So I have learnt not to upload anything until it is finished, which is why I haven't uploaded something in a while. This short was something I thought I could expand into a good long story, but as I'm currently writing a different one (same fandom) right now and have been for the last 6 months (and only up to chapter 5) I can't see myself working on this idea. At least not for a good long while. So I thought I'd write up my initial short idea and publish it. So here it is!
Hasn't been Beta'd I'm afraid. I did ask someone, but it's been over a week and they haven't got back to me =( If she does eventually I'll re-upload, but I'm afraid your going to have to put up with my own personal editing.
The carriage stopped abruptly and nearly caused Minnie to fall off her seat. She steadied herself as she pricked her ears to hear what was happening outside. And large ears they were indeed. Minnie was, in fact, a Mouse. A Mouse deserving of the capital letter as she stood 3 feet tall with fur as black as her eyes, save for her muzzle which was white as snow.
She adjusted her rather voluminous pink dress and steadied her shoulders, having been taught to always present herself with the utmost dignity no matter the situation. Though she couldn't hear exactly what was being said outside, it was obvious they had been interrupted by a band of men. As they were currently in the middle of Black Bear Forest and still a good half day's travel to the nearest settlement, it didn't take a lot of imagination to guess exactly what kind of men had interrupted their journey.
There was the sound of steel being removed from a scabbard and the pounding of hooves which caused Minnie to let out a great sigh. She didn't enjoy violence and knew things were going to get nasty. Her entourage consisted of eight mounted guards with a further two travelling inside the coach with her, one of whom was a seasoned Captain.
He was a rather tall Doberman with kind brown eyes. A large brown cloak had concealed his armour, but was now being thrown to the side so he could reach his long sword easily.
He looked at the young Mouse and gave her a nod. "Prepare yourself." He said and she nodded back as she touched the dagger through the cloth of her skirt were it lay secreted. As was stated earlier, she hated violence, but her Father had been a practical man. He was the richest merchant in the province and was damned if his daughter was going to be some simpering target for rogues and rivals trying to get to him and his riches through his children. She had had self-defence training alongside her etiquette classes. One of the biggest lessons she learned was to always keep a hidden blade on her person. She would probably only get the one shot to use it, but with the element of surprise and good timing one shot would be all she would need.
There was the sound of steel clashing against steel, the shouts of men and the screaming of horses as battle commenced outside. With no small amount of worry for the men around her, she moved to peek out the window only to be gently but firmly pushed back into her seat.
Captain Doberman had his sword fully unsheathed now and gave her a serious look. "Be careful, m'lady, I don't want to see anything happen to you" He stole a glance at the small chest sitting next to her. Or the stone, she heard mentally.
Pointedly, she opened the box to reveal a small leather pouch, lifted the pouch out of the box and promptly stuffed it down her cleavage with an expression of stubborn determination. Doberman couldn't help but grin. "Just keep yourself safe, m'lady." Then he opened the door and jumped into the fray.
Through the open door she caught a glimpse of a very large gang of rogues, they were lightly armoured and many were injured or out of commission already, but the remaining members still outnumbered the soldiers vastly. She watched as one of the guards was surrounded by four men and then clubbed over the head with a large branch causing Minnie to wince sympathetically. One stayed with the now concussed guard and produced a length of rope, while the others left to help out their comrades. She watched the Captain in his battle, encumbered by his armour while the lightly clothed rogues danced around him, weaving away from his thrusts and slashes. They laid several blows on his body, though to little avail as their short swords and daggers bounced off his cuirass, and then darted out of reach immediately lest they find themselves skewered.
So absorb in this scene was Minnie that she didn't notice the sounds and subtle movements of the carriage that would have alerted her to the presence of someone on the roof.
"Well, hello there liddle lady!" an unpleasant voice attached to an even more unpleasant looking Rat said as he swung into view from above and giving her a start.
The sounds of battle were dying down, and it was clear they had lost with most of the soldiers trussed and lying spread out along the road unconscious. At least she hoped they were just unconscious.
