"And that's how I met your mother." Mariel was so amazed she could barely speak! "Of all the things to be afraid of you were afraid of a mousemaid!?" Joseph shrugged, "Yeah, well..." he said, trying to find a reason.

Seeing that her father had some trouble answering she changed the subject. "So what was it like after you and Mother got married?" Joseph relaxed a bit, turned to Mariel and smiled "Well after awhile you were born." Mariel smiled and blushed slightly. "There you are!" a voice from behind made Mariel turn around. "Dandin?"

"Everybeast is wondering where you two have gotten to." Dandin came over and sat down."So what are you doing?" Dandin asked

"Well if you must know," Mariel said, "I asked Father to tell me about Mother."

"Hmm, your mother eh? I've always wondered what had happened to your mother. But I never really asked because I might've gotten more than just an answer." Dandin rubbed his head as if there was a bump there.

"Oh, won't you ever grow up?" Mariel playfully shoved him. He smiled. "I will when you do." He joked. Mariel rolled her eyes and crossed her arms "Oh, stop it!" Joseph laughed at what the young couple were doing. Dandin was about to give a cheerful retort when Joseph interuped. "Dandin's right, I can see you doing that. Now, I thought you wanted to hear about Jade!"

Dandin turned to face him. "Jade? Is – was that your wife's name?"

Joseph nodded soberly. "Aye, it was."

The Bellmaker seemed to have gone off, as if in a trance, so Dandin nuged a question. "Um excuse me Sir," Dandin asked in a soft voice, a little unsure of what he was asking. "what did happen to her?"

For several long moments there was a dead silence about the trio. Joseph had his eyes fixed on the pond, either lost in his thoughts or preparing an answer to Dandin's question. Dandin was playing with a daisy and picking at it's petals, hoping he had not stirred up extremely painful memories. And Mariel was simply staring at them both, her eyes wide with surprise.

Then the old mouse spoke, "It's a long, sad tale. Are you sure you wat to hear it?"

Damdin nodded.

"Are you sure, Father?" Mariel asked in a worried tone. The old mouse nodded. "Aye. I've kept the story with me for seasons, but it's high time I told somebeast what really happened."

"It was a cold winter evening; Mariel and Jade were inside our small house having some cordial and hot soup. I had gone out to get some more fire wood…"

Their house was just a simple one story house with four rooms, the living room/dinning room/kitchen, Joseph and Jade's bedroom, a storage room with all sots of stuff, and Mariel's bedroom. Jade and Mariel were in the dinning room eating.

"Mama, when's Daddy gonna come 'ome?" Mariel asked her mother. She was no more than four seasons old at the time. "I don't know sweetie, now finish up your soup. Oh, and wipe your face you have broth all over it."

"Aw right." Though annoyed, Mariel reluctantly obeyed and reached for her napkin then wiped her face. Jade got up and put away her dishes to wash for tomorrow. "When you're done with supper then get ready for bed, ok." Mariel took a sip of her cordial then replied sleepily "'Kay" then yawned.

Jade glanced out the window to see if Joseph was on his way home. But what she saw was torches, though it was to dark to see what the species was she could tell they were vermin. Jade quickly pulled down the curtains and rushed to Mariel. "Mariel, go to your room, lock the door and hide until I say it's alright to come out."

Mariel was puzzled, her mother had never spoken to her like this before, and the look in Jade's eyes told the little mousemaid that danger was near. "Why Mama?" Mariel asked timidly. Jade had a worried look in her eyes and her tone made Mariel evev more frightened. "Mariel, please listen to me," she knelt down and held her on the shoulders. "I don't have a lot time to explain, just do as I say." Mariel nodded. She ran to her room, and then shut the door. Jade breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the 'click' of Mariel's lock.

Then, almost instanly after Mariel had locked her door, she heard banging at the front door. She gasped with surprise and instantly grabbed a kitchen knife and hid it behind her back. "Wh-who's there?" she asked, her voice shaking with fear.

As she crept towards the door a voice shouted back in reply to her question, "That don't matter t'you, now open the door afores I break it down!"

When Jade opened the door she was staring straight at an evil looking fox obviously the leader. He had a wicked grin on his face and wore a tattered blue colored tunic stained with who knows what, and a brass hoop on is left ear, and a cutlass at his side. "G'd evenin' marm. The names Gandol. Lemme tell ya 'ow this works. If'n I find anything I like, I'll take it, inn I don't I break it. If'n you resist I slay you, if'n you don't I'll spare yore life." He drew his cutlass and shoved Jade out of the door way. "Alright boys, you know what t'do!" Foxes, rats and ferrets flooded into the house. Breaking and smashing almost everything in sight. Nothing was left untouched, and nothing was left uneaten.

As they were searching a few of the hordes beasts strayed away from the main group and searched else where. Jade saw them go off and noticed they were heading towards Mariel's room. Anger shot through her as she though of Mariel in her room, afraid and not knowing what was happening. Before they were even ten paw steps away from the door Jade put herself in between them and the door. "Don't you dare try to open this door!" she growled at them. The group whispered with each other and sneered, and then they came up and attacked her. she'd never held a weapon in her life she wasn't skilled at fighting. And though she was only defended with a kitchen knife, she held out pretty well.

Gandol saw that Jade was protecting that door fiercely, ignoring all the cut's and blows delt to her. Letting no beast even get close enough to touch it, he figured she was guarding something worth stealing. So he started to creep towards her, getting his cutlass ready.

Joseph wasn't too far from the house now; he was carrying a bundle of sticks for the fire. The house was in site, but he didn't see Jade and Mariel at the table. What he see was rats, ferrets, and foxes searching his house. He threw down the wood he was carryng and started running towards the house. As he was running he heard a high pitched scream. He gasped and ran harder. He didn't even stop at the door. He grabbed a rake at he front of the door house, burst throught the door and ran straight inside.

What he saw was the last thing he expected.

A/N: OK so I edited this one too,(and I will proably do the same with all the others) thanks to Foeseeker for beta-ing for me. But tell me what you think, is it better?