Bart Belly's Arc

Chapter 8 of 21

Bart walked for two days before the snow domes of the castle rose ahead. Its icy battlements shone in the gray light. He held the red bloom close to his chest. The golden Speedo hung from his other paw. But doubt gnawed at him. The king had asked for a rare bloom from beyond the wilderness. Was a red flower what he wanted? Bart did not know. If he brought the wrong one, guards would take his gear and drag him away. He climbed the packed snow to the frosted doors and pushed them open. King Stormy waited on his throne. He was a broad polar bear in a purple robe. A jeweled crown sat crooked on his head. He gripped a golden scepter and leaned forward the moment Bart stepped inside. His small eyes fixed on the bloom, hungry and sharp. "Show me," the king said. His voice was rough. He did not rise. He held out one heavy paw and snapped his fingers twice. Bart crossed the frozen floor. His heart pounded. He lifted the red bloom and set it in the king's paw. "From beyond the wilderness," Bart said. "I fought a yeti for it." King Stormy turned the flower in his claws. He held it to the light. He sniffed it. His frown deepened. Bart braced himself. He looked to the doors, where two guards stood with spears. One shift of the king's paw and they would come. Then the king's face broke into a greedy grin. "Red as blood. Petals like frost." He pressed the bloom to his chest. "I have wanted this flower for twenty years. No one ever brought it back alive." He laughed, short and loud. "You have earned your supplies, bear." Bart let out his breath. His shoulders dropped. The guards leaned their spears back against the wall. The trade was done. His gear was safe. The king waved a paw toward the far hall. "The cavern is open to you. Take what winter goods you need." But as Bart turned, the king's eyes fell on the golden Speedo in his paw. The grin twisted into something sharper. "What is that?" King Stormy stood at last. His scepter thumped the ice. "Gold. Real gold." He stepped down from the throne. "You did not tell me you found treasure on my ice." Bart's grip tightened on the Speedo. "This is mine. I earned it." "Nothing found beyond my wilderness is yours," the king said. He raised his scepter. The two guards lifted their spears again and moved to block the doors. "Hand it over, or you leave with nothing." Bart backed toward the far hall. The supplies were his. The bloom had bought his freedom. But now the king wanted the one thing he had crossed the ice to keep. He was safe from the king's threat, and trapped by the king's greed.