Ch
Ch.10
Five Night Falls
Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Work has kept me busier than I expected. As far as I know, the earliest time I can update again is Wednesday. Anyways, please R&R!
The following morning at Redwall was filled with chaos and tears over the death of Grayson. Not only did they lose their Abbot, but now there was the threat of a horde of assassins terrorizing the abbey. Unlike the rest of the Redwallers, Joan's morning consisted of a barrage of questions.
"Okay, so what happened when you opened the door?" asked Bryon.
Joan was more than tired of having to relive Grayson's death, but she continued her tale nonetheless. "T-There was a ferret, an albino, he grabbed me and…and told me he wanted to fight Hardy to the death. Before I could do anything, he threw me to the ground and left. I-I went to check on Father Abbot…and that's when he made me Abbess and…"
"Do you know when the assassin and his horde will come for the battle?" asked Phoebe.
"Her daughter shook her head. "He doesn't even know that Hardy's away. If our Abbey Warrior isn't here, then what's gonna happen to us?"
Alice put a consoling paw on the squirrel maid's shoulder. "Don't worry; I'm sure Grayson made ye Abbess for a good reason."
"Well, I'm not too sure," replied Joan. "I don't know what to do and I'm scared out of my mind!"
"Och, pull yerself together!" snapped Isobel. "Yer Abbess now an' ye should be actin' like one! All those tears'll jus' make th' rest o' thae Abbey worry even more. Now, what wuld a guid Abbey leader do at a time like this?"
Joan took a few moments before answering. "It's only right that we give Grayson a proper burial."
"What? You expect all of us to go outside?" The group turned to see Brother Veli, a plump squirrel clad in a brown habit, approach them. "Is she trying to get us all killed?"
"Well, we do have to have to have a funeral for Father Grayson," replied Phoebe in defense of her daughter.
Veli simply shrugged. "And we also have to keep our Abbey from suffering the fate that our dear Abbot has suffered. I guess you must be in too much shock to think clearly, which is something and Abbess should be able to do."
"Speakin' o' thing tae do," replied Isobel, he quills bristling. "Don't ye 'ave somethin' better tae do besides berating thae Abbess?"
"Abbess?" repeated the Brother. The only reason she's Abbess is because she was the only one in the room with Grayson at the time!"
Bryon began to crack his knuckles. "Joan, you're the Abbess, so you have the power to forgive me for what I'm about to do to him."
"Um…help please!" The group turned their attention to Maurice, a tall mouse with an arrow through his shoulder, blood dripping on the ground, creating a crimson trail.
Joan hurried over to him. "Oh my goodness, what happened?"
"Brother Veli ordered some of us to act as sentries on the wall tops and this arrow came out off nowhere! There's a note attached to it too."
The Abbess glared at Veli. "You just told me not to bring anybeast outside, you hypocrite!"
Veli, however, dismissed the subject. "Just read the darn note already!" Joan ripped the note off the arrow and read it aloud.
"If your Warrior wants revenge, meet outside the Abbey's Main gate five night falls from now."
Fingal the Evanescent
Isobel stared at the message in disbelief. "Oh my goodness!"
"I know!" replied Joan. "What are we gonna do without Hardy?"
"Well, ah was actually referrin' tae thae fact that one o' thae vermin can write, but ye 'ave a point."
"Um, can somebeast help me now?" asked Maurice. "I'm kinda bleeding...alot."
Joan looked out her window, staring up at the starry night sky. "Well, I guess this is one night fall and only four more to go." She released a sigh of frustration as she sat down on her bed. "What am I gonna do? It's not like we can turn somebeast in the Abbey in the next for day into a warrior capable of defeating Fingal." The squirrel maid rested her head on her pillow and yawned. "I don't know what to do."
The Abbess sat up, no longer in her bed, but in front of the Abbey tapestry. She immediately caught on to what was happening. "Martin, are you in my dreams again?" The Martin on the tapestry turned his head to Joan and nodded, causing her to stagger back with fright. Martin's arms stretched out of the tapestry and gripped the wall, allowing him to pull the rest of him out of the tapestry.
"That's correct," replied the Abbey Guardian. "See, you're smarter than you give yourself credit for."
"But I still don't know what to do!" spat Joan. "Grayson dies, an assassin horde invades Redwall, and any warriors who could have helped us are either countless miles away or dead, and now every beast is looking for me to give them answers, but I don't know what those answers are!"
Martin took a few steps forward. "Why do you doubt yourself so much?"
The squirrel was silent for a few moments before answering. "Grayson was such a great Abbot. How am I supposed to live up be like him? I don't know if I can be like him."
"You shouldn't be trying to be like Grayson," replied Martin as he smiled at her. "You're supposed to be you." He walked back to the tapestry, stopping once he was a step away from it to look back at Joan. "Before the end of the next four night falls, a warrior wearing one sandal and a sword coated in the blood of an assassin, will come to the Abbey. He will be the one to face Fingal."
"But what do I do until then?" asked Joan as she took a few steps forward.
Martin reached into the tapestry, taking back his place inside it. "That's up to you." He once again put on his fearless, yet gentle expression, returning to his original position on the tapestry.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Did any of you catch the allusions I put in this chapter (They both occur during Martin and Joan's conversation). One comes from Greek Mythology and I believe the other comes from an old yet classic Disney movie. DO you know where they're from? First one to give me the correct to one of them gets a prize and two correct answers get a double prize! I'll keep this little contest open for the next few chapters. Please R&R!