\n\u201cBear! Sir Bear!\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nSammy\u2019s voice echoed in the night air, frosting in puffs with each cry. Surrounded, he pressed his back against the metal of a street lamp, the stinging cold biting through the thin material of his red, stripy pajamas. His feet almost tripped over a black bin bag that had been piled with others against the street lamp. There was nowhere for him to run–they had cut off his escape back up the alley towards home and the exit out onto the main road. At this time of night, everyone was asleep. No-one would hear his calls for help.\n<\/p>\n
\nHe only had one hope.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe orange light of the street lamp painted the shadows of his three assailants longer than their diminutive statures should allow. They watched Sammy hungrily, each atop a beaten, scar-ridden cat. He had never liked cats. Too mean. Dogs were his favorite, although his parents had never let him have one. They weren\u2019t going to change their mind any time soon either.\n<\/p>\n
\nTo his left was a one-armed Action Man, to his right a Monsieur Stretchstrong with limbs twice the length of its body, and between them was a one-eyed Barbie whose hair had seen better days. Judging by her dress-up clothes, Sammy guessed she had been a Doctor Barbie. He remembered seeing the advert on TV last Christmas.\n<\/p>\n
\nThey tightened the circle around him, their little plastic faces lit up with the joy of cornered prey. Sammy knew what they wanted. He also knew they\u2019d never be satisfied with any amount he offered them. They\u2019d want it all and, even if he didn\u2019t know how, he knew they would take every last speck.\n<\/p>\n
\nSammy shivered.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cLay it on us, boy, and we\u2019ll make sure you get home safe to your parents,\u201d said the Action Man. His tone was calm, but Sammy noticed he didn\u2019t sound like he did on the advert. He was supposed to be American, but he sounded more like the bald road worker who whistles at Mum when she walks him to school. Mum always walks faster on that road, her hand a bit tighter around Sammy\u2019s.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cN-no,\u201d stuttered Sammy. He looked over the heads of his attackers for a sign of hope. He<\/em> would come. \u201cSir Bear told me never to trust wild toys.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nBarbie\u2019s cat stepped forward, hissing. \u201cWe just want to play.\u201d She sounded like Sammy\u2019s aunt from Birmingham, a woman never without a cigarette in her mouth.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cI\u2019m not playing with this kid,\u201d said Monsieur Stretchstrong. He definitely didn\u2019t sound French. Sammy didn\u2019t know what he sounded like. Why did toys never sound like they were supposed to?\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThat\u2019s not what Barbs means, Stretch,\u201d said Action Man. He looked Sammy up and down. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t play with your food.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nA voice rumbled from the darkness beyond the synthetic glow of the street lamp. \u201cAway, plastic leeches. Thou shall not have my squire.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSammy\u2019s heart lifted. He knew he would come. He always did.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cYou guys are in trouble now,\u201d said Sammy. A wide smile stretched across his face, dissipating the fear the three wild toys and their steeds had cast over him.\n<\/p>\n \nThe wild toys twisted around to face the voice, their little plastic hands yanking at the cats\u2019 furry necks to turn. The cats yowled in anger and pain. Sammy felt a bit bad for them, even if they looked ready to scratch his face off.\n<\/p>\n \nThe Action Man scanned the darkness beyond their halo of light, one of his small hands scratching behind his cat\u2019s ear. It purred approvingly, forgetting the rough handling. \u201cWhat\u2019s this? An appetizer for our main course?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSir Bear, or just Bear as Sammy called him, waddled into the light. His usual frown was deeper than ever, a look the people of the toy company would have hated to see on their cute and cuddly teddy bear. Being Sammy\u2019s Guardian seemed to bring it out in the knee-high teddy. Bear straightened his little red shirt–it constantly rode up on his paunchy body–and pulled his pen-sized sword from the scabbard slung across his back.\n<\/p>\n \nSammy had never found out where the sword came from; he had never even been allowed to hold it. It certainly hadn\u2019t come with Bear–especially as it was a very real and very sharp blade. Despite asking about it many times, Bear always answered the questions in the same way: A Knight is nothing without his sword.