Chapter 5:
Brome looked over the new army, crowded in the clearing around the stump of that great tree Martin had helped to fell…
His mother stood beside him, and she held up a withered paw. Withered, but strong.
"My son would like to say a little."
Brome looked at the crowd, and felt a loss for words. What was there to be said? He saw them staring up at him expectantly, and voiced the first thing on his mind.
"Are you afraid?"
There were startled glances, surprised gazes, and some nods from the crowd.
"You know why? I have never felt so afraid in my entire life, but for the Battle of Marshank."
A voice rang out from the group below. "Then why don't we all stay here, where it's peaceful? Not go to war?"
"Because there are beasts out there who believe in freedom and justice and peace. There are beasts out there that want to take advantage of that. And, being one of the creatures wishing for peace, I will do anything to make sure they don't fall. To make sure that Rose doesn't fall. Again." He stated it calmly, and his voice didn't harden dramatically like most leaders going out to war. Noonvalers weren't like that.
There were murmurs of agreement in the crowd, and nods of those who remembered Rose.
"If anybeast wishes to leave, I understand. But hear me now; when they conquer Redwall, They'll be after us. Next."
There was silence, and one spoke up. "If there is no victory and all become lost, I will stay behind to defend Noonvale to the very last." The squirrel stood up, swinging a sling casually. Celandine's daughter wasn't in the least like her mother.
A few others stayed behind, some with worries for their families; others to protect Noonvale if all else failed.
Silence fell, but was rudely interrupted by a snort, and mumbles of outrage as one beast pushed her way through the crowd.
Dahlia ran up to the base of the stump, and raised her bow into the air. "Ready for War?
"Ready for bloodshed?
"Ready to defend what we believe is right?"
Allbeasts screamed in agreement.
"Onto Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!"
They marched out, with Brome wondering what monster may had been released by his vision.
Boar anxiously watched the screen dim. The beasts of The Dark Forest weren't allowed to interfere with things like this, but it the outcome was balanced on the tip of a knife…one wrong move, and all would go bad.
Speaking of…
Rose. He hadn't thought that the Redwallers would act in that way, but it was predictable. So soon after Tsarmina had been vanquished, a mousemaid turning up and having some kind of strange fit.
He'd better check on her.
"Rose, Redwall."
She woke to a strange dizzy feeling in her head and a numb feeling in her paws. She barely knew they were even there.
It was dark, and she couldn't see anything except for hulking shapes, round, varying in height. The floor under her seemed cold and earthy, nothing like the stone of which ended her life…
Involuntarily, she shivered a little. She didn't like thinking about her death…she didn't like the feeling that her body had, and might still be, under the earth in eternal sleep. It scared her to think of that flash of light and spiraling into darkness swiftly. She doubted that many beasts had experienced death and had come back. They might have come close, she was pretty sure Martin had. The beasts here praised him and viewed him as a hero; they were currently, in secret, working on a tapestry of him that would hang in the Great Hall forever, or so it seemed. His sword was gone.
Light filled the cavern, causing her to squint her eyes in an effort to block the invading discomfort. Light had always been calming to her, but to see it like that! after spending quite a bit of time in the dark was not the best experience for her.
Three beasts blocked the light, and one quickly shut it. She tried to get away from them; the Redwallers were supposed to be kind, to be caring. Why were they doing this? They had tied her to a stake driven into the ground, deeply driven in, and she couldn't get away, couldn't get out, couldn't escape.
There was total darkness once again, and Rose listened intently for the swish of green habits and the sound of the coarse-spun plant fiber rubbing together, listened for the quietness or loudness to judge their distance.
A clenched paw suddenly connected with the side of her head, and it was snapped back, causing her to cry out in pain.
There was muted sounds of struggling, and whispers, some of which she heard, through the banging of pain's hammer knocking at the inside roof of her head.
"Can't…don't know…down here."
"Quiet, will you! The abomination has ears, you know."
A paw suddenly clenched her chin, forcing her to look up into dark eyes, barely recognizable from the rest of the face.
"Who are you and what are you doing in our Abbey?"
She shook her head frantically, scared out of her wits. She didn't want them here, she didn't want to talk."
Somebeast punched her arm in an un-friendly way causing bolts of pain to shoot up to her shoulder. "Speak!"
