Ch.35

Island Arrival Pt.3

I'm so sorry for the late update! I had a busy weekend again. However, I'm glad to announce I'm in a relationship with a fellow fanfiction writer Midnightwolf10. Feel free to check out her work! As for the poll, no one voted this past week, so the standings are still Joan and Hardy tied for first with two votes with Keith and Edith tied for second with one vote. Somebody needs to break the tie! Please vote! This will be the last part of Keith's flashback. Alright then, please R&R!

Away from the bright lights and the loudness of the festival, Camilla led Keith through the forest. Despite the stars and the moonlight, Keith could barely make out the female skunk as she beckoned him to follow her.

"It's still a bit further," noted the princess as she stepped over a rock. "Talking will make the time go by faster. So, tell me about yourself. How'd you get here? What was your life like?"

"It's had its ups and downs," replied the male skunk as he ducked under a low, hanging branch. "I remember I had parents, but they were killed while I was not much older than a babe.

Camilla stopped in her tracks. Keith could barely see the sympathetic gaze she gave him. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't worry about it," said Keith as she shook his head. The two continued onward as Keith launched back into his abridged biography. "When I was reaching adolescence, I met a hedgehog named Isaac from the Highlands. He was an interesting character to say the least, but he served as somewhat of a father figure. To be honest, he was more of a friend than a father. Shortly after, I discovered a special talent I had when the two of us encountered a couple of vermin."

The female skunk giggled. "You sprayed the poor bastards?"

Keith shook his head. "No, I was aware of that talent long before I met Isaac, though if it's any compensation, I gave Isaac a good musking. I'll tell you about that later."

"So, what's this special talent of yours?" asked the princess.

The male skunk drew a dagger he kept with himself just in case. The wind suddenly picked up, plucking a green leaf from an overhanging tree. "See that leaf?"

"Um…yes," replied Camilla, straining her eyes in an attempt to see the leaf. Keith threw the dagger, which met its mark in a blink of an eye before embedding itself in a tree trunk. The female looked at him in wonder. "Not bad."

Keith dislodged the dagger from the tree. "I don't know how I was able to do it, but I can. I didn't know it then, but I would have to use that gift later."

Camilla frowned as she joined him. "More vermin?"

The male skunk nodded. "It started when I arrived at an abbey called Redwall. There are no skunks in their region, so I was the first anybeast there had ever seen."

"A region of the world without skunks?" repeated Camilla with a chuckle of disbelief. "I couldn't imagine such a place."

"It wasn't so bad," replied Keith with a shrug. "They were creatures of peace and were more than welcome to have me there. However, I got a cold slap of reality. I learned that all good things must come to an end. The beast who slew my parents arrived at the abbey."

Camilla's tail drooped with sadness. "Once again, I'm sorry."

Keith replied the same way he did before when she apologized. "Don't worry about it. Thankfully Redwall has many allies. They came and helped us take care of the vermin. I can still remember that battle." He turned to the female skunk. "I had not even reached puberty yet. I was still a child but…my mind had been corrupted with thoughts of death. Even to this day, I still feel sick from having such a desire to kill. The beast who killed my parents died that battle."

"You…killed him?" asked Camilla apprehensively.

"Sadly, I didn't," replied Keith forlornly. "But in a way, I'm glad I didn't. I couldn't imagine giving into such anger I had. Isaac came to my rescue and finished him. A moment of awkward silence went by before Keith laughed. "But I got to spray him, so that made me feel a lot better."

Camilla chuckled nervously as she nodded. "That's good. Hopefully nothing else bad happened."

"Not much," replied the male skunk. "The war continued for a little while longer until the vermin army was defeated. After that, I went to the Highlands with Isaac to live with him. It was bitterly cold at times and quite snowy."

"I've heard of 'snow' before," noted the princess, saying 'snow' as if it were some sort of foreign word. "It's too warm here for it though."

"Maybe we can visit the Highlands sometime," suggested Keith as he helped the female skunk over a rotting log. "The snow-covered land is quite beautiful."

The princess shook her head. "I don't think my father would let me. I've never been outside of the island before."

"Hasn't the thought ever crossed your mind before?" asked the male skunk. "This island is but a speck in the world. There are many fascinating places, friendly faces…"

"Perhaps you would like to continue the story?' suggested Camilla quickly.

Keith gave a sigh of defeat. "Stubborn, aren't you? We'll have to work on that. Alright then…after we arrived in the Highlands, Isaac met a female hedgehog named Isobel. I would like to say it was love at first sight, except for the fact the first time she saw him, he was bent over in a kilt."

"Thank you for putting such a lovely image in my head," replied the princess sarcastically as she smacked the male skunk over the head with her paw.

The male skunk rubbed his smarting head as he continued. "Either way, the two fell in love and married shortly after. They had a son named Munroe. His birth gave me a sense of responsibility and maturity, so I made sure to set a good example for you."

"I bet it would have been nice to have a sibling," said Camilla with a smile.

"It was," replied Keith as he ducked yet another low branch. "They can get on your nerves at times, but I knew he meant well."

"You had a nice life back from where you're from," noted the princess. "Why did you leave it? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're here…"

Keith smiled back at her. "It's okay. Actually, I didn't want to leave, but…you'll probably think I'm crazy for this, but I was told by an important figure in a dream to leave. He said I was needed somewhere. I think that somewhere is here."

