Chapter 31 Masquerade Part II
Edited by Euphonemes
"And...there it iz! It iz finished!"
The beret-sporting cougar turned the painting around, showing it off to the excited fox and bunny waiting in anticipation, almost silent save for a soft whine coming from Nick at having to sit for so long in one spot. Judy was almost bouncing in her seat, her eyes gleaming with exhilaration at what would be Nick and her first painting of them...together. Her look of anticipation swiftly shifted once the painting had turned to face them, her look of glee freezing into a look of shock while by her side, Nick coughed politely into his paw.
"It's...nice?" Judy offered, trying to keep her smile from cracking while turning to Nick for help. The fox nodded in agreement, his own faux smile plastered upon his muzzle.
"It's a wonderful drawing of us," Nick exclaimed, clapping his paws together. He ignored the rather unladylike snort from the bunny next to him. "What will you call it?"
"It iz a," the painter hiccuped and swayed as he offered them the painting. "A Bun and Fix, no?" Pointing at the oddly shaped lines and squiggles on the canvas, the cougar smiled. "You see yourselves?"
Judy nodded quite slowly. She nudged Nick with her elbow, leaned over, and whispered through her teeth to him. "Is that supposed to be my tail, or your ear?"
His facade broke as he snickered. Nick must have been quite the expert at polite conversation, though, as he quickly transformed his laughter into a cough when the cougar raised an eyebrow at the fox's reaction.
"Don't worry, Pyroo. It's wonderful. We'll take it."
"Merci!" The cougar clapped his paws in joy, then waved the two towards him. Judy and Nick thanked him once again as the tipsy feline placed another canvas upon his easel. "Who iz next?"
As they left, they noticed another couple sitting down in their recently vacated seats. Nick and Judy looked at each other, trying to hide their smiles as they saw Eliot helping Chloe into the seat next to him.
"Are you ready, Pumpkin?" Eliot said while holding his wife's paw. "I know that they'll capture your best side, as there isn't a bad side anywhere on you." His overly cheerful smile and furiously wagging tail barely indicated to Judy how excited the wolf was for this opportunity.
"Think we should tell them?" Judy asked her date. Even though the paintings were free, she still felt bad about Eliot's reaction at the finished product, if it was anything like their own. Judy stared at the portrait in her paws. Rotating the picture this way and that, she finally decided that the picture was growing on her, even if she still wasn't quite sure who was who.
"Should we let them be surprised? Yes, yes we should," Nick replied. The fox went and stood behind Judy, wrapped his arms around her and placed his muzzle between her ears. Placing a tender kiss between them, he enjoyed how Judy lay back into him. "I think I've figured out which one is you in this."
Judy raised her head, seeing nothing but the cream-colored scruff underneath Nick's muzzle. "Oh, how so?"
Nick chuckled. "You mean you can't tell, Carrots? Why, you are the more beautiful of the two." He pointed towards the figure on the right. He heard Judy laugh, which he loved more each time he heard it. She pushed his muzzle off her head, but not before he stole another kiss on the back of her paw.
"Oh, Nick," Judy chided. "If you keep this up, mammals will think we're married, like them," The bunny pointed back towards the wolf and Tasmanian tiger, the former nuzzling the latter, a sight that she hoped one day she and Nick could emulate. The way Eliot showered his wife in attention, while Chloe, in turn, doted upon him by fixing his jacket in preparation for the painting before giving him a kiss. Judy watched, a twinge of jealousy coursing through her as she watched a massive blush cover Chloe's face, rising from her cheeks into her ears as Eliot peppered her face with kisses.
I wonder if Nick and I would ever be like that? she wondered. Stealing a quick glance up at Nick, she saw the same type of look in his eyes. A look of want. As he turned and looked at Judy, that look he held only heightened, quickening Judy's pulse as he leveled his hungry gaze at her. Nick leaned forward, placing his muzzle right next to Judy's ear.
"We could always be that. Would that please you, Judy?"
Her throat felt like the desert outside the villa walls; words trapped in the dry dust. Even in the cool night air, she felt the need to fan herself as she returned the fox's gaze.
"I… I don't think I would mind."
