Chapter Seven
As the clouds billowed over the afternoon sun, terrified dibbuns squealed as the elders took them by the paw, taking sanctuary in the Great Hall. The various cheeses and wines had been set out, many different dishes and bowls of salad, soup, pies, and cakes decorated the tables.
On one side of the table, Kyra Longfletch sat next to Lucien Streambed on one side and Sky on the other. Kyra smiled and took a large bite of her mushroom paste before shoving the rest of it in her mouth and washing it down with Damson Wine. She then wiped her mouth neatly with a napkin, and used her fork and knife to cut up her fish into tiny pieces.
She picked up a piece of her fish in her paw, and dipped it in her shrimp and bulrush soup. She lifted the morsel into her mouth, and licked her lips. After a little bit of chewing, she picked up her plate and scraped all of the fish piece into her soup, grinning over at Lucien. "Mmmm... this is good! Try puttin' some meat in yer soup, Lucien. T'will taste wonderful!"
Lucien looked curiously at Kyra for a moment. Then he shrugged, doing as he was told. When he tasted the concoction, his eyes lit up. He took a swig of his strawberry cordial and grinned at Kyra. "'Tis wonderful, Kys! Mayhap it c'd be a new soup for the H'Abbey...hmm, I bet we could add a few more things in here..."
Sky glanced up from her food and caught the eye of Kilt Fourclaw, who was sitting on the other side of her. The ferret grinned at her, hiding a snicker behind his paws. It was obvious that Kyra and Lucien were flirting. . . in their own odd way.
The haremaid winked cheerily at the ferret and nodded towards Kyra, a grin flashing across her face. Quickly, she pulled out the notepad that she had carried with her everywhere since she had lost her voice, scribbling a message on it and tearing the sheet off before tucking it away. Acting completely innocent, she returned her attention to her pie, folding the note with one paw and slipping it beneath Kyra's goblet.
Kyra grinned and nodded at Lucien. "We c'n experiment in th' kitchens t'morrow, Mate." She paused to pick up her goblet and take a drink of her damson wine, licking her lips after she took a long swig from it. She smiled, setting it down. It was only then that she noticed the piece of folded up paper. She picked it up, leaning over to Sky. "Is this yores, Sky?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at the note again.
Kyra opened the slightly damp scrap of parchment and squinted at it, trying to read the smudged lettering. "'When's the Wedding?' I didn't know you had a boyfriend, Sky." She winked and took another sip of her soup. "Or is another friend o' yours getting married. I 'eard tell of no wedding. Tell whoever it is to invite me. I love weddings. They mean free food and cake!"
Sky glanced up from her meal, raising an eyebrow, face the picture of innocence. She rolled her eyes sarcastically and took a bite of the slice of sweet nutbread that sat on her plate. The haremaid winked cheekily at the slightly angry and slightly amused Ottermaid before stealing the otter's glass for herself. Hers was empty.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, a young ottermaid named Kestral sat eating in the company of Log-A-Log Rainne and RazorFang Ferret. Spotting the deeper n' ever pie, Kestral peered at it curiously, then added a slice of it to a plate already filled with various cheeses, nutbreads, an apple'n'pumkin flan topped with a dollop of meadow cream, and a helping of summer salad.
Soon, the ottermaid had purloined a great big slice of Redcurrantwall Cake, and though she ate the slice with vigor, she still kept her eyes fixed on the Beetroot pie. Not able to stand the suspense any longer, the ottermaid scooped up the slice of pie in one paw and held it to her lips. Taking a cautious bite, her eyes lit up with surprise and delight.
"Ooo, this is good! What is it?"
Raze grinned, and took a slice himself. "Th' moles call it Deeper'N'Ever Turnip 'N Tater 'N Beetroot Pie," he told her, taking a large bite of the slice he held.
Kestral took another large bite out of her own pie, grinning as a few crumbs of the cold pie fell down onto her chin. She stuck out a tongue and licked them off as Raze continued. "I call it 'Gone', though, if the moles and hares get at it before you get a slice!" Everyone within hearing range laughed.
Hours later, the feast was starting to slow down. Kyra and Sky were in a heated argument about which foods were the best, but both were cut off by a loud BANG, as the door to Great Hall swung open. The entire hall was silent.
Inside, through the open door, stepped a rat. Behind him were many, many more rats. All of them marched in to Cavern Hole, wet with the light rain that had started outside and all smelling horrible. Each rat carried an assortment of weapons, from spears and pikes to swords and longbows. Then, after a few silent moments of rats pouring into the large hall, all of the rats split into two ranks.
