Okay, here is the 1st chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Please
continue to do so. They make me type faster. Now, on with the fic!
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Attack on Noonvale
Chapter 1
1 Two seasons after Prologue
Lily looked at the tall red sandstone walls in amazement. No wonder they called it Redwall Abbey. By her calculations, she should reach it by nightfall. She sighed. Two seasons, she had spent looking for it. Now that she saw it she was sure they wouldn't help her. Why should they? She was, after all, just a small mousemaid. Whoever was in there was sure to be big and strong, maybe even badgers! She had only seen a badger once, from far away, but it had astonished her with its strength and ferocity. How could she ask, if it was badgers?
As she walked along, she managed to convince herself that it was full of badgers who would think her problems insignificant, and they would throw her out, to defeat Longclaw Sharpfang all by herself. You see, she was a very imaginative creature.
Now, you can imagine her surprise when she knocked on the door and a mousemaid answered! She was absolutely mystified when she greeted her kindly, saying she looked tired and hungry, would she like something to eat? She was lucky that it was Naming Day, so there was a feast now.
" Hey, d'ya wanna meet my mom and dad? They're really nice! And then you can meet the Abbess, then you can meet Martin and Bella, they're nice too. Hey, did you come to live here? You can have the room next to mine, and we can stay up and talk every night! Would ya like that, huh? Huh huh huh?"
Lily had been watching the younger mousemaid with a look of utter disbelief on her face.
"Um, well, my name's Lily. I, uh, I come from Noonvale. I nee---"
"Oops! I forgot! Heehee, my name is Crystal. My momma always tells me I talk too much and forget about being polite. So, what about that room? It's empty, I mean, like no one's lived there for a long time, but that's okay. You could live there, really you could!"
As they had been talking, or, actually, Crystal talking, they had moved towards the table in the center of the grounds.
"Crystal, have you been wearing our guests ear off?" a friendly looking squirrel asked.
"That's Lady Amber. She's the squirrel queen." Crystal whispered.
"NO, I have NOT been wearing Lily's ear off! Where's mommy? Where's daddy? I wanna show them Lily! She's real cool. I mean, she hasn't told me to shut up, unlike some beasts I could mention." She shot a mean glance in the direction of a rather large otter, who had been watching the exchange with an expression of amusement.
"That's Skipper. He's so mean to me! He always tells me to shut up when I haven't even said a sentence. Huh!" Crystal sniffed with indignation.
"Smart." Lily whispered, under her breath, so Crystal couldn't hear her.
Suddenly a huge voice roared out: " Crystal, who is that with you? Come, bring her over here. We have to make her feel welcome, don't we?"
"That's Bella. She is the badgermum. She's really nice. She can tell you stories about before the Abbey was built, and before the Wildcats came."
" She's a badger!" whispered Lily, totally in awe of the huge badger. "I've never seen one up close before!"
"Well, don't worry, I won't bite." Chuckled the badger, who apparently had extremely excellent hearing.
"What is your name, little one?" an ancient mouse asked Lily kindly.
Lily swallowed hard before replying. "My…My name is Lily, and I'm here to speak to your warrior!"
A silence fell over the Abbeybeasts. "Why?" asked the Abbess asked.
"Because, because my home was attacked by searats. I thought if I came and asked he might be able to help me free my tribe."
"Well." The Abbess pondered for a moment. "I suppose he could help, if he wanted to. We wont need him here for anything, will we, Bella?" The Abbess inquired, turning to the badger.
"No, nothing that is more important than this, Lily. Yes, I believe he will come with you. Sister Rosemary, will you find Martin for us, please?" Bella motioned to a mouse clad in the traditional green habit.
"Of course, Bella." The mouse bowed and left.
Lady Amber stood up, came over and took Lily's paws in her own. "I speak, I am certain, for all the squirrels in my tribe. We will come and help you free your family and friends."
"Aye." Skipper stood up. "The otters will come too. Nothing is worse than losing a loved one, I know."
Other beasts started to stand up and offer to come also. Soon all but the families with very young ones were standing, saying that they would come.
Sister Rosemary came out of the Abbey leading three mice. One was striding towards the table purposely. The second was looking sheepish as the third scolded him.
"I can't believe you, Gonff. I turn around for five seconds and all of the candied chestnuts are gone! What will I do with you?"
The first mouse reached the table.
"What is wrong, Abbess Germaine?"
The Abbess just motioned to Lily, who was watching Martin with a strange expression on her face.
He knelt down to be on the same level as her. "What has happened?"
"My home was attacked by searats. I came here because I thought you could free them." A tear slowly rolled down her cheek as Martin shook his head.
"What is your tribe's name?" he asked.
Lily suddenly started crying. "Noonvale." She sobbed. "I knew it, I just knew it. You can't help me. I have to free them myself. I have to help Mom and Dad and Auntie Rose and Grumm and everyone else all by myself. I'll just go now." She got up and started to stumble towards the gates.
"Wait!" Martin reached out and grabbed Lily's arm. "Noonvale? Are you sure?"
