by E S Olsen
I dismounted and tied my horse to a post. We’d been riding half the day so I took the saddle off and exchanged the bridle for a halter. My horse started eating grass while I brushed out his sweaty coat. I missed this. Back home I used to ride my friends horse on the weekends. Maybe Ole would let me ride. Heck, we could afford a horse now, maybe I could get one of my own. I picked up the saddle and pack and took them into the cabin. Thick dust covered every surface. There was a table with two chairs in one corner, an old bed with a rolled up mattress, two cabinets by the door and a small fireplace on the back wall. I grabbed the broom from the corner and got to work.
The sun was getting low on the horizon by the time I had the cabin tidy. I’d started some dinner cooking on the fire, the aroma of baked beans and biscuits waft through the air. My dad and Ole came in.
“It’s going to take us the better part of a veek to fix up the two cabins da first one should be mostly done tomorrow. Den ve’ll move into dat one and give you some privacy,” said Ole. He took a swig from his water bottle.
After dinner the men rolled out their beds and we went to sleep early.
My father shook me gently awake. It was barely light outside. He and Ole were going to be scouting around the vicinity of camp for any wolf or bear sign. I should expect them back before lunch.
While Father accompanied Ole into the woods, I sat on the steps to the small cabin which I called my own, warming my hands on a cup of hot cocoa. The lake reflected the mountains, the clouds, the sky. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, tilting my head back relishing the little warmth the sun provided.
Despite how peaceful it was here I couldn’t quite relax. Something was chipping away at my solitude, a disquiet that I couldn't define. Opening my eyes, I looked around. The birdsong that I’d enjoyed earlier was silent now. It was as if the forest had eyes. Scanning the treeline, I saw nothing out of the ordinary. A shiver ran up my spine. Father and Ole were in trouble. I could feel it.
No. I shook my head. Even so, I found myself reaching for my rifle. Forcing myself to walk the same path they left on, all the while telling myself this was stupid, and I should stay put. Even though I was not a tracker like Ole, their footprints and disturbed ground cover made it easy to follow.
I came upon a shallow dry streambed and had just stepped into it when a rifle sounded followed by shouts and growls. Clambering up the other bank I peeked around a large trunk. I couldn’t see anything from where I was. My heart was pounding, making it hard to hear. Each step seemed to find every twig and crunchy leaf. My rife was pressed firmly into my shoulder even though my hands shook. Then a wolf stepped into view followed by two more.
Father and Ole were up in a tree and I was now looking rather tasty.
“Maria, look out!” father shouted.
I dove to the side as another rifle blast went off near me. Something heavy fell on my legs. Suddenly a bear roared. The white bear was in the clearing standing on his hind legs and roared again.
I struggled to push the heavy wolf off my legs when arms wrapped around me and pulled me away. Then we were running, Father, Ole, and I. The sound of thrashing and snarling fading behind us.
CHAPTER 3
I knew it! And he’s protecting me. I hope the wolves didn’t hurt him. What if Dad or Ole had shot him? I shivered. Father had been furious with me. ‘Why hadn't I stayed put? I could have been killed. We’d discuss this in the morning.’ I unlatched the door to my cabin - it creaked with protest as I pushed it open. The fire had burned down while we were gone. I quickly latched the door shut and turned to stoke the fire. Movement from the corner caught my eye and I jumped back, expecting a wolf.
Reaching behind me I groped for anything to protect myself with. My fingers wrapped around something hard and cylindrical. I brought it up to my face and saw it was a candle. Great weapon, maybe whatever it is will wait for me to light it so I can burn them.
The thing slowly came toward me and morphed into a man shape. “Please don’t be frightened,” he said.
I did feel a little better that it wasn’t a wolf or bear but realizing that there was a strange man in my cabin didn’t exactly put me at ease. “Uh, who are you?”
The man stopped his approach. “My name is Valimon.”
Something about his name and the sound of his voice calmed me, felt familiar.
