Chapter One

-In the Land of the Devil-

“Snow?” Lucille Niiro asked her niece as the frail girl came in from gathering firewood, “Could you wash up and make Rose some soup? I’ll tend to the fire while you do that.”

Snow dropped the firewood in front of her aunt without a word. Her forehead was coated in sweat and her body covered with smudges of dirt. She went to the kitchen sink and began to wash off, trying to get herself as clean as possible before beginning to cook.

Things had gotten tough when Rose took ill. Rose was always the one to do the hard labor around the house, where Snow helped with the housework. She was frail and took a long time to do her new chores, which gave her aunt plenty of time to find something else that needed to be done.

Just as Snow added the potatoes to the soup pot, she heard a knock on the front door. Assuming that her aunt was elsewhere, she left to get the door. As soon as she opened the door, she wished she had slammed it right back shut, “I’m here looking for Rose Niiro, is she here?” a voice asked.

The voice was dark and smooth, just like the speaker’s fur. The bear looked at Snow with small beady eyes, as though shooting a spear through Snow’s chest, “I…” she started, remembering all of the stories from villagers about elves, fairies and demons disguising themselves as animals.

“Please allow me to come in,” the bear then responded. The bear was dressed in a large black suit. Snow stepped to the side, unsure of what to do. She knew that she had to do what it said; it was very unwise to talk back to a talking animal, let alone a giant one with very sharp teeth and claws.

Aunt Niiro walked up to the front door and stared at the peculiar bear. She then looked at Snow. And then back at the bear, “Who are you? And what are you doing in my house?”

The bear bowed his head, “I am the Bear,” he responded with a small chuckle, “And Miss Snow let me in,” he said, beginning to walk deeper into the house. Snow remained frozen in her spot. He looked back at the girl, “Yes, I do know your name,” he said softly.

Snow buckled her knees together, lest she would wet her frilly little pantaloons, "Why?" she managed to whisper softly to the bear, looking at her aunt for some kind of assistance. However, he aunt merely shook her head, shaking almost as much as Snow was.

"It's because of the job. All because of the job," the Bear said in a soft singsong voice, ending with a little chuckle. He walked deeper into the house, sniffing the ground. Snow and Lucille followed him through, trying to think of how to peacefully get him out.

"What is your job? Who are you exactly?" Ms. Niiro asked, clearly her throat. She was trying to sound strong, and succeeding quite nicely. Snow admired that about her aunt, she could always keep a nice calm composure in any situation. Rose inherited that trait. Snow was much meeker, having not come from their family line. Or perhaps she was just destined to be weak.

"About me? Let's see..." the Bear trailed off in thought, trying to gather together proper words to express who he was. He finally stopped in his tracks and stood in an upright posture, "I am a friend of all and a friend of none. I sing with the moon but I dance with the sun. I have caused peace and I have caused wars. I am a friend of all, but am I a friend of yours?" he said in a voice that was most taunting.

"A riddle?" Ms. Niiro asked, taken aback. She looked at her niece, who was fidgeting with the skirts of her dress, "Then you must be an elf or faye. Those creatures are well-known for loving riddles," she resolved, hoping she was correct.

The Bear opened his mouth to say something. But Snow shook her head and cleared her throat meekly, "No," she mumbled, more than a little nervous, "You can't be an elf or a faye. This is because elves live in the mountains, where there are no bears. And fayes are peaceful creatures, not ones you start wars and meddle with trying to cause peace. They only mess with humans during fire festivals," she said with a nod. She was certain now that her bladder was going to let loose, opening the flood gates and streaming urine down into her knickers.

"You seem to know a lot, Miss Snow. However, I have gathered that you love to read. So if I am none of those, what am I?" the Bear asked, licking a paw. He seemed amused by Snow's logic. He wasn't taking any of this seriously. No, he was the kind to only be interested in all of this because it amused him. He was someone who always wanted to be entertained. He wanted people to suffer and fuss for his own enjoyment.

"You're a devil," Snow finally decided, based on this logic, "Only a truly malicious being would wish to watch others in pain." she said with a cough. She hated to be wrong, as so many do. She cowered as she awaited the Bear's answer to her final guess.

"You've proven to be brighter than I thought, Miss Skirbin," the Bear laughed, wholeheartedly this time, "I'm very happy about this indeed. In fact, in any other scenario I would love to play more riddles with you. However, I'm afraid that I need Miss Rose Niiro now. You must pay the devil his due, you know." he said, walking off into Rose's room.

"The devil!" Auntie Niiro whispered in shock. She ran off behind him, “But then couldn’t you have just popped in and out, like they say in the myths?”

“I could have, yes. However, this is much more entertaining. I would have never gotten a taste of what you two are really like, now would I?" the Bear asked, nudging open Rose's door with his nose.

"What do you want with my daughter?" Ms. Niiro then asked, grabbing a broom from against a wall and aiming at the Bear like some sort of weapon, "Don't you dare lay a hand on her, you demon!" she shrieked, now fiercely defensive since she knew exactly what this bear really was. However, the Bear was not threatened in the least bit by the woman. He threw his head back and shook it. Snow looked over to Rose, who was sleeping in her bed with a cold rag on her forehead.

Snow licked her lips in indecision as she watched the Bear and her aunt in confusion. The Bear stood on his hind legs, revealing exactly how huge he really was. He was a good eight and half feet high, immediately intimidating Ms. Niiro enough to back off just a little. The Bear swung his large paw and knocked Lucille Niiro down, out for the count. He reverted back to the ground, "Oh my. I didn't mean to be so harsh with her," he said with false concern, "It was a shame too; I think I might have wrinkled my suit." He seemed to be talking to Snow.

Snow could only stare, frozen in fear. She should have ran. She should have tried to grab Rose and hauled her butt out of there. However, if she did anything she "should" do, she wouldn't be Snow Skirbin. Snow Skirbin was a girl who lived in safety and security. She reveled in regularity. She would much rather not do the sensible and righteous thing should it be dangerous.

So she allowed the Bear to continue forward, towards Rose's bed. He pulled Rose onto his back. She woke up in a haze, looking over at her cousin, "Sn-Snow?" she asked, her eyes only half open. She coughed a heavy, feverish cough and fell back to sleep, totally unaware of the back that she was on the back of a bear in a business suit.

"Thank you for cooperating so well, Miss Skirbin. I will repay you someday," the Bear said with a smile, his large teeth glistening, "If it is any consolation, then I will be sure to take good care of her. I'll clean up her fever nice and quickly, just for you."

Snow shook her head. Tears were welling up in her eyes. Why couldn't she move? Why was she too afraid? Was it really her who couldn't move or was it some sort of devilish magic? She would like to think of later. However, her conscience knew otherwise. Her heart knew far too well what the real cause for her lack of action was.

And she swore to herself as the Bear walked through the house that it would never happen again. She swore to herself that the fear stopped that day. She would stop being too afraid to do anything. She would get Rose back and redeem herself as a heroine, and not the devil's advocate. She would not live with the thought that she helped the devil. She would not.

The "would-have"s and the "should-have"s began to devour her alive. As she tried to live her general life and tried to forget, the guilt chased her down. She knew she had to remain true to her promise, or else she would die from the guilt.

That was when she knew that the plain life she had been destined for had taken a drastic twist. Now here she was, on the road of good intentions. Her destiny a now hazy one. What a sorry heroine we have here, no?