The deep green trees swayed slightly outside of the Abbey walls. It was a calm and tranquil day and inside Redwall, the animals came out to mourn the loss of their warrior.
Rakkety Tam had been lain on a woven mat covered in blossoms, his eyes shut peacefully and his mouth turned up in a slight smile. He almost looked like he was sleeping.
Four of the Redwall beasts, two moles, a mouse and a hedgehog gently lifted the mat up onto their shoulders and carried Tam over to the freshly dug grave, under a cherry tree in the corner of the Abbey gardens. Melanda watched as she saw her father gently lowered into the grave, and tears fell from her eyes into her fur. Her mother, Armel had her paw on her shoulder, and she too was weeping. Fopp and Terith stood a little way off, offering Melanda sympathetic glances, but knowing to keep their distance from her grieving.
Doogy Plum knelt by the grave where Tam now lay, crying as he sang a mournful song, traditional of the Highland. All the creatures lowered their heads, some crying, some just quietly standing by their fallen friend. As Doogy's song finished, he straightened up and wiped the tears from his eyes. Pulling himself together, he picked up a broken sword from the grass and placed his shattered claymore in with Tam. He stepped back and bowed his head with the rest of the Redwallers.
Sister Armel led Melanda forward to the grave. Melanda was almost reluctant to go, she didn't want to see her father in the ground, dead and lifeless. But she still went, she knew she needed to. Her mother sank to her knees and lent over her lover. She pressed her lips to Tam's, in a final farewell. She gazed into his face lovingly, for the last time, then stood up and walked away.
It was Melanda's turn. She stood over her father, looking into his peaceful face and her insides seemed to freeze and tighten. A lump rose in her throat and the grief seemed to weigh on her heart as more tears fell. She held out her arm and let a flower fall. It landed perfectly, across Tam's chest, beautiful and pure. As she saw her father there, dead and in the ground, her grief was replaced with something else. It was anger, raw anger that filled her head and her body, anger that made a red mist descend over her eyes. It wasn't possible that her brave and courageous father, who had fought off an army of wolverines and Gulo the Savage, could now be here, slain, while those filthy foxes still roamed Mossflower, looking for more blood. At that moment in her life, when she stood over the body of her beloved father, she vowed that she would spend her life hunting down the thing that had killed her father and she would not rest until he was also in the ground. In that day of the young squirrel maid's life, she swore vengeance.
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Sister Armel was sitting up in the empty Infirmary, next to the bed where Tam had died. She had no more tears left, no amount of tears could banish the grief and misery that was gnawing on her heart. She stroked the blanket slowly, trying to remember the warm weight of Tam. She was so wrapped up in her own despair, she almost didn't hear the knock at the door.
She looked up as the door open, to see her daughter stood there, a travelling cloak on her back, a bulging bag slung over her shoulders and a hard look in her eyes.
'Melanda?' Armel said uncertainly, getting up from the bed and approaching her. 'Are you…are you going somewhere?'
'Mother,' Melanda said boldly, 'I've decided that I'm going to find the scum that did this. I'm going to find them and I'm going to kill them.'
Armel gaped at her, aghast. 'What?' she asked. 'Melanda, my beautiful daughter…how could you even think of doing this?'
'I'm going to find them, mother,' Melanda explained calmly. 'I'm going to kill them, for father, for his memory, for his honour.'
Armel ran over to her daughter and held her arms tightly, pinning them to her sides. 'You're not going anywhere,' she said angrily, her voice cracking. 'I'm not going through this again.' Melanda tried to shake her mother off, but she hung on more tightly. 'No Melanda, you will listen to me!' she almost shouted. 'I have just seen my lover die in front of me, I have seen him put in his grave, I have buried him today! And now my daughter, my only daughter, wants to go out and get herself killed as well! Well, it's not going to happen! I don't know what you're trying to do, but it's certainly not for your father!'
Melanda finally managed to shake her mother off and was now as furious. 'This isn't me trying to get some glory and victory!' she shouted back. 'This is for father, my father and your Tam! He was murdered, and you want to just sit back and let the killers get away with it! How can you say you loved Tam, if you're so willing to do that?'
Armel raised her paw suddenly and almost seemed to be about to strike Melanda, but she dropped it with a sigh. 'Melanda,' she said tiredly. 'I loved your father, you know that. But I'm not prepared to lose someone else I love.'
Melanda stepped back from her, still angry. 'Well you don't have a choice,' she said, as she turned and ran down the stairs, hot angry tears filling her eyes. Her mother screamed after her, crying out her name over and over again, but knowing she couldn't stop her form leaving. She sank down to the floor, weeping and still calling for her daughter to come back, even though it was now too late.
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Melanda had ran right out of the Abbey, across the gardens, past the grave of her father and she bounded up the Abbey walls with ease. It was night now, and the moon hung brightly in the dark sky. Melanda heard a shout behind her and she turned round, half expecting her mother. Instead, Fopp and Terith were hurrying across the lawn towards her.
'Melanda,' Fopp panted as he reached her. 'Where do you think you're going?'
'I'm going to kill whoever murdered my father,' she shouted down from the top of the wall.
'What?' Terith cried incredulously. 'Now, on your own?'
'Yes, now,' Melanda said irritably. 'On my own. I'm going to find them and slay them.'
'But…why?' Terith asked. Melanda sighed.
'For my father's honour. Because it's not right that he should be dead and that they should still be alive.'
'Melanda,' Fopp reasoned. 'How are you going to find them?'
'I…I don't know!' Melanda cried, desperately. 'But I will!'
'And mate, how are you going to fight off two huge foxes?' Terith asked. 'Doogy and Tam couldn't, how will you?'
'Look, I don't know,' Melanda shouted. 'I'll…I'll go to Salamandastron, they helped my father defeat Gulo, they can help me now.' And her mind made up, she turned to leap off the wall into Mossflower, but her friends shouted at her to stop. She turned around, annoyed.
'What?' she demanded.
'We're coming with you,' Terith told her.
'But, it'll be too dangerous,' Melanda said. 'You wont be safe!'
'Oh and you will be, all alone, will you?' Fopp asked her.
'Face it mate,' Terith said, a sad smile on her face. 'We're not going to leave you.'
For the first time in what seemed like ages, Melanda smiled back. She reached down and helped her friends up and over the walls. On the other side, they hugged quickly and then set off, side by side into the dark trees of Mossflower.