Bearskin
by: Tiger Lily21
A/N: NaNoWriMo Day 2 is almost over, but I finally finished this story. It's not nearly as long as yesterday's and it doesn't go quite as far off the original story as yesterday's did. Even so, I think it's pretty good. Please remember that, again, this story is completely unedited and was written all in one day. Thanks for the reviews on the last story and I hope you enjoy this one just as much. :-)
~Anne~
Once upon a time, in the land of Kiral, a poor young soldier wandered along the road. The war against Marilon had ended just recently, with Marilon the victor. This soldier, along with his fellows, had been discharged and sent on his way with only the clothes on his back. He had sold his sword the day before for a few coins, which he had spent on food that had only lasted until that morning. So it was that the soldier, whose name was Jonathon Freewell, ended up heading to who-knows-where, hungry, and tired. The day was warm and he eventually stopped to rest.
It was as he sat by the side of the road that Jonathon's luck began to change. He was half-asleep, lulled by the sun, when he heard a terrible roar close by. His eyes flew open and he scrambled to his feet in time to see a great black bear not three feet in front of him. He had no weapons, nothing to defend himself.
This is the end, then, he thought as the bear drew closer. After all the times I escaped Death in battle, I'm going to die defenseless at the paws of a bear.
He closed his eyes and waited for the end to come. But it didn't. Instead, someone else shouted. The bear roared once more and then there was a mighty crack, an earth-shaking thud, and everything was quiet and still. Jonathon dared to open his eyes. The bear was lying on the ground a foot away from him. A tall gentleman in a fine red coat and a shiny red hat stood behind the bear. He held a cane with a crimson jewel on top in one hand. The other hand held a long knife. The gentleman smiled at Jonathon.
"There now," he said, "you're perfectly safe. I've dealt with the beast." He spoke like a father to a young child. His voice was smooth and surprisingly soft. His dark eyes glinted as he looked at Jonathon, who found he could not look away. "Haven't you anything to say?" the gentleman continued, sheathing the knife. "After all, I have just saved your life."
Jonathon took a moment to find his voice. Then he managed to say, "Thank you."
"I was hoping for something a bit more eloquent," the gentleman said, shaking his head, "but I suppose that will do. You do realize, though, that I need a bit more than a couple of words to repay me for the kindness I've shown you. I could have let that bear eat you."
"I'm very glad you didn't, sir," said Jonathon, getting to his feet and walking around the bear. He held out his hand to the strange gentleman. "I wish I had something to give you as payment, but all I've got is the clothes on my back, sir."
The gentleman did not take Jonathon's hand. Instead he smiled and reached into the left pocket of his coat. He pulled out a handful of coins. They clinked noisily. He put them back into the pocket and reached into the right pocket. This time he pulled out a loaf of bread. It steamed slightly, as if it were fresh out of the oven. The tantalizing aroma tickled Jonathon's nose and made his mouth water. He licked his lips, but the gentleman stowed the bread back in his pocket again.
"Do you like my coat then?" he asked.
"I do indeed, sir," said Jonathon. "Is it magic?"
The gentleman laughed. "You might say that. Would you like it?"
"I couldn't take it, sir," said Jonathon. "I already owe you my life and I can't pay you back for that. If I take anything more from you, sir, I'll be in your debt for the rest of my days."
The gentleman laughed again. "Well we certainly can't have that, can we? Suppose you and I make a deal, young man. I will give you what you want if you do something for me."
"Anything, sir!" said Jonathon, thinking of having a magic coat that could provide food and gold out of nothing.
"Very well then," said the gentleman. He pulled out his knife again and handed it, hilt-first, to Jonathon. "Skin that bear," he said. "I'll explain while you do it."
Jonathon took the knife and did as he was told. The gentleman continued. "I will give you my coat and that knife and cancel your life debt to me if you will wear that bear skin for seven years. You must wear it at all times, and you must not cut your hair, shave your whiskers, or cut your nails for that time. After the seven years are over, you may take off the skin, cut your hair, beard, and nails, and go on living as if you had never met me. If, however, you break any of these conditions, I will find you and take back my coat and more. It will be as if I had never come along and saved you from that bear, but you will wish that the bear had taken your life, not me. Do you understand?"
Jonathon nodded. "Yes, sir," he said. "I get the coat and the dagger and am freed from debt if I wear this skin and don't cut my hair, beard, or nails for seven years. If I make it, I get to keep the coat and go on living life normally. If I don't make it, you'll take what's owed you."
"Very good, young man," said the gentleman. "Now, pick up that bearskin. Come and take my coat and then put on the skin. As soon as it's on, your seven years begin."
Jonathon picked up the skin. The gentleman removed his coat and handed it to Jonathon, who put it on. Then he draped the bear skin over himself. The strange gentleman held out his hand. Jonathon shook it. The gentleman laughed quietly and walked away.
