Right. I am not finished this ( As you can tell.) Which means I am hoping for some comments, and to be abe to edit this again when I get I get out of my writer's block. Enjoy! Do not forget to read and reveiw, thanks.
1
T'was the Autumn Of The Early Snow in mossflower. Abbey creatures were set upon harvesting the ripened fruits and vegetables in the gardens and orchards before the winter, which was coming faster than expected. Dibbuns were playing or sneaking the odd strawberry into their mouths as they helped with the harvesting. Small patches of sparkling white snow still lay scattered on the ground, and the abbey pond glazed over with ice. The Namingday feast was to be held at lunch, there was no day off for the frost would kill the fruits before all could be harvested. Aiden, the abbey recorder, was dressed up in three layers of clothes, which made his habit hitch up as he yawned and then walked over to a strawberry patch to pick the juicy red berries. Frost melted slowly away, leaving the battlements and paths less treacherous. Far out into Mossflower, other creatures were getting ready for this early winter. The Matthias and Methuselah bells tolled merrily in the distance, a friendly welcome to any beast around.
Cheeka and Jerkins were picking juicy red and green apples from the orchards. Their coats patched with white in preparation for winter. Cheeka had blue eyes and one ear was a little larger than the other, but that doesn't affect her at all, in fact, she loved it that way. She was a motherly figure who often would snap, but she does enjoy the antics of dibbuns. Her long legs stretched out, waking up after being in one position for a while. She would often hum an odd tune or two, her voice made the bells sound like the searing sound of thin ice. She and jerkins had both come from the mountain Salamandastron with permission of their badger lord, Lord Windfur the massive.
Jerkins had emerald green eyes, straight ears and your typical hare attitude and manners. He often loves to play with dibbuns, or any young one for that matter. He loves riddles, puzzles and any type of song although he is quite bad at singing; he makes up for it in appetite.
Jerkins and Cheeka have a lot of history behind them. They first entered the abbey three seasons ago, wearing particularly odd garments. Funnily shaped uniforms with thick, brown sashes around their waist and over their shoulders. They claimed to have gotten the peculiar clothing from a kind lone shrew who happened to see them passing by with tattered, mucky clothing. Cheeka waved to Malfor, the abbey warrior and then turned back to her work. Jerkins however, was sniping a few bright red apples from the basket that Cheeka had lain on the ground beside her. She cuffed his ear lightly and twitched her long white whiskers " Stop that or you'll eat the orchards whole, Jerkins" the hare dropped a half eaten core on the cold ground and looked at Cheeka with a picture of injured innocence "Ow could you say that marm? I aint been doing nothing but picking apples from trees and rubbing my sore, cold ears wot" he said. Cheeka sighed as she picked another apple; this one had a funny shape to it, and dropped it into the basket.
Malfor was the descendant of the famous Martin the warrior, Matthias, Mattimeo, Martin and others. He was a strong, sturdy mouse that had beady black eyes and a love for Strawberry fizz. He often helped around the abbey whenever he could, if not that, he would be training groups of volunteers for fighting practices. Wearing a cloak over his habit and warming his paws with his breath, he said his hi's to the abbey creatures, before hop-skipping down the orchards to watch over Aiden, who was trying to pick strawberries while a group of three thieving dibbuns where snatching a few strawberries out of a woven reed basket every time the poor recorder turned his back to them. He scooped them up and scolded them briefly while he brought them inside
".. Now be nice little ones and go help poor Spurrs prepare for the feast, I am sure he will be glad to have some taste-testers in the cellars" he finished as he set them down near the stairs that lead to the cellars. He chuckled as the trio scampered up the stairs calling " I wanna sttarwbery cordjiol" or " I woant appol cioder" and arguing amongst themselves in their little voices. The kind warrior mouse padded swiftly outside again to help out with the harvesting. He came across Cheeka and jerkins, helping them out a bit before returning to the strawberry patches to help Aiden who was getting quite cold. Getting a basket from the area, he started picking berries and conversing " Our abbess chose a fitting name for the season. He had packed up two baskets full of strawberries before smiling " I have got to go find more work for me to do" he said. Aiden chuckled " Even though I am young myself, I still don't have as much energy as you" he replied as he got back to the berries.
Aiden was a middle-aged mouse with long legs and short brown/black fur. His eyes had a tint of green in them. His long, white whiskers twitched in the cold air as he collected juicy red strawberries from the little bushes they grew in. Often, Aiden is found sitting in the sand on the bank of the abbey pond under the now rare sun, writing entries or reading past writings, or even helping in the kitchen. Aiden loved to write and cook. He loves dibbuns, especially the mischievous ones. His habit hitched up again over the layers of garments that were keeping him warm. He shivered briefly and folded his paws in his habit sleeves. What cold weather this was he thought as he hurried his baskets into the warm abbey building. Aiden decided to help in the kitchens, it was far too cold outside for him and his thin fur.
The wind howled a wild dirge as it whistled through the ice cavern and ruffled the furs of many vermin as they snored uproarisly. Rykas was awake, stepping purposely on tails, paws and a few backs as he woke them. His snow-white fur was almost invisible amongst the others. His pure green eyes narrowed into slits as he trampled about, calling out orders to his awakening horde. Rykas had a huge reputation in the east and north, pelts bristled and voices whined in fear at his name: Rykas The Terrible. He was terribly cruel, bad tempered and very strong and swift. Every-beast knows that the Arctic fox was the smartest of all the fox species in all the lands; no beast was smarter than him. Rykas had heard about redwall, the abbey full of peaceful creatures, he also knew that they would fight to the death to save the abbey. Many, have tried to conquer the place, none achieved their goal. Rykas will.
