*Point of view is from Meryl now*
Meryl Sandpaw, healer of Salamandastron
-I don't know quite what possessed me to sneak in this injured ferret into Salamandastron, if the lord finds out I'll be banished from this mountain. I find myself wondering why I'm still here; I can't take all the bloodshed around me . . . perhaps that is why I took this ferret in, to reverse the flow of blood a bit. Oh well . . . when I brought him in my friend Clarence, a definite warrior, found him and nearly slayed him as he lay unconscious, I stopped him barely and convinced him of my cause even though I'm not so sure what it is either.
I've been treating the ferret for several days' known and I've bandaged the wounds on his legs and back, they've begun healing nicely and the arrow wounds have already healed. The ferret hasn't woken at all, but I've heard him mumbling incoherently a few times about someone named Celeste. Perhaps the other ferret I found him looking at, now that I think about it he looked at us the same and when I looked into Celeste's eyes I felt as if I were looking into the mirror, as if . . .-
A loud knock upon the door and I put away my journal quickly hiding it behind a large bookshelf that held medicines and herbs. Clarence walked in eyeing the ferret; I could tell he barely resisted an urge to kill the ferret. His parents being killed by vermin fueled a rage that even I couldn't stop. Luckily for the ferret he suppressed it. I'd seen him during the battle shooting from the mountains high windows; every hit put a smile of satisfaction upon his features.
"Has he awakened yet?" He asked, a paw always on his short sword, he always came in with it, normally no beast carried weapons for no reason inside the mountain, only guards and patrols. We tried to keep a cheery mood and weapons would hinder those feelings. He had pushed through a small curtain I'd put up so any other beast couldn't see the ferret
"No." I answered emotionlessly and began checking the ferret's bandages carefully, lucky for me this was enough distraction that Clarence left without another word to me. I sat back down a jotted some notes about the ferret's condition and such; I went to my desk closing the curtain around the ferret. After a while the boredom hit me and I went back to the curtain and stepped through to find the ferret up and looking at me, straight into my eyes with his, they were bleary and unfocused.
"Celeste?" He asked in a small feeble voice as I removed a small dagger from the small end table by the ferret's bed and held it defensively. I knew I couldn't bring myself to use it, but I felt better knowing he couldn't kill me. "Your not . . ."
"No I'm not Celeste, my name is Meryl and your in Salamandastron, try anything and you'll be jolly well dead before you can move. I don't look it, but I could slay ye without a twitch o' my blinkin' eye." I said defensively, I knew he was injured, but I had been well taught the lesson of not trusting vermin.
"No you couldn't." He smiled wryly, his eyes half closed and yet his focus remained upon my eyes, I looked into his eyes. They were dark green. Deep green, the kind that was thicker then any forest, I looked and saw nothing, no deceit, just the absence of everything.
"Try me." I was frustrated by his words and held the knife close to the lifeless eyes, waving it dangerously through his whiskers so he could feel it. Suddenly he lashed out and took the blade from my hand before spinning behind me, holding it to my throat.
"Isn't nice." He breathed into my ear before releasing me, I looked at in terror, I was almost sure he was cold for the lack of life in his eyes which now shone clear and focused upon me. He didn't do anything, but toss the knife back to me into the ground of the room and collapse back onto the bed asleep.
I took the knife quickly and tossed it, I had fallen towards my desk, I was scared and confused, he'd grabbed me, but why hadn't he killed me, he obviously could. I peeked into the space created by the curtain nervously to find him unconscious, tongue lolling out of his mouth. I gave him a small shot of a sleeping draught and force-fed him some food, just meager rations.
The next morning after breakfast I went up to my room where the ferret rested to find him up in the bed looking straight down at the floor his head between his knees. I walked in nervously and he didn't look up, but by the twitch in his ears I could tell he heard me. I stopped at my desk and drew the knife slowly from its drawer just in case.
"You don't need it." He said softly, eyes still upon the floor. I looked to find a dark stain on the floor and then a single glistening tear fall to join it. I let the knife fall back into the drawer from which it came.
