The Final Days of Springborough

“Beware of boys with swords, and boys that don’t know their own strength…” Leila had said.

Kyrstin didn’t open her eyes right away. The sounds around her were so foreign, she felt that she needed to process them first before she opened herself to the images around her. She could hear her brother, Thomas, shouting and full of rage that she had been killed, which, to her, obviously, was very absurd. She could hear her brother Patrick, although it seemed like he was louder than she ever heard him before, talking of his bear that she meant to hurt. She heard a girl who sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place her. The Princess heard the storm outside, the blasted storm which she had grown quite annoyed with.

It wasn’t until the bear roared, that the Princess felt the shivers riddle her body. The last time she heard that roar, she had been settled underneath the bear, in the warmth of sunlight, which also seemed a distant memory, and she felt that it was going to be the end of her life. And it just might have very well been the end of her days, had that bowhunter named Brynn not loosed an arrow into the beast’s chest. As far as Kyrstin knew, Brynn was not around.

So, she was surprised when she opened her eyes and saw the bear galloping toward the little blonde girl, whom Kyrstin had left on the cliffs, standing, bound and defenseless, in her family’s Great Hall. The brown, furry animal had just about pounced on the girl when Kyrstin screamed “No!” as loud and tortured as she could. Her cheek still against the cold floor, her body still stiff from being broken.

Thomas turned around in shock. She must have startled him, because his face was immediately white. And she could tell that everyone believed him that she was dead, because almost everyone else in the room was equally as astonished that she had uttered a word. Everyone, that is, but the bear who was still bounding toward Brynn, who had closed her eyes in what was either bravery or fear, and Patrick, who took two long strides, and brought his hand down on the bear’s neck. Like a man controlling his dog, Patrick pinned down the bear, who whimpered. Only then, did Patrick allow himself the moment to turn and face his sister.

Brynn blinked her eyes open, curious as to why she wasn’t feeling the bear’s teeth and claws, yet.

“See, Thomas?” Patrick said, struggling to keep the bear down, “I didn’t kill her.”

Thomas ran to her side again, placing his sword down on the ground. We’ll probably have to talk about that, Kyrstin thought to herself. He’s probably going to wonder why I stole it. And also, I’ll have to promise to never do it again. But at this moment, Thomas didn’t seem concerned with her thievery as he gently pulled Kyrstin away from the stones of the wall. She felt the muscles in her body crack as they remembered how to bend. Some bones shifted, but it didn’t seem like anything was truly broken, just bruises and hurt and stiff.

“Are you hurt? Are you okay?”

“I’m hurt and okay, Thomas, thank you,” Kyrstin said, rising to her feet.

“You could have killed her, Patrick!” Thomas shouted at his brother, rephrasing his earlier accusations.

“He did not know his own strength.”

“She was trying to hurt my bear!” Patrick countered, loosening his grip slightly as the bear began to settle.

“I was trying to kill your bear, Patrick. I think the bear ate grandma, and if it did, it also has in it grandma’s ring. The green one that holds a lot of power. I believe the fact that ring is not on a Lishens finger is the cause of this storm, and we won’t get this storm to stop without it.”

“That’s stupid. You can’t know that for sure,” Patrick said, his face looking ashen.

“Only stupid people say the word ‘stupid’,” Thomas quoted his father to his brother.

“It is what I believe,” Kyrstin said, keeping the conversation on track.

“But, what if you cut into Lucky and there is no ring?”

“What if you find the ring and it’s just a ring?” Thomas said, as always, the third sibling playing devil’s advocate to the other two.

“It’s not just a ring. Grandma said so,” Kyrstin stood her ground.

“But, a piece of jewelry that can control the weather?” Thomas questioned, his face simply not believing.

“I’ve seen weirder things. I’ve seen them today even.”

Kyrstin looked over to Brynn and J.J., acknowledging them for the first time since her waking. She let herself smile a little as she nodded to Brynn, who, now thankful she had not been eaten, nodded and smiled back.

“Is this your brother? The pirate?” Princess Kyrstin asked Brynn.

“Captain Jonathon James of The Hampton Chase, your majesty,” J.J. said, giving her quite the curtsey as if he had always dreamed of meeting a royal. Or maybe it was a slight jab at Thomas who demanded him to bow, whereas Kyrstin treated him a little more humanely.

“What brings you two to the castle?”

“I found them by the docks. She has your anklet, sister,” Thomas responded before Brynn could.

“I gave it to her, Thomas, as a reminder. She saved my life from this bear this morning.”

“Thank you for returning the favor tonight, your highness,” Brynn stammered.

The two girls shared another smile.

“For heaven’s sakes, Patrick, this bear has tried to kill two people in this room today, why do you insist on keeping it as a pet?” Thomas shouted at his brother.

“Lucky Bear is more a friend than a pet. I needed a friend. And now that you two are back in the castle, you’ll probably throw me out to the field like Mother and Father did. And when that happens, and when you forget to visit me somedays, because you do… Mother never did. Father never did. But, now that they’re off wherever, you two do forget to visit me. And that’s okay, if it’s Lucky and I. Two beasts of burden that people are scared of, even though we’re just big, cuddly giants.”

It was hard for Kyrstin to think of being scared of Patrick like she was scared of the bear, but she had to wonder if Patrick was right about what he was saying. When he was towering over her as a giant, as tall as the tallest tree in the area, would she not be afraid that he might accidentally step on her. Just like being alone with a bear in the woods, would she not be afraid that the bear would suddenly see her as a threat and attack her? Perhaps she was right. And perhaps, when Patrick was at his full height, the bear would be the size of a mouse at a regular man’s foot.

What a world Patrick would live in.

She almost felt bad for still having to kill the bear.

“Patrick, we need that ring.”

“Lucky wouldn’t eat grandma. He doesn’t have the ring.”

“We have to be sure.”

“Be sure without killing him.”

The bear looked at Kyrstin, sadness in his eyes. Patrick’s hand was pinning him to the ground, but he had calmed down and was just laying there, looking up at all the humans in the room, surrounding him. He did seem like a big, cuddly, comfortable beast to her in this moment, and she knew, without a doubt, she would not be able to be the one to stab him with a blade, to open up his belly. She had felt so sure running through the rain in the forest with the sword that she would be able to tear into the beast, looking for the green jewel, but now, staring into its expressive eyes, she couldn’t even imagine shouting a hateful word at it, let alone stabbing it.

“I believe the ring to be in the bear’s stomach,” Brynn said, not sounding entirely sure herself.

“Of course you’d say that. You’re mad the bear was going to attack you,” Patrick countered.

“Why do you believe that, Brynn?” Kyrstin asked.

“Your grandma has told me.”

Just like being so tired one doesn’t realize their eyes are closed until they start to dream, Kyrstin didn’t realize she was crying until she couldn’t see through the tears.

“Yes,” Kyrstin whispered. “Thank you.”