The first warm day of the year!
Mattimeo corrected himself. It was the first comparatively warm day of the year. It was cold enough yet that there were still copious amounts of snow draped all over everything, and ice still coated the abbey pond, but it was no longer so cold that just stepping outside was about to freeze one's whiskers off.
It hadn't been an easy winter, that was for sure. Not a living creature had lived through a colder winter. More blizzards than anyone could remember in a single season, ice coating everything so that going outside was impossible, and danger in the form of tree limbs weighted so heavily by ice that they would come crashing down without warning. It had been rough on the dibbuns, not being able to go outside and run off steam. He naively thought that his own son, not old enough to have experienced playing outside like most of the other dibbuns, wouldn't know the difference. The first time he had to rescue the tiny mouse from a snowdrift outside the door to Great Hall, he changed his mind.
Thank goodness for today,then. Mattimeo, wrapped up in a cloak, was standing outside near the abbey pond with the other abbey dwellers; after such a long winter cooped up inside, now that the first signs of spring were showing no one wanted to stay long indoors. Snowball fights, races, and skating on the frozen pond were all under way, and even some of the older abbey beasts were participating. Mattimeo couldn't help but smile at his own parents as he watched them spinning on the frozen lake, laughing like dibbuns themselves. It was good to see them feeling young.
He turned his eyes again to his son, Martin, who was absolutely enraptured by the snow; the baby mouse would try to run through it but trip, then get up and laugh at himself, then do it again until he was out of breath. He took to peacefully exploring the edge of the pond, which was frozen as solid as the walls of the abbey itself.
"I hope you're not thinking of setting up a picnic out here."
Mattimeo turned to smile at his wife, Tess. She had a mug of warmed October Ale in her paw, which she handed to him.
"Thank you, Tess," he said, the steam wrapping itself around his ears and whiskers. "No picnics today, I'm afraid, but don't tell Basil."
"Poor Basil," Tess sighed. "He's very disappointed Sister May won't let him out here today."
"He does need to get over that cold," Mattimeo said matter-of-factly. "He'd probably still contract pneumonia out here, even though he insists that he has an iron constitution and that he's marched in colder weather than this."
Tess chuckled dryly. "Well, he isn't in the regiment anymore, and to be honest he isn't young anymore. It's a good thing Cheek decided to stay in with him and keep him company."
"Mama, look!" Martin beamed and shook a stiffened reed at her.
"Please be careful, dear," Tess winced.
"He'll be fine," Mattimeo assured her. "Oh dear, I sure hope my dad is though!"
Matthias had tripped and fallen flat on his tail on the ice, much to the amusement of onlookers. Cornflower was useless helping him up she was laughing so hard herself!
"Still working on that coordination, Matthias?" Constance the badger called from the steps of the Gatehouse. Matthias shot her a stern look, which made the badger laugh even more.
"Ouch," Matthias winced, rubbing his tail as he limped off the ice to join Matthias and Tess. "It isn't that funny." He frowned at Mattimeo.
"Sorry, Father!" Mattimeo laughed, trying to look serious.
Matthias reached over and ruffled Mattimeo's ears. "I don't think much of your sense of humor, son!" he relented with a smile. "Have some respect for your elders, why don't you?"
Jess the squirrel dropped down beside them from the treetop she had been perched in. "I think we're all losing grace with age," she sighed with a nostalgic smile.
"Not you though, Mum," her son Sam argued as he hopped down, followed by his brother Elmtail.
"Well," Jess chuckled. "Except me of course."
Matthias shook his head. "There's that Squirrel humility you're so proud of."
Mattimeo listened to the old friends banter. It had been cozy inside Cavern Hole all winter, but one could only go for so long without starting to wilt. That had been case just the day before; everyone gathered together in Cavern Hole at the end of the short winter days after engaging in solitary pursuits all day, but these gatherings had gone from being anticipated and rejuvenating to quiet and subdued in a matter of months. He shut his eyes against the chilly air, grateful for the feeling of the sun's weak rays on his face and for the sounds of laughter and creatures enjoying one another's company again.
That was when his thoughts were interrupted by a different sound
The sound had shocked him like a plunge into icy water, and swiftly opening his eyes at the sound of the scream, he saw his son standing precariously in the center of the frozen pond, the cracks spidering out from the dark ice beneath his tiny feet.
"Martin!" Tess yelped, running to the edge of the pond.
"Mama!" Martin whimpered, his terrified eyes locked on her as he began to shiver.
"Don't move!" Mattimeo ordered him sternly. Martin nodded rapidly, his eyes darting back and forth between Tess and the breaking ice beneath him.
