(I feel accomplished. I actually got this chapter finished in less then two weeks. Oh, by the way, there's gonna be twelve chapters. Probably.
And warning: I'm bad at writing endings and in the last couple stories I actually finished…I ended them by killing all the 'good guys' off in a massive explosion. I'll try not to sink to that level again but…I'm really bad at endings.)
Aloysius the fox paced in uneasy circles around and around the huge room. Suddenly the door burst open and the fox had his sword out before the echoes even started. It was only Xema, though, the younger of his two sisters. Of course, Zenthara had been slain the second day of battling, so now Xema was the only sister.
"And what do you plan to do?" Xema demanded, glaring at him in anger.
"What do you plan to do?" Aloysius snapped, scowling at his sister. Though Xema was obviously the better warrior among the two of them, Aloysius was the smarter. Not that Aloysius was a bad fighter, he was actually very good with a sword, but Xema was the assassin. While Aloysius had been being taught strategy, Xema had been learning how to get up to and through a five-story window without making a sound.
None of that would help them now. A strange creature, known only as the Ghost had arrived at most a month or so ago, but in that time he had managed to take the pathetic rebellion and turn it into a full-fledged army. An army that was currently in the process of knocking down his gates. Some said the Ghost was an otter with eyes such a dark green they looked like a forest at midnight, and some said it was a mouse warrior from Redwall. Aloysius was more inclined to believe the otter story. After all, mice were rather weak.
"A lot more then you do!" Xema shouted at him, answering his previous question, "If we do not attack back we will be crushed!"
"Then lead an attack, sister." Aloysius said quietly.
Xema glared, "I will be killed!" she shouted, "Their archers are shooting at every fox they see!"
"Is that why you came here? To avoid being killed?" Aloysius, concern in his face and tone. "If I had known you were so afraid of dying I wouldn't have-"
"I am not afraid!" Xema shouted, "You just want me to die so that you won't have to worry about anyone trying to take your throne from you."
"Dear sister, if I wished you dead, you would be dead." Aloysius said, concern draining from his voice.
"We will die here!" Xema hissed.
"We all die." Aloysius said, looking around. "Sooner or later."
"I would rather not die now."
"Than lead the attack! Or send one of our captains to do it!"
"Our captains are incompetent idiots!" Xema hissed. "They would not be able to lead a successful charge if all they had to do was walk along after the soldiers."
"Forgive me for saying so, Xema, but wasn't it you who picked the captains?"
Xema glared at him, "Brother, one of these days you'll wake up to find a dagger over your throat."
"Why, sister, what would mother say if she knew you were threatening me?" Aloysius asked sarcastically.
"Probably the same thing Zenthara would have said." Xema said, "They would have cheered."
"But they are dead."
"And whose fault is it that Zenthara died? I told you about the Ghost."
"And I told you to double the guard."
"I did."
"Then there was nothing any of us could have done! Zenthara was stupid. She died for it. And the more we stand here and argue about it, the more likely it is that we're going to die!"
"I am not afraid of death, Aloysius."
"Than lead the charge!"
Xema glared, detecting the trap too late. Before she could answer, however, an arrow seemed to grow out of the space between her eyes.
Aloysius reacted immediately, lunging away from where his sister was now falling to the ground. He pressed himself against the wall, staring at the three windows. None of them seemed to be broken. But then how…
"Aloysius!" growled a voice, and an otter dropped from the rafters. He frowned at the fox and Aloysius straightened, his sword clutched tightly.
"Ghost?" Aloysius returned.
"You are a tyrant. I will kill you for your crimes."
"You're welcome to try." Aloysius replied, lunging forward.
But the Ghost seemed almost impossible to hit. The fight went on for at least an hour, and the Ghost never even drew his sword. Instead he simply dodged the blows the fox tried to rain down on the otter.
Finally Aloysius drew back, determined to take a brief rest from attacking. But as soon as Aloysius stopped attacking the otter easily knocked his feet from under him and had the fox on his knees, struggling to stand.
The otter's sword moved to brush against the fox's throat and Aloysius froze. "Tell me what you know about the Nameless One."
"The…Nameless One." Aloysius muttered, blinking. He was going to die now. Was it worth telling everything he knew? Yes. Because who cared now? "He is searching for his son and an escaped slave."
"Would that be an otter slave?" the otter asked, tilting his head to the left.
"Yes." Aloysius said. "An escaped otter slave…named Redsplash."
"Redsplash." The otter murmured, recognizing the name, and annoyed that it wasn't the one he'd been hoping for.
