2. Charlotte
She slept fitfully, her rest disturbed by strange dreams of snowy tundras and snarling bears. Consequently, she slept in, and by the time she woke, her sisters were fully dressed, bustling around their shared room while they muttered comments about lazy layabeds.
Charlotte rushed to catch up with them, stuffing herself into her clothes without even taking time to brush her hair. She rarely bothered to enhance her appearance in any way—her looks had been the cause of enough resentment as it was—but she preferred to present herself neatly, at least. She’d slept too late for that on this occasion, however.
But as she finally escaped into the forest, she acknowledged there was no need for tidiness. She wasn’t likely to see anyone else all day. Especially since she was alone for once. Despite their father’s reassurances, her sisters hadn’t been brave enough to venture away from the house so soon after sighting the bear.
Her mother had looked once between her elder daughters and her youngest and declared she had plenty of tasks to keep Elizabeth and Odelia occupied inside. And this time Charlotte felt nothing but gratitude for her mother’s instinct to separate them.
She breathed in the fresh air deeply, glad to be free of the confines of the small house. But as she walked, she glanced back at her home and sighed. The only thing that had reconciled her sisters to their move was the promise that the family would be better off once they had land of their own in a region with plentiful resources. Her father had been full of stories of the wealth of the valley folk, as relayed by his sister.
But so far that wealth had failed to materialize. According to their father, it would be unlocked soon. He often claimed they just needed more time—time he gave cheerfully—before they would reap all the rewards the valley had to offer. But he was never clear about the source of the promised wealth, and the rewards had assumed a mythical status in Charlotte’s mind.
For the moment, they were significantly worse off than they had been in the village. And this reality had likely only exacerbated the recent return of her sisters’ resentment and ill temper. After days of celebration at the home of their much wealthier cousins, it had been difficult for all of them to come back to their own house, but her sisters had been the most affected. Elizabeth and Odelia might have directed their resentment toward Charlotte, but she was far from the only cause of their unhappiness.
Charlotte herself occasionally gave in to bouts of resentment, although she never seemed able to hold onto her irritation for long. She certainly didn’t care about being wealthy—their family’s needs were always met and that was enough for her. But she missed her old home and her friends there, and those feelings had grown hugely since the wedding and the subsequent alienation from her sisters. Would it have been so bad to stay in a village where they were known and valued, even if they were not among its wealthier inhabitants?
She tried to shake off the thoughts and instead enjoy her surroundings. Spring was finally shedding winter’s grip on the landscape, buds poking up everywhere she walked. She watched them with pleasure, keeping a careful eye out for anything edible. After a winter of dried and preserved food, she was longing for greenery on their tables. She wouldn’t be able to gather as much without her sisters, but she was determined not to come home empty-handed. Now that the last of the snow had melted, everyone was looking forward to a greater variety of meals again.
A flash of white once again caught her eye, and the jolt of excitement that shot through Charlotte made her admit what she had really been looking for. She froze, a distant part of her mind screaming to flee for the safe walls of home. Her feet didn’t move, however. She knew she should feel fear, but curiosity burned more strongly. Despite everything, she had to know if she had imagined the expression on the bear’s face the day before.
She barely breathed as he lumbered between two trees, moving in her direction. He hadn’t seen her yet, and she rose on her toes, ready to run if he responded to her presence with aggression.
His large white head swung in her direction, his dark eyes fixing on her. Instantly he froze, reacting just as she had at the sight of him. It was such an unexpected reaction that the breath whooshed from her lungs, her muscles relaxing. More than anything, his surprise seemed so…human.
“You came back.” The words were low and gravelly with a wild edge that hinted at their origin.
But even so, the sound was too shocking to be immediately understood. She opened her mouth, intending to exclaim in surprise, but only a squeak came out.
The bear blinked, still not moving closer.
“When I saw your father searching the woods with his bow this morning,” the bear said, “I thought I had surely frightened you all away.” Seeing his mouth move in time with the words made it impossible to deny the reality of what she’d heard.
The animal was speaking—and in perfectly intelligible words.
“You…you can talk,” she said, her voice trembling.
The bear made such a terrifying rumbling sound that she nearly ran, but a certain brightness to his eyes gave her pause. Was he laughing?
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to startle you, but I couldn’t think of any other way to communicate.”
“No,” she said blinking, “I suppose not.”
Silence fell as she tried to think what else to say. While she had never been excessively talkative like some children, she had rarely been at a complete loss. But what sort of conversation was one supposed to have with a bear? The entire interaction was inconceivable.
