A/N: THE SAGA CONTINUES WITH ANOTHER EPIC CHAPTER!
Of course, Milo wasn't the only beast who thought it was a good idea to follow me. Somehow, using the miniscule thing in her head she called a brain, Snowball had convinced herself that my invasion was entirely because of her and entirely up to her to put a stop to. I expected as much, but was still a little surprised the abbeybeasts just let her take the sword and attack on her own.
Snow had been hopping from tree to tree nearly all night, the comforting weight of Martin's sword keeping her grounded to reality. Did she have a plan? Well, yes…but actually no. Either she would slip in, blade at the ready, and find Milo or…well, she shuddered to think of the second option, though it was likely much simpler. Milo's freedom in exchange for her enslavement. It would buy the Abbey some time in the least. By mid-afternoon, the squirrelmaid discovered the vermin's encampment, protected by dozens of creatures, all armed to the teeth. Her stomach dropped…how was she supposed to get past all of those guards?
Her opportunity came in the form of Harlapple's speech. The guards abandoned their posts in order to claim their fair share of Friar Clovis' stolen goods. Smiling despite herself, Snowbelle snuck inside. Her heartbeat was in her throat as she scaled down a hornbeam at the center of the camp. Eyes flickering side to side, she pinpointed the largest tent. That had to be where Harl was…no doubt with little Milo as a hostage. She gnawed on her lower lip, racking her brain for a plan. Running in with the sword would be dangerous…risky, possibly even stupid, but hadn't all of Redwall's champions done the same? Hadn't the fabled blade made them into warriors the instant it touches their paws. Unsheathing and gripping the hilt tightly, Snow hefted it. It was heavier than she had imagined, but no matter. There was a Dibbun at stake! The fate of the very Abbey! Snow set her jaw grimly and slunk towards the tent.
"Oi, yew there!" A nasty looking ferret shouted, pointing at her. "Yew ain't one of us!"
Of course, you should know that the only thing nasty about Skunksnot is his smell. Snowball is just a little bit bigoted. Don't be like her.
Almost instantly, dozens of vermin appeared, armed to the teeth. The squirrelmaid readied herself as the wave fell upon her, slashing out blindly with Martin's sword. There was a sickening crunch and the world turned red. Snow was both terrified and exhilarated, horrified by the blood she spilt, but energized by the power in her paws. Her eyes were focused on only one thing: Harl's tent. Nothing else mattered. Fighting through the vermin, heedless of her injuries, the squirrelmaid let out a bloodcurdling warcry. "Reeeeeeedwaaaaaaaaaall!"
"I knew this would happen." Harl gritted his teeth, snatching up his axe in one paw, he burst out of the tent, silently wondering why he had not invested time and energy on giving himself a warcry. Somehow shouting AAAAAAAPLE! as he mowed down his enemies did not sound right…
The warlord spotted the scuffle almost immediately- it demanded a lot of attention- and sighed. He was both impressed by his hordebeasts' determination to intercept the intruder, and incredibly irritated by their lack of success. They were unharmed and good at evading the blade, though clearly distracted by the red paint gushing from a broken barrel. They would dart forwards as if to tackle her, only to hastily scramble away from the blade's reach. As usual I have to do everything myself…
"Leave her be!" the mouse called out. "You're not important enough for her."
The vermin hastened to obey. The squirrel let them scramble away with their worthless lives. She had a bigger fish to fry... Setting eyes upon her hated foe, Snowbelle surged forward, blade at the ready, all the rest of the world disappearing in a haze of red. She would slay that mouse if it killed her. The sea of vermin must have parted in fear, unused to seeing such bloodlust, as the squirrelmaid charged their leader, still howling battle cries.
"Snowball, what a surprise!" Harlapple grinned, and raised his axe to intercept the squirrel's blade. "How nice of you to visit!"
"Where's Milo?" she snarled, spittle flying from her lips. "Where is he?!" She swung at his footpaws, attempting to drive him back.
Harl sidestepped. "With mother. You remember her, don't you? She certainly remembers you."
"Your wretched mother's going tae Hellgates with ye!" Snow growled, her eyes tinged blood red. "Slavers like ye dinnae deserve tae live!" Beating the mouse warlord back with a flurry of maddened blows, the squirrelmaid swung Martin's blade with shocking strength, setting Harl on the defense.
Now, being fully honest with you, I am a middling fighter at best. I'm good, but certainly nothing extraordinary. I only tend to look exceptionally ruthless and skilled because of my penchant for surrounding myself with the least competent vermin in the entirety of Mossflower, nay, the world. But I can tell you here and now, with full confidence and complete honesty that I was going easy on her.