#
Jonathon continued on his way down the road, now wearing the bear skin over the red coat. He pulled a loaf of bread out of the right hand pocket of the coat and munched on it as he walked. By nightfall he came to a town. It was then that he learned exactly what he had gotten himself into.
As he walked down the street of the town, people gasped and ran out of his way. One little boy pointed and said loudly, "Mama! A bear! A real big one!" He tried to get closer but his mother grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
"Don't go near it," she said, still loud enough for Jonathon to hear. As she walked away, she muttered, "What's a vicious creature like that doing here?"
A creature. That was all he was now. A creature, large and vicious and dangerous, the kind that made people run in terror. Although he had unlimited wealth and food, he would never be accepted anywhere because of how he looked. And it'll only get worse, he thought, remembering the rest of his deal with the strange gentleman. As his hair, beard, and nails grew longer, he would only grow to look more like a bear.
Ashamed of himself, he ran through the town until he was outside it once more. Then he continued running, not caring where he was going or what happened to him. At last he collapsed from exhaustion. He moved off the road and lay in the grass and wept. He longed to tear off the bear skin and the red coat, but at the same time he knew what would happen if he did. If it's a choice between being seen as a monster for seven years and dying, I'll take being a monster, he thought, but I will count every day of these seven years until they're over.
#
Three years passed. Jonathon continued wandering through the country. As he had known, he grew to look more and more like a bear as his hair and nails grew. He tried not to pass through any towns. When he did, he waited until dark. He paid enough gold to convince the innkeepers to let him stay until sunrise the next morning. He never interacted with anyone if he could possibly help it.
One night, when Jonathon had managed to get a room in an inn, he heard a strange noise from the room next door. It was a low, moaning sound, as if someone was in pain. Curious, Jonathon crept out of the room. It was late enough that none of the guests would see him. The door of the next room was shut, but he could still hear the moaning noise coming through it. Jonathon raised a hand and tapped on the door.
"Who's there?" came a shaky voice from the other side.
"A friend," said Jonathon. "Are you all right?"
"No," said the voice. "No..."
"Do you need help?"
"No one can help me. It's too late. It's too late." The person moaned again.
Whoever the person in the room was, they needed help. "I'm going to come in," said Jonathon. "Don't be frightened." He pushed open the door.
A man sat on the bed in the room, his head in his hands. He was dressed in clothes that might have been fine at one time and his hair, brown with streaks of gray, hung limply around his face. He didn't look up as Jonathon entered the room. Instead, he moaned again. Jonathon stood in the doorway, unsure what to do next.
"Sir," he said, "are you in some sort of trouble?"
"Trouble?" the man repeated. "Oh yes, I'm in terrible trouble. I don't know what to do..."
"Perhaps if you tell me, I can help you in some way, sir."
The man sighed. "Very well," he said, still with his head in his hands. "My name is Lucas Tredwin. I'm a merchant. Up until a few weeks ago, my business was doing quite well. Then my partner double-crossed me. He stole most of the money from our latest transaction and ran off, leaving me with nothing. I have three daughters to provide for. How can I give them anything when my business is crashing down around my ears? What can I do?"
Jonathon put a hand in his left pocket and felt gold move under his fingers. "If you had money, sir, if you had enough to replace what the man stole from you, could you rebuild your business?" he asked.
Tredwin looked up. His eyes widened as he saw Jonathon. Before he could cry out, Jonathon pulled a handful of gold out of his pocket. "I can give you the money you need," he said. "However much you need, I'll provide it."
"Why would you do something like that for a complete stranger?" Tredwin asked. "Who are you?"
"Call me Bearskin," said Jonathon. "I want to help you because I have the means, and I certainly can't use all this gold. Looking the way I do, I don't have much need for it."
"But you don't even know me," said Tredwin.
"It doesn't matter," said Jonathon. "You need help, I can provide it."
He crossed the room and poured the gold into Tredwin's lap. Tredwin picked up one of the coins and studied it. His face brightened.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.
"Absolutely," Jonathon said.
Tredwin stood. The gold fell to the floor, but he didn't notice. He held out a hand. "If you're going to help me," he said, "then I want to do something for you, Mr. Bearskin. I'll need a new partner to help me run my business. Will you take the job?"
"I'm not the best person to hire," said Jonathon, "and I have...something I need to do, something that will take me quite a while to complete."
Tredwin's smile faded slightly. "Surely there must be something I can do to repay you," he said. "Isn't there anything you want? Anything at all? You sound like a young man. When you finish with whatever business you have, you'll want to find a wife, start a family. I told you I have three daughters. If one of them would have you, would you accept?"