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n \nBear levelled the sword at each of them in turn, as if marking them. The street lamp lit the blade with a fiery glow. \u201cDie dishonorably by my hand, or fade honorably. The choice is thine,\u201d he grumbled.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cYou owned toys are all pompous little freaks,\u201d said Barbie.\n<\/p>\n \nBear nodded, accepting that as answer enough. He looked at Sammy. \u201cClose thy eyes, squire. Don\u2019t open them until I say.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBut–\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cSquire\u2026\u201d Bear warned.\n<\/p>\n \nReluctantly, Sammy covered his eyes with his fingers. How was he supposed to become a knight if he didn\u2019t watch Bear fight? But Bear insisted combat was not for young eyes. In fact, his code as a knight forbade it. Violence should not darken one\u2019s childhood,<\/em> as Bear had once said, rather definitively, after an afternoon of Sammy\u2019s begging to sword fight.\n<\/p>\n \nSammy opened his fingers a crack, enough to see the small battle play out. Of course, it was only in case Bear needed his help.\n<\/p>\n \nBear leapt at Monsieur Stretchstrong with all the agility of a gymnast. You would never think it looking at him: his pudgy, round body and plump arms and legs were built for cuddling, not fighting. Bear grumbled about his size often, but Sammy knew he preferred it that way. Everyone underestimated the snuggly teddy bear.\n<\/p>\n \nMonsieur Stretchstrong was thrown from his cat, his limbs trailing after him like the tendrils of a jellyfish. Bear smacked the rear of Monsieur Stretchstrong\u2019s cat, which hissed and scampered away. A rubbery arm flew at Bear, trying to wrap itself around him. With a single swing, Bear hacked the arm in two, the fist falling to the floor.\n<\/p>\n \nSammy gasped.\n<\/p>\n \nBear\u2019s frown became a scowl. \u201cPeek not, squire. I know thou art watching.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSammy closed the crack between his fingers. \u201cI\u2019m not!\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nBear didn\u2019t reply. All Sammy heard for the next few minutes was hissing cats, metal shearing plastic, and the frenzied shouts of the wild toys. The sounds of battle only tempted him to peek again, but Sammy stopped himself. Bear was angry enough with him already. All he could do was listen.\n<\/p>\n \nA husky cry of pain made Sammy look. Worry swelled. He had never heard that noise from Bear before.\n<\/p>\n \nThe broken, inanimate bodies of the wild toys littered Bear\u2019s battlefield. Sammy saw the faint gold of their life magic escaping into the night air–barely sparks against the dark sky. No wonder they had fought Bear so desperately–they had been on the cusp of fading. With or without Sammy and Bear, tonight would always have been their last.\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \nOne of the wild toys\u2019 cats remained, standing protectively over the decapitated Action Man. It stared Bear down, growling low, reminding Sammy more of its bigger, exotic cousins. Fluff and golden shimmers spilled out of deep claw marks on Bear\u2019s belly, his paw trying to hold himself together. In his other paw, he still held the sword, pointing shakily at the mongrel.\n<\/p>\n \nSammy stood staring, uncertain. Bear never wanted Sammy to put himself at risk–another of his codes–but Bear was in too much danger for Sammy to ignore.\n<\/p>\n \nThe cat looked at Sammy, waiting to see what he would do. This was no regular cat–spurred by humanity, it bore the crusty marks of a survivor. Wrathful eyes narrowed, daring Sammy to intervene. Sammy tried to pull himself up to challenge the cat, but its stare and low yowling made him weak. His arms and legs felt as rubbery as Monsieur Stretchstrong\u2019s, his voice lost like the failing flickers in the air.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cI\u2019ll beat thee. Leave us,\u201d said Bear, drawing the cat\u2019s attention back to him. Letting go of his wounded side, he took his sword in both paws and dragged it along the concrete in front of him. Sparks spat up from the ground, Bear\u2019s sword singing with a haunting ring.\n<\/p>\n \nWith a spitting hiss, the cat stepped away from Bear. It looked between them before grabbing the head of the Action Man in its mouth and running. Sammy watched it jump from the ground to the top of a bin to the top of a fence. He didn\u2019t move until it disappeared over the fence, into the wilds of someone\u2019s garden.\n<\/p>\n \nHe still didn\u2019t like cats.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cDamnable villains,\u201d said Bear and collapsed onto his back. His breathing was strained and irregular, his sword forgotten on the floor next to him, both paws clamped around his cat-wound as he tried to stop the shimmers escaping. Sammy noticed Bear\u2019s brown fur seemed less glossy, almost stiffer, like he\u2019d been forgotten at the bottom of a toy chest for several years.