This squirrel chose me! What filthy woodland dribble is that vile stripedog spewing? Minerva can't even crawl about or feed herself; all she can do is scream, and these softhearted fools charge to the rescue. The pitter-patter of paw steps echoed through the halls as the ferret headed to the kitchen. Minerva cooed and gurgled as she grabbed at the ferret's red cloak. Sathe's face twisted in disgust.
Vile fools! Burdening me with this, this… thing!
The baby squirrel squealed happily as she shook the bit of cloth about and looked at the ferret. The squirrel's round face was oddly sweet to Sathe. She had large brown eyes and large furry tufts of ears at the top of her head. A small bit of her spindly tail brushed against the seer's paw, tickling her. Sathe cracked and smiled at the baby who laughed in glee showing off the bit of cloak. Sathe's smile disappeared as two beasts approached her. One of them sounded like the fox.
"Mebbe if ye weren't tryna stomp me tail, yeh wouldn't 'ave cracked yer chin on that blasted step!" The fox barked at the hare.
"Oh, hush up Ruddy! Ye've been hobblin' about Redwall- 'twas only a matter o' time before y' cracked yer skull on somethin', wot wot." The hare fired back.
"Eli said when I learn t' walk an' run right, then I kin train wid 'im!" The fox proudly proclaimed.
"Y'ain't ever gonna be trusted with a sword, ye vile rottah! Not if ye keep topplin' over yer flea-bitten tail o' yours, wot wot!"
"Then I'll keep me eyes on 'im an' fight ye too! So, I kin stay sharp t' become a proper warrior!" Ruddy brushed by Sathe without as much as a passing glance.
"Who said I'd be trainin' ye, wot?" The hare shot back, raising an eyebrow. "I've no intention o' gettin' a blade stuck in me back from a bloodthirsty blighter like yourself, wot wot!"
"Oh, so yer scared!"
"Am not! I'm just bein' wise like Captain Santain want's me t' be, wot!"
The two beasts bickering echoed off the long corridors as Sathe hurried toward the Great Hall.
"Stupid fox," Sathe muttered looking at the baby squirrel. Minerva had watched the two beasts go with curious intensity.
"Hmph. Pay no heed t' those fools. Thick-skulled oafs are beneath a beast o' my stature." Sathe reiterated her truth to boost her confidence. When the ferret looked down at the squirrelMinerva looked at Sathe and cocked her head. Sathe could've sworn the baby squirrel could understand her.
"I must be a mad beast." Sathe laughed, Minerva thrashed her arms about in a playful manner and laughed along with her.
"Yer a clever one for a squirrel. Hope ye find somebeast desperate enough t' take ye in." Minerva opened her mouth, stuffed a bit of the ferret's cloak into it, and began to chew. Sathe continued her mindless rant.
"Course, ye'll likely come to loathe me. An' if we cross paths when we're older, I won't stop ye if ye fancy stickin' a knife through me, heart." The squirrel didn't look like she had listened to Sathe, but the ferret continued with a sigh.
"But I wouldn't stop ye. You're a good beast and I'm…" Sathe's voice waivered. "I'm vermin."
As soon as the words came from her mouth a gaggling group of Redwallers turned a corner and rushed past her, jostling the ferret side to side as if they were a great wave. Sathe glared at them, and they surged around the vermin without a passing glance. The ladies all seemed disinterested in the ferret. Several of them were surrounded Silvertongue of all beasts.
"I told me mate that Oartail wasn't t' have any sweets before supper! An' guess who I caught feedin' him candied chestnuts by the pawful? Mildred! The healer, of all beasts!" A pugnacious ottermaid chirped. Sathe could tell she was just a vapid dolt.
"I do believe Mildred meant well, dear." A sweetly shrewmaid squeaked. She looked at the lithe weasel. "What do you think Silver?"
The weasel shrugged. "She's been real nice t' me kits and me mate, can't argue that. No doubt she means well. But that Lilac hedgehog? What a nasty piece of work! It ain't just me, right? Anyone else notice how foul she is t' be around? Treats everyone like they're a bunch o' useless layabouts!"
She received a chorus of agreement from the other ladies. The weasel mother puffed up like a hen and leaned in eagerly, her eyes gleaming with mischief as she spoke in rapid whispers to the Redwall ladies gaggling about.
