Chapter 1
The Accident...
It was a blustery spring day in the middle of Mossflower Wood. The Blue jays and Sparrows where singing wonderfully sweet songs and the frogs where croaking by the pond. All of the creatures were undoubtedly content as the sunlight filtered through the tree tops, falling on their dwellings. It seemed as though the most light surrounded a small hut in a woodland village near the southern shore. If you listened very carefully, you could just audibly make out the voice of a father singing to his radiant daughter.
The Blossoms in the trees,
So beautiful this morn,
Reflect your sparkling eyes.
And when the night does come,
I'll see you in the stars,
And will not be afraid
Giggling, Blossom bustled around the kitchen avoiding her father's smiling, kind face. One glance in the mirror confirmed the truth – a rosy colored blush was spreading from her nose to her ear tips. Holding back laughter, her father continued to serenade her.
"Father, why do you persist in embarrassing me?" She finally turned to face her soft hearted, warrior father.
Hardly glancing up from the bow he was re-stringing, her father shook his head. "You used to love that song." He smiled, looking at his daughter. "What happened; too old and mature for my song?"
Turning away to stir the soup over the hearth, Blossom sighed, "No. Well, yes."
"That's what I thought."
Corinthian looked around the hut where his family lived. After the death of his wife many seasons before, Blossom instantly went from dibbon-hood to adulthood, taking on the role of cook, seamstress, and housemaid. He smiled. His young son Marcus definitely didn't make anything easier for his sister.
His contentment was obvious as he reclined in his favorite chair. Lifting his paw against the bright light washing in the window, he gazed across the dunes to the sparkling ocean a league away. Closing his eyes, he dozed off in the warmth of the summer sun. Just as he was dreaming of the plentiful harvest they would be bringing in that fall, the otter guard, rushed into the hut, muttering incomprehensibly, his normally calm eyes wild and unfocused.
Corinthian, aroused from his peaceful slumber, leapt out of his chair and took Amarillo by the shoulders. "What my friend, what is it?"
Blossom stood stock still in front of the fire, her hand covering her mouth, her eyes wide. Never before had a guard appeared this way on their doorstep.
Taking a deep, shuddery breath, Amarillo tried to regain his composure and began the tale. "A group of our young woodlanders was playing near the quarry. On a dare one of them climbed up to the highest position on the boulders." The Guard closed his eyes against the sight, and continued. "A loose stone gave way, sending the pile of rocks to the floor of the quarry."
Corinthian stiffened as Amarillo paused. He urged the otter to continue.
A tear running across his cheek and dropping to the floor, Amarillo nodded, "There was a young mouse trapped under the rocks. Corinthian, it's Marcus! I fear for his life!"
Blossom nearly collapsed on the floor, holding the back of a chair for support as Corinthian sprinted down the path to the quarry. Gathering her courage, the mousemaid followed swiftly, afraid of what she would find.