In between the ranks, a shadow appeared. Then, a much bigger rat stepped through the door. His wild hair was braided many times, and he had more earrings than any of his soldiers. At his side was a golden saber, an emerald at his hilt. He smiled and stared at the assortment of beasts sitting at the table. His eyes fell onto one in particular.
"So, we meet again, Kyra Longfletch . . ." Kyra stared, her eyes wide. This could only be a ghost! She had killed Mavarl years ago!
The first rat to enter the room stepped forwards, scratching an ear and taking out a piece of parchment that had been hidden in the belt at his waist. He coughed importantly, and began to read. Of course, he couldn't really read, but he had memorized his speech.
"These be th' terms of Mavarl the Tyrant. Surrender will be total and complete, no parleying. You will hand over th' otter female by the name of Kyra Longfletch to Mavarl without hesitation. You will surrender everyfin o' value in this 'ere place t'Mavarl, an' 'e will leave you un'armed. Mavarl 'as the right t'take any slaves from these beasts that 'e has conquered..."
Sky jumped to her feet, eyes blazing with hatred. What was he doing here!?! Kyra had killed him! But no, this was Mavarl. She instinctively grabbed for her saber, only realizing that she had not kept it for the feast. Throwing caution to the wind, the perilous Sky bolted from her seat, charging the still speaking rat. The rat fell backwards, hitting his head with a sickening crack against the hard stone floor.
Mavarl chuckled and stepped forwards, kicking at the carcass of the rat. "Skythistle Morningdew. I remember you, longears. One of the rebellion leaders, eh? You're lucky, Miss Morningdew. You weren't the one who tried to kill me, were you? I'm not interested in you, except as a hostage." He waved a paw, and three sturdy rats ran forwards and grabbed Sky.
Mavarl laughed again. "You should be thankful. I have plans for you, Miss Morningdew. I'll be taking you back to the island now. You'll be a slave again, just like the old days before you and your idiotic friend interfered. Unless. . ." he said, slowly, annunciating every word, "there is a way for you to be saved, my dear."
Kyra gulped, knowing what she had to do. She didn't pause when she stepped out of her seat, her bow in her paw. She knew shooting at Mavarl was pointless, the rat had obviously cooked up some sort of plan for that. There was only one way.
She took a step forwards and extended two paws. "I know what you want, longtail. Me." Sky stared at her, dumbstruck. Her friend was such an idiot! She tried to call out, but no sound issued from her throat. "I was the one who almost killed you. You have to get your filthy army out of here. If you take any of these others. . . you don't want me killing myself before you've had your fun, do you?"
Mavarl spat onto the stone floor and nodded. Of course, he didn't really care for any of these others. And his ship was only so big, too. There wouldn't be room for so many slaves. But it would be nice to watch Kyra's face if she saw her friends being tortured. He nodded, and waved a paw. Four rats stepped forwards, securing Kyra. A fifth picked up her bow and arrows.
It was then that Lucien stood up, glaring at Marval, his eyes burning.. His chair fell backwards, clattering to the floor, a distant sound. "You take Kyra, and you take me," he said defiantly. Kyra felt her heart pounding inside her, her brain almost hurting. That idiot! She couldn't let him just turn himself in like that! Hadn't the fool seen that she hadn't used her bow?
Mavarl cast his eye over Kyra, and then at Lucien. The expression on her face gave him an idea. That otter must have some sort of connection with Kyra. He smiled. He had promised not to take Sky, hadn't he? She had only slightly mentioned not taking other hostages instead. And then he would have the perfect creature to use against Kyra!
He smiled, and seven rats, all bearing cutlasses ran forwards, surrounding Lucien, while four others came forwards, longbows all aimed at his head. Kyra gritted her teeth and glared at her friend. Didn't he know that this was the kind of thing Mavarl wanted? "Alright, Ruddertail. I'll take you too. Don't you realize that you are hindering Kyra more than helping her? Oh well, it was your choice. Let the haremaid free."
The rats backed away from the winded Sky, and the seven secured Lucien. Mavarl smiled. Kyra was far from smiling. She had thought Lucien was smarter than that! Lucien glared at Mavarl. He knew Kyra would be mad at him for doing this, but that was a risk he was willing to take. The first time she was taken captive had left so many scars on her. If he could prevent even some of that, he would feel better.
"It's a good thing you're taking my bow with you, Longtail," Kyra spat. "I'll need it and that golden arrow when I kill you. Or don't you remember? The arrow I pulled out of your flesh. I should have made sure I'd finished you then. Trust me, I won't make that mistake again, scum."
Mavarl ignored her. "Insult me all you want, Longfletch, but I seem to have the upper paw now. Besides..." he smirked, casting Lucien a glance. "You don't want me to take out my anger on your friend here, do you?" Kyra was silent. The two were at a stalemate.
