(Disclaimer: I do not own Redwall. Everything in this story that belongs to Brain Jacques belongs to him. Everything that belongs to me…belongs to me.
Sorry about the wait for this chapter, sorry it's not good, I got really annoyed with this story and thought about just forgetting I wrote it. Then I drank around five Dr. Peppers in a row and wrote this. Yeah. If I write another chapter it'll be better, I hope.)
…
A quarter of an hour later, Redsplash was being carried through the hallways by her neck again. She scowled dangerously as she tried to kick or scratch Darkclaw who held her as far away from him as he could, face emotionless except for his eyes, which glinted in annoyance. Redsplash paused for a minute, considering if she was willing to break her neck to possibly get free, and then decided she wasn't. Instead, she bit Darkclaw's paw viciously, drawing blood.
The wildcat glanced over at her and rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath. Redsplash glared and continued biting. After a few seconds she pulled her teeth out of his paw, looked for another spot to bite, and then sunk her teeth into the web of skin between Darkclaw's claws.
Hissing a curse Darkclaw slapped Redsplash on one side of the head with his other paw and Redsplash immediately went limp. Darkclaw stared at her for a minute then shook her, "I know you're not unconscious, otter." He snapped, "I didn't hit you hard enough."
Redsplash, however, didn't respond, and Darkclaw paused, shaking her again. He frowned and brought his arm closer to him, so he could see more clearly if she really was unconscious or not. Suddenly the otter's foot dug into his stomach, the other into his ribs. Before Darkclaw could react the footpaw that had been in his stomach pressed against his neck. Darkclaw hissed and flung Redsplash away, the back of her head slamming straight into a wall.
The otter staggered drunkenly to her feet and was about to take off running down the hall when Darkclaw reached down and picked her up yet again. "You do that again," Darkclaw hissed, "and I'll kill you."
Redsplash smiled lopsidedly, as if she wasn't quite in perfect control of her facial muscles yet. "No, you won't. You swore you wouldn't kill me unless it was a very, very, good reason, and me kicking you isn't that good of a reason." She said, stumbling over her words as if very drunk.
Darkclaw scowled, "I'm going to enjoy giving you off to the Nameless One."
"Aw, is it because I drew your blood in that little fight?"
"You only drew my blood, otter, because I couldn't slice you in two with my sword."
"Oh, there, there," Redsplash said, her voice mostly back to normal now, "I promise not to beat you up anymore."
He stared at her for a moment then shook his head, "If you were a wildcat you'd make a good warrior. As it is, you're only annoying to those of us who can actually fight."
"I can fight." Redsplash argued forcefully, "I proved that already."
"You drew my blood once." Darkclaw said, "You proved nothing."
Redsplash smirked, "Denial, denial." She said, "Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Darkclaw bared his teeth in annoyance and shoved her up against a wall, scowling dangerously at her. Redsplash was about to make some remark about the wildcat's breath, when he said, his voice low and dangerous, "You'd think, otter, that since you were about to be taken in front of the Nameless One's ambassador, and then dragged back to Unnamed One that you'd be a bit more serious." Before she could reply he added, "If you think that you're hiding your fear from me otter, you're wrong. I'm a Warheart. I feed on fear."
He paused and then let her go, shoving her lightly forward in the direction of a door. Redsplash was temporarily speechless, though she wanted to come up with some sarcastic remark about him gaining weight or starving to death, she just couldn't find a witty comeback in her. It was a very shocking experience, as witty remarks had been her only weapons against the Nameless One for a long, long time and she had thought she'd had one for every situation. Not this one apparently, part of her mind said mockingly. You shut up before I gut you, one of the many other parts of Redsplash's mind snapped back.
"Go in." Darkclaw said, his tone saying he was darkly amused at something.
Redsplash realized she'd been staring blankly at the door she'd been shoved towards several seconds ago. "I knew that." Redsplash said, defensive, "I just didn't want to."
"Too bad. Go in." Darkclaw ordered.
"No." Redsplash replied.
"Yes."
"No." Redsplash snapped.
