This came out of my imagination, so enjoy or die! J/K

WARNING!

I own nothing Brian Jacques owns. I have nothing!

P.S. I might use some of his words, cause they are good, and it helps my story
to run a little more smoothly.

Calpurnia the mousemaid awoke to a chill that seeped through her dress and jacket. She yawned, and kicked at the sheets that she was covered with moodily. What a night. Wind howling all night, the cold, and all those stupid dreams. Sheesh, if she wasn't so used to sleeping outdoors, she would have run screaming to the nearest house.She kicked off the covers and rolled them up. She packed them away, then picked up her two belts, one held her sword, another held her two fighting daggers. She clipped them on, then picked up her pack. She walked over to the bark covered entrance that hid the entrance to a chamber under the oak and shoved the light bark aside.

Mossflower lay deep in the grip of midwinter. There had been a snowstorm the night before, and a cold mantle of snow and ice covered the landscape, covering bushes and trees in its white embrace.She looked at the glistening snow, unbroken by pawprints. She gave a slight shiver in the early-morning chill, and breathed in the crisp air that hearlded a perfect day. She looked to the north-east, at the smoke rising from a fire, and set off.

As she walked, she hummed tunes to herself, at times breaking into song. She turned at a large elm, and collided with a sturdy young mouse going in the opposite direction. They both sat down in the snow, hard. Calpurnia rubbed her head where it had collided with the other one's nose. The other was holding his nose and rubbing it sharply. She looked at the other mouse for a while. He looked right back at her, his eyes were clear and bright. Fearlessness sparked in them.

"Who are you?" she asked, standing up. He leapt up, and drew his sword.

"Don't think about it!" he said, threatening her with the point of his blade. She rolled her eyes at him.

"I wouldn't think about attacking you unless you have something to do with Kotir. If you don't, hey, I'm not gonna bother ya. If you do, you'd better start runnin'." Her paws went close to her sword and a dagger.

"I don't run from anything. Anyway, what's Kotir? I'm just a traveler."

"Golly, if you don't know about Kotir, I'd best tell ye." Calpurnia relaxed. This mousewas no threat to her. "Kotir is a really old fortress, it's owned by the wild-cat warlord, Lord Greeneyes. He came from the north and he took over. Now, I fight him. There's a few more of us. I'm off to visit the settlement, to see if there's anything I can do. You comin'?"

He looked at her and blinked. He then sheathed his sword, and smiled at her. "Yes, I'm Martin the Warrior."

"I'm Cal! Com'n, hurry it up!" She started to move off through the snow. Martin had to run to catch up with her.

"Cal?" he asked, puzzled.

"Short for Calpurnia. Call me that and I beat the living day-lights out of you."

"You obviously don't like that name."

"You got that right." They walked on for a few minutes in silence. Martin was obviously used to walking through snow. She admired him for that.

"I came from the northlands myself." he said.

"Really?" stated Cal. "Well, you must be used to fighting then."

"I'd say so. It was either defend your little piece of land or get overrun." She gave a low whistle. They came to a clearing, and there stood Kotir. It was a large, forbbiding place. He saw Calpurnia give a slight quake, then she was dodging inbetween the hills that were on either side of the path. He suddenly saw that they weren't hills at all; but houses. The dwellings had been ravaged and demolished. The fortress stood over the pitful shapes in the snow, like a great eagle over its prey.

Martin was about to ask why she was dodging inbetween the houses, when he saw a bunch of weasels, ferrets, stoats and rats come out of one of the houses that was on his left. He suddenly saw Calpurnia halt. She motioned for him to join her. He scurried over, and ducked behind the house. She was sniggering.

"Those are Kotir soldiers, must be out on another of their patrols." she whispered into Martin's ear. "I love to fight with them and take whatever food that they forced off ofhonest creaturesand return it. 'Tis lots of fun," she giggled.

The patrol passed by their hiding place, and once they had passed, she leaped out at a ferret. She tackled him and knocked him senseless against the ground. She leapt up, a dagger in one hand and her sword in the other. The leader, Blacktooth, gasped.

"It's you! That theif! You'll pay for stealing from Kotir patrols!" He backed up slightly, protecting the weasel that held seven brown loaves of bread.

"Yeah, yeah, heard it all before, gimme that bread and no-beast gets hurt." she said, advancing ever so slightly, point of her sword in the "En guarde" postition.

"Uh-uh!" he said, shaking his head, and drawing his own dagger.

