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SAVING ROSE 2: Journal of a Hope
Chapter Two
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The same pleasant sun shone upon Noonvale. The one that occupied Martin's thoughts had him in her own. The stunning female mouse named Laterose sat by a patch of old, dusty dirt, in a collapsed ruin that was once the feared fortress Marshank. Laterose, also known as Rose, was now an adult, and her childhood's pretty looks had given way to intense beauty. She had a flask of water in her paw, which she used to water the patch of flowers that decorated the dirt's head. She whispered to it so lovingly that any onlooker would think she was out of her mind.
"So many seasons have passed, Martin, so many I forget to count. But I haven't forgotten you," she paused to stroke the dirt, now identified as a grave. "Once, you cleared this place of evil. Now you bring it beauty," Rose told the patch of flowers, under the pretense of talking to Martin, and they swayed in the breeze with pride.
The mousemaid resisted the urge to lay down by the grave and cry. Her friends and family would worry. Instead Rose got up and brushed herself off, then headed back to the entrance of the fortress. The otter Starwort was waiting for her there, as he always did, to give her a ride back to Noonvale via his boat.
They got back to the village deep within the woods long past noon, evening crawling near. Her brother Brome greeted her, aware of where she went every five days.
"Dinner soon," her reminded her. She nodded and went to help out in the kitchens.
Her dear friends Pallum and Grumm welcomed her warmly. At first, they accompanied Rose to Martin's grave, but they believed it was time to move on. They worked in silence, with nothing to say.
The days after Martin's 'death' were grim times. Beasts that knew him found it hard to smile, and there wasn't much to smile about. Urran Voh and Aryah acted especially strange, as they winced or looked ashamed of themselves whenever beasts mentioned the warrior's passing, rarely as they did.Yet nobeast took it harder than Rose, who had never sung a single note to anybeast but Martin's grave since then. They all looked at her with pity and chagrin, her parents most of all.
…It wasn't supposed to go like this. They had agreed that Martin would leave to ensure their daughter's safety. They had predicted she would mourn, but not that she would hold on, and refuse to move forward. They never thought it would be this serious, that their bonds ran deeper than they had assumed, that she was… so deep in love.
She was deep, deep down, past the point of return. Nothing could cause her to rise back up and move on, as Aryah and Urran Voh had hoped.
There was also Josephine, the mousemaid. She was older now, about the age Rose had been when she met Martin. Josephine, too, could barely stand to see her friend so heartbroken. But she said nothing.
...One day, two days before Rose's next visit to Martin's grave, Boldred came to check up on things at Noonvale. She was aware of Rose's heartache, and watched along with her parents as she suffered. It broke her heart as much as it did theirs, for she too knew the truth. After seeing the lost maid staring blankly at the sword given to Martin by Amballa, Boldred could take no more. She visited Urran Voh and Aryah the afternoon of the day she arrived.
"We need to do something." The owl said softly.
"But what!" Urran said, frustrated. "We did everything. Show her the most beautiful sights, sing her the most wondrous songs, introduce her to other male mice! She pays no attention to any of them! Well, except that last one. She mostly just glares at them though." He said hopelessly.
"The only thing that could change her is, in fact, Martin," Aryah. "But that's not possib-"
"Isn't it?" Boldred looked at her and her husband sternly. "It's been so long, you've forgotten why he's gone. Martin said that his restlessness and proneness to wandering would endanger her, but not Martin himself. I hear he's settled down. You must've head about it too – Redwall Abbey. Why not let them have a little reunion?"
Aryah and Urran Voh shared a look. "It could work," the chieftain said slowly.
"It will work," Boldred assured them. "I know Martin as well as you do, and I'm sure he won't object to seeing Rose again."
Boldred decided not to stick around to tell Rose the news. Somebeast had to alert Martin, after all. Now it was up to Urran Voh and Aryah to break it to her. They had agreed to tell Pallum, Grumm, and Brome also, as they were all friends of the warrior. The patriarch of Noonvale and his wife chose a moment when all four where together.
They were in the Council Lodge, adjusting the plates for lunch. It was raining out, and not fit to eat. As if fate favoured them, there were no other beasts around. Rose was looking like she always did these days; haunted and far away.
"Daughter," Aryah said slowly. Rose put the spoons she was arranging down and turned. The other three looked up but kept working. "How…" Aryah took a breath.
Urran took over. "Rose, and all of you, how would you like to see Martin?"
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