Chapter Seven: Endowment

The only man we have any respect for, is he who uses all the endowment he has, and uses it until he bleeds.

-Martin H. Fischer

xxXxx

So it was, by a series of strange events, that the cursed northerner found herself the guardian of eighteen children. It was a bit of a shock to her system, since she had spent most of her life alone or with her father.

But there was no way in heaven or earth that she was going to leave a bunch of defenseless children to fend for themselves.

"I know it hurts, but that cut needs to be cleaned," the trapper said in as soothing a tone as she could manage without using her true voice.

The little boy bit back another sob of pain, but at least he stopped trying to wiggle his arm free from her grasp.

The pale woman made soft, reassuring sounds as she rubbed a bit more of her healing salve into the wounds of his wrists. The boy, Joey, had been one of the children that hadn't made it to the mines yet. As such, he was one of the last ones she treated, since the children from the mines had been in worse shape.

Her blood boiled at some of the wounds she had treated, but she made sure not to let any of the children see it. Some of them were still a bit scared of her and she didn't like scaring children.

"Um, mister?" one of the treated girls said hesitantly. "Is it… all right, if we go play?"

"Go ahead, but stay close to this area so I can find you, and be gentle with Richie."

"Richie's still sleeping," she reported, looking at the tarp that was now a makeshift blanket.

"That's good. Go have fun, Jenny, but call out if you need help."

"Yes, sir," Jenny replied with a grateful smile, running back to tell the others.

Personally, the trapper was a little surprised that they had energy to play at all, or perhaps they wanted some time alone.

'I guess it doesn't really matter, as long as they stay out of trouble.' "I've got a big job for you, Joey. Do you think you're strong enough for it?" she asked as she wrapped his wrists with rough burlap.

In order to have enough bandages for all the children, she had needed to cut up both of her large sacks for strips.

"I-I think so," Joey stammered, cuddling on her lap while fighting back another sniffle.

"You children ate all the food I had with me last night, but I think it's still a good distance from the next village."

"It took the men a week to get us here," he reported, keeping his eyes on his lap.

"That's good to know, but it doesn't change the fact that I have almost twenty mouths to feed. Half of those mouths are going to start being able to eat more now that they're getting more than a spoonful of porridge per day. Everyone, especially Richie, needs a few more days of rest before we start for your village. I need you to stay with Richie, help him drink and go to the bushes if he needs it. I need to hunt for our dinner, but I can only do that if you stay with Richie. Can you do that for me?"

The boy gave a nervous look at the almost skeletal form under the tarp, but nodded.

"Thank you. Now be good, and I'll be back soon." She gently ruffled his hair, and eased him off her lap. "It's even okay if you switch places with one of the other children at some point today, as long as someone's with him."

The little boy gave her a shy smile, wiped away the remaining tears, and hopped over to the campfire, where Richie was sleeping.

The pale trapper made sure her favorite knives were in their customary sheathes over her arms and legs, and took off running into the woods.

There was no time to set up traps, or to practice archery. The bread, cheese, and fruit from the capital had been just enough to stave off the worst of the children's appetite last night, but they needed some good fresh meat to help regain their strength.

Knowing she had several children counting on her had her mind set on more than a few rabbits, or even some foxes.

It took her over an hour to hunt down a deer. He was a large one, with an impressive set of antlers.

Her father said that some southerners paid a good price for antlers. She made a note not to damage them, and started hunting him.

She knew most other trappers depended on arrows and sometimes horses to take down a stag of that size. But then, most trappers didn't have the abilities that she did.

The stag knew she was onto him. He knew the terrain in this area, and was shameless about using it to his advantage. He ran as fast as he could, zigzagging at a rapid pace to avoid her, or at least throw her off his trail.

But she was used to such tricks and didn't waste time trying to shoot him. She was just as fast as he was, sometimes anticipating a move before he even made it.

It still took her over half an hour to run him down and break his neck.

He dropped to the ground while her arms were still around his neck.

She lay on top of her catch for a while, panting heavily. She took a moment to rest her face against the deer's soft fur, almost laughing in her weariness. "You put up a worthy fight, my long-limbed friend. Enjoy your final rest."

The young trapper knew it was odd to wish peace on her prey after killing them, but after what had happened with the polar bear, it only felt appropriate to her.

She considered a complete dressing, but didn't want to contaminate the meat. She settled for gutting the deer and dragging it by the horns back to the camp.

That took another three hours, since the stag had led her on a long chase.

By then, it was getting close to sunset and a few of the kids had been smart enough to keep the campfire going.

