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“Jam, jam, where’s the jam…”A furry white paw scoured through the refrigerator as Rupert Bear, the polite and mild-mannered resident of Nutwood, searched for the jar of cloudberry jam for his toast. “Ah, there it is,” he smiled, pushing aside a larger jar of pickles that had blocked his view of it. It just wouldn’t do to have toast and tea for breakfast without the jam, he thought. And just in time, the smell of crispy toast filled the kitchen as it popped out of the toaster, practically begging to be united with the delicious fruity spread.Once Rupert prepared his modest morning meal and sat down at the table in his dining room, he blew across his mug a few times before taking a sip of his black tea with honey. As he did, he looked across the table to find… No one.No one else was there.No one to wish him a good morning.Ever since Rupert had moved out of his parents’ house, no one had been.He was 27 years old now, and still had no one to call his own. His badger friend Bill was engaged to be married, and even his pig friend, Podgy, had been married for four years now already - with three piglets of his own, and a fourth on the way. And sure, 27 was still considered a young man to most, but this house he’d been living in for the past nine years was starting to feel quite… empty. Rupert finished his toast and tea in complete silence and solitude, getting up and setting his dishes in the sink before getting ready to start the day. As he looked at himself in the mirror as he put on his comfortable red sweater vest and adjusted his olive green bow tie, he became self-aware of just how similar he was to his father - in fact, he was practically the spitting image of him. At his age, Rupert’s parents were already raising a child of their own. But here he was, standing alone in front of the mirror, with hardly a thing in this house to keep him company but his books - not just those he’d read, but those he’d written as well. He’d published 16 children’s books so far, and had just finished writing his 17th, with each one of them based on his own fantastical adventures as a young boy - plus a few admittedly tall tales, here and there. But those days were over now, it seemed. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been on a proper high-stakes adventure. Such was the life of a grown-up, he’d supposed. He tidied the fur atop his head one more time, heading for the bookcase.There was ‘Ruben and the Knight’, ‘Ruben’s Undersea Adventure’, and ‘Ruben and the Temple Ruins’, to name a few, and most recently, ‘Ruben in Timeland’ . That one was his personal copy, as he was still waiting for his publisher’s approval. He paused for a moment, trying to recall what adventure came after that. There were so many of them, and they were so many years ago, that it had been difficult for him to keep track. Curious as to what his next book would be about, he went to his study. When he arrived at his writing desk, he pulled out a small and worn leather journal from within its drawer. He flipped to the latest page he’d bookmarked as a reference for his writing, skimming along the next few pages after that. And then, he came across it. Though the date and a few letters were a bit smudged from the passage of time, it was still mostly legible.
“July 18th, 1935 - I’m on holiday with Mum and Dad at a sleepy beach town called Sandy Cove. It’s been raining terribly all evening though, and I was so dreadfully bored (after winning 5 rounds of checkers against Dad in a row) when all of a sudden, I swear I saw a plane going down outside in the storm! Dad says it was just a reflection of the lampshade in the window, but I’m still not so certain... I think I’ll head to the beach on my own to investigate tomorrow.”
“Sandy Cove…” Rupert muttered to himself wistfully as he closed the book, the fond memories of his adventure there - and the lovely young girl he had met - rushing back to him. It was then that he closed the journal and decided that writing his next book could wait just a bit longer.It was time Rupert Bear took a well-deserved holiday. At the same time, over 130 kilometers north, a Golden Springer Spaniel awoke in her bed to the morning sun rising over the ocean through her open window. The sound of Welsh ocean waves could be heard all across town as she sat up in bed, arching her back in a quiet yawn as she stretched her arms above her head. Just then, a few seagulls flew past her house, belting out a loud cacophonous cry as they spotted someone’s leftover pastry further down the sidewalk of Kinmel Avenue, where she resided.“I’m up, I’m up…” she replied to the birds, who were already long-gone. She gently set her bare feet upon the wooden floor of her humble seaside home, getting out of bed to start the day. Frances looked at herself in the mirror as she brushed the tangles out of her blonde bangs and droopy yellow ears, feeling the salty ocean air caress the sand-colored fur on her face. To her, the ocean’s fickle wind would often speak to her with a ‘mood’ it carried. Some days it was serene, and on other days it was cross. But today, the wind had a message she did not expect. “Big changes are coming.”Of course, this was merely her interpretation of it. The wind could not actually speak to her, as it had no voice to speak with. But it was a feeling so strong within Frances that she couldn’t help but take it to heart. She smiled as she lifted up her pyjama blouse, changing into a fashionable but modest blue dress that ended just above the knees. ‘Maybe,’ she thought, ‘Maybe today’s the day.’ Frances didn’t want to get her hopes up, however. This was far from the first morning she’d gotten the feeling that she might see him again, and she doubted it’d be the last. Him… that brave bear boy she’d met fifteen years ago. Not a day had gone by when she didn’t think about him, and how he’d changed her life forever. Nothing happens in Sandy Cove, as everyone says. In fact, the town took pride in it, and made it their motto. A calm, peaceful town by the sea, where there are no troubles, no woes, just rest and relaxation. But Frances was quite different from most people in this quiet little village, and admired those tourists who came and went as they pleased; she desired action, death-defying thrills, and adventure. The first - the only - time she’d ever felt such excitement in her life was the day she met Rupert. It started when they met on the beach one morning, and she had accidentally thrown seaweed at him. One thing led to another, and the two became fast friends, pretending to be cloak-and-dagger inspectors as they spied on potential ‘jewel thieves’. But then, things quickly got out of hand when they had a run-in with a group of real jewel thieves led by a fox known as ‘The Chameleon’, and against all odds, together they foiled their plans. Rupert had snuck onto The Chameleon’s plane and retrieved the jewel before parachuting to the safety of the boat that Frances had hijacked from the thieves, and together they made their daring getaway, returning the jewel to the authorities and being honored for their bravery. That memory replayed in Frances’s head over and over ever since that day. But, as all good things do, it came to an end; Rupert and his parents returned home, leaving Frances alone and stuck in Sandy cove, which went back to its old, boring self just as quickly as he left.Because as they always say, nothing ever happens in Sandy Cove. But the passion and desire for excitement never left Frances. For much of her childhood, she would search for potential conspiracies or scandals to dig up, desperate for a case to crack or a criminal to catch. Because of this, she became something of an outcast within the community, as most of the town’s residents only saw her as a nuisance with a penchant for ‘causing mischief’ and being ‘up to no good’.She could have left, moved somewhere else, but… in her heart, Frances felt she needed to stay. For now, at least. She never caught where Rupert lived, so it would be nearly impossible to find him. If she was to ever meet Rupert again, she held onto the hope that maybe someday, Rupert might come back. But year after year, she wanted… and waited… and waited. But still, Rupert never returned. In the hopes that she’d meet him again in the same place, Frances made a habit of going to the beach every morning for her daily walk - starting at the large rock where she’d met him, over to the lighthouse where they’d had their adventure, and back again. Every morning, she’d hoped to see that iconic red sweater and yellow scarf again. But every morning, she’d only felt more alone than before. “Oh, Rupert…” she muttered, her smile in the mirror fading as she recalled all the years she’d spent waiting for someone that might never return. ‘Big changes are coming,’ the wind told her. Perhaps that was true, one way or the other. She’d waited for him for fifteen years. If today wasn’t the day, then perhaps this was instead a sign that it was time to move on with her life.“If I have to spend one more lonely morning on that, that… gosh-darn beach, I… I just don’t know if I can bear another.” Rupert inhaled the fresh ocean air with a smile as it greeted him, the wind rushing through his fur as he drove his car. After nearly two hours of driving, the town of Sandy Cove was finally in sight. It was then that he finally felt his nerves setting in, the thought of possibly reuniting with his old friend now plaguing his mind. What would he say to her? Would she even recognize him? Would she still even be here?Hundreds of possible scenarios and outcomes crossed his mind, quite a few of which ended in disaster. What if she forgot about him? What if she didn’t like who he was now, after all these years? What if she was married? What if he’d wasted his time coming here because she’d moved somewhere he’d never be able to find her again? In retrospect, this entire trip seemed more doomed for heartbreak than ever before. But still, he was here now, and he had to try to find her. He wouldn’t rest until he did.Rupert slowed to a stop and pulled to the curb as he finally arrived at the rental home he and his parents had stayed in all those years ago. Just like many other things in the time-caplule that was this little seaside town, it looked exactly the same as it did before. “Now… where do I even start?” he asked himself as he got out of his car, his focus turning to the beach as a strong gust of wind blew in its direction. He remembered the rock where he first met Frances as though it were yesterday. It was a long shot, but it’d been years since he’d been to the beach anyway, and it wasn’t a bad place to start looking. He untied his shoes and took off his socks, placing them safely in the car and rolling his pant legs up to his knees before heading for the stairs leading down to the ocean.