Everflame (3 page)

“Be still, li
ttle one,” Eveneye whispered. “I promise I’ll get you something when we return.”

It was a little-
known fact outside of the bear kingdom, but bears loved baked goods. Pies, cookies, cakes, they loved everything. Eveneye’s personal favorites were brownies. Eveneye loved them almost as much as fish. In fact, brownies were one of the things that had made him fall in love with Goldenheart. She made the best brownies he had ever tasted. They made him feel like he was floating on air. He had nicknamed them Goldenheart’s Magical Brownies and usually asked for them thusly.

Eveneye had finally moved past the crowd of the market and was now very close to the
King’s court. He was beginning to think that he was in the clear, when he heard a strong “ahem” from behind. Eveneye stopped and Whiteclaw circled around in front of him.

“Don’t do this,”
Whiteclaw whispered. “I’ll help you come up with a better solution. Do not show that child to the King.”

“It will be fine. I will make him understand.”

“And what if he does not?”

“He will,” assured Eveneye.

“What if you are wrong? He will order you to return that child, and what then? Hmm? Will you sacrifice everything you have worked for, your reputation, your wife’s reputation, everything… for that boy?”

“Please, Whiteclaw, you must trust me.” Eveneye stared Whiteclaw directly in the eyes, unwavering.

Whiteclaw lowered his gaze and sighed, exasperated.

“If this is something you must do,” Whiteclaw raised his eyes to meet those of his friend, “then it will not be alone.”

“You are a good friend,” said Eveneye, smiling. “You will not regret this.”

The bears both turned and marched on
, toward the castle. As the castle came into view, Eveneye could hear Whiteclaw swallow the lump in his throat.

“Trust me
, Whiteclaw. I have a plan.”

“Care to share that plan?”

“Sorry, I can’t. You’ll just have to trust me.”

Whiteclaw shook his head and smirked.

The tunnel opened to the sky, just in front of the entrance to the castle. The castle rose from the mountain’s peak like a giant flower, opening to the sun. The walls of the castle layered inward, like great, stone petals, disjointed, yet seamless. They came tighter and tighter until they met the lone tower that rose from the middle of the castle, like the flower’s stigma. Atop the tower, burned the Everflame in all its glory. The King’s castle had been carved directly from the peak of the mountain by the tireless work of the elder bears. It was the single greatest achievement in the history of the bears and each of them regarded the castle and its flame as sacred.

Eveneye and Whiteclaw approached the guard at the door to the castle
, and told him that they had business in the King’s court. The guard recognized them as two of the King’s advisors and asked no questions as he admitted them into the castle. The door of the castle opened inward, from the middle, to reveal the beauty of the King’s halls. All of the stone on the inside of the castle had been polished so smooth it seemed as though it might be liquid. The castle had many windows, so that during the day, the halls would be lit with natural light. A life-sized sculpture of each of the previous kings lined the walls down the main hall toward the King’s court. Thirty-three in total, beginning with the first king of the bears, King Longbranch, and ending with King Bluestar, Irontooth’s predecessor. A sculpture was only commissioned after a king’s rule had ended.

Eveneye and Whiteclaw made their way to the courtroom and stood in the waiting line
, just outside. There were only two parties before them who had cases to present to the King. A guard stood at the entrance to the court and told each party when it was their turn to enter. Almost half an hour passed when the party directly before Eveneye and Whiteclaw were admitted, and the two bears moved up in line. The guard returned and stared blankly at the two bears.

“You can go right in. You know you two don’t have to wait in the case line.”

“No,” said Eveneye, “we do. We have a case to be judged by the King today.”

“Come on now,” said the guard. “You’re pulling a goof on me, you are. You can’t expect me to believe the two of you are at odds with each other.”

“No. We just have something to be presented to the King,” explained Whiteclaw.

“Ooooh
.” The guard nodded his head, rolled back and forth on the balls of his feet and then pointed at the bulging sack. “What’s in the bag?”

“None of your business,” shot Whiteclaw.

“Fine. Have it your way.” The guard turned around and began muttering to himself.

A few minutes passed and then the sound of a gong was heard
, signaling a decision by the King in the present case. The guard opened the door to the court and extended his arms, signaling that Eveneye and Whiteclaw could enter. The bears walked to the center of the room and stood upon a large star that had been etched into the polished stone. They turned to face the King, whose throne sat upon a series of ten steps. A group of five guards stood on either side of the King. The room was large and this was mostly to accommodate a sizable audience. Bleachers lined both sidewalls and the back wall. The ceiling was open to the sky so that the Everflame could be seen overhead. There were only about two hundred bears in attendance today. The room could easily fit one thousand. It rarely reached such capacity, and today’s audience was rather standard. Still, it seemed a lot for Eveneye, who was seeing the courtroom from this vantage point for the first time. It took he and Whiteclaw a moment to muster their courage before they addressed the King.

“Your M
ajesty,” said the bears and bowed before King Irontooth.

“What are the two of
you doing?” asked Irontooth. “I am in no mood for pranks today.”

Murmurings from the crowd washed
over the two bears like a wave.

“Silence!” called the King. He then nodded at Eveneye and Whit
eclaw so that they might speak.

“Your M
ajesty,” began Eveneye, “this is no joke. I am here today to tell you of the events that befell Whiteclaw and myself last night. Whiteclaw is here as my witness of the events. I would ask that you hear my story and then, I will present you with a plan I have that will bring further prosperity to our future. Will you hear me, O King?”

“Of course I will hear you
, Eveneye. You are one of my most trusted advisors. I would be a fool to ignore that which you feel you must say. But first,” and the King pointed directly at Eveneye, “I need to know what is moving in that bag.”