"Why do you care?" Aloysius ventured.
The Ghost glanced down at him, frowning. "I must hunt her down next."
"Do you simply go around killing those that have committed evil deeds?" Aloysius said, his tone mocking.
The Ghost blinked, "Yes." He said, "Because the evil must be stopped."
"And what has this otter done?" Aloysius demanded.
The Ghost ignored him and with a swift stroke ended the fox's life. He turned, walking past the tyrant's sister, and out of the throne room. He had to open the gates for the army of rebels. And then? Then he had to stay until this battle was over. And then? And then he would leave, because if Redsplash had escaped she wouldn't go back. And he needed to find out where she was going.
The Ghost frowned at that thought and tightened his grip on his dagger. He'd been hearing of Redsplash for a very long time, but this was the first time he'd heard she had escaped the Nameless One. Now, perhaps, he would be able to finally hunt her down and begin settling the past that haunted him.
The Nameless One was pacing. That alone was enough to alert his guards, warn them of his foul temper, but if that hadn't been bad enough, he was also clutching a sword in his right paw. His dark green eyes were narrowed as he paced up and down the hallway, every now and then pausing and looking around. Looking for someone to blame his annoyance on.
It had been about a month since the otter went missing, and who knew how long since his son disappeared. His son wasn't as important as the otter. Because that otter had what he wanted, and the otter was gone. In the clutches of the Warheart clan of Northern Discord, kept inside Bluefang's castle by his brother, Darkclaw. Or she had been. But when the two brother's mother had finally died, Bluefang had ascended the throne and the wildcat had lavished gifts on the powerful ferret. The Nameless One had only wanted one gift though. A powerful female otter whose arrogance rivaled the pompous meat eater. The otter, Bluefang had insisted, had been taken by his brother, along with a curious ferret ambassador from the Unnamed One, away from the castle.
The 'ambassador', the Nameless One was sure, was his errant son. What the Unnamed One couldn't understand was why Fatefiend would risk his freedom for the otter. He had known the two had been friends, he'd even known they were planning a rebellion together. But what kind of madness would make Fatefiend hazard his freedom for an otter? One of the slaves no less. It was nauseating.
And to make matters worse, Farraw's unit hadn't reported in. The two wolves that belonged to that group had been seen floating through one of the northeastern streams late last night. It was barely dawn now, but the Nameless One had a feeling in his gut that something was going to happen soon. Something both good and bad. Something he should be wary of.
"Sire!" called a weasel captain as he trotted up. "Sire!" he repeated and bowed.
The Nameless One looked at him sourly, "What?" he demanded.
"There is a wildcat at the gates who wishes to speak with you!" the weasel said, bowing again.
"Oh?" The Unnamed One asked, his voice deceptively gentle, almost friendly. "And what does this wildcat say his name is?"
"D-Darkclaw Warheart, brother to Bluefang." The weasel stuttered.
The Nameless One paused, considering. "And what does he want?" he asked, his voice calm and warm. If the weasel didn't answer with the answer the Nameless One wanted…
"He says he has your son, and that he would like to speak to you about a trade." The weasel said, a bead of sweat slipping down his face.
The Nameless One's lip twitched into a disgusted snarl, watching the sweat. "Captain." He said, his voice cold and deadly, "Get out of my castle by nightfall, or I will kill you."
"Yes, sire. Thank you!" the weasel said, turned, and sprinted away.
The Unnamed One shook his head, disgusted and annoyed. He turned and began walking, putting his sword carefully back into its sheath as he went, his mind quickly going over the situation, analyzing everything and coming up with solutions to things that would most likely never happen. But then, with the prince of the Warheart Clan, it was never known what would happen.
Darkclaw sat at a table; the unconscious Fatefiend slumped on the ground. The ferret had woken once, but had been sent quickly back to sleep. When the Nameless One entered Darkclaw found himself not at all impressed. Yes, the ferret looked dangerous, and didn't seem like the type to back away from a fight, but Darkclaw took both of those attributes to the extreme. Darkclaw was the embodiment of dangerous.
"Ah, Prince." The Nameless One said with a smile that didn't even try to reach his eyes. "How are you?"
"Currently, I'm feeling rather annoyed." Darkclaw rumbled, "As it turns out, the slave I thought might perhaps belong to you didn't. She belongs to Aloysius."
"The fox?" the Unnamed One said, blinking. "I had thought that the fox rarely bothered with slaves."
