The Zootopian Chronicles II: Darkness

by Menser

The Protectors: They came with promises of safety and protection from all the threats facing Zootopia but what if the greatest threat is The Protectors themselves? Nick, Judy and their Furless friend must forge an alliance with old friends and Legends from Zootopia's dark mysterious past to save their city and world against these invaders from within and new otherworldly threats.

38. Reynard's Story – Part 3H To Fool a King

Reynard's Story – Part 3H – To Fool a King

This is the eighth of nine sections of the Third Part of Reynard's Story. The clever Reynard has to figure out how to get out of his current dreadful situation as he lies dangling from a noose, his life slowly choking away. But can he figure out a way to get payback on his betrayer, and worst enemies? Could The Fox turn everything on its head and completely reverse the entire scenario? Surely such a thing would be impossible. Finally, can the one who betrayed Reynard the most actually aid The Fox when he needs it more than ever?

The adaption of the original Reynard legend will again feature heavily in this chapter. However much of what happens is quite different from what occurs in the original. Some elements are the same, a few elements were borrowed from the 1930 stop motion animated movie about the legend of Reynard titled Le Roman de Renard aka The Story of the Fox, and numerous other elements were created anew because they fit this story better. Also both the original legend and movie were tame in my opinion so I wanted to really crank things up a notch.

The opening of the chapter corresponds to Chapter 15 to 18 of the original legend. The end of the chapter corresponds to Chapters 25-26 of the original legend. Most of the middle is made up of new elements to fit this Reynard and his story.

This chapter is only a measly 21K+ words. Originally this part of the story was to be combined with the last chapter, but would have put the whole chapter well over 60K+ words. So this part of the story was then going to be combined with the finale, but I then realized that this could push the final chapter to over 50K+. So I had to go back and change it to nine sections instead of eight and sandwich this between the two just to keep the size down to a "somewhat" reasonable amount. Never fear though as the finale will be as chaotic as one would imagine considering the ending of this chapter.

The chapter is Rated M because it is a Reynard chapter and references numerous scenes of an extremely disturbing nature. Never fear though as the final section to come will max out all warnings.

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Zoodate: Zoodate: (-32 Years) (30 years before the events at the end of Zootopia The Movie), 145 P.C.

145 P.C.

Both Judy and Drew were on the end of their seats as Reynard stopped telling his tale, Drew on the edge of his, and Judy on the edge of Drew's lap. Both stared eagerly at Reynard waiting for his next words and finally grew impatient.

Drew and Judy: "And…"

Reynard looked at the eager faces before him and gave them a mischievous toothy grin.

Reynard: "And what? I'm taking a break."

Judy: frustrated "Oh come on… you can't end there. We have to know what happens. They hang you… by a noose. That is horrible!"

Drew: "That does seem quite a lousy justice system. There is no going back from such an action. Look at what they did to Bellin… there is no recourse once you remove someone's head."

Reynard: laughing "That is true my human friend. And yes I suppose hanging is better than having your head chopped off. I guess it is a matter of opinion as I am sure you feel less pain with the removal of ones head. Or I guess I should say you feel the pain for only a brief instant. Probably by the time the signal gets to your brain it is on the floor. Hanging takes awhile longer and is quite unpleasant… but you leave a much nicer looking corpse."

Judy vomited on the floor. Drew caught some of it, but missed a fair amount as she was too quick.

Judy looked back at the human sorrowfully as he gently wiped her mouth off.

Judy: apologizing weakly "Sorry."

Drew nodded his head.

Drew: "It was understandable… and not unexpected."

Reynard laughed at his guests. He kept forgetting that the sensibilities of the two before him were quite different than anyone else who had ever heard this tale. He then thought of something and began chuckling.

Judy gave him a pained look.

Judy: "What's so funny?"

Reynard: "I was just thinking of how expensive that vomit of yours has been all evening."

Drew laughed at that. Finally Judy was able to manage a grin and grabbed for some more of the extremely expensive wine which she had been spraying off and on all night. For there had been quite a few episodes throughout the last part of the tale.

Drew: laughing "It was not nearly as bad as when you ate the bunny… and… well whatever you did to the Dirty Doe. I hesitate to call that sex… maybe by some loose definition I suppose. Anyway the messes I had to clean up after those two incidents..."

Judy was looking very ill as Drew brought up both those parts of the story looking like she was ready to spew again. Finally she managed to get out a few words.

Judy: incredulous "You… you ate the hare… and… and his wife! Urp!"

Judy managed to stifle another vomiting episode.

Reynard grinned and nodded his head.

Reynard: "Fear not my little bunny friend. It was not as if we went around grabbing bunnies off the street to throw into our pots. Again, Rachel was a regular guest and a close friend of the family. Her and all her children were so beloved by us all. We would never think of eating or harming any of them in any way. It was just a fitting end for those two after what they had done to harm Aza, Rachel, and so many others."

Drew: "I couldn't imagine ever eating any animal I could have a conversation with. Or even one that displayed any intelligence or self-awareness. The thought of eating a human makes me extremely ill, and to eat a sentient mammal seems to be akin to just that. It all just seems quite barbaric."

Judy: distraught "It's… it's awful!"

Reynard: "Yes… I anticipated that part of the tale would not sit well with you. I warned you that I was not the hero you thought me. I did a lot of nasty things in my past. I hurt and killed a great many. I was deceitful, brutal and malicious. I was many things, but hopefully not unjust. And don't think I didn't notice you getting quite protective of your little fluffy one there, Drew, when I discussed eating the bunny."

Drew: looking uncomfortable "It is just something subconscious I suppose coming from the human Earth where such things are more commonplace."

Reynard: grinning mischievously "Well I wouldn't think Judy would have to worry about such a thing. She is far too skinny. She would barely make an appetizer."

Judy: upset "Hey!"

Drew: hugging Judy tightly "Don't even kid about such a thing."

Reynard: laughing "You two are far too easy to rattle. I would never think of harming either of you. You of all mammals should know that Drew."

Drew: relaxing "I know. I have never felt anything like that from you. I suppose I am oversensitive to certain subjects like that one. The thought of anyone seeing Judy as food is just far too disturbing. She is the most precious thing I could ever imagine."

Judy: touched hugging the human "Awwwwwwww."

Reynard: "And now you know how I felt about my little ones, and why I had to come rescue them."

Judy: distressed "I… I can't believe Grimbeert could do that. To take those precious little babies. To threaten them like that… it's… it's monstrous!"

Reynard: "Yes, on the surface such an action would appear unimaginable. The betrayal ripped a hole in my heart and distressed me for quite awhile. But looking at it from his perspective, my cousin did the only thing he could imagine to guarantee I would show up at court in time. I know it was the very last thing he would ever want to do."

Drew: "But why did he not just tell you about the King's ultimatum? Why didn't he trust that you would have a plan to get both of you out of such a situation?"

Reynard: "Many reasons… he was afraid I would just tell him to go on the run. He thought I would just find a ruse to have his wife and children slipped out and sent into hiding. He had finally achieved the position he had always dreamed of, and giving it up would be the same as dying to him. He knew that once he disclosed such a threat to his life, that I would be on my guard for such an act of desperation as he committed."

Drew: "I suppose I can see that. But he could have insisted you come up with some solution which could have allowed him to keep his position and life. I could never imagine circumstances so desperate I would put small children in harms way."

Judy: teary eyed "Aza and Marion must have been frantic!"

Reynard: nodding at Judy "You have no idea. Once we told Marion what had happened, she turned into a holy terror. Nick meant more to her than anything in the world. Both Aza and Marion would have done anything to save their babies. There was really no choice for me in the matter, and Grimbeert knew that. To not have saved them, I would have been wishing I was dead, not that I felt any differently about them than Aza or my sister. To not have acted would have been to sacrifice all five of them."

Drew: understanding "There was absolutely no choice."

Judy: distraught "No wonder the Queen was sad."

Reynard: "Yes Queen Fiere was quite upset that the children had been involved and used as hostages. She knew what such a thing would do to Aza and Marion. In fact it was all she could do to control her emotions so as not to alarm and trouble the children."

Judy: "Couldn't she have demanded they be returned?"

Reynard: "Her relationship with King Leo was not the same as Aza and mine. She was more of a figurehead than involved strongly in policy. She needed those such as myself to help press her concerns at court. While the King would like to please her, he would never wish to be seen as being controlled by her at court. He felt it would make him seem weak in the eyes of others. She would need to try to convince him in private. She could never speak out about such a thing in open court, or it would force the King to firmly take the opposite position."

Judy: "That upsets me greatly. I like that you valued Aza's opinion so highly in all your decisions. Drew never made any decision that affected both us without discussing it with me thoroughly and making sure I was fully okay with whatever it was. We are equal partners in all things. The King should have valued the Queen's opinion more."

Reynard: "It would have made things a lot easier if he had done so. Things to come would have turned out quite a lot differently if that had been the case."

Drew: "I take it you mean in the more distant future part of the story."

Reynard: "Astute as always my dear human. But of course it would have also been impactful at the current point of the story as well. There was very little that the Queen and I did not see eye to eye on other than the means to achieve the goal. She was not quite as squeamish as Judy here, but was not a proponent of the brutal and violent methods I would employ. She understood that I was not dealing with the nicest of mammals, but was one to take a more restrained approach when dealing with them. But I knew that the only thing they respected was a harsh and vicious response. A slap on the wrist or a simple admonishment was not going to stop them from continuing their wickedness."

Judy: upset "It was so painful to hear about poor Aza and Rachel in that horrible place. She suffered so much there. I cried so much thinking of her and all she tried to do to save her friend."

Reynard: "Yes, my dear wife suffered greatly at The Dungeon. She had nightmares about that place for so long. It really wasn't until the death of Cuwaert that she began to put all the horrors she had been through there behind her. She blamed herself for so many years for not having been able to protect her bunny friend. But Rachel and I were finally able to convince her that she did more than any mammal could have ever done to protect the bunny. In fact it was the love and friendship of Aza that allowed Rachel to survive her time there and to recover afterwards."

Drew: "It was good that you were able to punish Cuwaert and Meretrix. But what about Isengrim?"

Reynard: "Getting my revenge on the wolf for my dear Aza as well as myself was not a simple matter. He was a district boss, and the only person that would ever have the authority to punish a boss would be the King himself. To try to do something on my own would have been an automatic death sentence whether I was successful or not. It was the reason the other district bosses never tried to come at me directly. But we will find out quite a lot more about my disagreements with the wolf in the other parts of my story."

Judy: "Did you ever find out about what caused all the problems for Aza with the pregnancy of baby Crimson? Did you find out why he was so unusual?"

Reynard: "Well I think the most likely explanation I got was that it was due to Crimson's unique genetic makeup. In order to support his unique development and his advanced features upon birth, it took a great amount of strength from his mother. Many of the doctors had never seen any baby like him. But I will not say much more about him at this point as there is more story to come where he is concerned."

Drew: "So how did you manage to avoid the hanging?"

Reynard: laughing "What makes you think I was able to get out of it? Didn't you realize your host was a ghost?"

Judy: "Har De Har! They seemed to really have you dead to rights. I can't even imagine what you could have done to change their minds."

Reynard: "Well I suppose we should get to it then. How about all of us take a quick break and prepare for the final two parts of the story? Lulls in the action are few and far between in the very last section, so be fully prepared."

Judy and Drew nodded and they all left to take a quick break to visit the rest facilities and refresh their drinks and snacks. As this last section was the reason they had come, and it promised to be one wild ride.