Her quick mind made a fast analysis of her situation. She was vastly outnumbered with only her dagger as a weapon. She had the element of surprise but it would only work the once. Her one shot. If she was lucky the men would be too shocked to immediately react and she could then make a run for it into the woods that she was completely unfamiliar with. They can't have the stone, though.
Mustering up her dignity she got up from her seat and descended from the carriage, never taking her eyes off the tall, thin Rat. He grinned down at her and let his eyes rove up and down her body in a way that made her feel violated despite not laying a finger upon her person.
She stood away from the carriage, her back straight and looked up at the tall rat.
With a flourish he evidently felt was charming, he removed his hat and bowed. "M'lady." He began, "my humblest apologies for what has happened to your men," sounding anything but, "but I fear we were unfairly attacked." There was a resounding snigger from the assembled rogues.
"Really." She answered flatly, still keeping her decorum. Always dignity, always polite she thought. Just one shot.
"Really." The Rat continued in his highly theatrical tone of voice. "We're just a band of poor travellers in need of charity. You look like the charitable type. If you would be so kind as to offer us a donation we'll be on our way."
"From the amount o' guards you 'ad it ought'a be a good un." One of the other rogues, a rather scruffy looking mongrel, piped up.
They're just common thieves, she thought. Bit of bad luck but what's a few jewels for the sake of the stone. She started to remove her jewellery as the rogues started pilfering the coach and the defeated guards for anything of worth.
The mongrel found the chest that had held the pouch just moments before and eagerly broke in, only to be disappointed in the lack of contents within. It was then placed in front of her and all the jewels, trinkets and coins collected were stored inside.
Once satisfied with their horde the Rat, who was clearly the leader of the ragged band, bent down and closed the lid and hefted the now bulging chest.
"Well, if that's all." Minnie said stiffly.
With a leer the Rat looked her up and down again. "Oh, I think you might still have a bit more to offer, Ha Cha Cha!"
If Minnie had been a human and not covered in fur, she would have visibly paled. She certainly found it nearly impossible to keep the disgust from her face. She could feel the pressure of her dagger against her thigh and started to tense, readying herself so she could quickly pull it free.
A loud smack and the yelp of a hound to her left as he went flying through the air caused the company to turn around in surprise. Another dog went flying in the confusion and a very large, very broad black Cat pounced into view. He righted himself quickly and grabbed two more of the rogues by their heads and smashed them together.
By this time the rest of the band had managed to overcome their shock and were readying their weapons again. A broad, overly toothy grin split the feline's white muzzle and he reached back behind him to pull out a claymore. He bellowed a deep and throaty yowl and displayed a set of quite sizeable and very pointed teeth.
A moment's hesitation spread through the rogues, but a moment was all it took. The cat charged into them and had another knocked out before his adversaries managed remember forward gear.
Steel clashed against steel as the outlaws engaged each other. The Rat watched the fight with an air of nervousness, and perhaps rightly so. The Cat was outnumbered, but seemed to be holding himself very well, displaying a grace and flexibility that Minnie was quite certain someone of his girth and wielding such a large and awkward weapon shouldn't be able to achieve.
This was her chance, she thought. The Rat was distracted, clearly weighing up his options as to whether he'd join his companions, or flee. Minnie felt she should help him along with his decision. Her one shot.
She pulled the dagger from its hiding place and grabbed the Rat by the back of his shirt, pulling him down backwards towards herself in one deft movement and taking him completely by surprise. She pressed the dagger into the small of his back and whispered firmly into one ear, "Run."
"Right." He swallowed heavily. Letting him go he fell to the ground where he scrabbled along in the dirt before he managed to right himself and ran off.
His remaining men watched him flee. That is, other than two weasels who had jumped onto the back of the feline, presumably with the thought that they could pin him down. Having discovered the hard way that this wasn't possible with just the two of them, they were now holding on for dear life as the hefty Cat bucked and slammed them into nearby trees. On this last assault one of them finally let go, having been knocked unconscious by the force of the impact, and fell limp to the ground. This freed the feline enough to wrench the other off, and tossed him into his mates who were standing in a rather worried and confused muddle in front of him.
With the abandonment of their leader combined with this final assault the company's moral fled, followed shortly by the company itself. Or at least those of the band that could still flee.
