Hello again. I'm hoping to finish this in a timely manner; its for a contest that's due date is fast approaching. I have so many projects in the works, and I'm sorry T^T

If you guys know what this is based off of, extra points for you. I don't know how closely I'm going to follow the original faerie tale; already, its deviating. But I like it, and its fun for me. Anyway, please enjoy, and correct my intermittent Chinese, da? The girls who help me speak Shanghainese and Mandarin, and I always get conflicting translations *laughs* . I'm going with what the Shanghainese girl told me, if that helps at all?

"…and I have half a mind to string all four of them up by their toenails, aru!" Wang Yao shouted, waving a wok and a pair of chopsticks dangerously. The vegetables that were currently frying on said wok were close to jumping out of the pan with his agitated movements, but Yao, unconcernedly, just coaxed them back in, setting the whole contraption back on the low hearth fire to let them cook a bit more.

The big white bear hadn't moved from his position, nose on paws and staring transfixedly at the fire, his big violet eyes reflecting the flames.

I wanted meat… grumbled the bear, eyeing the vegetables with distaste.

"Then get off your lazy butt and go catch me some meat, aru!" scolded Yao. "You have to skin and gut it too, because if you want meat, you need effort, that's what I think, aru."

Paws are no good for skinning… the bear muttered petulantly.

"No meat for you, then," Yao said to the bear. "Or at least, I won't cook you any, aru. You can go and eat the raw stuff all you like."

The bear finally stood, shaking his great head slowly from side to side. So… you wish to string your siblings up by their toenails…? I can't help with that, but I could find other ways to subdue them, hmm?

Yao's eyes went wide with indignation, and he began to chase the bear around the kitchen with his steaming wok. "No, no, do not want! Figure of speech, aru, not death threat! They just drove me nuts, made me remember why I left home in the first place!"

Because you loved them, Reminded the bear, slowing to a halt.

Yao shifted uncomfortably, turning away from the bear to pour his vegetables into a bowl of rice he had already prepared. "Well, yes, but I did not request to go back for almost a year, and that was because they were annoying. Now, I'm going to eat, and you can either mope around here or you can go catch a big deer or something but either way I will not share."

Cabbage is not bear food, the bear sniffed, and lumbered out the door. He turned around, though, before he got to the exit. They didn't… give you anything, did they? I told you not to accept anything they gave you.

A candle stub landed on the bear's nose, whipped at him from across the room; when he looked up in annoyance, however, he only found Yao seated comfortably at the table, eyes closed and eating as if nothing were wrong.

"Kiku insisted I take this, though I didn't want to aru. I only found later he had slipped this into my pocket. Is this what you were warning me against?" The bear glared impassively at the candle, and Yao sighed, muttering something about stubborn beasts. "Keep it, aru, if you really hate it that much. I won't use it."

And for a very short moment, the bear's expression became truly fearful, truly predatory and animal, and Yao was transfixed. But then the bear turned away, snapping the candle stub in his jaws until it had crumbled, and lumbering out the door.

I will be back by sundown… the bear murmured into the late-afternoon air. Yao watched him go with a frown, staring at the mess of wax fragments on his clean kitchen flagstones, wondering if he had made the right choice after all.

Yao had been living with a bear for almost a year, now, somewhere in the mountains to the north; he didn't know where and honestly, didn't much care. It was, frankly, better than home, although no matter the bluster, he constantly missed his family. But before he had been taken, his family of four younger siblings went hungry at night, was constantly cold and poor. Now they were warm and fed and rich enough to live comfortably, and all it took was Yao giving up his own life.

The bear had lumbered into his life on the coldest, longest night of last winter. The youngest child, Jia Long, had been ill for some night and his fever had only grown worse over the past day. Yao was beside himself, cooling him constantly and trying to feed him herbs, but Jia Long couldn't keep anything down. The other children had clustered in the far corner of their one-room cottage, staring, wide-eyed, unable to help. It was too cold and storming outside to retrieve any more firewood, any more food, and Yao knew with a sudden deep and desperate certainty that his brother would die.

And then, a snuffling at the door, a shake and shiver of the thin walls of the cottage as something heavy fell against them, against the door, and the entire portal cracked in half as a body fell over the sill. A bear, a great white bear as tall in the shoulder as Yao, tumbled in. Yao had jumped to his feet, grabbing up their only cooking pan, staring down the beast. Mei and Yong Soo had screamed, and Kiku had pulled them close, eyes wide and body shaking. Maybe Jia Long was the lucky one, to be asleep when he was eaten by –

Come with me, the bear had ordered. Jao, come with me and leave your family, and your brother will live.