\n<\/p>\n \nSammy rushed to his side, worried but not panicking. He knew what to do. \u201cOh, you silly old bear.\u201d He held his hands over Bear\u2019s belly as he had many times before, palms down, and remembered the rhyme that had come to him in a dream so long ago.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cGlimmer, shimmer, give my bear a flicker.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nNothing happened. Sammy\u2019s breath quickened.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cGlimmer! Shimmer! Give my bear a flicker!\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nAgain, nothing.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBear! It\u2019s not working!\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cHush, squire,\u201d said Bear. His deep, slow voice calmed Sammy a little. \u201cAllow not fear to control thy heart.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSammy nodded although he wasn\u2019t really sure what that meant. He breathed deep, thought hard of playtime with Bear and of those magical golden sparks. \u201cGlimmer. Shimmer. Give my bear a flicker.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSomething tugged on his heart, a slight sensation. His hands lit up, glowing with the webbing of his veins through his skin like rivers on a map. It was only brief, longer than a flash but shorter than a flicker. He remembered when the magic used to light up his bedroom like a summer sun, bathing them in its warmth. Sammy had never seen it so small before and worried it wasn\u2019t enough.\n<\/p>\n \nBefore he could repeat the rhyme again, he felt a soft paw on his hands. \u201cTis done. Thou did well, squire.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSammy\u2019s hands fell away and he saw Bear\u2019s brown belly was whole again. Tears began to well in Sammy\u2019s eyes, relief washing over him in a huge wave. Bear has always been fine before, taking the odd slash to the arm, but never this bad. And Sammy had always been able to fix him. He had never had any issues with the magic before.\n<\/p>\n \nBear wasn\u2019t just his Guardian, but his best friend too. No-one else could protect him from wild toys, monsters in the cupboard and demons under the bed whilst also playing out every one of Sammy\u2019s daydreams.\n<\/p>\n \nWith everything happening with his parents, Sammy needed Bear more than ever.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Bear. I\u2019m so sorry. I never–\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nA coughing fit interrupted him. His throat felt sharp and raw, lined with a tangy metallic taste. Sammy buried his mouth in the crook of his elbow, just like Dad had taught him for coughs and sneezes. When he pulled away, there was a dark patch against his pajamas. His eyes went wide. That had never happened before.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cArt thou well?\u201d asked Bear, climbing to his feet slowly and straightening his red shirt.\n<\/p>\n \nSammy tucked his arms behind his back. \u201cFine. Just a tickly throat.\u201d It was nothing. If Bear thought it was anything more, he would make a fuss, even insist on Sammy having a spoonful of Benylin. Sammy made a face at the thought of it.\n<\/p>\n \nBear watched him with black marbles eyes, waiting for more from him. Sammy just smiled.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThou art safe. For that, I am happy,\u201d said Bear, finally. He picked up his sword and scowled at the marks on the blade. He ran a paw along it, almost a caress, and slid it away into its scabbard on his back. \u201cLet us return to the castle. May hap thou can explain what thou was doing by thyself?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSammy nodded and got up from his knees. He looked at what was left of the wild toys. Little more than broken parts. \u201cWhat should we do with them?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nBear glanced at the wild toys, crinkling his button nose in disgust. \u201cNothing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWe should bury them.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nBear looked up, craning his head to meet Sammy\u2019s eyes. He smiled, briefly and wistfully. \u201cNo, we shan\u2019t. Dishonorable toys deserve a dishonorable death, especially those who would harm a child.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThe wind blew and Sammy shivered, feeling the bite of the night air through his thin pajamas. Now wasn\u2019t the time to argue. It was cold out and he knew Bear\u2019s mind was set. He hoped someone would come along and bury them. Maybe he could come back tomorrow, during the day, and do it himself. After all, they had been someone\u2019s toys once.