Every bear inside the courtroom moved their attention to the
sack that hung around Eveneye’s neck, as it was now obvious that something was trying to push its way out.

“As you wish.” Eveneye took the
sack from his neck and gently placed it on the floor. He then lifted back the top, and out crawled a smiling, little boy. The crowd erupted in surprise.

“Silence! I demand silence!” The crowd hushed and the King looked down over Eveneye and the child at his feet. “You had better explain yourself, and you had better do it quickly.”

“Yes, Sire.” Eveneye began with the events of the previous night, just as he had given them to his wife, earlier. Ooohs and Aaahs came from the crowd as he told of the battle with the wolves, but the crowd did not seem as impressed with Eveneye’s decision to bring the child to the mountain. Eveneye could see that if he stopped talking, he may never get a chance to speak of his plan. So as his account of the night finished, he proceeded directly to his plan. “So, Sire, this is what I propose. This child is obviously unwanted by the humans and therefore, there is no danger of them attempting to reclaim him. I propose we keep him on the mountain and raise him as a member of our society.” The murmurs of the crowd were getting louder but Eveneye ignored them and continued. “Once the boy becomes an adult, he could become an ambassador of peace between us and the humans. When the humans see that we have taken care of one of their own, they will not fear us any longer. We can begin a new era of peace and cooperation between our two societies. Together, bears and humans could reach goals we never dreamed possible. I beg of you, O King, trust in my judgment. An era of peace between bears and humans would be a great ease to our need for security. We would be able to open trade to lengths we never thought possible. Without humans fearing us, we may also be able to spread the Kingdom of Bears further than ever before. I’m sure there would be many benefits I have not even thought of. The possibilities are endless. I understand that what I ask is radical in nature, but I know, in your wisdom, you will see the truth of my words.”

The King did not need to call for silence again. The crowd was too shocked to make noise. Everyone waited breathlessly for the King to speak.

“What say you, Whiteclaw?” asked the King. “Do you stand in agreement with Eveneye?”

Whiteclaw paused before he spoke, but when he did
, his words rang clear.

“I do, good King. Eveneye has always had keen judgment. It has never led me astray.”

Warmth rose up inside of Eveneye at his friend’s kind words. He looked up at the King with a bit of confidence after they had been spoken. The King, however, began to frown and the warmth Eveneye had felt was quickly cooled.

“Eveneye,” said the King. “We all know why you were given such a name. Your good ethics and morals have always given authority to your decis
ions, even when you were a cub. You have always advised me with the best interest of the Kingdom at heart. You have done your name proud. However, I fear that today, you have brought a mark against it.” Warmth and feeling alike had now left Eveneye’s body. He was in a nightmare he could not escape, and he remained motionless as the King continued. “Bringing this child here was a mistake. It is not the responsibility of bears to rear a child that has been discarded by man. Did you consider what evil might reside in this child that the humans would seek to rid themselves of. Look at the child, even now; it has no fear of us. It sits placidly, staring at us. It seems unnatural to me. As for your plan for future prosperity, I say, what is wrong with the prosperity our kingdom sees on this day? We are doing just fine without the aid of humans. Bah. Humans. Humans who have made war with each other and have hunted us for game. Why would we ally with such despicable creatures? This boy that sits in front of us would probably kill you dead once he came of age. No, Eveneye, I would put no stock in humans.”

“But
, Sire,” Eveneye pleaded, “it is my belief that a human that was reared through the wisdom of our elders would be very unlike the humans we know now. It would be better. Er…more like us. It would–”

“Enough, Eveneye. Do not try to convince me further. I have made my final decision. You and Whiteclaw will return this child to the nearest village immediately and we will speak of this no more.”

Suddenly, a fire shot through Eveneye that he had never felt. He forgot where he was and whom he was speaking to. He knew only one thing, he was right and no one would take this child away from him.

“The child stays with me,” uttered Eveneye through gritted teeth.

Cries of astonishment came forth from the crowd like the winds of a storm. Eveneye could hear Whiteclaw curse behind him.

“SILENCE!!” ro
ared the King. The crowd hushed and Whiteclaw walked over to the child and gathered him up. He did not know what made him do it. Later, he would reason that it was done out of fear for the child, but from the eyes of the King, it looked like defiance.

King Irontooth looked down upon Eveneye and Whiteclaw from his throne with menace in his eyes and his lips curled.

“You two listen to me, and you listen well! If the two of you do not obey my orders immediately, I will have you removed from your positions and branded as traitors to the King! You will be banished from the Kingdom, never to lay eyes upon the Everflame again! No bear will help you, let alone look at you! Do you understand me?”

The fire intensified inside of Eveneye. He could not allow the child to be sent back to the humans, back to its death. How could this King he had followed be so heartless, so unfeeling. He began
to see Irontooth in a new light and it sickened him. This king did not deserve his service. This king deserved his wrath and he unleashed it upon him.

“Oh
, I understand, good King. I understand well. You would forfeit the life of this helpless boy, rather than use your brain to allow rational thought. You would mire your people in tradition and complacence, rather than see them grow through foresight and innovation. You would allow fear and ignorance to prevent the hope of a better day. You are a coward!” Eveneye then stood on his hind legs and roared more loudly than he ever had. Whiteclaw and the child trembled behind him and Whiteclaw uttered:

“Don’t do this, Even. Please. Stop.”

Eveneye didn’t hear him as he stood there, in the center of the court. Every bear in attendance knew what was about to happen, though not one of them could believe their ears as Eveneye began to speak the words of fate.

“Oh Kin
g, you have fallen in mine eyes and I no longer stand at your side! To you, I CHALLENGE!!”