Darkclaw, growling in annoyance, yanked the door open, picked her up, and tossed her into the room. "Yes."
Redsplash stood up and dusted herself off, looking around. The room seemed slightly ominous, and Redsplash did not like ominous things. "Hello, ambassador." Darkclaw said, his tone threatening and mocking at the same time. If Redsplash hadn't been looking around frantically for this so called ambassador, she might have paused to memorize how he sounded, so she could use that tone someday.
She spotted the ambassador standing in front of a stained glass window, through which filtered tinted light. The creature was tall and lithe, but had its back to Redsplash and Darkclaw so she couldn't see what species it was. Slowly, though, the creature turned around, and, again, all details were hidden by the creature's long cloak. The creature straightened when it saw Redsplash, and a paw moved forward smoothly to draw back the hood.
Redsplash nearly choked in surprise when she realized who it was.
Fatefiend smirked at her shocked reaction, and her response was to spit on the floor. She wasn't sure what he thought he was doing here, but whatever it was it would probably get him killed.
"As I have no doubt you have already been told, ambassador, the otter is here." Darkclaw said, the half growl evident in his voice.
"I have eyes." Fatefiend replied softly.
Darkclaw scowled. "Why should I give you the otter?"
Redsplash frowned at the two of them, "Don't talk about me as if I'm not here."
"Because, the otter belonged to my lord in the first place." Fatefiend replied.
"But now it belongs to me." Darkclaw retorted.
"It?" Redsplash demanded, outraged, "I am not an it! Stop talking as if I'm not here!"
"Yes, but if you think along those lines then I can rightly say that your sister belongs to my lord." Fatefiend replied casually.
Darkclaw bared his long teeth in anger, "My sister was not a slave in the first place! You cannot enslave a member of the Warheart family!"
"With all due respect, cat," Fatefiend said coldly, "my lord already has."
Darkclaw stood for a minute as if poised between lunging at the ferret and turning to leave the room. Finally he gathered his anger back into himself and straightened, frowning down at the ferret. "I still do not see why I should give you the otter."
"My lord will return your sister if you put the otter into my care so that I might take the otter back to where it rightfully belongs."
"What guarantee do I have that Silverdawn will be returned?"
"I promise you that the youngest of your siblings will be returned once the otter is back within my lord's castle walls."
"Alive?" Darkclaw demanded.
"Of course." Fatefiend replied evenly.
"And for Silverdawn to be returned I must give up the otter?"
"Yes, that's all. Just release it into my keeping."
Redsplash scowled, "I am standing right here! Stop talking about me as if I weren't standing right in front of you."
"I do not like this deal. You could take the otter and never return Silverdawn."
"I could." Fatefiend admitted, "But it would be favorable for my lord if he did not have to worry about a war between himself and the Warheart clan."
"He must have been feeling pretty confident if he kidnapped my sister in the first place."
"My lord did not kidnap your sister." Fatefiend replied, "She was sold as a slave into his castle by three wandering slavers. You understand, of course, that once he realized who the wildcat he was he immediately thought that the otter for the wildcat would be a more then fair trade."
Darkclaw sneered, "Your lord sent vermin to kidnap my sister. If you would lie about that, why would you not lie about releasing my sister, alive, back into my father's land?"
"Are you calling my lord a liar?" Fatefiend asked calmly.
Darkclaw scowled, and shifted his weight. Redsplash glanced at the wildcat and smirked. It was nice seeing that even Darkclaw hesitated when it came to openly insulting the Nameless One. "Yes," Darkclaw said after a moment, "I am calling your lord a liar, but I will give him a chance to disprove me."
"I am listening." Fatefiend said, and Redsplash realized she would have to give the young ferret more credit from now on. He was an incredible actor.
"I will release the otter to you, ambassador, and expect my sister back before the next full moon."
Fatefiend frowned, "That is far too short of a time. You realize, of course, that we have to cross an ocean and then travel back over it to get here again. It will be at least two full moons."
Darkclaw frowned, glanced at Redsplash and then at Fatefiend, and, slowly, nodded. "Yes, yes that will do, I suppose."
