The Kingdom Between

I don’t expect you to believe my story. I was there and I hardly believe it.

I grew up in the foothills of central California, high enough for the occasional light snow but too low for it to ever last more than a few days. There was a pond down the hill where my parents took me and my siblings to go fishing and splash around in during the summer, but it never froze enough during the winter for ice skating. The top might get a light layer of ice, but anything more than gentle tapping and it would shatter. Until he came.

I was making my way to the bus stop for school one day when I noticed. The pond. It didn’t look any different than it usually did in winter, but it was almost summer. The weather was already reaching highs of 90 degrees Fahrenheit. So how could the pond have frozen over?

Then I saw movement among the trees. Wanting to ensure I wasn’t the intended prey of a catamount, I scanned the forest edge. His clothing blended in with the greyish brown bark. It was only because he moved that I even knew he was there. Taking note of his human shape, I released the breath I had been holding but remained wary. Though he looked mostly human, there was something ursine about his face. More specifically, he resembled a polar bear, as best as a human can. Why was he hiding?

I continued on my way to the bus stop, listening for footsteps behind me. Something about that guy unnerved me. Throughout the day, my teachers kept scolding me for not paying attention.

As I walked home, I watched and listened for anything unusual but the only thing out of place was the ice on the pond. Curiosity getting the best of me, I walked over to investigate. The gravel on the ground would alert me to anyone walking toward me.

I looked into the frozen surface of the pond. Curiously, the tadpoles that would usually dart this way and that didn’t move at all. I crouched down and stared at them for a few minutes just to be sure. Nothing. Not even the tiniest wriggle. I crept the toe of my sneakers over the surface.

Tap. It didn’t give. I set one foot wholly on the ice and slowly lowered my weight onto it. Nothing. It didn’t even creak under the pressure. I was so caught up in this puzzle, I didn’t notice his approach.

“I’d hoped I would see you again.” I turned to find the stranger from that morning. Up close, his features definitely looked like a polar bear. His voice was gentle, but still surprised me. Where had he come from? “My apologies. I didn’t mean to startle you. I only wanted the chance to talk.”

I took a frightened step back- right onto the ice-covered pond. My foot slipped out from under me, and I fell. Before my knee could crack against the solid ice, a strong arm darted out to catch me. I found myself pressed against his solid chest.

“Who are you?” I asked, my heart thundering in my chest from the near fall. At least, that’s what I told myself.

He offered a regal bow. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Siku Isbjørn, crown prince of the kingdom of Thalarctos Bolyern. I have come seeking the one who will be my bride.”

I gave a skeptic side glance. “Well, good luck, then.” I turned to leave.

“Wait!” he exclaimed in alarm. “Please, my instincts led me here. When I caught your scent, I knew it had to be you.”

“Your… instincts?”

“It is how my people have found our mates for hundreds of years.”

I nodded slowly, not really believing what I was hearing. “Riiiight. Uhh.” I clasped my hands together, trying to think of a way to escape this nutjob. “Tell you what… Tomorrow I’ll ask my geography teacher about this Arctos Boleyn place and we can talk after that. Okay?”

He tried to stop me from leaving, but I hurried away as his shoulders slumped in disappointment.

After school the next day, he was waiting for me by the pond’s edge. “Please, will you come with me now?” He looked at me with imploring eyes. He seemed so helpless, yet hopeful. Like a puppy begging for table scraps. I wanted so badly to give in, even though I knew I shouldn’t.

I felt inexplicably drawn toward this prince from a land that didn’t seem to exist. I’d asked my geography teacher, even my history teacher. Neither of them had ever heard of this kingdom he supposedly came from, yet somehow I was sure it was real.

I shook myself out of whatever trance he had me in. “No. No! This is insane!” I looked him in the eyes to tell him off directly. Big mistake. His dark eyes seemed to have doubled in size and were holding back a tidal wave of tears. I still don’t know why I did what I did. Against my better judgement, I slipped my hand into his. I just had to make that devastating sadness go away. “Okay,” I soothed. “Let’s go.” I was rewarded with the biggest smile I had ever seen, filled with such pure joy and innocence I couldn’t believe I had been scared of him. “How do we get there? Do we take a plane? A boat?”

He pulled something out of his pocket, lifted my hand, and looked into my eyes, though it felt as if he were seeing into my very soul. “Are you certain?”