“Alight, then. To the beach, it is.” After breakfast, Frances had been on her walk on the beach for some time now. The waves crashing against the shore were in agreement with the wind, telling her that change was coming. But after fifteen long, lonely years of waiting, Frances just couldn’t see it. And yet, even now, she still had a shred of hope. She was one to believe in the power of miracles, after all; maybe, just maybe, she might happen upon a certain white bear. Or, maybe not. As she headed back to the rock, Frances wasn’t quite sure what to feel; so far, just the same as every other day, she hadn’t seen a single hint of Rupert anywhere. Tears began to slowly well in her eyes, and Frances felt a shudder of sorrow in her chest as the reality of her life finally set in.She would never see Rupert again. Rupert arrived at the large rock, circling all around it in some child-like hope that the same little girl might be there waiting for him, ready to throw seaweed at his face. But to no surprise, she was nowhere to be found. As he looked up at the boulder before him, he truly realized just how much time had passed as the rock seemed so much smaller now. ‘Fifteen years …’ he thought, beginning to silently scold himself for not making the effort to find his estranged childhood friend sooner. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if she’s forgotten me completely. Probably has a husband and children of her own as well, I’d imagine. Maybe I…’ Rupert’s train of thought stopped as he noticed a figure in the distance, a canine woman with fur the color of sand, vibrant yellow ears, and a baby-blue dress. In fact, the longer he looked, the more she resembled Frances to a T - though much older, of course. He discreetly snuck behind the rock, keeping himself hidden while keeping an eye on the stranger. Could it really be her? Here? Now? It almost seemed too good to be true. But with the distance between them closing, there was no mistaking it now - plain as day, there was Frances, a young woman, and even more beautiful than he remembered. Rupert couldn’t help but blush through the white fur on his cheeks in awe of her appearance, but regained his senses as he remembered to look again for something specific. Although it was a bit hard to tell without giving himself away, he couldn’t make out anything shiny on either of her hands. It appeared she wasn’t married, after all. Searching around frantically before he lost his chance, Rupert smiled as he spotted something slimy and green in the sand. Frances sighed as she looked down at her feet, following the footprints she’d already left in the sand. But it wasn’t long before she noticed a second pair of larger footprints, ones that weren’t here before.Suddenly, a piece of gooey seaweed fell at her feet.“Ah!” she gave out a startled yelp as she looked around, afraid that a strange man might take advantage of her. “W-who’s there?!”This time, she was met with another piece of seaweed, this one landing squarely on her snout.“Aaah!” she squealed, flinging it off in disgust. “Who is doing that?! Show yourself!”“...That seaweed, it’s ‘Greis Velutis’,” the unfamiliar voice of a man spoke from behind the rock. “But around here, you just call it, ‘green velvet’... right?”Frances’s heart began to race as a familiar beady-eyed white bear stepped out from behind the rock, wearing a red sweater vest and olive green bow tie. “I believe it’s one of 56 different varieties of seaweed found in this area?” the bear asked.“...I-it’s… 57, actually...” Frances whimpered breathlessly with a smile, her eyes in disbelief as tears began to trickle out of them. “I-is that… really you… Rupert?”Rupert looked down at his body with a coy grin, facetiously patting himself as though he were double-checking to make sure he existed. “Why, yes, I… I suppose it is.” “RUPERT!” Frances cried out as she immediately rushed to him, throwing herself into Rupert’s arms and sobbing lightly into his chest.“Frances…” Rupert whispered as they embraced, feeling tears welling up in his own eyes as he let out a sigh of relief. She’d remembered him, after all.They swayed back and forth as they held each other for quite some time, cherishing this moment of their long-overdue reunion. “I missed you terribly, Rupert,” Frances said into his chest, as he was quite a bit taller than her now. “I can hardly believe this is real.”“I missed you too, Frances,” replied Rupert, leaning down and pressing his lips to the top of her head. “I’m so sorry I’ve been away for so long… I…”“Oh, no need to apologize!” Frances looked up at him, her eyes still glistening with tears. “You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”“I was actually expecting you might’ve, well… forgotten about me, after all this time.” Rupert said, looking down into her eyes as he remained locked in their affectionate embrace.“Absolutely not!” Frances shook her head. “Why, not a day went by when I didn’t think about you!”“You… really thought about me every day?” Rupert asked with a flattered blush.“I-I…” Frances realized how forward she’d been just now, reeling her emotions back in with a breath to calm herself. After so many years apart from her long-lost desire, she didn’t want to come across too strongly and accidentally push him away. “...I did. How could I ever forget you, Rupert? You changed my entire world.”Rupert felt his face getting hotter by the second at Frances’s words, never having expected their short time together as children would’ve had such an effect on her. And now here she was in his arms, and she’d become quite a stunning young woman to be sure. He’d seen her only as a childhood friend before, but it was only now that he’d positively fallen absolutely in love with her. “I have to confess something, Frances,” Rupert pulled back from the hug slightly, his hands gently resting on her arms. “I’ll admit, It’s been… a while since I’ve thought back on my holiday here all those years ago. But I was reading my old journal this morning and everything came rushing back to me. I’m sorry I-”Frances placed a finger on his lips, smiling sadly.“I already told you, you don’t need to apologize for anything. I’m sure you’d had quite the exciting life, much more than mine anyway. I’m just some girl you spent a weekend with fifteen years ago, so I don’t blame you for… forgetting me.”“Frances, I-”“Please, Rupert, let me finish.” Frances spoke in a serious tone as the wind began to settle, its waves sweeping with a hush against the shore. “I’ve been waiting for fifteen years, waiting for the day when you might return. Every day, I’d come down to this beach, hoping to see that brave, intelligent, and kind bear again. But I was about to give up waiting. I thought, ‘this will be the last day I wait, one way or another.’ And then today, of all days… here you are. It’s so unbelievable, that I expect I should wake up at any minute.”“What can I do to prove to you that you’re not dreaming?” Rupert asked.Frances hesitated for a moment, but placed her hands on Rupert’s shoulders as she closed her eyes and stood up on her tiptoes in the sand.“...This.”With that, she leaned up to meet Rupert’s face and pressed her lips to his in a kiss.Rupert’s eyes widened in shock as he tasted the sweetness of Frances’s lips, but didn’t hesitate to accept her gesture of love as he closed them. He leaned his head down into hers as well, his arms reaching down to hold her waist against him as a rush of butterflies filled their stomachs to the brim. To Rupert and Frances, it would’ve seemed that time itself had stopped altogether, if not for the echo of the ocean’s applauding waves. They wished this first kiss could last for a lifetime.But eventually, their lips reluctantly parted.“It’s a dream come true then, it seems.” Rupert was the first to speak, his mind still a foggy daze from the aftertaste of Frances’s lips on his mouth.“So it seems.” Frances smiled, planting one more quick kiss on his lips before their hug finally broke for the first time.“I-I… adore you, Frances,” Rupert said awkwardly, though was still quite visibly flustered. “I want us to never part again.”“I adore you too, Rupert,” Frances sighed happily as she held her love’s hand, and together they began to walk along the remainder of the beach back to the stairs leading up to town.“And I’m holding you to that.” “So what is it you do now, Rupert?” Frances asked as they ate sandwiches together at the local cafe for lunch - their first official date. “Still as exciting as ever?”“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘exciting’,” Rupert said modestly, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. “No, I haven’t had an adventure in years. I’m a writer now, actually - nothing too prestigious, just some… childrens’ books. They’re about some of my adventures.”“You’re a writer too? ” Frances asked in surprise. “That’s what I’ve been doing as well!”“Really?” asked Rupert, stunned by the coincidence. “And here I thought you might be a curator at the seaweed museum or something.”They both shared a laugh.“Haha, very funny,” Frances rolled her eyes, but still had a good laugh regardless. “But no, I’ve been writing a… well, it’s a…”“Go on then, now I’m curious.” Rupert said before taking a bite of his sandwich.“...It’s a series of… mystery novels. About two star-crossed detectives, solving crimes together. “Star-crossed?” Rupert asked curiously, wanting to know more.