It was then that Kestral the Otter did something drastic. Her feelings rising within her, the Ottermaid jumped up from her seat, picking up her slice of Deeper 'N Ever pie and tossing it over the table, where it landed with a sickening 'splat' on Mavarl's face! Everyone was silent as the sweet and sticky mixture ran down his face.
Mavarl drew a paw slowly across his face, shocked at this behavior. The otterwench had dared to throw food at him? Ah well, he would teach her a lesson in pain that she wouldn't soon forget, if she survived it at all. The rat tried to mop his face with one paw while waving wildly with his other simultaneously to signal his guards. Kestral didn't move a muscle.
Three guards ran forwards, sprinting until they reached Kestral. Raze jumped up from his seat too, jumping on top of one of them and trying to pull them off of the young ottermaid. The rats overpowered him, and Raze was soon knocked unconscious, as was the young Kestral. In a matter of moments, both senseless creatures were dragged over to Mavarl, who looked them over, nodding slowly.
"Good. More bait for our waterhound friend, eh? Now, you lot, get out of this Abbey. We have what we came for, and we march now!" Then, with the four prisoners in tow, they left...
Later that night, the wooden ship rocked back and forth on the waves of the rough sea. It had been a while since the rat warlord had taken his captives. Kyra was just coming too. Everything was pitch black. Her brown eyes scanned the dark, empty space. "Lucien?" she called, "Lucien? Where are you? Kestral? Raze? Where are you? Anyone?" She felt about, moving blindly in the darkness.
Kyra looked about, though she couldn't see, desperately trying to find even one of the friends that she had gotten into this. Then, her paw met fur. Who was it? She moved her hands upwards until they connected with a shoulder. It was Lucien. She put her ear to his chest, listening for a heartbeat. It was faint, but beating.
She grabbed his paw and dragged him in a different direction until her paw touched a wall. The shackles that Mavarl had put on her paws rubbed against her flesh. She leaned her friend against the wall, putting her head on his shoulder and lying down next to him, waiting for him to wake up. If only Raze and Kestral weren't dead, or worse. . . she had no idea what Mavarl would do to them.
In some other distant corner, Kestral the ottermaid groaned and rolled over. Opening her eyes, she blinked once or twice in confusion. She put a paw to her face. Yes, her eyes were defiantly open, but she could see nothing. Where was she? The ottermaid frowned, trying to recall what had happened. Mavarl. Of course! He had come to take Kyra, and then she had thrown . . .
Nearby, Raze groaned as well, starting to come round at last. Raising a paw to his throbbing skull, he heard the clink of chains, feeling the weight of shackles about his paws. A slave again! He had been a slave before, and didn't want to repeat the experience. He groaned again and Kestral heard him, dragging herself over to the ferret.
"Raze? Is that you? Are you alright?" Kestral crawled in his direction, bumping into him in the dark. The ottermaid blushed, muttering unheard apologies to the Ferret and helping him to his feet as the two found a place near the wall, hoping to find Kyra and Lucien once they had their backs against something.
Kyra pushed herself closer to Lucien, scared to leave him alone. Mavarl would probably kill him just to spite her. She sighed, and tried yet again to look through the darkness. "Kestral? Raze? You there? 'Tis Kyra! I'm with Lucien. 'E's still out. Kestral? Raze? Oh c'mon you stupid ferret, answer me. You got yerself into this. Least you c'n do is keep me from worryin'. Kestral! Raze! Are you here?"
She gripped Lucien's paw, willing him to wake up, and listened, her ears perked. "Stupid yerself, Ruddertail!" Raze called, crawling dizzily towards his friend, still muttering. "Yew got us into this, Kyra Longfletch, yew and yer stupid idea of surrenderin' ter a searat. . ." Reaching her, he slumped back against the side of the hull. Kyra ignored him.
"Shuddup, Raze. You were th' beast stupid enough t'go attackin' 'em. And Lucien here is stupider than ten of you put t'gether. I just hope he wakes up so I can tell him so, the great lump." Raze nodded wile Kestral followed the sound of their voices and slumped down beside them, sitting on the other side of Raze while Kyra stayed within touching distance of Lucien.
Kyra put a comforting paw on Kestral's shoulder and squeezed. "Don' worry, Kessy. We'll all be fine. Sky'll be mad about all this, and the haremaid will send MacPhearsome, my eagle friend, to Salamandastron. He helped us to escape last time, and he'll do it again. And," Kyra added with a grimace, "I know Castle Fortguard back to front, though sometimes I wish I didn't know it so well."