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Zoodate: (-32 Years) (30 years before the events at the end of Zootopia The Movie)

As Reynard hung by the neck dying, surrounded by his enemies, time seemed to slow. All of a sudden the cold darkness filled him, the familiar presence he had known all his life was with him once again as his mistress gently caressed her servant as he faced imminent death. This was not the way he had ever wanted to end his life, but it was a noose of his own making. He had flown too close to the sun this time and gotten scorched for his efforts. He embraced his mistress feeling her warm his heart with her darkness. He told her he had tried to be her faithful servant and hoped she would reward him by taking him into her bosom and allowing him to serve her in her realm.

But his mistress spoke words he did not expect. She became angry, and the sight was terrible to behold. Her visage became that of a monstrous demon and she screamed into his soul, "I'm not done with you yet! You have more to do! Only I can say when your time is done, and I say IT IS NOT NOW!"

The waning energy in The Fox's limbs seemed to suddenly become infused with power and energy, and Reynard screamed out so every member of court heard the call, "CONFESSION! I have word for the King!"

How the fox had the strength to utter such words when he was being strangled, no one could imagine. But all eyes turned to the King, and they saw a very animated Queen Fiere speaking to her husband and motioning to The Fox dying in front of them.

Suddenly the King got a determined and curious look on his face and he rose and yelled, "Stop the execution! Cut him down! NOW!"

The joy and elation on the faces of The Fox's enemies disappeared in an instant only to be replaced with despair and frustration. But they could not deny a command by their King, and Isengrim cut the cord around the neck of his mortal enemy while Bruun grabbed him around the waist lifting him, and placing him atop the gallows platform. Reluctantly Isengrim cut the ropes binding the paws of The Fox allowing him to pull the noose from around his neck and rubbing the painful welts from around his neck where he had been strangling just moments before.

In those moments as The Fox sought to recover his wits, this is that he thought: Thank you mistress for providing me the strength to try one last effort to change my fate. It's no surprise that the King and many others are angry with me… I deserve it, though I still hope to be their best friend. And yet I swear I'll never do a good turn for one of them! I don't care how strong the King is, or how wise his councils. As long as I can speak, I'll rise as high in court as they would have me on the gallows. I've got so many tricks up my sleeve! And they've barely but seen a sampling of what I have on the offer!

For The Fox had imagined a brilliant complicated plan to turn his fortunes from certain death to revenge on those enemies that sought his life. Such was the way of The Fox that he could weave lies upon lies and create absolute truth where there was none. But this plan had many parts and required the cooperation of allies and betrayers both in order to make it that much more believable. For an easy lie is easily defeated, but lies mixed with truths mixed with unimpeachable testimony melded together with absolute confidence is stronger than mere facts.

As Reynard stepped down from the gallows to present himself to the King and Queen to confess himself, all present pitied The Fox when he spoke those words thinking it was a small concession for the King to grant a dying fox his request. Word spread to those who had only a short while before left not wishing to see their friend and ally hanging lifeless at the end of a rope. All that had left then made their way quickly back to hear the last words of their friend and confederate. As The Fox climbed the platform to present himself before the King and Queen, he hoped that things might make a turn for the better.

Once the King gave him permission to speak, Reynard then spoke these words, "Now God help me! I have wronged everyone here. I was, nonetheless, one of the best children anywhere since the moment I was weaned. Even though I never knew my father, my mother raised me and loved me and my sister as much as any mother ever did. Although my time with her was short, and times were truly hard as a child, through those harsh lessons I learned to become a survivor and thrive in a brutal world that had chewed up and destroyed most. But don't cry for me, as suffering and pain were my teachers, cruelty and savagery elements that molded me, creating that which stands before you now. But rising above the wretchedness that sought to drag me down required stepping on and harming others. To all of them I am sorry, but such is the way of the underworld, and for some to succeed others must fail."

The Fox was just getting warmed up declaring, "The World is a callous and unfair place at times, and such lessons I learned from dealing with others. For example when I met our good Isengrim for the first time, he told me it was as if we were kin, and that together we could accomplish great things. So because of his words we teamed up, which I now wish had not happened. We swore to each other to be faithful, and to hold fast together, and we began to roam as a pair. He stole the big things and I the small. Everything was common property between us, even if he had the best deal and I didn't even get half of mine. Whenever Isengrim got a few jewels or gold, he looked fierce and angrily drove me away, keeping both his part and mine. He's such a wonderful honorable thief, is Isengrim!"

"Yet these affairs were trifling. Whenever we had the luck to take a true treasure such as a box of jewelry or collection of rare coins, Isengrim turned up with his gang and followers, so after all was divided not even the smallest bauble would find it my way; they'd take all the valuable items, and I had to be content with my lot, given that they considered me lesser than them all. But thinking back on those days I laugh thinking about how much a pittance all that we ever found together was compared to the treasure I now have my paws on. For I now have so much treasure, both silver, gold and jewels, that seven vans wouldn't be able to carry it all."

When the King heard Reynard speak of this treasure of his, he burned with greedy desire for it. For such a treasure as The Fox described was immense beyond even the imagination of the King of the underworld or even the richest mammal in all of Zootopia.

A very interested King asked The Fox, "Reynard, might you tell me what's happened to all this treasure?"

The Fox replied: "My lord, I'll tell you the whole story. The treasure was stolen. If it hadn't been stolen, it would have cost you your life; you would have been murdered, heaven forbid, which would have been the most dreadful event under heaven."

When Queen Fiere heard this she took fright and cried loudly in despair, "Oh, dear Reynard: What are you saying? I beg you in the name of the long voyage your soul is about to make, tell us the plain truth of what you know about the murder that was planned for my lord husband. Speak so we can all hear it now!"

Listen now to the way in which The Fox flatters the King and the Queen, and how he wins their goodwill and love. Listen also how he blocks those who work for his death. He'll unpack his bag of tricks by flattery, and lie with seductive words. He'll make it seem as if everything he said should be taken as the gospel truth.

With a mournful expression The Fox addressed the Queen, "Now I can't escape death. Given that you beg me so passionately, I'm unprepared to endanger my soul. If I did, I'd be going into the eternal pains of hell. I won't say a thing that I can't prove, for the King would have been horribly murdered by members of his own court. I have to say those who were most involved in this conspiracy were my next of kin, and close allies, whom I'd not betray, were it not for the pains of hell threatening me."

The King was somber but skeptical as The Fox's reputation for deceit was great, "Reynard, are you telling me the truth?"

"I'm afraid so," said The Fox, "Don't you see my predicament? Would I damn my soul? What would I gain by telling anything but the truth? I'm on the very brink of death; neither prayer nor wealth can help me now."

Then The Fox trembled deceitfully, as if he was mightily afraid. The Queen pitied him, and begged the King to treat him mercifully so as to avoid any more damage, and to command the people to hold their peace and give audience to The Fox.

The King listened to his good wife's wishes and commanded everyone to hold their tongues and permit The Fox to say whatever he wanted, without let or hindrance. So listen now to what he said.

"So," said The Fox, "now that you are still, and since it's the King's will, I'll openly declare treason. As I do, I'll not spare anyone whom I know to be guilty."

Now observe how The Fox began. He called Grimbeert, his dear cousin, who had up until that day been his constant ally and friend always helping him in a tight spot, as a witness. But why would The Fox who had just been betrayed by the badger by ultimate treachery, call the badger to testify in such a fragile position? He did so because Grimbeert's testimony would make everything he said more credible, and so he could lie more persuasively about his enemies. But how did he know the badger would go along with his plans? First, because the badger knew that if he denied The Fox, it is very likely that he would suffer mightily. But most importantly, because The Fox knew that regardless of the betrayal, the badger was his ally, and wished to try to begin to atone for the wrong he had done to his two cousins.

Once Grimbeert was present looking very nervous and bewildered at The Fox never knowing what might come from his sly tongue, Reynard began, "Many years ago when I was still a kit, my mentor and boss, Xander Barb, was able to find a way into the ancient Zootoopian treasure vaults, and over two days, we were able to remove the entire contents of the collected treasures held in secret by the city. The wealth was so great, one mammal would need ten full lifetimes to spend it all. But the theft had to be kept secret upon pain of death by those close to Xander, because the secret authorities of Zootopia were hunting for those responsible ready to bring the entire might of the city down upon those who had perpetrated the crime. It was even hidden from you, my lord King, because if any of the precious stones, coins, jewelry, artifacts or treasures were to ever be released, those authorities would follow them to the source to discover their hidden location."

"So Xander sat on the great treasure waiting for those in the city to think it lost forever. Sure he melted some of the gold and silver down and recast it, but the vast majority was kept in it's original form untouched. But my boss feared even myself or other top lieutenants from knowing it's true location. Only a scant few knew of its existence, and fewer still where its riches lay. You may ask why you heard nothing about this in the news. The answer is simple in that the hidden treasure was a great secret, and to mention word of it's disappearance would accomplish nothing but angering the public and making those responsible for it to suffer their wrath."

"And so the great treasure was held in secret for many years until by boss retired, and I took his place. Still it's location was kept safe, until one fateful night. It was widely known that my mentor was not one for holding his tongue when he spoke of his exploits and adventures in his prime. One day he let slip the story of the treasure to a trusted friend, and word found it's way to the ear of Bruun the Bear. For the Bear had a devilish treacherous plan for the hidden wealth, and had Xander's children and grandchildren taken and held in secret. The duplicitous and villainous bear then held their lives forfeit if my dear boss and mentor did not agree to join the bear and his conspirators to use this treasure to finance their hideous plot. The bear used Tybalt the Wildcat as the go between to arrange all the treachery telling Xander to meet at the secret restaurant called Flanders outside of Zootopia, and had my former boss begin to remove some of the treasure he would need to use to buy the favor of those who would enable Bruun's plan to become king. So Bruun then met Xander in secret at Flanders to hatch this plot. Bruun then immediately sent for my dear cousin Grimbeert here as he was truly wise and knew the ways of the court better than anyone, along with Isengrim the Wolf and Tybalt the Wildcat. These five plotted together a whole long, dark night. With the devil's help and skill, and with the promise of Xander's great wealth, they conspired and swore to the King's death."

"Now listen to the astonishing business: the four of them swore on Isengrim's head that they'd make Bruun king and lord, and bring him to the throne here, where they'd set the crown on his head. If there were any of the King's friends or kin who resisted, then Xander would with all his wealth, buy the support of all others and drive those loyalists out and deprive them of their power and positions."

"One morning it chanced that Grimbeert, delirious talking in his sleep due to the grave guilt he felt, revealed the plot in secrecy to his wife Sloepcade. When she questioned him about it upon his waking, he admitted to her the truth of it and told her to keep it secret. But she immediately forgot her oath and confessed it to my wife, Aza. She confessed it only as long as my wife first swore on her honor and by the lives of her children that she would never, for love or hate, tell another soul but keep it secret. My wife, however, didn't keep it secret at all when she got home to me. She revealed all she had heard, as long as I'd keep it all secret. She supplied many tokens of evidence that I judged it was true. My hair stood on end and my heart grew heavy as lead and as cold as ice."

