Chapter One~
You... walked away, heard them say
"Poisoned hearts will never change, walk away again."
All the cracks will lead right to me,
And all the cracks will crawl right through me...
...and I fell apart
-AFI
Within the vast green expanses of Mossflower Woods lay the famed Redwall Abbey. It was a magnificent building with red stone, lovely stained crystal windows, gardens, a pond, orchards, and thick, protective walls. The soaring roofs stood high above the young trees of Mossflower. The Abbey lawns were huge, with plenty of room for races and contests for celebrations. The young woodlanders loved to play outside, climbing the trees, swimming in the pond, inventing games of their own. On most days, that is. For today, the sky was an ominous dark gray and thunder rumbled, threatening rain.
The Dibbuns made the best of their situation and darted about the level of the bed chambers, playing hide-and-go-seek. An imperious mouse squeaked at his minions, an assorted group of hedgehogs, moles, squirrels, voles, otters, and mice. "I counta to...," he pursed his lips comically, considering, "eleventy-five! Yous go hide now, quicky!"
The gang dispersed quickly as he covered his eyes with his paws and began counting. "One, free, six, eight, 'leven..."
One ottermaid peeked back at him from a corner, a serious expression on her face. "No peekin'! Or I stuffa ya in a soup!"
She dashed off down the corridor solemnly as the mousebabe continued. "Fifee, seven'en, niny 'undred..."
The ottermaid, Shell, carefully inspected the various crannies in the wall and discarded each one as a hiding place, biting her lip in thought. She thumped her rudder in frustration on the floor. "No, no. None o' dese'll work. Uuugh."
Running one paw along the wall, Shell's sharp eyes scanned the area about her for a suitable hiding place. There were the bed chambers...But there were already several of her friends there. There was a storage closet which no one seemed to be using, but Shell hated being in the dark. There was...the stairs? No, those were much too open.
"'Leventy-five! Ready o' not, 'ere I come!"
Hastily, Shell flew towards the closet and threw open the door, diving into the darkness of it. She closed the door partway, letting a sliver of light into the small space. Goosebumps ran up and down her arms and the ottermaid shivered. I hate the dark... She whined to herself inwardly.
Footsteps padded down the hall way, pausing by her hiding place. Shell held her breath, waiting for the mousebabe to pass by. He did as a give-away giggle emitted from the dormitory. Letting it out slowly, Shell shifted to get into a more comfortable position. Her arm rubbed against something soft. Her breath hitched and the ottermaid turned her head to see what the soft object was.
What she saw made her eyes widen in horror and she froze, lip trembling.
The faint light from the doorway fell upon the face of Meral, the mouse herbalist. But Meral's face was covered in gaping wounds and her soft golden fur was stained red with blood. Her lovely green eyes stared unseeingly in disbelief at the doorway. Jagged cuts covered her body and the green robe she wore was torn. One of her ears and her tail her cut off and lying on the floor.
Shell's breath came faster and faster as her heartbeat quickened. Her small body shook with terror and her teeth chattered uncontrollably. Unconsciously she began to scream. And scream. And scream.
With growing hysteria and panic, Shell fled the cabinet, still screaming shrilly and ran headlong down the corridor.
OoOoOoOoOoO
Meanwhile, to the north of Mossflower in the foothills of a small mountain range, a young squirrel swung from tree to tree so quickly and quietly, it was difficult to say where she was. Her blue eyes were hard and cold, her reddish-dark brown ears twitching at the sound of pursuit. As she leaped from an aspen to an oak, the squirrel curled her lip in disgust, trying to hid the very real hurt in her eyes from even herself. Her heart ached, but it was not something she was not used to.
"Just wait! You'll pay, traitor!"
"Huh, who ever heard of a squirrel taking sides with vermin before?"
"You disgrace us!"
She released a shuddering breath and swung herself about a branch several times to gain momentum before shooting herself into the air, flipping as she did so before landing on one of the uppermost boughs. The squirrel sniffed at the welts forming on her arms and body from being hit by stinging boughs as she passed them, then cocked her head, listening to her pursuers take another path.
"Well done, Pinedance."
Pinedance struggled not to show her surprise at the sibilant voice that came from behind her. Turning, she saw a tall elegant pine marten sitting on a sturdy branch. Her contempt for the creature flashed across her face and lit her eyes. The pine marten held up a regal paw to forestall any comments on the squirrel's part. "You were right to assist me in my escape from those savage squirrels. I cannot say I was not impressed by your speed and agility. You would be a welcome addition to my army. What say you?"
"I would rather die than join you, vermin," she spat out.
"The name is Iridescence, not vermin. And if you so feel this way, why help me?" Iridescence raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow at Pinedance.
The question struck Pinedance like a slap in the face. Why had she helped the marten? Her brow furrowed as she thought, searching for an answer. "I helped you because I think that no beast, no matter if they're vermin or woodlander, deserves to be burned alive. No matter what horrendous actions one might have committed, who knows if they did them of their own free will or were forced into doing it? Who knows if one might have a breaking heart and be terribly sorry for what they've done, but no one listens? That's why I helped you, because I think there is a chance you might be sorry for killing those babies." Her eyes grew very cold and fierce and she drew her backhanded dagger in one swift move and laid it against Iridescence's neck, drawing blood. "But if you enjoyed it..."
Iridescence laughed, a beautiful, melodious sound. "Am I supposed to be threatened, dear? Because I am far from it."
Narrowing her eyes, Pinedance let the blade cut into Iridescence's neck enough to start a steady trickle of blood. Iridescence snapped her fingers and three pine martens let themselves be seen in the surrounding greenery, showing their glittering blades casually. Pinedance mentally cursed herself for not having noticed them, but kept her weapon against Iridescence's neck, stating in a chilling whisper that was carried by the wind to the ears of the "new" arrivals, "If you intend to do me harm, this marten will die before the blades even touch my fur."
They did not react at all. One simply yawned and twitched his nose lazily. The squirrel frowned inwardly. Why were they so unconcerned? One would think they would...
An annoying short pain flashed in the back of her neck before fading.
Oh, bugger. They have poison darts, Pinedance said to herself in an exasperated train of thought before the world suddenly dimmed and she felt herself staggering on the branch.