\n<\/p>\n \nNoticing Sammy\u2019s shiver, Bear said, \u201cLet us depart.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cNo, not yet,\u201d said Sammy, crossing his arms over his chest.\n<\/p>\n \nBear looked up at Sammy, his soft face crumpling and folding into a frown. \u201cI said let us depart.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cI need to finish my quest.\u201d Sammy tried to sound assertive, like Bear had when confronting the wild toys, but it was lost in a quiver. He blamed the cold.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cA quest? I don\u2019t recall assigning thee a quest.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cIt\u2019s one I set myself. One of great importance.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nBear\u2019s face uncrumpled, almost looking like a normal teddy bear were it not for the slight worry lines that had become sculpted into his fur. \u201cPray tell, what is thy quest?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSammy turned back towards Bear\u2019s battlefield and pointed past it. Bear followed his finger, past the end of the alley Sammy had almost reached and over the road to a broad lighthouse in the dark of the night: the supermarket. Always open and always lit for weary travelers on their way home at such a late hour. \u201cI wanted to get a magic pill to keep Mum and Dad together.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nBear\u2019s brow creased again, deeper than before. \u201cMagic pill?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cYeah, a girl at school said her parents used to argue all the time, but then her Dad got some magic pills and they stopped. She said they\u2019re in love again, happier than ever.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nBear\u2019s eyes fixed on the supermarket, silent for a moment. Sammy hoped he was deliberating over the quest. Even though his encounters with the wild toys had left him shaken, he still wanted to continue. With Bear at his side, he would feel a lot braver. It had been silly for him to go without Bear, but Sammy had worried he would say no.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cOh\u2026\u201d said Bear, finally, turning back to Sammy. \u201cOh no.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSammy\u2019s spirits dropped. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThy quest will be in vain. Thou will go no further.\u201d Bear\u2019s voice was firm, yet softer than usual. His tone made Sammy angrier than his actual answer.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWhy not? Why can\u2019t we get it?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBecause tis a false magic, squire.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBut it would keep them together!\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cNay, not thy parents.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBut we have to try!\u201d Sammy\u2019s voice felt close to breaking into angry squeaks.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cNot this time. Tis not meant to be,\u201d said Bear. There was that assertiveness in his voice again that made Sammy bristle.\n<\/p>\n \nBear started walking towards home, but Sammy stayed his ground. True knights never abandoned their quest. He couldn\u2019t abandon his, not when so much relied on it. Bear stopped and looked back at him, shivering in the glow of the street light. \u201cThou won\u2019t help thine mother and father by freezing to death in this dreadful place.\u201d He offered his paw to Sammy.\n<\/p>\n \nSammy held out for a few seconds longer but the cold got the better of him. He knew he should have brought a jacket. Ignoring the outstretched paw, Sammy stamped past Bear and back up the alley towards home.\n<\/p>\n \nThere was no winning with Bear. How could he understand? He didn\u2019t even have parents–at least, Sammy was fairly sure he didn\u2019t–so he\u2019d never see why Sammy\u2019s quest was his greatest yet. His parents had to stay together.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cStubborn old Bear,\u201d muttered Sammy. He wasn\u2019t sure if Bear had heard him, but he didn\u2019t care.\n<\/p>\n \n They walked along the alley in the half-dark of the city\u2019s night. Garden fences and walls ran either side of them and Sammy imagined they were passing through a great valley, returning to his kingdom empty-handed. Light from windows and gardens spilled over the canyon\u2019s edge, enough for Sammy to avoid tripping in the pothole craters that made the path rough. The scrape of his slippers against the concrete echoed, making the wooden, suburban cliffs seem taller, and somewhere behind him there was the soft padding of Bear\u2019s feet, two for every one of his steps.