He trod on the tails of two large brown and grey stoats as he headed down a lengthy glittering tunnel of ice and into a vast chamber where he had his prison cells. They were made of hard wood instead of ice so that prisoners couldn't escape. Just then, a short, brown furred ferret paced down the tunnel towards rykas, he nervously coughed to gain his lord's attention " err. Lord, We ave no water ta drink" he said. Rykas whirled upon the dumb creature, his eyes blazing as he pointed out the completely obvious" What do you think we live in Blockhead? A desert? If'n you want water then drink it from the stupid wall you idiot, we live in an ice cavern, and ice is made of something, oh water!!!. Think fool, think!" he snarled. All these stupid creatures had to do was grab a paw full of ice and melt it, what dim-witted fools they were. The ferret bobbed his head violently " O-okay, sorry your lordship. I- I'll go now" he said. A few seconds later, he was kicking up ice and snow as he hurried to get away from the unpredictable Fox. Continuing towards the cells with no further interruptions, Rykas peered into a carved eye-hole in the wall of one of the cells. He watched the pitiful figure of a sparrow sleeping in the corner of the cell. Slipping a small sour green apple under the door to the cell, Rykas spat on the ground and then walked away through the tunnel towards a different cave where he usually got to eat in peace.
Pawing at the four precious rings that he had taken out from a hidden box on a shelf made of ice behind a wall hanging that was marked with red and white, he sat silently at the head chair at a large, red and gold table. While growling out instructions for the vermin cooks, he was offered a beaker of blackberry wine, which was one of his favourites. As he finished off his drink, a score of cooks brought in a steaming meal of veritable foods. A stoat passed him a bowl of stew, though he could not identify it, he ate it anyway. His paws found the four rings he had in a hidden shelf underneath the table, and took them out to be looked at.
Inside the cell, the Sparrow prisoner cackled madly as she ate the apple ravenously, her brown eyes glowing " Icetalon kille whiteworm quicksoon, fly high up, find high king, killlleee!" she said. When she finished she went back to a corner where she drew her escape plans in the wall. Still cackling to herself, she tucked her wings over her body to protect herself from the cold, and slowly drifted to sleep.
Aiden was down in the kitchens. He was inventing his own little experiment called: Aiden's Apple, strawberry and blueberry crumble. He first greased a pan with vegetable oil so that it would not make his crumble stick. He then rolled a very thin piece of dough, which he spread out on the pan. He then took out a small bowl of mixed nuts and oats and then took out the dough and spread half the mixture on it. It was to be the crumbly part of his invention. Putting the crumbly side down back on the pan, Aiden set to mixing various berries and fruits into a mixing bowl. Apples, strawberries and blueberries were more significant by far in the filling. He poured some sweet syrup into the mixture and stirred it enthusiastically, calling out excitedly sometimes like a spoiled dibbun who had just got to stay up past his bedtime. Waving to a mole that was by an oven, he called out to him " Rownser, would you mind opening that oven fer me?" Rownser was a short, dark brown mole with unusually short digging claws. Rownser nodded and opened the oven door, speaking in the confusing mole language " Ho hurr. Sure oi wold, watcher makin Aydenn?" he asked. Aiden poured the fruit and berry mixture onto the pastry before he answered " Oh, jus a little concoction, you'll find out when I reveal it at the feast" he said as he added the top layer of crumble to the food before he took it up in his large hands and delivered it to the oven. He then dashed around to help others with the feast preparations.
The feast was a grand event by far, but one in which they held in the great hall for the cold was too much for the dibbuns and elders at night. The wonderful scent of food came wafting out of the kitchens as the courses were being put onto trolleys and last minute preparations were being made to a few long cooking deserts. Jerkins banged his paws on the tabletop excitedly, chattering away with the general bustle of abbey beasts pouring in to sit at a table.
Abbess Stella silenced the noisy crowd by clearing her throat and yelling
" Any beast not silent when I stop talking will be banished from the feast!" A few dibbuns whined quietly and were soon completely silent. Every beast sat staring at the abbess squirrel with shock at the cruelty of the creature. She could not hold it for anymore than three seconds, bursting out in laughter, the abbess resumed speaking
" He,hee,haha, sorry , I just couldn't help myself hehe, no, no one will be banished this evening" Sighs of relief were plain among the abbey creatures and huffed out dramatically by dibbuns.
"Anyways, Cheeka. I have heard you had a lovely voice am I right?"
"Course mother Abbess" the formal hare answered.
" Then how would you like to sing us a song to start off the feast?"
" I'd love to, have you ever heard of the song ' From dawn till dusk'? Some of the abbey creatures cast excited glances at each other.
" Yes, I have. Good song it is"
" Well Then, here I go" Cheeka immediately burst into song
"The pretty bird sings from dawn till dusk
Winging through trees from night till day
O'er the hills, valleys and dales
To land upon tree branches when the blowing wind wails
The cat goes rumbling from dawn till dusk
Catching mice and rats from night till day
Avoiding water with all its might
In order to stay dry and make a pretty nice sight
But the jolly hare eats from dawn till dusk
And sleeps from night till day
And when it wakes up it says happily
'When's my jolly ol meal? I think I shall have a nice apple-y'"
The resounding applause and whistling made the crystal glasses sitting on the tables rattle and make clinking noises as they bumped against each other in the whole-hearted cheering, the noises boomed around the great hall like a rumbling badger yelling in the hollow stone volcano, salamandastron.
Squeaking wheels and overflowing smells announced the arrival of the food. Jerkins practically danced on his chair with joy, yelling out to the cooks
"What ho me chaps and chappities! Settle yon fruitcake over here by this starvin hare wot, wot! Smells absolutely wonderiffical. Just slip that plate of scones o'er here sah, thankies. Where are you going with that strawberry fizz sah? I say, wot a nice little slice of cheese you have there, mind if I have some?"