Disclaimer: I don't own the WarCraft universe or Blizzard.

≶The Call of the Lich King: Seven Days of Torment≶

≶Day Three≶

The sun beat down upon the cold world of ice that was Northrend. Sunlight reflected from the snow and shone brightly into Arthas' eyes. He squinted against the intense glow that was magnified by the bright ice on the ground. The wind had died down a long time ago, but the dangers of Northrend were different now. Before, a person could freeze to death from the bitter winds that blew from all directions. Now, a person could lose his sight from the bright snow and extreme sunlight.

Arthas trudged onward through the snow, ice and rocks. It was hard to tell how long he had been walking. He didn't pay much attention to the world around him, so he could not see the passage of time around him. But he knew it had to be little more than a day had passed since he started his search.

Was he so desperate now? Was he so desperate to talk to someone? Would he rather talk to a demon over his own kin? Arthas asked himself these questions multiple times. He had no answers. It was confusing for him and it seemed that now he could not remember the reasons why he sought out that blasted sword. All he knew was that he sought the sword out. Not for power this time, but for…company.

Arthas continued his trek through the blinding snow, hand covering his eyes to shield them partially. He trudged onward until the sun nearly disappeared behind the distant mountains, relieving him of his torment of blinding light. His eyes slowly began to adjust to the growing darkness, but it took time. He didn't see that the land began to slant at a downward angle sharply.

Arthas felt his foot miss the ground and his stomach rise upward. He yelled in surprise as his head fell forward, flipping Arthas forward and crashing into the ground. His feet continued the momentum as Arthas tumbled over his head. He felt his feet slam on something hard and heard something break. Arthas continued to tumble down the sharp hill, crashing into rocks and sliding on the ice.

The ground was beneath him no more for an instant and he fell. Then the ground reappeared and slammed into him hard, knocking the wind out of him.

Arthas lay on the cold ground, coughing and gasping for air. The numbing chill of the ice beneath his cheek did little to disperse the dizziness that caused his vision to swim. He raised his head slowly and groaned against the sharp pain in his head. He felt a cool line trace down his temple and across his cheek. Arthas looked down and saw a small pool of red form beneath his chin. He must have cracked his head when he fell.

Arthas raked his gauntleted hand through his hair. When he pulled his hand back, there was a small patch of blood on his palm. So the wound wasn't deep. He sighed.

A deep growl came from behind him.

If there was dizziness in Arthas still, it was gone as Arthas' warrior instinct kicked in. His eyes were filled with a small fire as he turned his head around slowly. When he looked behind him, his eyes were barely surprised as to what they saw. This was the untamed land of Northrend, after all. Surprises were normal and expected here.

Arthas saw large, dirty, yellow teeth grinning back at him. A rank and putrid smell emanated from the mouth as a dirty, red tongue lolled close to the ground, saliva dripping slowly. A black nose breathed quickly, shooting steam as the hot breath touched the cold air. A pair of bloodshot, yellow eyes stared wildly at its prey.

Arthas had stumbled onto the lair of a starving 880-pound white bear without a weapon of any kind.

"Damn," Arthas breathed sharply.

The bear growled as it examined its quarry. Arthas quickly looked to his leg and saw that he had snapped his ankle when it slammed into the rock. A small piece of bone stuck out and blood was flowing from the wound, forming a small puddle.

The bear sniffed loudly.

The blood was intoxicating.

The bear growled and prepared to leap. Arthas quickly tried to crawl away and give himself some distance, but the pain in his ankle stopped him. He turned quickly to face the bear and was met with a barrage of yellow teeth. Arthas grunted as the full weight of the enraged bear slammed into his weak body.

The hot breath fell upon Arthas as the slimy teeth snapped at him. Mustering as much strength as he could, Arthas used his arms to push the behemoth back at the neck, holding the deadly jaws at bay. The massive bear did not relent as it tried to bite at its food.

Something snapped in Arthas. He used to lead thousands to battle. He was the son of the King and a member of the holy order of paladins. He had been trained by the great Uther the Lightbringer and by hundreds of other great teachers. He had killed the demon dreadlord Mal'Ganis himself. Why was he having so much trouble with this mindless beast?

Arthas roared in anger as he pushed with his might. Slowly, he managed to give himself breathing room as he pushed against the might of the bear. With as much strength as he could muster, Arthas pushed the mighty bear off of his body and onto the ground next to him.

Ignoring the pain in his destroyed ankle, Arthas quickly leapt to his feet and begun to limp as far as he could go. He needed distance from the beast, but his ankle refused to cooperate with him. It slowed him down and the bear caught up with him quickly. The bear's jaw opened wide and slammed shut on his sides. But his armor was thick and tough. It did not break under the mighty jaws of the bear. But this did not deter the bear from dragging Arthas around and tossing him into the nearby rock wall.

Arthas grunted as his back slammed into the wall. He slid down the wall and onto the cold ground. Blinking away the dizziness, his eyes met the bloodshot eyes of the bear, which grinned madly at its fallen prey. Arthas stared back in anger.

Slowly, the sun disappeared behind the mountains as Northrend paused in anticipation.

The bear roared and charged forward, jaws open in anticipation for its food.

Arthas' hand touched something familiar. The hilt of a sword, it felt like.

The bear neared as it continued its mad dash.

Arthas gripped the hilt and swung, roaring in anger.

Frostmourne cleaved into the bears gaping maw, separating the top of the bears skull from the bottom.

The upper jaw and everything above it fell into the air, dripping blood.

The rest of the body and the lower jaw slammed into the rock wall, its momentum still carrying it forward. The body missed Arthas by inches.

Gasping for breath, Arthas slumped to the ground. Holding Frostmourne in his hand, his vision began to blur. From blood loss not doubt.

Arthas slowly began to slide onto the dead body of the bear lying next to him. As his vision began to fade, he heard a familiar voice. Harsh yet not mocking.

You just could not let me go, could you?

************************************************************************************

So I kind of disappeared on you guys, didn't I? Sorry about that.

I've decided to enter this story in the Blizzard Writing Contest thingy. But as it is, it's not finished so I've decided to put off Mass Effect until this is finished. Won't be long, I'll be working all week. And hopefully I won't miss the deadline, which is April 12.

Again, really sorry I disappeared, but life goes on regardless.

Enjoy.

Oh, and I'm aware of the Joker reference.

************************************************************************************