The snake had managed to wind itself around the bath taps, its thick, hose like body moving ever so slightly, creamy brown and gold, one look at it and you knew it was a killer and the end of your life. So I sat there, in the bath, trying my best not to move or even breathe.

Slither... I looked up from the dirty bath water, where I had been staring. The snake had turned its scaly head towards me and was drawing its long pink tongue in and out, with a hiss, as if teasing me. How had the snake got into Redwall abbey? There were snakes in mossflower woods, that was for sure, but not one inside the abbey walls. Frozen with fear, I continued to stare back, hoping it would go away, hoping it was a dream... Nothing changed, this wasn't a dream, it was real, and I was in the middle of it. I wasn't an expert on snakes, actually I 'd rarely seen them, but I noticed a slight lump in its throat as if something had got caught there and stuck. Hiss...I looked up again, once more I had been staring into the bath water. Nearly kicking myself for being so stupid, I looked up into the snakes ugly, yellow eyes. A thought came into my head, as if from nowhere, 'why didn't this snake seem a threat?' Now that it was getting closer, it felt as if the snake was a friend. I tried to clear my head, now I was just being stupid, how could a snake be your friend? they were the enemy of all redwallers. Plop...I was again staring at the water, but I looked up at the sound, the lump in the snakes throat was gone. I glanced down at the water to see a glimmering pointed object slowly sink to rest on the bottom of the bath. It lay there, occasionally lifting as water moved under it.

The snake, which seemed to have decided it had accomplished its task, was slowly uncoiling its two metre length, turning away from me and sank slowly down onto the floor. I watched intently as it dragged itself across the length of the bathroom and somehow managed to slide out of the open window, then it disappeared round the corner and out of sight.

I was left standing in the middle of the bathroom, my dull brown fur still dripping and my hazel eyes staring at the space where, moments before, I had been confronted by a giant menacing serpent, me, infant mouse, Shraim Landley, not believing I had just witnessed it.

Climbing out of the bath, I wrapped a towel round myself, dried myself off and pulled the plug. Gurgle, slurp suck, the water drained out of the bath. The gurgling dyed away, but the bath wasn't empty, something was blocking the plug hole. It was the item that the snake had coughed up. Walking back over to the bath, I suddenly stopped, what was I doing? The item had caused harm to the snake, what if it harmed me? I moved closer, my curiousness overwhelming me, making me look down into the polished white bath wanting to pick up the sparkling star-like object. I leaned over the brim, and picked it up out of the bath where the water was eventually draining away. The mysterious object seemed to be some sort of a stone and as I turned it slowly over in my paws, it shone and sparkled as brightly as a star, dazzling me. It was as if the sun had fallen out of the sky to be placed in my outstretched paws. I held it close against my palm, feeling its coolness for such a bright object. I felt the smoothness of one side, perfect. Turning it over, I felt the other side rough and rugged to my touch, as if it had been cut off a larger stone.

Walking over to the window, I held the gem up to the light and watched delighted, as the sun hit its sparkling surface, reflecting star-like disco dots on the walls, forming their own mini constellations dancing in the light. It was beautiful, almost perfect.

As I studied the glistening jewel, I noticed something I didn't see before, an engraving. It was written on the smooth side of the stone and seemed to slice right through it, making it stand out in the sunlight. Sure that it hadn't been there when I had first held it in my still shaking paws, I read the inscription.

'Reymer' it read. It wasn't like any word I had ever heard before, as I said it, it seemed to echo round the whole bathroom, being repeated over and over, ringing with happiness. The sound lit a flame somewhere inside me, making me want to explode with a tremendous feeling I couldn't describe. I felt invincible.

"Shraim" called a voice from outside the door, Abbot Klaus, was calling for me. "Are you out of the bath yet? The feast is about to start." he informed me. "Just coming" I shouted back. Sighing, I hurriedly dressed, stuffed the Reymer stone into my pouch and ran down the stone abbey steps, my fur dripping as I went, determined to find out the meaning of that extraordinarily special word.

I sat down in the great hall, plates upon plates of food lined the table. Deeper than ever pie, summer pudding, all the usual food for a summer feast. As I sat there, the light from outside reflecting off my plate, I thought about my problem. Was there anything else I could do?

Yes, I thought. There is something, what does reymer mean?

The abbot was sitting at the head of the table, deep in conversation with the matron.

He had lived at Redwall all of his life, so he would probably know a lot about the local dialect, I thought. The question was, should I ask him. He seemed to get upset over the funniest things, and could have such a bad temper when he wanted, that I would probably end up in my room for asking the wrong question. I decided to take the risk. I would wait until after the feast then have a private word.

"Father abbot?" I asked cautiously. "Have you ever heard of the word, 'Reymer'?" I paused, holding my breath, expecting to hear 'no' or 'go to your room for being stupid'. He looked at me, down his half moon glasses, looking very wise and ancient for a second, before he answered "Now, that's a word I haven't heard in a long time." he replied. "When I was a young mouse, it was used often, now it's used rarely in every day conversation" he informed me.

"What does it mean?" I asked, surprised I had had such a quick reply. Now I was longing to hear the answer I had been waiting for, for what seemed such a long time.

"It means moon." he replied. I had expected to feel something happen when he said it, something special, magical, like in the bathroom, but nothing. Not even a tingle. Now I came to think of it, there was nothing special in finding a sparkling 'moon stone' after all, it could happen to anymouse, but still... it felt as if there should be something else that I needed to find out, something I needed to know, but I didn't know what. Abbot Klaus didn't ask me any more questions, just finished clearing away his plates, and left me thinking about the 'moon' stone.

By the time I eventually left the great hall, it was night outside, and the moon was out. I yawned, completely exhausted by the days events. I made my way to the dormitory, brushed my teeth, undressed and collapsed onto my coverless bed, holding the moon stone against my palm, once more feeling its surprising coolness. I lay there for a while, staring at the moonlit ceiling, thinking everything over. What if there was something in it all? What if I had been chosen for something?

Now I was just being stupid, even if prophesiers did exist, why would they choose me?

I yawned again, even more deeply, I would figure things out in the morning. For now I just needed to sleep. The coldness against my palm overwhelmed me, and I drifted into sleep.

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