Huntsman: Love Will Find a Way (11 page)

I didn’t want him to worry over something that was probably just my overthinking
.
“You’ve never called me by my name
.
”

His eyebrows furrowed
.
“I haven’t?”

I shook my head
.
“No, you haven’t
.
It’s always been Dear or Princess
.
Never Lara
.
”

“Well then, we’ll just have to change that,” he smiled
.
“Lara
.
”

I smiled as my name on his lips sent a strange sensation through me
.
I don’t know why, but it sounded so different coming from his mouth than it did anyone else’s
.
I curled myself into him, smiling softly as I laid my head on his chest as we walked
.

“We’re almost there,” he murmured, kissing the top of my head
.

I didn’t usually like surprises
.
The unsurely of if I would like whatever the person gave me, and then the anxiety of having to come up with a pleasant but not untruthful response to their gift had always turned me away from the gestures
.
Coming from the Huntsman, though, I didn’t mind them so much
.
So far, I had enjoyed all of the surprises that he had given me
.

He seemed to know me better than I knew myself, seemingly knowing exactly what I was thinking, what I enjoyed, what I wanted
.
He knew me like he knew the woods we lived in
.
The thought of someone knowing me in such an intimate way should have scared me, but it didn’t
.
I wanted the Huntsman to know me, both inside and out, my dark side and my light
.
 

We stopped after we crossed a very familiar-looking stream
.
He turned to me, taking both of my hands and giving me a gentle kiss
.
I felt my toes curl inside of my shoes involuntarily as I tightened my grip on his hands
.
When he pulled back, I smiled
.

“I have a friend at your father’s castle,” he started
.
“And he owed me a favor
.
”

I nodded, not quite understanding what that had to do with anything
.
Without explaining, he let go of one hand and led me to a low-hanging branch
.
Pushing it to the side, he pulled me through the tree’s lining into a large open space
.

My mother’s clearing was lined with twinkling lights and candles, much like the clearing that Huntsman had made me at our home
.
There was a thick quilted blanket laid out in the middle of the ground next to a short stump
.
I felt wetness on my cheeks, but made no move to wipe away my tears
.
Out of all of the surprises and gifts that the Huntsman had given me since he took me away from my father, this had to be the best
.

“How?” I asked, unable to get out more than the single word
.

“Like I said, I have a friend who owed me a favor
.
We have two hours here
.
”

“Really?” I asked, turning to him
.
“What if we get caught?”

He shook his head
.
“We won’t
.
Your father has had guards posted all the way around this place
.
He wanted to be sure you wouldn’t come back
.
”

“How can we be sure that none of the other guards will tell him we were here?”

“Lara,” he took my hands in his
.
“You have more friends in your father’s castle than you think
.
They’re not going to tell your father
.
”

I nodded, and followed him to the blanket
.
Sitting on the stump was a small box and a bowl full of assorted berries
.
I sat next to Huntsman, looking around as the memories flooded back to me
.

“You know, this is the first place we met
.
” I mused
.

He laughed and shook his head
.
“Not for me, it wasn’t
.
”

“What do you mean?”

“Two years before the late Queen Adelaide’s death, she took you on a tour of the kingdom
.
Everyone was talking about the King and Queen’s youngest daughter and how beautiful she was, even at such a young age
.
I had heard of it, and decided to see what all of the fuss was about
.
”

“So, you met me then?”

He shook his head again
.
“Not exactly
.
I didn’t meet you, but I had met your mother
.
She thanked me for my work with the less fortunate
.
You were hiding behind her skirts
.
”

“Why don’t I remember this?” I asked, curious
.
I didn’t think he was lying, but I wondered why out of all the memories I had of my mother, I didn’t remember the one involving the man who would save me
.