“Valimon? What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to make sure you were safe after the wolf attack.”
I slowly sat on the edge of the table, fumbling with the candle in my hands. “You were there? You saw the bear then?”
He gave a soft breathy laugh. “Yes, I saw the bear.” His frame visibly relaxed.
“It’s so dark in here, let me get this fire going.” I moved to put more wood on the fire. But he grabbed my arm, stopping me. I flinched.
“Please don’t. You can’t see me.”
“What? Why?”
He released my arm and there was a moment of silence. “I’ve been cursed.”
I stepped back. Cursed. “Um… Okay. I think it's time for you to uh…”
“Wait, Maria.” he reached out to me but didn’t touch me. “I am the bear.”
It felt as though time stopped. I thought back to when I first met him. I’d gotten lost in the woods when he found me. He kept me warm and helped me find my way back to the house. Father tolerated my stories but Aunt Helen detested them. After a while I stopped talking about my bear. Only Liz knew that I continued to visit him in the woods but she didn’t believe me either.
“Val?” I called him the name I’d always known him as. I suppose Valimon was too difficult for a toddler to pronounce. “How did this happen?”
He shifted his weight and cleared his throat. “We banished a witch for practicing dark magic. She vowed revenge and cast a curse on me. Now, I’m a bear during the day and a man for a few hours at night.”
“Oh, Val, I’m so sorry. Is there any way for you to break this curse?”
“Yes. If I managed to wed the curse could be broken. But I mustn't show my face to anyone or I’d have to marry the witch.”
“Wait, how old are you, Valimon?” the thought occurred to me that he must be much older than me. 20 years, give or take.
“I will be celebrating my twenty and fourth year in just another month.”
I sat on the edge of the table again. “How? How is that possible? You should be much older than that. I met you when I was a little girl.”
Val let out a soft breath, “Yes, I wondered that myself. I think time works differently on each side of the portal. I’ve come to your home once every year, but each time you’ve grown by several years. When I return home, it’s as if no time has passed. My curse only happened four years ago. Each time I came, I felt that I was being led to your house but, until recently, I wasn’t sure why.”
My pulse quickened, “you’ve found what you’re looking for?”
There was a pause. I thought maybe he wasn’t going to answer me.
Then he said, in a whisper, “Yes, I think I have.”
*
He came to visit me every night. I didn’t tell my father. What was I supposed to tell him? But I felt safe with Valimon, more than safe, I felt we had a bond, without trying to sound too corny it was like we were soulmates. We talked for hours late into the night. I longed to see his face.
Morning found me hammering and cutting wood. I’d insisted on doing as much as I could and not being treated “like a girl”. By the time lunch rolled around I was sore and had blisters on both hands.
“It’s ok to take a break,” said dad.
“Ok, maybe I’ll take some pictures.”
“Sounds great, just don’t wander too far. We haven’t seen any sign of the wolves after that attack but there were bear tracks not too far out.”
I started taking pictures of the cabins and some fallen trees. As I wandered along the shoreline I began to feel drawn toward something, almost like I was being led. I found myself f
ollowing a game trail. Oh, good. Now I can get lost and get eaten by wolves. I came to a clearing, a little round meadow. Straight across from me was a shimmering archway. It looked like a window to another place. Did I just step into one of my fairy tales? This can’t be real. I saw rolling hills with lush green grass and wildflowers.
There was rustling in the grass behind me. I slowly turned around. At the edge of the wood sat a large white bear.
“Valimon!” I ran to him and wrapped my arms around his furry neck.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said. “This is the portal to my kingdom. I want you to come with me. I want you to be my bride.”
I know I should have been shocked. I should have been weirded out. But I felt none of that. I knew I needed to go with him, back to his kingdom - to marry him. I could break the curse.
Giddy at the thought of living my own fairytale, I’d found my prince and I was going to have the happily ever after that I read about.
“How do I explain this to my father?”
“That choice is yours.”
I hugged him again, “I will be back. I will find a way. I promise.”
