AUTHOR'S NOTE: following this chapter, I will be taking a short break. Chapter 189 is planned for 12 June.
Chapter 188: The Weird Laws.
"In any case, it's not a thing she'd have done lightly; if she felt it needed to be done, there must have been a reason."
-Quincy Connally, The Blowing Horn
Vervain waited for a long time for Inqwynn to return; with nothing to do, he quickly became bored. Inqwynn had clearly told him not to leave, and he obeyed, mostly out of fear of what the council would do to him otherwise. While he hadn't met the council, based on what Inqwynn had told him, he was terrified.
In a desperate attempt at relieving the boredom, Vervain hopped back over to the bed where he had woken up, and started to nibble the wooden frame. He had heard from Lady May that this was a very popular activity among tame rabbits living with humans. While Vervain was very much NOT a tame rabbit, and felt that imitating such behaviour was undignified, the boredom was quite simply too much. It was only when he heard the soft sound of approaching paws that he stopped: chewing privately was one thing, getting caught in the act was another.
The visitor, much to Vervain's relief, turned out to be Inqwynn once again. As he hopped closer, however, Vervain realized that the wood shavings he had chewed off were still at the base of the bed. Hopefully Inqwynn wouldn't notice, or complete humiliation would soon follow.
-"Had a good time?" Inqwynn asked; Vervain was unsure whether he had noticed the wood shavings.
-"Yes! I mean, no!" With his anxiety, Vervain was having trouble speaking clearly. "I mean...uh...what did the council say?"
Inqwynn simply stared at Vervain, a look of sadness appearing on his face.
-"Come with me."
Before Vervain could reply, Inqwynn had already hopped out of the room; the former captain was left with no choice but to follow.
Vervain did not have the time to pay much attention to the building: he had hardly left the room that he saw Inqwynn dive down a hole in the ground, and ran after him. Once underground, Nu Beatha's construction appeared very ordinary, a perfectly normal warren. Inqwynn clearly knew his way, but Vervain did not; he struggled to keep up, and not fall too far behind.
-"What did they say?" he shouted in the middle of the run.
-"Quiet," Inqwynn said softly. "No speaking in tunnels."
Vervain held his tongue. This restriction on public conversations was another thing similar to Efrafa. The only difference was that, so far, Vervain had not seen anyone else in the tunnels; in Efrafa, there were guards all over the place, ready to beat you up if you were too loud, or even if they just felt like it. Nevertheless, he did not wish to tempt fate.
After what felt to Vervain like a long time, the two rabbits finally reached a burrow. It was, once again, very normal, a typical burrow with nothing special about it.
-"This will be your burrow for the foreseeable future," Inqwynn said. "You'll be sharing it with me."
-"Wow, this place stinks!" The truth was that, while the burrow was nowhere near as large and comfortable as what Vervain had lived in when he was still a captain in Efrafa, it was still a major improvement over his lodgings in Darkhaven. However, Vervain just felt like complaining, and the burrow was an acceptable target.
-"You'll have to get used to it, it's not going to get any better. Your duties start tomorrow morning."
-"My duties? You mean I'm in the owsla already?" Vervain gave a rare smile. "I know you said it would happen soon, but this is quicker than I expected. Maybe this place isn't as bad as I thought."
-"No, you misunderstood. You are not in the owsla."
-"But you said that my duties..."
-"In Nu Beatha, everyone has duties to perform, even the outskirters who aren't part of the owsla. Usually, newcomers are put on the digging squad at first."
-"Digging?" Vervain nervously looked at his front paws. "My claws aren't made for this."
-"I strongly advise you to do your best. If you do a poor job, you may not silflay for a while."
-"Sounds like I have a busy day ahead tomorrow...I should probably get some sleep now."
-"I think I'll join you."
As much as Vervain wished to avoid physical contact with Inqwynn while the two slept, the burrow was not large enough, the two would have to lie close together.
-"What is your friend's name?" Inqwynn suddenly asked.
-"My friend?"
-"The one who is in Nepenthes."
-"Oh, her. Her name is Chibiscuit."
-"That is useful information. Where did you see her last?"
-"In the warren where I was born, Ahfernwort."
-"I have never heard of that warren. It must be far away."
-"It was." Vervain turned his head, hoping to hide the tears in his eyes as he thought of his younger days.
