Part One: The Army

Chapter One: Sold

Swike the rat glared at her father. She would have loved to spit on him or claw his eyes out, but he was on the other side of the room and the paws which held her tensed body were too strong to break away from.

"How could you... What did... Why?" she screamed.

Swike's father wasn't looking at her. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on the jewel in his paws which he was turning over and over. "Oh Swike," he said, "there's no need for you to be like this. Really, you should be thanking me. You could go far with your talents."

"Go far? Go far? You sold me!" Swike strained forward, but it was no use. She wasn't going to get any closer than this to her father. "I hate you!" she yelled.

Her father looked at her face and then away again. Was that fear that she'd seen in his eyes? Well, he should be scared. If only he knew the things she would do if she could get at him...

"Tut tut tut. That's no way for a daughter to address her father." Swike turned her head quickly to see who had spoken. Standing in the open doorway was a ferret, dressed in the finest clothes she had ever seen on anybeast. He wore cloth of various shades of blue and green, and from his shoulders fell a long cape of a deep forest green. He had on no jewelry, but he was visibly armed with two knives and a sword. "You should apologize," he said calmly.

For a moment, Swike was confused. Apologize? What was he talking about? Upon realizing that he meant for her to apologize to her father though, she grew angrier. "I will not!" she said defiantly. Then, turning to her father again, she said, "You've made a slave of me! I want to kill you!"

"Not a slave," said the ferret. Swike gulped. Was this who she'd been sold to? It must be from the way he was acting. She eyed him nervously.

"He's right, you know," said her father hesitantly. "You're not going to be a slave. Just, he paid good money for you. With your talents, well, he'd have to."

"Oh really?" said the ferret, striding forward with a smirk on his face. "I didn't have to pay for her, you worm. I could have very easily stolen her." He slammed a knife into the table right beside the rat's paws. Swike's father shrank back in fear, whimpering. The ferret laughed, knocking over the small box of jewels and gold. Pieces went rolling in all directions, many of them spilling off the table. Swike's father was petrified, not daring to move to gather up his gold. Still, his eyes quickly scanned the scene. Swike, noticing, was disgusted. She knew exactly what he was doing. He was watching all of the jewels and coins, memorizing where they rolled so that he'd be able to find them all later. Then, an idea occurred to her.

"You're right," she said daringly. "You didn't have to buy me. In fact, you still don't. You could take back all of your gold right now. That lug wouldn't be able to stop you." She watched happily as her father squirmed in his chair, his face a picture of horror.

The ferret stayed still for a moment before pulling his knife from the table and turning to Swike. He stared steadily into her eyes until she had no choice but to look away. "You have spirit," he said. "That's good." He began to walk toward her. "I'm not going to take the money back though. There's much more where that came from. It means nothing to me." He now stood right before her. Swike pulled back, not wishing to be near him. She couldn't get away though. The two beasts holding her in an iron grip were two of her very own brothers. She didn't know where her eldest brother was right now, but she really didn't care.

The ferret leaned his head closer. He seemed to be examining her, or maybe testing her. Swike held her breath, all of a sudden getting the crazy idea that if she breathed on him, he might become angry. She let out a slow breath as he stood up straight again. "Are those your things?" he asked, motioning toward a stuffed satchel on the floor.

"Yes," she said.

The ferret waved three weasels into the room that had been standing outside. "You, carry that," he instructed one of the weasels, indicating the satchel. "And you two, escort her."

Before she could do or say anything, Swike's shoulders were grabbed by the two strong weasels, she was ripped from her brother's hold, and was sped from the room and house. Feeling slightly numb, she made one fleeting look back. It would be the last she ever saw of her home.

Swike sat in the tent, clutching her satchel to herself, her eyes darting around at the slightest sound or smallest movement. She had been given a short explanation before being shoved into the tent. Including herself, three beasts lived here. Any and all of them were at the beck and call of Lord Koron. That's who she now knew the ferret to be. He was the warlord of a great army, the equal of which did not exist. Beside Lord Koron's tent, this was believed to be the most important in the whole camp.

She had seen the vixen right away. Naysta was her name. She was a seer who had come stumbling into Lord Koron's camp sometime last season, and due to her predictions, had reserved for herself a place of importance and honor. Swike didn't think much of her. She wore bright, flowy red and yellow cloths and enough jewelry to sink a ship. All of her bracelets and necklaces made so much noise that she wouldn't be able to sneak up on a tree without it knowing.