Lily went berserk. "Sure? Of course I'm sure! It's my home! Would I forget my own home's name? I traveled two seasons to get here and it was all a waste! If you won't help me then let me go so I can free everyone on my own!"
"Listen! You wouldn't stand a chance against searats by yourself. Wait for one day. We'll all come with you."
She stopped crying. "You'll help me? You'll all help me?"
Crystal answered for Martin. "Sure we will. You just wait. We'll get the biggest army up in the whole of Mossflower. We'll beat those rats to a pulp. We'll---"
"That's enough, Crystal! I'm sure Lily already knows what's going to happen to them."
"Mom! Can I go, please? Dad's going! Can I, please?"
"Why not, Columbine? I'll make sure she won't get hurt. Yup, that's me, Prince of protectors." The mouse that stole the candied chestnuts bragged.
"Uh!" The scolding mouse threw up her paws. "What will I do with you two? Fine, fine, you can go."
"Wahoo! Come on, Lily, I'll show you my room! Then I'll show you your room! Then I'll………" Crystal practically dragged Lily off, who had an expression of utmost horror on her face.
Skipper chuckled, turning to Martin. "Dibbuns."
The answer came faint. "I'm not a Dibbun!"
Skipper ignored it. "So, Martin, how do you know about this Noonvale place?"
"Well, um, during my travels I found a small dibbun that was hurt. Just a sprained paw, but he couldn't walk. So, I brought him back to his home, Noonvale. Turned out he was the chieftains son. That's it. They were a very peaceful group, and Noonvale was well hidden. It is strange that corsairs would find it." Despite his peaceful words, in Martins eye's a cold fire burned.
All was silent.
"Well, ahem. We must prepare for your journey tomorrow, hum?"
"Yes, Abbess. Please excuse me." Martin headed off to the abbey.
1.1 During that night
Martin tossed and turned, thinking about Lily, and her message. He sighed. 'She is so much like Rose. Beautiful, kind, compassionate, but a temper like a thunderstorm when aroused. Wait!' He bolted upright. 'Did she say 'Auntie Rose'? No, it's just my imagination. Rose is dead, remember?' He lay back down and pulled the covers over his head. 'Why, Rose? Why?'
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So, was that good too? Okay, explaining: Crystal is Columbine and Gonff's kid. She's two seasons younger than Lily and she can talk the hind leg off a stone donkey. Seriously. Martin made the hurt dibbun story up 'coz he didn't wan't anybeast to know about Marshank, Rose ect.
Thank ya very much for reading this. Please review. Pretty please? *goes down on knees* Pretty please with a cherry on top?
***************
Attack on Noonvale
Chapter 1
1 Two seasons after Prologue
Lily looked at the tall red sandstone walls in amazement. No wonder they called it Redwall Abbey. By her calculations, she should reach it by nightfall. She sighed. Two seasons, she had spent looking for it. Now that she saw it she was sure they wouldn't help her. Why should they? She was, after all, just a small mousemaid. Whoever was in there was sure to be big and strong, maybe even badgers! She had only seen a badger once, from far away, but it had astonished her with its strength and ferocity. How could she ask, if it was badgers?
As she walked along, she managed to convince herself that it was full of badgers who would think her problems insignificant, and they would throw her out, to defeat Longclaw Sharpfang all by herself. You see, she was a very imaginative creature.
Now, you can imagine her surprise when she knocked on the door and a mousemaid answered! She was absolutely mystified when she greeted her kindly, saying she looked tired and hungry, would she like something to eat? She was lucky that it was Naming Day, so there was a feast now.
" Hey, d'ya wanna meet my mom and dad? They're really nice! And then you can meet the Abbess, then you can meet Martin and Bella, they're nice too. Hey, did you come to live here? You can have the room next to mine, and we can stay up and talk every night! Would ya like that, huh? Huh huh huh?"
Lily had been watching the younger mousemaid with a look of utter disbelief on her face.
"Um, well, my name's Lily. I, uh, I come from Noonvale. I nee---"
"Oops! I forgot! Heehee, my name is Crystal. My momma always tells me I talk too much and forget about being polite. So, what about that room? It's empty, I mean, like no one's lived there for a long time, but that's okay. You could live there, really you could!"
As they had been talking, or, actually, Crystal talking, they had moved towards the table in the center of the grounds.
"Crystal, have you been wearing our guests ear off?" a friendly looking squirrel asked.
"That's Lady Amber. She's the squirrel queen." Crystal whispered.
"NO, I have NOT been wearing Lily's ear off! Where's mommy? Where's daddy? I wanna show them Lily! She's real cool. I mean, she hasn't told me to shut up, unlike some beasts I could mention." She shot a mean glance in the direction of a rather large otter, who had been watching the exchange with an expression of amusement.
"That's Skipper. He's so mean to me! He always tells me to shut up when I haven't even said a sentence. Huh!" Crystal sniffed with indignation.
"Smart." Lily whispered, under her breath, so Crystal couldn't hear her.
Suddenly a huge voice roared out: " Crystal, who is that with you? Come, bring her over here. We have to make her feel welcome, don't we?"