Kyra felt Kestral fall asleep beside her. She lowered her eyes. She should be doing something useful, but she was still weak and tired. The ottermaid wrapped her arms about Lucien's neck and fell asleep at his side, taking strength from his still unconscious form. She felt a spurt of sympathy for him. She hadn't meant for any of them to come along with her. This was her battle and hers alone.
She closed her eyes, hoping that her sleep would not be interrupted by dreams. MacPhearsome would come. Sky would tell him what had happened, and he would come to her rescue. She prayed that it would work as smoothly as it had last time. She made herself comfortable against Lucien, praying that he would wake up before long, and went to sleep with Raze on her other side.
Kestral's sleep, which lasted only a short while longer than the slumbers of her three companions, was by no means untroubled. Kestral half-woke with a start, eyes staring into the blackness, heart pounding. It was a dream, just a dream. But then she came fully awake, and memory returned. No, it was more than a dream, worse than a dream.
The others were already awake, though they said not a word. Raze spoke first. "Aye, yore wid searats now. The nightmares're true. Yore best bet, Kestral, is to keep silent'n do wot they tells yer. B'lieve me, yew don't wanna disobey. Their way o' floggin' a beast'll scar yer for life." His own fur was thick enough and long enough to hide the scars, but, like Kyra's, his back was crossed with silvery lines.
"Aye, Kestral, Raze speaks th'truth," Lucien said, sighing. "Scars are never a good thing," he said, wincing as he remembered the times in his life when he had been a slave.
Softly, Kestral said, "Aye, I know 'tis true. I know. I only wish it weren't." After a bit she added- "Tis not m'self 'm worried about. Tis m'family. They might never find me. I was separated from them, you know. It was them I was dreaming about while I slept."
"What 'appened, Kes?" Kyra asked, figuring this was as good a time as any to look into Kestral's past. After all, what else could they do in the fathomless dark other than talk to each other? Kyra's own family was gone, except for Ronil of course, and he was far away. Her mother had died giving birth to her two twin otterkits, and her father had died of grieving and self-hatred. They had both died because of her.
Kestral was silent for a moment. "M'family and I were wanderers. There were- are - five of us. M'mom, m'dad, me, an' my little brother and sister, twins they are, by the name of Torby an' Sanga. My mother is a mapmaker, and my father a performer, so we drifted from here to there, never stayed in one place long. We stayed away from the coast, and so we had very little trouble with vermin an' the like.
"What trouble we did have, mom could take care of with her staff, or dad with his sling. I was learning the skills of a mapmaker as well as the performer's art. Mother taught me the use of a staff, and dad was going t'make me m'own someday. It was early morning, just barely dawn. We had not posted a guard while we slept, and so we did not see or hear the vermin until it was too late.
"A whole horde of them came upon us. I thought that something was wrong, but I didn't want to wake my parents. They all attacked us. My parents woke up. M'mum fended 'em off while m'dad protected Torby and Sanga. They seemed t'be alright. I was trying t'fight 'em with my paws, but there were hundreds of 'em! I was pursuing a rat who 'ad got hold of Sanga. I did not watch where I was going.
"I ran into a low tree limb, and was knocked unconscious. When I awoke, they were gone, and so were any tracks they or the vermin might have left, for it had rained hard. It was the rain that woke me, I think. Many hours had passed. I do not have any idea as to where they are, or even whether they are alive or dead. My mother had told me of Redwall, and so that's where I went. You know the rest. "
The others stared at her, not exactly sure how to respond. Kyra was the first to react, smiling down at Kestral benignly and comfortingly. "We understand, Kestral," she said, adopting a motherly tone. "We understand you perfectly. We've all had hard lives too. . . lives that can allow us t'empathize with yours. Seems many beasts have lives that they don't deserve."
Lucien nodded vaguely. "Aye. I was a slave to King Moonshadow. He made my life a living hell. Seems that he had some sort of ancient grudge against my parents, Ingluene and Jackal Streambed. He tortured them and killed them, and I swore revenge. That was where I met Swifteye. I eventually killed the scum Moonshadow. One of the guards that I'd hated particularly, Silverblood the Ferret, escaped though. Hope she's dead now."
Kyra and Raze both nodded. Raze hung his head slightly, shifting from footpaw to footpaw. He too had a secret past to reveal. "Was a corsair," he muttered lamely. "Fell in with an evil chap named Scraw. A vile searat, he was. We sailed on his ship. . . hated my parents, hated me, tortured me whenever he could. He killed m'sire after an argument. After I was born, he killed m'dam.