"He normally doesn't, which was why it was so important I give that one back. He was becoming rather annoying. Demanding that everyone search for a certain slave."
From the look the Nameless One gave him, the ferret knew perfectly well that the wildcat was both lying and sending him a veiled insult. But there was no way, politely, that the Unnamed One could point this out. So he settled for glancing at his son. "And what do you want for…that?"
"Silverdawn."
"Ah…your sister. I wasn't aware you had such a strong connection to your sibling." The Nameless One said and Darkclaw frowned at the smirk one the Nameless One's face.
"It is an insult for any member of my family to be held captive by a ferret." Darkclaw said, smiling softly. "And I thought that perhaps I could avoid war by bringing you your lost child back."
The Nameless One smiled in return, but Darkclaw could sense tension filling the room. Good. He didn't want the Unnamed One treating this like a game. In all out warfare Darkclaw wasn't sure who would win. The Nameless One had more intelligence than most of the wildcats, as much as it stung to admit it, but the Warheart clan was fierce and it had allies.
"I thought I made it clear I would trade your sister for the escaped otter slave, and only the slave."
Darkclaw's eyebrows rose, "Why are you so obsessed about this one slave?"
The Nameless One scowled at him. He was completely unwilling to say anything about that. Instead he glanced at his son, "Why would I want him back, cat?"
"I thought, perhaps, you'd want him back when you heard what he was doing."
"And what is that?"
"Drawing up an army to come after you. Mostly just stray otter and squirrel tribes, but he had also enlisted Kael's band of mercenaries and the Tribe of Darkness. He'd been to Salamandastron, collected at least a score of the hares there, and was about a day's travel from Redwall."
"The abbey?" the ferret said, sending his son a quick, suspicious glance. Darkclaw knew Fatefiend enough to tell that if he hadn't been traveling with Redsplash that was exactly what the ferret would have done.
"Yes." Darkclaw said, "The abbey with the mouse as its warrior."
The Nameless One sighed, not sure if he should believe the wildcat but knowing what would happen if he called Darkclaw a liar. A war with the wildcats would be costly and long. Neither of them needed that, and neither of them wanted it. But there was still something about the ferret that alarmed and annoyed Darkclaw. Every now and then he would act like he was about to burst out laughing. Like that was some huge joke that Darkclaw didn't understand. And Darkclaw didn't like the feeling of not understanding something.
"Well, I suppose I will allow you to have your sister back in exchange for my son. But if you find the otter slave…"
"I believe you have two of my kin in your dungeons. If I find the otter, I will exchange her for them."
"Of course." The Unnamed One said with a smile that told Darkclaw that the ferret knew that Darkclaw would never give him the otter, and that he didn't care at all about his cousin's children.
Kael blended in with the other weasels easily, but he was still careful. Darkclaw hadn't given him an easy task, but then the wildcat wasn't exactly pleased with the message Kael had delivered to him. This Ghost was becoming famous with the mice, voles, and otters and infamous with the vermin. The fact that he'd managed to put Aloysius under siege was surprising, considering how many rebellions the fox had successfully gotten rid of.
Kael was wandering around, dragging the otter with him. Redsplash…if she was smart she'd change her name. Darkclaw's plan was alarming only because the wildcat was giving the ferret and the otter a chance to save each other and escape. Darkclaw would normally kill them, because, in the end, those he betrayed were the ones that would try to kill him. Not that either of them could even get close to hurting Darkclaw. Kael had only seen the wildcat fight once, against a badger bound for Salamandastron, but it had been enough to make the weasel wary and impressed. Besides being intelligent and cold, the wildcat could easily best most badgers in a fight. Seeing him fight a wolf, a real wolf…now that would be interesting.
The story was that Kael was a passing slave trader and the otter was troublesome enough that he was dropping her off here instead of where he normally sold his slaves. It was believable enough. Or it would be, once the otter woke up. He found the slave cells approximately five minutes after he was supposed to be outside the castle. A fat rat sat with a whip in one hand watching the slaves and drinking from a mug.
Kael's lip twitched in contempt, but he managed to keep his tone one of complete impassiveness as he said, "The Nameless One just bought this slave."
The rat glanced at the otter, staring hard and squinting. Kael fought back the instinct to kill the rat. Such stupidity and weakness did the world about as much good as Kael did when drunk. None. Well…there was that one time he'd killed his brother when he was drunk and he supposed that had helped bit.
"Well toss 'er in with the rest of 'em." The rat said, his voice slurred and annoying.