That had thrown them all into a stunned silence.

"W-what…?" Yao had finally asked, ineloquently.

I can heal him, and I promise you, I can make your family rich beyond belief. All you need to do is come with me, be my companion.

"Y-you're gonna eat big brother!" Mei wailed. "The spirit bear is gonna eat big brother -you can't do that!"

The bear huffed in agitation, a sound that was far too human to be comfortable – though what was comfortable about this, Yao did not know – and glared at her. Did you hear me? He is to be my companion, I do not eat companions. But enough – Jao. Come with me.

Yao had been shocked silent, the pan trembling in his fingers. He looked at his siblings, shivering in fear in the corner, at poor Jia Long, sweating and whimpering on a mat on the floor.

"I-I …" he began.

"If it can help us, why can't you do it?" asked Kiku suddenly, dark brown eyes flat and emotionless. "If it would save Jia Long, why can't you do it?"

Yao felt himself flush in shame, at the same time his stomach prickled with hurt. No one spoke up to contradict Kiku, and of course they were right. He should do whatever he could to protect his family, even if it was… to trust a talking bear…? And yet, to give him up, so easily…

Jao… the bear said, shuffling forward, toward the body of Jia Long. Yao held the pan tighter, raising it above his head.

"D-don't come any closer, aru! I won't let you eat him!"

I WILL NOT EAT HIM! The bear roared, opening its maw and growling loud enough to shake the entire cottage. Mei and Yong Soo yelped and fear, and Yao's pan fell from his fingers. The bear stalked past him, and Yao let him, unable to do anything else. The cold was seeping into the cottage through the broken door, and he shivered violently, realizing that none of his siblings could survive this life anymore.

The bear stopped in front of Jia Long, staring at him for a long moment. Then, it slowly lowered its nose to rest on the boy's forehead. Almost immediately, Jia Long began to shudder and sweat, and Yao almost leapt forward right then, but a low growl from the bear warned him off.

And, after a few moments, Jia Long fell still. His breathing evened out and the redness worked its way out of his features, leaving him looking… almost peaceful.

His fever has broken, the bear said, and Yao rushed to Jia Long's side, laying a hand on his forehead to confirm. It was true.

You can trust me to keep my word, the bear continued. Now. Will you come with me?

The answer had been apparent from the very beginning. They were too desperate to do anything else.

"Yes," Yao told the bear. Mei gasped. Yong Soo wailed wordlessly and threw himself around his brother's waist. Kiku watched them all impassively.

The bear's expression did not change – could it? A bear, have expressions?

Climb on my back and blindfold yourself.

Yao nodded, bending down to pry Yong Soo off himself. He hugged the boy tightly, looking over his head at his sister and Kiku. "Be good to each other. Help each other survive. It will be alright." He told them. "Kiku… you are the eldest… I put you in charge."

Kiku nodded impassively.

And before anyone could say anything else, Yao grabbed a scrap of cloth off the mantelpiece; a momento from their mother, a soft, pale violet sash she had once worn, in better days, when she was young and lived in the city and danced. He climbed onto the bear, wrapping the belt around his eyes, then threading his fingers into the coarse fur of his broad back. Then he shut his ears to the sounds of his siblings cries and let the bear take him away.

Yao shook himself out of the recollection, staring down at his cooling bowl of food. It had been almost a year since the bear took him away, and what a strange life he lead, now; or rather, it was strange in its normalcy.

The bear lived in a house like a human would, a nice house with a large kitchen and a separate bedroom and even a little sitting room. There was a garden outside that was always full of vegetables, even in winter, and if Yao ever needed anything the bear would lumber outside and within hours he would return with it in its jaws.

Over the past eleven moons, Yao had become comfortable in the bear's presence. They would have their fights and spats, but they could also have deep and pleasant conversations, too. When Yao was itching for an argument, the bear gave almost as good as he got. It was a good life, and the bear was a good… companion. Companions, were what they were. And so life passed.

Two things, however, made Yao uncomfortable.

The bear never told Yao why he chose Yao to come with him. Whenever Yao broached the subject, he would growl and then turn silent and become almost like the beast that sometimes Yao forgot he was. The bear never gave a name, and so Yao always referred to him as "Bear" or sometimes "Baixiong", white bear. Yao did not know why the bear needed a companion, why he could speak and heal and grant wealth, or why Yao, of all people, had been chosen to be his companion.

The other thing that made Yao uncomfortable was the fact that the bear was not a bear at all.