Fatefiend smiled thinly, "Thank you."
"And, to insure your safety and that of the otter and Silverdawn, I will send with you two companies of my creatures." Darkclaw added smoothly.
Redsplash saw Fatefiend tense and frown, and knew Darkclaw saw it too. Hopefully he just thought Fatefiend was surprised. "There is no real need." Fatefiend assured Darkclaw.
"I know, but I feel that I must give something in return since the Nameless One is being so generous." Darkclaw said and smiled widely, showing every single one of his very sharp teeth.
"Uh, yes." Fatefiend said, obviously disliking that smile, "Well, I thank you. I shall set out tomorrow afternoon, I think."
"Leaving so soon?" Darkclaw asked coldly.
"I do not like this northern weather." Fatefiend returned, his voice just as cold as Darkclaw, "I find it less then hospitable. If you will direct me to where I will be sleeping…"
"Ah, of course." Darkclaw said, turned, and opened the door. He talked quietly to a weasel that stood directly outside of the room. Fatefiend and Redsplash made eye contact. Redsplash raised her eyebrows. Fatefiend stuck out his tongue. Ah, yes. Good old Fatefiend. Redsplash thought, rolling her eyes.
The weasel came forward, bowed to Fatefiend, and led him away. Redsplash turned to scowl at Darkclaw. "I hate you." She informed him, reminding herself that she should be angry.
"I don't care." Darkclaw replied, "Come. You have to go back to the dungeons." He grabbed her elbow and dragged her out of the room.
"You know," Redsplash said, trying to yank her elbow free, "you'd make more friends if you didn't go dragging them around like this all the time."
"I don't need friends." Darkclaw said and tightened his grip on her elbow.
"Everyone needs friends." Redsplash said, still trying to free her elbow, "So they can risk, and lose, their lives for you."
"I don't need friends to protect me. I am quite capable of looking after myself." Darkclaw snapped.
Redsplash rolled her eyes and kept trying to get her elbow free, up until the time she was thrown back into the room she'd started out in. She scowled as Darkclaw slammed the door and moved back to the corner she had been sleeping in since she had woken up in this castle. She curled into a ball, sighed, and closed her eyes. Whatever game Fatefiend was playing was going to be very dangerous. Darkclaw obviously wasn't stupid.
…
Redsplash woke with a start when the door creaked open. Fatefiend stood in the doorway, glancing at the door as if it had just betrayed him. "What?" Redsplash asked quietly as she stood up, "What are you doing?" She clarified.
"Getting you out of here." Fatefiend informed her, "Without fifty of the wildcat's beasts following us."
"What a bright idea." Redsplash rolled her eyes, "Did you bring any weapons?"
"Yes." Fatefiend said, "Here." He added and drew a dagger from its sheath and handed it to her. Redsplash grinned evilly down at the blade.
"Come on." She said and dodged past him, out of the dungeon. Suddenly she stopped moving, and Fatefiend slammed into her back.
Darkclaw leaned against the wall opposite the door, "Hello." He said pleasantly.
Redsplash took off running, ducking Darkclaw's attempt to block her way. She heard Fatefiend curse, and then felt him land on the ground beside her. He'd obviously jumped. Redsplash sprinted down the hallway and turned right at the fork.
"Do you know where we're going?" Fatefiend gasped as he ran alongside her.
"No." Redsplash hissed back. "Do you?"
"Yes. Follow me." Fatefiend said, and Redsplash dropped back a few paces, letting him take the lead. They took several turns and, suddenly, were running through the hallway with the statue that Redsplash had hidden behind before. Suddenly it shifted and slid and Darkclaw stepped out of the secret passage behind it and moved quickly to block their way. Redsplash stopped short when Fatefiend suddenly stopped moving, both of them backing up slowly.
"Hello…" Fatefiend said uneasily.
"If I had wanted to capture you two, I could have done it already." Darkclaw told them smugly.
"That's lovely." Fatefiend remarked, "Come, Redsplash, we must be going now." He shoved Redsplash backwards and retreated quickly back down the hallway.
