Well, hello, everyone! It's only been a few, uh…years? I was gone that long?! I do have some pathetic excuses to offer, though…but I know you don't want to know about them…ha! :P
I hate to note this, but I have to—I totally forgot where I was going with this. Yeah, I remember the general idea, but I forgot details. So, I printed all the pages off and tried to reread…but it's really hard for me to read my creative writing from years past. Let's just say that I hope my writing has improved in my absence, but just note that there will be some inconsistencies. If enough people want me to, I just may go through and rewrite the whole beginning once I'm done. :)
By the way, the slashy thing in the title was placed there on purpose. I thought it'd make sense to put something in the chapter title to signify the huge break in my writing.
Aaaand nooow, without further ado, et cetera, et cetera. Here ya go—enjoy! It's just a short one, but I got to get started again somehow!
*goes back to studying for finals* :P
Chapter 13 - /A Traitor
Vaneeya felt the chill of the night crawl down her spine. She avoided the eyes of the otters, strong beasts whose names she had forgotten but whose strength she could easily guess. She gave a sidelong glance to the seer. Beneath Mali's humble woodland façade, she saw fear. A simple disguise can hide the body, but it can never draw a veil over the doorway to the soul.
Mali quickly swallowed and allowed a faint smile to grow on her face. "My dear sirs, we were travelling through Mossflower…we've heard of vermin in these parts. We were hoping for sanctuary before we continued on our way in the morning."
The two beasts looked at each other, then back to them. Vaneeya tried to subtly pull her hood further over her head.
"Travelers, you say?" They did not appear fooled, or even amused.
"Why, yes, sir. My name's Oaky and this here is a young friend of mine who helps me around…I'm not so quick and clever in my old age as I was when I was young."
Their gazes did not soften.
"Will the great Abbey of Redwall turn away honest woodlanders?"
"Honest woodlanders? Never."
"Why, then, sirs…please, let us in!"
The younger of the two otters whispered quickly into his companion's ear. He nodded. "Of course. Honest creatures are always welcome. Please, come in."
Mali quickly walked past them. Keeping her pace quick, she walked toward the orchard.
Vaneeya had to run to catch up to her. "Mali, what are you doing?"
Mali turned and scowled in her face. "I know that, you fool! If I were to turn away at the door, those two brutes would tear me apart. Yet still I have a mission here. Do you understand? Go into their kitchen. Tell me what kinds of stock they have. We're here to learn who we're up against. Now go."
Mali's quick eyes missed the watching eyes of the otters, who soon hurried to the gatehouse to alert their warrior. Vaneeya watched as they headed for the gatehouse, and she felt dread pass through her entire being. She quickly turned on and ran into the darkness of the Great Hall.
Martin had been restless the entire night. Redwall was preparing for war. Never in his life had he experienced such a thing in his peaceful home. He laid on his back, staring at nothing and thinking of everything. He knew it was no fault of his that the Abbey would soon be at war; he knew the vermin would have come whether or not he had met the maid in the woods, but still her very existence tugged at his heart. Everyone he'd known his entire life disapproved of her, none of them saw the goodness that he saw.
He closed his eyes and turned onto his side, trying with all his might to calm the thoughts in his head.
Below, he heard a knock on the gatehouse door. He knew his father also hadn't slept. He'd been sitting at the table, staring at his sword in silence. The silence was broken with the knock, and he heard his father's chair push back as he went to answer the door. He heard the guards and his father hold a short conversation, then the door silently close.
Martin knew that sleep had forsaken him. He jumped out of bed and donned his habit, walking as silently as he could so as not to alert his father. Slowly, he opened the window above his bed and crawled out of the gatehouse to the Abbey grounds.
Even in the dark of the night, the tapestry of Redwall Abbey was a magnificent thing to behold. The colors were softer now, dulled by the darkness of the night. Vaneeya let her paws run across the soft fabric, the careful stitches from uncountable seasons past. Light drifted in through the windows, soft and serene, specks of dust being the only objects to breaks the stillness.
Waking herself from her reverie, Vaneeya sighed and pulled back her hood to continue toward the Abbey kitchens.
Suddenly, clusters of dust weren't the only things to be found sneaking across the rays of moonlight.