Jonathon thought about it for a moment. He had four years left as Bearskin. No girl would accept him as a husband right now. Even if one did, she would have to wait quite a long time before they could marry. And yet, Tredwin was right. He did want a wife and a family. If there was a way...
"Yes," he said. "If one of your daughters will agree to marry a creature like myself, I will betroth myself to her."
"Then come with me tomorrow," said Tredwin, "and I will introduce you to my daughters. Once they hear what you're doing for me, one of them will surely agree to marry you."
"We'll see," said Jonathon, but he shook Tredwin's outstretched hand.
#
The next day Jonathon left with Tredwin. The man lived in a large house outside the town. When he opened the door, they were greeted by three feminine cries of delight.
"Father! You're home!"
Three young women ran into the entrance hall of the house and threw their arms around Tredwin. He laughed and kissed their cheeks. "Yes, yes, I'm home. And I have good news, too. Our troubles are over."
"What?" One of the women took a step back from her father. "What do you mean, Father? I thought Mr. Selby ruined you."
"So he did, Susanna, but last night I met a man who has turned our fortunes around. He's agreed to give me all the money I need to rebuild the business."
"That's wonderful!" cried Susanna and hugged her father again. "Who is this man?"
"I brought him here with me," said Tredwin. He slipped out from under his daughters' arms and stepped back, revealing Jonathon. "This is Mr. Bearskin."
The two older girls screamed. Susanna, who looked to be the youngest, simply stood and stared at him. Then she spoke in a trembling voice. "Are you really the man who helped my father?" she asked.
"Yes I am," said Jonathon.
"Then I am very grateful to you, sir. I was worried when my father told us that Mr. Selby, his partner, stole his money. When he left last night, I thought he might not return." Her dark eyes filled with tears. "Thank you for bringing him back to us."
"You're very welcome, Miss Tredwin," said Jonathon with a slight bow.
"Is there anything we can do for you, to repay you for this?" she asked.
Before Jonathon could answer, Tredwin spoke up. "I've already arranged that with him," he said.
"How?" asked Susanna.
"I'll explain it all to you later, my dears," said Tredwin. "Right now, I was hoping we could have some tea and you could get to know Mr. Bearskin, our benefactor."
"Of course," said Susanna. She hurried off, followed by her older sisters. When they were out of sight, Tredwin approached Jonathon.
"Let me tell them about this in my own way," he said. "You can stay here with us for a few days, learn more about my girls, and then I'll let you ask one of them."
"They're your daughters," said Jonathon. "Do this as you see fit."
"Come with me then," said Tredwin and led him into a fine dining room where the girls had set up a fine tea for them.
Over the next three days, Jonathon spent time with the Tredwin family. He learned that the older girls were named Rachel and Priscilla. They were still leery of him and did not like being in the same room with him. The youngest, Susanna, seemed to have no fear at all. She talked with him, sat with him, and always made it clear that she liked him in spite of his appearance because of what he had done for her father.
On the third night, Tredwin called Jonathon and his daughters together. When they were seated, he explained the deal he and Jonathon had made. Jonathon watched the girls' faces as their father told them. Rachel's mouth dropped open. Priscilla's eyes widened and she looked disgusted. Susanna looked directly at Jonathon with an unreadable expression in her dark eyes.
"Will one of you take him, then?" asked Tredwin when he finished his explanation. "Remember that he saved my business, and he's a good man."
"How do you know he's even a man?" Rachel choked out.
"He looks like an animal," Priscilla added. "He'd probably eat us before he married us!"
Susanna glared at her sisters. "How can you say such a thing? Mr. Bearskin is obviously a man. An animal would not show such compassion for a human being. And from what I've seen of him these past days, he is a very, very good man." She turned to look at Jonathon. "If you will have me, Mr. Bearskin, I would be honored to be your wife. I like you very much and I'll never be able to thank you enough for saving my father."
Jonathon smiled at her. "The honor will be mine, Miss Tredwin," he said. "I must leave to finish my business; I will be gone for several years, but when I return, we will wed."
"I will wait for you then," she said, returning the smile.
#
Jonathon prepared to leave the next morning. Before he left, he gave Susanna one of the gold coins from his left pocket. "Keep this to remember me by," he said. "I'll come back in four years."
"I'll be here when you return," she said, slipping the coin into the pocket of her dress. "In the meantime, here is something for you to remember me by." She unclasped a golden bracelet with a heart-shaped charm on it from around her left wrist. "This bracelet was my mother's," she said. "My father gave it to her on their wedding day and she gave it to me before she died."
"I'll keep it safe," Jonathon said. He tried to put it around his own wrist, but his nails made it difficult. Susanna smiled and moved closer to help him. Once she had fastened the clasp, she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his cheek.
"Go and be safe," she said with a smile. Jonathon returned the smile and left.