"You know as well as I do that this is the only way out of the castle." Darkclaw said, frowning. "The only way out of the third floor anyway."
"We'll just have to find a new way." Redsplash snapped.
"There isn't one."
"How about you just let us by, then?" Redsplash suggested.
"I am not letting you out of this castle unless I go with you." Darkclaw said.
Fatefiend rolled his eyes, "That's a brilliant idea. Let's let him come with us, Red, so he can kill us outside. I always wanted my blood to water some pretty flower."
"I never said I would kill you." Darkclaw said.
"On the count of three, we attack." Fatefiend whispered.
Redsplash glanced at him and did not agree.
"One…two…three!" Fatefiend jumped through the air. He managed to get within a foot of Darkclaw before the wildcat caught him and tossed him, incredibly more gently than he'd ever tossed Redsplash, away from him.
"Don't do that." Darkclaw ordered, "You might hurt yourself."
Fatefiend sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. He stared up at Redsplash in surprise, "Why didn't you help?"
"Because I'm not suicidal." Redsplash said, and then turned her attention on Darkclaw, her grip tightening on the dagger she held. "Let us through."
"No." Darkclaw said and then paused, looking at the two of them as if considering something. "I'll make you a deal." He offered finally.
"What deal?" Fatefiend said quickly. Redsplash scowled at him as she helped him stand. Seeming desperate never helped in any situation.
"I will let you two go free if you agree to travel with me to the Nameless One's domain to rescue my sister. After that, I do not care where you go."
"Are you insane?" Fatefiend hissed, "Do you know what my father will do to me if he ever finds me?"
Redsplash slapped Fatefiend on the side of his head, "Why did you tell him you were the Unnamed One's son?" She demanded irritably.
"I have some ideas." Darkclaw said, ignoring Redsplash and not seeming at all surprised by Fatefiend's admission, "And he'll probably do the same to me. He might try to bargain something out of my family for my life first, but they will take no deals with him. The only one that will probably live is the otter."
"Red?" Fatefiend squeaked, looking at Redsplash with curiosity.
"You know as well as I do that the Nameless Bastard wants what I know, stupid." Redsplash said.
"But he'll kill you once he knows."
"I won't tell him." Redsplash said. This was the truth, too. Redsplash still had no clue where what she stole was, or even what she'd stolen.
"False bravado," Darkclaw said mockingly, "Something I would have expected in any other otter, but not you."
"You shut up." Redsplash snapped, "I am trying to have a conversation with my friend."
"So…what do we do?" Fatefiend whispered to Redsplash as he sent worried glances at Darkclaw.
"First of all, we take the deal." Redsplash said, "Second, we abandon him in the middle of the night. Third, we run far, far, away and never, never try to get our revenge on the Nameless One."
"Right. Good." Fatefiend nodded enthusiastically. "I like it."
Redsplash looked at him reproachfully. "Well, don't get too excited." She told him. "We'll still probably die."
"But we'll have a better chance of not dying, right?"
Redsplash stared at him blankly. "Uh, look, we'll worry about that later. Right now we have to get out of this castle. I'll tell Darkclaw that we decided to take his deal."
"Good." Fatefiend said and glanced at the wildcat that was sliding the statue back into place, ignoring them. "Because I don't think he likes me."
Redsplash rolled her eyes and turned to Darkclaw, "We have decided to take your deal."
"Good." Darkclaw said, straightening from his work. "Follow me." He added and started walking away, down the hallway.
"Not the most talkative of all cats, is he?" Fatefiend asked as he and Redsplash hurried to keep up with the cat.
Redsplash shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't met all cats."
"You know what I mean." Fatefiend said, rolling his eyes at her.
"Yes." Redsplash said, "Now stop talking. I don't want to wake up any sleepers."
"Oh, yes, I've seen these beasts. Every single one of them is in serious need of their beauty sleep." Fatefiend said fervently.