"I remembered that a similar thing happened to the frogs a while ago. The frogs were free, and yet complained that they had no king and weren't governed, since a community without a governor was undesirable. So they appealed loudly to God that He'd ordain one to rule over them: they all desired this. God heard their request. Because it was not unreasonable, he sent a stork, who swallowed as many of them as he could find. The stork king was utterly pitiless. The frogs complained, but by then it was too late: those who were previously free and afraid of no one were now bound and obliged to strengthen their king by giving their lives so that he may feast. For this reason, rich and poor, I feared that the same might happen to us."

"Thus, my lord King, I was so worried about you, for which you're repaying me now with some small thanks. I know Bruun the Bear is a vicious, rapacious swindler. I thought that if he were king we'd all be destroyed. I also know that our sovereign lord the King is a figure of such high noble birth—so mighty and so generous and so merciful—that I thought a change involving acceptance of a greedy stinking swindler, and the repudiation of a noble, mighty, stately lion, would have been truly disastrous. For the bear and his family have more mad craziness in their dumb heads than anyone else. So I was really sorry and thought hard about how I could obstruct and foil their plot, which was set to make a lord and king of a peasant traitor who was worse than a rapist."

"I prayed continually that the powers above would preserve our King in honor and health, and grant him long life. But I also thought if Bruun was able to control Xander's great wealth, he'd manage to depose the King. So I hatched a plan to watch Xander carefully morning through night for I knew that they would need to begin to draw on the treasure soon for their plans to come to fruition. So I had many of my men watch in secret to see any place my old boss would frequent. Whether it was by night or day, in cold weather or hot, I was always with eyes close to work out where his treasure was secreted."

"Once we had Xander followed to a warehouse on the edge of the city, where he went in light and left heavy. Now listen to what I saw him do: When he came out of the warehouse, he looked quickly about him to discover if he'd been seen. When he couldn't see anyone, he sealed the old warehouse shut thinking no one was the wiser to his actions. He pretended that he came out the same as he came in, but my men knew better as he stepped heavy and looked about like a worried thief after a great heist. For my old boss was out of practice at the ways of a thief as it had been sore long since he wet his foot in larceny. He then left and went off to the city on business."

"I wasn't slow about it once I knew the location, and quickly entered the warehouse with my most trusted lieutenant, Coal, at my side. We searched the area high and low knowing secrets and the keeping of valuables as we do. After a time we found a hidden chamber, and within the chamber many defenses. But my old boss had trained me too well for I was now the master and he but a novice in comparison when it came to the protection of riches. I was able to open all that was set and found the vast wealth that we had stolen from the city so long before. It was a huge room with piles of silver, gold, gems, jewelry and priceless artifacts, more treasure than I had ever seen during all my many years of thieving. And I am including the many casings of valuables I could never take in this as well. There is no one here who's ever seen so much in a single heap in all his life. So with the help of Aza my beloved, and Coal my most trusted, we did not rest by day or night before we carried away this precious treasure with immense labor to another place I had found long ago where no one would ever think to look. As the locks I used were not mammal made, but that of God and nature."

"While we were working away removing the treasure, I had eyes kept on Xander and they reported seeing him with those traitors you know conspiring against you my King. Now hear what they did. Bruun the Bear and Isengrim the Wolf sent word to the members of the court, and even to your own guards and household, declaring that if any mammal wanted a special job, one where their loyalty was to the bear, and not to my lord King, they should come to Bruun and he'd pay them. So word was spread throughout the kingdom that such positions and reward was available when none was to be had since I had secreted it all away. For all the world, he'd not find a penny of it."

"When they had compiled a list of all who could be bought, Bruun was then satisfied he had the numbers to stage a proper coup. For Bruun was satisfied as the list of names was long, including all of Isengrim's family and allies, one third of the guards, nearly half the court, all who were sworn to stand ready and support the bear as long as they had part of their payment in advance. I can only thank God that my spies informed me of all this!"

"Once they were ready to buy their support, Xander went to his secret treasure room to gather part of his hoard. He had brought a large van and many chests so was prepared to use a goodly part on his mission. But there my old boss suffered grievously, once he failed to find what he was looking for, since his hiding place was found out and his treasure carried off. The way he acted upon leaving the warehouse makes me weep: in anger and sorrow he went. He was as my own father and I had treated him so wrongly. But I had not betrayal on my mind, but liberation, as I had my spies following all of Bruun's men until I found the quarry I was searching for in the woods well outside the city. For in an encampment were the family of my old boss whom I quickly liberated and whisked to safety. My old boss came home a pauper, but then found he had all the riches he could want when I delivered them all safely to his door. He sent word to Bruun that his treasure was no more, lost to unknown forces, and hid his family and went underground himself in case of any retribution."

"Thus stood Bruun's conspiracy, because of my cunning. Now consider my bad lot: the traitors Isengrim, Bruun and Tybalt were in the King's innermost circle, and sat with him on the high bench of justice, whereas I, poor Reynard, had no thanks or reward. I betrayed my own boss, a man I loved as my own father, so that the King should live."

"My lord," said The Fox, "where are they who'd act in this way—that's to say, who'd destroy themselves to save you?"

The King and Queen hoped to win the treasure as they had many plans in their heads for what they could do with such vast wealth. Without taking counsel, they brought Reynard into their confidence, asking him if he'd be so kind as to tell them where the treasure was.

"How," Reynard replied, "should I tell the King, or those who'd hang me to protect the traitors and murderers, where my treasure is? With their flattery they want only to kill me. I'd be crazy to do that!"

The fair Queen Fiere then spoke: "Not at all, Reynard, the King would grant you your life, and pardon you completely as long as you're a wise and faithful counselor to my lord."

Reynard then replied in wonder and amazement to both their majesties, "Dear lady, if the King believes me and if he will pardon and forgive all my past crimes and perceived wrongs, then there will never be so rich a King as I'll make him, with the precious and incalculable treasure that I'll put in his possession."

The King answered speaking to his wife, "Ah, my lady, will your believe The Fox? I don't want to offend you, but he's born to lie, cheat and steal. Treachery is innate to him—it cleaves to his very bones and can't be drawn out of him."

The Queen responded, "No my lord, you can believe him this time, even though he was a felon in the past. Now he is a changed mammal: you've heard him indict his former boss, a man as his own father and blood, and his cousin the badger. He would've accused others if he'd been a false and treacherous liar."

The King nodded and spoke, "My lady, if you see it like that, and think it best to act in this way, I'll take responsibility for all the crimes of Reynard and believe him, even though it might end up harming me. But I swear by my crown that if he breaks my law just one more time, he and his family will pay for it unto the ninth degree!"

The Fox looked on the King as he spoke, and was secretly glad saying, "I'd be stupid not to tell the whole truth."

The King then picked up a piece of straw by his side anointing it his scepter, and proceeded to touch each shoulder of The Fox pardoning all his and his mentor's crimes. No wonder The Fox was happy, for he was no longer in danger of death, and got off scot-free from the power of his enemies.

"My lord the King and my noble lady the Queen: God repay the great honor you do me! I'll think how I can best thank you for it, so that you'll be the richest mammals that ever lived. There's no one alive to whom my treasure is better entrusted than to you both." The Fox declared bowing low before his majesties.

Then The Fox picked up the piece of straw anointed as substitute scepter and presented it to the King as if the real thing, saying, "My most dear lord, may it please you to receive the rich treasure that the ancients of Zootopia once held close, for I give it to you with a liberal heart and acknowledge it openly."

The King received the straw reverently and then tossed it jokingly aside with a laugh, thanking The Fox profusely. The Fox chuckled to himself.

The King then carefully listened to The Fox's counsel. All those present stood at his disposition. "My lord," he said, "now listen, and mark my words well. To the west of the secret pub called Flanders there is a forest called Hulsterloe, and a lake called Krekenpit nearby. This area is so deserted that sometimes no one goes there in a whole year except those who know what they are about. That's where the treasure lies hidden. Note that the place is called Krekenpit. I would advise you, so as to avoid any harm whatsoever, that you and my lady go there together. I don't know anyone trustworthy enough whom I'd trust to go in your stead. So go yourself."

The fox then leaned forwarded and whispered softly so that only the King and Queen could hear saying, "When you come to Krekenpit, you'll find two birch trees right beside the pit. My lord, go to the birch trees: that's where the entrance to the vault is hidden. It will take quite a great deal of searching, but I am sure your aquatic experts can locate the entrance. Within you will find rooms and chests of gold, silver, jewels and gems galore. You'll also find a truly rare artifact, the crown of Antioch, that kings of Zootopia's past wore in their time. The one Bruun the Bear would've worn if he'd had his way. You'll see many expensive jewels, with precious stones set in gold, which cost tens of thousands of Zootopia bucks. When, my lord the King, you've taken possession of all this treasure, how often will you say in your heart: Reynard, Reynard—how trustworthy you were after all, you through your subtlety buried and hid this treasure trove here! May God grant you good chance wherever you are right now!"

The King replied, "Boss Reynard, you must join us in the searching and gathering of this treasure. I don't know the way, and won't ever be able to find it as I know you have hidden it well. I have heard of a few places to the southwest, but it strikes me that you are playing with us, since the place Krekenpit seems made-up."

This order wasn't good for The Fox, who, dissembling, replied indignantly: "My lord King, you're as close to the truth as we are to the moon. Do you imagine that I'd lead you up the garden path? Never! I'll dispel your doubts and direct you to the place with good testimony."

The Fox then looked around spotting the mammal he wanted and called down to him loudly: "Lapeel the Rabbit, up you come before the King!" The rabbit looking around terrified until he realized he was being addressed directly and was ushered by the throngs up the sloping platform to the temporary dais until he was before the King and Queen.

The Fox then said to the rabbit, "Lapeel, are you cold? Why all the trembling and shaking? You look of ill health and ready to soil yourself. There is no need to be afraid, but tell my lord the King the truth. I charge you to do so by the faith and loyalty you owe both him and my lady the Queen in all such matters as I'll require of you."

A miserable looking Lapeel replied that he'd tell the truth even if he'd lose his life telling it. "I won't lie, if I know the truth—you've ordered me so forcefully."

Reynard then asked, "Then tell us: Don't you know where Krekenpit is?"

The rabbit looked at the three of them curiously answering, "I knew twelve years ago very well where Krekenpit was—why ask me this question? It's in a forest called Hulsterloe in a warren in the wilderness. I've endured hunger and cold there, more than I could tell. That's where Horris the Bull used to counterfeit money, which he used to support himself and his associates. But that was all before I became friends with Ryn the Dingo, who helped me escape many dangers, as he could well testify if he were here. Never in my days did I wrong the King or do otherwise than I should have done within his underworld law."

Reynard replied, "Return to that company, Lapeel, now that my lord the King is not interested in hearing anything more from you." The rabbit then returned and went again to the place from which he'd come.

The Fox then said, "My lord the King, is what I said proven true?"

"Yes, Reynard," the King responded, "Forgive me. I was wrong not to believe you. Now, dear Reynard, lead us the way to the pit where the treasure is."

The Fox did not fear taking their majesties to the treasure as he had a plan at the ready. But he wished that journey to come at a cost. One that he hoped was not onerous, and would free his ally and see his enemies in chains.

Reynard then motioned Grimbeert forward to join them. The badger appeared as a mammal trapped, caught in a trap, considering whether or not to gnaw it's leg off to escape. The Fox offered his cousin a nod of recognition, but gave away not his purpose. Grimbeert knew his cousin was capable of anything, and he was at his mercy. If The Fox wished revenge he could take it now, and the pitiful badger stuck his neck out offering it now.

