As the monitor faded to black, Coldheart let out a satisfied sigh. It had been a great first day.
Everything had gone according to plan. It hadn't taken much for those so-called "civilized people" to start tearing each other to shreds as soon as they heard of those sweet, sweet deals. A smirk spread across Coldheart's face. These are the same people the fuzzy-wuzzies really think can change the world for the better?
He would continue in the morning. For now, it was time for him to get to sleep. Coldheart rose from his seat, checking one last time to make sure everything had been shut down. When he was satisfied, he turned and left the room, locking the door behind him.
He made the long trek down the hall of Coldheart Castle. But as soon as he reached the door to his room, something seemed... off. For a second, he thought that the leader fuzzy-wuzzy's belly badge, the big red heart, was on the door. But that wasn't possible, was it?
He blinked. In front of him was only a plain wooden door, no emblem. He shook his head. Guess all the excitement wore me out more than I thought. Now I'm seeing things.
He went through the rest of his bedtime routine without noticing anything unusual. Not even when he got into bed and put out the light. He lay there with his eyes closed, waiting for sleep to take him.
"Coldheart..."
"Ugh... what is it, Vanilla?" he mumbled.
"Coldheart... I carry a message..."
"Heh... no. I must be dreaming..." Coldheart giggled a bit.
All of a sudden, a pair of furry paws gripped his face, lifting it off the pillow. He stared through bleary eyes at the one who had awoken him. All he could see was an amorphous orange-brown thing in front of him. It was babbling nonsense at him.
He turned onto his side, wrenching his face out of the thing's appendages. "No. I don't wanna play right now... Need sleep..."
"COLDHEART!!!"
That jolted Coldheart out of his sleep, all right. He jolted, nearly sending the blankets flying off the bed. When he came to, he realized who was in the room with him. His face twisted in irritation.
"Tenderheart?! Why and how did you get in here?! And at this time of night?!"
"Don't play dumb, Coldheart. You know what this is about." Tenderheart put his paws on his hips.
"Oh. So you've finally seen the light, then." Coldheart's voice was smooth and serene. He smiled as he tented his fingers together.
"I'm not the one who needs to see the light, Coldheart."
Coldheart rolled his eyes. "And I suggest you think that I do? What possibly do you think I need to learn so badly, oh grand wise one?"
Tenderheart took an exasperated breath. "You are going down a dangerous path, Coldheart. If you don't change your ways, soon it'll be too late to change anything."
Coldheart laughed. "Tenderheart, I'm 139 years old. I've had many chances to change, yet I never have. Doesn't that say something?"
Tenderheart ignored him. He peered down at a script in his hand. "It says here that... it is required of every man... that the spirit within him should walk amongst his fellow men... and if it doesn't, it is condemned to do so after death," he recited robotically.
Coldheart scoffed. "Oh, come on. You can't expect me to take you seriously when you're just reading words off a piece of paper. What is that, anyway?" He snatched the paper out of Tenderheart's hand. He took a cursory look-through before throwing back his head and howling with laughter. "Oh, this is just too rich!" He wiped a tear from his eye. "Who gave you that thing? Was ol' Marley just too hung up?" He took a few deep breaths to calm himself.
Tenderheart grunted and turned towards the door. This wasn't going as well as he wanted. "Expect three Care Bears to visit you these next three nights. Maybe you'll listen to them." He trudged out of Coldheart's room, slamming the door shut behind him.
"Ahhh. Alright, will do!" Coldheart lay back down. He grinned to himself at the mere idea. Change my ways... yeah, right. He closed his eyes. Alright, Tenderheart. You put me in a good mood. I'll humor you... but only for my own laughs.