The attention of the other abbeydwellers had been seized when the baby mouse's scream had pierced the air, and now what had been a refreshing day in the open air was teetering on the brink of tragedy.
"I'll go fetch Cheek or Winnifred," Jess offered, scampering inside to get help.
Tess's paws trembled as she clasped them before her imploringly, not taking her tear-filled eyes off Martin for a second. Mattimeo gently squeezed her shoulder.
"It'll be alright, we'll get him," he said, struggling to keep his voice calm himself.
"Cornflower, what are you doing?!" Matthias shouted.
All eyes turned to Cornflower, the only one who had not abandoned the ice after it was realized that it was unstable. She was slowly inching her way forward towards Martin, paws stretched out either side of her for balance. She looked over her shoulder and smiled wanly at Matthias, waving boldly at him.
"What are you doing?" Matthias repeated, making to step out onto the ice, but Constance held him back.
"It might not hold you," she explained regretfully. "Nobeast should have been out there today."
All they could do was watch in suspense until Jess arrived with help.
Tears of fright shone on the brims of the little mouse's eyes as he stood frozen to the spot. Cornflower smiled reassuringly at him as she gingerly scooted along the ice.
"Martin, do you want to go inside and make some tea with Grandma?" she asked brightly. "Would you like to help?"
Martin shook his head vigorously. "No, wanna get off!" he wailed disconsolately.
"You will!" Cornflower assured him. She eased down to all fours as the ice began to groan beneath her. "You can get off, just hold still and wait for Grandma, alright? Then we can go inside and make tea and sing songs and listen to stories by the fire! Now, won't that be nice?"
Martin nodded a little. The hint of a smile tugged at his chubby features. "And eat?" he asked hopefully.
Cornflower laughed to drown out the sound of her heart pounding in her ears as a true crack split in the ice under her right paw. "Yes, you can eat as much you want!" she said. "Whatever you want, cake, biscuits, tarts, Ambrose Spike's strawberry fizz-anything you want."
The ice gave a sound like a firecracker as the crack grew longer. Tess gave a small shriek and covered her mouth with her paws. Cornflower couldn't get any closer without breaking the ice. She cautiously shifted her weight to the left and slowly reached her paw out to Martin. Please be close enough, she begged silently.
"Now don't move, but can you reach my paw where you are?" she asked.
Martin reached his tiny baby limbs as far as they would go. "Oh no," his lip quivered in disappointment as he tried in vain to bridge the distance. His expression changed with a smile as, suddenly forgetting himself, he said, "Coming, Gramma!" and took one step forward.
"Don't-" Cornflower began, but at that moment the ice gave way with a sickening bang.
"NO!" both Matthias and Mattimeo screamed. Matthias wrenched his shoulder from Constance's stunned grasp and darted forward with Mattimeo to where Cornflower and Martin had vanished.
They were overtaken by a sleek, powerfully built young otter who jumped over their heads and angling himself like a battering ram broke a new hole in the ice and disappeared beneath the ice.
"Cheek!" Constance barked, peering out over the expanse of the frozen pond. Tess remained rooted to the spot while tears streamed openly down her face, too frightened to scream. Mattimeo released his father's hand, which he did not realized he had grabbed onto when Cheek soared over them. He sank to his knees on the thick ice at the edge of the pond, watching desperately for Cheek to reappear with Cornflower and Martin.
After a few anxious seconds that felt like an eternity, Cheek resurfaced from the hole he had made in the stronger ice. Mattimeo's heart was in his throat when he saw that in his arms Cheek was safely holding the shivering, spluttering form of Cornflower, who had Martin tight in her arms.
"Cornflower!" Matthias gasped as Cheek returned to the edge of the pond and released his two rescuees. Matthias removed his cloak and wrapped Cornflower in it, gently picking her up as he did so. "You scared me."
Tess relinquished in full force the tears she had struggled to hold at bay, took Martin from Cornflower's limp arms, and squeezed him as though the thought of ever letting him go again was too painful to entertain.
"Why did you go out there baby?" she sobbed to him. "Never, never do that again! Oh dear, I was scared for you!"
Martin, who appeared none the worse for the adventure other than being a little bewildered, sneezed into her shoulder and rubbed her back trying to comfort her.
"Gracious, she ended up more like my mum than I did," the onlooker named Cynthia Bankvole teased gently. Mattimeo, somewhat giddy with relief, shook his head at her with a knowing smirk.