Redsplash grinned but didn't answer. She wasn't exactly happy about the situation she was in, but having Fatefiend there made it more bearable. After all, he was the closest thing she had to a friend. She wondered briefly why he had attempted to rescue her in the first place, and then decided she didn't want to know. They followed the wildcat down two staircases and through several halls, finally coming to a stop in a kitchen.
"This isn't exactly outside." Redsplash remarked dryly as she looked around, her nose wrinkling at the smell of burned flesh.
"We will starve if we don't take food with us." Darkclaw answered with exaggerated patience as he grabbed three packs off a shelf and began shoveling food into two of them.
"By the way," Fatefiend said as he stuck his head over Darkclaw's shoulder to see what the wildcat was putting in the packs, "I'm not a cannibal. I'll eat anything else if I have to, but I won't eat ferret."
Darkclaw turned, 'accidentally' slamming his elbow into Fatefiend's throat as he opened up another cupboard and began putting more food into the two packs. "Good. If we run out of food, we can eat the otter."
Fatefiend, clutching his throat, made a face of disgust, "I can't eat Red. She'd poison me."
Redsplash rolled her eyes, "Darkclaw, don't put anything disgusting in my pack."
"Here." Darkclaw said and tossed the one of the packs to each other them. "No meat." He added when he saw Redsplash glanced doubtfully down at it.
He reached into an entirely different cupboard to fill the third pack and Redsplash, nose wrinkling once again, turned to look at Fatefiend who had just taken a huge bite of an apple he'd just dug out of his pack. "What's it taste like?" She asked quietly.
"Lahke abble." Fatefiend mumbled appreciatively through a mouthful of food.
"Really?" Redsplash said and glanced doubtfully down at the pack she was holding loosely in one paw. "Darkclaw, how did you grow apples this far north?"
"We didn't. We traded mouse meat for apples with a Warheart clan farther south." Darkclaw said as he finished filling his pack, which was considerably bigger then Redsplash and Fatefiend's. "Come." He ordered and started walking again.
"Are we heading towards the exit?" Fatefiend asked hopefully.
"Yes. Be quiet." Darkclaw said and doubled his pace so Redsplash and Fatefiend had to jog to keep up.
"Yes. Be quiet." Fatefiend mocked when he was a safe distance away.
Redsplash grinned but didn't reply as she slipped her dagger into her pack.
They didn't have to go far, but once they got there they had to wait ten minutes for Darkclaw to pick the lock. Redsplash or even Fatefiend could have picked the lock faster, but they didn't mention it. The wildcat opened the door, the only way out of the castle besides the drawbridge, apparently, and Redsplash stared across the landscape with wide eyes. It wasn't snowing, at least, but the color of the sky suggested that it might. There was no wind, thankfully, but it was cold enough that Redsplash's teeth chattered softly, the only noise that the three could hear.
"We have to get to the forest before daybreak." Darkclaw said, "Otherwise, you two will die from the cold. It will take them several hours to find that the three of us are gone, and they will wait two or three days before sending out a search party. Still, we have to move quickly."
"Not worried about you much, are they?" Fatefiend asked as he pulled at his warm cloak.
"No. They will just assume I've gone out to kill you two." Darkclaw said and started walking towards the vague suggestion of a forest on the horizon, apparently not caring if they followed him or not.
"Do we run now?" Fatefiend asked as he and Redsplash struggled hurriedly after the wildcat.
"No." Redsplash snapped, "We'll follow him until we get someplace warm."
"Oh, good." Fatefiend said, "Because I don't want you getting us lost."
Redsplash glared at him and quickened her pace, moving to walk between Darkclaw and Fatefiend in silence. She didn't bother worrying about what was happening around her, thinking about being cold only made it worse. She had grown adept over the years at thinking about something else during unpleasant conditions. For some reason, though, she could not think of anything that made her more comfortable. The only thing she could think about was the reflection in that fountain. The image of a smiling otter with flowers and a flute haunted her as she walked moodily after Darkclaw. She was not sure why it bothered her so much, but it did. She spent the several hours out in the cold brooding over why it bothered her, and coming up as clueless as she had been when the image first surfaced in her mind.
