by J. S. Skye
Flurry the Bear
The Throne of Frost
J.S. Skye
All characters featured in this novel, the distinctive names and likenesses thereof, and all related content are the sole property of J.S. Skye. No similarity between any of the names, characters, persons, and/or institutions in this book with those of any living or dead person or institution is intended, and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental.
The Throne of Frost
(Flurry the Bear — Book 3)
Copyright © 2015 J.S. Skye
All rights reserved.
www.FlurryTheBear.com
Cover art by Luís Figueiredo, Francois Beauregard, J.S. Skye, & Tony Washington
CHAPTER 1
THE JOURNEY HOME
A beautiful new day fast approached. The sky radiated its sapphire hue from horizon-to-horizon. Not a single cloud broke its vibrant color. The sun advanced along its circuit to cast its beams down through the vastly forested landscape. The heavenly feel of the dawn was challenged only by the cheer and laughter which echoed throughout the far-off reaches of the timber.
A well-armed company of feline warriors marched with a purpose. The detachment of cats accompanied three small ponies and their riders. These three passengers were the source of the great laughter that resonated throughout the wooded landscape.
On the back of the lead pony sat an adorable teddy bear cub with pure white fur that matched the color of his pony. He wore only a blue scarf with two little snowflakes embroidered at one end.
The cub added to the merriment. He giggled and laughed along with his sister Fall, and his friend Caboose. “Okay, I have one for you,” the bear cub addressed to his sister. “Why should you never tell secrets to a coffee maker?”
Fall giggled. She looked especially cute in her blue dress. She had two blue bows, one above each ear, which matched the rest of her apparel. She giggled again and replied, “I don’t know. Why?”
“Because it might spill the beans,” answered her brother.
They both cackled together. “Oh, Flurry! You’re so silly!” Fall shook her head at her brother. “Okay. I have another one for you,” she enthusiastically added. “What do cows do for fun?”
Flurry thought about it for a moment before he responded. “I don’t know. What?”
“They watch moo-vies. Get it? Moo-vies.”
Flurry clutched his belly and bellowed loudly. He laughed so hard that he tumbled off of his pony. The accident only made them laugh all the more.
The cream-colored polar bear, Caboose, was Flurry’s most loyal companion. He, unfortunately, did not understand any of their jokes and riddles, but he laughed right along with them just the same. However, even he appreciated Flurry’s fall. Caboose laughed heartily at the cub’s blunder.
The three bears sustained their amusement until it was interrupted by one of their cat guardians. The Tikalico warriors kept watch over the cubs to ensure their safe passage through the vast and dangerous land. “We’re approaching the territory of Mezarim. We should be arriving at Ursus soon.”
“Yay!” Fall broke from her continued amusement at her brother’s blunder to exclaim.
Flurry did not share in her excitement anymore. In fact, Flurry’s countenance drastically changed.
“What’s wrong?” his sister inquired.
“Oh, nothing,” Flurry replied. He focused his gaze on the ground and kicked at the dirt. He was not a good liar, and Fall had quickly learned how to read her brother’s emotions since she first met him only a matter of days prior.
“Come on, Flurry! You aren’t fooling me! What is it?”
“I don’t want to talk about it!” he sharply lashed back.
“You can tell me. We’re family.”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it!”
Taken aback by Flurry’s sudden mood swing, Fall crossed her arms and turned away from him. “Fine! Have it your way!”
Flurry was helped back up onto the pony by one of the guards, but his reluctance to cooperate was apparent. Flurry moved as slowly as he possibly could. He knew that trouble drew near. In the excitement of his previous adventure, he had lost all track of time and had completely forgotten about the circumstances of how that adventure began.
Flurry was reminded that the last thing he had done, prior to his journey down to the land of the Sourpie, was throw a fit and sneak out of his parents’ house. He had run off to a distant land without informing anyone — not even his friends knew what had happened to him.