“They always end up getting separated in one way or another. But even when they’re apart, they still manage to put the pieces together and catch the villain in the end. They complete each other, in a way.” Frances blushed.“So I’m assuming. it’s a love story as well, then?” Rupert asked shyly.“Well, they… do have feelings for each other, yes. But neither one knows for certain how the other feels.” Frances cleared her throat. “Strictly-business, you know. And as a detective, you never know who you can trust.”“If I may ask… how does their story end?” Rupert reached across the table, resting his hand on Frances’s.“Hm…” Frances smiled coyly. “I wouldn’t want to spoil the ending.”Rupert chuckled. “Alright then, keep your secrets,” he said, finishing up the last bite of his sandwich before taking a drink of water. “But when you finally write the ending… I’d like to be the first to read it.”Frances smiled, taking a drink of water as well. “I’d like that.” “So, where would you like to go now, Rupert?” Frances asked as they left the cafe.“Hm…” Rupert thought about it for a moment. “There’s a seaweed museum, and a driftwood art exhibit, right? And wasn’t there something about ‘rock gardens’? That sounds rather interesting, if I’m being honest. Oh, no.”“What is it?” Frances asked, concerned.“...I sounded like my dad just now.” Rupert laughed, and Frances joined in. “Speaking of which, how are your parents?” Frances asked once they began walking in the direction of the rock garden. “Are they still…”“Oh, they’re just fine,” Rupert replied. “My dad’s got a bit of a bad leg now, fell off a ladder a few years back, but he’s managing. Mum's fine too.”“That’s good to hear,” Frances said, a bit dour.“What about yours?” Rupert asked. “I actually never got around to meeting them while I was here the first time.”“My mum,” she muttered quietly, “she fell ill when I was seventeen. And after she passed, my Dad… he made it only two years before he died of a broken heart.”Rupert fell silent, unsure of what to say. He felt terrible, as though he were just bragging about how great his own parents were doing by comparison when all this time, Frances had been dealing with such a great loss all on her own. “Frances… I’m so sorry,” he mumbled in sympathy, holding her hand tighter than before. “I can’t imagine…”“Thank you, Rupert,” Frances said with a sigh, wiping a tear from her eye, “you really are such a kind-hearted bear, you know. That’s what I loved about you, ever since we first met.”Rupert blushed, thinking it was really nothing special; it took no effort on his part just to be kind, but he supposed such a quality didn’t come quite so naturally to others - especially for bears such as himself.It wasn’t much further until they arrived at the rock gardens, and Rupert was in awe of what he beheld. These weren’t just ordinary rocks - these were boulders, which glistened with golden specks and seemed to be arranged in a mathematical formation of some kind. “These are the rock gardens?!” Rupert asked, “This rivals Stonehenge!”“You think so?” Frances looked at the rocks. “I guess I never saw them as anything all that extraordinary.”“Were these rocks arranged like this by the town?” Rupert asked as they approached an information plate. “No, they were just found like this one day in 1703,” Frances replied, gesturing to the text written on the plaque.“1703? Curious…” Rupert mumbled, “That was the year of the Great storm. I remember reading a book about it once.”“A storm?” Frances asked, “Interesting, I wonder if that had something to do with it.”“Maybe…” Rupert pondered. As he took a closer look at one of the boulders, he noticed that the golden markings on it were actually perfect circles, with dots and lines inside that varied with each one.“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this looks like some kind of… language.” Rupert stared intently, at a loss for the meaning of these shapes. Could they be some kind of ancient runes, left by some long-forgotten nomadic tribe? Or could they be something… more? There was certainly a mystery to be solved here, but he would have to delve deeper into it another time. This was his holiday, after all, and it should be spent simply making up for lost time with Frances. His adventuring days were over. Little did Rupert know, the adventure would soon be finding him. “So you’ve traveled back in time to the Medieval ages, the Jurassic Era, and met Father Time himself?” Frances giggled. “That sounds absolutely…”“Bollocks, right?” Rupert laughed along with her. “I know, but I promise you it’s true!”After their tour of the rock gardens, Rupert and Frances were walking down the sidewalk when a short and elderly crow woman wearing a black hooded cloak slowly turned the corner, bumping into Rupert.“Oh, m-my apologies, mum,” Rupert said politely as he backed up, taking care to show respect for an elder.“That’s Old Carys,” Frances whispered, “she’s the town fortune-teller, but she’s nearly blind. And deaf. And senile.”“Dyn ifanc…” the old woman croaked deeply in Welsh, looking up at Rupert as she patted his chest. She took a step back, seemingly horrified. “Young man… the road you travel… it is not safe. Peryglus.”“Uh… sorry?” Rupert felt as though he’d done something wrong as she pointed a bony black-feathered finger at him, her large clouded grey eyes staring into his soul. She continued,“You will doom your children… and your children’s children… y byd… y bydysawd… Do not trust him.”Without another word, the crow turned away with a raspy cough and a shake of her head, moving along down the sidewalk as though nothing had happened.“Don’t mind her, Rupert,” Frances insisted encouragingly. “Like I said, she’s just a senile old crow. She’s told lots of people here they’re ‘doomed’ in one way or another. But she's quite harmless, otherwise.”“If you’re sure…” Rupert said, not entirely convinced. As he watched the crow hobble away, he felt a chill down his spine as she suddenly looked back at him with those soulless grey eyes of hers. “And this… is my home.” Frances said as they arrived at 42 Kinmel Avenue. “Please come inside.”“W-what?” Rupert blushed a deep shade of red, his mind immediately going other places at that sentence.“I-I said, come in,” Frances repeated with a blush of her own as she opened the door and gestured inside, realizing how what she’d said could be misinterpreted - not that she would’ve minded if the day headed in that direction.“Ah. Yes… r-right. Thank you.” Rupert smiled bashfully as he entered, with Frances closing the door behind him. “Please, make yourself at home,” Frances said as she headed to the kitchen. “Tea?”“Yes please, anything you have is fine, thank you.” Rupert said as he untied and removed his shoes by the door, looking around. It was a very small house, yet it was easily one of the coziest-looking homes he’d ever seen. Frances’s bed was right in the living room near the window on the right and the small dining table was beside it, while the couch and television set were on the left. The kitchen was down the hall to the left, while the restroom and washing machine were across from it on the right. When Rupert looked down at the coffee table as he took a seat, he noticed a few small framed photographs - one of Frances with her late parents, and the other was a clipping of an article from a newspaper, which he picked up. On it was a photo of Frances and himself when they were children, being awarded for their bravery in recovering the Tiger’s Eye from the Chameleon. ‘All this time, I never would’ve imagined I’d meant so much to her…’ Rupert thought to himself, setting the photo down. After no more than another minute or two, Frances returned to the living room with two teacups of black tea. “So, Rupert…” Frances spoke up as she sat beside him on the couch. “What do you want to do now?” Rupert looked at Frances sitting next to him with her legs slanted in a ladylike fashion as she gently blew on her tea, neither of them breaking eye-contact with the other. They were alone in her home, with Frances’s bed taunting him from the corner of his eye.. He gulped nervously as his mind drifted to very, very indecent thoughts about her. However, being the well-mannered bear that he was, he did his very best to push his crude imagination aside. It was far too improper to even consider that as an option at the moment. “L-let’s… see what’s on the telly?” Rupert chuckled anxiously as he looked at the TV across from the couch.“Oh. Y-yes, that sounds quite… lovely.” A little disheartened but understanding the decorum, Frances got up and turned the knobs on the little black and white television set, and a comedic variety show came on. She returned to the couch, and once they’d finished their tea together, Frances scooted herself closer to Rupert and they eventually cuddled together while spending the remainder of the evening laughing together at the comedians performing their hilarious skits. Once the sun had finally set, Rupert noticed that Frances was no longer awake as he felt her lightly snoring against his chest, the both of them having gradually shifted into a position on the couch in which Frances was laying down across Rupert’s body with her arms comfortably wrapped around his waist. As Rupert looked down at the silky blonde hair of his newfound love, he felt a kind of joy in his heart like he’d never quite felt before.“Sweet dreams, Frances…” Rupert whispered as he tenderly kissed the top of her head, making himself comfortable as he drifted off to join her in blissful sleep. With Frances now in his life, tomorrow was a new day - a new lifetime - for him to look forward to. However, it seemed that destiny had other plans in store for them as an ominous foreign ship loomed on the ocean’s horizon.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Rupert awoke on the couch to a hushed murmur of deep voices outside. It was still pitch-dark out, but the light of the moon shone through the window and reflected against the wall where the clock was, reading 2:17 AM. For a brief moment, Rupert forgot where he was - that was, until he looked down at Frances as she slept contently against his chest. He could still hardly believe what had transpired yesterday, and how much his life had changed in less than 24 hours.
