The woman was casually munching on a red apple - a very familiar looking red apple, in fact.

There was a round table sitting next to the throne that had a solid-gold bowl on it filled with shiny, red apples. Reginald narrowed his eyes at the bowl of apples and saw that, sure enough, one of his precious apples was missing.

“My apple,” Reginald said softly, his voice laced with disbelief.

“It’s good,” the woman praised. “This is probably the juiciest apple I’ve ever had. Thanks. I was hungry.”

“Such impertinence!” Reginald chided. “Who the hell are you, woman?”

“Woman? Most guys get that wrong on the first guess,” the woman said as she stood up from the throne and tossed the apple core over her shoulder carelessly. “I wondered if these pants might be too tight?” She ran her hands over her thighs and then shrugged. “Whatever. My name is Fern. But most know me as The Huntress. Perhaps, you’ve heard of me?”

Reginald was unable to see the woman’s eyes, but he was able to see the cocky smirk on her face. The Evil King bristled with irritation. He was tempted to kill this woman on the spot, but his curiosity stayed his hand. He shot Cordelia an inquisitive look. “Well, Cordelia? Is what she’s saying the truth? She’s some kind of Huntress?” Reginald strolled over to the table, grabbed an apple and bit into it. They really were juicy.

“She is who she claims to be,” Cordelia began unhappily. “The Huntress is a renown Monster Hunter. She kills dangerous monsters and magical beasts for a price. Mostly, she goes around saving isolated villages from monster attacks. She’s skilled in archery, wields a crossbow, and also fights with a hatchet. She has never failed to kill a monster she was hired to kill. She’s a very dangerous individual. Her specialty is hunting bears.”

Reginald shot Fern a considering look. “Bears, huh? You expect me to believe a little girl like you can take down a bear?”

Fern whipped out her crossbow, aimed, and fired. The crossbow bolt hit the center of the apple Reginald was holding.

“King Reginald!” Cordelia exclaimed and shot an angry look Fern’s way. “How dare you attack the King of Apple Kingdom! You should be executed on the spot!”

“Now, now,” Reginald began, raising a hand in a placating manner. “Let’s not be too hasty, Cordelia. After all, it’s not like the girl was trying to kill me. She was obviously aiming for the apple. And it’s just like she said - good help is hard to find. What is it you want, Huntress?”

A smug smile curled Fern’s lips. “I wish to join your army of Wizard Knights. I want to march with you when you march upon Cross Kingdom.”

Reginald gave her a skeptical look. “I find that story hard to believe when I sense no magic from you. You’re a dullard, aren’t you? What could you possibly have against Cross Kingdom?”

“Yes. I’m a dullard,” Fern admitted, raising her chin in a defiant pose. “But as they say ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ and I want King Solomon Cross dead. I’ve tried to kill him before, but he’s always surrounded by his Inquisitors making it impossible for me to get anywhere near him. I figured once a war breaks out in Cross Kingdom, King Cross will get distracted, and an opportunity may present itself to me to finally kill him.”

“Why do you want King Solomon Cross dead?” Reginald asked curiously.

“My business is my own,” Fern huffed, folding her arms over her chest. “You don’t need to know.”

“King Reginald, that girl should be punished for her rudeness. She-” Cordelia began to rant.

Reginald raised his hand. “No. Cordelia, let’s respect the young lady’s privacy. If I allow you to join my army what’s in it for me, Huntress?”

“I couldn’t help but overhear that Prince Snow escaped your clutches recently,” Fern began casually. “He killed your wife and you want him dead, correct?”

“That’s right,” Reginald agreed.

“Then I can bring you his heart on a silver platter,” Fern declared, oozing confidence.

Reginald’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Oh? I was under the impression that you only hunted monsters. You hunt humans too?”

“Sometimes humans can be more evil than monsters,” Fern said grimly.

For some reason Fern’s words made Reginald think back to a time when he’d been a bullied salary man - ridiculed, hated, taken advantage of. “Indeed.” He gave Fern an empathic look. “I’ve decided I like you, Huntress. If you bring me Prince Snow’s heart I will allow you to not only join my army, but I will also make sure you have a chance to fight King Cross one on one. You shall ride alongside me into battle when the time comes to face King Cross’s forces.

A flash of surprise crossed Fern’s face at Reginald’s generous offer. “Thank you, Your Majesty,” Fern said in a respectful tone. “I will not fail you. No monster has managed to escape me yet. And the criminal Prince Snow won’t escape me either.” A haughty smile curled her lips.

“I wish you the best of luck,” Reginald said, waving his hand dismissively at her. “You may go.” Fern bowed, spun on her heel, and left the throne room.

As soon as the heavy double doors were shut behind the Huntress, Cordelia addressed her King. “King Reginald, do you really think it wise to trust her? She’s a dullard…and you’ve been persecuting her kind for years. This may just be some clever ploy for revenge.”