"Would a few of you mind gathering more sticks and such? We're going to need a bigger fire to cook all this meat," she called out, throwing the carcass to the ground to start skinning it.

"Okay," one of them called out, but she couldn't tell who with her back turned.

"But if you find any long straight sticks, don't burn them; we'll need to cook with those," she called over her shoulder.

"Um, Mister?" Jenny asked as she approached. "What are you?"

"A trapper, of course. Why do you ask?" she inquired, carefully separating the hide from the meat.

"Your clothes are always white, even when you're covered in blood."

She stopped cutting and stared at the carcass in front of her. Her gloves and front were wet from blood, but as the child had said, they were perfectly white in spite of the fact.

"Mister?" Jenny asked again.

The trapper gave a sigh and smiled at the girl. "When the fire's big enough, and everyone's roasting their dinner, I'll tell you what I am." 'I only wish I could tell you who I am.' "Is that agreeable, Jenny?"

She nodded, but looked at the camp fire. "That's not big enough for all of us to cook at the same time."

"Then we'll take turns. Now, please help the others find firewood, okay?"

She nodded and ran off with a few more of the girls.

The pale trapper looked down at her wet gloves again, raising them from the carcass. 'Is this my destiny? To be constantly covered with blood?'

'You chose this fate,' a small voice reminded her, making the young woman bite back an angry snarl and slam her knife into the deer.

"Some choice it was, too."

ooOoo

Richie's mouth was open with horror. "You lost your mama anyway?"

The trapper nodded, keeping his frail hand on his stick, which had deer meat wrapped around it over the fire. "It took her a month to die, despite my father's attempts to save her." The pale woman bit her lip painfully, allowing herself to think for the first time in years of the woman she barely remembered. "She was beautiful."

"Did you have any friends, after you got cursed?" Jenny asked.

Her heart pounded painfully. "Just one. I don't know why, but not even damaging his shoulder was enough to make him hate me. Everyone else did, though."

"Even though you were only defending your mother?" Joey asked in horror.

"They didn't know about her. Papa decided that it was safer to pretend that I was just his ward. Most of the villagers thought that Ukima changed me from a polar bear into a human, and we never saw the point in correcting them."

"What's a ward?" Angie asked as she checked her meat stick.

"It's a bit like an adoption. Pretty much, an adult decides to care for a child that isn't part of the family."

"You mean like us?" Richie asked, cuddling deep into her bear cloak.

"… A little. Except I'm not keeping all of you; I'm taking you back where you belong." She smiled sadly, giving Richie a random hug. "My kind of life isn't good for children, and most of you probably have families that love you. Remember, two more days of resting up, and then I take you home."

"We're not all from the same village," Jenny told her quietly.

"Then I'll take you to however many villages I need to. After what you children have been through, you deserve that much."

"But what about you?" Joey asked while tugging on a corner of her cloak. "How are you going to find the cure, if you don't know where to look?"

She gave him a sad smile, although it was hard to keep it from looking girly. "By looking in as many places as possible. For all I know, I'll find it in one of your villages."

"What's your name?" Jenny asked suddenly. "I don't like calling you mister all the time."

'It's Haru! I'm Haru!' she longed to cry out. "I'm not permitted to reveal it until I'm cured. One girl I've met liked to call me Mr. Bear, if you think I need a name."

Angie pouted. "That name doesn't suit you at all."

"Then think of something on your own," the trapper teased, reaching over to ruffle her hair affectionately. "But please don't tell anyone about my past, okay? It's not anyone's business."

"Well, what are we supposed to say, when people ask about you?" another boy, Thomas, asked in confusion.

"The truth; that I'm a cursed trapper looking for a cure. Now finish cooking so that the others can have dinner. Tomorrow's agenda is baths, so we all need a good rest tonight."

ooOoo

It was like she was in a trance. She knew what was going on, but was unable to control her own actions.

She was fighting thieves, more thieves than she could lay her eyes on. They were all beating on her with clubs and knives, which only served to enrage her. With a terrible roar, she stood up and started knocking down five at a time with her great claws.

Claws… she was a polar bear.

The trapper sat up intending to scream, but was just able to slam her hand over her mouth. Her heart was beating out of control and a few tears managed to escape her control.

"No," she choked in horror. "Never. No, I'll never be a bear."

Or a monster. She only did what she did to save innocent lives. What did it matter that she was no longer an innocent?

"Who am I fooling anyway?" she groaned to herself, holding her gloved hands to her face. "I haven't been innocent since I was seven."

Ten years… had it really been that long since getting cursed? Why did it feel like centuries instead?