As Rupert closed his eyes again, trying to return to sleep as he gently stroked Frances’s head, his ears perked as they tuned in to the men talking outside. He couldn’t decipher what they were saying, exactly, but by the tone of the few vowels he could make out, their accents sounded vaguely Russian.
‘Strange…’
Rupert thought, unable to sleep.
‘What are
Russians
doing in a place like Sandy Cove in the dead of night?’
Trying carefully not to wake Frances, Rupert slowly rolled her over and quietly shimmied out from under her onto the floor before crouching over to the open window to investigate. As he peered just barely above the windowsill, he spotted four large and intimidating men in black padded armor - a wolf, a human, a weasel, and a snow leopard. All of them were wielding guns and shovels, and the wolf, who was obviously the leader of the group, held a large black briefcase and a scanner of some kind. Rupert held his breath as he eavesdropped on their conversation, trying to make out anything he could.
“Norik, how you know for sure dis is right place?” the snow leopard asked, addressing the wolf. “We search high and low for it, and still we find nothing.”
“I know because I know, this time for sure.” the wolf replied with a snarl. “You think I want to be on scavenger hunt? Will all be worthwhile. We find it, we give to General Secretary, we never need work again. Just imagine, all the money, the food - and the
women
- we could ever need.”
“Then you promise, when we find it, we will live like
kings,
da?” the human said, adjusting his collar.
“Da, Iruni. That is… as long as you do what I say.” Norik took a step towards the man, getting in his face. “We do this together. No running away, and no betrayal. Or you should find yourself
begging
for death when I am done with you. And I need no bullet to do it. Ponimat?”
“...Understood,” the man named Iruni gulped, sweating visibly.
“What was
that
all about?” a voice whispered in Rupert’s ear.
“Ah-” Rupert eeped in surprise as Frances was kneeling right next to him under the windowsill, catching him off-guard. He covered his mouth and gave an intense stare at Frances, who got the hint and did the same.
“Wait.” the wolf turned his head towards their window, sniffing the air. “I heard something. I
smell
something.”
Rupert and Frances sat together in terror as they pressed their bodies flat against the windowsill, making as little noise as possible. They heard the sound of a single pair of heavy combat boots getting louder and louder as it approached the window. Their hearts pounded in their chests as the shadow of the Russian wolf practically blocked out the moonlight as he leaned in through the window, inhaling deeply. Frances trembled as she felt a drop of Norik’s drool land on her shoulder. One peep out of either of them, and they were as good as dead. The wolf quickly sniffed once, twice, three times, and then one longer inhale yet again before letting out a satisfied sigh and finally turning away from the window back to his comrades.
“Ah… nothing like the scent of a fertile young devochka, am I right?” Norik chuckled, gesturing to the window. “You see, comrades,
that
is what we do this all for. Once we return to motherland with the artifact, we will be
swimming
in it.”
The rest of the men laughed along with him, and with that they finally went along their way.
When Rupert was sure the coast was clear, he turned to Frances again. Her face was bright red and she was on the verge of tears, feeling a mixture of fury and humiliation for being objectified in such a way by the wolf’s abhorrent comment on her feminine pheromones.
“Are you alright?” he whispered as the adrenaline continued to pump through their veins, holding his hand to her wet cheek.
Frances sighed as she tried to regain her composure, leaning into his hand.
“Yes, I’m… I’m alright now. I have you, after all,” she whispered back, grabbing his hand. “I was so scared, Rupert… if anything happened to you, I…”
“Me?” Rupert asked. “I was worried for
you,
Frances. I may be a polar bear, but I know I’m no fighter. If I couldn’t protect you, I could never live with myself.”
“...We have to follow them.” Frances said, looking back over the window in the direction they’d headed. “If those Russians are after something in Sandy Cove, we
cannot
let them have it.”
“I completely agree, Frances,” Rupert nodded. “But I need you to stay here, where it’s safe.”
“You can’t stop me, Rupert.” Frances scowled. “We’re stopping them together, and that’s that. I… I need you.”
“I n-need you too.” Rupert said shyly, his face feeling hot as Frances suddenly held his hand up to her chest. “What’re you-”
“I
need
you, Rupert…” Frances moaned as she guided his hand along, encouraging Rupert to massage her breast over her blouse. It seemed that the adrenaline in their bodies from the intense fear they’d experience had transferred into arousal. “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting this…”
Rupert’s breath deepend as he rubbed Frances’s breast, suddenly overcome with lustful thoughts as this was the first time he’d ever experienced such physical intimacy with a woman. He leaned in and kissed her, earning a delicate moan from her lungs as their lips made contact. She then opened her mouth to lick at his lips with her tongue, which Rupert eagerly accepted. Frances reached for the back of Rupert’s head with her other hand, pulling him on top of her as she laid down on her back onto the floor.
“Oh, Rupert…” she huffed with a shaky sigh as she broke the kiss momentarily, her nerves shivering with anticipation. “Take me… please…”
Rupert swallowed, reveling in the sweet flavor of her kiss as he nervously unbuttoned the front of her dress and pulled it apart like unwrapping a present to reveal her lacy bra underneath. Knowing that Rupert would likely have some trouble figuring out how to unhook a bra in the dark, Frances took the initiative and quickly did it herself, leaving it loose on her chest for Rupert to remove on his own.
He pulled it off and set it aside, staring at Frances’s bare chest with his jaw hanging in almost childlike wonder for a few moments. Frances couldn’t help but giggle at her lover’s amusing expression in the moonlight, who looked as though he had just uncovered a chest full of gold.
It was her adorable giggle that set Rupert off, and he finally broke out of his trance to claim his prize. A light moan escaped his mouth as he anxiously reached down and massaged her breasts, his hands quaking as his thumbs carefully traced over her exposed nipples. Frances arched her back at his gentle touch, her chest heaving as her breathing deepend under him.
“Y-you can… taste them.” Frances shuddered. “I-if you want…”
Rupert licked his lips, wasting no time in taking her up on her offer as he leaned down to the right and began to suckle on her.
