My first Redwall fic. 11 pages, double-spaced, because I kept insisting it was too short.I actually already edited it... I noticed that the spaces I put in there didn't show up, so I put (line thingies)in there this time. Actually, I forgot for a day or two... so thank you reviewer for reminding me:D
Somewhere in the center of a giant wasteland, the sun shone brightly. To any normal creature this would seem like a welcome comfort, but to the creatures of the wastes it was their one true enemy, their life's rival, their only fear. In the wastes, the sun was a monster that took the life of anybeast that questioned it.
Yet in the middle of it all stood a magnificent fortress of stone. It's stones were not as sandy as the surrounding land, but a white that reflected the rays of the sun and made it appear to shine and glow. It stood taller than any other thing for miles around, towering over any creature that passed by it. And inside the colossus building, there was life.
"Your ancestors built this fortress to shelter us from these damned lands! But no longer will we hide from the sun and the heat! No longer will we sit here and all die, imprisoned by this sea of sand! We will move from the wastes if it kills us, we will find the lands of plenty, of life, and we will no longer have to hide from death!"
A rousing cheer arose from the crowd of vermin gathered inside the fortress. They approved of their new leader's decisions, and though some thought her too ambitious for her own good, they agreed that they had been surrounded by desert too long.
"We set off at nightfall!"
Aria sat, waiting for the sun to set. She was a fox whose fur was naturally white, but dyed a deep blue, and she wore numerous bracelets and necklaces of radiant blue jewels. She wielded two canes, each with a pointed hook on one end and a sapphire-adorned blade on the opposite end.
"Milady?" A voice called out from the doorway.
"Mm," Aria grunted, her way of saying 'come on in'.
"The night is approaching. We must prepare to depart," A fox dyed similarly to Aria, but with black rather than blue, continued its way into the room.
"Is everything ready?" Aria asked, still staring out the window.
"Of course, milady, everything is ready," the black fox bowed.
"In that case," Aria said, starting down the staircase with the other fox, "we shall leave."
Aria was crafty for her age, and had inherited the throne after her father had died. Her father had few enemies among his horde, and Aria felt that she had inherited his respectability as well; the horde respected her every decision and few disapproved of what she said. Aria thought of her vermin as more of a people rather than a horde, and treated them as such. Though she was only recently made leader, she immediately made the decision that her people would leave. Her father's death proved enough to convince them that, no matter the price, escaping the wastes would be better than the way they lived now.
The two foxes reached the ground floor and made their way hastily outside, where the horde awaited Aria's commands. The entire crowd quieted down as they saw their leader.
"I promised you tonight would be the night we escaped this prison. And now, I fulfill that promise!"
Lillan had been Mother Abbess of Redwall for only two seasons. Redwall's previous Abbess had passed away a season earlier, and she was chosen to take over. She sat against a tree in the orchard, writing with a quill. Lillan was not quite the Abbey Recorder, but took it upon herself to take the job soon after the previous recorder's sight became too weak. She began to scribble words on the parchment.
Beautiful days of Autumn have blessed Redwall again this year. The Abbeybabes are playing, and it makes me wonder, what kinds of lives they will lead when they are older? I didn't lead a surprisingly exciting life myself, but perhaps I just think I could have gotten more out of it than I have so far. I suppose I can't complain; I have accomplished quite a bit. I've realized that being the Abbess of Redwall isn't the job you'd expect it to be. I would certainly be unprepared if anything were to happen to us at Redwall. This, too, makes me wonder… what would we be to do if something ever happened at Redwall? So much would be expected of me, being the Abbess…
She got up and smiled, knowing that things had been peaceful at Redwall for so many seasons.
"Mother Abbess!" a young squirrel approached her, offering a hand to help her up. "It's just about time to eat. Shall we go inside?"
"Why, yes," Lillan accepted the squirrel's hand. She stood up, stretching, and gathered her things before saying, "thank you for letting me know."