Suddenly shooting up, Nick looked both to his left and right. Judy was perplexed, though that didn't last as his paw shot out towards hers. Grabbing it, he enticed her forward, out of the main area and onto a side path that led from the main festivities towards a more secluded garden.
"Where are we going, Nick?" Judy asked as the fox urged them deeper and deeper into the garden. The hedges and shrubs that lined the path blocked nearly all the light from the party barely a hundred yards away. Judy stumbled in the darkness, her foot catching on something. Before she could even put her paws out to catch her fall, Nick was there.
"Nick, where are you—"
Her words vanished as Nick pressed his lips against her own, silencing her with a passionate kiss. Judy quickly fell into the fox, and within moments, both were grasping each other tightly, paws finding any part of the other to pull deeper into the kiss. One of Nick's paw found its way to her cheek, and it was the final stroke that caused Judy to lose it.
With a growl that neither had ever heard a bunny make before, Judy broke the kiss, twisted and pulled the fox around her. Nick's back would have landed quite unceremoniously on the ground, if it weren't for Judy's paws clasped around his back, holding him up in a classic dip.
"Just remember, you started this." Nick caught a spark flashing in her violet eyes, the light of the moon showing him the growing hunger in them.
"Mi querida conejita hermosa." Nick's words were softly spoken, but they echoed across miles of the countryside as he brought his paw once again to Judy's face, stroking her ears. "You are, without a doubt, the—"
"Just shut up and kiss me," Judy growled. Actually growled. Nick smirked.
"As you wish."
Only a few hundred yards away from Nick and Judy's blissful idyll, another fox, slightly pudgier and with a few more years on him, was trying his best to creep through the woods unseen.
"I can't believe my cousin put me up to this," Gideon spoke softly. His annoyance at what he was doing only grew when he spotted yet another guard patrolling the perimeter of the gala. "I could be in there, enjoying the blueberry pies that I made with my own paws, but no...I have to be stuck traipsing around in this costume instead of being with Sharla."
The red fox harrumphed. The guard finally disappeared, giving Gideon the opportunity he needed. He crossed the open yard, managing to make it behind another tree before the guard turned, canine ears ticked up in alarm. Quirking his head to the side, the uniformed wolf looked behind him. Apparently satisfied by the empty lawn, the guard shrugged his shoulders and continued on.
Gideon breathed a sigh of relief as the wolf walked away. Turning back around the tree, he gave a startled yelp as another fox appeared in front of him.
"Whoa there, little missy," he said quickly. "Who might you be?" The vixen took another step forward, her fur glistening a silvery white in the pale moonlight. Gideon's surprise grew when he took in her outfit: an almost eerily similar version of his own Zorro attire. After a few awkward moments, his eyes widened in recognition.
"Sk—"
Gideon stopped short when the vixen leapt forward, smashing her lips into his. Caught completely off-guard, there was nothing Gideon could do but let out a surprised but muffled shout as a sharp pain entered his chest. The pain flared in all directions as he felt the object twist violently, sending a shuddering pain ripping through both mind and body. The vixen stepped back, and a smirk, not unlike his cousin's, spread across the female's muzzle. Gideon looked down in horror at the knife jutting from his chest. His gaze lifted, a bloody cough blotting out whatever word he was going to say as his legs gave out beneath him, his body thumping against the tree behind him. With unfocused eyes staring up at the vixen, he managed one word.
"Why..." he asked, before his head fell to his chest.
The arctic fox rolled her eyes as she saw the last of the life disappear from the fox's eyes . She wiped her blade against the corpse's black shirt, then ripped the mask that covered his face.
It took a millisecond for the angry, vulpine snarl to escape her lips.
"It's not him!" she growled. She planted a kick into the side of the dead mammal, shifting his lifeless form a foot along the ground. Angrily, she yanked the blade from his chest, using Gideon's own shirt to wipe it clean before jabbing the knife back into a hidden sheath on her belt. The masked mammal darted off into the night, leaving behind the grisly scene of her crime.
Finnick was bored. Not because of the company he was keeping at the moment. No, that was beyond amazing in his mind. If he could talk, he would be gracing the mammal by his side with gratuitous compliments and amorous gestures. Glancing at the margay sitting next to him on the front steps of Don Wilde's mansion, Finnick smiled, feeling at peace with the world with her by his side.