“You had your eye on a bauble in the window across the street
.
It was a small gold pocket watch on a matching chain
.
It would have looked beautiful on you, brought out your eyes
.
” He paused, a faraway look in his eyes, before continuing
.
“You asked the Queen for it, but she had said no
.
She said you already had so many beautiful necklaces at home, you didn’t need another
.
”

“I remember that day
.
I was a little disappointed, but she had a point
.
” I laid my head on his shoulder
.
“There were so many other children my age who had so much less than I did
.
I didn’t need another necklace when they didn’t even have enough food to eat
.
”

He nodded
.
“That’s true
.
But, I think the scores have been evened out some
.
”

I watched as he reached for the small box on the stump
.
Handing it to me, an anxious look crossed his features
.
I simply held the box for some time, staring at it
.

“Is this what I think it is?”

Chapter 13
Huntsman

I nodded
.
“It is
.
”

I heard her inhale sharply as she opened it
.
Pulling it out, she set down the box and twirled the chain in the air
.
The lights from the candles danced around the watch, making it shine in the night
.

“It’s just as beautiful as I remember
.
” She murmured
.

I took it out of her hands and clasped it around her neck
.
She fingered the small pendant, laying her head on my shoulder
.
I wrapped my arms around her, wondering what she was thinking
.
When I asked her, she sighed gently
.

“You seem so perfect
.
There has to be something about you, something that you don’t want anyone else to know about
.
”

“If there’s not?”

“Then you’re too good to be true,” she laughed a little
.

“And,” I paused
.
“What if I do?”

She was quiet for some time
.
“Then that means you’re real
.
”

I wasn’t sure what to make of her answer
.
It was a strange one, that’s for sure
.
But, it was also honest
.
I craved honesty like some craved sugar or the sun on their skin
.
I didn’t like liars or those who cover up the truth
.

“Thank you,” I finally said
.

“You’re welcome
.
”

When we were walking home later that night, I felt her thin fingers brush mine in the darkening forest
.
Loosely, I looped mine with hers, stiff from unsureness
.
Her head found its way to rest on my upper arm, and I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding
.

“Would it be to forward,” she started, her voice quiet, even in the silence that surrounded us
.
“For me to say that I think I’m falling deeply in love with you?”

“No,” I placed my hand on the one of hers that was looped around my arm
.
“Because I am sure that I have already fallen too deeply for you than would be possible to escape
.
”

We continued to walk silently for some time, enjoying the small truth that we had just afforded each other
.
Just before our home came into view, she spoke, again surprising me
.
This time, though, her voice was full and full of surety
.

“I want to complete the Bond
.
”

I stopped us
.
Turning her towards me, holding her gently in place by her arms, looking her deep in her eyes
.
“Are you sure? Once it’s completed, it can never be broken
.
”

She nodded
.
“I know
.
I also know that, though it is extremely rare, there have been couples that were not able to Bond
.
They spent their entire lives believing they were meant to be together, just to find out that they, in fact, were not
.
”

She took a step closer
.
“There have also been couples that didn’t want to risk everything for each other
.
They were too afraid of it ending badly, without the Fates on their sides
.
”

“And you still want this?” I asked
.
“Even after knowing all of this?”

“Yes,” she took my hands in hers, never breaking eye contact with me, as if she wanted me to see into her very soul, to see the truth of her words
.
And, I did
.
I could tell that she meant what she said, I could see it in her eyes
.
But, still, I had to know
.

“Why?”

“Because, I don’t want to miss out on something,” she paused, as if she were looking for the right word
.
“Fate worthy, because I was too scared of risking everything
.
”

She put a hand on my cheek, and I felt my breath hitch
.
Her soft skin against my sun-worn, hair-covered face did things to my heart, to my soul, that I couldn’t describe
.
And, when she spoke again, I knew that I didn’t want to wait any longer
.
“I don’t want to be afraid anymore
.
”

I nodded
.
Enveloping her in my arms, I cradled her body against mine, wondering how I was so lucky, even with all the misery I had caused, to be gifted such a miracle
.
Though all of the heartache she had been put through, she continuously found a reason to smile, a reason to laugh, a reason to keep going
.
She never gave up hope, she never broke down
.