5
Sergeant Forgale Leportis Hirgard, who preferred to be known by his title and first name only, got a rude awakening that day. A bucket of cold water sloshed over him was not the best way to end his slumber. The Sergeant stared up at the rat who had thrown it, and the rat looked away, scared by the eye of the hare. A fresh cut was stung by the cascade of water, making him wince slightly. He noticed a black figure sitting draped casually on a tree stump, he could not quite make out what manner of creature it was, but it was big, and looked dangerous. He struggled with his bonds, but then saw a completely white fox approaching him. The hare would not give it the satisfaction of a whimpering captive; that much was certain.
"You are a prisoner of Aranix, the almighty leader of the Nightraiders, heiress to the throne of Castle Flow, supreme commander of the --"
"I say, why doesn't she come out and tell me this herself, 'stead of sending a rotter like you to parley?" asked Forgale contemptuously.
"You will not speak in the presence of Her Mightiness!" spat Nightclaw.
"I jolly well will if I want too. Untie me and take me on, coward!"
"Enough!" A voice came from the shadowed form.
It emerged, and Forgale could see it was a large wolf or wildcat of sorts. He could see its eyes, and they stared out at him like nothing him had ever seen before. He was fixed by their gaze for a moment, and then shook his head as though to clear his sight, the said, "What do you want in Mossflo'r, scum?"
"You are in no position to interrogate me. Tell me, why are you here?"
"To get rid of rotters like you!" Seeing the angry wolf bearing down on his, brandishing her knife, he said, "I say, marm, no need to get angry, wot! You'll see soon enough!"
"I've had enough of your insolent behaviour! Get him in front of the horde!" cried the wolf, angrily, now, for the hare's jaunty air and inability to be affected by her demonic eyes was worrying and annoying her.
Lashing out his long legs, though they were bound together, neutralised both the rat and the stoat which were bearing down upon the hare.
A great cry ripped from Forgale as he bravely battled with the odds. "Eulaliaaaaaaaaaa!"
An echo sounded in various parts of the woodland, but to her horror, Aranix realised it was no echo. And the cry was coming closer. She concealed herself within the shadows, hoping not to be seen. Two score of hares sped suddenly through into the camp as the Sergeant went down. They fought like wildfire, but the vermin knew they stood a chance if they could only get out of the action, so many fled into the woods, or climbed up trees, hoping not to be seen. Luckily for the vermin, the hares were planning a rescue mission at the moment, not a full out war with them, not with forty beasts anyway.
The front runners leapt at the ones atop of Forgale, and the rest formed a fighting circle around facing outwards they hacked and slashed their way through the depleted vermin numbers to the outskirts of the camp, then did what one could call 'cut and run'. Forgale was lagging behind, limping furiously, and falling ever further. A young male hare, aptly named Sandtail - for his tail was sand coloured, rather than white of a normal hare - fell behind also, to help the Sergeant.
"I say, sah, not much of a battle back there, eh?" observed the hare.
"No, laddie buck, but I must say, I'm glad of it, wot. If the vermin had been any fiercer, I might not have gotten outta that scrap. Expected more of the jolly old foe did you, young 'un?"
Sandtail avoided the question. "Where are we off to now then, sah?"
"I dare say that we'll be reportin' back the Lord Urthwyte, after all, he should know about the goin's on of vermin in Mossflo'r, eh? Then I should think we will be off to Redwall, to warn the good creatures there about it. Mmm... I can taste that October Ale now..." He licked his lips dreamily.
"Is the food at the Abbey good, Sarg?" Although Sandtail had heard of the culinary skills of the Redwall cooks, he wished the word of the Sergeant to prove it, and illustrate to him the legendary food of Redwall.
"Good? 'Tis more than good, Sandtail, me young lad, 'tis wonderful!"
The young hare eagerly kept up the pace with the veteran, as the Sergeant began to illustrate the finery of Redwall's kitchen delights. "Scones that taste like y'can float on 'em, y'know, an' a deeper'n'ever pie, only the best served at Redwall! Absoballylutely descrumptious! An' the meadowcream is heavenly..."
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"What are you talking about Sister? Are you alright?" Indo was worried.
"Excuse me... Er... I mean to say... Er... What do you mean?" Karatinthe showed the same level of concern. She caught sight of her reflection in a pail of water placed at her bedside, evidently where Indo had filled the cup from. Two wavy forms lay in the murky unfathomable depths of the water, but a paw-length away, yet impossible to reach. Two figures... Two red squirrels... Two outlines of almost identical shapes!
Karatinthe was excused from further speculating by Indo getting up. "This is turning out to be a strange day..." He left.
"Who are you?" asked Blossom, still puzzled.
"My name is Gem... I mean Kara." Amazingly, Kara had felt a strange feeling, which had disallowed her from using the name she had set aside for this 'mission'.
"Well, Kara, I'm glad to say that your injuries weren't serious ones, only plenty of scratches and grazes. Where do you come from?" After all, Blossom was right to speculate upon this issue, she had never seen this strange green hued squirrel before in the Abbey, her past was a mystery to the Abbey creatures.
"I... I can't remember..." This was true, after all, she did not recall from whence she had come originally. "I grew up in the Northlands. I travelled south. I ended up here."
Kara had become adept at concealing the truth from others, telling only the right parts at the right times. Occasionally she let slip, but mostly seemed to manage to cover it up again when the questioning came. All of what she had said was truth, but she had left parts out, such as being raised by a ferret, marching with a vermin horde, and obeying orders from a wolf.
"The Northlands, eh?"
A burly otter had just poked his head around the door. Blossom rushed to him, and he muttered in her ear, "What's wrong with Indo?" The mouse shrugged, and stalked off, just as a bell began ringing.
"Sir," began Kara, but the otter stopped her.
"Call me Thrugg," he insisted.
"Mister Thrugg," she started again, "What does that bell mean?"
"It means it's time to eat! And if you want any food left by the time y'get down there, you'd better go now, 'cause otherwise will 'ave eaten it all! And call me Thrugg, not mister Thrugg!"
"Y'mean I can stay?" Kara had expected no less of the Abbey beasts, but pretended to marvel, "Really?"
"Sure yer can, matey! Wot did yer expect from us, to reject ye?" Thrugg laughed.
But his words fell upon deaf ears, as the young squirrel had already rushed off to join the Redwallers in the Great Hall. She knew her way, because as the creatures had carried her upon a makeshift stretcher, she had opened her eyes fractionally, and seen the route taken by them. She had a good memory, but not as good as Aranix's, who never forgot anything that went on, whether by her cruel whim, or not.
A/N – Hooray! I completed another chapter! Yay! Sorry that it took so long, I went on holiday (or vacation, whatever), and then I had MAJOR writers block. Heh. So sorry, and thanks to all my reviewers! Again, please read my other Redwall Fic, Saving Redwall, it's a parody-ish type story. My first parody, so I need it rated to see if it's good enough. ;) -hint- -hint-
I know there isn't much to look forward to in this chapter, no cliffhangers or anything of the sort, but I like I said, I was having MAJOR writers block!