"That's Bella. She is the badgermum. She's really nice. She can tell you stories about before the Abbey was built, and before the Wildcats came."
" She's a badger!" whispered Lily, totally in awe of the huge badger. "I've never seen one up close before!"
"Well, don't worry, I won't bite." Chuckled the badger, who apparently had extremely excellent hearing.
"What is your name, little one?" an ancient mouse asked Lily kindly.
Lily swallowed hard before replying. "My…My name is Lily, and I'm here to speak to your warrior!"
A silence fell over the Abbeybeasts. "Why?" asked the Abbess asked.
"Because, because my home was attacked by searats. I thought if I came and asked he might be able to help me free my tribe."
"Well." The Abbess pondered for a moment. "I suppose he could help, if he wanted to. We wont need him here for anything, will we, Bella?" The Abbess inquired, turning to the badger.
"No, nothing that is more important than this, Lily. Yes, I believe he will come with you. Sister Rosemary, will you find Martin for us, please?" Bella motioned to a mouse clad in the traditional green habit.
"Of course, Bella." The mouse bowed and left.
Lady Amber stood up, came over and took Lily's paws in her own. "I speak, I am certain, for all the squirrels in my tribe. We will come and help you free your family and friends."
"Aye." Skipper stood up. "The otters will come too. Nothing is worse than losing a loved one, I know."
Other beasts started to stand up and offer to come also. Soon all but the families with very young ones were standing, saying that they would come.
Sister Rosemary came out of the Abbey leading three mice. One was striding towards the table purposely. The second was looking sheepish as the third scolded him.
"I can't believe you, Gonff. I turn around for five seconds and all of the candied chestnuts are gone! What will I do with you?"
The first mouse reached the table.
"What is wrong, Abbess Germaine?"
The Abbess just motioned to Lily, who was watching Martin with a strange expression on her face.
He knelt down to be on the same level as her. "What has happened?"
"My home was attacked by searats. I came here because I thought you could free them." A tear slowly rolled down her cheek as Martin shook his head.
"What is your tribe's name?" he asked.
Lily suddenly started crying. "Noonvale." She sobbed. "I knew it, I just knew it. You can't help me. I have to free them myself. I have to help Mom and Dad and Auntie Rose and Grumm and everyone else all by myself. I'll just go now." She got up and started to stumble towards the gates.
"Wait!" Martin reached out and grabbed Lily's arm. "Noonvale? Are you sure?"
Lily went berserk. "Sure? Of course I'm sure! It's my home! Would I forget my own home's name? I traveled two seasons to get here and it was all a waste! If you won't help me then let me go so I can free everyone on my own!"
"Listen! You wouldn't stand a chance against searats by yourself. Wait for one day. We'll all come with you."
She stopped crying. "You'll help me? You'll all help me?"
Crystal answered for Martin. "Sure we will. You just wait. We'll get the biggest army up in the whole of Mossflower. We'll beat those rats to a pulp. We'll---"
"That's enough, Crystal! I'm sure Lily already knows what's going to happen to them."
"Mom! Can I go, please? Dad's going! Can I, please?"
"Why not, Columbine? I'll make sure she won't get hurt. Yup, that's me, Prince of protectors." The mouse that stole the candied chestnuts bragged.
"Uh!" The scolding mouse threw up her paws. "What will I do with you two? Fine, fine, you can go."
"Wahoo! Come on, Lily, I'll show you my room! Then I'll show you your room! Then I'll………" Crystal practically dragged Lily off, who had an expression of utmost horror on her face.
Skipper chuckled, turning to Martin. "Dibbuns."
The answer came faint. "I'm not a Dibbun!"
Skipper ignored it. "So, Martin, how do you know about this Noonvale place?"
"Well, um, during my travels I found a small dibbun that was hurt. Just a sprained paw, but he couldn't walk. So, I brought him back to his home, Noonvale. Turned out he was the chieftains son. That's it. They were a very peaceful group, and Noonvale was well hidden. It is strange that corsairs would find it." Despite his peaceful words, in Martins eye's a cold fire burned.
All was silent.
"Well, ahem. We must prepare for your journey tomorrow, hum?"
"Yes, Abbess. Please excuse me." Martin headed off to the abbey.
1.1 During that night
Martin tossed and turned, thinking about Lily, and her message. He sighed. 'She is so much like Rose. Beautiful, kind, compassionate, but a temper like a thunderstorm when aroused. Wait!' He bolted upright. 'Did she say 'Auntie Rose'? No, it's just my imagination. Rose is dead, remember?' He lay back down and pulled the covers over his head. 'Why, Rose? Why?'
***************
So, was that good too? Okay, explaining: Crystal is Columbine and Gonff's kid. She's two seasons younger than Lily and she can talk the hind leg off a stone donkey. Seriously. Martin made the hurt dibbun story up 'coz he didn't wan't anybeast to know about Marshank, Rose ect.
Thank ya very much for reading this. Please review. Pretty please? *goes down on knees* Pretty please with a cherry on top?