Treasured by the Dragon

Ch 13: Guilt

I see only claws as I roll to the side. Somewhere wood splinters and the beast answers in a frustrated roar.

I don't stick around long enough to see the aftermath.

Instead, I grab hold of a nearby tree to pull myself up. I've only made it halfway when I hear the shuffle of fur and muscle beside me.

I glance over and catch the watery black eyes of the fearsome creature.

Bears exist in Akarna's Knotham Woods, which is our largest and thickest forest. Big and heavy, they can crush a human with little effort. They didn't need anything else to solidify their position as the apex predators in our kingdom, but their fierce claws and teeth leave no wiggle room for another to take their place.

Those bears, however, don't hold a candle to this one.

Unlike the deep brown of our bears, this one is white with speckled grey to resemble its snowy habitat. Where our bears are as tall as an average adult when on all fours, this one towers above me by a couple feet. The jaw looks just as fierce as the one that plagues my kingdom's hunters, but the claws on this mountain bear are far superior. They are long curled daggers that dig into the ice as it redirects its hefty bulk for a fresh charge toward me.

Shit, what have I done? Why didn't I just listen to Cephias?

I give up on gaining my feet and instead tumble forward, somersaulting over the bitter cold stone. The bear's claws scrape against the icy surface, shifting its weight and veering over toward my new position.

With each dodge, my wrist and ankle throb. Adrenaline is keeping the pain at bay, but it can't will my ankle into mending. All I can do is push through it and hope it is stable enough to get me on my feet, because I can't keep rolling blindly through the small clearing I've found myself in.

The bear will win this endurance battle.

It can't take sudden changes in direction well, but I can't get enough distance to do more than evade. At some point, exhaustion will take hold, and I will not live long enough to suffer more than one blow of its sharp claws.

It's always been on me to survive. No one cared for me as a child. My parents honed me like one would any other tool. But compassion for when I was hurting or scared? No one bothered unless they had nothing better to do.

Cephias, though, he would care. He would save me now, I just know it. Repeatedly, he's proven his desire to keep me warm and safe.

Why didn't I let him?

My breath collects in frozen droplets against the scarf wrapped around my panting lips. Frustration bellows out from the bear's gaping maw, and I do what I can to lift myself up onto my feet. But my ankle gives, and I fall back to the ground as the bear rears onto its hind legs.

I roll a couple feet away and the beast falls back down on to all fours with enough force to shake the very ground beneath me.

I look at the claws that are just inches from my shoulder. My head had been there seconds ago and would have burst like rotten fruit beneath its paw. My throat tightens, and fear sends uncontrollable tremors throughout the entirety of my useless body.

My survival instinct is the only thing powering my movements. I turn my shoulders away and then search for anything I can latch on to. I grip a nearby tree root with my good hand and then pull my dead weight across the frozen ground.

It takes the bear less than its lengthy gait to cover the distance I've made. The fearsome creature cuts me off, standing before me and swinging its shaggy head down with a roar.