Flurry cringed when he imagined how sternly he would be disciplined by his parents in Ursus, and then once more by his adopted family when he got back to Middleasia. Flurry had been told that disciplinary correction was a form of love, but that did not mean he had to like it.
Flurry had been bad, and he knew that he deserved the corrective action he would receive upon their arrival at the North Pole. “Excuse me! Excuse me! Mr. Cat! Is there a chance that we could go a bit slower, please?”
“Slower?” Fall interjected.
“Yeah! You know, so we can take in the sights more,” Flurry responded.
“Oh, now I see! You’re afraid that Mama and Papa are going to scold you for running away, aren’t you?”
“No.”
“Yes, you are!”
“No, I’m not!”
“Yes, you are!”
“No, I’m not!”
Before their argument could turn into a shouting match, Flurry turned away and looked back at the turf. The cub had a sinking feeling in his chest with each step his pony took toward his inevitable doom. Tears formed in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away so that his sister would not see them.
“Flurry, maybe they’ll go easy on you since you not only saved the lives of others, but you also united the Sourpie with their brothers and sisters in Tikalico. Not to mention that you stopped Isangrim! Maybe Mr. Kringle will stick up for you,” Fall tried to comfort her brother.
“It’s no use. Mama and Papa are going to be so angry at me. I’m going to be grounded for the rest of my life.” Flurry’s eyes watered.
At that moment, Caboose rode up next to him and said, “Sare, sare.” That was his way of saying “There, there,” but he always pronounced words that contained a “th” as if they were an “s” instead. Caboose did not know what else to do or say, but he wanted to comfort his best friend.
Flurry continued to be downcast. As they approached the edge of the forest, they beheld patches of snow spread sporadically out ahead of them. The further they went, the more the landscape changed from green to white and the beautiful blue sky became gray and overcast. It was like the weather had matched Flurry’s gloomy thoughts.
A fog formed. Visibility was low, but Flurry knew they were near home, because he could smell the delicious aroma of bread from the town’s bakery. Before long, Flurry beheld the golden glow of shop window lights through the fog. When their entire caravan had reached the town center, Flurry noticed Christopher Kringle and most of the teddy bear village were present. They stood by and waited for the arrival of the three cubs on their ponies.
The horses came to a stop, and Flurry watched in horror as the cat warriors from Tikalico spoke with Christopher. Before Flurry had a chance to scan the crowd, Fall had already located their family members.
“Mama! Papa!” Fall shouted. She jumped down from her mount and rushed over to them. Tears streamed down their faces as they embraced their daughter.
Flurry cried, and buried his face in the pony’s pearly-white mane. Caboose hopped down, went over to Flurry, and gazed up at him. “Go away, Caboose! I’m just going to pretend that I’m part of the horsey. We have the same fur color, so maybe I’ll be lucky and no
body will notice me here.”
Caboose took hold of Flurry’s foot and tugged. His intent was to coerce Flurry to get down. However, Caboose pulled too hard and caused Flurry to topple from the pony and down onto Caboose.
“Sorry,” Caboose said.
“That’s okay. Thanks for breaking my fall at least,” Flurry replied.
“You’re welcome!”
Flurry stood up and brushed the snow from himself and then off of Caboose. When Flurry looked up from his minor fumble, his mama and papa stood there next to his pony. Tears trickled down their cheeks.
“Before you yell at me, I can ex …” Flurry’s statement was cut short when his mother and father grabbed him and held him close. Both of them cried and hugged their boy tightly.
Flurry’s mother was the first to speak. “Son, we missed you so much!”
Flurry was perplexed and asked, “You aren’t mad at me?”
“Of course we are,” his mother answered and wiped some of her tears away. “But your correction can wait for later. We just want to hold you for now. We were worried sick about you and your sister. We thought we had lost you both.” The entire Snow family cried and hugged each other further.
Flurry felt comforted. He knew he was in trouble, but he no longer worried about his punishment. He was happy to know that he was still deeply loved and missed by his parents. He realized he had been wrong in his assumption that his parents had replaced him with Fall, or that they no longer loved him. Flurry felt such relief to be home and safe in the arms of his loving family again.