But listen to what The Fox said instead, "My dear lord and lady, I can offer to guide you to the treasure, but we first must attend to matters of great import. If it is agreeable to you both, it is important to me that that we resolve the matter of the treachery that has befallen you both and this kingdom, and that we address the punishment of those responsible."

At the mention of the punishment, Grimbeert began to look at unease as he had gone along with Reynard's testimony and knew his position was dire. To have acted in a plot to usurp the King was the greatest crime imaginable. Whether it was true or not, if the King believed such then it was a bad time for him indeed.

The King sat back at ease in his chair, for The Fox seemed ready to be his guide. And the matter he wished to be addressed was one that was to be attended anyway. If it wasn't for the distraction of the treasure, it would have been foremost in his mind. So his majesty responded, "Your terms are agreeable dear fox, and your wisdom true. Such affronts to my health and the future of the realm can not be ignored. Please tell me the guilt of all those parties involved. I know already the truth of your mentor and former boss, Xander Barb, and we have resolved his part in this ugly matter. How say you to Grimbeert here? He would see you hung today, betraying your trust, bringing you here through theft of your flesh and blood. How would you have him punished? Should he hang in your stead?"

The eyes of the badger looked sorrowful indeed as he saw his life held in the paws of his cousin. With one word it would be cut short and end at the bottom of a noose. The Fox considered the betrayer, and sentenced him thus, "My cousin here is guilty of many things, but treason is not one of them. For he was lured by the wolf, wildcat and bear, and was a slave to his ego and flattery of the tongue. They told him, he was the master of the court, an indispensable part of all which occurs in your realm. They said to him, who better to know the will of the court? They sang words for his ears which seduced his heart and soul. For my cousin only wishes to know the will of the court and all which occurs around it. With matters of great plotting and import happening around him, he was helpless but be drawn to their words and plans. But he did not support them. He told me himself on many occasions. After he found the truth of the matter, and my part in stopping the treachery from reaching my lord King's head, he committed to me to devote his life to stopping those responsible for seducing him to darkness with their wicked flattery. Wonder you why he worked so hard to expose those three over the years since? He knew of their treachery, but could do naught but try to hinder their influence in court. Imagine how heartbroken he was to see them rise time and time again as wielders of power in your lord King's favor. Knowing of their treason, and seeing them rewarded for their treachery against his majesty, he has confessed to me his despair and pain witnessing such. But what could he do? For him to accuse them hangs himself, and they control the court and your favor. He was helpless, but to just do what he could to attempt to keep them in check stopping them from taking all they could want."

The King was moved by the words as he saw true sorrow in The Fox's eyes as he spoke the innermost thoughts of his cousin. The lion then turned to the badger requesting him such, "Good badger, is there truth in your cousin's words? How stand you with regards to this treason?"

Grimbeert was buoyed by his cousin's words and his heart was full of hope and joy that The Fox was merciful. He understood the plan of his friend and ally and played his part speaking, "Truly my lord King, I am most sorrowful. I am a wretched unworthy servant, and was taken in by evil treachery speaking words that flattered my ears and spoke to my importance. For I was young at the time, still learning the workings of the court, and seduced by the power of those who seemed to hold control of all. By the time I realized what they were about, I was undone as there was no escape. To speak against their plot would have been my quick end. I was helpless but to go along with it at that point, and just hope for a miracle such that happened by my good cousin here. By removing the financing, the control they sought was lost. They wanted to go forward anyway, but I argued vehemently against. For I loved my lord King and Queen as my own kin. As my good cousin has said, I have worked to right such wrongs, tirelessly fighting for justice and righteousness in the court, stopping those others which sought my lord's doom. I humbly apologize with my entire being for ever finding myself in a position against the lord King I love and admire so much."

The Fox gave his cousin a slight nod, for he had faith in the badger's skill as a master orator of the court, and was not disappointed in what he heard. The King as well seemed moved by Grimbeert's words and took them to heart feeling the truth and heartfelt sentiments.

Sensing the defense sufficient, Reynard decided to bring the matter forward declaring, "My lord King, if you can see fit to pardoning my cousin for any part in this wickedness, I will be forever grateful as I know he only wishes to continue doing good works for your glory and for the betterment of your kingdom. Even though he has betrayed me treacherously this day, it takes not away from his other actions working relentlessly to right wrongs and being a fearless warrior for righteousness and veracity. One false act does not a lifetime of good deeds erase. And just as he has committed one false act against me, I know in his heart he wishes to do right by me. I know this because this is exactly what happened in this matter which we speak of now. My cousin made one wrong move and found himself trapped with no escape. But did he let that be the measure of his life? No, he instead spent endless devotion righting that mistake becoming a steadfast servant for you, my lord King. That is why I give him the benefit of the doubt, and why I ask that you do the same my lord."

The King was moved by The Fox's words and felt them to be true. The Queen as well sensed the repentant spirit before her, and whispered something to her husband. He smiled in response nodding his agreement. Of course, Reynard knew what she said, as his hearing was uncanny, but it was only supportive of his cause and he was glad for her words.

The King then spoke his decision, picking up the symbolic straw, he touched the kneeling badger's shoulders declaring, "Good badger, I hear your words and the plea of your cousin. As a boon for your cooperation this day and the generosity shown by your cousin, I have agreed to pardon all your past crimes in this matter, and appreciate your devotion and good works. I call upon you to continue your ways and keep a sharp eye for any such treacheries in the court. Fear not to speak of them to me, for I reward the truth and punish the deceitful. I ask you to stay with us a moment more as we speak of the other crimes to which you were a party, and to help expose the guilty so that we can know the truth of their treachery."

Grimbeert bowed his head in thanks and agreed to act his part as his cousin told the King that which he wished to know.

Reynard then explained the individual crimes of those involved, beginning, "The plot against your majesty is well known now. The five discussed joined an unholy cabal to unseat your majesty and seat the boorish bear on the throne. We know Xander was the financier so forced by holding his family hostage. Grimbeert was the one who understood the large implications of the court and the kingdom. He was there by flattery and ego, and caught in a web for which there was no escape. But what about Tybalt? Why would he plot against your majesty? Well the reasons are many: he is a close friend and ally of Bruun and Isengrim, he would gain an improved station and power at court, and most of all his price was the Queen herself."

The King stared shocked at The Fox in disbelief, "How do you mean? What new treachery is this?"

The Queen looked uncomfortable and did not wish to meet Reynard's eyes. The Fox did not wish her discomfort, but the outrage of the King was necessary, "My lord King, the wildcat has been attempting to seduce and claim the Queen as his own for many many years. It is a well known secret at court."

The King met the eyes of the Queen, Grimbeert and Reynard seeing the truth of these words in their eyes. The Queen looked down ashamed. Grimbeert nodded his head providing witness and support to these words, "What my cousin speaks of is true. I can bring many here to testify to this. In fact I can call at least one third the court off my head to confirm such as true. But the good Queen here can confirm it all herself."

The lion then glared at his wife, "Speak truly Fiere! What say you on these matters? Put words to tongue!"

The Queen placed her paw on her husband's pleading, "I am sore ashamed that they speak with accuracy. Tybalt has held me in his heart for such a time. But I assure your majesty that the affections were never returned. I will admit to the comfort and courtesy such adulation provided. But I did not see the harm in it until now. He is a talented composer and his serenades would warm me with his kind thoughts. But I never imagined he would seek harm to my lord."

Reynard continued to weave the truth and shock to his advantage, "You have proof of this my Queen. I know of letters and notes he sent to my lady Queen that are in her possession. Love makes fools of us all, and can easily turn innocent thoughts deadly to be with the object of that affection. Such motivations are as common and normal as breathing to those so inclined. Surely a prize as great as my good Queen is worth such treachery to one such as he. Do you need more proof my lord?"

The King looked crestfallen and sadly shook his head, "Nah, your words are enough. They harm my ears to hear, but I recognize their veracity. Such audacity and perfidy wounds my heart and soul. To carry on so under my very nose is bold indeed! I but thought him merely providing proper tribute to my lady as is her right."

The Fox then took advantage of his lords anger and acceptance to push matters, "So Tybalt's place was bought by power and my lady Queen's heart. But Bruun's audacity and treachery knows no bounds as he wished to unseat my lord King and sit upon his throne! The usurper and villain was the worst of all as he took my lord's friendship and love in one paw and traded it for a dagger in the back with the other. A crown does a king not make. But the bear thought exactly that. In fact he believed the fancier the crown the greater the king thus his desire for the Crown of Antioch. He had visions of power and glory that were not his right. How could this bear believe himself greater than my lord King, the most noble and righteous king ever to live! His list of misdeeds is long indeed. He plotted to replace and kill my lord King, to unseat my lord himself, ransoming Xander's entire family, plotting treachery on an unheard of scale within my lord's own court and guards, instigating treason, deception and betrayal like none in history. I do give Bruun credit for reaching high, but his methods base and heinous."

The lion was again shaken by such thoughts and expressed such opinions, "I knew Bruun was greedy for power and prestige, but never thought him one to sink so low. Looking back, there were hints of such thoughts. His eyes would wander to my throne and scepter. Such treachery is beyond imagining. But what of Isengrim? What was to be his role?"

Reynard looked around moving close to their majesties as if speaking a great secret, "An assassin, my lord King. Isengrim's blade was to be the one which took your life and head. The wolf is truly accomplished with deception and turning blade to target. Once the payments were made and those bought with treasure were in place, they would stand ready to stop any guards and the wolf would come close to tell you a secret. But instead of words, the wolf would present you with his blade as many times as needed until you lay dead my lord King. Before anyone was the wiser, my dear Queen would be mourning her dear husband, and those traitors would move into place to take control of the court. Isengrim would buy himself an exalted position at court and possibly multiple districts to do with what he would. Those two, the wolf and bear, are closer than kin. The rewards for his treachery would be great indeed."

The King was clearly impressed by the words of The Fox, but he seemed to have a concern, "Your words are well received, good fox. The treacheries you expose are grave indeed. But proof of all you claim will be hard to come by. You might think me all powerful, but that is far from the truth. For ordinary citizens of the realm this might be the case as I could have them extinguished with just a word, but you name three of the most influential and powerful members of the entire court. My word alone, nor that of my good wife here, you and the badger combined would not be near enough to convict ones such as these. I answer to the council as without their confidence I can find myself removed. This is not like a monarchy of old where one voice rules all. There are procedures and proper methods with those of power so high. Rule does not pass to my cub as in old. I wish it were so as there is much I would wish changed. Nor am I simply a figurehead as I can make and form law and can make many other decrees, but if it is deemed unjust a two-thirds vote can overturn such. How do you propose I see these justly punished?"

The Fox seemed to think on the matter a bit. It was an act of course as the clever mind of the vulpine already knew the answer. Finally Reynard's face became animated as if a great idea had sprung into it, "We already know these three and others have admitted their guilt to numerous violations as their evidence against me acts as proof of their own wrongdoing. In addition we have much evidence of Tybalt's treachery with his wanton pursuit of our good lady Queen here. But I have an idea that will expose their villainy before God and the whole court. For the great treasure I will escort you to and the treachery I have prevented, I ask you to speak thusly."

Then Reynard outlined the words for the King to speak which would effect the changes he wished. Both for his own sake to protect himself from finding his way back on the end of the rope, and to hopefully expose those who plotted his death and were so ready to carry it out moments before. The Fox thinking: if nothing else, I would free himself from finding my way back to the gallows for a little while. Grimbeert nodded impressed with the plan of his cousin and ally believing it had promise. Once the King understood his role, he announced to all that there would be words of import in the throne room where all could hear properly.