The two had left the main area of the party, Finnick feeling a little bit tipsy while Weidii just wanted to get away from all the noise and din created by hundreds of mammals gathered in one place. She may work in a bar, she mused, but that didn't mean she enjoyed being around a cacophony of sounds all day, every day.
They found themselves sitting next to each other on the front veranda of the Wilde mansion, Finnick pantomiming a story about a bunny and a beanstalk as Weidii laughed mirthfully.
"Oh, Finnick," Weidii giggled, covering her mouth with her paw. The tiny fox smiled, had turning to focus upon the feline while stopping his rendition of 'climbing the beanstalk'. "This is why I adore your stories."
Aw shucks… Finnick thought. He took a moment to rub at the back of his head bashfully. I just wish I could tell you the story instead of doing this. I get too winded.
The moment ended when a horrible sound screeched from the walk, right around the front gates of the property. Both predators turned towards the sound, their ears flickering to listen for any new sounds or noises. When a second clanging sound happened, Finnick turned towards Weidii, motioning with his paw to garner her attention. In a flurry of movements, he drew his arm, making quick slashing movements, then marched in step and saluted. After finishing, he pointed towards himself, then to the fence line in the distance.
"You want me to get Nick and Judy while you check the noise?"
The fennec nodded. Weidii shot him a glare, one at which he simply rolled his eyes, crossed his arms and tapped his foot.
"Fine," Weidii huffed. "But you be careful, comprende?"
Finnick flashed her a smile before darting off towards the gate while Weidii hitched up her dress and sprinted as fast as she could back towards the party. Finnick moved in the other direction, running past several servants talking amongst themselves. Among the torchlit path, he noticed a shimmer of metal underneath a nearby bush
This will do nicely...Finnick thought as he picked up the shears. Tucking them into his pants, he again made his way towards the gate and the odd racket coming from near it.
Sprinting past a row of shrubbery, Finnick poked his head around the plants and spotted what was creating the racket.
A tiny sheep banging her hoof against the gate.
A very familiar sheep...
A very drunk out of her mind ewe.
Bellwether, you filthy little inbred ewe. What are you doing here?! Finnick cursed everything in the universe at the moment. Even though the gates were wide open, the ewe was so sloshed that she was still banging on them, demanding entry to the party. What kind of idiotic, freak of a...
Finnick's ears swiveled around when he heard grumbling coming up towards him.
"Where did she go? She just hopped out of the cart like a maniac. I thought you were watching her."
A second voice growled at the first. "I thought you were watching her. I ain't getting her barf all over me a second time tonight. That ewe has enough puke in her to make an elephant grimace."
The two heavy paw-falls came closer until the tiny fox heard a derisive snort. "Well, here she is, in all her drunken glory."
Finnick glanced around the corner, frowning when he saw two tigers staring down at a stumbling Bellwether.
"Hey...you...guuuuys!" Bellwether slurred. The sheep gulped, then placed a hoof over her mouth. Instinctively the two tigers stepped back.
"Ah cripes, not this again," the first tiger groaned. "You carry her back to the carriage."
The second tiger backed away, holding up his paws. "Again, no. She pukes, it's on you, not me."
"Well, I ain't picking her up."
"I'm not either," the second replied.
"I can...walk myself..." Bellwether drawled, before face-planting into the graveled walk. Both tigers rolled their eyes.
"See? She's out… again. You carry her."
"You mean like the last time she was out and then retched in her sleep? No. Let's just leave her here and pull the carriage up for her."
"Works for me, Joaquin."
The two tigers marched off, grumbling about their boss before disappearing in the distance. Finnick sighed, then walked forward, glaring at the passed out mammal blocking the path into the manor.
Something's gotta be done about her… he thought.
It was then he was struck with an idea.
An awful idea.
Finnick got a wonderful awful idea.
He stared down at the ewe. I know just what to do...
Finnick twirled the shears in his paws, cackling in his mind as he began snipping.
