A Rose and a Warrior

Chapter II

Martin sighed heavily. It was his fault. All his fault. No matter if he was awake or asleep, the thought persisted. It had become a mindless chant, and followed him like a shadow, like the stench of death. How ironic.

'Is my life nothing but a series of losses that I must endure in silence?' the mouse warrior felt anger rise unbidden in his heart yet again, and felt his paws tremble with unspent rage. There was no use revisiting it, but still he came back to the same thoughts, his companion and his torment.

Peering through the window of one of the Noonvale homes, Martin watched creatures dressed in black robes shuffling across the clearing to the burial site.

'This is it,' he thought. 'I'm sorry Rose.'

Martin had attempted to take his life not three nights ago with his own sword, and only Grumm's hasty intervention had stopped him from succeeding.

After that incident, the Noonvalers had placed him under close surveillance, but there was little point. He had long since concluded that even if he was to die, Rose would never want to see him. And why would she? His recklessness had killed her, and it should have killed him, too. His only option was to keep living, and maybe by then Rose might forgive him.

A knock on the door and a cracked voice interrupted his thoughts. "Hurr, Marthen, et bees toime... t'see miz Rosey."

"I'll be right out," he replied, heaving himself out of a finely-crafted chair.

Following the mole, who was trying to catch up with the other creatures of Noonvale, the procession led to a small brook with two willows dipping their wispy arms into the clear water. Here, a pile of soil and pebbles lay next to a freshly dug hole.

Urran Voh, leader of the Noonvalers, stood beside the plot. His face had aged dramatically since his daughter's death. "Laterose of Noonvale-my daughter-died fighting for the freedom of Marshank's slaves. Freedom is a noble goal, and a necessity for all creatures, and it is not uncommon that some feel so strongly about it that they will battle to the death. May she rest easy in Dark Forest."

It was evident that there was so much more the chieftain wished to say, but he held his peace and bowed his head, signaling that any wishing to share eulogies were welcome.

"She'm wurr ee bes' friend a moler cud haff. Oi missez ur turrible." Grumm tried unsuccessfully to keep the tears from overflowing down his cheeks, and sobs wracked his chubby frame.

Martin had a comforting paw around the mole's shoulders, his gray eyes dry. He had shed tears for the mousemaid many times in the past week, and it was not uncommon for the residents of Noonvale to be awakened in the night by his anguished cries. But he had made a promise that he would no longer disturb this beautiful place with news of war and death, travel far away, and maybe forget it all.

xxxx

After calming the mousemaid considerably, Windred concluded that it was best to get Rose in a more familiar setting. Unfortunately she was prone to walk and talk at the same time, about things that Rose would have rather left until later. The mouselady was well into one of her speeches now.

"It's not all bad, being dead, you know. You can eat, sleep and communicate just as you used to, without all the hassles of everyday life. If you're in the right place at the right time, you can even see into the old world. I've seen you in your travels a few times. Shame I had to see the end of it."

"But what about you seeing my... passing? How is that even possible?" the mousemaid chose her words carefully, still avoiding the word 'death'.

"Well, I've heard some say back when I was alive, that the stars in the sky were like ponds in Dark Forest, reflecting the actions of the creature you are searching for in the Old Forest. That's not really how it is here, it's more like... if you want to find something bad enough, you will... Hard to believe it's true when you're living, but when you're dead it's not so farfetched."

"Small comfort," Rose murmured.

"Oh, don't be that way. You'll appreciate seeing the living world when you get the chance."

"What about the ones you're looking for that are no longer living? Can you use the same method?" the mousemaid still seemed skeptical.

"Afraid not. Dark Forest is a lot like the living world that way. Any that have died you've got to find on your own, no help from supernatural sources. Put it this way, anybeast you've ever heard of that died will be here, if that makes it any easier," Windred shrugged, and Rose guessed it was a difficult idea to speak of.

"Even Badrang?" Rose gasped.

"No, of course not dearie. Hellgates is where he went, along with all the other evil creatures in the world. Only the creatures who have uncorrupted hearts can awaken in the Dark Forest." The mouselady said all this flippantly, as though she had never given it much thought.

"So, if vermin do make it here, they are able to co-exist with other creatures?"

"Precisely. Although there aren't that many, don't be surprised if you see rats, foxes, and the like. They have the best parties, you know," Windred smiled wide, revealing milk-white teeth, and Rose could not stop herself chuckling at the sight.

"There now, y'see! Dark Forest isn't all bad, you've just got to find the good in it, and let me tell you, there's far more good than bad. It's all a matter of opinion. A beast could spend an eternity moping about the life they might have lived, but what would be the point? The one you had was good enough, and you're able to live a better one here, so go to it!"

'Sounds like there's a lot I still have to learn,' the mousemaid concluded, watching the shaded forest around her. "Where exactly are we going, anyways?" she said after a pause.

"To a party, of course," Windred beamed.

xxxx

To be continued...

Anyone else who's ever rewritten a story found that it's disgusting and painful reading through your old material? I do, all the time, and the only comfort I have is knowing that it won't be as horrible once I'm finished writing it. The same goes for this story. I've still kept many ideas and even some of the dialogue, but hopefully it's all being presented in a better way this time around.
By the by, I really like the idea in Kenneth Oppel's Firewing that creatures would lose their memories. If you haven't read it, you should check it out!