Her other companion had been hard to spot at first. Raynat the assassin. Finally, she recognized him as the bundle of black cloth in the corner. His large cloak and hood completely covered him, making it impossible to tell what type of beast he was. Since entering the tent, Swike hadn't seen him move or heard him make any noise. He could have been asleep, but she didn't approach him to find out.

Then there was her. She had already heard the whispers of her name and title through the camp on her way to the tent. Swike the rat, spy and master of disguise.

Swike shivered where she sat. She was afraid to move, but the cold was getting to her. Slowly, she opened her satchel and took out her old, tattered blanket. She pulled it tightly around herself, massaging her arms. They hurt! The weasels hadn't been rough with her on the way to the camp, believing that she wouldn't dare try to run away, but her brothers had been merciless. It hadn't been the first time for them to hold her like that though. On countless occasions, two of her brothers had held her while the third, usually the second oldest, beat her up. It had been the bullying of her brothers that had led her to becoming what she was. She had always been small for a rat, and despite all of her efforts, she had never gained much in the way of strength. Stealth and disguise had been right up her alley though. She had spent hours off by herself every day, discovering the uses of various herbs and plants. Playing on her brother's superstitions, the first thing she ever disguised herself as was a ghost. It had been all she could do to not burst out laughing at their terrified screams as she chased them all the way home. She spent seasons practicing her disguises secretly, every once in a while using them to scare or torment her brothers. She became quite good at them, successfully mastering the look of a stoat, mouse, squirrel, and another rat. Then, that fateful day had come.

Swike had tried on the ghost disguise again, it being a long time since she'd used it. She appeared to her brothers, as if out of nowhere. She delighted in the looks of their faces going ashen. To add to her performance, she spoke out in a deep voice which caused the hairs to stand up on her brother's necks. It was a dark and dreary day, and as she spoke, lightning flashed overhead. Her brothers called out in fright and one of them cringed on the ground, asking for her to not harm them. As if on cue, rain began to come down in big, fat drops. At first it startled Swike, but she didn't let it show. Thinking that this could add to her power over her brothers, she glided toward them, claiming to have called the rain. As she got close, one of her brother looked up into her face. He looked confused for a moment, and then recognition dawned on him.

"Swike?" he had yelled.

It was all over then. Swike had never been around anybeast when it had rained when she was in disguise, and therefore had not known that the rain smeared her disguises. She still had bruises from that day. Now, it was less than half a season later, and her father and brothers, knowing of her talent, had sold her off.

"Let me through!" yelled somebeast from outside the tent.

"No entry," barked the guard. "Naysta is Lord Koron's personal seer and will give advice to nobeast else."

"I don't care about her," urged the soldier. "I need to see my sister! I need to see Swike."

Swike perked up her ears. She hadn't been paying attention to the voices before, lost in her thoughts, but at her name, she recognized the voice. It was Swifcut, her oldest brother. Her heart skipped a beat. She had always hoped that he cared for her, but she hadn't believed it. While he had continued to help in her beatings, he hadn't been the one actually throwing the punches in ages. She had been very grateful for this, for, from watching the tumbles that her brothers had, she could see that Swifcut was the strongest. Not only had he not hurt her in a long time though. He had also caught her eye time and time again, smiling. She had never understood why, but by imagining that he at least was on her side, she had never run away.

Swike jumped up from where she sat and ran over to the tent flap.

"Either leave now or I'll kick you back to where you belong," the guard bellowed.

"No," said Swike. "He is my brother."

The guard looked taken aback, but he didn't know yet what Swike was like. He knew from experience that nobeast ever dared upset Naysta or Raynat, so he stood aside. Swifcut followed Swike into the tent.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I joined the army," he showed her the green strip of cloth tied around his left paw. Swike looked down at her own. At least he wore his willingly. Swifcut's face creased with worry. "That's not right what father did," he said.

Swike couldn't bear it any longer. The cruelness of everything that had happened to her that day weighed down on her. With a silent sob, she draped her arms around her brother. At first, he went stiff, but then he held her and let her cry.

"It's going to be alright," he whispered. "I'm here now."