Horrid wretch. She thinks these fools like her, she thinks she's special! Sathe turned her nose from the crowd of mice, squirrels, moles, and ottermaids as they made their way down the hall.
"Silvertongue." Sathe said with a venomous hiss. "She thinks she's somethin' special, just 'cause she's got a gaggle o' woodlanders swarmmin' 'round her like she's some sort o' queen"
Minerva began to squirm as Sathe dug her claws into the squirrel.
"She's just a stupid, rotten brute! She ought to be dead! Her kits should be dead! An' her mate should've been slain at that cottage by your father!"
The squirrel cried out in pain and Sathe gasped. The ferret cursed her ignorance. Her feelings for Silvertongue and her brood were to be spoken in private, to trusting beasts, but the cottage was to forever remain a secret.
A chill ran down the length of her spine. She stopped her brisk gate and settled Minerva who began to cry. She hushed the squirrel pulling her close to comfort the babe. If the Redwallers found the vermin were behind the slaying of Minerva's family, she'd make it as hard as possible for them to slay her. Mildred would certainly rush to her aid, she suspected Brin would as well. Even Trilloway, that devilish fool, would most certainly aid her. She had healed their sick and mended their young with just a single paw. She was the beast who found an ounce of compassion in her heart to care for and protect the orphaned babe.
Vile murderers surrounded Sathe! The evil corsair, Seabane, and the white giant, Marrow. The conniving fool, Crooksnout and the warlord in training, Ruddy! They planned to attack the cottage; they murdered the squirrel family! Sathe spoke against it, her heart not as dark, and mind as dim as the others, but what could she do? She was only a healer with naught but a small dirk and her sharp wits to protect her. All she could do was shield baby Minerva from the vermin's blades if only for a little while. If they asked why she didn't tell them about the cottage sooner, the answer was simple, out of fear of course. Not only would the vermin have crashed through the door to slay her but the first night at Redwall one of the Redwallers attacked her. Of course, the Ghost of Martin could be anyone, but it made sense if it were vermin. The only vermin she could think of that would dare turn the two against each other would be Muckfur and the less she thought of him the better.
Minerva quit squirming as Sathe looked out one of the tall stained-glass windows that lined the hallway. The sun was setting on another cold and grey day and darkness already had a hold over the countryside. There was quite a commotion on the side lawn. The stained glass and long icicles blurred her vision, but she could discern several beasts with torches and a line of beasts hauling items from a wagon. Several of the guards said something harsh to a pair of beasts lined against a wall. Sathe pulled her red cloak tightly over her shoulders as Minerva pushed herself away from her chest. The baby squirrel looked as if she was going to complain when her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped in awe. Sathe looked up at the stained glass.
In classic Redwall fashion, the craftsmanship was superb. Vibrant greens clashed with cloudy whites and deep blues. Oranges and reds for blood and fire accented blacks as dark as the night and steel-like silver. Glass fragments as large as the ferret's head were decorated with bits as small as her nail. It was a beautiful sight even in the looming darkness. Sathe was as struck by the glass as Minerva, until she saw the story the glass told. In the center of the plane stood a squirrel holding a bloody cutlass, beneath her lie a slain pure white ferret. A river of blood poured from the ferret toward the bodies of two other fatter ferrets and several other vermin slain in the background. A host of Woodlanders with their shackles broken surged toward the remaining vermin as they fled toward the sea, while others lifted their paws to the sky in jubilation. The squirrel in center figure wore chains that had been broken and stood ready to pounce on the next vermin that challenged her. Cornflower blue eyes found Sathe and the ferret felt a cool breeze flow down her cloak. There was a distant crash of a door closing and Sathe instinctively looked to her right. Her fearful gaze fell upon another ornate window. This one showed a heavily tattooed otter with a wickedly beautiful sword in his paw as he cut the head off a cloaked ferret. Sathe shuttered as she saw more in common with the cloaked vermin than the last. The otter stood between a hoard of fleeing vermin with similar tattoos and the Abbey. At his back stood a badger and his army of hares chased the vermin into the woods. Sathe swallowed back bile as her eyes continued down the hallway aligned with stories of the Abbey's great defenders.
