A/N: Own nothing 'cept Kelaiah the ferret. (duh, you should all know that by now! ;D )

The twelve contestants filed into their room and got ready for bed, yet the knowledge that they would be doing riddles tomorrow made them restless, thus resulting in them all sitting on the beds and talking.

"What do you suppose the riddles will be about?" Fwirl asked.

"They'll be hard, that's what they'll be about," Mariel said, wrinkling her face.

"But will they?" said Armel. "I mean, the songs they had us do weren't Redwall-ish songs, they were from Kelaiah's original homeland. They could be riddles from there as well."

"But they had us cook meals that are from Redwall," put in Trimp.

"Well, whether they're from Redwall or wherever Kels' from, we won't know until tomorrow," said Mhera in a tone that settled the matter.

"I'm still nervous," moaned Cornflower. "Riddles are hard to figure out."

"That's why they're riddles, wotwot!" put in Pasque brightly.

Everybeast laughed.

"Yes, but you should talk, Cornflower," said Trimp. "You've had experience with riddles - I've never had any! Tomorrow will be awful for me."

"Well, we won't know until tomorrow, will we?" Mhera once again put in. She then turned to Dotti. "You're pretty quiet, Dotti."

The haremaid shrugged from her bed. "Eh, just a little down about losin' the bally singin' contest and all, wot."

As the other contestants made sounds of sympathy, Bluefen spoke up. "I was so shocked that I was chosen over you."

"What?!" cried Treerose, staring at the ferretmaid with wide eyes.

Bluefen pulled her knees up to her chin, a shaky smile about her face. "I was so scared to be up there all alone; I know I'm not a singer."

"What?!" cried Treerose again. "I heard you earlier! You've got a beautiful voice!"

"Yeah, you just can't get it out," Rose said, carefully sitting next to the shy ferret.

Bluefen shrugged. "I'm just still surprised that I didn't lose when I gave the worst performance."

"Oh bully for you," Dotti frowned. "You didn't lose, boo-hoo for you, and here I am, just realizing that a talent I thought I had all my life isn't a talent at all!"

"Dotti!" cried some of the other contestants.

"Leave her alone!" snapped Mariel.

"No, no, she's right," Bluefen said. "I'm sorry, Dotti, I was being selfish, I. . . ."

"Well, its not your fault that Dotti's got a voice that can curdle milk and turn butterflies into frogs!" Mariel interrupted, glaring at the haremaid.

Dotti jumped up, her face writhing in fury. "Well at least I didn't fall off the stage twice!"

Well, next thing that happened, haremaid and mousemaid were flying at each other but were soon separated by the others.

"Alright!" Mhera shouted. "Now stop it! Both of you! Stoppit! You're just tired, both of you, we all are, and we need some rest, so lets get to bed, alright?!"

The ottermaid's tone was so dangerous that not even Mariel and Dotti dared contradict her, and within minutes all were sound asleep.

The next morning saw the twelve contestants making their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, only to be confronted with this scene:

All in the Great Hall was gone, save for several (twelve, to be exact) chairs that were set before a great large white sheet hanging from the ceiling.

A tall, skinny male ferret stepped out from behind the sheet, his brown eyes grinning from behind his rectangular glasses.

"Good morning, ladies, and I suppose you're wondering what this is all about," he said cheerfully.

"Um, uh, yeah, sure," the contestants said, glancing at one another.

"This," the male ferret said, gesturing dramatically at the big white sheet, "is a prize for Dalia N'Shard, who is my 100th reviewer."

"Oh, wow," the contestants said, clapping a bit.

"Yes, yes," Kelaiah said. "Now, if you would all just take your seats before the screen here, you'll be able to watch what happens."

And so they did.

A/N: I don't own Romsca, Sampetra, Ublaz Mad-Eyes, (all of which are property of Brian Jacques) or Blackrose (who is property of Dalia N'Shard).

Drunken, bawling laughter filled the tavern's dense air. The corsairs had returned to Sampetra to "pay" their "tribute" to "Emperor" Ublaz Mad Eyes.

"To Ubbie-laz Mad Eyes!" a filthy searat called out drunkenly, holding up his tankard of seaweed grog.

General laughter responded. "To Ubbie-laz Mad Eyes!" the corsairs boomed, enjoying the accidental mimic of their Emperor's name.

The corsairs clanked their tankards and then upended its contents into their mouths before slamming the drinking vessels down with a roar of laughter.

"'ey, Romsca! 'ow 'bout a song, eh?" a weasel called out.

Some of the other corsairs heard this and joined in.

"Yeah, Romsca, ol' matey, how 'bout it?"

"A song, me fair Romsca! Give us a song!"

The ferret in question gave a roll of her eyes but smiled nonetheless and stood none-too-steadily on her feet.

"Alrigh'," she said, her voice a bit slurred but clear enough. "But only if me best mate Blackrose 'ere will join me!"

