The Huntsman

Calder is the Huntsman of the Royal Forest of Blodwen, a job he loves more than anything else in the world. Well, almost anything. But the greatest love of his life took a different path ten years ago, and so Calder focuses on his forest and friends.

Then the king returns home early—and married to a beautiful woman who proves to be a terrible witch. Though Calder manages to not fall under her spell, it's only a matter of time before she realizes he's not bewitched, and Calder joins the other rapidly accumulating dead.

The kingdom's only hope lies in finding a sorcerer of equal power, but the only one Calder knows of is the man he hasn't seen in ten years, and lives in a kingdom too far away to reach in time…

Author's Note: This story was first published in Fairytales Slashed Volume 2. It has not been significantly revised.