He did not think he was supposed to know this, but he did. Every night, he would retire to bed before the bear did, and undress in the dark. Candles were not allowed in the house, not one. Yao had asked for them, but the bear refused outright. So Yao grew used to getting ready to sleep without light. He would curl on one side of the large bed, too big for one person. And he would slowly drift off, until…

Every night, just as Yao was beginning to fall asleep, the door would creak open. He only knew it was open because of the sound that the hinges made; somehow, no light at all slipped in through the open portal. Then, someone would crawl into bed with him. Not an animal – it was a man.

The man was large and solid and smelled faintly of pine, and he would stay on his side of the bed, his bare chest only just brushing Yao's back. And then the man would fall asleep and Yao would, too. When morning light slipped in through the curtains, the man would be gone, nowhere to be seen and Yao would almost be sure it was a dream, but for the smell of pine that lingered in the sheets.

Life had passed in an easy way, despite the lingering doubts about his captor – though captor was not the right word, not really – until, after almost eleven months had passed, Yao began to feel truly lonely. He missed his family desperately, and prayed for them almost every day at an altar he had requested the bear bring him incense for. He always had his worries, that perhaps the bear had not kept his promise, that Jia Long had not recovered and his family was still poor or perhaps something had happened to them… Yao took to spending long days sitting on the back porch, doing nothing more than weaving or spinning or some other easy, menial chore, worrying himself away for the sake of his family. He stopped eating, and nothing the bear could do could coax the spark of life back into him. Finally, the bear had relented with an ill-natured sigh.

I will return you to your family for a visit, if that is what you desire… the bear had told him, suddenly, one night after Yao had eaten and they were gathered in front of the hearth fire. Yao had been so startled he almost fell forward into the hearth, but the bear had grabbed the back of his tunic with strong, but careful, jaws, hauling him back to sprawl awkwardly against the beast's side. Yao looked up at him from the floor in disbelief.

"Really, Baixiong, would you truly, aru…?" he asked with a cautious hope.

One week… grumbled the bear. One week only. I will take you there, blindfolded, and you can spend it as you please and prove to yourself that your family is safe. But then you must return to me. The bear stared at him with bright violet eyes, and Yao was startled. He had never truly looked into the bear's eyes before, and had always imagined them to be the eyes of a beast. However, these eyes held a humanity that Yao had never thought possible. They were desperate and helpless and scared and insecure…

You must promise to return to me.

And for some reason, Yao could not help but to laugh, flinging himself forward to hug the bear tightly around the neck – after all, he was surprisingly cute, vulnerable like this.

"I promise, aru. I'll return to you."

He had been able to travel to his family the next day, even, blindfolded and perched on the back of a white bear. His family had been overjoyed, but they would not approach the beast, staring at him with wary eyes. The bear himself elected to leave them alone, but not without growling final instructions to his companion.

No matter what, you must not take any advice from them; you must not take any gift that they give you. Do you understand, Jao?

"I understand, I understand, now leave, aru! They are all afraid of you, and with good reason."

The bear nodded obediently, and Yao thought that, for just a moment, that human spark of insecurity had returned to his eyes. But then the beast left and his siblings rushed forward and Yao could think of nothing else.

They were all doing well, of course; Baixiong had kept his promise. Jia Long was healthy and bright-eyed, staring at Yao with an expression much like he was seeing a ghost. It was to be expected, of course; the boy had been asleep and recovering when Yao had left him, he must have been so confused when he woke up. Yong Soo raced forward, throwing himself around his brother's waist, babbling immediately.

"Big brother, big brother!" he yelled, squeezing Yao too tightly for his liking; and he could put his arms all the way around his chest now! He had grown so tall! "Big brother, you are back!"

"Just to visit, aru, just for a while…" Yao murmured. He turned to Mei, who had also come to hug him from the other side. She was crying into his shirt. He kissed the crown of her head, laughing.

"Don't cry, Mei-mei," he said. "Are you really that badly off, aru?"

Mei looked up at him, shaking her head. She pointed wordlessly back at their house, where Kiku was standing on the porch, watching the proceedings with a fond sort of smile.

The house… was not the one he had left behind.

It looked much like the bear's house, large and obviously more than one room. It was sturdy, too, and there was a small shed next to it that housed chickens and what looked like a goat. A thriving garden stood in the yard, and, like the bear's, it was still green with vegetables even though it was almost the winter equinox. Yao blinked, astonished, pleased that his family was doing well.

They drew him inside, bombarding him with questions that he answered as best he could. Little Jia Long stood at the stove, cooking with a skill that made Yao very proud. They brought him to sit at the table, telling them about their lives and how they had fared.

