Snow White rushed through the woods as fast as she could, dodging fallen branches and keeping a wary eye on the sky, which had darkened rapidly. It was then that she heard the rumble of thunder and a harrowing scream: she froze, looking around, unable to get her bearings.
Adrenaline pushed her to keep going, but she was terrified at the thought of Grimilde having to face such a terrible monster. Heks... that word sent shivers down her spine; it was so alien, so far removed from what she knew of the Queen.
She brought her hands up to cover her face as the wind suddenly struck her with brutal force, and she tried to press forward in the direction of the chilling sounds of combat.
Soon she heard another scream, but this one was guttural, dark—likely belonging to a demon. In that moment of distraction, she lost her footing and tumbled down a steep slope, plunging into a pool of freezing water. Fortunately, she had learned to swim as a child. She made it to the bank, gritting her teeth, and when she finally dragged herself onto the shore, she collapsed onto the ground, panting. She drew the knife from its sheath and decided to slice the skirt she was wearing to allow for freer movement. She then took the torn fabric and wrapped it tightly around her left hand, which had been cut during the fall. She stemmed the bleeding, but the tears in her eyes blurred her vision, making every movement difficult. She wasn't crying from the pain; her thoughts were entirely consumed by the woman she loved, who was likely wounded and frightened.
"Ilde..." she whispered her name, and suddenly, she sensed a shift in the air. She struggled to her feet, her heart beginning to hammer in her chest. Something told her to push through the foliage ahead of her and follow a steep, narrow path until she reached a small clearing in the woods. There, she saw blood, as if something had dragged itself away, leaving a trail of its passing.
She shuddered at the thought that it might be Grimilde...
She raised her eyes to the darkness of the forest and realized something was watching her in silence. A predator? Snow White held her breath when she saw two irises as red as blood and a dark figure taking a step toward her, only to stumble and fall to the ground just a few feet away. In that moment, she got a better look, and despite the strange, red-stained black substance covering the body, she immediately recognized Grimilde.
"Ilde!" She dropped to her knees, gathering her into her arms, taking in her pale face and her strange, red eyes. "W-what happened to you?"
Those eyes were staring at her, but it was different from usual: it wasn't a familiar gaze. Why was she so still? Like a doll incapable of moving its limbs...
"Ilde?" she whispered, stroking her wet hair. Then she noticed the wound on her leg, which was bleeding heavily. She gasped and fought back tears, but her heart broke into a million pieces at the sight of that deep gash. "It hurts so much, doesn't it? Don't worry... I'll get you to safety, my love."
Her broken voice accompanied every sweet whisper she offered Grimilde to reassure and comfort her. Snow White grabbed her knife to cut another strip of cloth from her dress, but just as she was about to do so, Grimilde's black-coated hand shot out and grabbed her arm. Snow White was forcefully shoved against the ground, and a moment later, the blonde was looming over her with vacant eyes.
"I-Ilde? I'm trying to help you—"
Heks snatched Snow White's dagger and tossed it aside, then turned her focus back to the woman she had just captured. She needed to replenish her energy; she needed to drain every living being she encountered to do so. She tilted her head slightly, noticing the beautiful maiden's tears, and reached out a finger to catch them and taste them. Heks had never seen anything more beautiful: such a captivating prey, trembling as she called out the name of the body hosting her, begging for mercy. Heks, however, felt absolutely no emotion and could not comprehend the woman's attachment to her.
"Ilde, please—... Ilde?!" Snow White was terrified, but that fear became even more visceral when Heks wrapped her hands around her fragile neck.
The princess didn't know what to do: she was convinced this unknown creature was going to kill her, because those eyes weren't looking at her with human interest, but with a predatory hunger. She began to breathe heavily, thrashing about. She had to bring Grimilde back, but how? Alex had mentioned her blood, but that seemed to be the very thing triggering Heks's thirst! As the creature began to apply pressure, Snow White tried desperately to break free, but the knife was out of reach, and she had no way to defend herself. She was too weak.
"H-Heks, please, don't do this..."
When her lips formed the creature's name, the grip loosened slightly. The princess reluctantly seized the opportunity, pressing down on the leg wound and shoving her away. Heks cried out in surprise and collapsed to the ground. Snow White scrambled toward the knife, but before she could grab it, Heks was on her again, grabbing her ankle and trying to drag her back. She seemed furious.
"Heks..." The princess stretched her arm in a desperate attempt to grasp the dagger and managed to reach it, but by then, Heks had pulled her back into her clutches. Her neck, already red from before, became even more fragile under the creature's hand; a fraction more pressure could snap it in half a second. The maiden kept begging her to spare her, professing her love, but nothing reached Heks's ears.
However, something else caught her attention. In the center of her chest, she felt a sharp pain, like a vise squeezing her heart, suffocating it. Snow White had removed the makeshift bandage from her hand, allowing the blood to flow freely, and in a confused, unexpected gesture, she pressed her bloodstained fingers to Heks's lips. When her blood smeared across the creature's mouth, Heks furrowed her brow and licked the blood from her pale lips.
"I cannot live without you. You have been my entire world since I lost my father. I am certain that without you I would never have experienced joy and love; I would have remained locked in that castle for years before being married off to a stranger. You didn't just save me from that fate, you gave me unparalleled emotions, you showed me extraordinary things... I beg you, come back to me!"
Heks looked into her prey's eyes for the first time: they were brimming with tears, red, full of pain but also hope. She felt her heart beating rapidly—alive, energetic. Her body was warm, human...
Grimilde's faint will echoed within Heks's consciousness as she carefully calculated her next moves. Something told her that if she killed the maiden, the Queen's body would also turn as cold as a corpse, and that was a problem for Heks.
"Look out!"
A tree, its strength spent against the wind and ravaged by the elements, suddenly gave way, casting its shadow over the two bodies entangled on the ground. Snow White shoved Heks off her, trying to shield her from the falling trunk. The princess closed her eyes, bracing for the impact, feeling serene in those final moments because she knew she had protected Grimilde for the first time. She wasn't sad to leave; she would see her father and mother again. But at the same time, she didn't want to leave the love of her life alone in this world. She cared too much about her happiness and knew her death would destroy her. Her tears kept flowing, refusing to stop...