Fur

Catching Up

Armelle shrieked as the bear raced toward her.

"CHRISTOPHER!!!!" she screamed, but he had already left in search of his dream catchers.

All of a sudden, there was a peculiar voice in the back of her head.

"Run, Bear Princess! Run to the wood!"

Picking up her skirt, Armelle bolted out of the room and down the halls.

There were other guests running as well. But surprisingly, Armelle seemed to run faster.

She burst out of the back kitchen door into the chilly night air. There was a faint roar not too far behind her, so she continued to the woods.

Her feet made no sound at all on the dry leaves carpeting the earth. Out of nowhere, something caught her leg and sent her tumbling.

Armelle clenched her eyes shut as she felt a heavy hot breath in her face. But the creature jumped backwards when an arrow barely missed its back.

"Go Armelle!" a familiar voice yelled. Armelle saw Christopher and an army of men with arrows. But his seemed to glow.

Armelle continued to run, but each step grew heavier and heavier. She was getting tired. The bear wasn't far behind at all.

Armelle inhaled sharply as another arrow zipped through the still air. That's when she finally realized what fear was.

Her heart clicked like clockwork and all thoughts came into place. She was running away from a bear when she herself was the Bear Princess. She's running from her own self.

"The time will come when you must face your fear. Now is the time."

Armelle stopped and slowly turned to the beast, stretching her arms out.

***

"Continue aiming close to the beast!" Christopher yelled at the army.

"But don't hit him square. He's my father," he added in a hushed tone.

Christopher could feel something major dawning. His last dream catcher seemed to vibrate in his hand. He carefully pulled the arrow back and launched it forward.

***

The bear did not know why he was chasing this girl. His vision was blurred like teardrops. But suddenly there was the girl, standing before him, ready to be attacked.

The bear leaped forward and materialized the moment he hit the girl's heart.

***

The arrow whizzed straight towards the bear, until the beast suddenly disappeared. The arrow hit Armelle instead.

The entire kingdom heard Christopher scream, for it bounced off the thick trees of the deep dark woods.