Was he asking if I was okay with him giving me a ring? It was just a ring. I could always just give it back if I changed my mind. I gave a reassuring nod and he slipped a silver ring with a stone that seemed to shine with an inner light on my finger. The moment it hugged my skin, I saw a stairway leading down into the pond, deeper than should be possible. What am I saying? None of this should have been possible.

Siku led me across the ice to the center of the pond and we descended the stairs. Siku kept a gentle hold on my elbow, light enough that I could pull away if I wanted but firm enough to ensure I didn’t slip on the ice stairs. No matter how deep we descended, the ice never changed. We should have hit mud after a few yards but even as the light spilling from above was replaced by torches with cold blue flames, there was only ice.

When at last we reached the end of the perpetually descending stairway, Siku rapped on an ancient wooden door. Someone opened it from the other side and I was greeted by the sight of the aurora borealis, but something seemed strange. Two different light patterns seemed to dance around one another.

“That is the Aurora Polaris. It’s visible from anywhere in the kingdom,” Siku informed me.

“Polaris? So it isn’t the Northern Lights?”

“It is, but it’s also the Southern Lights, aurora australis. This kingdom acts as a buffer between the two. Long ago, there was a power struggle between the two auroras. Many lost their lives in the crossfire. My 6th great grandfather came to each of them in their domain and settled their territorial dispute. Borealis could have the north, Australis the south. If ever they had a grievance, they could come to the head of our family. They say my grandfather spoke the language of the auroras and that this gave him command of them. Both auroras are visible here so we can monitor them.

“The language of the auroras cannot be taught or learned. Grandfather left documentation describing how the words came to him in a time of need. Since then, only my mother has spoken the language of the Lights. Unfortunately, they demanded something in return. A child. Mother refused, so they cursed her children. I’m sure you noticed my inhuman appearance. There are two ways to undo the curse. The first is unthinkable, to sacrifice a child to each of the auroras. The second is to find our mate and have them sleep beside us every night for 7 months. But they must never look at us as we sleep. Please, will you do this for me?”

His eyes were so beseeching, how could I say no? So, I slept beside Siku that night and every night following. I was curious as to why I couldn’t look at him while he slept, but one of my favorite fairytales growing up had been “Green Snake” and if this was anything similar, my curiosity could cost him everything. So I waited. Sometimes I would wake in the middle of the night to feel a fur blanket wrapped around me. I would thank him the next day but he just looked at me blankly like he didn’t know what I was talking about.

The first time it happened, I thought he was just grateful I was willing to go through this. As time went on, it began happening more frequently until it was happening every other night. It would always be gone when morning came.

Siku always woke before me, but one morning- I think the 7 months were almost over by this point- I woke with that familiar warm fur wrapped around me. I guessed Siku must still be asleep. I so badly wanted to see his sleeping face just once. But just once had been all it took to worsen the curse in the fairytale I loved so I forced myself not to look and instead closed my eyes and snuggled up to the man behind me.

When finally he woke, I felt the fur recede and in its place was bare human flesh. My face burned as I realized what it meant. The blanket I had been curling up against had been his body. I pretended to be asleep to escape my mortifying embarrassment. Thankfully, he didn’t call me out despite the fact he must have felt from my breathing that I was awake.

“Good morning,” he greeted as he had done every morning. “I trust you slept well?”

“Uhh, yeah” I responded with a bit of a nervous waver in my voice.

“Was there some issue last night? Shall I have your pillows fluffed? Do you need more blankets?”

“No. I’ve been warm enough.” ‘Besides,’ I thought, ‘your fur is so much softer.’

The last few nights passed uneventfully. I didn’t wake during the night and Siku woke before me. I suspect the nightly tea he brought me each night may have had something to do with it.

When the 7 months were through, I noticed a distinct change in Siku’s appearance. His ursine features were gone, his face that of a full human. He still offered me tea each night but was no longer insistent that I drink it. He offered to find me my own room in the ice castle but, by this time, I was accustomed to feeling another’s warmth against my back. His mother thought poorly of it but what did I care?

I thought of my family back home and decided I should go for a visit. Siku came with me, of course. To remind me of what the ring symbolized, he said. Apparently the curse was only partially broken. To make sure it would never return or be passed on to future generations, I had to remain by his side. Having gotten to know him over these last months, that was fine by me. I wanted to stay by his side forever. I still visit my parents from time to time. They always comment on how I seem to age so slowly, a benefit of living in a kingdom neither here nor there, and I couldn’t be happier.