"What'd you say to me?" she demanded, marching forward until she was nose-to-nose with him. He grinned wickedly. Too late, she turned around. She was completely surrounded. She cursed, and started swinging her sword and dagger. Martin rushed out of his hiding spot. He hurled himself on the enemy, completely forgetting to draw his sword until it was too late, trying to get through to Calpurnia.

"What the-YOW!" yelled a ferret, as Martin leaped on his back and bit his ear clean through. He punched the ferret's nose in, and started punching the snot out of stoat who was too surprised to fight back.

"Sorry about this, Martin!" Calpurnia called from the middle of the fray. "Didn't know that they were planning this!"

"Not your fault! They're dirty sneaks!" Cal gave a merry laugh, followed by a cry of shock as a weasel leaped on her from behind and carried her to the ground. They wreastled her dagger and sword away from her and before she could grab her other, they had her tied up. Martin fought even harder to get to her, but he too was carried down by weight of numbers. In a trice, they had them both tied up, and were dragging them towards Kotir. They took Martins sword away from him.

Martin, no matter how hard they had him tied, still fought with the skill of one who had done this before. Calpurnia followed his lead and fought too. Together, they managed to give the Kotir soldiers a thing or two to think about.

As they were dragged into the parade ground, Calpurnia tripped on the icy ground and was dragged face forward for a quite a few yards. When she finally managed to get up, she was so mad that she attacked them straight on, instead of trying to have them drop the ropes that bound her.

"That's it, Cal! Teach them how real warriors fight!" yelled Martin as they managed to drag him into the main hall. He clung to a timber doorpost, and set his claws in firm. Calpurnia got a glint in her eyes and she suddenly dropped her paws to her sides. The vermin were confused, and let the rope go slack. With a whoop, she jerked her arms up and twisted, fast. The ropes were jerked out of their claws, and they fell forward. A few more from the Mess Hall ran into the main hall to help. A few tried to get near Calpurnia, but she used the ropes that were tied to her like whips, and kept them at a distance.They turned instead to Martin, and pried Martin off the column.They started to drag him up the stairs. Calpurnia immediately tried to outrun them to get to Martin and to help him get away.

But there were too many vermin. They piled on top of her until she was recaptured. She too was dragged up the stairs. There was no doubt in her mind. They were being taken to Lord Greeneyes, Master of the Thousand Eyes, Ruler of Kotir and...blah, blah, blah. They reached a landing, and she was dragged up to a pair of double-doors that had been flung open wide. Her breath caught in her throat, fear making her blood run cold.

She suddenly heard a voice in her head, a familiar voice that was warm and friendly.

"Hey Cal. Want to go pick elderberries? They're perfectly ripe now!"

"Okay, brother!" came her voice from when she was much younger.

'I had a brother...?'She wondered, as she was dragged into the bedchamber of Lord Greeneyes. She heard more voices, more memories.

"Enough is enough!" shouted a loud male, her father. "Lord Barkstripe and I say, Kotir needs to fall! Greeneyes must DIE! End this tyranny!" a chorus of cheers followed this.

"Don't worry darling." whispered a kind female voice. "We'll be back soon. Your brother will take care ofyou." "No mommy!Don't go!" cried Calpurina's younger voice.

'My mother...' thought Calpurnia. 'I guess I'm about to die since I'm thinkin' of stuff that I'd forgotten except in dreams."

"Make your report. What have we got here?" snarled a familiar voice, but only familiar by fear. Lord Greeneyes. Calpurnia gulped.

"Lord, a stranger who was caught in the bounds of your lands carrying a weapon and was in the company of the infamous theif, Calpurnia, whom we have also captured."

"Don't call me that!" yelled Calpurnia from her place on the floor. "It's Cal! CAL, for Heaven's sake!" Martin snorted. Even Gingivere tried to hold back a laugh. Lord Greeneyes ignored the outburst, and turned his eyes onto Martin.

"It is against my law to carry arms or to trespass upon my domain,"

"I didn't know it was your land cat! Tell your guards to take their claws off and release me! You have no right to imprison a free-born creature!" shouted Martin, his voice full of reckless rage.

Before anyone could make a move, Tsarmina had Martins' sword, and was pressing it against his throat. Calpurnia gasped and cried out, "No fair! He's unarmed! Dirty cheat!"

"Shut up, or I just might deal with you next." Tsarmina snarled."I'll throw you down to the lake where Gloomer lives, if you don't be quiet." Calpurnia quickly shut up.