The Mouse and the Cat watched them run and the feline threw back his large, shaggy head and bellowed a deep laugh while holding onto his rather generous stomach. Minnie couldn't help but smile herself at the retreating figures before turning to her unexpected benefactor.
"Oh Sir, you were wonderful. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up."
The Cat turned to her grinning and nodded at her dagger. "Yah did well yerself! Old Mortimer took off faster'n a turkey 'round Chrissymas!" Minnie smiled politely to that and nodded rather hesitantly as her benefactor continued "He's a pushover, though. Talks big and far too much if'n you be ask'n me. Though," and here his already gruff voice deepened as his eye's travelled down to the chest now filled with assorted treasures. "'e can be quite useful."
Something in his grin changed and caused Minnie to take a step back while clutching her dagger tighter. His yellow eyes met hers again, the pupils mere vertical slits in the sun. Cocking his head to the side with an air of arrogant smugness he stepped forward himself and raised his sword towards her.
"Now, we won't be tryin' nothin' silly, will we? I's ain't da Rat and it seems tah me, you already played your card." All congeniality fell from his face as he took another step and continued, "Where's da stone?" he asked. His deep voice was practically a growl and sent chills up her spine.
She forced herself to stand her ground and looked him defiantly in the eye. "What stone would that be?" He laughed again and she pointed at the chest with her dagger. "I'm sure there's plenty in there for you."
"Oh, I'm sure dere is! All dat loot'll be mighty helpful. But I want dat stone!"
"I don't know what you're talking about." She insisted.
Baring his fangs he pointed his sword at her. "Don't you be play'n any games now. I want da stone!" he gave her a leer, "Shall I frisk ya for it, me'be?"
Visible disgust distorted her face. Why? Why did every man she met today have to be perverted? At least, what was his name? Mortimer? He at least had been a fellow rodent.
Just then there was a groan from the ground. It was Captain Doberman, beginning to awaken from his concussion. Quick as anything the feline grabbed him with one meaty paw and hefted him up like a rag doll with the edge of his blade resting on his throat. "Or maybe I'll just slit his throat."
"No!" Minnie was suddenly more frightened then she had been previously. She couldn't give up the stone but... "What makes you think I have this... stone of yours? What do you want with a stone?"
"Dat's my business what I want it for." He answered. "Give it to me."
There was no doubt in Minnie's mind that he would kill the Captain. It was one thing to allow the soldiers to fight to protect the stone, it was another to see someone maliciously slaughtered. With a heavy heart, she made a decision.
Slowly, and with much trepidation, she reached down the front of her dress very much aware of how that must look as well as his obnoxious smirk as she did so. She pulled out the leather pouch and held it out to the feline.
His eyes watched her movements hungrily, and then tossed the Captain aside as he claimed his prize. Quickly he undid the tie and poured the contents out into his paw.
The stone was small, perfectly spherical and pulsed slightly from some mystical power secreted internally. "So small." He murmured to himself.
"You don't know how to use it." Minnie stated. She had rushed over to the Captains side when he fell and was looking up at the Cat from a kneeling position. "It's useless to you."
He turned his attention back to her and grinned, tossing the stone into the air and catching it again before depositing it back into its pouch. "An' now it's useless tah you." He bent and picked up the chest to the sound of groans from the rousing soldiers and bandits. "Well, dis 'as bin fun. You ever in dese woods again, be sure to say 'Hi!' Har, har, har!" Laughing uproariously, he turned and dashed away into the trees.
That was probably the worst part, Minnie reflected. The laughter. If he'd left with some decorum, well she'd still be angry but she wouldn't be internally fuming!
Thankfully, though nobody could say they were unscathed no one was killed. Minnie tended to what wounds she could and insisted that those with the worst injuries rode in the carriage. There were still a few bandits that had been unable to get away with their associates that were rounded and tied up.
She looked around at her companions and couldn't help contemplating; her guards had been knocked out by a band of lightly armoured bandits, and those same bandits had been beaten by a solitary Cat.
Suffice it to say, no one was particularly looking forward to reaching their destination.
All feedback is welcome! Even if it's negative (so long as you provide reasons as to why/ suggestions on how to improve)