Bear in Mind

Before Louis XVI was King of France and no one made jokes about letting everyone eat cake, the mighty warriors of Epiphany ran every land near and far. They ruled with iron fists and cold cruelty, and no one dared rise up against them.

Until the day that Mary made a wish. Now, Mary was a special young lady, so special, in fact, that she had seventeen men that wanted her hand in marriage and thirty-seven men that had already paid her father a hefty sum to be included in the drawing for a husband that her father had planned for her twenty-third birthday. Hence, the wish.

Mary wished for peace and freedom and the chance to marry Bruce, the blacksmith’s son, who was in the drawing by sheer luck and chance and Mary’s quick hand, slipping old man Edwin’s slip out and Bruce’s in. But there were still far too many variables and Mary was never one to leave things to chance.

So, as the day drew nearer, Mary made her wish and the stars listened and a bear appeared.

This bear was not like other bears. He was over 10 feet tall when he stood on his hind legs and far more powerful than an average bear could ever be. He had sharp claws and fangs and a hunger for the blood of any person in an Epiphany warrior uniform. The bear made quick work of the warriors but then there was nothing left for him to do, no purpose, so he began to stalk and kill all those men who had managed to be included in Mary’s Marriage Bowl.

As men began dying, Mary tried to remove Bruce from the lot, but her father began to fear that there would be no wedding for his only child and so he moved up the drawing. The name he drew was none other than Bruce. Mary was beside herself with joy…until the bear arrived.

I had no choice but fight the bear. As the only Epiphany warrior still alive, I stood and faced the great beast. The breath from him was rancid and tainted with the blood of many. The bear only stared at me, confused, and torn with the call of Mary’s wish and the reality that he faced. He took in my uniform…and the fact that I was female. His ultimate choice was to kill me, due to the fact that I stood between him and Bruce, the man he intended to kill.

His massive paw came out and struck me, throwing me against the wall. I was rendered unconscious for a short time, but it was long enough for the bear to corner Mary and Bruce. I moved to his rear and leapt upon his back and drove my spear deep into his neck. He roared in anger but did not fall, did not waver. I removed the spear and tried again and again and again.

At long last, bloody and heaving, the great bear fell down dead. I was triumphant and I felt amazing. I had never felt so alive…until I noticed the bodies of Mary and Bruce. As I tried to kill the bear, he completed his mission and killed the two people I tried desperately to save.

And that, my dear, is the only story you will hear from me on this, my 400th birthday.

- April 5, 2015