“AAAAAAHHH!”
His loud scream pierced the silence. Hannah lurched backwards, startled. From one moment to the next, he had come back to life. He flung himself to the left and the right, flailed about, flipped onto his stomach and then his back, reared up, and screamed once more as the guests recoiled in horror.
“What’s happening?” Hannah had been standing at arm’s length and now approached him warily to support him, only to immediately shrink back from his uncontrolled movements. What was going on here?
The prince was acting wilder and wilder, writhing and screaming in a way that sent chills down her spine. Was he having an epileptic fit? She came closer and tried to grab his hand. But right at that moment, his hand grew bigger and bigger. The bones broke with a loud crack, and the prince screamed. His blond hair turned brown, his legs grew longer and more powerful, his belly thickened, his back broadened, and his whole frame shot up. His uniform tore with a loud rip, and his boots split open and fell off his expanding feet and legs as if they were made of the thinnest thread. The skin that appeared from beneath them was light brown. But it only appeared for a moment, for a layer of dark brown hair immediately began to cover it as it grew into a thick brown coat.
The prince’s scream turned into a bloodcurdling roar as his head swelled to three times its original size. His eyes grew larger and darker. His mouth and his full lips widened into a snout with sharp canine teeth sticking out. Once again, he let out a loud roar—he sounded like an animal—and lashed out with his enormous paws. His bearing and gestures were so animal-like and uncontrolled that Hannah hardly knew what was going on. Finally, his strength appeared to fail him and he suddenly fell to the floor.
As he crashed down onto the tiles with a loud thud, every person in the ballroom could clearly see what had happened: the prince had transformed into a full-grown brown bear.
9
Silence prevailed in the hall. Here and there, a cautious footstep or rustling dress was heard, but nobody uttered a word. Everyone stared, wide-eyed and horrified with their mouths agape, at the frighteningly large creature that the prince had become.
The brown bear lay motionless on the gleaming ballroom floor. Was he dead? His paws twitched, and there was the sound of a quiet, deep growl. The guests froze. But seconds later, they screamed in horror and panicked. Shoving each other aside, they rushed out through the doors. Some even jumped out the windows to flee the dangerous beast of prey as quickly as possible. A short while later, the thunderous noise of horses’ hooves and carriage wheels drifted in through the wide-open windows.
Hannah was cowering a few steps away from the brown bear. Paralyzed with fear, she was the only one left in the hall. Her heart beat wildly as she gradually regained control of her body. She slowly stood up. Quietly, very quietly, she took a step back. The bear must not detect her. For all she knew, he might tear her to shreds!
Growling and swaying a little, the brown bear got down on all fours. He was standing with his side to Hannah, and his giant head was facing the king, who lay dead on the floor. Slowly, Hannah took another step back, then another and another. As she cast a furtive backwards glance, she barely missed a small table that was loaded with crystal glasses. But she hadn’t properly gauged the fullness of her dress. Her skirt brushed against one of the tall vessels, which immediately began to sway and then toppled over. Wide-eyed, she watched the glass fall as if in slow motion. With a bright clinking sound, it crashed onto the stone floor and shattered into a hundred pieces.
The bear turned around. Hannah froze as the wild creature spotted her. For a moment, they stared at each other, and she found herself ensnared by the deep sea-green of his eyes—the prince’s eyes.
The bear lumbered toward her on his heavy paws, staggering as if he hadn’t yet fully mastered his limbs and muscles. Hannah’s heart was pounding faster and faster, but she couldn’t move. Inwardly, she was screaming “Run, Hannah, run!” But her legs refused to obey. Frozen with fear, she held her hands and arms in front of her chest and face—as if her bare arms could protect her from the bear’s enormous paws.
“You must help me!” he roared. His deep, rough voice terrified her at least as much as the fact that he could speak.
“How can this be? How is it you can speak? What has happened?”
“The same thing that has happened every day for nearly a hundred years!”
“The same thing that has happened every day for nearly a hundred years? What does that mean?”
The bear rose up to his full height. His broad head reached almost as high as the chandelier, where the red candles weresmoking. He began to speak but then lurched to the side and fell back down on all fours.
Hannah was struggling to keep her composure. What had happened? Where had she landed? Was she dreaming? When had she fallen asleep?
“WHO ARE YOU?” roared the bear.
Hannah jumped, and now she could feel her limbs again. She didn’t wait a single second but turned around and fled by the quickest route she could find. She hurried through the next open door into an endless corridor, past the suits of armor, and across the thick carpets until she rounded the corner into a brighter hallway, where she barely noticed the woodland paintings. Where was the corridor leading to the castle courtyard? There was a window back there. Puffing and panting, she ran over and was relieved to see the castle courtyard. She was about to open the window and jump out when she realized what she was seeing. The courtyard was empty. Not a single coach was left in the spacious square. No one had waited for her.
Where was her coachman? Who had convinced him to drive off without her? It was no use. She needed another way to escape this strange castle.
A loud roar made her jump.
“STAY HERE!”
Tables crashed to the floor, and vases and glasses shattered into a thousand pieces. A door burst open. Was he coming after her? She raced down the corridor, away from the ballroom and the wild brown bear. The corridor seemed as if it would never end until Hannah rounded a corner and finally spied a door. She hurried over and jiggled the knob. It flew open. Relieved, she rushed out of the castle and looked around.
She found herself in a vast garden, probably the castle garden that she and the prince had looked down upon earlier that evening. She craned her neck and spotted the large balcony.How long had it been since the two of them had stood there talking? Ten minutes? Twenty? He had acted so strangely. Had he known what was going to happen?
Either way, Hannah needed to get out of there. As quickly as possible. Before the bear could catch her. Or the prince. The prince-bear. He could talk, but a real bear’s roar had nothing on his. She couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t hurt her. Her presence had thrown him off—that much was clear. Better not run into him again. She clutched her bag, which luckily held her cell phone. Now she just needed to find a hidden spot so she could call home. Frieda would send a cab right away, and then she could escape this enchanted castle.
She glanced at the balcony one last time to make sure the bear wasn’t standing there and watching where she went. Seeing no one, she hurried along the little winding path and deeper into the castle garden. There had to be a decent hiding place somewhere around there! She ran around a large rose bush, darted behind an angel-shaped hedge, and made her way through the tall vegetation until the balcony was no longer in sight. Only the castle spires and turrets still towered above the hedges and shrubs.
She listened for the bear, but except for a couple of birds twittering in the light of the evening sun, she heard nothing. Slowly, she kept walking and looking around. If she crawled into one of the hedges, she was bound to have no reception. She noticed a round fountain. An angel statue stood enthroned in the middle, and the water it poured from a chalice was splashing into the circular basin. Panting, Hannah held her hand to her chest and sat down on the stone border as she looked around. There was no one in sight. She undid the drawstring of her pouch, took out her cell phone, and looked at the screen. It was only a moment before she grasped what she was seeing there: no signal.
She leapt up and held her cell phone in the air, but it was no use. She climbed up onto the edge of the fountain and held it higher. Nothing. Not one bar appeared on the screen—there was no cell phone signal in this damned forest, let alone an Internet connection. Damn! What should she do now? There was no choice. She would have to trek through the forest on foot. She had to get away from there and back to her children.
