The Heart of Noonvale
Chapter 5
Bluebell's feet hurt, and their large size just made the pain spread out. They
had been walking for two days now, stopping only after Kira and Ferrie had
threatened to put their bows and arrows to good use.
Daniard had told Bluebell about how Ferrie was the one whose aim was true.
Bluebell didn't complain about stopping after she heard.
Every night Bluebell wondered why she didn't just kill Kira then and there while
he was asleep and she was on guard duty, munching sugared berries he made in
spite of the disapproval he got from the rest of the group. But every night
something held her back from pumelling him to death with her large feet.
"I'm bally aching," she groaned, stopping to massage a sore left foot.
"Oh, quicher whining," snapped Ferrie. "We're all bally achin'."
"I didn't argue with you last night, duff-for-brains!"
"Stop it!" bellowed Kira. No one bothered to argue with him. "Listen, we're
all tired. We're all starving, with the exception of maybe Bluebell. If we stop,
we stop. If we don't, we don't. Got that?"
"I just hope I hear the singing of a wandering troupe soon," whimpered Daniard.
"So, mister Bushtail," said Ferrie mockingly, "what do we do now?"
"We rest, first," said Kira decidedly. "It's late, and everyone is quite grumpy.
Let's set up camp."
Gera threw an apple over the abbey wall, hoping for it to land where Raider the
pine marten had stationed a group set to attack.
"Whacha doin', miz Gedat?" asked a tiny mousebabe, chewing on an apple.
"There was something out there that threw an apple at me," said Gera in a patient
voice. "So I threw one back at him!"
The mousebabe giggled. "Oh, youse is funny miz Gedat!"
Gera smiled. "Now shoo! I think Runa Badgermum needs you for something!"
The mousebabe ran off, giggling all the way.
Gera turned back to the wall. She saw Patchtail, the black fox, raise a green
piece of cloth, then a red, then a black.
The signal!
Gera turned around, took a smuggled apple out of her habit, and threw it, hitting
Runa squarely between the ears.
Annoyed, the badger turned around. "Which of you little jokers threw that?"
No response, except for a few giggles. Runa turned back around.
Gera threw another one.
"Stop it! I mean it!"
Gera suddenly threw nine apples, each hitting Runa in the same spot.
It was enough. Runa collapsed, though still concious.
"Oh my!" said Sister Heart, dropping her basket of pears. "Miss Runa! Runa!
Answer me!"
She got a few mumbles in response before the badger went limp.
"Oh my!"
"Now!" yelled Gera.
Foxes, stoats and pine marten went charging, climbing over the abbey wall.
"To me!" yelled Sister Heart, her voice almost drowned out by the sound of feet.
Still, it worked, and beasts poured out of the abbey fully armed.
Gera took a scimitar from Raider. "The abbey will be ours!"
A long bloody battle ensued, during which the heads of several rats got hacked
off and the abbey nearly lost three Dibbuns armed with sticks after they charged
into the fray. Sister Heart, with several underripe apples in hand, fended off
the rats attacking them.
Gera nearly missed getting impaled on a long fish knife, but she killed Sister
Heart and almost killed Runa, who was quite trampled already.
A wave of arrows hit two foxes and nineteen rats. Raider, Patchtail and the rest
scrambled off, Gera mysteriously disappearing.
"Sista!" screamed the Dibbuns.
"Miz Gedat--is--so--mean!" bawled the mousebabe.
"I can't believe it," said Heart's sister Tulip. "I just can't believe it."
Runa was carried into the abbey.
Popra Redclaws paced the ground, back and forth, back and forth.
"This is insanity!" he screeched. "If a bunch of wimpy abbeybeasts armed with
cutlery can murder Yelloweye and Blinkeared"--those were the two foxes killed--
"as well as some rats, think of what they do with swords!"
"At least they weren't our best," said Mat.
"Rats are rats, and ye cannot call Yelloweye and Blinkeared the worst!"
"But we have notified them, and they are on their guard," said Kerr. "Soon they
will have tunnels and such. And it is when they are feeling secure that we shall
attack!"
"I knew I had one wise child," said Popra approvingly. "Yes, we shall follow yore
plan, Kerr. But I trust Gera will do her work."
"She made a nice job on that badger and the dormouse," said the fox Hooknose from
the back.
"Aye, that she did. Nice use of unripe apples!" The whole camp burst into laughter
after Popra gave them a twisted smile, baring one sharp fang.
"So when'll we attack them?" said Jutta.
"When Gera gives the signal again, dullears!" replied Ingar.
"Shaddup!"
"You shaddup!"
"I think this is where we came in," murmured Raider to Hooknose and Patchtail.
He lay in wait in the forest. The White Badger had come to him in the night and
told him to wait in the spot he was now for brave warriors to come along.
"I am here, I am here," he murmured to himself. "I am here, I am here, Eulalia."