"Now you," Tsarmina said, turning back to Martin. "What's your name? Where'd you steal this rusty relic?"

"My name is Martin the Warrior. That sword was my father's, now it is mine. I come and go as I please, cat. Is this any welcome to show travelers!"

Tsarmina forced Martin's head back with his own sword. "For a mouse, you have far too much to say to your betters. You are in Mossflower country now. All the land you can see on a clear day's march belongs to us by-"

"No it doesn't! Mossflower has always belonged to woodlanders and that's how it's gonna stay!" shouted Calpurnia from her postion on the floor. Tsarmina growled, and beckoned the guards with a sleek cat-like movement.

"Take them away and execute them." she hissed. Calpurnia gulped again. Oh well, life was lived by the living after all.

"Gingivere, have you nothing to say, son? What shall we do with these mice?" Greeneyes's voice halted the guards as they started dragging out the prisoners.

"Some say ignorance of the law is no excuse," Gingivere relplied. "But it would be unjust to punish Martin. He is a stranger and cannot be expected to know of us, or our laws. Therefore, if it were my decision, I would have him escorted from our territory, then given his weapon. He would know better than to come here again. As for Calpurnia-"

"CAL!" she bellowed.

"Yes, Cal, of course, I would place her in a good cell for the winter, then released. She would think twice before threatening us again."

'Huh, Gingivere isn't so bad. Maybe Greeneyes will listen to him.' thought Calpurnia hopefully.

"I judge that they both would be put in the cells to cool their paws awhile. After a time, they can be released, provided that neither are so rash as to come back to my domain." said Greeneyes.

SNAP!

Everyone present heard the sharp report. Furious at being over-ruled, Tsarmina had set the sword between the door-jamb and the stone wall. With a huge burst of energy, she broke the venerable weapon, leaving the shorn off hilt in her paw. She tossed it to a guard.

"Here, throw him in the cells with this tied around his neck. If ever we do release him, others will see him and realize how merciful we can be. Take the wretches away. The sight of both of them offends my eyes."

"You offend your own eyes idjit!" shouted Calpurnia as she was dragged from the room. Marin resisted the ropes, and stood firm, meeting the eyes of Tsarmina. His voice was clear and unafraid.

"Your father made a justdecision,but yours was the right one. You should have killed me when you had the chance, for I vow that I will slay you one day."

Then he was dragged backwards and down the stairs, after Calpurnia. Of course, on the way to the cells, they fought every inch of the way. Kotir soldiers were battered, beaten and brusied by the time they got the prisoners to the cells beneath Kotir.

They threw Martin into a cell and Calpurnia into a cell next to him. They lay still for the first time since they had been captured in the woodlands outside of Kotir. Martin slept overcome by weariness. During his dreams he felt somebeast fiddling with something about his neck. Instictively, he kicked out and came awake. A Kotir guard laughed at him through the bars of the window.

"Nearly got me that time, mouse."

Martin snarled and leapt at the grate. The stoat backed off, still grinning.

"Listen here, mouse." he said."If I were you, I'd keep pretty quiet down here, otherwise you'd attract Lady Tsarmina's attention-and I don't think you'd like that. You just sit tight and behave yourself and maybe in time somebeast like Gingivere will remember your down here and have you released." he trooped off.

Martin toyed with the hilt that they had slipped around his neck when he had been asleep. He suddenly heard a scrapping noise from the wall. He turned and by the light of the torch further down the cells, he saw a block of stone fall into his cell, pushed from Calpurnia's cell. He crouched down and looked through the little hole.

"Hi," say Calpurnia, looking back at him.

"Hi yourself. How'd you do that?" he asked in amazement. Calpurnia chuckled.

"They never found the extra dagger that I keep hidden under my skirt. It's helped me quite a few times, this being the last."

"Why the last?"

"The mortar completely trashed the blade and on the second-to-last scrape, it broke. So, now I'm without a weapon and it feels so weird. anyway, they didn't come in with the bread and water that you got. Hmph,L.T.might not want me fed just yet."

"You fought fantastically. Where'd you learn the spin-trick?"

"Just came to my mind, and thanks. I taught myself you know, not having a mother or father with me for most of my life. I was either abandonded when I was very young, or they died when I was very young. Either or."

"Don't you miss them?" asked Martin, his voice low.

"Not really. I don't really remember them, they're just voices in my memories."

Suddenly shouts came from down the corridor. Calpurnia and Martin looked at each other. What NOW?

So what'd ja think? Should I continue or what?

frodoschick