---

Back in the throne room atop a raised dais of stone, sat the King in his great chair with his fair lady Queen by his side. Grimbeert stood to her majesty's side, and Reynard stood in front of the King. This was not of issue, as all could clearly see the large powerful ruler towering over the small fox. Arrayed before them were all those of the court in order of rank and position. At the fore stood a confused and anxious Bruun, Isengrim and Tybalt glaring suspiciously at the scene before them. They surely did not relish the relaxed and pleased face on their enemy, The Fox. For Reynard was playing a role meant to goad and vex them quite well. He nodded to the three of them giving them a slight grin and turned to Queen Fiere smiling wide and bowing low expressing his feelings for one whom he had reason to love well.

The King then stood and declared to all in a booming commanding voice, "Hear ye, all who are poor and rich, young and old, who are present here before me. Reynard, one of the principal officers of my household, had acted so badly that he was to be hanged this very day. He has now, in this court, done so much that my wife the Queen and I have promised him our grace and friendship. The Queen has pleaded so actively for Reynard that I have made my peace with him. I freely give him his life and limbs."

There was quite a large amount of grumbling, murmuring and excited exclamations from the crowd, and the three before Reynard all glared in enmity at the cheerful fox. The King spoke again loudly quieting the crowd, "I further command, on pain of death, that you respect Reynard, his wife, and his children, wherever you should happen to meet them, by day and night. I'll hear no more accusations against Reynard. If he's committed crimes before now, he will no more. He will instead mend his ways and follow the underground laws as is proper. Tomorrow he is off with us to enjoy a celebration of our newfound friendship away from the city."

The looks The Fox gave those wishing his death as the King spoke were meant to gain maximum furious effect and worked quite well as Bruun grabbed an uncomfortable looking Tybalt and stepped forward with Isengrim appearing of a violent disposition.

The bear and wolf could not control their tongues and spoke ill of The Fox, questioning his parentage and sexual preference amongst several other vile things. The tirade continued angering the King greatly as they had immediately broken his decree as if it were meaningless.

The Fox then smiled at his uncle and enemy The Wolf, "Treacherous wolf, your crimes are now known. Your deceit is exposed and you fool his majesty and our fair Queen no more. Your guilt is now certain and soon will be known by all. The unholy trio of you three, wolf, bear and wildcat, will be spoken of as if the word treason and betrayal were on the tongue."

Isengrim growled low snarling at The Fox, his ears lay flat and eyes declaring murderous intent, "What lies have you been telling Fox?"

A smiling confident Reynard turned his back to the wolf declaring, "Words and deeds which will see you hanged, and your wife and children begging at my table for scraps. You are done and my bitch now!"

Such rage entered the wolf that thought left his head, and he pulled a large hidden dagger lunging forward at the exposed back of his enemy, The Fox, with venomous deadly intent. For Isengrim may have patience and control, but events had caused the loss of reason. The wolf had seen two years of planning, dozens of favors, and millions paid to see The Fox hanging and living no more. To have witnessed the choking and gasping final breath of his enemy only to have everything turned completely against him was more than he could bear. Now The Fox had convinced the lord King and lady Queen of treason. His patience was at its end, Reynard the Fox must die!

Isengrim was a skilled killer and acted before anyone could react. He had his knife out with a flash and was at the fox in an instant bringing the blade down ending his enemy for once and all! Sweet glorious vengeance would finally be his!

As the wolf leaped at Reynard's exposed back, The Fox seemed oblivious to the danger approaching. However Reynard was anything but, for this dance was carefully orchestrated. At the last split second, The Fox stepped to his right extending one leg tripping Isengrim while simultaneously chopping a paw down with full force onto the handle of the blade ripping it from The Wolf's grasp. As Isengrim left his feet tripping over Reynard's outstretched leg, he released the struck dagger flying forward directly into a very shocked King Nobel. The dagger skidded to a stop between the King and the Queen.

The instant Isengrim had struck at The Fox, Reynard had yelled at the top of his lungs, "ASSASSIN!"

The King then yelled, "TREACHERY! TREASON!"

The stunned wolf quickly began to rise, but the King and Reynard held him down long enough for the astonished guards to move in quickly and subdue Isengrim.

The King then pointed at a shocked Bruun the Bear and Tybalt the Wildcat roaring, "ARREST THOSE TWO AS WELL!"

Before the bear and wildcat could act, they were tackled by several guards. After a brief scuffle all three were thoroughly strip searched, bound and tied. They were quickly led away and confined in secure holding cells under full guard.

A shaken King Leo looked at The Fox in shock, "I did not expect him to strike at me thus! His treachery and desperation were far greater than expected. Praise God that you were here with me Reynard, or my or my good lady Queen's life could have been ended just now."

The Queen stood and hugged her savior to her bosom, "My dear fox, you have truly saved us this day. You have our eternal thanks for such loyalty and bravery even though we have not always treated you so kindly."

An embarrassed Reynard gently released himself from the embrace of his Queen, for such a thing was improper, and while he loved his fair lady Queen greatly, he did not wish any erroneous impressions of their relationship before the court as such a thing would not be good at all. He instead bowed formally holding her majesty's paw and kissing it.

"For my lady Queen and lord King, I would brave the fires of hell and take on ten such traitors at once. For such is my love for you both." A very pleased fox told his lord and lady.

Reynard then gave them an exhausted expression, "But today has been a very trying day for me. I wish to take my leave of you both if that is possible. For I have a very worried wife and family at home that I hope wish to see me alive and well immediately. I will join you in the morning for our journey. Unless of course your majesties are in need of further protection or anything else?"

The Queen look shocked and put her paws to her face, "My poor fox, we have to apologize! We completely forgot as Aza and your kits must be worried sick! You have no idea how upset I was when your little ones were brought to court under such threat!"

Queen Fiere glanced with displeasure at Grimbeert for a moment who looked quite apologetic.

Reynard nodded as he well imagined how his good Queen felt on the matter as she had three precious cubs of her own. He responded to his fair Queen, "Fear not my Queen, for I know your heart concerning such a thing, and hold you in no way culpable for their situation. I thank you all for keeping a calm head to not worry them and entertaining them well. I am sure they will talk of meeting you both quite fondly."

The King then addressed Reynard, "A very sorry affair indeed, my good fox. I am truly regretful of the pain and discomfort such a horrid event would cause to your good wife and dearest sister. Please send them our sincerest apologies. We will of course have you escorted home immediately and provide you with a phone to call them."

The Fox smiled at them with appreciation, "My thanks to you good lord and lady. You could do me a favor though. If you could provide me with play swords and trinkets for all my kits it would be most appreciated. It would greatly reduce the stress at home."

The Queen grinned at the request, "Of course, we will give you anything we have the children would enjoy with gladness. We also will send you the pictures the children took with us and certificates of Knighthood to your home within the hour. Godspeed to you good fox."

The chaos of the court had finally quieted down as madness reigned all around for quite awhile with guards standing protectively between those at the dais and the collected masses.

As Reynard was escorted out, Grimbeert was able walk with him asking quietly, "Dear cousin, I don't expect any forgiveness or love anytime soon, but please give my deepest regrets to my cousin Aza and Marion for my actions."

Reynard nodded at the badger, "I will, although knowing them, such a thing won't be something forgotten anytime soon. But we will speak on it further. You did good today, and I won't forget your calm cool head."

Grimbeert chuckled at that, "It may have looked calm on the outside, but I assure you it was anything but. I don't believe I have ever been so nervous before. Although if I see Aza again, I will have to reevaluate that statement."

Reynard smiled, "You would be wise to avoid her for quite awhile. I would hate to lose such an ally, but am afraid she is dreaming of your demise at the moment."

The badger nodded in understanding, "I do not blame her. But I am worried about this treasure mission tomorrow. How will you produce such a treasure for their majesties when there is none?"

The Fox gave his cousin a sly grin, "Oh… I'll think of something."

---

Reynard met the King and Queen promptly the next morning to fulfill his promise of taking their majesties to the vast treasure he had vowed was his to give. He had arrived in a large SUV capable of off-road exploration driven by his second and most trusted lieutenant Coal. Initially their majesties were put off having another with them, but The Fox assured them that they would need his help for both security as well as removal of the wealth. Besides, he explained, the panther already knew of the location as he had been the only one besides his good wife who had helped him. The King and Queen could not fault his logic, and had already been concerned by the lack of security and guards accompanying them. For they had wished no one else to know their destination. However Reynard had insisted they bring their two most loyal guards, and two trusted aquatic mammals. Their majesties were concerned even then with security, and accepted Reynard's proposed solution.

In their majesties' off-road SUV, he had headphones playing music placed over the two guards, beaver's and giant river otter's ears. He then had blackened glasses completely covered so they had the effect of blackened goggles placed on all four of these mammal's eyes so that no light could pass. Reynard then offered to personally drive their vehicle while Coal followed in the second SUV. The Fox had a slight sense of worry from his majesties about their safety, and he assured them that their security was his utmost concern. He explained that if they failed to arrive back safely to the court, that he was quite sure he and his entire family would be hunted until the end of their days. In normal circumstances hostages would be offered for assurances, but he argued his family were not in the mood for such a thing at this point considering recent events. The Queen certainly understood their feelings on the matter, and argued to the King that if Reynard had ever wished them harm, he had numerous opportunities in the past to do so even when they were not fast friends as they currently found themselves. Reynard assured his majesty that the King's health and well-being upon the throne was his utmost concern arguing that given the alternatives, no one else could be trusted even if his majesty was no more. The King saw the logic in The Fox's argument, and knew the district boss had no designs on the throne as Reynard had far too many other concerns including his family, a vastly growing business empire and his massive foundation for Reds Kids. In fact if there were one mammal in his entire kingdom who would have no need or desire for the crown, The King believed it would be the fox who was currently driving them south of the city.

The King was not wrong in his thinking, as Reynard was quite pleased with all he currently had. The only thing the throne offered The Fox was a great deal of headaches and problems. For other mammals it would seem to offer wealth, power and great prestige. But Reynard needed none of those as he already had plenty of the first two, and he cared little about the third. As The Fox drove them south taking several back routes and ferries to ensure there was no chance of anyone following them, he thought of the occasion of his homecoming the previous evening.

When Reynard had arrived home, it was more a case of a great relief than any cause for celebration. The Fox primarily had concern for the health and well-being of his kits, nephew, wife and sister. The day had been quite traumatic for the two vixens, and they had a hard time keeping their feelings from upsetting their children. So when the delivery from their majesties arrived shortly after he did, Reynard distributed the play swords, fake armor, pictures, plaques and other paraphernalia to the six eager kits who spent the rest of the evening thoroughly distracted, while he spent his time reassuring their mothers all was well.

This had not been an easy task as both were quite understandably upset. Both understood that their husband and brother was no ordinary mammal, but The Fox had kept the dangers of his position away from his family prior to that point. It was not something Reynard had anticipated, and he had carefully guarded against such circumstances, but he knew it had always been a possibility. His wife certainly understood this, but his sister didn't seem to share her acceptance and took a great amount of convincing from the both of them. It was part of the reason Marion had left them in the first place, and it took a great deal of persuasion to assure her that the estate and their company was the very best place for her family. Aza finally satisfied her sister-in-law that the kits were now the most well-protected children in all of Zootopia which was no falsehood.