Kael smirked as he briefly considered throwing the rat in there instead of the otter. It would be amusing to listen to the rat's screams as the slaves tore him apart, but that would ruin the plan. The whole plot revolved around Redsplash being undetected for at least a few days. The rat tossed him the keys and the weasel caught them easily, unconsciously wiping them off on his shirt before unlocking the doors.
The slaves watched him, some hollow eyed and empty, others worried and frightened, and a few angry and threatening. He smiled cheerfully at them all and tossed Redsplash in. He ignored the sound of her ribs slamming into the heavy stonewall as he relocked the cells. He turned and began walking away, headed quickly for the mostly secret exit he had entered.
Darkclaw stood outside the castle. Waiting. Kael had slunk up a few seconds ago, obviously annoyed by something. The weasel now stood a few paces away, glaring at the castle's heavy wood and steel door as they waited. Darkclaw was not worried that the Nameless One would not give his sister back, alive, but was becoming annoyed that it was taking so long.
Finally the door creaked open and several vermin came out, tugging a small wagon. Darkclaw frowned, his claws fully extending before he realized what was happening. "Where is my sister?" he demanded.
"In the wagon, sir." Said one of the weasels, covered in sweat. Darkclaw sensed contempt radiating off of Kael, but chose to ignore it.
"Why is my sister in a wagon?" Darkclaw asked.
"Because she's unconscious." A fox said, frowning up at the wildcat. Noting Darkclaw's stormy expression he smiled cheerfully up at him, mocking him.
Darkclaw blinked and smiled back, before slashing at the fox with his claws. He wasn't bothered when the fox, screaming, fell to the ground, his face in shreds. Darkclaw grabbed hold of the handles the vermin were using to drag the wagon and began walking off, not at all bothered by the weight.
At least one of the vermin tried to go after Darkclaw, but was quickly dispatched by Kael and his impressive aim with throwing daggers.
Later, about an hour later, they arrived at the clearing right before the one that the rest of Darkclaw's temporary band was camped at. A hiss sounded from the wagon and Darkclaw stopped, turning to stare at the covered part in surprise. Silverdawn never hissed. Never showed anger. Could the Nameless One have tried to trick them? Was he really that stupid?
Suddenly a silver furred, young, female wildcat lunged out of the wagon, flying towards Darkclaw. It took a very small amount of effort to use the wildcat's momentum against her and pin her to the ground. Her recognized his sister's features, but not the pure anger and hate painted on them.
There was a brief flicker of hesitation and then the wildcat stopped fighting. "Darkclaw?" she asked, staring up at him in confusion.
"Silverdawn?" Darkclaw replied, half mocking her, and half really wondering if it was his sister.
"No." his sister said, shaking her head and glaring, "My name is Bloodrise now."
Darkclaw stood up, pausing long enough to grab his sister's paw and pull her up with him. Kael had wisely slunk off, knowing he was not wanted at this particular family reunion. "And why has your name changed?"
"Because I have." Silverdawn, or Bloodrise, said forcefully. "I'm a murderer now, Dark. I've finally become what you always wanted me to be." There was a slight bitterness in her tone.
Darkclaw couldn't recognize the feeling in his stomach for a minute and waited, giving it time to show itself. And then he understood. He was furious. Whatever that damned ferret had done to his sister to change her from a peace-loving vegetarian to this wild and angry creature he saw before him was breaking at least twenty laws of honor. The Nameless One would pay for this. But not with his life, because Darkclaw didn't have the numbers for that. No, he would take back what he'd conveniently deposited in the ferret's lap. Redsplash and Fatefiend would be taken from him.
Redsplash woke slowly, not wanting to wake up at all. Someone was watching her, though. Sitting next to her and watching, waiting. She opened one eye and found, to her great shock, that an albino otter male was sitting next to her, staring at her emotionlessly.
Redsplash sat up quickly, looking around. She realized where she was almost immediately and closed her eyes. Damn…
"Who are you?" the otter asked.
Redsplash opened one eye and sent him a glance meant to tell him to be silent and leave her alone. He just waited for her reply though, and Redsplash sighed. "Redsplash…" she said.
"The otter?" he asked, frowning.
"No." Redsplash said dryly, "The mouse."
He ignored her comment and squinted at her, "You were the only slave to ever escape." He said.
"That's because the otter that was supposed to save me gotten eaten alive by pike." Redsplash said sharply.
He blinked, "Well, now I know what happened to him." He muttered.