It was nearly an hour after retreating into the Don's garden that a certain fox and bunny re-emerged. Looking only slightly disheveled as Judy picked blades of grass from Nick's coat while Nick brushed back a clump of matted fur on Judy's ear that had received quite a bit of attention over the past hour. Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice the way they glanced at each other, their expressions immersed in their shared adoration towards each other.
"You're going to have to teach me how to do that so I can repay you, Nick," Judy said with a grin. She picked off one last blade of grass from his coat, smoothing it down before clasping his paw in her own. "I haven't had that good of a massage in a long time."
Nick smirked. "What can I say, these paws are magical." The fox wiggled his fingers, gaining a laugh from the now blushing bunny.
"They are quite magical. My shoulders haven't felt this good in years."
Nick nodded. He wasn't sure who had enjoyed the massage he had given Judy after their brief but cherished session of kissing under the moonlit sky. He'd suggested it when he felt he could remedy the knotted muscles in her shoulders. She complied in earnest, sitting on his lap as he worked his magic on her aching muscles. Even though Judy seemed to get the most from the massage, Nick was also elated at being able to caress such soft fur...and the way she leaned back into him after he was finished... the way her lips found his over and...
He shook himself to keep his thoughts from wandering any further. Nick didn't want to visit Padre Viendo Manchas after all, even if after the last hour he probably deserved to pay the jaguar a courtesy call. Especially after the incident with the confessional and Capitán Stumper.
Walking paw in paw, the two spent the remainder of the masquerade enjoying each other's company, saying hello to old friends of the Don as well as enjoying several more dances together. The drinks flowed freely, with Nick and Judy getting into quite an enjoyable exchange with a brown bunny serving at the bar. Nick knew the barmaid, Trisha, as the bunny worked for Weidii at The Feisty Feline, but was surprised when the brown rabbit had jumped up and over the table at Judy's approach, squealing in delight at the sight of the grey doe. The two began an animated discussion, which caused Nick to excuse himself as Trisha asked Judy all about when her and the foxy Don would be tying the knot. Blushing profusely, Judy said that she hadn't brought up marriage with Nick, or even courtship yet, an explanation which caused Trisha to burst into a fit of giggles followed by a playful rub of the arm and a seductive smile.
"You have no idea," Trisha had said through tears of laughter, leaving Judy beyond confused.
As the moon reached its zenith in the sky and began tumbling down once again, many of the guests began calling it a night. Don Wilde, as the mammal in charge of the night's gathering, had the luxurious job of sending off each of the party goers with a special gift: a specially wrapped package filled with an assortment of produce from his orchards — and for some, less affluent attendees, a large amount of pesos nestled between the foodstuffs.
Judy took to his side, passing out the packages with a smile that betrayed the feelings in her heart at seeing the warmth in mammals' eyes as they, mostly graciously, took the packages. She noted that several of the other Dons in attendance took the gifts with a scoff, or even had their servants pick the gifts up for them, while those citizens of Zootopia she has seen on her patrols would gratefully accept them, some with tears in their eyes.
Is there anything good you don't do for these mammals? Judy found herself asking that question a lot in regards to the fox at her side, who currently was chatting away with a marmot and her two daughters. The soft way Nick praised her for bringing up such wonderful children, as well as how he seemed to know intimate details of the life of someone who seemed a complete stranger, surprised Judy. And he seemed to speak this way with every mammal passing by.
You've been lucky that he likes you… her mind hinted to her. Don't mess this up, Judy.
"I'll try not to," the bunny whispered to nobody but herself. She looked up at Nick, surprised to see him looking down at her with a smile of his own.
"Are you alright, Carrots?" he asked. "You seem to be a bit fatigued by the night's festivities."
"I'm fine," she replied, averting her gaze so she could pass out a gift basket to another mammal that she didn't know, though Nick had again greeted them by calling out their name and asking how their parents were doing.
"Alas, my adorable little lagomorph, you have quite the tell when you are feeling down."
Judy's eyebrow shot up. She let out a huff when she ran a paw down her ears, which were splayed against her back.
Figured he'd notice.
It also didn't help that at that moment, her body decided to let loose a rather large yawn. "I guess I am a bit tired," she replied.
"To be expected," Nick laughed, stifling a yawn himself. "It is late, and with how much dancing we've done tonight, I am surprised we aren't both asleep on our...paws..."