Reynard had then explained all that had occurred at court to his treasured wife. She had many questions and concerns, but he hoped he had answered most of them to her satisfaction. He hated to put her through such discomfort and woe, but she was the strongest person he knew. She was a survivor and relentless fighter, and had proven that all her life. It was part of the reason he madly loved her so. It was the reason he felt himself the most fortunate boss in the entire underworld as he had a partner who understood him completely and whom he could share every thought with and every aspect of his dangerous life. Very few spouses of those in such positions even had a small understanding of what was actually involved as it was full of a multitude of ugly brutal truths. But there was a very good reason for this. Very few spouses had remotely the strength, fortitude and resolve of his beloved Aza to deal with such knowledge.

The Fox chatted quite amicably with both their majesties discussing politics, court gossip and his various adventures much to the delight of the Queen. She could never get enough of The Fox's exploits and loved to hear his many tales about outsmarting wealthy businessmammals, city council members, government and ZPD officials, rich foolish mammals and the general overall mischief he would invariably find. On many occasions Queen Fiere had requested Reynard and Aza to attend various events just so she could be regaled by the tales of The Fox. The King was quite interested in Reynard's travels to the far southern regions, and the discussion of the many other pockets of civilization The Fox dealt with in his business and trade efforts.

After over three hours of travel they arrived at Krekenpit, a sizable lake to the far southwest of the city. It was situated next to a mountain range on one side, and this was the section of the lake to which they were headed. For hidden beneath the surface of the lake below these mountains were hidden caves. It was to one of these caves, the great treasure of the ancient kings of Zootopia was well concealed. Or that is what Reynard would have their majesties believe. The Fox hoped everything was properly prepared so that everything was perfect.

They parked the two SUVs near where the shore met the rock formations, and the glasses and headphones were removed from the guards and aquatic mammals. Coal refilled the two fuel tanks of the vehicles from the extra fuel containers they carried for the trip, while Reynard showed the aquatic mammals the map he had drawn showing the hidden entrance to the cave. They would need to swim under the rock formation for a distance, and in an outcrop of rocks were placed a pile of rocks in front of a hidden entrance to a sizable cave formation. The area was something Reynard had discovered in his youth on one of his many adventures exploring the areas around Zootopia where he would enjoy scuba diving and hiking. At least this is what he told their majesties. Whether it was true or not was anyone's guess. The Fox had discovered the secret cave which contained evidence and artifacts from ancient days, and provided photographs to the King, Queen and aquatic mammals showing the entrance, and the cave area above the water under the mountain. Ancient cave drawings could be seen against some of the walls inside the cave area as well as pieces of pottery, arrowheads and flint blades. Reynard claimed he had documented the area and removed the artifacts, and then sold them to the Zootopia Natural History Museum. But he refused to give up the location of the cave as he wished it kept secret just in case he had need of it. He had placed rocks over the entrance so that unless you knew it existed and the exact location, you could look for years and never find it.

It was to this hidden cave complex, Reynard had decided to move the great treasure of the ages. For The Fox did not trust mammal made locks to hold such a thing as he above any knew how vulnerable they could be. There was no safer place than a cave that had been untouched for millennium that was completely concealed. The King and Queen marveled at The Fox's ingenuity and agreed that his plan was the smartest possible.

Reynard had brought scuba gear, but thought the aquatic mammals would be far more effective for the job as they could move effortlessly in such quarters. Besides, Reynard explained, it would take quite a number of trips for them to begin to remove the treasure, and so they needed the fastest strongest swimmers. The Fox provided them instant cameras to take photos of everything before any treasure was touched to bring out and show to their majesties. Reynard also provided them a video camera to take videos and sealed it in a waterproof container for the aquatic mammals to use.

Once the beaver and giant river otter knew their mission, they set off first to find the entrance and open it. They returned excited about their success, and then took the waterproof containers with them containing the photographic equipment and portable large scale lighting. They used waterproof flashlights when exploring underwater, but needed much more heavy duty lighting for the caves. The eager aquatic mammals then headed off to explore the cave and see all that it contained.

While they waited, which they anticipated would be quite awhile, Coal told tales of Reynard when he was but a kit learning how to be thief and gang member. The Queen was quite fascinated hearing such stories, as rarely did Reynard ever share such embarrassing moments when he was young and inexperienced. She marveled that such a young kit could perform alongside experienced veteran gang members. It seemed the main issues of the young Reynard had been simply because his body had not caught up with the rest of him.

The aquatic mammals were taking quite awhile longer returning than was expected, and the group began to worry about them hoping they did not get stuck. Reynard even prepared scuba gear to go looking after them. He was almost ready to hunt them down, when they returned carrying the waterproof cases. The beaver and giant river otter had looks of concern and appeared upset.

The King demanded answers, "What causes your looks of concern? Did you not find the cave and treasure?"

The beaver responded appearing nervous, "My lord, we did as you asked. But it appears that most of the cavern has collapsed. We can not tell how long ago this happened, but perhaps several years past."

Reynard appeared greatly troubled, "What of the treasure? Speak of what you found."

The beaver looked down in a sorrowful manner, "Perhaps the instant photos we took and video footage would better answer your questions."

They played the video footage on a portable monitor in one of the SUVs while examining the many pictures they had taken. The mammals showed a large cavern where the mountain appeared to have collapsed covering most of the area above water with thousands of tons of rock from the mountain above. Scattered around the area were gold and silver coins, pieces of jewelry and other objects which seemed to have been thrown violently away from the area that collapsed. In one place it seemed a gold cup had been crushed and fused into the collapsed rock. Also in the area around the water of the cavern were scattered various bits of metal and a few gems. There were obvious signs that a great treasure had been present, but appeared to have been violently crushed and thrown about the entire area.

Reynard and Coal looked aghast, as did the King and Queen.

The Fox responded despondently, "It's… it's impossible. It could not all be gone!" He then put his head down low holding onto his knees shaking, "I must see this for myself. Such a tragedy is beyond belief."

The giant river otter looked to the King somberly, "What do you want done with the items found? We did not disturb a single one as you had directly. We merely took all the photographic evidence first before returning to you."

The King appeared shaken, but he was still the king and answered them confidently, "Remove everything you can find in the bags and bring them to me."

The beaver and giant river otter nodded and grabbed the bags for removing any items from the cave, while Reynard readied his scuba gear and followed them. Once through the hole and into the cavern, Reynard could remove his breathing gear as the air inside was breathable. There he saw the horrors that were shown in the photographs and video recordings. Most of the cavern was now collapsed under the weight of tons and tons of solid rock. The Fox mournfully followed the busy aquatic animals as they gathered every item that appeared to be mammal made from the area above and below the water.

The Fox climbed up on shore and sat mindlessly touching the golden goblet that was fused into the rock wondering how such a thing was done. The beaver and giant river otter worked fast and spent a great deal of time digging around every crevice and cranny looking for every single item no matter how small. Finally after about an hour they were satisfied they had gathered everything they could find except for the goblet next to Reynard. They were unsure how to extract it since it was stuck in solid rock. All three tried to pull it with no success. They were afraid they would need some kind of blow torch, when the beaver had an idea and used a makeshift chisel to hammer into the soft metal attached to the rock eventually separating part of the cup. The three then returned to the shore and the waiting remainder of their party.

The King spread all the items out on a white tarp in the back of one of the SUVs examining each carefully. All items appeared to be of ancient origin from hundreds of years in the past. The stamping of the coins was from ancient periods, while the jewelry showed archaic designs and handmade craftsmanship. The couple artifacts were timeworn and rings archaic.

Finally the King responded, "Truly these items are from an ancient treasure. But these are merely a few baubles from an immense hoard. Did you try swimming into all the areas around to see if you can gain access to the level under the collapsed rock?"

The beaver and giant river otter shook their heads, "Nah sire. We attempted to swim all around, but there is no passage large enough to fit any mammal no matter how tiny."

The King sighed in defeat, "Reynard, I fear time was not with us in this hiding place. Though it may have survived for thousands of years, it appears we were tardy to gather the riches within."

The Fox nodded wordlessly finally speaking thus, "I am devastated from these events, and am afraid my company would be horrid. If it is acceptable, I will travel back with Coal. Your guard can drive you back following us as there is no need to hide this location anymore."

The King agreed, "Your words are appropriately sad but have wisdom in them. The lessons learned are hard and bitter to swallow. We will have to satisfy ourselves with this meager offering."

Reynard mournfully shook his head stomping off away from their majesties and screaming in outrage into the sky once he was sufficiently away from harming others ears. He then returned and packed everything wordlessly and motioned Coal to join him and headed off back to Zootopia using the most direct route possible.

Once they were underway Coal turned to a placid Reynard asking, "I take it everything went to plan?"

Reynard nodded to his trusted lieutenant, "Perfectly. Roderick and Franz did a truly masterful job. If I didn't know everything was staged, I would swear there was a colossal treasure buried under all that rock. The cup fused into the rock was the icing on the cake. I have no idea how they were able to accomplish that."

Coal smiled at this boss explaining, "They worked for quite awhile running simulations using small scale, computers and larger scale to determine exactly the patterns of how the items would be scattered and placed them accordingly. From my understanding they cut the stone in the shape of the cup, filled it with liquid gold and held the partial cup in place until it cooled."

The Fox grinned, "Extraordinary workmanship. They have any problems finding all the ancient items to use?"

The venerable panther responded, "They had to look through several collections to find pieces that were old enough. They did have to fake a few of the coins, but they aged them so there would be no way to tell they weren't truly ancient. The loose gems didn't need to be ancient as many of the cuts and pearls look the same from hundreds to thousands of years ago compared to those of today. Fortunately we had not fenced all of the museum job from a few months back so we had a couple of items from that."

Reynard the Fox praised his ingenuous crew who had set all of this up several months ago just in case this scenario was needed. The photos taken of the ancient rock carvings were expertly superimposed onto photos from a real cavern site that was a very close match to what the cavern looked like before the collapse. Reynard appreciated all the fine details and extra touches which made everything so perfect. The cost of the treasure used and the effort to set everything up was quite minor compared to having escaped the noose, turned everything against his three worst enemies so that they would be hanged very soon in his stead, and somehow had even gotten the King to forgive all his past crimes and declare him beloved by the crown to the entire court. Yes, it had been worth every penny so many times over.

---

After the items collected were placed into the treasury depository, the King and Queen retired to their chambers after a long day to freshen up before the evening meal. However after a short while King Nobel received a request to join his Minister of the Treasury in his office. Bokart met the King as he entered the office motioning him over to look at the item he had been examining through a large lighted magnifying glass. The King looked through the magnifying glass to see a very unique and archaic medallion of gold and silver with inlaid turquoise and gems. King Leo recognized the medallion as one of the few items found in Reynard's ancient treasure that day.

Bokart had a very peculiar animated expression which was highly unusual for the normally placid stoic caretaker of all the King's valuables. He looked up at the King asking, "My lord King, wherever did you find this piece?"

The King did not wish to disclose this information, so he merely answered, "Why?"

His Minister then excitedly explained, "This… this is undeniably a piece of treasure from the substantial stolen cache. You know the one. We had been searching for these unique artifacts for years."

The King very well knew to what treasure his Minister was referring, as it was something he had been lamenting over for years and years. But it made no sense that it would be with this treasure. Surely it was just a similar piece from the same time period so he responded, "Bokart, how do you know this is that specific piece?"