“Ah-!” she cooed, not having expected such eagerness from him. Frances quickly melted under Rupert’s loving care, only wanting more and more. And to think, only yesterday she was about to give up hope on ever seeing him again.
If this was all a dream, she definitely didn’t want to wake up.
“T… touch me… Rupert…” Frances whined, lifting her head in pure pleasure as she widened her legs a bit. “U-underneath…”
Rupert was a bit hesitant at first, but his hand seemed to move of its own volition as it made its way down underneath her skirt. When he felt around expecting a pair of frilly knickers, his face turned a deep red as he felt his finger poke something plump and squishy; in truth, Frances had secretly removed them the evening prior whilst in the kitchen in the hopes that this was what they’d’ve been doing hours ago.
But Rupert wasn’t dissuaded, freeing himself from Frances’s breast and leaning up to kiss her neck tenderly as he slowly pushed his finger in. Frances’s body squirmed ticklishly under him as he sent chills up her spine, and her breathy giggles were like the sweetest music he’d ever heard. But then, she moaned out something that stopped him in his tracks.
“Let’s go all the way…”
Rupert paused. He couldn’t deny that his body was craving hers, and his trousers felt excruciatingly ‘tight’ at the moment. But everything was happening so fast - perhaps too fast. Of course he planned on staying in her life, but they’d just reconnected only yesterday after well over a decade apart. Not only that, but they still had a job to do, which he’d nearly forgotten - whatever it was that those men were planning, they had to be stopped. Perhaps it would be best to hold off on the hanky panky for now - get used to the shallow water before diving head-first into the deep end, so to speak.
“Frances…” Rupert said, pulling back a little. “I… I’m sorry. But I just don’t think I’m ready for… that. I will be, but not yet. Not now. Please don’t be cross…”
Frances exhaled, coming back to her senses.
“I’m not cross, Rupert, I understand.” She buttoned her blouse again. “I might’ve gotten… carried away. I just missed you so much, and-”
Rupert pressed his lips to hers once more, silencing her. They held the kiss for some time as they held the backs of each other’s heads; but before they felt their urges rising yet again, Rupert broke the kiss.
“I missed you too. Now c’mon… let’s see what those
suspicious characters
are up to.”
“How will we even know where to look for them?” Frances whispered as the two of them snuck down the dimly-lit street under the cover of night.
“Well, Sandy Cove’s not exactly the size of London,” Rupert replied, “They can’t’ve gone far. And this is just a hunch, but I think I have a good idea of where they might be.”
Although he didn’t have the best memory of the layout of the town, especially without sunlight, Rupert kept his ears open for any Russian chatter as he led the way. Eventually, after admittedly a few missed turns, they came to the rock gardens they’d visited the day before. Sure enough, the four Russians from before were there - and they seemed to be digging up holes in the ground.
“I thought as much,” Rupert commented under his breath as they sneakily approached, keeping their distance as they hid behind a masonry fence at the entrance to the garden. “Those rocks struck me as awfully peculiar. I bet they think the same.”
“They’re destroying the garden…” Frances grumbled angrily. Although she’d considered Sandy Cove to be one of the most uninteresting places in the entire world, it was still her home - and it pained her to see someone ruining it.
“I know, but we can’t let them see us. No matter what happens, we can’t blow our cover.”
Rupert spoke in a deathly-serious tone; he’d had more encounters with villains that he could name off the top of his head - and thinking back on it, he considered himself lucky to still be alive after some encounters on several occasions. The Chameleon’s henchmen came to mind, who had captured and tied him and Frances up in the lighthouse all those years ago. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that things could’ve turned out much,
much
worse for them back then as children - had those two crooks been competent, that is. But those two were mere buffoons, while these Russians were far more menacing. One wrong move, and they could die.
Rupert considered turning back, forgetting the whole thing - it was none of his business, after all. What should he care if these men found some kind of secret treasure hidden in Sandy Cove? But then he thought about Frances, and what this town - her home - meant to her. And when he remembered the disgusting comment that wolf, Norik, made about Frances’s scent… it made his blood boil.
He didn’t know
how
he’d stop them, exactly - but stop them, he must.
For now, he and Frances kept a keen eye on the group as they watched how things played out.
“I think we’ve been digging for
hours
now, and
still
we find nothing,” the weasel whined.
“What did I say about complaining?” Norik growled, turning to him.
“At this rate, sun will come up soon.” the snow leopard added. “And what will locals say when they find us here, destroying property? Surely they will tell authorities.”
“Is not problem.” Norik shrugged. “Worst comes to worse, we slaughter them all. Small little village, anyway. We have bullets, da? So simple.”
Frances and Rupert both gasped, their blood running cold at that possibility.
“Norik, do not tell jokes,” the snow leopard spoke up. “Even you would not kill entire village.”
“Well, maybe not
everyone.
I can still smell that scent from before - a fertile young bitch, I think.” He chuckled heartlessly. “So maybe I spare a few girls to play with.”
Rupert clenched his teeth in hatred as the men laughed. He’d encountered bad people before, but this wolf was a truly evil
monster.
Suddenly, the human’s shovel hit something hard.
“Iruni, you find it?” Norik asked, rushing over to him. “Careful, we don’t want to bring back damaged goods.”
They dug around the rest with their hands, standing back in awe for a moment at their finding before lifting something out of the hole - although still covered in dirt, it was a bizarre and ornate large golden mask that reflected the light of the moon. Iruni handed it to Norik, who laughed heartily as he held the sizable object in his furry hands.
“Here it is, comrades - the ticket to luxury! Incredible… gold, but is solid like
diamond,
and yet light as feather.”
“And why does General Secretary need this thing again?” Iruni asked, adjusting his collar.
“...You think I would ask General Secretary
why?”
Norik asked, “Ask too many questions, end up in gulag. You want to die in gulag?”
Before Iruni had a chance to respond, a sharp pitch of feedback noise emitted from the weasel.
Norik’s head turned on a swivel, like a predator targeting its prey. With a snap of his finger, the human and the snow leopard rushed in to grab his arms before he had a chance to run/. The wolf set down the mask and approached him, picking up the shovel.
‘If only there weren’t so many of them, I could’ve grabbed it…’
Rupert thought, for a second debating if he could manage sneaking it from them while they were distracted. But there was no way he’d remain hidden for long; even though Norik had his back turned, the strange mask was well within eyesight of the others.
“Alexei, I am so… disappointed.” The wolf reached out and tore open the weasel’s clothing, revealing several wires for audio-surveillance. “Though I suppose your name is not Alexei.”
Alexei remained silent but looked at Iruni, accepting his fate. He knew the risks, after all.
“And I suppose you will not tell me who it is you are spying for.”
Suddenly, something crunched in the weasel’s mouth as he suddenly bit down on something.
“Taking coward’s way out, I see. Is quick and painless, da, but not quick as me. Now, how does it go again…” Norik walked behind Alexei, who was already visibly shaking as the pill he’d ingested began to take effect. The wolf began to eerily sing an old nursery rhyme in his grizzly voice.
“Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
That’s the way ze money goes…”
As the wolf raised the shovel above his head, Rupert instinctively turned his head away, forcing Frances’s head down as well. Neither of them needed to see this. They only heard a stomach-churning crack, followed by several more in repetition. Each one sounded more sickeningly wet than the last.
“…Pop
goes the weasel.”
‘What do I do…’
Rupert thought, racking his brain. He obviously couldn’t take them all on, that would be suicide. He couldn’t go to the police, these men were armed and there would undoubtedly be a firefight, likely starting a domino effect that could spell the end of Sandy Cove. He couldn’t wake everyone up to evacuate, there wasn’t nearly enough time and it could start a panic. It seemed the only way this night could end with the least amount of bloodshed was to simply let them get away, but that didn’t feel right either.