"Teralose."
"Tell the truth!" she was punched in the arm again, harder, and in the same spot.
"Teralose! Warning Abbey!" She cried out, only to have a paw muffle her answer.
"Not so loud! Now. Tell. The. Truth."
"I am." She was deathly afraid of the dark now, deathly afraid of her head hitting one of the stone walls, one of the tall things that surrounded her. "I am!"
A blow caused her head to snap back again, nearly hitting the barrel next to her. She cried out again, this time louder.
"Why do you threaten our Abbey?!"
"No…no…not that again…not that fate…no…"
"Quit babbling and tell us the truth!"
The door was pushed open forcefully and the light poured in, revealing barrels and crates around her, and three young beasts.
A mouse stood in the doorway, and looked on with disbelief at the scene he found, with Rose sobbing on the ground, tied up so that she couldn't fight back.
"No…no more…don't want to die that way…not again…"
Gonff blocked the youngster's escape and called up the stairs, "Martin! Bella! Help here!"
Pawsteps echoed down the passage, and within minutes, the badger and mouse were in view.
"Not again…not again…no more…don't want that…don't want to spiral down…not into darkness…not again…"
Martin stared at her, and rounded on the tormenters angrily. "Why?"
"It threatened out abbey." The squirrel spoke, gazing defiantly at the elder warrior.
"How?" Bella inserted before the warriormouse would blow. "How does she threaten it?"
"It. It is the beast. Who ever hears of a beast going into a trance and yammering off a warning? It is trying to fool us. We felt that we needed to keep our home safe from things such as this."
"Come with me." Bella growled, and grabbed the miscreants by the collar of their shirts.
Martin picked Rose up, and cradled her head. "Shhhh, I'm here. I'm here, Teralose."
"Rose." The croak came out. "Rose. No more Teralose. Rose."
"I'm here, Rose."
Boar stared at the blank stone again, his nose slightly wrinkled in the beginning of a snarl.
Those young beasts! Those stupid, stupid creatures! Even Bella, who had lost her husband and son to Tsarmina's father, knew better than to torture the mousemaid!
He shook his head. After the way Rose had died, she had become a bit…frailer. Everything that involved getting hit on the head shook her nerves a little, and the dark, the blows, the tall, solid shapes; they had snapped them. It would take time and patience to restore her to her former state.
He drummed his claws on the wood table, and sighed. Those beasts… they were young and overprotective, he supposed. Still, they would have nightmares for a week. This was a good enough reason to send them.
The former Badger Lord stared at the stone again, and blew a gust of breath out of the corner of his mouth.
"Безмолвие, Army of the North."
It was greener down here than where they came from. Less snow, and even then, it fell in slight flurries, unlike the heavy, constant summer storms back home. Winter was too deadly for them to live that far north, and they went south to shake some of the snow off.
Безмолвие shrugged the heavy pack further onto his shoulders, and glanced behind him just as a ball of snow hit him in the face. It muffled a startled yelp, but not enough for the attacker to miss it.
"Hah! You aren't silent, like your name suggests, are you, сирота?"
He bit back a stinging retort, and kept his eyes ahead, not even bothering to wipe off the packed snow.
"Are you dumb or somethin'? 'S that why you were named 'Silence'?"
The ferret ignored them. It was no good to rise to their bait, and all he would gain was trouble.
"Answer me!"
A scornful laugh nearly made its way out of his mouth, but he swallowed it, keeping his face emotionless; stone.
"Answer me, you son of a Toilbeast!"
How-how dare they! It was the worst thing that anybeast could call another; and calling their mother that… 'Anger', the rat, was asking to be maimed heavily. Even then, he didn't let the mask fall. No comment would be able to penetrate its walls…he hoped.
"What's this?" The rat was now right next to him, trying to tear off his knapsack. 'Silence' jerked it back and kept marching in time with the rest of the seemingly deaf, dumb, and blind army. It was because of 'Anger's' position as one of the Higher Beasts that they turned their gaze away.
The rat dug his paw into one of the holes, and pulled out one the customary symbol of War, the large grey fox leaning of a broadsword. The rest came out, and then he got to the symbol of Peace.