For four years Jonathon continued his wandering, and for four years Susanna waited for him to return. Her sisters teased her endlessly.
"Watch out," Rachel sneered on one occasion. "When he comes back he'll take you away and gobble you up like a bit of honeycomb."
"If you're lucky he'll take you to a nice cave off in the wilderness and let you live there for a while before he eats you," Priscilla added.
Susanna merely stared into the fire and rubbed the gold coin, which she kept in her pocket at all times.
At last four years were over. Jonathon pulled off the bearskin and threw it down. As soon as it hit the ground, the strange gentleman appeared. He was wearing the same shiny top hat and held the same cane with the crimson jewel on the top. He smirked at Jonathon.
"Very good, young man," he said. "You made it through the seven years. You kept our bargain."
"So now I'm free, right?" Jonathon asked. "I can cut my hair and beard and my nails? I can go on my way and it will be as if I never met you?"
"That was our deal, was it not? All you need to do now is give me back my coat."
"What? I thought I got to keep the coat?"
"I never said that," said the gentleman. "I said that at the end of the seven years you could take off the bearskin and go on your merry way, but first you have to give me back my coat."
"If I give it back, I'll lose my wealth. I'll have nothing. I'm betrothed to a young woman now. I need money to support her."
The gentleman smirked. "I suppose we could make another deal," he said. "I could give you the coat for good, but you'd have to put on the bearskin again. And this time you wouldn't be allowed to take it off. You could keep your wealth, but you'll look the way you do forever. Is that agreeable to you?"
Jonathon thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No," he said. "No, it's not." He kicked at the skin on the ground. "This thing has caused me enough pain in the past seven years. I'll never wear it again."
"Then give me back my coat," said the gentleman. "If I have to ask you again, I will be forced to take unpleasant actions against you."
Jonathon took off the red coat and toss it on the ground on top of the bearskin. "Take it and leave me alone," he said. "I never want to see you again."
"As you wish," said the gentleman. He picked up the red coat and put it on again. Then he turned on the spot and vanished. Jonathon didn't even notice. He was running down the road, feeling as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Now all he had to do was clean himself up and then he could go back to Susanna.
#
A week later a very handsome man walked up the steps to the Tredwin house and knocked on the door. He introduced himself as Mr. Freewell and asked to see Mr. Tredwin and his daughters. He was duly shown into the dining room where the Tredwins were having lunch. The older daughters were delighted to meet him. Mr. Tredwin invited him to join them for the meal. Only the youngest Miss Tredwin seemed unhappy to see him.
Mr. Freewell explained that he had heard that Mr. Tredwin's daughters were quite beautiful and he was hoping to marry one of them. Both Rachel and Priscilla were eager to accept that offer, but Mr. Freewell said that he wanted to spend a few days with the girls to find out which of them he liked best. Mr. Tredwin agreed, saying that he reminded him of someone he had known. He allowed Freewell to stay in his house for three days and spend time with his daughters.
On the third day, Freewell officially asked Mr. Tredwin for the hand of his youngest daughter, Susanna, in marriage. Mr. Tredwin sorrowfully explained that Susanna was already betrothed to another man, someone who was supposed to come back for her. It was then that Freewell held up his left wrist. There was a golden bracelet on it with a heart-shaped charm.
Susanna leapt up from her chair and threw herself at him. "Oh, it's you!" she cried, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Yes," he said, pulling her close, "it's me. My name is Jonathon Freewell."
"I don't care what it is," she said. "I love you."
"I'm a poor man now," Jonathon said. "I haven't got a thing in the world to my name."
"That's not true," Susanna said. She pulled out the gold coin he had given her and pressed it into his hand. "This is yours."
"It's still not much," Jonathon said. "One gold coin won't give us hardly anything at all."
"I can fix that," said Mr. Tredwin with a smile. "I still need a new partner in my firm. I offered you the job once and you said that you had business. Now you've come back--will you consider taking the position?"
"If you'll take me," said Jonathon with a smile. "I know nothing about being a merchant, but I can learn."
"Then I'll gladly teach you," said Tredwin. "What better person to partner in my business than my son-in-law?"
So it was resolved. Jonathon Freewell officially became a partner in Tredwin's firm and he married Tredwin's youngest daughter Susanna. Both of Susanna's older sisters refused to attend the wedding. They left the house the day before without telling anyone where they were going. Soon they met a strange gentleman on the road. He was dressed all in red, including a red coat and a shiny red top hat. He held a cane with a crimson jewel on the top.
"Hello, my fine young ladies," he said. "You look upset. What seems to be the problem?"
"Our youngest sister is getting married before us," Rachel explained. "We're going to look for husbands of our own."
"I believe I can help you with that," said the gentleman with a strange smile. "Shall we make a deal?"