The young healer battered Harl's axe, the legendary metal of Martin the Warrior's sword cutting chunks out of the axeblade. Swinging with all her strength, Snow sent the axe spinning from her foe's paws, letting out a roar. "Reeeedwaaaaaall! Hawaaaaaaaay the Braaaaaaw!"
"I see you don't remember her then!" Harl ducked, the blade singing over his ears.
I probably went a little bit too easy on her...
Her blows, while furious and packed with a strength he did not remember her having, were unrefined. She did not wield the blade like a swordsbeast. She was tiring herself out quickly with wild, savage slashes that were mindbogglingly easy to avoid. All he had to do was keep her talking...
"If you did remember, you'd remember that she saved your ungrateful life! But then, you don't remember much, do you? You certainly didn't remember me!"
"Saved?" her voice was dark as she paused. "Ye lily-livered, lying swine! Ye were worse than death! I'd much rather have died than be stuck with ye!" She swung again, but her strength was waining.
Harl placed his paws on his chests, as if struck, and put on a mocking tone of voice. "Ouch! That one really hurt Snowball. And to think, after all this time I thought we were friends."
"Friends? We were never friends," Snow sneered, her teeth stained by the red paint from earlier. "Friends dinnae enslave their friends tae prevent them from escaping, or kill others because they dared tae speak with them!" Advancing upon Harl, sword raised shakily, she continued, the tone of her usually melodic voice chilling. "Remember Furl? The otter ye slew?" tears began welling up in her eyes, the bloody mist falling away in her exhaustion. "I found him with his head split open by the river…ye were standing over him. He was my friend! And ye killed him!"
"That was an accident." The mouse snapped irritably. "And one I don't particularly like remembering."
"Give me Milo and leave Mossflower…then I might just let ye live." Snowbelle leveled the sword.
Harlapple yawned nonchallantly. "So dramatic. You couldn't kill me even if you wanted to. Go on, Snow. Try." He spread his arms to the side in a show of defenselessness. "I'm unarmed. You have Martin's Fabled Blade. My horde won't interfere." He glared at the watching hordebeasts to make sure they knew that that was an order.
"Hellgates take ye, ye…ye murderer!" She swung too hard again, lost her balance, and all it took was a light shove for the mouse to send her sprawling to the ground and send Martin's blade sliding out of her grip.
"Let…please let Milo go," she begged. "I'll stay here with ye…I'll not try tae escape again, just please…he's just a babe. His parents will be worried sick…let him go."
Harlapple strolled over to where the sword lay, picked it up and slid it into his belt. "Snow, Snow, Snow… you know it doesn't work that way."
"Ye babe-stealing coward!" she made to lunge at him, teeth bared but was stuck down by a swipe of his tailspike.
"For the record, Milo came willingly. I'm only a stealer if I keep him. Which I will only do if Redwall does not surrender. Which, I am quite sure it will." He smiled. "Everything will sort itself out Snowball." Adressing the vermin now, he beckoned them closer. "Slopgut! Take her to my tent, but make sure to gag her. We wouldn't want her hurting my mother's feelings."
"No we wouldn't," agreed the rat.
"The rest of you! I want you all prepared for a full-scale assault. Squirrels like to move in packs. If there's one of them, more will come. I want you lot ready for it."
"I came alone!" Snowbelle protested. "Nobeast knew I even left."
"And what did I say about gagging her?" He spun on his heel, and glared down at the squirrel. "Thank you for that sound advice, but I'm the warlord here. And while it suits your interests to leave my horde defenseless, it does not suit mine."
She gave him a crooked smirk. "Even armed, your horde had their tails kicked by a single beast."
"We could use some work," Harlapple admitted. "Then again, even armed you had your tail kicked by a single beast."
"Mayhaps, but I almost had ye," she cackled madly.
No... you really didn't...
"And next time, oh, dear Apple…next time, I'll tear your throat out with my teeth an' serve your guts tae your darling Mam for supper!"
"Riiiiiiiiiiiiight..." Harlapple gave her a pair of thumbclaws up. "I have more important things to discuss than a rematch Snowball. But sure, whenever you're up for one. Slopgut. The gag. And tie her up while you're at it." The warlord beamed. "Oh and before I forget, thanks for the sword!"
Footnote: This ladies and gentlebeasts is what happens when you try and singlehandedly take down a vermin horde x3 Props to Snowbelle for trying I guess? Super fun duel scene to write! The actual fight isn't all that impressive but I think the backstory elevates it a tad. Hope you enjoyed! Keep your eyes peeled for future updates!