Hearing his voice trail off, Judy cocked her head to the side and noticed he was sniffing the air. An inquisitive expression took shape in his eyes.
"What is it?" Judy asked, before handing off another gift to a family shuffling by.
Nick waved his paw at her as he stepped out from behind their table. "I'm not… I'll be right back."
Judy watched as the fox left, sniffing at the air as he hurried along the pathway out to his orchards. A tingling sensation worked its way down her spine. It was a sensation she had trained herself to notice, as it usually meant that something bad was afoot.
The next minute that passed was excruciating for the doe as she tried to find anyone to take her and Nick's place at the table. Finally, she spotted Finnick waltzing up the path, a carrot-eating grin plastered on the predator's face.
"Oh, Finnick, can you come here?" Judy hurried. "Can you pass these out while I find Nick?"
The short fox looked annoyed for a second, before letting out a heavy sigh. He marched up to the table and crawled upon it, giving Judy a stink-eye as the bunny let her thanks be known to him. With a quick apology, she bounded past the table and in the direction Nick had gone.
Where could he be? Judy thought as she dashed along the pathway surrounding the manor. The crowd of guests thinned the further she travelled. She barreled into the commons area where the dance had taken place. Noting the only mammals there were a few drunk ocelots passed out at a table and the band packing up their instruments, she rushed over to the latter.
"Have you seen Don Wilde pass through here?"
An elk packing up his guitar paused and turned towards the rabbit. "Who?"
"Don Wilde," Judy repeated. "The fox hosting this gala. Have you seen him?"
"I did." Judy looked past the elk to a giraffe who had finished placing his trumpet into a case. "He passed by here not too long ago. Was heading towards the orchards."
"Thank you so very much," Judy replied. She turned and began to race off when a second comment nearly froze her to the ground.
"Yeah, he went that way not too long after a vixen had headed off in that direction."
A… vixen? The thought brought Judy to a complete halt. Why would he...
Shaking the growing sensation of worry building inside her, Judy forced herself to move. She passed through the dance area. The candles flickered, burning low and giving out little light or warmth. She raced past the spot where the grass still was pressed against the warm earth from their time together earlier. She kept her ears up, anxious for any sound, when a sudden yelp and rush of movement came from a path on her left.
Turning quickly, and barely avoiding running into a mulberry bush, Judy plowed ahead until she came to a small clearing. What she saw inside forced her to run even faster than before.
A beautiful arctic vixen, clad all in black, standing in the clearing with a sword raised to Nick's chest. The red fox was clearly panicked and clasping his right arm, grimacing in pain and fear.
"Nick!" Judy screamed as the sword thrust towards his chest.
It was just enough of a distraction to save his life.
The vixen turned slightly, enough pause for Nick to sidle out of the way of the incoming thrust. Instead of meeting his heart, the blade sunk deep into the tree behind the red fox. Letting out a curse, the vixen turned to the intruder, only to have bunny feet greet her muzzle in a dazzling fashion.
The female fox went soaring back through the air, tumbling when she hit the grass, though managing to get to her feet quickly. Judy was huffing and puffing as she stopped near Nick. However, she didn't let her gaze drop from the now snarling fox standing mere yards away from her.
"Are you okay, Nick?" the doe asked, keeping her eyes trained on her armed adversary who was pushing herself to her feet a few yards away.
She received no answer but for the frantic, panicked breaths coming from Don Wilde. For a moment, her gaze flickered to look at him. "Nick?"
A flurry of movement came out of the corner of her eye. She snapped her head back towards the unknown assailant, only for stars to appear when a fist caught the side of her cheek. The bunny was tossed into the air momentarily, only to have her foot be caught and her momentum changed 180 degrees. Her stomach lurched as she felt herself flung in the opposite direction of Nick, hitting the ground with a loud 'oomph'.
Judy shook her dizzy head as she pushed herself off the ground. Haven't been grabbed like that since the academy...
The sound of metal sliding from a sheath woke her up instantly. Staring ahead, she saw the vixen walking back towards Nick, a rather lethal-looking bowie knife held in her paw. Judy dashed forward, cursing her dress as it caused her to stumble. The sound caught the attention of the vixen. Her ear twitched as she turned and slashed the air behind her, right where the bunny would have been if she hadn't tripped.