The princess stopped in her tracks. "Yes…I think so too." Keith, noticing the female skunk had stopped, walked back to her side. The two were standing on top of a hill where no trees could block their view. Camilla pointed to the west. "Do you see that?" Keith looked to where she was pointing to see a large castle in the distance. It must have been the size of a least five Redwalls.

"Who lives there?" asked the male skunk. "Another royal family?"

"Do you see that tower on the right end of the castle?" asked Camilla. The tower looked somewhat detached from the rest of the castle. "Father said that that used to be where he, mother, and I slept. I don't remember anything about it since I was so young."

"Why aren't you there now?' asked Keith worriedly. "What happened?"

"Vermin," replied Camilla. "We've been able to repel any unwanted invaders for seasons, but then came Captain Gorus. She paused a moment, wiping away a tear before continuing. "He took the castle for his own and slew my mother! My father and I barely made it out alive. Even since then, we've been rebuilding on the other side of the island. Although Gorus's intentions were unknown to us, we discovered that a new ruler had usurped him, a fox by the name of Sersull." She turned to the male skunk, grabbing him roughly by the shoulders. "That dream you had Keith, I think you were sent here for a reason. Please Keith, please help us reclaim the island and banish the vermin. You must!"

Keith grabbed her arms, forcing her paws off his shoulders. "You don't have to beg me. I promise I'll help you. I'll make sure that no vermin set paw on this is…" Camilla quickly leaned inward, planting a kiss on the male's cheek, causing his tail to stick straight upward. Thankfully, he had much better control over his scent glands than he did as a child. If he did not, he might have accidentally sprayed out of surprise."

The princess giggled as she broke the kiss, amused at Keith's reaction. "Thank you." The two went in once more, this time holding a long kiss on each other's lips.

Two seasons had passed since that day and Keith had kept up his regular visits with Camilla. They did their best to hide their relationship with each other from King Hernes, thought it wasn't an easy task since news usually traveled like wildfire.

Keith was on his way to the King's home to pick up Camilla to 'walk her to a friend's house' (In reality, they were going on a date). Today was an important ay for Keith as he double checked the bag he had packed. Inside was the ring he would use to propose to Camilla.

However, as he went to knock on the door, it flew open, shortly followed by a skunk maid running into Keith. Keith, being much taller and bigger than the maid, barely budged, while the maid fell flat on her rump.

"Are you alright?' asked Keith as he helped her up. "I'm so sorry!"

"Wow," replied the maid. "I thought it was going to take a while to find you!" She suddenly pulled the skunk inside, leading him down the hall. "You're needed in the King's room! It's urgent!"

"Urgent?" repeated Keith. "Why? What's going on?"

"It's the king," replied the maid frantically while holding back tears. "He's…he's not well." The two entered the room, the maid bowing politely as Keith hurriedly joined Camilla and Alberic by Hernes's bedside.

Keith allowed Camilla wrap her arms around him. "W-What happened?"

"The king's illness has taken a turn for the worse," answered Alberic as he shook his head. "I've done all I could for the past few seasons, but I'm not sure if he'll make it." Camilla buried her face in Keith's chest.

"Keith…" The three skunks looked down at the king, whose eyes were barely halfway opened.

The young male skunk grasped the king's paw. "Yes sire?"

"Listen closely," said Hernes weakly. "I've only enough time…to tell you once. I am aware of your relationship with my daughter." The two dating skunks gave the king a shocked look as he chuckled. "I'm not stupid. I've seen how close the two of you are." He turned his attention back to Keith. "It also doesn't take a genius to see…that the two of you are meant for each other. My only regret…is not being there to see my daughter go down the aisle. Once you marry Camilla, you shall be king of Mephia."

Keith nodded dutifully to Hernes. "Don't worry sire, I will. I-I'll save our village and rid the island of vermin too. I'll…" He felt the kings grasp weaken in his paw as the flame of life in Hernes went out.

"Shortly after, I married Camilla and Fenvil was born," explained Keith to his friends. Other than that, my time has been consumed with dealing with vermin."

"I congratulate you on your success," replied Hardy. "And apologize for your loses."

"An' don't worry yer pretty lil' 'ead," added Isaac as he hopped out of his chair. "We'll 'elp ye take care o' this Sersull character."

"Hello! An open window would really be appreciated!" Everybeast in the room turned to the far side of the room to see a robin at the window. Keith quickly opened it, allowing the tiny robin inside.

The robin signaled to Keith with one of his wings. "Thanks!"

"Everyone, this is Orkus," said the king. "He works as a spy for us and delivers messages from the slaves." He turned back to the bird. "What news do you have? A massage from the slaves?"

"Not this time," replied Orkus. "But unless you want your striped tails to get ambushed, you might wanna gather up the army quickly! Your favorite fox has a force of three score comin' yer way from the west!"

Edith grabbed her weapons and got out of her seat. "Great, another battle."

"Thank you, but we won't be fighting them," said Keith with a smile. "I've got a plan that those vermin won't like very much."

I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! Hopefully the length will make up for the lateness. Please vote on my poll and R&R!