There were just over a score of windows aligning the hall, each with a similar story. Badgers crushing ferrets and weasels, mice slicing through rats and foxes and every woodlander in between standing triumphantly before a host of defeated and humiliated vermin foes. Dread struck Sathe as Minerva cooed and happily and reached toward the streaks of light filtering through the glass. Sathe was horrified. If caught by the Redwallers there would be no mercy, no forgiveness, no wise old squirrel to speak sense into their thick skulls, or brave hare to fight in her defense. Sathe was a dead beast, through and through. The ferret stifled a cry.
She held Minerva who watched the glass that glowed and danced in the torch light with an all too natural affinity, and a deep seeded hatred for the squirrel bloomed in her heart. Sathe stopped beneath the last window in the hall where a mouse with a sword plunged into the earth stood before scores of fleeing vermin as tongues of fire chased after her ancestors. The mouse stood before the Abbey and looked down at her, not with hatred or malice, but with indifference. To the mouse Sathe was nothing, just another vermin whose very life wasn't worth the very snot in his handkerchief. Sathe felt her blood boil. She had been born with nothing, orphaned in a horde before clawing her way to some level of respect. Yet she tossed all of that aside and ran to Redwall, the graveyard for Mossflower's most terrifying vermin. She hated the red prison, their pathetic beasts with their lofty words and wormlike acts. She hated those idiots in the infirmary, they only told her what she wanted to her. She would bet on her life they were laughing at how they'd fooled her. Making her lower her guard with their constant kindness and support. They thought she was nothing! They thought she was a pathetic sow, easily manipulated to care for this squirrel, a beast whose life had infinitely more value than Sathe's ever would! She looked down at the squirrel who looked at her with a lying smile. Even Minerva knew Sathe was worthless, she was too young to say it, but she knew it in her blood!
Sathe felt a thousand oaths build in the back of her throat. They would suffer! Those Abbey dwellers would fear her, she would remind them all why vermin were to be feared! She dug her claws into the babe's side and lifted the squirrel above her head. She stared into the indifferent mouse. The ghost that tormented her night after night. The source of her and all other vermin's suffering and pain. She was going to destroy their monument to him with the very tool they were using to humiliate her! Sathe readied herself to hurl the squirrel through the glass when the door next to her slammed open.
Sathe yelped in shock and quickly brought Minerva to her chest as she pressed against the glass.
"Sorry lass! Didn't mean t' startle ye, wot!" Sergeant Danburr barked as he marched by pushing an injured weasel forward. Sathe was too shocked to respond. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as cool sweat trickled down her cloak.
Eli eyed her with a wrathful curiosity but slid by without a word. Abbot Micah paused to check on the ferret.
"I do pardon the interruption, we're in a bit of a hurry." The old mouse face was in a state of pre-mourning. Sathe had seen the expression more than enough times in injured vermin whose mate or kin had made their way into her tent. It was never a good sign. His mouth formed a forced smile, and his eyes were as happy as he could make them. She could tell by his brows and the increasing strain in his forehead that he was struggling to keep himself together.
"Is that baby Minerva? I suppose she's hungry. Friar Willard is just now having his assistants set the tables. I won't keep you waiting."
Sathe nodded, looking through the old mouse. The old mouse didn't nod back as he had already rushed to the end of the hall. Sathe took a ragged breath as the door behind them slammed shut. She looked down at Minerva, the baby looked up at her momentarily concerned by the sudden loud noise before digging her head into Sathe's breast.
Sathe choked on her sobs as she pressed the baby squirrel tighter to her, horrified with herself. She couldn't kill Minerva; she couldn't explain why but she couldn't. Sathe felt her stomach fester and rot as she thought about it and cried even harder, drying her tears with the squirrel's long tail. Minerva grabbed her tail and Sathe let the squirrel take it. She looked at the ferret and back at the tail before pressing it against her face like she had seen Sathe do a moment prior. Sathe laughed as she cried and tried to smile at the babe with tears in her eyes. Minerva squeaked a laugh and shook her arms about. Sathe felt a warmth in her chest, it was odd and far different than the rush she got when she lorded over others. It was akin to what she felt when Brin convinced her not to run off, or when she looked at Trilloway, or when Mildred praised her. Sathe liked it, it felt good, and she wanted to feel that way for her whole life.