\n<\/p>\n \nSomething moved on one of the valley\u2019s walls and caught Sammy\u2019s eye, a shadow slinking along the top. Somewhere else, beyond the walls, there was a sharp hiss. A chill reached into Sammy deeper than the cold of the night.\n<\/p>\n \nSammy stopped and waited for Bear to catch-up. He wasn\u2019t scared, he just wanted to see if Bear had changed his mind. When he didn\u2019t hear the small steps, Sammy turned back. \u201cBear?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nA few meters behind him, closer than Sammy had expected, Bear had stopped. His right paw was held to his chest beneath his red shirt, feeling for something, and the other was held in front of his eyes, examined by a frown. Sammy moved back and knelt down in front of Bear so that they were almost eye-level with each other. Only then did Bear notice him, dropping the right paw and bringing the left to his chin, rubbing it slowly like Sammy had seen Uncle Brian stroke his beard. Bear shook his head as if already answering an unspoken question. \u201cTis nothing. Simply checking to make sure none of those scoundrels damaged my hide.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSammy saw the left paw. The fur was unharmed, but dull and stiff. What was the word Bear had used before? Inanimate. He reached for his paw, but Bear pulled away. \u201cDon\u2019t hide this from me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThat makes two of us,\u201d said Bear, nodding to the bloody patch on Sammy\u2019s sleeve.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cI wasn\u2019t hiding it. I was going to tell you when we got back,\u201d Sammy lied. \u201cYour paw is serious. You\u2019re fading. Let me give you more magic, get it working again.\u201d Cupping his hands together, Sammy reached out towards him.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cNay!\u201d Bear stepped back from Sammy\u2019s reach. \u201cNo more.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nFrowning, Sammy reached for Bear again. \u201cI mustn\u2019t have done it properly before. It\u2019s not your time yet.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThis time, Bear didn\u2019t move away immediately, his face softening. Had Sammy convinced him to change his mind? A rare first. But Bear glanced back the way they had come and then moved away again, his face crumpling.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cI will decide that!\u201d boomed Bear. Sammy paused. Bear had never been this loud before. \u201cThy natural magic has run out, squire. Thou art too old. Any magic more comes directly from thy life force. Does thou understand?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSammy didn\u2019t respond. He looked down at the dark spot on his sleeve–Bear was right. He had felt it with the spell. It had come differently than before, like the magic had been pulled from the deepest part of a well and he had struggled to pull up the bucket.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cIf thou continue to maintain me, thou will die. I will not have that on my conscience.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBut you can\u2019t go,\u201d said Sammy. His eyes stung–he hoped his face was hidden enough by the half-light. \u201cI won\u2019t let you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nBear turned on him, a guttural growl to his tone. \u201cWould thou have me become one of those Wild Toys? Scavenging for scraps of magic? Threatening children?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cN-no, but–\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBut nothing! Let me fade with my honor and dignity. That is all I want.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSammy clambered to his feet, towering over Bear, red-faced. \u201cAnd what about what I want?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nHe didn\u2019t wait for an answer, fearing it. Sammy twisted on his heel and stormed off, stamping hard, hoping it would crack the concrete beneath them.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cSquire!\u201d Bear called after him. Then, again, softer than before. \u201cSammy!\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSammy ignored him. First, he wouldn\u2019t help Sammy save his parents, now Bear wouldn\u2019t even save himself. What sort of knight stands by and does nothing?\n<\/p>\n \nThe familiar high white fence of his garden soon came into view. Sammy slowed down. He hated coming back empty-handed, knowing that he had failed before he\u2019d even left the alley. He didn\u2019t look back for Bear.\n<\/p>\n \nWaiting atop the garden fence, glowing in the darkness, were multiple pairs of eyes, watching Sammy. He stopped abruptly. More wild toys, come for his magic. Would they stop when he told them he had none to give? Sammy wasn\u2019t sure.