Hello dear readers, how good to see you. This is a one-shot written for fan-like-irving, who earned himself a one-shot by being the first reviewer on one of my chapters of my fanfiction Warrior from the North. I really hope you like it. The song is Over you, by Miranda Lambert, and the song was written by her and her husband, Blake Shelton about Blake's brother, who died some years ago. I thought it was a fitting song for what fan-like-irving requested. I changed it a little bit from what he requested, but I hope it's still ok.
disclaimer: I own neither Martin, nor the song. Those go to Brian Jacques and Miranda Lambert respectively.
Over you
"The weatherman said, it's gonna snow. By now I should be used to the cold."
Martin looked over his shoulder as he climbed up onto the wall top, facing towards Noonvale. No one was behind him. He took a shaky breath and then began to speak softly.
"Hello Rose. It's been *1twelve seasons since your death. I . . . I miss you. Skipper thinks it may rain later . . . won't make a difference to me. I'm already cold."
"Mid-February shouldn't be so scary. It was only December, but I still remember the presents, the tree, you, and me."
*2"It's the end of summer again Rose, and I don't know why, but that scares me. It's almost winter again, and I can't help but imagine what it would have been like if you hadn't . . . if we had been able to celebrate midwinter together." Martin clutched the Rose he held in his paw, closing his eyes.
"I would have given you a gift, maybe carved you a little eagle charm and strung it on a cord like a necklace. We would have laughed about it, because it's the way you saved me."
"But you went away. How dare you? I'll miss you . . . They say I'll be okay, but I'm not going to ever get over you"
"But we never got the chance, did we Rose? You died. You died because I made a stupid mistake, I didn't react fast enough. Why Rose, why did you fight Badrang? I miss you . . ." Martin took a shuddering breath as the moon rose.
"I remember Grumm telling me it would all be fine. Truthfully he should have been more miserable than I was, but he stayed strong. It's just . . . I never got over you Rose. I never will I think."
"Living alone, here in this place, I think of you and I'm not afraid."
Martin looked out over Mossflower, and for a moment a wild longing swept over him. "I'm all alone Rose. I might be surrounded by friends, but none of them knew you. I left Noonvale to protect Brome and the others, because I am a Warrior Rose. That's the only reason I left. It's the reason I can keep my head up high when I think about you Rose, because I'm still taking care of them, if just by staying away."
"Your favorite records make me feel better, 'cause you sing along to every song. I know you didn't mean to give them to me."
"I remember your voice Rose. Every time someone is singing a song, I can't help but wonder how your voice would sound." Martin laughed faintly.
"Polleekin warned us, and when we left, you were the one who thanked her. You sang that beautiful song. It went like this I think."
Martin began to sing softly.
*3 "Goodbye, my friend, and thank you, thank you, thank you,
It makes me sad to leave you upon this summer day.
Don't shed a tear or cry now. Goodbye now, goodbye now.
I'm sure I'll see you somehow, if I pass by this way,
For seasons don't foretell
Who must stay or say farewell,
And I must find out what lies beyond this place.
But I know deep in my heart
We are never far apart
While I have a mem'ry of your smiling face.
Goodbye, my friend, and thank you, thank you, thank you,
Your kindness guides me ever as I go on my way."
"No matter what Rose, when I hear that song, you are singing it. I know you didn't mean it to linger like that, and I know you never meant to hurt me. It's fine. I need to remember you somehow."
"But you went away! How dare you? I miss you . . . They say I'll be okay, but I'm not going to ever get over you."
Martin climbed up onto the battlements, and sat there as the first raindrops began to fall.
"No matter how I think about it Rose, you're still gone. My mind wishes you were still alive, but I know you aren't here. If you were, you'd answer. You would have stopped me from leaving Noonvale, and I'd be there with you, and Brome, and Grumm. We'd probably be celebrating the Battle of Marshank."
Martin stood and suddenly he was yelling. "But you're not here! And I don't care what they say, I won't move on, and I can't move on! I still . . . I can't let you go."
"It really sinks in, you know, when you see it in stone."
Martin sat back down, but he was still shaking from anger as the tears started to come, slowly.
"I don't think it sunk in that you were dead until I saw . . . Grumm showed me your tombstone. He carved it himself Rose, and it was beautiful. But it was solid, and it meant that you were really, truly, dead."
"'Cause you went away . . . How dare you? I miss you . . . They say I'll be ok, but I'm not going to ever get over you."
Martin climbed off of the battlements and stood with his back to Noonvale as he kept talking. "It's been a long time Rose. I'm beginning to forget your face, the way you spoke. I can remember your singing, and I remember how kind you were, but Rose . . . It's fading."
He began to walk slowly towards the steps leading off of the wall. "If Brome can move on, I'm happy for him. He was young, and he deserves a good life. But no matter what they tell me, no matter what they say Rose, I am never going to forget you, never going to get over you. I can't, because you are a part of me, and if I forgot you, I would forget myself."
Martin walked down the steps as the rain became more furious. "I might not get over you Rose, but I need to stay here. I can't go to Noonvale, no matter how much I might wish to. I have new friends here Rose, and they are helping me. Gonff and Columbine are happy, and their little Gonflet is a rascal almost as bad as his father."
Martin stopped a few feet from the door into Redwall, turning back in the direction of Noonvale, and closing his eyes. "I promise Rose, you will be kept in my heart forever. I will never let go of you."
Martin, clutching his rose in hand, and Rose in his heart, opened the door, and slipped into the welcoming atmosphere of Redwall, where Gonff and Columbine were waiting. New friends who smiled at him, and he smiled back, but he was thinking of old friends, some long gone, but some just very far away.
And others nearer than he thought.
I sort of tied this to my Warrior from the North fanfiction, but it's not necessary to read either of them to understand the other.
1. thats three years, but they don't really use YEARS in Redwall, so I did twelve seasons.
2. it was summer during the Battle of Marshank, so I'm guessing that maybe Rose died near the end of summer.
3. I remembered this song from the book, and thought it would be fitting to put it in. It definitely suits the story.
REVIEW PLEASE. 3