"Who are you?" I asked keeping my distance and the knife in the still open drawer an option.
"Hale. And you?" He looked up and I saw his eyes were bloodshot and glimmering with moisture. No tears fell as he looked up; his eyes were lighter, with more life in them now. I took a step towards him.
"Meryl. Why did you attack my home?" I began demanding information to keep some semblance of power over Hale; we both knew I didn't really have any.
"Those were Ulnan's orders. Why didn't you kill me?" He stared straight into my eyes with a powerful glare until I broke my eyes away and looked elsewhere.
"I . . . I . . ." I stammered with the answer until him smiled softly.
"Your just like her, you aren't a killer or a warrior. You cherish life don't you?" His question startled me, but I nodded weakly. "Both of you were peaceful beasts living amongst warriors and killers. She didn't get to leave and look what it got her."
"She was the one in the water." His eyes watered as he fought back tears.
"Yep."
"Why were you there then?" I was almost confused at seeing tears upon the face of the enemy.
"I couldn't leave without her, I still can't. All I want is out of here now." He glanced around the room and focused through the curtain to the door. "I'm not a warrior either. Not in what counts at least."
"What do you mean?"
"A warrior has to kill to live, they don't settle for peace. Kind of how your patrols are, at least from what I've heard." I tried to reply, but found that he was right. No wonder I felt so out of place.
"I wish I could help you somehow, but I can't get you out of here today." I tried to direct the conversation elsewhere to avoid my own confusion.
"Just give me some paper and a pen and I'll be fine." I did as he bade, giving him a small pen and I part of the stack of papers I was using for my journals. "Thanks." He lay back and wrote upon the paper in straight, clean letters that looked much better then my haphazard scratches upon paper.
"Your welcome sir." I sat at my desk after closing the curtain and began writing in my journal, thinking of what the ferret named Hale had said, I thought about leaving my home for Redwall or some more peaceful county. And so we both sat through the day each listening to the others scratches, each our own secrets upon the sheets of paper, both overflowing with what they kept.
-I don't know quite what possessed me to sneak in this injured ferret into Salamandastron, if the lord finds out I'll be banished from this mountain. I find myself wondering why I'm still here; I can't take all the bloodshed around me . . . perhaps that is why I took this ferret in, to reverse the flow of blood a bit. Oh well . . . when I brought him in my friend Clarence, a definite warrior, found him and nearly slayed him as he lay unconscious, I stopped him barely and convinced him of my cause even though I'm not so sure what it is either.
I've been treating the ferret for several days' known and I've bandaged the wounds on his legs and back, they've begun healing nicely and the arrow wounds have already healed. The ferret hasn't woken at all, but I've heard him mumbling incoherently a few times about someone named Celeste. Perhaps the other ferret I found him looking at, now that I think about it he looked at us the same and when I looked into Celeste's eyes I felt as if I were looking into the mirror, as if . . .-
A loud knock upon the door and I put away my journal quickly hiding it behind a large bookshelf that held medicines and herbs. Clarence walked in eyeing the ferret; I could tell he barely resisted an urge to kill the ferret. His parents being killed by vermin fueled a rage that even I couldn't stop. Luckily for the ferret he suppressed it. I'd seen him during the battle shooting from the mountains high windows; every hit put a smile of satisfaction upon his features.
"Has he awakened yet?" He asked, a paw always on his short sword, he always came in with it, normally no beast carried weapons for no reason inside the mountain, only guards and patrols. We tried to keep a cheery mood and weapons would hinder those feelings. He had pushed through a small curtain I'd put up so any other beast couldn't see the ferret
"No." I answered emotionlessly and began checking the ferret's bandages carefully, lucky for me this was enough distraction that Clarence left without another word to me. I sat back down a jotted some notes about the ferret's condition and such; I went to my desk closing the curtain around the ferret. After a while the boredom hit me and I went back to the curtain and stepped through to find the ferret up and looking at me, straight into my eyes with his, they were bleary and unfocused.