Sathe hurried to the great hall for supper. The day had turned to night and the hall was buzzing with lighthearted chatter as families sat down to eat and friends greeted each other from a distance. All was well aside from a table in the corner of the hall where a new pair of weasels sat. A few guards sat next to them with their loved ones seated a short distance away. The jovial attitude of that night seemed lost on that corner of the room. Sathe was certain Mildred would want her to meet these two vermin, but Sathe, wanting to keep the warm glow she had so recently fostered decided against it. She spotted a suitable seat between an elderly pair of mice and a baritone hedgehog she thought would be kind to her. Sathe wiped away a few stray tears from her eyes and put on as warm of a smile as she could as she started toward them.
She was a few paces into the dining room when a paw caught her elbow. Startled, she spun around.
"We need to talk, ferret." Seabane hissed. There were exhausted bags under his eyes, and his grip wavered enough that Sathe could probably break free if she tried.
"We can talk when we eat rat! Ye look famished, so stuff yer gilet before ye keel over." Sathe snapped as she pulled away. Seabane didn't budge.
"We don't have time." Seabane's voice was barely audible. "Come 'ere b'fore I gets Marrow t' grab ya!" The searat thumbed at the white rat who was glaring at her from beneath a stone archway. He stepped into view when Seabane pointed at him.
Sathe groaned and let the rat lead her away from her seat, which had just been taken by Dokkur. Seabane hooked onto her arm and pulled her from the great hall, bumping into beasts without apology and knocking cups and bowls of soup and other drinks into the Redwaller's laps. Sathe thought she might apologize, but the Redwallers irate glares told her the damage was already done.
"Slow down, ye daft old fool! Yer gonna make me trip! Ye've already crashed into Jakob an' his mate. They'll never forgive me if they can't get October Ale from their cloaks!"
Sathe doubted the rat even heard her. He was of one mind and one goal, and it was to get her out of the hall. Sathe hoped nothing was wrong, but Seabane looked as mad as Herrik. When they reached Marrow beneath the archway, Seabane turned a hurried trot to a full sprint dragging the flustered ferret behind him.
"Whattar ye doing fool!" Sathe shouted in surprise.
"Shuddup ye toad!" The rat cracked back. Marrow had fallen in step close behind her and the three of them ran through the hallways with a loud pattering of paws. Sathe could feel herself losing stamina in her legs and before she could yell at Seabane to slow down she stubbed her toe on an uneven ledge of stone. She felt weightless for a moment before being caught by Marrow who flung her over his shoulder and carried on. Sathe's claws bit into Minerva's swaddling as she desperately held on to the squirrel babe. Things remained like this for another hallway before Seabane slid to a stop and threw open a door. Marrow charged through and tossed Sathe onto a bed as Seabane slid the door shut behind him and locked it with a click.
Sathe bolted to her feet, hot embarrassment flooding her face.
"What was that fer yew waterlogged dolt! I was gonna-"
"Shuddup Sathe! Shuddup!" Seabane shouted into the ferret's face. Sathe abruptly shut her mouth before Marrow pushed her to a seat on the couch. Seabane was manically pacing back and forth running his gnarled claws over his face and ears. Sathe looked to Marrow who looked down at her in a panic.
"Seabane-"
The rat held a paw up for silence. "If ye so much as squeak, I'll have Marrow smash yer jaw right in. Got it?"
Sathe straightened her back about to yell profanities at this rat. Who does he think he is bossing me around like that? Doesn't he know who I am? I'm the most important vermin in Redwall!
Sathe opened her mouth to shout at him when it was shut by Marrow's heavy claw. She squirmed about trying to break free, but his grip only tightened.
"Crush her bloody jaw!" Seabane stomped over his face twisted in rage. He raised his paw to strike her when it too was caught by Marrow.
"Be. Quiet!" The rat growled as he let the two of them go.
Seabane rubbed his wrist as he glared at the giant rat. Marrow didn't seem to care as his furious look remained.
"Seabane what's going on?" Sathe whispered as she bounced Minerva on her lap. "The Abbot an' that one-legged warrior mouse dragged in a wounded weasel, along with a couple o' hares. They nearly knocked me flat, they were in such a hurry!"
"The cottage! They found the damn cottage!" Seabane spat, keeping his voice as quiet as he could. The rat's eyes were maddened, and his face was twisted in terror.
"What!" Sathe felt ice form around her heart. She thought she might hurl. They couldn't know, right? If they did, they would've torn her and Seabane to shreds. Sathe closed her eyes to try and think, while Seabane continued his ramblings.