I walked out of the woods, following the same game trail. Now that I was approaching my father I realized how preposterous my tale would sound. Hey dad! So, I met the white bear. You know, my childhood playmate, the one that saved our lives the other day. Well, he’s really a man and he wants me to marry him and go through a portal to live in his magical Kingdom.
I waved as I approached, “Hi, how’s it going?”
My dad and Ole returned the greeting. Dad said, “Just fine. Are you enjoying your time here?”
“Um… yeah, it’s so beautiful. It’ll be hard to leave.”
My dad nodded.
“Dad, I’ve decided to do a bit of sightseeing. Around Norway, I mean. Since we’ve been here, I’ve hardly left the house.” I decided then that there’d be no way he’d understand the truth, I just hopped he believed the flimsy excuse for my leaving.
He stopped, took off his hat, rubbed his forehead with a bandana and placed his hat back on. “I think that’s an excellent idea. Liz has really taken to living here. I was hoping you’d follow her example and go off to school or something,” he paused, held up a hand, “that didn’t come out the way I meant. Would you like anyone to go with you? I’m sure Siv would like some time off.”
“Oh, no I, I think this is something I should do on my own. In fact, I’d like to go right away. I’m sure I can find my way home.”
“Not tonight. I’ll take you first thing in the morning. There’s no rush, right?”
I looked at the sky. The sun was going to set in a few hours. “Right. No rush. I’ll get dinner started.”
I paced my small cabin. I couldn’t tell if I was more nervous or excited. This was the biggest thing I’d ever done in my life. Up until now, I thought my life was rather dull and adventureless. That night I hardly slept. I was up by dawn cinching the saddle when Dad stepped out of his cabin.
“Raring to go? I’m glad to see you so excited about something,” dad hugged me and gave me a boost into the saddle. He then mounted his own horse and started toward home. We didn’t talk much on the way, it was midday by the time we got there. Siv made us some lunch and Dad decided to head back before it got too late.
“I want you to check in every day. I want to know where you are and where you will be headed,” he smiled, “Don't forget, Liz will be coming home for winter break in three weeks.” He paused then dug into his pocket and handed me a wad of cash, “Have fun and be careful.”
It dawned on me that I might never see him again. Tears sprang to my eyes. “I love you dad.”
He smiled down at me from atop his horse, cleared his throat and said, “Love you too.”
I hadn’t heard those words from him much before, I had to bite my lip and blink a few times to avoid breaking down. I watched him ride away until he was out-of-sight.
I gave Siv a hug. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me, for us.”
“You are very velcome,” she said returning my hug.
As I pulled away I saw her concerned expression. “I’m just nervous. I’ve never really done anything on my own before,” I shrugged my shoulders and headed up stairs, then ran to my room and called Liz while I packed a small bag of fresh clothes. Unfortunately she didn’t answer. She hardly ever did. I hated to leave a message but I also didn’t want to hear any criticising at the moment. I took a shower to wash off all the grime of the last few days, then went to bed after dinner.
It seemed like forever but I finally fell asleep. I awoke in the middle of the night from a dream where I’d had children but a bear stole them away. The dream left me unnerved.
Waking before dawn, I dressed and snuck downstairs to grab a quick breakfast before saddling my horse. I didn’t want to explain to Siv why I’d rather take a horse than use the taxi she had coming for me. My excitement began to fade into nervousness, but I brushed that away. I was going to do this. I cinched up the saddle and patted the horse’s neck before swinging my leg over its back. This morning was quite a bit cooler than the previous mornings. Small lazy flakes of snow drifted aimlessly to the ground. The forest was still, unlike the first time we rode through, it had been full of birdsong. The cloud cover made it darker as well.
The few inches of snow on the ground made it more difficult to find my way. I stopped several times and changed directions more often than I probably should. By midday I was hopelessly lost. If only I could find that lake. I dismounted and took a short break to eat a small lunch I’d packed. My horse snorted and stomped a hoof. Instantly on edge, I looked around. Trees, trees, more trees… snow, white… movement! My horse suddenly whinnied and reared. Breaking the branch he was tied to and took off. “No! Come back!”