‘What the
fuck
do I do…’
“Alright, we have mask. Bury this traitor quickly, so we can go back to ship.” Norik commanded as he picked up the mask again, and his henchmen tossed the weasel’s lifeless body into the hole before covering it with dirt.
“They got here on a ship,” Frances whispered in Rupert’s ear. “So that means it must be close. Do you think…”
Rupert nodded, having the same idea as her. Finally, some good news; the beach was close, but far enough away that they wouldn’t be around townsfolk that could end up as collateral damage should something go wrong. And since Sandy Cove’s beach was at the bottom of a cliffside, with only a single staircase leading up to town, there might be a way to block them off. With this knowledge in mind, Rupert began to formulate a plan. It was still incredibly risky, but it would have to do. They just had to act quickly.
“Yes, but we need to go now. We don’t have much time.”
With the remaining three Russians distracted for the time being, Rupert and Frances slipped away to the beach as quickly and quietly as they could.
Norik smelled the air with a grin.
“There it is,” Rupert said as they approached the bottom of the stairs, both he and Frances catching their breaths as they’d ran all the way across town to gain extra time. Sure enough, a sizable Russian missile boat was docked at the shore not far from the lighthouse, lit by the light of the full moon.
“So what’s the plan, Rupert?” Frances asked, holding his hand for comfort. As long as she had him, she felt - no, she
knew
there was
nothing
they couldn’t accomplish together.
“We certainly can’t let them leave, but we can’t let them stay in town, either,” he replied.
“So we set a booby-trap!” suggested Frances, “We go to the boiler room, find some barrels of gunpowder and a rope, and when they get on board we blow it to smithereens!”
“Wha- Frances, no.” Rupert looked at her, dumbfounded. He could never stoop so low as to kill someone.
Or… could he?
Should
he?
These men were a serious threat, after all. He’d heard the words himself - that wolf wasn’t bothered in the least by the thought of killing hundreds of innocent people. And the idea of Frances being one of his victims, in one way or another… it made him sick with fury. He began to seriously consider Frances’s idea for a moment, but pulled himself back in.
“I was thinking we could sabotage the controls so they can’t leave, then barricade the beach to cut them off from the town until we can get help from the Royal Marines.”
“Fine,” Frances sighed. “My idea’s more fun, though.”
“We need to do this as quickly as possible. Ideally, in and out in 10 minutes.” Rupert said as they reached the boat. Noticing several ropes that had been left hanging from the main deck, Rupert helped Frances up before double-checking to make sure they weren’t being pursued before following her.
Rupert looked up as he climbed, his face heating up instantly at the sight as he remembered that Frances still wasn’t wearing anything under her dress. As much as it piqued his interest, now was probably the worst possible time to have those kinds of impure thoughts. Looking down was hardly any better, as he felt more conscious of how high up they were. So instead, Rupert stared straight forward until they reached the top.
Once Frances helped him aboard, the two wasted no time as they headed for where they assumed the control room would be. When Rupert pulled down on the handle, it was locked shut.
“Shit,” Rupert sighed in exasperation under his breath. His entire plan hinged on being able to get into the control room, which he had never even considered that he might not.
Frances looked around a bit before finding a pipe wrench lying on the deck not more than 3 meters away, picking it up and approaching the door before smashing the glass window with it.
“Frances!” Rupert hissed anxiously. “What’re you doing? We’re trying to be inconspicuous!”
Frances merely grinned as she reached through the window, unlocking the door from the other side and opening it.
“I got the door open. After you.”
As much as Rupert tried to take this situation seriously, he couldn’t deny that Frances’s refreshing positivity was helping to keep him level-headed. He gave her a smile before he headed inside, and Frances followed.
“Alright, start messing around with anything you can -
without
turning anything on.” Rupert said as they approached the panel. “In fact, if you could find some tools like a screwdriver or scissors, that’d be great.”
Frances looked around, but found nothing of the sort. So instead, she took the pipe wrench again and began repeatedly smashing the lower walls of the console with it until they were severely dented. Rupert simply watched her in awe.
“I think that should do it!” she said, setting the wrench down after the internal computers had been thoroughly bent beyond repair. She looked over at Rupert, who was still staring at her. “What?”
“N-nothing, it’s just…” Rupert approached her, his hands finding their way to her waist. “This certainly feels like a proper adventure, doesn’t it? I can’t remember the last time I had one of those.”
“I can,” Frances said as she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning up and giving Rupert a quick kiss on the lips.
“Frances, you should know, if… if anything should happen…”
“Rupert, nothing’s going to-”
“I love you.”
Frances’s heart skipped a beat as she heard those words from him for the very first time.
“S…say that again?” she asked, looking up into his eyes.
“I love you, Frances,” Rupert repeated as he pulled her in closer. “With all my heart.”
“I love you too… Rupert, I love you so very much…” Frances felt tears of joy welling up in her eyes, still somewhat in disbelief that he was even standing before her. “I have loved you ever since the day we met.”
They kissed once more, closing their eyes and losing themselves in one another’s embrace. They both knew they should really continue this later - the job here was done, and they needed to escape before they were caught. However, their urges got the better of them, and so they continued the kiss.
But even if they hadn’t, it would not have mattered.
Because standing at the doorway was a big, bad wolf.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
One moment, everything was fine. The next, Rupert’s worst fears had come true.
His kiss with Frances was broken forcefully as she was grabbed from behind, being pulled back by Norik’s arm and thrown into the wall. Rupert could only watch in terror as the strong Russian wolf approached him, raising the golden mask that was still in his hand.
‘No!’
Rupert thought,
‘We weren’t quick enough!’
He looked to Frances, checking to make sure she was alright. As he saw her struggling to get up, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his skull as Norik hit him over the head with the mask.
In an instant, Rupert opened his eyes and found himself in a different place. Another world entirely. It was daytime now, and he was standing on a shore - but not one that looked anything like Sandy Cove. This was an island, with a large volcano in the middle that seemed to pierce the sky.
But as quickly as it’d appeared, the strange vision was gone, and Rupert was back in the ship’s control room again. Norik was about to beat him over the head again when Rupert crouched down and pulled on the wolf’s ankle as hard as he could, yanking him off balance and onto his back just long enough to buy him a few seconds. He looked around the room for anything he could use, spotting a fire extinguisher in a glass case on the wall.
‘Perfect’,
he thought, quickly punching the glass with his fist and pulling the fire extinguisher out before pulling the tab and spraying it directly on Norik’s face.
“CYKA BLYAT!”
the wolf roared in anger as he let go of the mask, receiving even more of the fine powder in his mouth. Rupert continued directing it at Norik as he made his way around him and kicked the mask over to Frances, who was now standing again - albeit a bit dizzy.
“C’mon, Rupert!” Frances said, picking up the mask as they reached the door. Rupert looked at Norik as he held the fire extinguisher in his hand, a dark thought crossing his mind. He could kill Norik. Slay this monster, before he could hurt the woman he loved. It would be the simplest solution, after all.
However, Rupert’s conscience wouldn’t allow him. The very thought of taking someone’s life… it was something that Rupert found himself incapable of doing. He was better than Norik, and that was something Rupert took pride in - unlike this soulless wolf, he
valued
life.
So as much as he wanted to put Norik out of his misery, Rupert instead decided to simply escape with Frances, chucking the fire extinguisher at Norik’s face as they left.
But when Rupert and Frances reached the ropes, they stopped in their tracks as they were greeted by a familiar human and snow leopard, who were pointing their guns at them. Without thinking, Rupert held his arms out and stood in front of Frances to protect her.
“Rupert…” Frances whispered loud enough for him to hear, her heart both warmed with overwhelming love and chilled to the bone with the fear that Rupert was willing to sacrifice himself for her. “If we make it out of this alive, I am
marrying
you. And that’s not a question.”
Rupert said nothing, trembling with fear as he faced down the Russians. But in his heart, he
did
want to marry Frances; he just didn’t want to get his hopes up that they would make it off this boat alive. Things certainly weren’t looking good.
And they were only about to get worse.