Yao was glad to be home, he really was. For six days, he was able to relax around his family, and they almost immediately fell back into their old routines; the petty fights and sibling rivalry, Yao cooking for all of them alongside Jia Long, Yong Soo getting into messy trouble, and Kiku overseeing it all quietly, working on domestic work with Mei or out retrieving firewood and taking care of the garden or animals. He was a good big brother, Yao thought reflectively, always quietly working for the good of his siblings. He had left the family in good hands…

He still felt betrayed, slightly; Kiku hadn't spoken to him directly almost at all, letting the younger children ask questions and fuss over Yao. He was polite and answered questions directed at him with brevity. He almost always went to bed before the others, and Yao didn't get a chance to talk to him until his last night of the stay.

On that night, Yao was up in the kitchen, watching over a smouldering hearth fire and sipping tea, unable to sleep. He had been having difficulty all week, felt as if he were lonely, or missing something, even though he was sharing a bed with Yong Soo in the room where the boys slept.

Kiku stepped into the darkened kitchen, as if knowing his brother would be there. He sat at the table across from him, staring at Yao as if the older boy were a puzzle that he was trying hard to figure out.

Growing uncomfortable, Yao tried to break the oddly tense silence.

"We haven't had a real chance to talk, Kiku – how are you doing, aru? Are you all… alright?"

Kiku nodded. "We have everything that we could need. The younger ones are happy. You made the right choice to leave."

Yao frowned, trying not to be stung by the words. He turned back to his cup, troubled. "I'm glad my sacrifice could be of some use."

"Well, aren't you provided for as well?" Kiku pressed. "You look healthy; the beast must be feeding you well and taking care of you. It looked feral, of course, but you are not harmed?"

Yao bristled at the callous tone of voice. "Baixiong is a he, not an it, aru."

"How would you know?"

"At night, he sleeps with me, aru, and his body is that of a man!"

Kiku recoiled, face growing shocked, and Yao wondered if he should have revealed that detail of his new life. "What? I knew he was magic, but a changeling – what does he look like? Why is he that way?"

Yao glared at him. "I don't know; he won't answer my questions, aru, and I cannot see him at night. I am not allowed candles and it's always pitch dark."

"You've never seen it? Then how do you know it is a man? What if it is a goblin, or a horrible creature?"

"More horrible than a talking bear?" Yao asked acidly. "I live with a monster, Kiku, but he has never hurt me, aru. Frankly, I don't care in the least."

Kiku still looked troubled. "I'm only worried for you –"

"Hnnh," snorted Yao, unconvinced.

" – and I want you to be able to sleep in safety. If you aren't allowed candles, take one of ours with you."

Yao was faced with a decision. On the one hand, he truly was curious as to what manner of… thing… the bear turned into at night. Surely he was nothing more grotesque than his daytime form. On the other hand, the bear had told him specifically not to accept advice or gifts. Finally, Yao shook his head.

"I cannot, aru, Baixiong would not like it."

"So, you are a pet to the bear?"

Yao had stormed off to bed, then, leaving Kiku in the kitchen.

Which left Yao where he was, now, staring at his now-cold bowl of rice and turning his entire situation over in his mind. The sun was beginning to set, and the bear was still not home from his travels; perhaps he had been more angry that Yao had found the candle in his pocket than he thought. That was not a pleasant idea, not at all. He did not like to think of the bear as angry or disappointed in him – it wasn't even his fault! He could not help his stupid siblings' actions, could he? Yao bolted down his bowl of rice, feeling suddenly vindictive at the bear's imaginary infractions. He could do whatever he pleased, Yao decided; the bear took him away from his family, and he didn't have the right to get angry over a little stub of candle.

Still in a sullen frame of mind, Yao marched over to the scraps of candle wax and tallow on the floor, scraping them up into the neatest pile he could. There was only a very little left, but Yao put all that he could salvage in a small cup and hung it above the fire to melt. He retrieved the unbroken wick, inserting it into the warm wax, and had himself a makeshift candle. It would do.

"Stupid bear, aru, thinking he can control me. I'm no one's pet!" Yao grumbled, going to his room and shoving the candle under his pillow, along with a match for setting the hearth fire. He'd see that stupid bear and then his curiosity would be gone and that would be that, wouldn't it?

He waited for Baixiong to come home.

It took the bear much longer than Yao expected to return, and he fell asleep in front of the hearth waiting for him. He only awoke to a snuffling at his back, and warm breath on his neck; even then, Yao was too sleepy to think properly.

"Stupid, ungrateful creature…" he mumbled. "Making me wait up. Worried for you, aru, and you waltz home so late…"

Sorry… the bear apologized softly. He nosed Yao's side. My Jao should go to bed, hmm?