Without warning, one of the smaller children started crying terribly, from his place near the middle of the tarp blanket.

With a regretful heart, since her cloak was covering four children, the trapper got up in order to carefully step around the bodies over the soft grass to reach her goal. "Shh, Johnny, what's wrong?" she whispered as she gently eased him out of the tarp blanket for a hug.

"The men, the men," he gasped in horror as he shook. "They were beating me again! I can't carry that much coal!"

"Shh, shh," she whispered, sitting down to rock him in her arms. "The men are gone, Johnny. I'm right here, no one's going to hurt you again."

At that, the boy started sobbing loudly, surely loud enough to wake the other children before long.

'Come on, Haru, think! What did Mama used to do when I was upset?' Her eyes widened in horror. 'No, I can't do that! It's too feminine!'

The small child kept weeping, clinging to the front of her shirt in terror. She kept rocking him in her arms, biting her lip as she fought with two strong desires. Comfort the child, or keep up with her façade. If she chose the latter, then more of the children were certain to wake up, and who knew how long it would take her to get them to go to sleep again?

There was no choice. If he asked in the morning, she'd just say he dreamed it.

She placed his head on her heart, kissed his face gently, and started singing softly. "Come stop your crying, it'll be all right. Just take my hand, hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you. I will be here, don't you cry."

It had been years since she had tried to sing, so of course her voice was rough and shaky as she soothed the child. But she was all too aware that if anyone heard her, they would know the truth about her gender.

"For one so small, you seem so strong. My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm. This bond between us can't be broken. I will be here, don't you cry."

The child was still crying, but the sobs had lessened considerably, and his breathing was starting to even out.

Taking heart in this, the trapper kept singing in a low tone, so she wouldn't wake up the other children. "Cause you'll be in my heart. Yes, you'll be in my heart, from this day on; now and forevermore. You'll be in my heart, no matter what they say. You'll be here in my heart, always. Always."

She repeated her childhood lullaby three more times before the little boy was sleeping again, although he still had a firm grip on her shirt. She grabbed a corner of her cloak to wrap the boy up in it as much as possible. "Sleep well, little one. I'll protect you," she promised in her true voice, looking at all of the children fondly. "Each and every one of you, until you're where you belong."

ooOoo

Evangeline felt like she was dead. Secretly, she wondered if it was the truth. After all, her husband was dead, her brother was dead…

Her two children…

She fought back another sob as she thought of them. Sally and Thomas had been her pride and joy, and now... now…

They were gone forever. No one ever saw a child again after the Soot Clan took one. But they didn't take just hers; they robbed the village of all the children they could get their hands on. She wasn't the only one in mourning.

If only the sheriff would do something about the Soot Clan! Nearly every village in the kingdom of Figlash had been targeted by them, but no officials were able to hunt them down.

Her hands started shaking against the rake she was using on her humble garden. "When is it going to be enough?" she whispered harshly. "When is our king going to do something about the Soot Clan? Do they have to storm the palace and steal all of his children before he sends his troops out?"

The vegetables she was talking to didn't offer a reply. They seldom did.

A loud cry was heard through the dusty village, making Evangeline look up in horror. Last time a cry like that was heard, it was to announce the arrival of the Soot Clan. Her mouth curled into an angry snarl and she kept a grip on the rake as she ran out of her garden and into the street.

Not this time. She wasn't going to let the Soot Clan take a single soul from here again!

"My baby!" Tina wailed as Evangeline turned a corner… and stopped dead in her tracks.

The rake in her hands fell to the ground in shock, unable to believe her own eyes.

There, at the front of the tavern… were the children. Her children, along with several adults claiming one child or another. Tina had been crying out over getting her daughter back!

Sally looked up at her and squealed with delight. "Mommy! Look, Thomas; Mommy!"

Her son laughed happily as the woman bit back a sob and ran forward to take her babies into her arms. They clung to her, crying harder than they had in a long time. For a long time, it was all Evangeline could do, to just hold her beloved children again.

Was she dreaming? It was almost too good to be a dream, and she was definitely feeling dizzy with happiness by now.

"Who are you, stranger?" she could hear the mayor ask nervously after a while, making the woman look up.

That was when she first noticed the pale man in the fur cloak; every inch of him as white as snow. There was a cluster of children around him, much skinnier and shabbier than the ones claimed by the village.

"This is Bearskin. He's the one who rescued us from the bad men," the frail boy in his arms rasped; the tone worshipful.