Frances yelped out in pain as she was roughly grabbed from behind again, with Norik putting her in a headlock in one arm and grabbing one of her breasts with another.
“Drop it,” he commanded grimly in her ear, and Frances dropped the mask to the floor of the deck. Rupert turned his head back to see that, although his furry face was covered in a thick layer of powder and his eyes were red as blood, Norik had mostly recovered.
“Heh, you know…” Norik said in Frances’s ear. “I knew whole time you two were spying on us. From under window, from behind fence, I can
smell
you. And you, my little prekrasnyy… smell so…
breedable.”
The wolf pressed his wet nose to Frances’s hair, inhaling deeply. Frances felt the most sickening kind of goosebumps, her muscles stiffening in resistance to his touch.
“Don’t…” Rupert muttered, his voice trembling. “Don’t touch her.”
“What is dis?” Norik chuckled, amused by Rupert’s fear. “Speak up.”
“Don’t you
fucking
touch her!” Rupert shouted, his blood boiling.
“Ah, you are going to do the cryings, little bear cub? Piss in pants, maybe?” the wolf said mockingly. “WAAAH, WAAAH! Like lost little baby.”
He and his comrades cackled.
“Tell you what…” Norik said, giving Frances’s cheek a lick. “We make deal, da? I put baby in you, make crybaby boyfriend watch as I make you woman. And in exchange… you both get to leave this ship with your lives. You can spend the rest of your pathetic lives on this beach if you want, raising my pup. Is very good deal, I promise you this.”
Frances and Rupert felt tears dripping down their faces, appalled by Norik’s revolting proposal. But at this point… what other choice did they have?
“You are… absolutely
putrid,”
Frances growled through her teeth. “And vile. You’re no man. You’re a disgrace, and I hope you die a painful death.”
“But…?” Norik asked, expectantly.
“If you promise to let us go, then…” Frances shuddered as she sighed, looking to Rupert. This was far from an ideal situation, but if it meant keeping the one she loved safe, then she would do anything. “Okay.”
The wolf turned his head, hacking up some of the powder he’d inhaled earlier.
“Er, boss,” the human named Iruni spoke up again. “Your face, it is not looking so good. Leave girl with us, we’ll watch them both while you get cleaned up.”
Norik nodded, letting Frances go as he went into a coughing fit and headed for the washroom. Once the wolf was gone, Frances rushed into Rupert’s arms, sobbing. Rupert turned to the two gunmen, hoping to appeal to their better nature.
“Please, sirs. We… won’t tell anyone you were here. Just let us go.”
The snow leopard and the human looked at each other and nodded, lowering their guns. The snow leopard spoke first, his voice having changed into a British accent.
“So sorry for the spot of trouble you’ve gotten mixed up into. Have to keep up appearances and all that.”
Rupert and Frances stared in confusion, feeling completely lost.
“We’re with MI5,” Iruni said and he pulled out a badge, his accent also now British. “We’re actually double-agents sent to sabotage foreign spies and terrorists. But you didn’t hear that from us.”
He winked, tapping the side of his nose.
“S-so… you’re going to let us go?” Frances asked hopefully.
“Yes, but you should leave before he gets back.” the snow leopard said, gesturing to the ropes. “Let us take care of-”
“Take care of
what,
exactly?”
Everyone turned to see Norik had returned, pointing a pistol at them. Having been compromised, the snow leopard and the human counter-spies pointed their guns at the wolf and pulled the trigger - but the chambers were empty.
“You think because I am Russian, I am stupid?” Norik asked before shooting the snow leopard in the foot, who let out a scream of pain. “That was warning shot, Mikael. I know all along that all three of you were traitors, but now that I have mask, I no longer have need of you. Now, you will do what I say.”
He pointed the gun at the leopard.
“You, fix control panel. If it’s not fixed by sunrise, you die. And you, Iruni. Stay where I can see you, so you cannot do the schemings with Mikael.”
Norik grabbed Frances again, yanking him away from Rupert and pointing the gun to her head as he began backing up.
“I always get what I want. So I am going to screw this bitch’s brains out, and if anyone tries to stop me, I’ll
blow
her brains out instead.”
He held Frances by the back of her collar, slowly backing up further while holding the gun to her head. Rupert desperately thought of anything he could do to stop this, looking around for a solution. He looked down at the mask at his feet, remembering the strange vision he’d had. It was such a strange shape; it vaguely looked like some kind of ceremonial Maori mask from Polynesia, but it was almost
alien
in design. And it was large - much too large to fit on any normal person’s face.
Rupert picked it up, noticing how it really
was
as light as a feather.
“I’ve got another deal for you, wolf,” he said. “You want
this,
right? If you bring this to your General Secretary back home, you get all the women and money you could ever want?”
“Give it to me, or I’ll-!” Norik backed up again and pulled his thumb down with a metallic click on the chamber.
“Give
her
to me, or this mask belongs to the ocean.” Rupert held the mask over the side of the ship. “Is one girl really worth all the riches you’ll have with this thing?”
“...Fine. We trade. Just bring it to me, no funny business, and you can take this bitch with you.” Norik said, stopping in place. “She’s probably used goods anyway.”
Rupert slowly and cautiously approached Norik with the mask, careful not to make any sudden movements. When he got closer, Norik instinctively backed up more.
“Well I certainly can’t give you the mask if you keep backing away from me, now can I?” Rupert asked, as they nearly reached the back of the ship.
“You are up to something, I know it,” Norik growled. “You have look of mischief in eye.”
“No mischief, I promise,” Rupert said, holding it out to him. “Now let her go.”
“I think not, little bear,” the wolf replied, “I let her go, you throw mask overboard.”
“Well I hardly think I can give it to you unless you let her go or drop the gun,” Rupert retorted slyly. “Unless…”
“What?” Norik asked.
“I could put it on your face. It
is
a mask, after all. Then will you let her go?” Rupert asked. He could tell by the expression on Norik’s face that he had him right where he wanted him. “Who knows, it might look good on you.”
“Hmm… I suppose.” Norik nodded stoically. “Alright, put mask on me and girl is yours.”
“Okay, here I go… I’m putting the mask on…” Rupert flipped the mask around, reaching it up closer to his face. “Now promise you’ll let her go when I do.”
“Promise,” Norik lied.
Rupert held his breath as he pushed the mask hard onto Norik’s face, knowing it was a huge gamble. As soon as he did, the wolf’s eyes began to glow red though the mask and he froze stiff as though he was in some sort of petrified trance. His grip loosened on Frances, letting go of her as he saw the same vision of the volcanic island that Rupert had.
“Frances!” Rupert said as he quickly grabbed her, pulling her away from him and pushing her towards the ropes. “Go with Iruni and get somewhere safe!”
“What?!” Frances shouted, “Rupert, what about you?!”
“Just go!” Rupert said, “I love you!”
“I love you too…” Frances said, going to the human.
Rupert turned back to Norik, knowing his trance would be over in seconds.
“You don’t deserve a happy ending, Norik. Not after everything you’ve done. That mask doesn’t belong to you!”
Rupert gathered his courage and rushed at the wolf, yanking the mask off himself and tossing it aside before punching him in the snout with all his might. Iruni beckoned for Frances to leave the ship, but she was frozen in place, unable to look away as Rupert ferociously fought the wolf.
Rupert kicked the gun away closer to the back edge of the ship with his foot, using the same foot to kick the wolf hard in the kneecap, shattering it. Norik howled in pain as he grabbed Rupert by the front of his vest and slammed him onto the floor, kicking him hard twice in the gut with his remaining good leg before he rushed to grab the gun.
“I am wolf!” he shouted, hobbling over to the pistol at the end of the deck. “Apex predator! Prey to none!”
Rupert got up and spat out a bit of blood, the taste of which awakened something ancestral from within him.
“You may be a wolf, Norik” Rupert growled, his sense of smell heightening as he targeted the enemy in his sights.
“But I… am… a
BEAR
.”
