Foxhollow

Chapter Three: The Stormy Woods

Nicholas was facing a new emotion he had not felt in years: Guilt.
It was awful. But it had been swimming through his insides since after he had successfully slept off his hangover.

While getting dressed for his first day as king his thoughts weren't full of rules and regulations, trading and selling, wars and famine. It was on last night.

He had been a complete and cruel ass to the rabbit. Yes, he had been sloshed but that was hardly an acceptable excuse to scare her like he did. Nicholas had never seen himself as an overly kind fox but it had been low of him to mock her fear of him, he was no better than predators who purposely scared prey.

He let out a groan and walked out of his room. As he did his duties thoughts of the rabbit haunted his head, it took him a moment to realize he wanted to find a way to apologize to her, if only to get rid of this awful guilt hanging over him. So during lunch he asked a couple of servants to see if there was a rabbit sized bed in the servants quarters and if there was to sent it to his room. The servants did so, by their expressions he knew they were wondering why the rabbit was getting a place in his bedchamber but both knew better than to ask questions.

The act of charity had eased his guilt and he managed to go about the rest of his day without interruption. His parents had turned in early so he didn't have to worry about his mother badgering him with questions about what he would do with the prey that had plagued his thoughts for a good half of the day.

When he finally returned to his bedchamber the rabbit was in the bed, curled into herself and fast asleep. The guilt eased a bit more as he wordlessly got ready for bed.

Hours later he awoke with a yawn and stretch, noticing the rabbit was still asleep. He walked into his bath chamber and started to get ready for another day. When he walked out with freshly washed fur and his royal garbs on he blinked in surprise to see the rabbit was waiting for him.

She still cringed under his look, "I-I wanted to say t-thank you, for the bed…b-before you left." Showing gratitude to the fox was obviously not the easiest thing she had ever done.

Nicholas shrugged, "It was not befitting for someone who lives in the Foxhollow to sleep on a couch or floor."

"I-I suppose not," she replied softly, the confusion leaving her eyes. She believed that was the reason he had given her the bed and it was…partly.

"What do you call yourself, rabbit?" he asked out of the blue.

Her eyes widened but she quickly answered, "Judith Hopps…your Highness."

"Hmm," Nicholas hummed.

There was a knock on the door, "Your Highness, are you awake?"

"Yes, Wolford," Nicholas answered the guard. "What is it?"

"We've just received a message that Queen Shenzi will be arriving for a visit."

The fox bit back an irritated snarl; he had met the hyena, ruler of the Grinningvale Region, before. She was always trying to get on animal's bad sides, hiding her intent behind smiles and jokes, the last time she had visited was two years ago and she had tried to convince his parents to barter with some of Foxhollow's most bountiful land. No doubt she was coming to try the same with Nicholas.

"I'll be there in a moment," he called to the guard then looked down at the rabbit who had listened quietly.

"Today is going to be busier than I planned," he informed her. "Help Bellwether again and tonight we'll decided what to do with you." The bunny looked frightened by his final words but Nicholas ignored it.

He walked over and opened the door, ushering her to go before him, she obeyed but with reluctance. When she finally passed him, keeping her eyes on the floor and her muscles tensed, he closed the door behind them and got ready to deal with a very annoying, for lack of a better term, bitch.

.

When Judith told Bellwether who was coming the sheep took pity on her and sent her to the gardens, away from anywhere Shenzi might stalk. There was no telling how the hyena would react to Nicholas's tribute but it was positive it wouldn't be good.

Judith didn't argue, the large garden was easily the most beautiful thing of the Wilde castle and it reminded her of home.

Bucky and Prong had no qualms with getting Judith to do one of the more hated jobs of gardening: the weeding.

The rabbit crawled through the gardens, finding and pulling out weeds that snuck in between the roses and tulips. But as she did so Judith couldn't help but she herself as the weed, getting violently ripped away from the Hopps family. The thought made her stomach sick.

But it was for the best, she reminded herself as she walked deeper into the garden's thick hedges and bushes and trees, leaving the sight of Bucky and Prong who were busy arguing as usual. Everyone's safe now.

And it wasn't like you fit in anyway.

The sudden thought stalled Judith. She fit in with her family, right? She tried comparing herself to her mothers and sisters; she recalled that Rose was currently being courted by a rabbit from the Leap family farm not too far away from the Hopps burrow.

Judith had never been crazy over the thought of marrying a rabbit and leaving her family, she wasn't against the thought of romance she just….wasn't interested.

But Judith knew the one time she truly stood one amongst her many, many siblings was when she was a child. She had wanted to be different, she hadn't wanted to guard the farm she had wanted to protect it from bandits, she wanted to stand up against any arrogant predator that tried to take her family's livelihood and that included Gideon Grey and Nicholas Wilde. Her paw trailed up to caress her cheek, she winced; things were different now.

Judith slipped into some hedges, feeling sharps branches poke at her dress as her nose twitched, trying to hunt any more hidden weeds. Poking her head out on the other side of the bush to come face to face with the wall that was wrapped around the garden, shutting it off from the rest of the Region, and it had a hole in it.

Judith crawled out of the hedge to get a better look at the hole, it wasn't large, an area of stone having crumbled away due to time and negligence.

She peered through it and noticed two things, one was that on the other side of the wall stood a forest and a trail that led to the villages, the other thing she noticed was that it was just big enough for her to slip through.

She could escape.

Judith hesitated, not knowing if she wanted to risk it. But then she remembered what King Nicholas had told her that morning, that tonight he would figure out what to do with her. It was cruel of her, she knew, to assume the worst after he had actually given her the bed, the only bed she had ever had. But he could've been trying to trick her, trying to make her let her down guard for…whatever he planned to do with her. Judith just couldn't trust him.