"We stumbled across it! Didn't even know the Foremole and Eli were tight with the beasts livin' there! I didn't spill a word, but they found it all the same! They know we offed those squirrels! Then those foul bandits were gonna slit my throat fer some food before I beat them off. Then those vile bandits were fixin' to slit my throat for a scrap of food, but I sent 'em packin'! And that daft mole? Wanted to drag 'em back to Redwall! Those lowlifes are gonna slaughter us all!" Seabane's voice rose enough to warrant a hard cuffing by Marrow.
Sathe opened her eyes and looked at Minerva, the baby squirrel was fussing in her arms. She was probably hungry, and this rat's mad ramblings were only going to make her more uncomfortable. If she started crying things would only get worse.
"Settle down rat." Sathe spat with a disgruntled huff. Seabane groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. "We're not dead yet so there's no reason t' think they know it was us."
Seabane bit his lip as he looked toward the door as if there were a beast with his ear pressed to the lock.
"Yarr, they're probably discussing it now! I'd bet Ruddy's other leg Eli knows what we did! I'd wager he's getting the guards ready t' run us out!"
"No, you idjit! The two mice took that injured weasel to the infirmary. If they're plotting anything Mildred will have a say in it."
"The mad squirrels still alive?" Seabane asked with an unfounded bitterness.
"Of course she is! Out of every beast in Redwall, d'ye think I'd let her die?" Sathe was disgusted at the thought. Mildred was her friend, someone who knew and valued the ferret. It was something the rat would never understand. "I ain't about to let the only beast who cares for me meet her end just 'cause you can't stand her!"
Seabane scrunched his face in confusion. "Yarr. D'ye reckon I care about a bunch o' beasts who only feign t' like ye?"
"Shuddup rat!" Sathe snarled. "If it weren't fer me healin' and carein' fer Minerva we would already be as stiff as stone! Yer mad yew can't act like a mad old fool an' be praised fer it. Yew've-"
"Who's Minerva?" Seabane asked, interrupting the ferret. Sathe wanted to scream at the rat.
"She's the squirrel! The one you orphaned!" She hissed, holding the baby up for Seabane to see. "I'm her mother now."
Seabane and Marrow shared a concerned glance. "You're not her mother you idjit! She's a squirrel!"
"I know that!" Sathe snapped receiving a furious shush from the giant white rat. "I know she's a squirrel and I'm a ferret but-but I…" Sathe knew what she wanted to say but didn't know if she could admit it to Seabane.
"But what?" Seabane asked, storming toward Sathe and grabbing her cloak. "Yew didn't tell them anything did you?"
"No, I didn't!" Sathe tried pushing away from the rat, but Marrow closed the distance and grabbed her free arm.
"Then what ferret? If you've sold us out, I'll gut you-"
"I love her!" Sathe shouted. "And I love it here!"
Seabane let go of her cloak in surprise.
"Mildred, Brin, an' Trilloway—they love me, they do! They'll protect me, an' I feel the same for 'em. They care about me an' don't see me as just a seer or a vermin they-"
A resounding crack filled the room as Seabane slapped the ferret. Sathe squeaked in surprise as she slumped against the bed. Tears welled in her eyes as Seabane jutted his angry face into hers.
"They don't love ye! Who'd ever love a wicked wench like yerself? All the beasts ye had slain while ye cowered in yer tent like a spineless slug! How many of us did ye leave to suffer while we stumbled back, battered and bloodied from throwin' ourselves into battle with those horrid woodlanders? Ye just sat there like a fat pigeon, never once leavin' the comfort of yer tent while we bled to death or lay awake in agony, beggin' for help until we drifted into a never-endin' sleep! Ye're evil, Sathe! Ye and yer seer magicks that didn't do us a lick o' good while we froze and starved in the woods! Ye've done naught but bring pain to those around ye!"
"That's not true!" Sathe sobbed as she squirmed on the rough wood floor.
"It isn't? What about Sharptooth, then? He sat outside yer tent for days, beggin' fer help. All he needed was an arrowhead pulled from his shoulder, but ye refused 'cause he was a nuisance. He died in less than a week after ye abandoned him! Ye turned yer back on Herrik fer seasons just 'cause he was a bother. Ye could've saved us all the trouble by tryin' to help him! Remember Ulgan and his family? The rat ye murdered 'cause his dear baby Fleapelt needed medicine for spring fever? Once ye whined enough to Zidar, he made an example of that poor, caring father right in front of us all. Ye were so proud to be paraded before the horde and praised by that vile wolverine, ye didn't care what damage ye did! That's why ye slipped poison into his widowed mate and wee ones' meal!"