"Good for you." Redsplash said and stood up, walking over to the cell. She recognized Denraid, the fat self-named rat. She blinked, realizing that if the Nameless One knew she was here she wouldn't be in the slave holding cell, she quickly drew back, scowling.
"But you can't be Redsplash." The otter said.
"And why not?"
"You don't look like her."
Redsplash scowled, about to snap out a very rude reply, when she suddenly saw her reflection in a puddle of murky water. He was right. She didn't look like herself. In fact, her fur was died black and one of her ears had been pierced.
"I'm gonna kill 'em." She vowed. "They made me look like a damn Tribe of Darkness member!"
"Lovely manner's she's got, Havoc." Said a lithe looking squirrel as he walked over.
"Well, the stories did say she wasn't the nicest person." The otter, Havoc, replied.
"Excuse me." Redsplash said, "What stories and how come you're called 'Havoc' I mean, I could come up with a better name than that? Was your mother just-"
"My mother was killed a second after I was born." Havoc said with a twisted, cold smile, "By my father."
Redsplash blinked at him, momentarily stunned into silence.
"And there are all kinds of stories about you." The squirrel put in, "You're the local hero."
"I had better not be!" Redsplash said, "I hate heroes."
"Well, just listen to that. She hates us both." The squirrel said, his grin widening.
Havoc glanced at him. "Since when have you been a hero?"
"Oh, I found I have all the attributes of one. Brute strength, quick wit, incredible reflexes, an amazingly strict code of honor, and dashing good looks." The squirrel said, striking a pose he must have thought to be heroic.
Redsplash blinked at him, "Are you crazy?" she asked, not at all sarcastic. She really wanted to know if he was.
"Not as crazy as the Saneless One if that's what you're asking." The squirrel replied.
"The Saneless One?" Redsplash asked, blinking.
"It's me nickname for the Nameless One."
"Oh." Redsplash said, trying to hide her confusion.
"The ferret got his son back. So we probably won't have to work tomorrow." The squirrel said to Havoc.
"What?" Redsplash asked, paws clenching into fists. Fatefiend was back in his father's clutches?
"Oh, yes. Arrived this morning…about the same time you did." The squirrel said.
"How did you get here, anyway?" Havoc asked, "If they caught you, why didn't they just sell you to the Nameless One? Why go to the trouble of changing your appearance and then throwing you in here?"
"I'm guessing Darkclaw put me in here. He probably wanted to see how many days it would take before I was figured out. The bastard."
"Who's Darkclaw?" the squirrel asked.
"Who are you?" Redsplash returned.
"Adan." The squirrel replied. "Now, who's Darkclaw?"
"A wildcat." Redsplash said, "A meat eating, sadistic, bastard wildcat."
"Ah. I see." Havoc said.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go break out of this place." Redsplash said, turned, and walked towards the door of the slave pit. As she had expected, since her absence the Nameless One had changed the lock back to an easier one to pick. Good.
"Where would you go, though? The guards patrol the walls. There is no way out of this castle." Havoc said from right behind her.
Redsplash glanced at him, impressed that he'd managed to sneak up behind her. "I don't plan to go out. I need to make sure Fatefiend's alive."
"You're going to run the risk of being discovered by the Nameless One…for a ferret?" Adan demanded.
Redsplash rolled her eyes, finishing her work on the lock. Fatefiend was the better lock pick, by far, but this lock was so easy it was pathetic. "Stay here." She said, opening the door. Denraid was asleep and would stay that way until late tomorrow morning.
"I'll go." Havoc said, pushing past her.
"What? No!" Redsplash said, glaring at him as he tried to push her back into the cage.
"Look, I'm all white. I look like a ghost. I go for a walk through the halls and the next morning any vermin that saw me is raving about a ghost they saw in the halls. They see you…and all the slaves get called out in the morning. You'd be discovered."
Redsplash hesitated, scowling. Finally she gave in, "Fine!" she hissed.
Havoc nodded, shutting the door and making the lock look like it was locked back in place. He turned and left quickly, melting into the darkness surprisingly well for an albino otter.
"So…if you can open the lock why didn't we just all attack?" Adan asked.
"Because then we'd all be cut to pieces by the Nameless One's guards."
"We have weapons."
"You have inexperienced angry slaves who think they know how to fight." Redsplash returned. "You have nothing but bodies to bury if you try to fight."
He paused and then shrugged this off. Then his nearly irrepressible smile shimmered to the surface, again, "Would you mind sneaking out and bringing back some food?" he asked innocently.
Redsplash stared at him and sighed. This was going to be a very long night.