Welcome everyone,

No boring stuff this time.

Chapter 5

Judy drifted back into consciousness and the first thing she felt was softness. The doe was surrounded by it, but it was quickly accompanied by pain, radiating from various parts of her body. But along with that pain she felt something else in some areas - stiffness.

Her tormented ear was wrapped in something and placed above her head. Her fingers shared similar fate, as they were immobilized with splinters. Her cheek was bandaged and her burns were smeared with something smelly, but it provided gentle coolness over the places where the torturer placed the steel rod.

Someone has treated her wounds.

Only then Judy opened her eyes with effort and stared at what appeared to be a ceiling. She was lying on her back. The softness she felt earlier was coming from a very comfortable mattress and a huge pillow under her head.

Where am I? Was her only thought before exhaustion overcame her again and she fell asleep.

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Judy woke up to a cracking sound. The room she was lying in was covered with a flickering, dim light. Recovering enough strength to raise her head a bit, the doe tried to survey the place she was placed in but failed to complete the process. The room was simply too big for her to see it all. But she managed to notice that what she has thought of as a ceiling turned out to be a panel of a four poster bed, big enough for twenty bunnies to sleep in with ease. The walls she was able to see, were covered with paintings and portrays, all of them in golden frames.

"Awake?" A voice interrupted her observations.

Judy struggled to turn her head into the direction from which the voice came. She succeeded, only to see a silhouette of some mammal, surrounded by the light coming from behind its back.

"Where… am I?" She whispered, not feeling strong enough to speak normally.

"This is my bedroom. Or at least was… " The grey bunny groaned as she recognized the owner of this voice.

"The fox…" She closed her eyes, once again regretting she didn't have the chance to give him a proper kick. The fact she was apparently lying on his bed didn't improve her mood. It did the opposite.

"Indeed, I am." Replied Sir Nicholas, as she heard his pawsteps on the floor. He approached the bed from her right. "A doctor has taken care of your wounds and he'll be coming over to monitor your state."

"What… so you can torture me… again?" What left her mouth was a mixture of whisper and a snarl.

"No…" Said the fox, with a concerned tone of voice. "It won't happen ever again. You have my word."

Judy clicked her tongue. "Whatever… Just what a noble fox would do, you cruel bastard."

Silence was the only thing she heard for a while, only disturbed by the sounds of cracking wood. Apparently, there was a fireplace in the room.

"Take all the rest that you need." Said Sir Nicholas and her healthy ear registered him walking out of the room.

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When the door clicked behind him, the noble fox walked past two, heavily armed guards, who nodded with respect at his sight. A keen observer would notice, that it wasn't a forced gesture required by the rules of hierarchy, but rather a genuine act from one mammal to another.

"No one is to enter this room without my permission, save for the doctor and my selected servants, whom I have shown you before." Sir Nicholas glanced over his shoulder and continued with a much colder voice. "Also, if my father would want to go past that door, you are to stop him, even if you have to use force, understood?"

Both foxes saluted sharply. "Yes, sir!" They replied without hesitation.

After that, the noble fox entered the adjacent room, which was his secluded dinning place and collapsed on a chair, sliding low on the seat. The cheetah steward was already present, pouring freshly made tea. Meanwhile, the red furred vulpine rubbed his face with both paws.

"Benjamin…" Came a muffled voice, before Sir Nicholas dropped down his arms and stared at his servant. "Am I… a cruel bastard?"

With the teapot in his other paw, the steward rubbed one of his chins thoughtfully. "In comparison with whom, sir?"

The fox blinked several times, before raising an arm and pointing a finger at the servant. "Now that's a good question."

Benjamin smiled and passed a cup of tea to his master.

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"It all looks very promising, miss Judy." The doctor came to check up on her for the third time in the last two weeks. And indeed, her wounds were healing pretty quickly. The hare doctor, that was taking care of her, unwrapped her ear and examined it in a delicate manner. He did the same with all of her fingers and she was happy to note that she regained feeling in them. That meant she won't become a useless cripple with broken fingers. The scars on her cheek already closed up and fresh fur started growing over it, but she didn't delude herself with an idea that they won't be visible. Her face will be disfigured forever, just like her torso, as the burn marks were big enough to never be covered by fur again. Part of her mind wanted to cry about the fact she has been made ugly. No buck would want her, as she was now. But the majority of her consciousness was filled with anger, directed at nobles in general and, especially, at one particular fox. I'll NEVER obey that bastard! She snarled internally.

But she ate her meals and accepted water to drink, brought by Mrs. Otterton, purely out of the need to survive. To await a chance to slid a blade into that fox's gut. Little did she know, that such opportunity would arrive so soon.

Sir Nicholas visited the bedroom from time to time, mostly to gather some documents from a massive desk, that was placed by the window. And one late evening he entered the room with the plump cheetah faithfully by his side, but didn't head for the papers. He walked right up to Judy's bed, motioning his servant to wait by the door.

"How are you feeling?" The fox asked with concern. I bet a fake one.

"Worse, since you arrived." She muttered with a glare.

His brows went up. "Do I really have that much of an effect on you?"

The bunny turned her head away from him. "I always feel sickened when I'm close to things I hate."

The noble folded his arms. "That is the third time you said that to me. What have I ever done to you to earn such animosity?" He inquired of her.

Judy swallowed back a growl and pulled her covers higher. "You even dare asking?"

