(New Aurthur's note) :hey everybody! Had some problems with and it would no longer allow me to post from my phone. Luckily, I discovered there was an app. So problem solved! But I now also have an account on ao3 under the same name.
(Original note) Hilarious, whenever I start working on my other stories I always end up with a new chapter to this one.
Winter break and Christmas was great! I got a lot of projects done and started. Unfortunately, none of those projects included working on already existing fanfiction. Sorry. I have been working on an original manga and other original stories. I hope to get them published when they are done. On another note, I have been working on a Tangled animatic. I'm About halfway through!
Reply to comments at the bottom.
Survival is one thing all creatures have in common. There is a desire rooted deep in everyone's soul to continue living. No matter how useless the fight may seem. It's an instinct. There are very few things stronger than the will to live.
Myrtle knew this first hand. She had watched it in both her village and family the last few months. It had been a terrible winter. The harvest had not been a successful one. Very little had been salvageable from the crops and it had been apparent from the very beginning there was not enough to last until spring. They were hungry. Myrtle hated looking into any beast's eyes. They were just so hollow. Filled only with hunger and doubts of whether or not they would see the dawn. Whether or not they believed they would, they would most certainly try.
The mouse maiden's eyes watched her mama's every movement as she divided the last of the food. She knew it was rude to stare but she could not bring herself to care. It was an old block of cheese. The pieces were hard and difficult to chew and did not have a pleasant taste, but she knew once this meager meal was gone, there would be nothing else. Possibly ever.
She held her baby sister closer to her chest as she rocked back and forth. Jade was sucking on her bottle in hopes of filling her empty stomach. Myrtle knew it would not happen. The bottle was filled with nothing but boiled herb water.
The crops had failed, the fish in the pond had retreated deep to its bottom until warmer weather, and her people had very little that could be used for trade.
She offhandedly wondered if it would be possible to visit Harry that day. She did not believe so. It did not feel right to leave her mama by herself with the children and Harry was busy taking care of his ill father. He had been suffering from a fever for many days now. She sighed. They lived so close together but never saw each other's faces.
Mama set a small chunk of cheese before her on a plate. Myrtle did not touch it yet. She and her siblings knew they must wait for their papa to arrive home and say grace over their supper.
'Where is Papa?' she wondered.
Her question was answered as the very mouse burst through the door. His breathing was heavy and he could hardly get in enough air to speak. "The rats! The rats are here!"
It is hard to recount what happened next. Myrtle herself did not know. Her vision became blurred and all sound became hollow. There was screaming. Terrible screaming. The table in the kitchen had been turned over and all its contents went flying through the air. There was lots of panic and fear, but the thing Myrtle remembered the most was the rat.
She had heard stories about these rodents before. They were usually told by the odd traveler or two around a hot fire pit and shared with a warm stew. They had always been portrayed as scraggly wretches who would not hesitate to kill for a single chestnut. This was no wretch. This rat was tall. Far taller than any beast she had ever met. His muscles were strong and built and his fur was sleek in the firelight. His yellow fangs were sharp like daggers and his eyes were the color of brimstone. His tail was longer than any mouses' and had a sharpened blade fastened to its end. This was no rat. No. This was a demon.
She'll never forget that monster. The sight of him was forever burned in her mind. So was the image of her father being cut down by his tail. At one point she was in the cottage. At another, she was outside in the smoky air. She realized at some point she no longer had Jade in her arms. There were rats everywhere. All armed with knives and swords. She watched as her mother screamed for Matthias and tried to run back into their burning home. She fell at the doorstep as a knife grew from her back.
Myrtle was unable to process what was happening. She could see and hear but did not understand. But she was able to grasp one thing. Matthias was trapped in the burning house and she was the only one left to save him.
Her body moved without her telling it to. The front of the house was too far gone in flame to enter so she ran to the back. Knives flashed dangerously near her and the mice she had known all her life were falling to the ground. She kept running.
The back wall of the house had no window but as fate would have it, its wall was made of plaster and stick instead of clay bricks. She began to tear at it with her bare paws. It finally crumbled into a large hole. She quickly stuck her head in and was relieved to see her little brother sitting on the floor. He just calmly stared at the flames whale nibbling at the hard cheese. She quickly grabbed him under his arms. And pulled him out. "Matthias, come on!"
With her brother finally held close to her heart, the mouse maiden searched about frantically. She needed to get them somewhere safe. Rats were everywhere so it was going to be hard not
to be spotted. They could not hide in any of the houses or sheds. Otherwise, they would be burnt to a crisp. She could try and run for the trees but she doubted she would make it that far. It would require running out into the open. They would surely be caught. She then spotted the large tree behind her neighbor's house two buildings over. It had been a favorite place for her and Harry to play when they were younger. If you climbed the branches up to where the trunk split into three, you would be able to see a hole hollowed out into the trunk. While it was not big enough of a space for two grown mice, it would certainly be enough for her and little Matthias.
Myrtle cautiously peeked from behind the house to make sure the coast was clear before sprinting to the next one. She repeated the process before making it to the oak. She prayed with all her being that they had not been caught.
It was not as hard to climb the tree with the both of them as she had thought. Matthias was a natural and hurried up like a squirrel and Myrtle was able to keep her dress from being caught in the twigs or branches. The two mice made it into the hole.
Her legs were cramped as they were curled up while her brother sat between her knees. She hugged him from behind. Both wanted the reassurance that they had someone there. And, honestly, there was nowhere else for her to put her arms.
Her brother wiggled against her. "Myrtle, why are they screaming?" His voice was small and trembled.
She had to swallow twice before she could speak. Even then she could not come up with a comforting answer. "Hush, Mathias. Try not to listen." She pulled his head closer to her bosom. "Try and listen to my heart instead."
The little mouse did not speak again. They both sat in silence trying to block out the noise around them and pretend everything was fine.
The screams refused to be blocked out.
Grey coincidence: Sometimes I spend an obsessive amount of time researching topics for my stories and other times I'm like, "Screw it! Forget about physics and the laws of nature. I'm going to be lazy and just write whatever I want!" And so I did. So no magic is involved with crop failure. It's just a result of lazy writing and dramatic effect. (I love your comments. They're fun to get each chapter.) Hope to see more of Black and White soon!
Pyrah the Fox: Glad you liked it! And yes, this story is going to play with heartstrings.