-"I notice you are speaking in the past. What happened?"
-"Hey, what's with all these intrusive questions?" Vervain abruptly sat up and stared at Inqwynn: anger was easier for him to display than sadness. "I value my privacy."
The look of sadness returned to Inqwynn's face.
-"It all ties in with what the council said. As predicted, they didn't believe what you told me. They think you are up to no good, just unsure of the details."
-"I told you the truth, I really am looking for Chib..."
-"I know, I know, no need to repeat yourself. "Inqwynn cut off Vervain in annoyance. "As I was saying, they think you're hiding something, and they are hoping that, if we share a burrow long enough, eventually you will trust me enough to tell me what you're hiding."
-"But I'm not hiding anyt..."
-"And I believe you. But convincing the council will be a challenge, they see danger and conspiracies everywhere."
-"I'll have to go talk to them in the morning, and sort everything out," Vervain boldly announced.
-"I admire your optimism. Unfortunately, I don't think you will be able to pull it off."
-"We'll see about that! Usually, I get what I want!"
Despite outwardly displaying confidence, Vervain was in fact filled with doubt. He did his best to suppress such feelings, as he tried to fall asleep.
Campion was asleep in his burrow. He had spent the day helping to train the owsla, and it had been exhausting. Since he was working as a double agent, he also tried to intentionally do a bad job, as part of his plan to help the Watershippers. However, the sabotage could not be too obvious, or Woundwort would get suspicious. He spent most of the day worrying that he was not doing enough, and this constant anxiety was taking its toll on him.
Due to how tired he was, it was extremely unpleasant when he was shaken awake in the middle of the night. Opening his eyes, he was that it was the Speaker of the Past who was responsible for this rude awakening.
-"There is something important that I need to tell you."
-"What is it?" Campion asked, fully realizing that the Speaker would not let him go back to sleep until after he had listened to everything she had to say.
-"Here in Darkhaven, it has long been a custom to assign silly nicknames to various important rabbits; these nicknames also involve various laws, depending on who has them. Do not ask me yours, it has not yet been assigned, although that will likely come soon. For now, I wish to talk about those nicknames that have already been given out. There is the Speaker of the Past, which is me. And then there is the Dark One; that would be Woundwort. The law states that they must both sleep alone."
All this talk about nicknames and laws left Campion very confused. While he thought he understood what the Speaker had told him, he remained unsure how it concerned him.
-"Am I breaking the law right now?" he asked nervously.
-"No, you are not, but Woundwort almost did, when he tried sleeping with Lady May. And then he almost did it again, by sending her to sleep with me. I, more than anyone else, am aware of the dire consequences her existence may result in."
-"Please don't ask me to kill her," Campion said, fearing the worst following the Speaker's ominous warning about Lady May's existence. "I know she can be rude at times, but she's really not all that bad."
-"Indeed, she is not that bad, and does not need to be killed. The most awkward situation is Rithla, although he too deserves life."
-"Who?" Campion could not recall anyone called Rithla in Darkhaven. He had not met anyone by that name in Efrafa or at Watership Down either.
-"If you are currently unaware, it is best that you remain that way. It is Lady May who is responsible for the current troubles. The Dark One asked her to sleep with me, which is illegal."
-"Woundwort only cares about the laws he himself created." While Campion trusted the Speaker when she told him it was better that he didn't know the details, this ignorance left him even more anxious.
-"It would appear that way. The fact remains that, with Lady May sleeping in my burrow, I will be forced to sleep in this burrow for tonight."
-"But...if I understand the law correctly, wouldn't sleeping with me be illegal too?"
-"It would be. Which is why I am commandeering your burrow so I can sleep here, alone. You are being kicked out."
-"Wow, that's very friendly," the captain said sarcastically, thinking back at how the Speaker had recently offered to be his friend. She was certainly not acting like it.
-"I did not make the law. I am merely obeying it myself, and trying to get everyone else to do it, for the safety of all of us."
-"But where will I sleep tonight?"
-"The law does not mention that."
-"Never mind the law. Don't you have anything to suggest?"
The Speaker stared at Campion for a few moments. Finally, she relented.
-"Because you are a nice fellow, I will show you a secret burrow. The others probably do not know it exists, so it is unlikely someone would bother you there."