"I am not talking about myself in particular, as I already know that. What has made you hate nobles that much? What made you become an aristocrat killer?"

These questions actually surprised her. No one before cared about her reasons, it was a simple road of judgment and torture. Because she was just a bunny, because she was just a peasant.

"What is it to you?" She grumbled.

"I simply wish to know."

For a moment she weighed her decision, but ultimately sat up on the bed, with her ears down, and faced her most hated enemy. "Ten years ago a couple of noble foxes kidnapped and murdered my siblings just for fun, to simply chase them around. I saw their corpses, as they rode through Bunny Burrow with their prize." She spat out the last word. "You act so high and mighty and you think you can do anything you want. So yes, I hate nobles. I hate foxes and I hate you. For everything you did, for what you did to me." Judy pointed at her cheek. "And I swear to God, that I'll seek every chance I can, to repay you tenfold for your sins."

Heavy silence befell on them, as the fox simply stared at her and the doe panted slightly. So what do you say now, sly mongrel? What excuse do you have? His face was a mask, unreadable, not fazed by emotions.

But then the fox did something she'd never expect. He stood up and headed for the fireplace. Judy watched in puzzlement as the noble picked a flintlock pistol that was hanging on the wall. He then proceeded to check if it was loaded and there was enough gunpowder to use it.

Sir Nicholas closed in on her and jumped on the bed, right in front of her. The fox knelt down, her hindpaws between his knees, and shoved the firearm into the hand of the shocked doe. With one paw he aimed the barrel at his chest and the other one pulled back the lock of the gun.

"God has just given you that chance. What you will do?" Sir Nicholas Wilde asked her without any hesitation in his voice.

Judy's jaw dropped down, as the doe was desperately trying to comprehend what is happening. This fox just willingly positioned himself in a situation where she could easily kill him. Is he out of his mind?! What game is this?!

"Why hesitate, rabbit? You have a weapon, you have a target, why aren't you shooting?" He insisted, the emerald eyes boring into her own.

"You… it's a trick, isn't it?" Judy whispered with a suddenly hoarse voice.

The vulpine shook his head slightly, still staring at her with that mesmerizing gaze of his. "There is a bullet, there is gunpowder, there is a noble fox right in front of you and all that it takes is to pull that trigger." He tugged at the pistol, pressing the barrel harder at his shirt.

He IS mad! This surreal situation was too much for her and she tried to pull her paw away, but he grabbed it firmly, never allowing her finger to leave the trigger mechanism.

"Where is that determination you showed me in the auction house? Where is that aristocrat killer I bought? Weren't you going to punish me for my sins?!" His voice rose in volume as he demanded answers.

"Stop… it…" The words escaped her mouth, contrary to what she stated before. But these eyes kept digging right into her soul and Judy never felt something like this before. Such intense emotions that poured from the mammal before her, practically asking to be killed. It wasn't desperation, nor was it madness as she thought at first. His gaze was so sharp and clear, that she had no doubt he was serious. But…why? Why does he want to die? To atone for someting? Out of some personal remorse? I… can't shoot him like this… She cast a quick glance at Benjamin, but received no help there. The feline kept a calm expression, even if his gaze was turned away.

She felt a paw touching her face, as Sir Nicholas cupped her unscarred cheek and redirected her attention back to him. The doe almost melted from his touch.

"Why are you hesitating?" He demanded again.

Not like this…

"DO IT!" His sudden roar made her flinch and she pulled the trigger.

A metallic snap rang out in the silence that followed the fox's voice.

Nothing.

The pistol misfired.

Judy gasped, her eyes wider than ever before in her life.

Sir Nicholas was unmoved; his expression didn't waver even for a fraction of a second. "So much for God's will…" He muttered, more to himself than to her and got off the bed.

The doe barely noticed the click of the door as he walked out or when Benjamin approached her silently and reached for the firearm. "I shall take that." He said softly and secured the gun from her paw, before wrapping it in a piece of cloth. The feline placed it under his arm and strolled out of the room, leaving Judy alone with her mixed emotions.

What… what was this about?! Her mind screamed to the sound of her rapidly beating heart. She would have killed him. She would just shoot a fox. A noble. And she convinced herself that it was fine. So why there was a small voice in the back of her head that was happy she didn't? It made no sense at all!

And his gaze at the end didn't make it any simpler. She saw no fear in those green, shining orbs. But when the gun didn't shoot, she noticed a hint of… disappointment.

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Sir Nicholas Wilde stormed into his private study room, a place filled with knowledge and scent of old books gathered on numerous shelves by the walls, and stopped before a large oak table covered with scrolls, various documents and writing utensils. With a snarl in his throat, the noblemammal swung his arm, effectively throwing everything to the floor. Sir Nicholas supported his weight on the table with the knuckles of his paws.

"Um, is this a bad moment, sir?" Came a small voice from the door, where the cheetah clutched both paws over the wrapped pistol.

"Leave." He heard the order and shivered from the iciness in his master's voice.

"Y-yes, sir. If you need anythin-" He never finished as the fox grabbed a heavy tome from the floor with both paws and sent it flying towards Benjamin's head. The feline disappeared behind the door with a yelp, just before the book hit the spot where the plump predator was standing a moment ago.

Sir Nicholas panted heavily and stood in place for a long moment, before throwing himself to an armchair. The noble covered his eyes with a paw. "I really am going mad…"