"I am--"
He never finished.
Chapter 5
Bluebell's feet hurt, and their large size just made the pain spread out. They
had been walking for two days now, stopping only after Kira and Ferrie had
threatened to put their bows and arrows to good use.
Daniard had told Bluebell about how Ferrie was the one whose aim was true.
Bluebell didn't complain about stopping after she heard.
Every night Bluebell wondered why she didn't just kill Kira then and there while
he was asleep and she was on guard duty, munching sugared berries he made in
spite of the disapproval he got from the rest of the group. But every night
something held her back from pumelling him to death with her large feet.
"I'm bally aching," she groaned, stopping to massage a sore left foot.
"Oh, quicher whining," snapped Ferrie. "We're all bally achin'."
"I didn't argue with you last night, duff-for-brains!"
"Stop it!" bellowed Kira. No one bothered to argue with him. "Listen, we're
all tired. We're all starving, with the exception of maybe Bluebell. If we stop,
we stop. If we don't, we don't. Got that?"
"I just hope I hear the singing of a wandering troupe soon," whimpered Daniard.
"So, mister Bushtail," said Ferrie mockingly, "what do we do now?"
"We rest, first," said Kira decidedly. "It's late, and everyone is quite grumpy.
Let's set up camp."
Gera threw an apple over the abbey wall, hoping for it to land where Raider the
pine marten had stationed a group set to attack.
"Whacha doin', miz Gedat?" asked a tiny mousebabe, chewing on an apple.
"There was something out there that threw an apple at me," said Gera in a patient
voice. "So I threw one back at him!"
The mousebabe giggled. "Oh, youse is funny miz Gedat!"
Gera smiled. "Now shoo! I think Runa Badgermum needs you for something!"
The mousebabe ran off, giggling all the way.
Gera turned back to the wall. She saw Patchtail, the black fox, raise a green
piece of cloth, then a red, then a black.
The signal!
Gera turned around, took a smuggled apple out of her habit, and threw it, hitting
Runa squarely between the ears.
Annoyed, the badger turned around. "Which of you little jokers threw that?"
No response, except for a few giggles. Runa turned back around.
Gera threw another one.
"Stop it! I mean it!"
Gera suddenly threw nine apples, each hitting Runa in the same spot.
It was enough. Runa collapsed, though still concious.
"Oh my!" said Sister Heart, dropping her basket of pears. "Miss Runa! Runa!
Answer me!"
She got a few mumbles in response before the badger went limp.
"Oh my!"
"Now!" yelled Gera.
Foxes, stoats and pine marten went charging, climbing over the abbey wall.
"To me!" yelled Sister Heart, her voice almost drowned out by the sound of feet.
Still, it worked, and beasts poured out of the abbey fully armed.
Gera took a scimitar from Raider. "The abbey will be ours!"
A long bloody battle ensued, during which the heads of several rats got hacked
off and the abbey nearly lost three Dibbuns armed with sticks after they charged
into the fray. Sister Heart, with several underripe apples in hand, fended off
the rats attacking them.
Gera nearly missed getting impaled on a long fish knife, but she killed Sister
Heart and almost killed Runa, who was quite trampled already.
A wave of arrows hit two foxes and nineteen rats. Raider, Patchtail and the rest
scrambled off, Gera mysteriously disappearing.
"Sista!" screamed the Dibbuns.
"Miz Gedat--is--so--mean!" bawled the mousebabe.
"I can't believe it," said Heart's sister Tulip. "I just can't believe it."
Runa was carried into the abbey.
Popra Redclaws paced the ground, back and forth, back and forth.
"This is insanity!" he screeched. "If a bunch of wimpy abbeybeasts armed with
cutlery can murder Yelloweye and Blinkeared"--those were the two foxes killed--
"as well as some rats, think of what they do with swords!"
"At least they weren't our best," said Mat.
"Rats are rats, and ye cannot call Yelloweye and Blinkeared the worst!"
"But we have notified them, and they are on their guard," said Kerr. "Soon they
will have tunnels and such. And it is when they are feeling secure that we shall
attack!"
"I knew I had one wise child," said Popra approvingly. "Yes, we shall follow yore
plan, Kerr. But I trust Gera will do her work."
"She made a nice job on that badger and the dormouse," said the fox Hooknose from
the back.
"Aye, that she did. Nice use of unripe apples!" The whole camp burst into laughter
after Popra gave them a twisted smile, baring one sharp fang.
"So when'll we attack them?" said Jutta.
"When Gera gives the signal again, dullears!" replied Ingar.
"Shaddup!"
"You shaddup!"
"I think this is where we came in," murmured Raider to Hooknose and Patchtail.
He lay in wait in the forest. The White Badger had come to him in the night and
told him to wait in the spot he was now for brave warriors to come along.
"I am here, I am here," he murmured to himself. "I am here, I am here, Eulalia."
"I am--"
He never finished.