\n<\/p>\n \nOne of the pair of eyes let out a great hiss and leapt down into Sammy\u2019s path, putting itself between him and home. They weren\u2019t wild toys. It was worse.\n<\/p>\n \nCats.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBear!\u201d shouted Sammy. He kept his eyes on the lead cat, recognizing it from before by the head of Action Man it held firmly in its mouth. Others joined it, grouping up behind. Sammy watched an army take shape in front of him, worried that if he looked away they would be on him with fangs and claws.\n<\/p>\n \nHe listened for the ring of Bear\u2019s sword being unsheathed, but heard nothing. \u201cThe cats are back!\u201d he called behind him.\n<\/p>\n \nBear didn\u2019t answer.\n<\/p>\n \nThe cats rushed at Sammy. He screamed and squeezed his eyes shut. No bite or scratch ever came. Sammy opened his eyes and saw the cats washing past his legs like a fierce breeze. He turned to follow them and saw their true target. A few metres behind him was Bear, lying on the floor, paw caught on the hilt of his sword.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBear!\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nBear didn\u2019t move.\n<\/p>\n \nThe cats descended on him.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cNo!\u201d shouted Sammy. His legs moved towards them, despite the hammering of his heart and the lump in his throat. \u201cGet away from him!\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThe cats ignored him, their claws raking Bear. Sammy couldn\u2019t see Bear, only hear the sound of ripping fabric rising above the yowls. Each tear made Sammy flinch and shudder, his mind visualizing what he heard.\n<\/p>\n \nHe had to help Bear.\n<\/p>\n \nPulling himself up, Sammy puffed up his chest and squared his shoulders. Doing his gruffest impression of Bear and thinking himself as big as Dad, he rushed at the cat army. \u201cBegone, mangy furballs!\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nA few of the horrible beast scattered, running to a safe distance, but many either didn\u2019t see him or didn\u2019t care.\n<\/p>\n \nSammy was among them now, their hot bodies pressed against his legs as they each tried to get at Bear. He stuck his hand into the center of the mob, claws tearing at his skin and sleeve of his pajama, and pulled Bear free. He pressed Bear to his chest, his arms cocooning protectively around him, and stepped back several times.\n<\/p>\n \nAll eyes snapped towards Sammy, pupils narrowing to slits. Yowls spread between the cats, rising like a horrible chorus.\n<\/p>\n \nSammy ran. He hated that he didn\u2019t fight, but he knew he couldn\u2019t. Bear wouldn\u2019t be able to save him this time.\n<\/p>\n \nHe sprinted for his fence and scrabbled over it, losing a slipper as his feet kicked at the wood paneling for purchase. He barely noticed. Once he was over the top, he fell into the garden. The grass softened his landing, but he still hit the ground hard, knocking the air out of him. It didn\u2019t slow him by much as he scrabbled in the grass, gasping, his fear driving him to his feet. He crossed the garden to the back door and didn\u2019t stop until the back door was firmly locked behind him.\n<\/p>\n \nHe hated <\/em>cats.\n<\/p>\n \nSammy rushed up to his room, not even trying to stay quiet any more. Fortunately, his parents had had an energetic argument earlier this evening and neither his Dad on the sofa, nor his Mum in their bedroom, stirred.\n<\/p>\n \nOnce in his room, Sammy closed the door, hoping it would stop the cats if they managed to get into the house. Gently, he placed Bear on his carpeted floor, pushing toys aside to make room for him. He looked awful. Claw marks had torn open his hide in several places, teeth marks dotted his face and had scratched his nose and marble eyes. There was a chunk missing from his ear. No magic spilled from his wounds.\n<\/p>\n \nHands cupped over Bear\u2019s body; Sammy spoke the rhyme. \u201cGlimmer, shimmer, give my bear a flicker.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nNo light. He moved his hands away to check, but Bear was the same as before. There had to be some magic left.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cGlimmer, shimmer, give my bear a flicker.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nNothing. Tears welled in Sammy\u2019s eyes. He remembered what Bear had said, but he didn\u2019t care. It wasn\u2019t time. Not like this. \u201cPlease don\u2019t leave me, Bear.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nHis breath shortened, knocked from him. His muscles tensed. Something squeezed his heart, not hard, but firmly. Through tear-filled eyes, he saw a dim light, barely a spark, between the cracks in his fingers. Sammy moved his hands and saw Bear, wounds healed and whole again, his face slowly bending into its usual frown.