"No! No! No!" Sathe cried as she tried to cover her ears to avoid those dark memories. Minerva squirmed around and squeaked uncomfortably as she was pinned between Sathe and the bed.
"If they knew the pain and suffering ye've wrought on other vermin, they'd be out for yer blood!" Seabane hissed as he plucked her ear with a sharp claw. "So mark me words, Sathe: they ain't our friends, ye ain't that squirrel's mother, and no matter how hard ye spin yer tales, ye'll always be a bloody murdering witch!"
Seabane pushed her head into the bed frame as he rose to his feet. He stood over her panting and shaking as if he was building the energy to strike her down. Sathe wept bitterly knowing that nothing the rat said was wrong. She had ignored the vermin and let them die and had others murdered for the ficklest of reasons.
"Another thing," Seabane said between labored breaths. "Your friend Brin. It turns out you're caring for her sister."
"No." Sathe gasped as snot dribbled from her nose. She was numb, cold to the touch. Seabane had sent her to a state of shock that she could barely even register the news.
"Yes." Seabane snapped with stark disinterest. "Eli and the Foremole proved it, they did. They wanted me to give ye a word of caution: that squirrel's gonna be in great disarray! I don't know what the friend of Redwall's Champion would do if she found out the murderer of her family was lookin' after her little sister like she was her kit!"
"You're the murderer rat!" Sathe roared as she cried. "You wanted to break into their house! Muckfur, Ruddy, and Herrik killed the families while you and Marrow butchered her father!"
"And just like the rest of your miserable life you did nothing but stand and watch." Seabane cracked like a whip. "Yet ye reckon ye're some kind of hero fer lookin' after that squirrel like she's yer own. I know Crooksnout and Silvertongue are seethin' that ye've taken better care of her than their kits!"
Sathe felt her stomach twist in guilty humiliation. She lifted herself back onto the cot, wary of any further attacks.
"This squirrel an' my healings have covered up fer all yer blunders!" Sathe spat at the rat, spittle hitting him in the face. "Ye oughta keep a sharper watch on Ruddy. That one-legged fool will spill anythin' to that mouse if it suits 'im!"
Sathe could see the rat's eye twitch in rage before he reached out and cuffed Sathe. "Worry about yerself, ferret! It'll be yer tongue and that squirrel who'll figure us out! Brin'll never forgive ye fer lyin' to her. And I reckon that mad old squirrel or hare ye're flappin' yer eyes at won't either!"
Seabane looked toward the door as a noisy trio of Redwallers clomped past. Sathe contemplated shouting out for help but figured it would only make things worse. Seabane returned his attention to the trembling ferret just as Minerva began to cry.
"Shut her up, Sathe! If they know we're here, they'll get suspicious!"
With tears streaming down her cheeks Sathe picked up the baby and tried to calm her down. Seeing the ferret crying, Minerva didn't stop. Sathe pressed the squirrel against her chest to smother it and it worked muffling some of the higher-pitched squeaks.
"Please let us go, she's hungry!" Sathe begged. She had no more energy left to fight. She was at their mercy.
"Did ye spill anything about our journey? Anythin' that might make 'em suspicious of us?"
"No!" Sathe choked on her words as she continued to rock the crying babe. "I didn't say anything!"
Seabane eyed her probing any bit of her posture or demeanor for lies or anything to deceive him. Sathe sobbed as she rocked back and forth struggling to keep the baby from crying out.
"You better keep quiet, Sathe!" Seabane snapped, pointing a gnarled finger at the ferret and kicking her leg. "If I find out ye blabbed about our meetin' or that cottage, ye're a dead beast!"
Sorry for the delay, two hurricanes blew through my state the past few weeks so I was a bit preoccupied. That being said this chapter was exceptionally long and so I split it. That chapter should be up shortly after this one.
I created a DA page for some of the artwork people made of the fic. Feel free to check it out at shadowofenemy
As always please let me know what you think and what can be improved upon. Any and all feedback is appreciated!