Finally, though, Darkclaw said it was time that they stopped traveling, for the night. Redsplash looked around in confusion and found that they were at least halfway into the forest. She shrugged, glad that they were done traveling but curious as to how she had been so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed the change in landscape. She slid to the ground and dropped her pack, leaning against a tree and watching Darkclaw start a fire.
"Won't they see the smoke?" she asked as her gaze flickered to Fatefiend who had settled down just out of reach of both Darkclaw and Redsplash.
"Yes." Darkclaw said, "but, like I said, they won't come after us for two or three days."
Fatefiend dug in his pack and came out with another apple. He bit into it, chewed, swallowed, and took another bite before saying, "So, why do you want us to help you get your sister out of the Nameless One's castle? You going to trade us in for her?"
"No. I don't want to be on your father's good side." Darkclaw said, "I want to cause as much havoc as I can."
Fatefiend glanced at Redsplash and shrugged, "I still don't see why you think we can help."
"We know the building, Fate." Redsplash said tiredly, "We know where the valiant little slaves willing to give their lives for a chance at getting back at their tormentors are. We know where the weapons are kept. And we know where his sister is most likely to be held."
Darkclaw did not argue, but he did not agree as he built up the fire. Redsplash moved closer to the fire, as did Fatefiend. Fatefiend waited, as if wondering when Darkclaw was going to say something, then looked quizzically at Redsplash, "Torture chamber or just the dungeons, do you think?"
"Huh?" Redsplash asked, preoccupied as she was with trying to steal an apple out of Fatefiend's pack, which he had dropped carelessly near her.
"Do you think his sister'll be in the torture chamber or the dungeons?" Fatefiend clarified as he pulled his pack away from her. He was, though, tragically too late to save the apple.
Redsplash took a huge bite out of the red apple, chewed, swallowed, and then shrugged, "I dunno. Depends on her attitude."
Darkclaw glanced up at them, a cold smirk on his face, "I'll place a bet on the torture chamber. She can annoy everyone."
"Listen to that, Red," Fatefiend said, obviously still annoyed about the apple theft. "Your soul mate."
"I think not." Redsplash said, throwing the apple core at his head.
Fatefiend ducked and it hit Darkclaw who had bent over the fire again. He straightened, and glared at Fatefiend, as the apple core had come from his direction. "Ferret, why did you just toss an apple at me?"
"Because he thinks meat eating is a sick and disgusting habit. He hopes to turn you into a vegetarian by pelting you with plants." Redsplash said helpfully from where she sat.
"Ferret." Darkclaw said warningly, glaring at Fatefiend.
"Uh, no, she's lying." Fatefiend said, glancing at Redsplash suspiciously, "She threw that apple. I just ducked."
"Well don't duck again." Darkclaw snapped.
"Uh, all right." Fatefiend said agreeably.
Redsplash snickered and put the pack down next to the fire and then rested her head against it. She yawned and was asleep in an instant. Darkclaw moved several paces away and then, sending one last annoyed, superior, glare their way, went to sleep. Fatefiend, growling under his breath in annoyance, dug around in the pack he had brought with him on his way to rescue Redsplash. He took two blankets out, stood up, and dropped one where he had just been standing before going over to look down at Redsplash who looked almost angelic in slumber. He considered tying one end of the blanket to her tail and lighting the other end on fire, but then, sadly, dismissed the idea, as Darkclaw would undoubtedly get rather angry if he was awakened from his slumber by Redsplash screeching.
Fatefiend kneeled and carefully put the blanket around his friend then went back to where his two packs were. He made himself a pillow out of the two of them, pulled his own blanket up to his chin, and crawled close enough to the fire to singe his ears. He was stretching, about to go to sleep, when his paw came in contact with a smoldering rock. He grinned evilly and hurled it at Redsplash before closing his eyes and pretending to snore.
Redsplash's yelps of pain when the rock slammed into her neck and drew blood accompanied with Darkclaw's roars of annoyance seconds later lulled Fatefiend to sleep, a sinister grin on his face.