I had no other choice but to climb a tree. If the wolves were back I couldn’t outrun them and the horse just ran off with my gun. The sturdy branches were all too high to reach. I heard a growl.
A nearby tree looked climbable. I dashed for it and climbed as fast as I could. I almost fell out as something took hold of my boot. I screamed, craning my neck as far as I could, a large white wolf had the heel of my boot in his jaws. Both of my arms were wrapped around a branch; my legs dangling like tasty sausage links. I brought down my free foot as hard as I could on the wolves’ snout. With a yelp, he let go of me. I was then able to climb high enough so they couldn’t reach me. I now had no choice but to stay put. Four hungry looking wolves circled the tree. They looked intent on staying there until I died. Tears welled up. No fairy tale life for me. No regular life either. What was I doing?
The day passed slowly. The wolves eventually lay down and appeared to be sleeping. I knew better, they were guarding me; waiting for me to slip up so they could pounce. My butt was sore and cold and my legs were stiff. Trees weren’t the most comfortable place to spend the last day of your life in. I knew if I fell asleep I’d fall off this branch. The day wore on into night. There must have been a thick blanket of clouds or a new moon because I couldn’t see a thing. With night the temperature dropped and I began to shiver.
I knew it was probably pointless but I started yelling. “Help! Help! Somebody, I’m caught in a tree and there are a bunch of hungry wolves here!”
Surprisingly, I didn’t have to wait long. I saw firelight coming toward me. A torch was held by someone completely covered head to toe. I guessed it was a man from the stature and way he held himself. The wolves stood and growled. The man swung the torch back and forth causing the wolves to scatter. One wolf leapt at the man but got burned by the swinging torch. With a yelp it ran off to join the others.
“They’re gone, you can come down now,” the man said.
I stiffly began my descent but ended up awkwardly falling into his arms. I looked up at him but couldn’t see his face; there was only a slit where he could see out from. I imagined him smiling at my clumsiness.
“Are you hurt?” He
asked.
All I could do was shake my head. I felt my cheeks burning. I looked down and pushed myself away. “Thank you. I got lost and my horse ran away.”
“It’s me, Valemon.”
“Oh! Of course, I should have realized.” I felt pretty stupid. “How did you find me?”
“I had a feeling you were in danger. I just started running, then I heard your call.”
Valemon wrapped his arm around my waist and assisted me in walking until I was able to get some feeling in my legs. He didn’t let go of my hand, his fingers entwined with mine.
“I’m sorry you have to leave your family behind. I know what a sacrifice this must be for you.” He looked at me briefly while guiding me through the woods. “I hope you will come to love your new home. My father died many years ago and I have no siblings. All I have is my mother.”
“I hope she’ll like me,” I said.
“She will adore you.” Valemon trailed a finger down my cheek. “Are you happy?”
I blushed again. “Yes,” I whispered. Searching his face I couldn’t even see his eyes in the torchlight. We walked a little longer before the trees opened into the little grove I had seen a few days earlier. Valemon put the torch out in the snow before leading me through the portal.
CHAPTER 4
It was day on the other side of the portal. Valemon changed into a bear as soon as he stepped through. The sun was bright and warm, there was no snow and flowers blanketed the rolling hills. Beyond the hills a dense forest covered the base of a hazy mountain range. I ducked instinctively as a loud buzzing whirred past my ear and was delighted to see a stationary hummingbird, just out of reach, watch me for a moment before zooming off. I giggled and bent down to pluck a flower that reminded me of a daisy.
“Climb onto my back, it will be a long walk.”
I carefully grabbed a fistful of fur and swung my leg over his back, marveling at the beauty of this land. “Why is it not winter here?” I asked.
“I live in the Summer land. We don’t have winter here; flowers always bloom, the weather is always fine.”