"Rabbit?" Bucky's voice spoke as he made his way toward her through the hedges and that made up Judith's mind.

She slipped through the hole and ran just as Bucky came up behind her.

"What are you doing?" he called through the hole too big enough to fit through, "Get back here! You can't leave!"

Watch me, Judith thought to herself, dashing away from the castle wall. She looked to the trail that would take her back to Bunnyburrow. She longed for her family but she knew she could still not go, not with Gideon Grey there. So instead she turned left and headed toward the woods, not knowing those specific woods passed the territory of Foxhollow.

.

Nicholas watched as Queen Shenzi sipped daintily from her cup of mead, sitting across from the fox at the dinning table. Next to Nicholas sat his mother who wanted to be by her son's side to offer him confidence until he got the knack of being king.

The hyena sat with her advisor who also happened to be her brother, behind her stood a handful of guards she had brought along with him. Nicholas kept his guards outside the door, it was a show of confidence showing the queen that he held no fear of her turning on him in his castle.

Shenzi placed the cup down and smiled sweetly at Nicholas, it didn't fool the fox for a second. "So, Nicholas, how is life as a king?"

"Average," Nicholas replied, his eye lids drooped and his entire posture bored.

Shenzi chuckled softly, "What a shame, there's nothing I hate more than a dull life."

"I couldn't say I agreed," the fox's eyes narrowed, suspicious that she'd use his words to pick a fight. "So what do I owe the pleasure of your company, my lady?"

"Oh, you can call me Shenzi," the hyena waved away his formality. "And I came to tell you of something amazing I found out. You see, I was going through some old archives of my ancestors and read about a holy object. I was curious on why it wasn't in our treasury and after a little more digging I found out my great, great, great, grandfather had been traveling with it when he was visiting Foxhollow. Tragically when he was returning home he was ambushed by vicious bandits near the Nectar Forest and killed…his body was retrieved but not the object."

Nicholas could at least appreciate she didn't waste much time in getting to her point. "I am sorry to heart that."
"I have reason to believe said object is still near Nectar Forest and I was hoping you would let some of my soldiers search for it."
Nicholas noticed his mother's tail bristling under her chair but he smiled at the hyena, "I would hate to leave something with such history rotting in the woods. But no need to inconvenience your soldiers, give me a description and my soldiers would be more than happy to search for you."

He noticed Shenzi's eye twitch but her smile stayed in place, "That is a very generous offer but…forgive me but I'm not completely comfortable with mammals of Foxhollow putting their paws on an object sacred to us of Grinningvale."

Ignoring the obvious insult the wheels in Nicholas's head turn, trying to figure out a solution that the hyena couldn't resist instead of out right saying no, he would not let her soldiers roam Nectar Forest. This was all a ploy to get into Foxhollow territory, she might as well openly admit that she planned on taking his land from him.

But before any more words could be shared the door opened a crack and in slipped Wolford who hurried to Nicholas's side.

"Sorry to bother you, Your Highness," the wolf whispered into the fox's ears so the hyena couldn't hear him. "But the gardeners just informed me your tribute has escaped."

Nicholas glanced at the wolf, hiding his surprise and slight…he supposed disappointment. He supposed he had been subconsciously intrigued at the thought of having a rabbit servant. After all that was the one mammal he had never truly been around. She had made him curious, that was all.

"Leave her be," he whispered back to the wolf. "She probably is returning to Bunnyburrow." He would let her go to her family if she was so desperate to escape.

But Wolford looked at him with worry, "No, Sire. The gardeners saw her run away…she ran into the Stormy Woods."

"SHE DID WHAT!?"

Nicholas's yell had the entire room jumping with a start. Shenzi and his mother staring at him with wide eyes and Nicholas quickly offered the two females an apologetic look.

"Excuse me, Shenzi," Nicholas stood up. "There's something I must attend to it shouldn't be long. I will have one of my bakers send up sweets for you while you wait."

He lead Wolford out of the room, his mother following after them.

"Why did she go to the Stormy Woods?" Nicholas snarled at the guard as soon as the door shut behind them. "Doesn't she know who lives in there?" He answered his own question, "Obviously not."

Nicholas started pacing around, running his claws over his ears. What was he to do? He had a greedy hyena waiting for him but odds are that rabbit would die if he didn't send someone after her.

The only problem was some of his guards were busy in villages or on a day off and the ones he did have he needed to guard Shenzi and her pack. He looked to Wolford, "Manchas used to live in those woods, he can go fetch her."

"Manchas is out buying supplies and visiting friends, Your Highness," the wolf answered. "He said he will not be back until late tonight."
A growl rumbled out of Nicholas's throat, "Maybe I should just leave her to fate."

"Nicholas!" his mother, who had been quiet until now, gasped in horror. She glared at her son with the look she had used when he was a misbehaving kit. "I'm surprised at you! You can't leave that poor thing out there on her own."
"It was her choice Mother," Nicholas told her. "And I have a hyena in there trying to take Nectar Forest, one of the main reasons we prosper the way we do."

"I will handle Shenzi," her mother said. "You go get that rabbit. She was taken from home, Nicholas, she is frightened. But the moment you accepted her as a gift she became your responsibility."

My mistake, Nicholas grumbled in his mind before nodding and stomping down the hallway. He had no time to waste.

Orginally this story was going to be longer but I'm gonna try to keep the chapters about five pages long. And the next update may take a while because I want to plan out the new few chapters before coming back.

So until then ONE-SHOTS AND ST ZOO AND ROBIN HOOD!