"She was with child, me, when he wanted to kill her. But, he wanted me to torture, so he let her live long enough to give birth to me so 'e could turn me into his drudge. Stayed there most of me life. How I left. . . a long story. 'Nother time, perhaps. It's not pleasant. I'll find him one day, but I understand how you feel too. . ."
It was then that the rats came. Not only rats, but foxes, weasels, ferrets, stoats, and all sorts of vermin ran down the steps towards the captives. Mavarl had thought that they might put up a struggle, but he had been wrong. And so, in the mob, the friends were carried away as the ship neared Castle Fortguard. Soon, they had been brought on deck and into the sunlight.
It was then that Raze saw Scraw. The rat was older, but still himself: Large, muscular, carrying a whip. 'For me' Raze couldn't help thinking. That rat had a score to settle with his former crew member, and Raze was going to have to let him settle it. The two stared at each other, eyes locking. Both were oblivious to everything and everyone else.
The ferret stared at the rat with shock written upon his face. He had just been talking about Scraw moments before, and here he was, in the flesh and blood! It was as if something magical had happened to bring him here. Raze snorted. If it was by magic that he met Scraw again, the magic certainly wasn't a good type.
Kyra's eyes had at last adjusted to the sunlight, and she was able to see Castle Fortguard looming ahead of her, dark and forbidding. While Kyra's brown eyes were fixed on the castle looming before her, and Mavarl's eyes were fastened on her.
After a while, the rat warlord turned his eyes away from his prisoner and waved a paw at his crew. "Aye, stir your stumps, you worthless crew of mottled dead and alive ragbags! Bring this ship into port! Lower anchor, and lower the sails too. We'll want to take the lifeboats in, while one of you takes this ship around to the cove."
Nodding to his crew, they got the ship ready to sail into the bay as the other rats got onto lifeboats with the four remaining slaves. Lucien was shoved into a lifeboat opposite Kyra's. He stared straight over towards the Skipper, then to Mavarl, and back to Kyra again. A ferret had moved up next to him, staring at him with a vicious grin.
"Aw, the poor lil' otterkit wants 'is girlfriend," she taunted. His widened as they swiveled towards her. His jaw dropped. Before he could say anything, she answered for her. "Tha's right, 'tis Silverblood," she sneered. "I'll make 'sure yeh get extra care 'round here," she said, grinning viciously. Lucien narrowed his eyes and kept defiantly quiet.
Silverblood the ferret. Lucien was just as shocked as Raze was at seeing an old nemesis appear out of thin air. Apparently she had survived. She still wore her red bandana, as well as her black tunic and pants, torn and ripped, as well as bloodstained. Giant silver and gold hoops hung from her ears. "H'I thought that maybe by slitting yer throat I'd 'ave silenced yer foul tongue," Lucien spat.
As the lifeboats pulled in to Castle Fortgaurd, Lucien was hustled out onto the shore by the ferret, awaiting orders from Mavarl. Kyra's ears perked up when she heard Lucien speaking and she swiveled her head around. Her eyes met his for a second and she saw him staring at the ferret with an all too familiar look on his face. In his face, she saw the ghost of a face she knew well, but hardly ever saw; her own.
And so, they walked. After a little ways the small party had reached the slave compound. The ottermaid sighed, working even harder to control her emotions as she reached the Slave Compound and Mavarl reached to undo the lock on the door.
"Welcome to yer new 'ome," Silverblood whispered harshly as she shoved Lucien forward by his back, awaiting the door lock to be undone. She would soon be flogging him, and he knew it. She would ask special request of Marval to do so. He would have to experience her wrath again, would have to re-live the nightmare with her.
Raze padded up behind them, grinning cheerily. That was his strategy to annoy Scraw, looking as though he was enjoying his torture. "'Ome sweet 'ome, eh mates? Hoi, ratface, when're we gettin' fed?" Scraw snarled and spat at him, hitting him in the eye. Raze wiped the spit away without complaint, acting as if nothing had happened. He kept his grin on his face.
Kyra pulled her own garments closer about her, though it was hot. She looked around, half expecting to see Sky amongst the slaves, her eyes burning, but she didn't see the haremaid at all. A few otters, a few hares, a few moles, and fewer voles and shrews. Most of the captives were hedgehogs and mice. They looked about, fearful, as if they were being watched.
"H'I guess this lot 'as 'ad most of th' spirit broken out of 'em, Lucien," she murmured to the big male otter. "I got a few objections last time, but not too many. Not enough to slow us down or bother us. But, this lot doesn't look to 'appy about defyin' orders." Kyra took one more look at the slaves before whispering to Raze, Kestral, and Lucien, "We don't move 'till we see a sign from Sky an' the rescue party."