The Minister got a bit of an egotistical expression explaining, "My dear lord, I have an eidetic memory. I would know this piece in perfect detail. Such a perfect handmade ancient piece would be truly unique with this level of detail."

Bokart saw his King had a peculiar expression and he realized his lord did not know what eidetic meant and he did not wish to embarrass his lord by making him ask so he added, "I am able to store information in my memory as if it were an image. It is sometimes referred to as having a photographic memory. It is one of the reasons you hired me for this position."

The King nodded now understanding what Bokart was referring to and verified the information, "You have confirmed this was the case?"

Bokart responded immediately pulled out several photographs, "Yes my lord King, I pulled the archived photographs the moment I recognized it. You can see that it matches perfectly even down to the slight indentations in the metal and the tiny chips in these two stones."

King Leo began to wonder to himself how this could have happened. They had been looking for any word regarding any of the unique pieces from a vast treasure that was stolen from his personal treasury vault many years past. The theft accounted for over two thirds of his entire treasure trove. The act was so brazen, that anyone would have the audacity and rashness to steal anything from the King of the underworld himself, was unthinkable. But to remove such an immense amount of wealth took someone who was completely insane and wished to visit the afterlife immediately. The theft was kept extremely quiet from any at court and was one of the greatest secrets of the King. Even his dear Queen had no knowledge it had even occurred. He had very discreet ears listen for any word or gossip anywhere of anyone bragging about such a theft, or any large theft for a long time after, but not a single word was heard. The King had Brokart checking with every fence, jewel store, museum, everywhere any such pieces of treasure might turn up. Most of the vast treasure was fairly generic, but there were several very unique pieces they had kept a close eye out for since it had occurred many years past.

So with this knowledge The King began to consider the possibilities of how such a piece could have found it's way into the cave. He considered that possibly Xander had been responsible for the theft and had added it to the other treasure. But he immediately discounted this possibility as the wolverine would never have been so brash or bold to make such a move, especially since in the latter parts of his career he was quite conservative in all his dealings and very careful not to make any enemies. Besides, he wasn't even the district boss when the theft occurred as Reynard had taken over several years before.

The Fox! When the theft occurred, the King considered that The Fox might be responsible immediately as he was the best thief ever known to have existed in the underworld. The Fox was certainly young and brash, but he never considered him suicidal. Leo had paid extra attention to Reynard during this period listening for any word among his gang or mention of any such treasure or theft, but not a single peep was heard. Pure cold fury and outrage began to fill the King and he began to have mad deadly thoughts. The Fox was responsible for stealing from his king! Not only did he take all his hard earned well-deserved wealth right from under his very nose, but he has been laughing about it all these years in private. What a joke The Fox must think of his King! Every time Reynard has spoken to his lord, he has been enjoying a good laugh at his expense seeing the lion as a fool like all The Fox's other marks he brags about tricking in his many stories. Yes, King Leo Nobel was angrier than he had ever been before for he now was certain that everything The Fox had said had been a complete falsehood. There was no ancient treasure! How convenient the mountain had swallowed it all up! Once again The Fox was making a complete mockery of the King's generous nature. Once again he was completely duped!

The King then looked to Bokart who was crouching in terror for some reason until his lordship realized how he must have appeared to his Minister. The lion then straightened his back and produced a regal expression addressing the poor terrified mammal, "I must apologize to you my dear Brokart. My fury is not for you, but another I suspect is responsible for a great wrong, many great wrongs in fact."

Bokart nodded in apparent relief accepting the word of his lord. The King then began to consider his options. He could not openly accuse The Fox of anything as the truth made his lordship into a fool. The Fox had even expertly maneuvered the King into declaring that no one could accuse The Fox of any crimes, and that the Fox was free and clear of any past wrongs he had ever committed. He even had the audacity of having the King declare the Fox was beloved and a true friend of The King, Queen and the entire court! The devious trickster had so carefully saved himself from the noose, and had even ensured that no one could even come after him, as The King had given him a full pardon of any possible wrongdoing. Not only that, The Fox now had all three of his greatest enemies sitting in a cell waiting for sentencing and death for numerous treacherous crimes witnessed by the entire court.

Then the King had a malicious vile thought of vengeance and retribution. His revenge was within his paws, but required great risk and potential destruction. But such was the anger and fury of the lion that sense was made from such a reckless plotted action.

---

The King met the three prisoners in private who would certainly be judged and condemned to death very soon. The bear, wolf and wildcat were in the most desperate of desperate positions and should be willing to do anything the King wished for the possibility of a reprieve. Besides what the King wished to propose should not be such an onerous a task for these three.

As King Nobel stepped before the three miserable looking prisoners chained to the walls of their cells, the wretched prisoners began to protest their innocence to the King all at once. The lion looked at the woeful high ranking members of the underworld brought so low by their common foe through trickery and deceit.

He then held up his paw to silence their yapping tongues regally addressing them, "Bruun the Bear, Isengrim the Wolf and Tybalt the Wildcat, I find you brought low and see you as despicable and deplorable all. I have no love for any of you. Regardless of your claims of innocence regarding the treason and plotting to assassinate me and then take my throne as proposed by Reynard the Fox, you are all guilty of numerous crimes with every member of the court as full witness. You are all guilty of extensive violations in the plot to trap The Fox and so admitted your guilt with every piece of evidence you presented to the court for two entire days. In addition all three of you openly defied by edict mere minutes after it was proclaimed speaking vilely against Reynard as well as issuing numerous threats against him and his family before the entire court. On top of this, members of the court and the Queen herself presented evidence that Tybalt has been pursuing my good lady Queen right in front of my nose! Cat, you are fortunate that you had not pressed the matter and forced contact with the Queen before this point or you would be already dead now."

Tybalt looked down at the floor appearing thoroughly dejected and pathetic.

The King then glared at The Wolf, "Isengrim, you openly pulled a blade before the entire court and attempted to assassinate your king!"

The Wolf's eyes got large and he immediately protested, "My lord King, I was trying to kill Reynard the Fox. He tricked me, making it appear I wished your death. I would never harm my lord! I swear it upon my wife Arswind and my cubs!"

The King then sighed and rolled his eyes addressing The Wolf, "You realize that it doesn't matter. To pull a knife and attempt murder of another district boss, in open court no less, and before the King, is the same penalty as attempting the murder of the King or Queen. This was witnessed by every single member of the court."

Isengrim realized the King was right and The Fox has tricked him too well. The Wolf sat down holding his head in his paws in despair.

The King then cleared his throat gaining the attention of the despondent three explaining, "However, that being said, I have now come to believe that the words of The Fox concerning you three are false. But I have a problem, as I can not punish Reynard and pardon your crimes in court as to attempt such would make me a fool. All your crimes are witnessed openly by all, and I fully pardoned Reynard of any crimes he could have committed. I don't have the patience to hope The Fox will be at my mercy again as it would be unlikely especially since all three of you will be long dead. So I have a proposal to you which has much risk to us all, but considering each of our positions, it seems for you there is nothing to lose, and for myself the possibly of vengeance is worth the risk."

King Nobel had the full attention of the three prisoners before him now as their faces showed a slight glimmer of hope where before there had been none, "There is something I would have you do which carries much risk, but I believe you all would find pleasure in so doing what I propose."

The condemned Isengrim could not control himself and uttered, "What sire?"

The lion forgave the outburst considering the circumstances and answered The Wolf, "I wish you to kill Reynard and any with him whether they be his family or even kits. No one at his estate is to be left alive. I will give you special permission to enter his district with whatever forces you deem necessary, enter his home, and kill all you find bringing me the head of The Fox. The edict will hold any you bring with you from being punished. However you will need to execute this attack very quickly under cover of darkness to prevent the possibility of any aid arriving and a full scale war breaking out. If such happened, the council would have no option but to immediately rescind my order and declare all those continuing the assault to be in violation of the district peace and sentenced to death."

Tybalt understood the court and council better than nearly everybody in the court except Grimbeert and questioned the King, "My good King, how can you issue such orders without approval from the council? Such a thing has never been done, and they will surely be greatly angered that any such action was attempted without their knowledge."

The King nodded and answered, "Yes Chief Advisor Tybalt, you are correct, which is why such a thing is of great risk, and needs to be executed as quickly and quietly as mammally possible. I will just have to deal with the results of my actions after the fact and beg mercy based on perceived insult and anger. You would need to kill The Fox before it is revoked or all is lost. The hope is you catch Reynard by surprise and take him with overwhelming numbers. The possibly for losses is high, so the act is one of desperation for all. But I don't believe I have seen three mammals more in such a condition than those I see before me now. It will require a vast number of mammals and resources to do this. But realize this is the only chance of avoiding the noose that awaits you."

Bruun the Bear spoke up wondering, "Lord king, how can such an action save us from our fate?"

The King had thought on this matter and was not even sure if his words were true, but spoke them anyway, "It is hoped that the chaos following the death and removal of Reynard would cause the court to be more worried about who would take his place, and preventing warfare across the entire kingdom. You must realize that other district bosses loyal to Reynard could rightly come to his aid and cause the entire kingdom to be thrown into open war. The council will wish to stop this from happening immediately and will scramble to do everything possible to seek its avoidance. In this complete turmoil it is hoped you three will be forgotten."

The always astute Tybalt's curiosity got the best of him, "I do not wish to look a gift horse in the mouth sire, but why would you allow this? Surely Reynard's trickery did not rise to this level? His trickery seemed focused upon us three rather than yourself. Why would you risk open warfare across the entire kingdom?"

Bruun and Isengrim glared angrily at the wise wildcat.

The King did not wish to admit the reasons for his displeasure with The Fox so he simply responded, "Do not look at the cat thus. He is truly perceptive and quite shrewd. I will only say I have many reasons and they are very personal. Are you agreed to do this?"

The wildcat then shyly asked, "What about the lady Queen? Does she know of this?"

The King looked angrily at the wildcat and then sighed, "No… no the good Queen would never approve or condone such actions. She must not know of this until it is too late. Thus a further reason you must finish The Fox off quickly. Are you all agreed then?"

The three prisoners then looked to each other and nodded their heads all giving their consent to the King.

Isengrim The Wolf an excellent tactician then declared, "But my lord King, to plan such an assault of such a force will require some time to strategize and prepare. I would normally want nearly a week to get everything right."

The King glared at him, "You have a day at most. You will need to strike by morrow's night or all will be lost."

The Wolf nodded demonstrating understanding, but he was clearly uneasy at such a short time frame for all that must need be done.

The lion then spoke his final words, "Well just make sure it is an overwhelming force then. I will release you in secret and hide your absence. If you fail achieve your objective quickly, I will be forced to claim you escaped and a kill on sight order will be given."

The somber three indicated they understood the stakes and were unlocked by the King. Two armed guards loyal to remain silent escorted the prisoners down a secret passage and released them unseen in the darkness.

In another room, a very astute watchful badger appeared aghast with his ear to a vent hidden in the shadows. He quickly made a couple quick errands to find some other information he needed, and then slipped from the court and into the night.

---

Reynard was sitting in his study reading, with Aza by his side. Scarlet, Nick and Crimson were playing on the rug in front of the couple. There was a knock on the study door, and a guard stuck his head into the room.

An annoyed Reynard looked up from his book at the nervous guard, "I thought I told you that I was not to be disturbed for the next hour?"

The guard gulped looking uncomfortable at his clearly perturbed boss answering, "Boss, Grimbeert is at the front gate. He said it was urgent he speak with you immediately."