"Celeste?" He asked in a small feeble voice as I removed a small dagger from the small end table by the ferret's bed and held it defensively. I knew I couldn't bring myself to use it, but I felt better knowing he couldn't kill me. "Your not . . ."
"No I'm not Celeste, my name is Meryl and your in Salamandastron, try anything and you'll be jolly well dead before you can move. I don't look it, but I could slay ye without a twitch o' my blinkin' eye." I said defensively, I knew he was injured, but I had been well taught the lesson of not trusting vermin.
"No you couldn't." He smiled wryly, his eyes half closed and yet his focus remained upon my eyes, I looked into his eyes. They were dark green. Deep green, the kind that was thicker then any forest, I looked and saw nothing, no deceit, just the absence of everything.
"Try me." I was frustrated by his words and held the knife close to the lifeless eyes, waving it dangerously through his whiskers so he could feel it. Suddenly he lashed out and took the blade from my hand before spinning behind me, holding it to my throat.
"Isn't nice." He breathed into my ear before releasing me, I looked at in terror, I was almost sure he was cold for the lack of life in his eyes which now shone clear and focused upon me. He didn't do anything, but toss the knife back to me into the ground of the room and collapse back onto the bed asleep.
I took the knife quickly and tossed it, I had fallen towards my desk, I was scared and confused, he'd grabbed me, but why hadn't he killed me, he obviously could. I peeked into the space created by the curtain nervously to find him unconscious, tongue lolling out of his mouth. I gave him a small shot of a sleeping draught and force-fed him some food, just meager rations.
The next morning after breakfast I went up to my room where the ferret rested to find him up in the bed looking straight down at the floor his head between his knees. I walked in nervously and he didn't look up, but by the twitch in his ears I could tell he heard me. I stopped at my desk and drew the knife slowly from its drawer just in case.
"You don't need it." He said softly, eyes still upon the floor. I looked to find a dark stain on the floor and then a single glistening tear fall to join it. I let the knife fall back into the drawer from which it came.
"Who are you?" I asked keeping my distance and the knife in the still open drawer an option.
"Hale. And you?" He looked up and I saw his eyes were bloodshot and glimmering with moisture. No tears fell as he looked up; his eyes were lighter, with more life in them now. I took a step towards him.
"Meryl. Why did you attack my home?" I began demanding information to keep some semblance of power over Hale; we both knew I didn't really have any.
"Those were Ulnan's orders. Why didn't you kill me?" He stared straight into my eyes with a powerful glare until I broke my eyes away and looked elsewhere.
"I . . . I . . ." I stammered with the answer until him smiled softly.
"Your just like her, you aren't a killer or a warrior. You cherish life don't you?" His question startled me, but I nodded weakly. "Both of you were peaceful beasts living amongst warriors and killers. She didn't get to leave and look what it got her."
"She was the one in the water." His eyes watered as he fought back tears.
"Yep."
"Why were you there then?" I was almost confused at seeing tears upon the face of the enemy.
"I couldn't leave without her, I still can't. All I want is out of here now." He glanced around the room and focused through the curtain to the door. "I'm not a warrior either. Not in what counts at least."
"What do you mean?"
"A warrior has to kill to live, they don't settle for peace. Kind of how your patrols are, at least from what I've heard." I tried to reply, but found that he was right. No wonder I felt so out of place.
"I wish I could help you somehow, but I can't get you out of here today." I tried to direct the conversation elsewhere to avoid my own confusion.
"Just give me some paper and a pen and I'll be fine." I did as he bade, giving him a small pen and I part of the stack of papers I was using for my journals. "Thanks." He lay back and wrote upon the paper in straight, clean letters that looked much better then my haphazard scratches upon paper.
"Your welcome sir." I sat at my desk after closing the curtain and began writing in my journal, thinking of what the ferret named Hale had said, I thought about leaving my home for Redwall or some more peaceful county. And so we both sat through the day each listening to the others scratches, each our own secrets upon the sheets of paper, both overflowing with what they kept.