With that, he ran at full speed at the wolf with a loud bear-like roar. Norik picked up the gun and fired it twice at Rupert, who dodged them by crouching down and running on all fours without slowing down. As the once mild-mannered bear, who wouldn’t even hurt a fly, closed the distance between himself and his prey, he began to salivate. He no longer had it in him to spare his foe. To be sure that Frances would be truly safe, Norik
had
to die. There was no other way.
‘Do not trust him.’
Norik fired his gun two more shots just in front of Rupert, but those missed as well when Rupert leapt up at him at the opportune moment. Time itself seemed to move slower as Norik moved his arm, firing the last two bullets. The first shot went straight through Rupert’s right hand, and the second just narrowly nicked Rupert’s right ear, leaving a bleeding notch in it.
By then, with only one bullet left, it was already too late for Norik.
Within fractions of a second, Rupert pushed the wolf’s head upwards and sank his teeth deep into his neck with the intent to kill. His weight pushed them both over the railing of the ship, with only Norik’s dropped gun left behind.
“RUPERT!”
Frances cried out as they went over the edge, instinctively running over in an effort to save him. When she reached the far rear side of the ship, she saw Rupert hanging by his left hand off the edge and with Norik clinging onto Rupert’s shoe with one hand while holding his bleeding throat shut with the other.
“Kch… quite a bear, you are, Rupert.” the wolf coughed harshly, struggling for air. Without a word, Rupert used his other foot to slide his shoe off, and Norik began his descent to the water below. He smirked.
“...Quite a bear.”
Just then, the engine of the ship started up as the snow leopard known only as ‘Mikael’ had fixed the control panel, and the propellers began to spin faster and faster in reverse as they slowly cast off from the shore.
Thus, when Norik plunged into the water, he would never again emerge.
“Rupert, grab my hand!” Frances said as she held her hand out to him, which he grabbed with his injured and bloodied hand. He winced in pain as she pulled him up, but his pain soon subsided as he was pushed to the deck and his face was smothered with overjoyed kisses from Frances.
“Don’t ever-! Scare me-! Like that-! Again-!” she said between each kiss, beginning to cry.
“Don’t worry, Frances,” Rupert said with a weak smile, “This is my last adventure.”
The sun peeked over the horizon, officially ending the long and harrowing night with the arrival of dawn.
“Well then,” the human known as Iruni said as he approached them and picked up Norik’s gun, joined shortly after by Mikael after he’d turned off the ship’s engine. “I suppose our job here is done, then.”
“I suppose it is,” the snow leopard added, nodding. He turned his attention to Rupert and Frances. “Thank you for all you’ve done here.”
“N-no worries,” Rupert said awkwardly as Frances continued to kiss his cheeks, still not used to their British accents. “By the way, that mask… what’s so special about it, anyway?”
“I’m afraid that’s classified information, my good man,” Iruni said, walking over to it and picking it up. “But rest assured, this will be kept safe - and in good hands. Now, about your compensation…”
“Compensation?” Frances and Rupert asked together, finally standing up.
“Why of course. Note that this isn’t to reward you for eliminating a top-level Russian asset, nor for recovering this artifact - those are both strictly off-record.” Iruni pulled outwhat appeared to be a small black envelope from under his shirt, which suddenly unfolded into a briefcase large enough for the mask to fit in. “This is merely… for your time. How does fifteen sound?”
“Th-hank you, sir,” Rupert said, “fifteen pounds is very generous of you.”
“Oh-! Ahahaha!” the human laughed in amusement, pulling out a small digital device. “No no, you misunderstand me, dear boy. 15
K
. As in, fifteen
thousand
pounds. After taxes. Each.”
Rupert and Frances both nearly fainted on the spot at that number.
“Fif… fifteen… fifteen
thousand
…?” Rupert asked, holding onto Frances for support. That was a
life-changing
amount of money. “A-are you sure?”
“Yes, quite sure.” Iruni pressed a few buttons before putting the device away. “The British parliament takes care of its own, after all. It’s being wired to your accounts as we speak. Just consider it a small token of our gratitude. And something of a bribe, I suppose you could call it - to encourage you not to speak of this night to anyone. Does that seem like a fair arrangement?”
The two of them nodded in agreement.
“Er, one thing, though…” Rupert asked, “Before you take it, do you think it would be alright if we… had a picture with the mask? Just as a souvenir. And a reminder.”
Iruni and Mikael looked at each other, unsure.
“We promise we won’t share it with anyone.” Frances added. “It’ll be for our eyes only.”
“Well…” Iruni said sternly, “Alright.
One
photo. But if we ever find it in a newspaper, we’ll know who to come looking for.”
“Thank you, sir.” Rupert said, and Iruni cautiously handed them the mask. Mikael took out a small camera out of a hidden compartment in his shirt as Rupert and Frances posed together with the mask, and he snapped a picture of them. An instant-print photo emerged from a thin slot in the camera, and they exchanged the mask for it.
“Well then, you two had best be off.” Mikael said, escorting them back to the ropes they’d boarded the boat on. “And so should we, we need to get this mask back to London posthaste.”
“Thank you again. For everything,” Frances said, grabbing the rope and disappearing down the side back to the shore.”
“Yes, thank you.” Rupert said. Grabbing the rope after her. “And don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope we may
never
see each other again.”
“No, thank
you,”
Iruni said, patting him on the shoulder with a smile. “And likewise.”
And with that, they parted ways as Rupert slid down the rope - using only his good hand, that is.
Several moments after Rupert landed firmly on the sand, the ship’s engine started up again and it began to back out of the shore, leaving Sandy Cove behind.
“Rupert, your hand…” Frances said with concern, noting his badly-bleeding right hand. It had a hole clean through it. “We have to get you to the hospital right away, or you might never be able to write again!”
“You’re right,” Rupert said, smiling. “I’m sure it’ll hurt like hell tomorrow, but… even if I can’t use my hand anymore…”
“I’ll be there.” Frances smiled back, wrapping her arms around Rupert’s waist. He returned the embrace. “And we’ll write our story together.”
They looked on as the ship disappeared into the horizon, the sun rising higher and higher into the sky above it.
Meanwhile, back on the ship, the snow leopard pulled out his small radio transmitter to send a message of mission success back to headquarters as Iruni adjusted the collar of his shirt.
“Camelot, this is agent Quicksilver reporting mission success, asset has been retrieved, over.”
No response. Nothing but static.
“Camelot, this is Quicksilver, do you copy?”
Dead signal.
“Strange, there should be a signal he-”
In an instant, the snow leopard suddenly collapsed dead on the floor, a bullet-sized hole in his head.
The human known as Iruni lowered Norik’s gun, dropping it on the floor of the ship. He adjusted his collar once again and picked up the briefcase containing the artifact before pulling out a radio transmitter of his own, his voice changing once again into an American accent.
“It’s done, Director. Reporting Operation Olmak a success.”
“...Well done, Agent Colburn. Coordinates traced. Sending extraction now.”
“I still can’t help but wonder why everyone seemed to want to get their hands on that mask,” Rupert muttered aloud. “I saw something strange when I was hit on the head with it. It was some kind of island. It felt like a dream.”
“Hm,” Frances wondered as well, but didn’t dwell on it. “Perhaps it’s just not something we’re ever meant to know.”
“Perhaps…” Rupert whispered. Maybe someday, even if years from now, the answers to such mysteries might eventually make themselves known.
“Did you mean what you said before?” Frances asked, changing the subject. “About this whole mask ordeal being your last adventure?”
“Oh, I wasn’t talking about the mask, Frances,” Rupert looked deeply into her eyes and smiled.
“My last adventure… is you.”
They leaned in and kissed as the morning wind brushed the ocean waves to shore, which cascaded onto the warm sand with a triumphant declaration of hope that rang clear and true in Frances’s soul:
“And they lived happily ever after.”
But this was not the end.
This was merely the prologue of another adventure yet to come.