While they held each other, Christopher approached. “Flurry, is this true?” he asked.
“Uh, oh!” Flurry shouted and jumped back a few steps. He put his arms behind his back, looked up, and replied, “Caboose did it!”
Christopher chuckled, “Yes, Caboose did do it. All three of you did it. I’m proud to know that the cats from Tikalico have now been reunited with their brothers and sisters from Agrio. Thanks to you, an age-old feud has ended, and the two kings stand together again. You even managed to throw a wrench in Isangrim’s tyranny. You’re to be commended for this. I don’t condone what you’ve put your friends and family through, but I’m proud that you showed integrity and courage to do what was right when in the face of danger and impossible odds. There will be a dinner banquet tonight at my home to honor our guests from Tikalico. Everyone’s invited. Tomorrow, you and I will have a little chat about your recent behavior.”
Christopher turned to the crowd and announced the reception. The town cheered. Many of the bears rushed off to make early preparations. Christopher led the cat warriors away with him, along a cobblestone path which led out of the village. Flurry, his friends, and family were all that remained.
Flurry wiped away his tears and looked over at Caboose and the rest of his friends that stood by his side. They had accompanied him to Ursus nearly two weeks prior, and also had been worried about Flurry and his companions.
Flurry ran up and hugged Noah, the tall, slender lion who stood beside Caboose. He was Flurry’s best friend. Noah was deeply pleased to see that Flurry was safe and sound.
Their adopted mother in Middleasia had tasked the lion with the duty of protecting and watching over Flurry. Due to that charge, it was such a relief that Flurry was back unharmed. Noah had no idea how he would ever be able to face their mother again if anything bad happened to Flurry.
In fact, Noah had secretly made a vow in his heart that, from now on, he would be ever vigilant. He would make sure Flurry and the others were safe.
Noah was the most mature and dependable of the bunch. It was his duty to look after them, but he had been at the dinner table with the Snow family on the morning of the entire incident. He frequently replayed the event in his head. The poor lion constantly criticized himself for being at the dining table. Noah did not have a mouth, and therefore had no need for or the means to eat food. He should have been at Flurry’s side. At least that is what Noah believed he should have done that day.
Flurry gave the other lion, named Boaz, a hug, but he had to get down on one knee for that. Boaz was very small, unlike his lanky brother Noah. Boaz often wore glasses and his mane was so bushy that you could not see his ears.
Last, but not least, Flurry reached out and patted Honja on the head. The little brown rabbit was normally grumpy around Flurry. However, this day he was pleased to see Flurry, too. He allowed Flurry to pat him on the head just this once. If this had been any other day, Honja would have been angered by this action. He did not like to be touched, and he especially hated being patted on the head. Flurry always forgot about this fact and would do it anyway, but this day Honja was kind enough to let it slide. As much as Flurry frustrated Honja, he too had been worried and was now happy to have the bear cub back.
After everyone had hugged, shed their tears, and spent time reuniting, they followed Mr. and Mrs. Snow back to their family’s abode.
The rest of the day was pleasant despite the fact that Flurry was lectured, just as he knew he would be. His parents informed him of how precious he was, and how much they loved him before they explained why they were also very angry at him for being irresponsible and selfish. Flurry had endangered both his and his sister’s life while he simultaneously made everyone in Ursus worry about them.
Flurry apologized, and it was understood that his adopted family would also be informed of an adequate disciplinary action.
Despite having been reprimanded, the rest of the day was great. Flurry spent most of the time outside. The cubs made snowbears, played tag, and went sledding. Flurry’s sister instigated a snowball fight that became the highlight of their day. All of the young ones were happy. They giggled and laughed the day away, while Mr. and Mrs. Snow watched from the front window of their home.
The evening came quickly, and Flurry could not believe it was time for the banquet in honor of the Tikalico warriors. The cubs were all immensely excited about the banquet. In fact, Flurry’s mouth already watered at the thought of all of the delicious food that would be there. Even better was the possibility of the tasty treats he could have for dessert.