Judy saw her opportunity and took it. Rolling onto her back and underneath the vixen, Judy scrunched her frame before letting out a massive kick to the vixen's stomach. The fox let out a strained cough, bending nearly in half at the force of the blow. The doe didn't let up, sending two more double kicks into the vixen's stomach and chest. As Judy readied a fourth, the vixen leaned to her left, and the kick hit nothing but air.
Judy found herself fully extended as the other female grinned. The bunny knew what was coming when she saw the vixen raising her arm, bending at the elbow, and prepared as best she could as the fox countered, smashing her forearm directly into Judy's gut.
Pain blinded her as Judy found herself again propelled through the air. She finally came to a stop, tumbling in the grass as her vision swam. Two vixens seemed to be walking towards her, a large knife passing between their paws.
Must...protect...Nick… was the only thought going through her mind as she went to stand. Stumbling again over her dress, she caught herself only to find the vixen's elbow connect with her neck, cutting off her air supply and forcing her back to the ground as the arctic fox let out a snarl.
"I guess I could always let you die first," the vixen whispered, bringing the knife to bear over Judy's head as she put more pressure against Judy's neck. The rabbit struggled for breath, kicking frantically but connecting with weak blows. Judy found her paws grasping at the fox's forearm, desperately trying to pull her off in an attempt to get the air her body was screaming for.
The vixen laughed, a slight hint of amusement showing in her cold blue eyes.
"Two for the price of one always worked for me," the fox drawled as she let the knife slide over Judy's ears and along the fur at the top of her head. "I'm sure you've heard of the Chocpaw tribe before? The tribe that has a certain method of showcasing their defeated enemies?"
Judy felt the knife dig a little into her fur, with a trickle of blood seeping from the wound, before the fox let the knife pull away from her head. A slight whimper left Judy's throat as she realized what the fox was about to do. The thought terrified her and caused her to again desperately paw at the vulpine arm pressed against her throat.
No...please don't...
Judy's mind was scrambling as she suddenly found the fox's foot pressed firmly down on her chest. She let in a grateful gulp of air before the pressure on her lungs intensified. The vixen bent over her, grabbing the bunny's ears and stretching them taut until Judy felt the arctic fox was going to pull them off of her skull.
"I wonder how much a bunny scalp goes for nowadays among the Chocpaw?" The vixen grinned as the knife lowered towards her ears. Judy was furiously pawing at the vixen, her attempts becoming weaker and more frenzied as she felt the last tendrils of energy drain from her limbs. She barely registered her arms falling limp against the fox's foot. Her voice cracked, yet she wasn't sure if she was trying to scream at the pain pulsing through her body or if the subtle sound was her calling out for Nick one last time.
Judy felt the blade breach her forehead, sending a new wave of pain through her as the vixen laughed. "I'm sure my master will be happy to have your ears mounted above his..."
A sudden crack split the air. Judy barely registered the sound, her mind to deprived of oxygen to do anything but hazily watch in dull surprise when the vixen's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she slumped off to the side.
With the pressure on her chest relieved, Judy went fully into flight mode, attempting to roll over and crawl away, putting as much distance as she could between her and the murderous fox while trying to catch her breath. She only made it a few inches before the last bits of her energy gave out, and she collapsed fully to the ground. Tilting her head to the side, an odd sight greeter her.
Nick stood nearby, panting heavily while holding onto what appeared to be a massive… something, in his paw.
In a flash, he was at her side, the mysterious object dropped in his haste to envelop the bunny in a crushing hug.
"Are you okay, Judy?" he whispered into her ear. Judy nodded.
"...good...," she croaked. Her voice was painful to use, the muscles burning after the pressure forced upon her throat. "What… what did you do?"
"You see these trees around us?" Nick asked. Judy nodded as the fox continued. "They're called Coulter pines and are known for one thing..."
Judy coughed, attempting to speak but finding her voice gone. Noticing her fatigue, Nick answered his own question.
"Coulter pine cones," the fox replied. When the bunny gave him an odd look, he simply shook his head. "I'll explain later, but please, Judy," he pulled back to look into her eyes. "Are you okay?"