"Oho! Why you carryin' her? You worship her, then?" Without stopping, he threw it away, flinging it high into the trees, when a gigantic paw snatched it out of the air.
The creature wore a heavy black cloak, and it had a hood over its head. Intelligent, gold eyes glittered from underneath it, and it-she-he handed it back to Безмолвие.
"What are you doing, Гнев?"
The rat's eyes widened in fear as he stepped back a little, stammering undecipherable words. The marching had stopped, and all beasts eyes were on the cloaked beast.
"Answer."
"Ch-ch-check-ck-cking th-the tr-tr-trait-t-tor's b-b-bag-g f-f-for-r ev-v-vid-d-denc-c-c-ce."
"What traitor?"
"HIM!" the rat screeched, pointing a claw at the mottled ferret. "He's the traitor!"
"How?"
"I-I d-don-n't-t kn-kn-know-w."
"Then why call him traitor?"
"What orphan wasn't a traitor?" 'Anger' seemed to regain his cool, and talked to the creature calmly.
"When isn't there a first time?"
"When will that first time be?"
"Nobeast knows. Гнев, you are to be on half-provisions for hassling this ferret."
"But that's only a little provision off!"
"Talking in the Lower Tongue and arguing with the Master is enough for all provisions, but I will let you off easy. This time."
Гнев's eyes widened again, and he scuttled off to his position in the lines.
"Безмолвие, come with me."
The ferret followed his Master, a bit worried. He didn't know why he was singled out; usually, if you were singled out, it wasn't for having dinner with him, or anything like that.
Безмолвие was led through ranks, higher and higher until they were nearing the Generals. And, when they reached them, they kept on going. He was thoroughly confused now; who ever heard of a middlebeast like him going up this far, this fast? What was the purpose of this? As maddening as these questions were, he knew not to ask the Master them. For who knew what was to happen if these questions annoyed him?
Boar watched as the scene slowly dimmed, and his claws clicked once more on the polished table.
I really hope that this 'Master' doesn't tell him his inheritance. If reveals far too much of the future, even here in the Dark Forest.
He sighed in resignation. It would happen. No matter what, it would happen. It always seemed to happen, and always to him.
Badger Lords of Salamandastron, I need a break. He started to stand, and then hesitated.
Rose?
Rose, or no Rose?
Rose, or Rest?
He shook his head, and sat back down, but just for a brief flash. Physical well-being first, then mental. He'd do that.
"PWB of Rose."
There were areas that weren't doing so well. Her head, her arm was alright, and her wrists, being deprived of blood, were throbbing insistently. Her heart…he nearly reeled back in surprise. It was hardly beating. A beat or two per minute. Perhaps a side effect of her coming back to life? Or of the beating?
He shook his head, and waved his paw, open, then shutting it as he waved it onward.
"MWB of Rose."
It was like somebeast had broken her personality. It was shattered, flung into dark corners of her mind, and Boar sighed. He needed to give her a dream in her sleep. It wasn't going to be quick.
"Dream, Rose."
He found himself in heavy mists, and Rose was sitting on the ground, dazed and confused.
"Hello."
She looked up. "Who are you?"
With effort that wasn't shown, he drew out the broken bits of her personality, and molded them together in the shape of her true self.
"What are you doing?"
"Teralose, Laterose, Rose." He spoke her three names. "One in three, her true self be/Let it return, let it yearn/To stay there forever, again to never/ Be shattered, be crushed, be scattered." He didn't like the rhyming that much, but it had to be done. The true self turned towards Rose, and she backed away slowly.
"Who are you? What are you doing? What is that?"
If caught up with her, and she fell. A minute passed, and another, before she got up again and caught sight of him. "Boar?"
He was relieved that it had worked. "Yes. Now, sleep. You have injuries to recover from and I," here he sighed again. He seemed to be doing quite a bit of that these days. "I, need some well-deserved rest. Checking up on everybeast takes out more than you would think."
Rose nodded, and walked away. She disappeared in a swirl of mist, and he felt the dream end.
A/N: Hated writing Rose's beating. Hated it. You can see why at the end I had Boar heal her... decided that this cliffie was alltogether too mean.
Just to let all of you know, I do NOT put this one off until it is last in line. Never will I EVER do that. I think.
Thanks! (for reading. I'm saying thanks for that a lot lately...)