The Abbess looked around. She had been the last one outside, indeed. She often lost track of time with her writing.
Great Hall was buzzing with gossip and chatter that evening. The Abbess sat down at the table, helping herself to various samples of soup, breads, cheeses, and other assorted snacks. She had quite the appetite, and didn't try to hide it.
"You certainly can put it away, Mother Abbess…" her squirrel companion commented.
"Oh, be quiet, Girel!" Lillan said irritably through a mouthful of food.
"She's a mouse with the stomach of a hare, so she is!" Girel whispered to the hedgehog beside him, who half-nodded in agreement.
"You're telling me you don't want any of this?" Lillan raised an eyebrow. "Fine then. I guess I'll just take it for you…" she tried to reach across the table to grab the food in front of Girel, who immediately pushed her back. "Er, no thanks, Mother Abbess, I can eat it myself."
"Good then," Lillan said, in an end-of-discussion voice, and continued to eat her own food. Girel smiled. He had been a friend to the Abbess since he was young, and the two still had a close, if not slightly quirky, relationship. Girel was actually a few seasons younger than the Abbess, though you wouldn't know by looking at the two of them.
The hedgehog that had been sitting next to Girel spoke. "Lillan, might I point out that if you keep shoveling down enough food to feed all of Great Hall, you won't have any room for dessert."
Abbess Lillan smiled through another mouthful of soup and stubbornly kept eating.
Girel leaned close to the hedgehog and muttered, "that's our Abbess!"
Aria was at the head of her horde, conversing with the black fox she had been with earlier.
"What do you expect to find when we escape these dreaded lands?"
"I don't know, Darkfang. I guess…" Aria thought for a moment, looking up at the stars. "I guess it would be a place where the sun did not show. It would be wonderful. So many things would gain life, there would be enough food and water to feed ourselves…"
Darkfang nodded. "Indeed, that would be a wonderful land."
"Father sometimes spoke of the lands to the west." Aria told him. "He said there are many strange creatures that live there. And there are many more plants that live there. He says that there are even scars cut into the ground by running water. But then again, these are still only tales he heard himself…" There was a hint of doubt to her voice.
"But I am sure they will be as great as he says they are," Darkfang added encouragingly.
The two did not speak for a while after that. They only continued moving, trying to cover as much ground during the night as possible.
Days of trekking left the vermin weary and fatigued. A tall stoat approached Aria, her eyes thick with sorrow. "Milady… I hate to bring the news, but…" She paused ruefully. "Hardden has died."
Aria shook her head. "The price we must pay for our journey." She quickened her pace, leaving the stoat behind. She prayed she would be able to leave it all behind soon.
Jiggrot Wildcat cursed, examining the wounds on his seer. He stepped out of his tent, where a slightly smaller wildcat was waiting for him. "Lord…"
"Those mice are bound for Hellgates, I swear it!" he roared into the face of the young wildcat, causing him to flinch.
"I'll tear the flesh from their bones with my sword!" he pushed the wildcat aside, and, unsheathing his sword, stormed through camp. Waving his sword threateningly at the warrior vermin that surrounded him, he yelled out orders in rage. "Post double guard duty tonight! Make sure you sound the alarm if you see any of that wretched scum! If you let a single one into our camp t'night, it'll be death fer all of us!" As he vented his anger on the horde, the young wildcat that was his seer's apprentice interrupted him.
"Sir, I'll take guard duty tonight if I may?" he asked, trying not to anger his lord.
Sighing, Jiggrot faced the younger cat. "Twoteeth, you're the most valuable ally I have right now since Grallan was slain. I can't afford to have you vulnerable to that gang of mice. You are my greatest advisor now. I have hopes that somebeast may catch one
of those wretched creatures tonight…" he growled, clenching his paws.
"They shall pay the price for slaying our horde." Twoteeth agreed.
Jiggrot nodded. "Just know that you may be their next target."
Twoteeth padded off silently, muttering under his breath, "if not you, My Lord."