Again, Judy nodded, though with the frown Nick was giving her, she stopped and finally shook her head.
"She's quite the talented fighter," Judy finally said, letting several minutes pass before she spoke, and when she felt her voice was strong enough to use once more. "Haven't felt this beaten since the academy."
Being enveloped in Nick's arms, she could feel him freeze, then let out a shuddering breath that sounded more like a sob.
"There's a reason for that," he replied quietly. He pulled away, enough to where he could look into Judy's eyes and she into his. The sparkling emeralds that had seemed to dance in the moonlight mere minutes before seemed dull and full of pain as he gathered a breath.
"Nick?" Judy asked. The bunny placed a paw against his muzzle to calm him. Leaning into her paw, Nick trembled before tears began streaking down his cheeks.
"It's Skye, Judy." he whispered the sobs wracking his body. "It's because that is Skye!"
Judy's eyes widened. She twisted in Nick's arms, trying to see past him and into the gloom of the night. With a group of clouds passing in front of the moon, Judy could barely make out a form on the ground. The clouds passed, and the glow of the moon again filled the quiet clearing to reveal the prone form of Nick's fiancée.
"You mean… Why did she try and kill us then?!" Judy yelled, pointing towards the unconscious fox.
"I don't know, she wasn't like that the last time I saw here, and she was always so caring…" Nick glanced at the vixen, a mournful tone to his gaze. "This isn't who my Skye is…"
My Skye…
Judy felt the words more than she heard them. They burrowed deeply into her heart, uprooting and tearing apart all the kind words and caresses the fox had given her. The pounding in her chest made her pull away from Nick, settling back onto the grass, her eyes cast downward.
Nick didn't know what to think when Judy pulled away from him so suddenly. The comforting weight of her in his arms had vanished. "Judy?" he questioned, placing his paw on her shoulder. The bunny flinched, her head twisting until their gazes met. The rabbit lowered her head, though Nick could see the forlorn expression in her eyes.
"Your Skye?"
Oh…
"Judy… I didn't mean it like that."
"How else could you…" Judy paused. "Just, nevermind. Forget I said anything."
"Judy…" Nick whined, only to see her stand on shaky legs.
"She's back now," Judy whispered, her back facing the tod. Immense emotional pain enveloped her, bringing tears to her eyes as her body trembled from the anguish flowing through her. "I'm guessing you still have the rings."
It was a statement of fact -the once-Capitan had no need for an interogation. She knew...and so did Nick.
Nick paused, frozen in place. Why is all this happening now? Nick groaned inwardly. Just when I had decided to get over her, to love again, and she shows up and is just so… His own heart was racing, trying to run away from the cruel irony of the situation. The day he decided to put his past behind him was the day his past came to destroy all he looked forward to. He moved to speak, his mouth moving, yet no words formed.
Judy saw how he didn't reject her statement, and an even larger amount of soul-crushing despair flooded through her. She averted her gaze from him, hoping he wouldn't see her trembling nose or tears pressing down new paths along her cheeks.
"You're good with changing mammals, Nick," she breathed, each word sounding shaky and off. "You changed me, so I know you can change her back to, 'your Skye', again." Suddenly, Judy found the pathway out of the grove of pines coming under paw as her body begged her to leave the mortifying situation behind her.
"Judy, wait!" Nick cried out, stretching his paw out towards her. She stopped, only to tremble and wipe at her eyes.
But she had stopped. He still had time to salvage this.
"She isn't who I love now," Nick avowed. He was glad when the rabbit's ears flickered towards him even if Judy made no move to face him yet. Nick pushed himself up to his feet, wincing when he momentarily forgot about the wound in his arm. Knowing he had her attention, he continued.
"Judy, she isn't the one I love. My Skye," he winced when he noticed Judy flinch at the word, "is not that mammal there. That is only a husk of the mammal I once knew. Besides, I have already decided to move on. I can't hang onto the phantasms of what once was when I have the beacons of the future heralding me forward to greater joy. The past is the past. And that is where she will stay." Nick found himself standing right behind the doe. Noticing her trembling form, he placed his paw upon her shoulder. "My future...our future, lies with the greatest light I have seen and know…you."