"Best get them inside," Abbot Mordalfus prompted urgently. "Get them warm, I don't want anybeast catching cold or worse."
Mattimeo escorted the distraught Tess to Great Hall; she had Martin wrapped tightly in her apron, his little teeth chattering from the cold and still rather stunned from the plunge. Matthias carried Cornflower.
"I haven't felt like this since our wedding day, and I first got to see the renovations they did on the Gatehouse for us," Cornflower said wistfully as they crossed the threshold. "Remember that, Matthias?"
Matthias smiled. "Like it was yesterday, love."
"By jove, good show!" boomed a familiar voice from the staircase.
"Basil!" Mattimeo laughed.
The old hare descended the steps ponderously. "Saw the whole thing from my window up there," he said. "Excellent rescue, son." He said to Cheek.
"Thanks, Dad." The young otter said proudly. He shook water from his fur as if he'd just been for a dip in the stream during the summer.
"And YOU, marm!" Basil exploded. "Cornflower, that was flippin' fabulous, wot wot! Never seen the like of it in all my days! Bravo, ma'am! Gracious, you can get to know these mouse chaps for seasons on end and looky, one will always surprise you. You, my good mouse lady, have rightly earned every honor in the Long Patrol!"
"Thank you," Cornflower said. "I would curtsy, but I'm too busy pretending I'm a new bride again."
Basil laughed heartily. "Sense of humor not dulled, I see." He said.
Martin sneezed again, and Tess said, "Poor little thing, he's probably already catching a cold."
"Get them both into something dry," Constance ordered in her matronly way, "And find something for them to eat in Cavern Hole in front of the fireplace."
"Food!" rejoiced Martin.
"Ah, see what I told you?" Cornflower chuckled. "Anything you want."
Basil twitched an ear in disgust. "The little blighter gets whatever his heart jolly well desires? Hmph, my own gran didn't spoil me like that, wot wot! Dibbuns these days are going to grow up feeling entitled and high n' mighty, doncha know!"
"I'm still surprised by what you did," Matthias shook his head while he hung Cornflower's wet things to dry on a grate before the roaring fireplace.
To the side, Martin was sleeping in between Mattimeo and Tess on a warm cot on the floor in front of the fireplace. Cornflower sipped a cup of hot mint tea on a cot beside theirs, dry and dressed in a cozy nightgown.
"What else was I supposed to do?" she said simply.
Matthias was silent. "I don't know," he finally answered. He sat down with her and looked at the fire "It was incredibly brave of you," he said. "I know you've heard that enough times. I wish I hadn't left you both." He stared down at his paws.
Cornflower laid a paw on his shoulder. "You had no idea what was coming. No one did. It was an accident. You can't always protect everyone from everything, warrior."
A sigh escaped Matthias. "I know," he said. "Cornflower, I feel very old."
Cornflower laughed a little at this. "Why do you say that?" she asked gently.
"Well," Matthias said. "I feel it in my bones for one thing."
"Not to worry, so do I." Cornflower said chipperly.
"That's exactly it though!" Matthias said with his voice bordering on mournful. "Life is short. That's what we're always told. We think we're ready for it, but we never are. I've never been able to imagine being without you. But today, perhaps for the first time, I thought…I might lose you."
"Oh," Cornflower said, understanding dawning on her. She took his paws in hers and looked steadily into his troubled eyes. "No matter what happens," she promised, "I will always be yours, and you will always be mine. When we rest at last from this life, my place will still be with you beyond the rising sun, and nothing will ever, ever be able to change that. The time may come when we have to part ways for a while, but when that happens, we'll watch and wait, and when we are reunited at last, who knows what joy will await us there."
Matthias held her paws to his lips and kissed them. "Thank you." He whispered. "For everything."
Cornflower dug into her pocket and pulled out a faded headband. It was yellow with blue flowers embroidered on it, something a young mousemaid might wear in summer. "You left this on your dresser today," she said. She tied it around his arm like a token for a knight. "I meant what I said all those seasons ago."
Matthias smiled. "I know; so did I."
It snowed again that night, and the pond froze over as firmly as it had before the accident that day. When the abbey woke up the next morning they found themselves snowed in; snow piled up against all the doors, accumulating in the windows, covering the abbey lawn. Little Martin talked of going out and building a snowbeast, a suggestion which was quickly put down by the fact of not being able to even force the doors open. Not even the moles wanted to try and dig through the hard ground. And, nobeast was particularly keen on witnessing another electrifying episode like the one on the pond.
It was a perfect day for a beautifully boring day to tell stories, feast, and enjoy fellowship in Great Hall!