A/N: Hi, everybody. Hope ya like my fic, it's the first I've posted here. I really wanted to tell this story. Enjoy.
Moon Rose
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"Gonff, stop chucking pomegranate seeds at me, will you?"
Martin the Warrior tried to pull a large pomegranate away from his friend, but succeeded only in smushing it a little. Gonff pretended to be angry.
"Hey, that is a perfectly good pomegranate, pal. The seeds actually make quite good missiles."
"Yes, I kind of noticed that as one smacked my forehead."
Dinny the mole laughed at his friends. "Purrapps ee'd better stop, or Martun'll have dents on 'is 'ead frum ee pomurgranute."
Martin grinned. "Yes, it'd be a pity to go out for a nice walk out into Mossflower and return with pomegranate seed dents all over my forehead."
"All right, I'll stop," Gonff said, smiling and chewing a seed. "It's a waste of good seeds anyway."
The three friends were enjoying a leisurely walk out into Mossflower Wood. It was a bright mid-summer day, when all of the wildflowers were in full bloom, and they didn't want to miss a second of this day by spending it indoors.
"You know," Gonff mused. "It's really too bad we don't have some of Skipper's hotroot soup right now. I'm starving."
"You're always starving." Martin pointed out.
"But today I'm especially starving. Even though I ate a huge mushroom'n'onion pastie before we left."
"You mean the one Columbine baked that mysteriously 'disappeared' from the windowsill?"
"The very same, matey."
Suddenly, Dinny scratched his head. "Oi've never been in this part of Mossflower."
Marin glanced all around him. "Come to think of it, neither have I."
Gonff looked concerned. "I haven't either, but I do know that, first of all, wherever we are, it isn't very close to the Abbey, and secondly, the sun is going down."
Martin and Dinny glanced at the darkening, rosy-colored sky. The sun was indeed setting.
"I can't believe I let that happen." Martin said, moaning. "We are completely lost, and even if we weren't, we wouldn't be able to get back to the Abbey before dark."
"Don't be too hard on yourself." Gonff said. "None of us were paying any attention. Well, I suppose we'd better stay here for the night, then."
"Do you think Abbess Germaine would worry about us at all?" Martin asked.
"Nah. She knows we're all perfectly capable of putting up a fight if need be."
As the friends talked and settled themselves on the ground, the sun shed its last golden rays over the wood.
"All right, I believe it's sleepy-time for us tough folks." Gonff said cheerily. "Would you like me to make up a lullaby poem for you on the spot?"
Martin rolled his eyes, smiling. "No, thank you, I've witnessed your attempts at last minute poetry."
"Very well, if you insist." Gonff replied jauntily. "I say, matey, look at those roses over there. Aren't they beautiful?"
The smile immediately dropped from Martin's face. He looked at the roses with a forlorn expression.
"Yes, beautiful." he said quietly.
Gonff was rather startled. "Uh, are- are you all right, pal?"
"Fine." Martin said, his voice cracking, and lay down on the grass.

~~~~(@ @)~~~~

Later on that night, Martin glanced at the cluster of roses that Gonff had pointed out earlier. Radiant moonlight shone down on each magnificent flower, making the scarlet of the petals clearly visible. Martin wiped a tear from his eyes as another rolled down his cheek. Stop crying, he told himself, but that only made the tears fall faster. He buried his head in his hands. I can't believe it, he thought. It's been years since that day, and it still breaks my heart to think of it.
He took a deep breath and looked up at the roses again. This time he noticed movement in the trees behind them. He was immediately on his feet, heart pounding. He quickly awakened Gonff and Dinny.
"Wha- what is it..."
Martin slapped a hand over Gonff's yawning mouth. "I'm not sure."
"It better be aportant. Oi'm very toired." Dinny whispered.
The friends watched as the figure emerged from the trees, and then stopped sharply.
"Martin?" the figure said softly. It knows my name. Martin thought in total surprise and bewilderment. How does it know my name? His heart sped up as the figure slowly stepped into the glowing moonlight. The luminous moonbeams lit up the figure's face.
Martin's heart stopped beating altogether. He tried to say something, but in his astonishment no words would come out. He simply stood there, mouth open, paws trembling, completely shocked.
He finally managed to speak.
"Laterose!"