Slowly, inexorably...like the changing winds turning the sails of a ship, Judy turned. Lines of tears streaked down her cheeks, dripping onto her torn and muddied dress.
"You stupid, romantic, eloquent fox!" she cried. Throwing herself into him, Judy wept. She went to speak, when several yells attracted their attention
"Master Wilde! Master Wilde!"
"Over here," Nick shouted, as mammals rustled through the trees and brush. "In the pine stand." The fox walked over to the bunny, both intently studying the other. He placed his paws upon Judy's shoulders.
"I know this is no longer the time or place for this discussion, but, know this," His paw raised to cup her cheek. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss against her lips, thankful when she timidly returned it. "I love you, Judy Hopps," Nick whispered. "Never forget that."
"I know…" Judy echoed his sentiments with her own brief kiss. "But what about Skye?"
Judy turned to look at the arctic fox. A sudden gasp escaped her lips when she saw the vixen standing next to a tree. Quickly yanking her sword from the trunk of the pine, she took a step forward, only for an arrow to land with a thunk into the tree right by her head.
"An intruder is threatening Don Wilde!"
Judy and Nick turned to see a painted dog armed with a crossbow burst into the clearing. The canine reloaded another arrow as the arctic fox growled.
"You two will be dead soon enough," she snarled, ducking behind the tree with a fleetness of paw that surprised the doe and tod. Another arrow was shot at her, missing the the vixen but catching the sword held in her paw. Yelping in pain, the vixen crashed through the bushes beyond, disappearing from view as the sound of her escape vanished with the passing seconds. Behind Nick and Judy, another painted dog and Weidii, both armed with similar crossbows, appeared from the pathway.
Weidii noticed the state that both the bunny and fox were in and let loose a mournful mewling sound.
"Oh mis pobres amigos!"
Dropping her weapon, she hurried to them, clasping them in a massive hug. The feline pulled away, gasping as she saw blood smeared upon her own dress. "What happened? Where are you hurt? What is going on? Who was that intruder?"
"One question at a time, Weidii," the first painted dog stated. A frown pulled at his lips as he stared at the wound in Nick's arm. "Would you like us to give chase, sir?"
"Thank you, Delta," Nick proclaimed, "but I can almost guarantee you wouldn't find her. Even with Atom's nose over there."
The wild dog let out a snarl. "We've already tracked her this far. It would be reckless to let a murderer like her escape."
"Murderer?" Judy asked, eyes widening. Delta nodded.
"Correct. One of the serving girls found a body slumped against a tree in the western fields, her scent surrounding the poor soul."
"Who was it?" Judy asked. A hundred faces of different mammals that she had seen throughout the night flashed through her mind.
"It's The Fox, sir," Delta admitted, pausing as Nick and Judy's eyes widened in shock. "It's Zorro. He's dead."
AN: Three things to note. First, Shaved Bellwether is from a bet I had with Fox in the HenHouse, who helped out quite a bit in this chapter. Atom and Delta are from Bluelighthouse, and also from are in here from a bet I've had with him. So go read both of their stories as they are amazing!
Second bit of news, this chapter ends the first arc of, "The Masked Fox". The story will be taking a brief respite while I start planning and writing out the second part to this story, which will probably come in a month or two.
The reason for the wait is the third bit of news I have for you. The much long overdue, "What if...?" Mega-AU now has a firm date for when it will begin; July 1st. Ten authors are already helping me with this project, which now contains 47 mini-stories of varying lengths. This will take quite a bit of my time, but I promise to also get the second half of, "Masked Fox", completed while writing this other story as well. I hope you'll be excited for when it arrives. :D
So this ends Arc 1 of "The Masked Fox". Again I am so happy that most have enjoyed this story so far. It has been amazing to work on it so far with several amazing people. Special thanks to all the folks, CharlieBarkinq, KungFuFreak07, Yasminoliveia534 for the artwork to this story, and to R3d Fawkes and Euphonemes on editing it. They made this story possible as well as all of you for supporting it. I'll try and start it up again in late August/early September after I get far enough ahead in "What if...?" that I am able to devote to it the attention it would need.
Until next time!
~Cimar of Turalis/WildeHopps