"I'm no one's nothing, aru," Yao snapped back, yawning.

Yao stood up slowly, sore from his position on the flagstones. He leaned on the bear a little for support, feeling little more than a sweeping relief that he was home safe. Not that he was worried for a creature as big as that, but… but nothing. He just couldn't rest properly without a good handle on where the predator was; it was a matter of safety!

That thought in mind, Yao tripped to his room, falling onto bed heavily, almost asleep even as his head hit the pillow.

He was still awake, though, when… the intruder entered again, curling as he always did so close to Yao's back that he could feel the warmth from a bare chest.

Yao stiffened, suddenly awake, suddenly thinking of the hard lumps under his pillow; his candle, and his match. He thought of the man behind him, and again the faintly vindictive curiosity swirled inside him.

"I'm no one's pet, aru…" he murmured to himself, before sitting up and lighting the candle.

The sight in front of his eyes was beyond anything he might have imagined.

Yao could not put a face to the body, a face to the bear, and he was completely unprepared for the prone figure asleep next to him. The man – Yao had been right, it was a man – was huge and pale, taller than Yao by at least three hands. His features were rugged and earthy, but nothing short of handsome, even in their wildness. It was the roundness of sleep that softened them, calming them to something peaceful and gentle, something like… a sleeping bear. His hair was fair and blonde; not quite white but verging on that familiar color.

Yao was entranced, recognizing his bear immediately, despite the transfiguration. He was… beautiful, somehow, and Yao was utterly shocked. He leaned closer to get a better look, gaze focused on the man's face, his closed eyes, wondering if beneath those lids were the same insecure, wild violet eyes –

But Yao was not watching where he tilted his candle, and three drops of tallow dripped over the lip, one by one, falling onto the bear-man's neck.

The bear-man woke with a start, sitting up with a gasp and a growl that was not human. Yao was so startled that he could not move, staring at the man with a fearful, guilty look. The man stared back, and his eyes were just as insecure as they had been before; angry and terrified.

"Baixiong…" Yao whispered.

"What…" the man growled, his voice gravelly with disuse but the same cadence that made itself heard in Yao's head each and every day. "What have you done?" he demanded, surging forward and tearing the candle from Yao's grasp. He looked like he was going to throw it against the wall, but instead only sat it on the bedside table, grabbing Yao's arm as he did so, and pulling them so that they were face-to-face. He looked so sad…

"B-baixiong, I'm… I'm so sorry," Yao stuttered, realizing slowly that he had done something unforgivable. He dove for the bedside table, digging out his mother's sash that he had once used as a blindfold and trying to use it to wipe away the tallow on the man's neck. It only stained the sash, which was tangled around the man's neck by Yao's frantic movements and the man's own agitated thrashing.

"A week, a week longer, and I would have been free!" he yelled at Yao, grabbing the smaller man's forearms to still him. "Do you not understand? You have ruined me!"

"Baixiong –"

"My name is Ivan!" the man yelled.

"Ivan…" Yao repeated, mollified. "Wh-what happened?"

"I am… I was a prince of this land…" Ivan told Yao. "I used to be, but I caught the eye of the king of the trolls and I was made to live in his castle. He said I had to marry into his family, his son, who is beautiful but cruel. I told him that I did not want to marry the boy, that appearances alone are nothing to me, and the king told me… that if that was true, I would have to put it to the test. If I could not find someone else who could look past appearances, then I would marry his son. So he put this spell on me, and turned me into a bear, and if I could not find someone who could accept me and sleep with me, even not knowing what I was, without succumbing to the spell of appearances, then I would be free to marry whoever I chose."

Yao was staring, wide-eyed at Ivan, trying to process it. He could just see the man in the flickering candle-light, and his eyes had to be playing tricks on him, because Ivan was beginning to dissolve like snow, into nothing, his edges blurring.

"So… you chose me…" Yao wondered. "Why, aru? How could you just pick… just pick someone, at random?"

"It was not random! You helped me once, before, without knowing who I was, when I was very young. I thought… I thought it would be you, Jao…" the bear – Ivan – said, violet eyes flooding. "I thought I could trust you."

"Ivan -!"

He really was disappearing, his body fading into mist, translucent and intangible; only a few features still stood out – the strong lines of his nose, the curve of his lips, his haunting violet eyes.

"Where are you going?"

"To the troll's castle…"

"Ivan!" Yao yelled again, realizing with a clench of his heart that the man was almost gone, and that it was his fault, all his fault. "Ivan, I'll find you, aru, I won't let my mistake damn you!"

And as Ivan smiled sadly, Yao bent forward, just once, to kiss him.

All his lips met was empty air.