Or was it? Her thoughts stopped in their wild spinning as she remembered a story Daisy used to tell. The tale had been about a girl from a kingdom across the desert—a girl who had become a princess with the help of a talking cat.
According to the story, the cat had come from the High King’s lands. It made sense, of course. Something as fantastical as a talking animal had to come from the Palace of Light. In fact, hadn’t one of her cousins claimed to hear stories of a talking horse who had spent some time in Rangmere? Her cousin had never met the steed himself, but he had insisted the story was true. And in that tale, the creature had come from the Palace of Light as well. If the High King’s lands contained a talking cat and a talking horse, why not a talking white bear?
She relaxed. It still didn’t explain what such an animal was doing here, in their valley. But at least she was in no danger from a companion of the High King. However long his claws and sharp his teeth, no animal from the Palace of Light would eat a human.
At least, she didn’t think one would.
She considered how to phrase a query about the bear’s origins. She didn’t want to offend him by appearing too suspicious.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?” he asked while she was still debating the matter internally.
“Should I be?” she asked back, still marveling at the way his head cocked to the side in curiosity and at the intelligence in his dark eyes. It was no wonder she had sensed from the first that he was no ordinary bear.
“You have nothing to fear from me,” he said promptly, and somehow his words comforted her, despite the deep, gravelly tone.
“Thank you.” She offered him a small curtsy. She wasn’t entirely sure if you were supposed to curtsy to anyone from the Palace of Light or only to the High King himself. But it seemed better to be safe than risk offending such a very large creature.
The bear dipped his head in response, seeming pleased with her action.
Silence fell again as she considered how she was going to tell this story to her family. She could already hear her sisters’ ridicule. They would never believe the bear was friendly, let alone that it could talk. Especially not after their excessive—and apparently unnecessary—fear the day before.
She bit her lip.
“Does something trouble you?” The bear took several steps toward her before halting abruptly, as if he had suddenly realized she might not welcome his approach.
She smiled, touched by his thoughtfulness.
“It’s nothing of importance,” she said. “Merely that my sisters don’t like me, and that’s hardly new.”
She blinked, surprised by her own words. Whatever had led her to blurt out her problems? She had to be badly starved of companionship if she was turning to a bear as her confidante.
He gazed at her with such quiet patience that somehow her mouth opened and more words poured out.
“I do nothing to antagonize them. Quite the opposite! But the two of them are so close in age and temperament, and they’ve always been willing to close ranks against me at the smallest perceived slight.” She sighed heavily. “I thought we were making progress when we moved out here. I even began to think of them as friends. I guess that’s why it hurt so much more when they turned against me this time. I’ve been doing my best not to provoke them, but it makes no difference when they’re in this mood. They see fault in everything I do and say.” Her voice dropped. “I suppose they don’t need me. They have each other. But that leaves me all alone.”
The day before, she would have said it was impossible for a bear to frown. But there was no denying his frown in response to her words. His intense gaze fixed even more closely on her face.
“I’ve been watching you all for days,” he admitted after a moment, making her start. “Even I, a stranger, have been able to see your sisters’ feelings toward you.” His eyes narrowed, and his voice dropped so low it was practically a growl. “Shall I teach them some manners?”
Her eyes widened, a strange rush washing through her—half fear and half imagined delight at the thought of the bear confronting her sisters. But she couldn’t encourage the dark turn of his mood.
“Oh no!” she exclaimed. “You need to stay away from them! They’re already afraid of you as it is. If you frighten them too badly, they’ll never leave the house again.”
“And then you’ll have to gather food on your own,” he said in a milder tone, looking disappointed. “I suppose that will only make everything worse.”
She tried to hide her smile and didn’t quite succeed. He sounded almost like a child denied a favorite sweet. But a moment later, he brightened, as if struck by a new thought.
He didn’t speak, however, and her thoughts returned to his earlier words. He had been watching her and her sisters as they gathered food. Why?
She opened her mouth to ask him, but he spoke at the same time.
“What are the local wedding customs in this area?”
His unexpected words made her forget her own question entirely. She stared at him, unable to fathom what interest a bear could have in such matters.
“You want to know about our marriage customs?” she repeated, sure she must have heard wrong.
He shook his head slightly. “I don’t care so much about the marriage itself, just the wedding. I know the customs differ in different regions.”
She wasn’t sure if his clarification made the question more or less strange.
“You really want to know how the people of the valleys do wedding ceremonies?” she asked, still unable to believe she’d understood correctly.
“Very much so,” he said. “I’ve come here especially for that purpose.”