Of course Blackrose was bombarded at once to sing a song with Romsca.

"I no much of a singer, yarr," the young mousemaid said, waving her paws.

"Come on, mate," Romsca wheedled, giving the mouse a hearty slap on the back that nearly sent her rolling. "It's only singin' yah got ta do. 's not like we're gonna feed yer to the Moniters, eh? Heh heh."

Blackrose gave a wry smile and finally got up, resulting in hearty claps and cheers from the corsairs.

"Ahoy, there, mateys!" Romsca yelled, jumping up onto a nearby table, almost falling back off. Blackrose jumped forward and held her steady.

"Wot's that fanciful tune I hears?" Romsca continued, allowing Blackrose to stand her up.

"It's the Braggin' Song!" Bladetail the searat yelled excitedly, rubbing his paws with glee.

Romsca nodded. "Aye, that's the one!" The ferret sucked in a great big breath and launched into her song:

I'm the babe of a bloodripper,

Born in the teeth of a gale,

I'm the one who wields the sword,

An' makes the foebeast wail.

Here Blackrose jumped in, taking over from Romsca:

I am as sharp as der reef rock,

I carry death in mine paw,

Go vhere I like, slay who I vill,

Dat's de corsairs' law!

Now both females sang in unison:

Blood's me favorite color,

I'm swifter'n lightnin' aye,

Romsca:

Stand out me way,

Blackrose:

Stand out I say,

Both:

Step aside now, or die!

Romsca:

'Cos I'm the spawn o' nightstorm,

An' death sails in me wake,

Blackrose:

I sheath mine blade in innards,

An' vot I vant, I take!

Romsca:

Come one, come all, I'm waitin',

I'll flay yer carcass bare,

Blackrose:

So everyplace I go dey say,

Both:

'Ahoy, you bold corsaaaaaaiiiiiirrrrr!

They ended the last note in slightly hoarse, somewhat off-key voices, but they received great loads of applause from the other corsairs.

The two females gave their bows, Blackrose keeping the still-slightly-drunken Romsca from tumbling over.

The twelve contestants gave hearty claps at the movie, though some of them thought it wasn't very appropriate to watch right before they ate breakfast.

"Thank you, thank you all," Kelaiah said, stepping out in front of the now-blank screen. "Now I have somebeast to introduce to you."

He gestured to the side of the screen, and out stepped Blackrose.

The contestants gave even more hearty claps and even cheered. Blackrose smiled and waved her thanks.

"Now you all know that the next challenge is going to take place today, right?" Kelaiah said. "And that it's about riddles, right?"

"Yes!" the contestants said.

"Well, here's how its going to work: you will be divided up into four teams, and for the rest of the day you will only consort with your team, nobeast else except maybe me. Or one of the staff. But nobeast else! And not only that, but Blackrose here is going to read you your riddles!"

The contestants cheered for the dark-eyed mousemaid, who grinned and stepped forward, holding up several sheets of paper.

"Alright, first off," Blackrose said. "I vos instructed to inform you dat deese riddles were given to Kelaiah by Adderstar of ValorClan."

"The only reviewer who answered my plea for riddles," Kelaiah muttered darkly.

Blackrose went on to read the selected riddles:

Riddle 1: Never one color, never one size,
Stuck to the ground, it easily flies
Present in sun but never in rain,
Doing no harm and feeling no pain.

Riddle 2: Little nancy etticoat, in a white petticoat
And a red nose
She has no feet or hands, and the longer she stands,
The shorter she grows.

Riddle 3: In marble walls as white as milk,
Lined with a skin as soft as silk,
Within a fountain crystal clear,
A golden apple doth appear.
No doors there are to this stronghold,
Yet thieves break in and steal the gold.

Riddle 4: Thirty white horses upon a red hill,
Now they tramp, now they champ, now they stand still.

Riddle 5: Thomas a Tattamus took two T's,
To tie two tups to two tall trees,
To frighten the terrible Thomas a Tattamus!
Tell me how many T's there are in all that!

The contestants were soon divided up into four groups and put in different places of the abbey to figure things out.

Team 1: Mhera, Dotti, Treerose

Team 2: Cornflower, Bluefen, Fwirl

Team 3: Rose, Trimp, Armel

Team 4: Mariel, Pasque, Celandine

A/N: This isn't techinically a filler chapter, because the plot is moving along. The chapter was actually supposed to be longer, but I couldn't get the second half done, so I decided to stop keeping you all waiting and to just post this.

On another note, it looks like there's some tensions going on between the contestants! Is there mayhem in the future, perhaps? We'll just have to find out!

Oh, and in case anyone thought Dotti was acting kinda mean, try to see things from her point of view, okay?

Dalia N'Shard, did you enjoy your prize, hmm? Hope you did, I tried to put Blackrose and Romsca in a situation that would be enjoyable, and hopefully it was.