The Fox got a very curious look on his face while fire filled the eyes of Aza and she grabbed her husband around the waist reaching under his shirt grabbing two very sharp knives from a hidden brace across his chest.

The furious vixen then began to march rapidly toward the door with her implements of death at the ready declaring, "I will go have a chat with my COUSIN."

A panicked Reynard dove to the door blocking his wife from leaving. In response she waved the knives at her husband indicating she meant business and for him to get out of her way or pay the painful price.

The Fox attempted to placate his fierce wife calmly telling her, "Sweetheart, Grimbeert would not have come here personally without good reason. It must be something truly dire for him to risk such an appearance."

The enraged vixen seemed to finally recognize her husband's logic and allowed him to remove the blades of vengeance from her shaking paws slipping them back in their sheaths. He then escorted her back to the couch and left with the guard letting him know to pass word not to let his wife out of the house for any reason until he returned. He made sure to let them know he would take full responsibility if they had to physically prevent her from leaving.

The guard told him that the badger was alone and unarmed. Not that Reynard thought Grimbeert would be here to assassinate him, but they were taking no chances as of late.

Once he got to the front gate, he had them open it enough to let the badger in on foot. His poor cousin looked quite the wreck, and Reynard knew immediately something indeed quite drastic must have brought the badger to his door. He walked the badger to a lowly lit area where they could have a discussion. To The Fox it was as if it was day, but to the badger it would seem quite dim.

Reynard greeted his obviously distressed ally with a calm friendly welcome, "Ah dear cousin, did you happen to go out for a stroll this evening and get lonely for a handsome face?"

The distracted badger was confused by The Fox's joke, but then chuckled nervously, "Cousin, I am here with grave news. You are undone. The King seeks your death. He has secretly given authorization to your enemies to execute you and your family in your very home!"

Reynard regarded the babbling badger and calmly responded, "Cousin you are making no sense. All was well with his majesty as I left him just a short time ago. Surely you must be mistaken. Please tell me everything you know and how you know it in full detail so I can try and make sense of it."

And so Grimbeert told Reynard that after The Fox had explained the Ancient Treasure ruse that The Fox planned to use with the King earlier that day, he had hung around court after the King returned to make sure all was well. He had heard that the King had been called to the treasure room for a matter of import and that the King had left the company of Brokart, the Minister of the Treasury, in an extremely foul mood. There was word the King had gone to see the three prisoners, Reynard's mortal enemies, Bruun, Isengrim and Tybalt.

Through his many years in the court, Grimbeert had learned that there were certain places one could hide unseen and listen to conversations thought private. The badger had known of a place nearby to the prisoner cells near a vent where if one listened carefully enough, they could hear a conversation from the prisoners. In fact Grimbeert had even listened to the three prisoners earlier that day discussing their fate. There was not much useful learned from that earlier conversation except that they were completely despondent and quite angry at Reynard. This was no surprise. But the conversation the badger had heard and recorded between the King and the three prisoners was certainly of interest.

Reynard asked if he had the tape with him, and Grimbeert produced it for his cousin. The Fox then sent a guard to hurriedly gather the best cassette player he had at the estate while Grimbeert relayed the gist of the conversation he had heard. A short time later the guard returned sprinting with the tape player, and the two listened carefully to the recorded conversation. The echo from the vent made it challenging to make out everything perfectly, but after replaying some sections several times, they found they could make out every word.

Grimbeert then explained he wished to know what had happened in the treasury and bribed a few of the employees as well as trading some juicy court gossip to find that Bokart was very excited about one piece they had just acquired, and that the minister had pulled the records and old photographs for an ancient medallion with turquoise stones and gems. Apparently this piece made the King as angry as Bokart had been excited to find it.

Reynard then sighed shaking his head and cursing to himself. He then explained to the badger where that particular medallion had come from.

An incredulous badger stuttered out, "You truly stole from the King… stole SO MUCH?"

Reynard answered groaning a bit, "I was a bit overzealous back then and wanted a true challenge. I was bored with simple heists and robberies. What could be a greater challenge than stealing the horde of the King of Thieves?"

A wide-eyed Grimbeert declared to his cousin, "You were mad!

The Fox then sighed and answered, "Well I thought I had gotten away with it fine until now. No word of it ever came out just as I suspected. The King would never want it to be known that he had such a theft happen to him under his nose."

The badger could not understand what could have made anyone do such a thing. The risks were astronomical and The Fox could not even brag of it, "If you knew no one would ever hear of it, why then do it?"

Reynard explained, "I don't do things for glory. I enjoy challenges. The King was overconfident. I wanted to assure him that he was vulnerable the same as anyone else. At the time, if caught I was going to claim that I was merely showing him where he was vulnerable. But since nothing came of it, I just kept it to myself. I used most all the proceeds from the theft for Reds Kids. I did not take it for the money… so I gave it all to the kids. I guess there were a few unique pieces that we couldn't sell without alerting the King as if they were found sold, they could lead back to me. It was so long ago, I had forgotten all about them. I suppose my people saw them when searching desperately for ancient looking treasure as I had requested for the ruse."

Grimbeert shook his head appearing quite shaken and disturbed, "You must surely flee cousin!"

A determined looking Reynard declared, "If the King wants a fight, then he shall have one. I will not run cowering from such vermin and scum."

The badger looked mightily sorrowful, "I wish you good luck then cousin."

Reynard gently touched the worried badger's arm in reassurance, "You have done me a great service today risking much to appear before me."

Grimbeert had tears in his eyes responding, "It was the least I could do. I owe you much… and love you all so very dearly. I worry what could happen to the children."

The Fox nodded, "I share your concerns and will make proper arrangements to safeguard them, your cousin Aza and cousin-in-law Marion, as well as your uncle and aunt. If things get bad, I will make arrangements to get them to safety."

The badger had grave apprehension, "Why not send them away now?"

Reynard had an answer for this, "I know it would seem the prudent thing to do. But if it was known that they had fled and they were followed, they could be captured and used to force me from my home to save them and result in my death and an easy victory for my enemies. By forcing my enemy to engage me fully, they can flee in the chaos instead where their absence would be likely unnoticed. If I had much more notice, perhaps sending them away in advance could have been possible."

Grimbeert nodded impressed by the logic of his cousin, "I had not considered all that. You truly are a master tactician dear fox."

The Fox in question put his friend and ally at ease, "I thank you, but there is a great deal of work to do and many plans to be had. We had anticipated such a strike in the past and most of the contingency plans are already well in place. But knowing exactly when they will strike and their desperate need for a quick result, I can put some nice nasty surprises in place. We will need to have most of these done before the light of day so that they will go unnoticed. So I apologize to you, but I must take my leave as there is much to do."

The badger gave The Fox a slight smile and nod in understanding. He then looked sorrowfully at The Fox before him and considered something, but stopped himself. He then said, "Fuck it!" And embraced a surprised Reynard hugging him tightly.

The Fox gathered his wits and returned the hug of the weeping badger trying to assure him that this was not the end, and that he would see him again.

Reynard then admitted to himself that he certainly hoped this was the case, but odds were not entirely in his favor. He let the badger know he wished to hold onto the tape as it may come in handy, and thanked him again for his warning, escorting him off the grounds. The Fox then got on his phone immediately and made numerous calls to his allies all over the kingdom. They had a massive amount of planning and preparation to do before the light of day as the daytime needed to seem as normal as ever at the estate. But it would be anything but normal, that was for certain.

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Final Author Notes for the Chapter:

This chapter starts off at the momumental scene from the original legendary text and roughly follows the same pattern as chapters 15-18 of the original. Normally this scene appears in place of the trial where Reynard defends himself in my earlier chapter, but the sequence of events was changed for my adaptation for several reasons. However in the original, Reynard is never actually hung, but I thought it added a lot more intensity and set up a last minute plea from Reynard to his mistress Azrael.

In the original legend, Reynard speaks of his father stealing the treasure and plotting with the other four co-conspirators. But since Reynard never knew his father, this made no sense, and so his closest father figure, Xander, was used. In the original Reynard calls Cuwaert the Hare to validate his claim that a place called Krekenpit exists. Since Cuwaert is dead at this point in my adaptation, I just substituted Lapeel the Rabbit who appears later in the legend and who would act similarly nervous to Cuwaert.

The whole treasure was handled quite differently in my adaptation. In the original Reynard talks the King and Queen into going alone to look for the treasure while he leaves on a supposed pilgrimage to Rome. In the original legend they fail to find the treasure and the King gets pissed off as one would expect, but not to a great degree. In the 1930 movie, Reynard left some cryptic note about some daily horoscope of something that was found by the King. Neither of these seemed very inventive to me. I believed Reynard would be smarter than that and would come up with a ruse that allows him to get off clean and not anger the King. And of course it would have all worked perfectly for my Reynard except for one tiny little forgotten detail missed by his assistants.

In the original, Grimbeert is blamed as being part of the conspiracy to murder the King, but Reynard never defends him and for some reason his crime is ignored and never mentioned. This made no sense to me, so my Reynard made sure to find a way to let Grimbeert off the hook, while making sure the badger knew The Fox was being quite merciful. In the legend, Reynard only asks the King to forgive his father who committed suicide upon learning that his treasure was stolen. This is what Reynard told the King of course and not what actually happened.

As far as the three enemies, in the original legend the only thing they do is speak out against Reynard after the King has decreed that no one speak against The Fox. To me this seemed very weak and anticlimactic. So I borrowed a bit from the 1930 movie and used the part where Isengrim pulls a knife. But in the movie he is instantly set upon by guards. Again I felt my Reynard was way more clever and instead would bait The Wolf to attack him and yet make it look like Isengrim was attacking the King, and that Reynard saved the lives of both their majesties. Blaming Tybalt for wishing to take the Queen for himself was completely original extending the adaptation used in the earlier chapter. In the 1930 movie, The Cat serenades the Queen and professions his love throughout. She even sends notes to him telling him not to toy with her heart. But Reynard never used this against Tybalt, but I felt my Reynard would want to weave solid truths into his lies gaining testimony from both the Queen and Grimbeert to make everything seem more believable.

The whole ruse of Reynard and Coal going to the treasure with the King and Queen was completely new. Finding the missing piece of the King's stolen treasure hoard, and the massive theft from the King was also completely original. The King sending Reynard's allies to attack his home, or castle in the 1930 movie, corresponded loosely to events in chapters 25-26 of the original legend. But the King was merely angry at being tricked by Reynard in those cases, and was not seeking retribution. In addition Reynard's enemies were not desperate wanted mammals, but were merely seeking revenge on their foe.

The changes and adaptations I made were done because in many cases they made much more sense. Also I thought Reynard would be much more clever than he was in many places in the original legend and movie. A final thing I wanted to do was crank up the intensity and action leading to an enormous showdown of epic proportions. The King's desire for revenge, the desperation of the three condemned enemies, the threat to murder all of Reynard's family and followers at his estate, and the desperate desire for Grimbeert to prove his love and support for his cousins and their family, were all unique aspects of my adaptation meant to really intensify everything. The final section has nearly ten pages of notes alone already, so I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

One final note regarding the last three chapters. A reader mentioned that it seemed like Reynard forgot he was telling the story to Judy and Drew. This was on purpose in the sections involving the King and court members. I chose to write it with the original Old English style of wording as well as the outside narrative perspective rather than directly from Reynard's point of view simply as an homage to the style of the original legendary text. Not to worry as the final action packed section/chapter will all be told from direct POV for most action scenes.