X
Roken laid back onto his soft bed in the late hours of the night, and mused over the evening's events. He had asked Nikki about Wintergreen's mother and father, but got few solid answers, as the hare had warned. Wintergreen had apparently been found and adopted in the woods by a young Annabelle just before she was to become the Abbess, as was told by Nikki. Not much else was answered, for Nikki was not so close to Annabelle as to be involved in personal matters such as this. If adopting the child was an excuse to escape from the duties of being an Abbess as Sean believed, it would be masked and hidden from the view of everybeast by Annabelle. As Roken looked onto the ceiling of the dormitories above him, made of ancient red brick, he imagined their construction ages ago, and he was thankful for them. Hovering above like a giant shield, blocking out the wind, and the rain that had begun falling gloomily over the evening, they provided Roken's last few hours of protection before he would again set out into Mossflower, on a mission of great importance. His stomach churned over itself in anxiety as he awaited the coming sunrise. He felt sorry for Wintergreen, who had no idea of that her mother was not the Abbess. But then again... he wasn't sure that Annabelle wouldn't have discussed the matter already with Wintergreen. He thought it best to stay out of those personal matters for a while at least.
Roken sighed in restlessness. He felt his stomach clench together again in pain, as he thought of the imminent dawn. Softly, the bells called out twice.
Two in the morning? Oh no... I must sleep. I'll be no more than a nuisance as a drowsy companion to my friends tomorrow. But how do I go to sleep? How can I make myself stop thinking?
Roken sighed again. He forced his lids closed, and tried to listen to the raindrops as they softly struck the outer walls of the Abbey. Unwillingly, his body submitted to the darkness, and he fell asleep.
* * *
Sunlight slowly flowed through tree-tops and onto the ground. Plants filled the air with a choking essence. A misty fog was about, but it was not dawn, nor was it dusk. Roken felt himself standing on the dirt ground, and he dug his paws into it to keep his balance. The air was thick, and it dizzied him. He turned and looked around, and as he did, the world moved slowly. All things blurred into a dark green, and made comprehension of his surroundings impossible. He assumed he was in a thick forest. As he kept turning, he saw somebeast standing in the sunlight. He felt his heart beat for the first time as he realized it was Wintergreen. Slowly, the warm air grew cold, and the ground, hard. Wind began to blow as a rumble was heard in the distance. Gray dark replaced the light. Cold filled Roken, and he began to dread. His eyes were fixed ahead at Wintergreen, who looked up and into the last remnants of light as it bathed her. Then, the light grew dim.
"The sunlight... it wanes..." Wintergreen's voice did not come from her mouth, but from and endless and far away echo. From the air then came a ripping sound. Although never hearing one before, something told him it was a bow's arrow, flying through the mist. Whether it was instinct or panic that made him assume it was an arrow, he could not tell. He rushed forward, or rather tried to, but the world was still moving at a much slower speed than usual. He tried to call out to Wintergreen, but he heard no voice inside of his head. He pushed his joints forward, and grabbed at the squirrel. As they fell to the ground, a searing pain issued from his shoulder, and began to spread. He looked at himself, and saw a black arrow embedded deep within his arm. He began to shudder as the chill of the air, colder than winter's night, engulfed him. He screamed, but again, he could not hear himself. His right arm began to freeze in bitter cold as each droplet of blood streamed freely from his body, and onto the ground. He looked for Wintergreen, but she was nowhere to be found. He laid his head back onto the hard, cold ground, and lost all account of his surroundings.
He then heard bells tolling in the distance. He opened his eyes, and sat up against a hard granite rock. He no longer felt pain in his arm, and the arrow was gone. However, he no longer felt, or sensed, anything at all. He looked forth, and saw the abbey tinted blue in moonlight. He was in the abbey grounds, and he looked around at his surroundings. The abbey seemed to be abandoned. He then looked down at the ground where he was sitting and noticed it was made of dark dirt, as opposed to the grass around him. Suddenly, for some reason, he shuddered again, and felt the presence of something horrifying. Slowly he turned around, and looked in terror at the rock he was leaning against. The wind blew fur into his face, and he pushed it away. Something was inscribed on the rock.
"Rest in peace,
Roken"
He then stood up, and wondered as his surroundings changed again. He was standing on his bed in the dormitories, and his heart was beating franticly. Try as he might, he could not slow his own breath. He looked around at everyone else as they slept on, and felt his shoulder. It appeared to be normal. He sat back down on his bed, as his brow furrowed in confusion. He realized he had been dreaming, but for how long, he could not tell. He tried to remember what happened in it; but he either couldn't, or unconsciously he did not want to remember. Either way, the dream slipped from him. He looked around, and saw that there were a few noticeable traces of light coming in from odd places of the room. He jumped as he heard the bells quietly toll out 6 times. He sighed, and covered himself up with blankets.
Well, I may as well try and get another hour's worth of sleep. But wait... Wintergreen is usually up by now. Maybe I could find her? ... Wintergreen...
An echo rung through his head that he could barely hear.
"The sunlight... it wanes..." His eyes shot open, and sat up again.
"What?" The sound of his shout bounced off of the walls, and into the distance. No answer was heard. He was now completely awake.