The Shadow Bear (Hiatus)

Intensity

"Miss?" The maid knocked on the door again and waited. No one responded and the hall was filled with empty silence.

"Oh dear..." She tried again and waited. When nothing happened, she swiftly ran to the Master's bedroom. Without thinking she ran in.

"Master Collins! The girl's door is locked and she doesn't answer!" Nathan who was holding an icepack to his nose, stiffened at the news.

"What do you mean she doesn't answer? Call Fredrick and get me the key to her room. Now!" Obediently, the young girl ran out and went in search of her boss.

Nathan cursed and stormed to Altaria's bedroom. She insisted that she stay in the old room because of personal reasons. She was in the only room he didn't have a key for.

Nathan pounded on the door with both fists. "Altaria, open up!"

The lights were off, so she could be sleeping for all he knew.

"Dammit! Why don't you open up?!" He wiggled the doorknob and screamed out in frustration. The maid was still searching for a key and time seemed to be pressing in.

Nathan was worried and he suspected that something bad happened to Altaria.

"Screw it." Taking several steps back, Nathan prepared himself. After gathering his strength, he launched his body and shot forward.

Like a cannon, he hit the door with full blast. The wood splintered, but it was enough to kick in. It took him a few more bashings with his foot before he managed to squeeze in.

His sight plunged into darkness with the only light coming from the hallway behind him. Nathan tried turning on the light switch but the bulb had burned out.

With his hands in front of him, Nathan shuffled carefully toward the bed. He was officially scared when the room showed no sign of Altaria. "Where are you..."

Then, a groan came from beside his foot. "Run." Fingers. A hand. An arm. Altaria. Nathan couldn't believe what the sparse light revealed. It looked like someone had raked a saw across the entire left side of the girl's body.

"He came looking for you. She did this to me while he drilled me with questions." Nathan bent down and pulled out Altaria from under the bed.

"Cynthia!! Cynthia, get me the house doctor on the phone!" Using the bed sheet Nathan tried to hastily wrap it around the part of her body that needed it the most.

"Nathan...you have to disappear. From what he said...he sounded pretty pissed at you," she chuckled then coughed harshly. "What did you do? No, don't tell me... just leave and don't come back. I'm pretty sure I'm dead-"

"Would you shut up for a second! You're not going to die. The doctor can fix you or something." Altaria stayed quiet and stared blankly at the floor.

"How can you be so sure that I'm going to live?" Nathan didn't respond and it seemed to anger the mutilated girl. She was bleeding profusely and her breathing was ragged when she spoke.

"This has happened before hasn't it?"

"What he said is true, isn't it?"

"For Jesus Christ answer me Nathan!" More silence. From the stairwell, Cynthia could be heard yelling at someone while racing toward them.

"Who's Jacklyn?" This finally had an effect on him. His fingers tensed and he accidentally gripped Altaria's arm too tightly.

"Ow!"

"Sorry. Hey...go to sleep. Pretend this a nightmare and that tomorrow you'll be alright. Can you do that for me?" Unsatisfied, Altaria shook her head but when Nathan suffocated her with a pillow, she had no choice. She did sleep but only after she passed out from lack of oxygen.

🐻🐻

The stars met her in her dream. Silver splats against an infinite blue. Her hands rested on the arms of a chair that seemed unnatural when compared to the rest of her surroundings.

She sat calmly in a meadow where packs and packs of wolves slept. Her mind was eerily at peace. The delicate snores from the sleeping bodies comforted her. She felt...at home.

But in the distance there was a vicious roar. The heart gripping growl sent her mind into a frenzy. Apparently she wasn't expecting it...not so soon. No. It's too early. My time isn't over yet. He can't come to take her yet...

What's going on?

A heavy object suddenly weighed down on her head. A familiar yet unknown object. A crown.

In the distance there was a vicious roar. A crown sat on her head. Packs and packs of wolves slept...at her feet. She was eerily at peace. Then the roar came and her mind went into a frenzy.

A roar.

The Bear has come.

Altaria looked down at her body. No, not my body. My...mother's?

Silver splats across an infinite blue. Her dress shimmered and glowed softly. Her mother's dress.

When she looked up, a pair of white orbs stared at her. The Bear has come.

It was odd. It stood on it's hind legs and brought forward a giant paw.

He wants her now.

Who?

None of the wolves awoke to the presence of the bear. It was odd. They felt at ease and continued with their slumber.

That's when she felt a body press against her legs. She made the mistake of looking down. The bear followed her gaze and growled lowly.

A small baby bear was curled up at her side; her mother's side.

He can't have her. She's too young. Just turned four.

Don't let him take her then!

The bear was growing impatient and he could somehow sense that he wasn't going to get the baby cub.

It was odd. From the darkness, a gun appeared in his paw. He had claws yet he seemed civilized enough to use a pistol.

Altaria's head slammed back against the back of the chair. She was at peace again. The wolves awoke at once and aimed their growls at the intruder. He was surrounded and knew he wasn't going to leave unscathed.

A...ttack...

Ditching the girl, he punched a path through the mass of wolves. Only when he was a long way off did the bear turn to look back at Altaria; her mom.

He scowled then spoke in a faintly familiar voice. His words were menacingly cruel and at first Altaria couldn't process what they meant.

It was only after the wolves went back to sleep that they registered in her head.

"My son will take her if I cannot. He will ravage and ruin your queen."

The wolves were not snoring. They were weeping. The splats weren't stars. they were tears and blood of the mother who died.

Most importantly, the bear wasn't four. At least not anymore. She was eighteen and she was indeed in the hands of the son.

The girl. The baby cub. It was Altaria.

🐻🐻

Hey wattpaders, last chapter for 1 whole month (28 days). I hope to answer my question on something so I'll let this sit. Happy Friday and I hope you enjoyed the update. (Thank god its Friday because this chap stressed out my already dead brain)