She gaped at him. The bear had come all the way from the Palace of Light to research how different regions conducted wedding ceremonies? Was he traveling the entire Four Kingdoms, or only the remotest parts? Would he want to know about other ceremonies and celebrations as well?
She hoped he wouldn’t ask her to explain a local funeral because she hadn’t been to one since they moved from Northhelm. In fact, she only knew about weddings because of her cousin’s recent marriage for which they had spent three days at her aunt and uncle’s to join the celebrations.
Perhaps that was why the bear was asking her about weddings in particular. Had he overheard talk about a recent one in the area?
“Since the people of the valleys live so far apart,” she said hesitantly, “we welcome reasons to gather together. Because of that, an occasion as joyous as a wedding is usually accompanied by a celebration of several days. That also gives the opportunity for young people to meet each other.” She gave a small chuckle. “Otherwise there wouldn’t be any future weddings.”
The bear didn’t smile in response, though. Instead, he looked disappointed. “The local weddings last for days?”
“Not the wedding itself,” she rushed to assure him. “Just the celebration around it. The actual ceremony is short and simple. Valley folk work too hard to waste time and effort on weighty or expensive traditions.”
The bear took another step forward, not seeming to notice he was doing so.
“A simple ceremony? What does it involve?”
She shook her head slightly, still utterly bemused. “The bride and groom hold hands in front of their family and friends and make their promises. They promise to support each other through life’s joys and disappointments and to remain loyal. Then the parents each speak a blessing. And that’s the whole thing. I know it’s nothing like the elaborate ceremonies they hold in the cities, but it’s accompanied by just as much joy and love.”
“What if the parents don’t approve?” he asked. “Or they’re not able to be present? Can the ceremony happen without their blessing?”
Her forehead wrinkled. “Since the bride and groom have to be adults, it can still go ahead without the parents. It is merely customary to include them.”
“An exchange of promises,” the bear muttered to himself. “So simple.”
Charlotte straightened, reading an insult in his words. “The people of the valleys might be simple folk, but they are good folk, for the most part. And they’re certainly hardworking. Fancy gowns and elaborate speeches aren’t the mark of good character.”
The bear blinked at her, as if he was just as bemused by her as she was by him. Perhaps he hadn’t meant his words as an insult after all?
“I know that well,” he said in his rumbly voice. “It is merely the simplest wedding ceremony I have yet encountered. But I can assure you I am pleased to hear it.”
He spoke as if he was well-traveled. Had he already been all around the Four Kingdoms for his research? Perhaps he had even been to the kingdoms across the desert or the ones across the sea. Although she couldn’t imagine the white bear lumbering up a sand dune beside a camel string, nor could she picture him on the deck of a ship. Just the thought made her lips twitch upward.
But then an inhabitant of the Palace of Light probably had other means of transportation.
The bear seemed transfixed by the movement of her lips, and it occurred to her that he might think she was laughing at him. A twinge of guilt reminded her that she had been, in a way.
“Would you like to know about other local ceremonies?” she asked, contrite.
“Oh, uh, no, this is fine.” He stumbled over his words for the first time since initiating the conversation. “I think,” he added, “that there is someone else I need to speak to now.”
“Oh, of course,” Charlotte said, surprised at the strength of her disappointment. “I suppose I won’t see you again, then. You’ll be moving on to some other place soon.” She peeped across at him, a little embarrassed, but not able to stop herself adding, “Won’t you?”
“Yes,” he said. “At least I hope so. I hope I may soon return home.”
She nodded, telling herself she should be pleased for his sake. The note of longing in his voice told her he missed his home, and she could hardly blame him, given the tales of the Palace of Light.
“I hope your journey is smooth and swift,” she said, giving a deeper curtsy than she had at the beginning of their conversation.
“And I hope all your troubles are soon resolved,” he replied.
She smiled at him, once again touched. “Thank you, White Bear. It is kind of you to think of the troubles of an insignificant girl from the valleys.”
“Insignificant?” He sounded thoughtful. “Are you? I wonder…”
For what felt like the hundredth time since meeting him, she was left in confused surprise at his words. But this time he moved before she could respond or question him further. With a final dip of his head, he swung around and disappeared back into the trees, moving faster and more quietly than she would have thought possible for such a large animal.
She stood watching the spot where he had stood far after the last glimpse of white fur had disappeared. Had she really just exchanged an extended conversation with a bear?
And what a strange conversation it had been.
She finally shook herself and turned north. She still had searching to do if she didn’t want to return home empty-handed. And since she wasn’t sure it was a good idea to tell her family about the bear, it would be better if she didn’t provoke questions by coming home with nothing to show for her day’s effort.