"What he said," the young man agreed as he gave a polite bow to the mayor. "If it's not too much trouble, sir, could you give me directions to Rilo, Stihan, or Jilish; whichever is closest? These children would also like to see their parents again." He gently touched the head of a little boy at his side, making the child cuddle against him happily.

"How did you do it?" Freddie asked in wonder, as he held his daughter close. "The Soot Clan never gives up a child, let alone several of them."

The pale man smiled grimly. "I didn't exactly give them a choice in the matter."

"He killed them 'till they were dead," Sally reported to her mother, although she was loud enough to be heard by all.

The strange man nodded sadly. "What she said. Don't expect anyone to steal your children again for a long time."

ooOoo

Well, after hearing that, there was no way on earth that the villagers were going to just let the pale trapper walk away without showing their appreciation. But none of them could spare much, since they were a poor village and had already lost a good number of workers during the Soot Clan raid.

However, they were able to provide a warm comfortable place for him and the remaining children to stay the night, as well as a small bag of food for the journey ahead.

"I'm sorry that this is all we can spare, Bearskin. We'd give you more if we could," the mayor said in an apologetic tone, as he shook the pale trapper's hand.

He shook his head with a small, guarded smile. "Considering the fact that I was expecting everyone to kick me out after getting their children back, I'm fine with just this. Be good to the little ones for me."

"Of course," he protested, even as the strange man's gaze turned away from him and to the children she had just returned to the village.

Little Otto was sniffling terribly, as he held his arms out for one last hug.

Bearskin smiled a little more warmly for the boy and wrapped his arms around the boy before ruffling his hair. "Remember to be good?"

"Okay!" the boy said while giving him a brave smile.

The villagers watched soundlessly as the pale man collected hugs from the children remaining in the village and gave them a warm bow unlike any they had seen before.

"Be good, and don't take anything for granted," he said warmly as he swept a frail boy into his arms, one that had barely been able to stand.

"Thank you for saving us and taking us home," Sally said with a loving smile, still holding her brother's hand.

"My pleasure. Well, let's get going, children. It's a long way to Stihan and we don't want to keep anyone waiting."

"We won't forget you!" Joey called out as the pale trapper walked down the dusty road with eight children, less than half of how many he had arrived with.

Evangeline's heart broke, as she thought of how many villages would be awaiting his arrival, after word was spread of the Soot Clan's defeat, hoping that their children would be counted among the returned ones.

"That man didn't have to take the children home himself," she murmured thoughtfully. 'In fact, it would have been easier to turn them over to the police and let them worry about getting them home.'

"His name's Bearskin, Mommy," Sally scolded, doing her best to look grown up, as usual. "He's the nicest man alive and doesn't want us to get hurt again."

"You're not with him anymore, dear heart," Evangeline reminded her older child with a warm smile, sneaking another hug as they walked back home to start the day's chores.

"He still doesn't want anyone to get hurt." Her little face scrunched up in disgust. "Unless they deserve it, that is."

"Mr. Bearskin's an angel," Thomas piped up happily. "That's why he saved us."

"Darling, the man, I mean Bearskin," Evangeline corrected herself as Sally made to protest again. "He's a good man, but he's not an angel."

"He wears white like an angel," the boy pointed out. "He's really nice and likes children-"

"Thomas… those things don't make a person an angel," Evangeline sighed as she picked up her rake again.

Her boy smiled shyly. "He sings pretty, too."

Evangeline stopped moving and gave him an incredulous look. "He sings?"

That didn't seem like a talent a trapper would possess, let alone a cursed one.

Sally nodded mournfully as she picked up two buckets to go fetch water. "Too bad he only does it when he thinks we're asleep."

ooOoo

The pale trapper had no idea just how quickly gossip could fly until she started returning children to their rightful homes. Although the three villages were spread far and wide over the kingdom of Figlash, every village she traded in had already heard of what she had done to the so-called Soot Clan and hoped that some of the children she cared for were their own.

It hurt, to have to constantly turn away hopeful parents or relatives after none of the children recognized them. It hurt to constantly crush their dreams of seeing loved ones again, even as she offered the comfort of knowing the ones responsible would never haunt them again.

It took her over three months to get each child to their home village, and to a loving relative or adopted home. By then, her new identity was well established in the kingdom, and, as she would later find, in the ones surrounding it. After more than ten years without a steady name to call her own, she was now known on sight by complete strangers.

She was Bearskin.

'At least it's better than Mr. Bear.'

xxXxx

A/N; the song Haru used to calm the child was 'You'll Be in My Heart' from the Disney movie Tarzan. It was sung by both Glenn Close and Phil Collins, and seriously makes a perfect lullaby.