Vaneeya pulled herself back and squinted her eyes. She knew that no peaceful Abbeybeast would sneak around his own home in the dead of the night.
She wasn't entirely surprised to see Brother Sayer walk forth from the shadows. He still looked angry, as though hours passing after his fit that day hadn't relaxed his temper. He walked forward until he stood in front of the image of Martin the Warrior.
He gave a dry cackle as he scrutinized the image. "Well, well, well, Martin, what do you think? Your heir, his son, and your namesake are all in disagreement. The entire Abbey is—it is full of traitors! Your heir is old, his son is inexperienced, and young Martin…he is weak! He has fallen in love with vermin!"
Vaneeya felt herself begin to tremble.
"Don't you think some beast needs to take the restoration of this Abbey into his own paws? Clearly, the warriors are too busy arguing amongst themselves to come to any conclusions. They want war, the Abbot wants peace, and Martin wants an evil maid. He started this mess. What do you think of that?"
The tapestry swayed lightly in the breeze. Vaneeya held her breath.
"I think we have to wake these creatures up to the tragedy at paw. A headless mob can achieve more than one with a head that can't think in line with war. I'm sure you find Abbot Mordalfus a great beast, but I find him tiresome and thoughtless. I have a friend here to help me rid us all of the burden he causes." He threw a glass vial in the air and caught it with his paw. "Mandrake. You see, I learned the herbs and poisons of the forest in my younger years. I'm happy to finally be able to use my knowledge. Greet the abbot warmly for me, would you, Martin? I'm quite tired of him. It's time for him to leave."
Brother Sayer then hurried out of the hall, up the stairs towards the dormitories. Quickly gathering about her wits, Vaneeya went to run after him. Just then, the door to the Great Hall opened. She turned and saw Martin walk in and run over to her where he threw his paws around her shoulders.
"Vaneeya, I can't even sleep, thinking about all that's going on here…"
Gasping for breath in her shock, she tore away from him. "Martin, you have to go save the Abbot!"
"What?"
"We have to go save the Abbot! He's in trouble!"
"How?"
"Brother Sayer…he's going to try to kill him!"
At that moment, the Abbey bells rang out. The warriors were called forth from sleep, and the guards were all called together. It was not the toll of an attack. It was the toll of a found traitor.
Vaneeya ran passed Martin out onto the grounds, hoping to find Brother Sayer held tightly in the grasp of the otter guards. Instead, she found Mali on the ground, surrounded by guards, the elements of her disguise thrown about her, and a scowl of sheer contempt on her face as she glared up at Mattimeo, who stood over her and administered his sentence.
"Vermin, woodlanders are not fools. I have dealt with many of you in the past, and I am always amazed at how foolish you believe we are. We do not fight needlessly, but we are all warriors when our way of life is threatened. Who are you to dare come into this Abbey? For information? To hurt? You have been found, and you will be punished rightly."
Her simple scheme for information was soon forgotten. Mali had found herself caught in the iron grasp of those who had had their peace and happiness disrupted. She tried desperately the find a way to distract their attention, a way that she could sneak away. Her eyes darted from her captors to focus on Vaneeya. "You want to punish me, abbey mouse? Punish her! Without her, we may have ignored this place. We may have left. Certainly, I would not be before you now without her…"
Mattimeo turned to face Vaneeya, his heart torn.
"Go on then, mice. Come on, otters. What about you hares? Capture her! She is your enemy! She is vermin!"
Vaneeya ran forward, crying, "No, I am not your enemy! Please listen to me! There is one more dangerous than she in Redwall!"
One of the guards mumbled, "Oh aye, I'm sure you're the very one who let him in…"
Vaneeya looked around hopelessly, coming back to Martin. "Please, Martin, tell them that they have to help the Abbot…"
Confused mumbles rose from the guards.
Mattimeo's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong with the Abbot?"
Brother Sayer ran out of Great Hall at that moment, his eyes brimming with tears, his outstretched paw holding forth an empty glass vial. "Oh, Mattimeo! The unthinkable has happened!"
All eyes were on him, expectant. Brother Sayer's paw shot forth, pointing straight at Vaneeya.
"She killed him! She killed Abbot Mordalfus!"
Every beast within earshot gasped. Mattimeo sprinted past the onlookers into the keep as Vaneeya trembled and fell down by Martin's side.