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBear! You\u2019re oka–\u201d A violent cough forced its way out, making his throat burn and his chest tighten. Sammy doubled over, fingers digging into the carpet. Spit flew from his mouth, landing in the middle of his bedroom floor. Sammy looked at the quickly drying patch, horrified by its dark crimson shade. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.\n<\/p>\n \nBear was on his feet, looking down at what Sammy had coughed up. His frown was gone, his eyes wide with something Sammy had never seen in them before. Fear. \u201cThou shouldn\u2019t have done that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cDon\u2019t be silly, Bear,\u201d said Sammy. He got off the floor, trying to hide the shaking of his legs. Fetching a tissue from the box on his chest of drawers, Sammy wiped up the dark spit. A smear remained. Sammy hoped Mum wouldn\u2019t notice in the morning. Don\u2019t be silly, Bear.\u201d He walked over to his bed, pulled the duvet back, and climbed in. He created the usual crook in his arm for Bear to settle down in.\n<\/p>\n \nBear hadn\u2019t moved. He stood in the same spot, staring at the carpet, his face still fixed with a worried look that didn\u2019t belong on him. For a moment, he worried Bear had faded again, but the wide eyes told him that Bear was still there. \u201cCome on, Bear. It\u2019s very late.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nWhen Bear didn\u2019t move, Sammy got out of bed and picked him up, carrying him to the bed. Bear felt too firm. They settled into bed together and Sammy pulled his Kings and Castles duvet up to his chin. Bear\u2019s back pressed against Sammy\u2019s chest as they cuddled.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThou were\u2026 very brave tonight, squire,\u201d said Bear, his voice barely a whisper. He craned his head up to Sammy, the movement slow and rigid. There was no annoyed frown on his face, but there was something in his eyes Sammy couldn\u2019t quite pinpoint. It reminded him of how his Dad had looked at him when he had learnt to tie his shoes, or how Mum looked at him whenever he came home with a gold star on his homework. \u201cDoes thou see what must happen now?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBut\u2026\u201d started Sammy. A hundred arguments came to his lips, powered by a thousand sweet memories he didn\u2019t want to let go of. All words faltered, crumbling under the unstoppable force of change. He couldn\u2019t stop his parents divorcing. He couldn\u2019t stop Bear fading. Sammy wished he was bigger, because he had never felt so small before. \u201cYes. Yes, I do.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSlowly, Bear lifted his paw. \u201cGood. Then take my sword.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nSammy gasped. Bear never let him touch his sword. He always said it wasn\u2019t a toy for squires. Carefully, he took it from Bear\u2019s paw, taking extra care to hold it by the hilt, knowing it could cut him easily. He looked at their reflections in the thin blade. \u201cBear\u2026\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cMy sword is your sword,\u201d interrupted Bear. Sammy could barely hear him, like he was speaking from very far away. The words of the spell were on his tongue, but he bit them back. Holding on would hurt them both more than letting go.\n<\/p>\n \nBear placed his paw on Sammy\u2019s hand. It felt stiff. \u201cCarry it with honor and courage, no matter what comes. Your true quest has only just begun, Sir Sammy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Henry Sanders-Wright is a London-based Project Manager by day and an anywhere-based writer by early morning\/evening and has had work previously published in All World \u2019s Wayfarer and Planet Scumm. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cBear! Sir Bear!\u201d Sammy\u2019s voice echoed in the night air, frosting in puffs with each cry. Surrounded, he pressed his back against the metal of a street lamp, the stinging cold biting through the thin material of his red, stripy pajamas. His feet almost tripped over a black bin bag that had been piled with …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107950,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,20133],"tags":[20134],"class_list":["post-140313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-tcl-50-winter-2024","tag-the-colored-lens-50-winter-2024","entry entry-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/107950"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=140313"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140314,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140313\/revisions\/140314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=140313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=140313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=140313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}