The cubs were gathered by the door when a chill came over Flurry. The North Pole had always been cold, but not cold enough that it would require any of them to wear warmer clothes. It had always been a tolerable level of cold.
Mr. and Mrs. Snow opened the door and immediately noticed the sudden temperature drop. “That’s strange,” Mr. Snow commented. “It hasn’t been this cold in my lifetime. It has always been relatively pleasant in this part of Mezarim.”
His words did not reach the cubs in time. They were excited to see snow fall from above. The flakes glistened in the sunlight so much so that it caught Fall’s attention. She hastily rushed out the front door. “Wow! Look! It’s snowing!” she shouted and spun around with her arms in the air, but she quickly ran back into the house when the frigid air disturbed her. “It’s so cold!” she exclaimed to the other younglings.
“Indeed!” her father replied. “Everyone come here! Put on these winter coats. I keep extras here just in case of a winter storm.” Mr. Snow opened a chest that sat near the front door and pulled out a variety of winter coats, pants, and boots for Flurry and company. They bundled up as quickly as they could — after all, they did not want to miss a single moment of the banquet dinner.
“Papa, why is it so cold?” Flurry asked. The cub looked up at his father and continued. “I don’t remember it ever being this cold before.”
“I’m not sure, Son, but it can’t be good. There might be a bad storm coming.” Mr. Snow answered while he scanned the sky. He pulled his hood up over his head and stepped out the door. Mr. Snow had a bad feeling about it, but the weather would have to wait since they were expected at Christopher’s home.
Flurry was the last to bundle up. The cold had never bothered him before and certainly did not now. He reluctantly grabbed a coat. It had fur around the hem of the hood. Flurry zipped up the coat, pulled t
he fuzzy hood over his head, and ran outside to join his friends. Mrs. Snow closed the door after them and followed everyone down the path.
Flurry skipped the entire way, though he would momentarily pause from time-to-time to pick up some snow and throw it at someone. Their trip might have been quicker had they not been interrupted by a few snowball fights along the way.
What would have been a pleasant journey turned out to be bitter as the temperature continued to drop. The wind picked up, and the clouds obscured the light from the sun. The snow fell more heavily. Thankfully, they reached Christopher Kringle’s house. Flurry gazed at the beautiful stone and recalled how he had always thought of it as a castle.
With a knock at the door, they were greeted by Catherine and her wolf, Vallidore. Flurry loved her wolf dearly. The bear cub liked to cuddle with the wolf and pet him every chance he got. However, Flurry had a hard time with the wolf’s name, so he resorted to calling him Doggy.
When the door opened, Flurry exclaimed, “Doggy!” and ran up to the wolf and hugged his leg. Everyone chuckled when they saw how affectionate Flurry was toward Mrs. Kringle’s companion.
This wolf was no ordinary wolf. Firstly, he was much larger than a typical wolf. His back stood higher than Catherine’s waistline. Instead of yellow eyes, he had blue, and his fur was just as white as Flurry’s. The wolf bore various markings upon his fur. The decorative markings were writings in the ancient Polarin language. Very few could read or understand the beautiful script on the wolf’s fur.
“Okay, Vallidore, step back and let our guests in,” Catherine instructed her wolf. He was very protective of the Kringle couple, and was devoted to them.
Catherine Kringle was very lovely. She stood tall and had a slender frame. Her head was adorned with long, fiery-red hair which flowed down to the middle of her back. Even at her age, she had managed to retain much of her youthful beauty. Christopher was very proud of her, and he loved her very much.
The entourage of plush visitors entered the house. Songs, laughter, and cheer could be heard from within. “Come! Everyone is gathering in the main hall.” Catherine informed her guests and led them through a set of double-doors into a large, spacious room where the festivities took place. Flurry’s face lit up with delight at the sight of the abundant array of cuisine. He licked his lips and ran off toward one of the tables of food.