The great hall became an angry hive as Abbot Micah concluded the meeting. Somebeasts bolted from their chairs to try and persuade the abbot to reverse his decision. Others just sat mouths agape in dumbfound shock as they processed the news. While others headed to their beds feeling far more exhausted than when they arrived. The only thing that remained the same was that everybeast had their own opinion and felt an unspeakable will to vocalize it even if others shared their sentiment. Samuel stood on his chair as he watched the chaos unfold.
Abbot Micah began to turn to the vermin before Eli cut him off. Something ignoble of him must have been said as Sister Beryl and Corporal Bushby had to step in to separate the two. A greedy side of Samuel wished to make out what was said, but he was pulled down from his chair by an irate Brin.
"Samuel you bird-brained idiot!" She shouted in his ear to be heard.
Samuel recoiled from her insult, bumping into the back of an otter who looked at him with confused disdain.
"What did I do?"
The mouse couldn't be heard amongst the noise but the squirrel must've understood what he said as she slapped him before turning on her heel and rushing away.
Samuel didn't chase after her, hurt more by her anger at him than her strike. What had he done wrong? Abbot Micah and Sister Beryl seemed to fully support him. Why didn't she?
Samuel sunk back into his seat and hung his head in his paws. He was tired and so was Brin. He had been surprised when the squirrel decided to join him for the meeting. He had wandered throughout Redwall looking for the abbot or his brother. Everybeast told him he should return to the infirmary, or that they didn't know where they were. Eventually, Mildred found him wandering about the frozen pond in the abbey's courtyard. She had pulled him, not too sweetly, by his ear back to the infirmary and told him she would watch him lie there until his paw had completely healed. The only reason he attended the meeting was because Abbot Micah had requested the presence of all beasts who could walk. Since Samuel had spent most of the afternoon hobbling about he was allowed to go.
A small jerk on his robe forced Samuel to lift his head.
"Bruvver Samuel, are you crying?" Beskit asked. He was flanked by his two other troublemaking allies, Karic and Twiggy.
"Does yer paw still hurt? We kin get Sister Lilac if yew want?"
Tired but thankful Samuel smiled at them.
"No lads, but thank you. Just tired that's all, you should be getting off to bed."
"Nevvur!" Twiggy proclaimed with a yawn. "We're tha divvuns against bedtime and we never sleep!"
"Everybeast needs to sleep sometimes. Are you any different?"
"We don't need it! We saw the villyuns first because we were awake. We should be heroes!" Karic said triumphantly raising his pudgy fist to the sky.
"They'll hav a feast for us!"
"And sing songs!"
"They'll giv us medals as like Cap'n Santain and tha other hares!"
"Yes of course!" Samuel laughed in agreement with them. "I'm sure we can do all that during the midwinter's feast."
"Bruvver Samuel, why did ye raise yer paw to join the villyans?" Twiggy asked rubbing at his nose.
"I'm not joining them, I'm just showing them about the abbey. Sombeast has too, and Sister Beryl said I'm best for the job."
"Did yew really slay two score vermin wid just a sling? Didja! Didja!" Beskit bounced up in down as the other dibbuns joined in with scores of questions.
"How big were they?"
"Were yew scared?"
"Was Eli there?"
"We're dey pirates?"
"I'll tell yew all about it later," Samuel said with another laugh. "It's too long of a story to tell now. Besides I'm much too tired to tell it."
"But we're not tired." Karic started before a long yawn interrupted him.
"Yes, you are. If you go to bed now I promise I'll tell you all about it when I'm free."
"Okay!" They all chimed in unison.
"Find Sister Lilac or somebeast to take you back to the nursery and I'll find you when I'm ready to tell it."
"Goodnight bruvver Samuel!" The three cried as they scrambled through the mess of tables and beasts.
"Goodnight lads!" Samuel was certain they'd be dreaming of vermin to fight very soon.
"Samuel!"
The mouse looked up surprised and terrified to see his brother storming toward him. His peg leg cracked against the stone floors as he walked.
"Get up!" He growled as he took Samuel's wrist in his paw.
Samuel was slow to react as Eli yanked his brother out of his chair. His grey-furred face was twisted in stormy rage and his golden eyes shone like lightning. Samuel swallowed the bile building in his stomach as he was drug like a naughty dibbun from the Great Hall into the kitchen and back into the storerooms where no beast could see them.
"Eli you're hurting my wrist," Samuel complained as they reached an abandoned corner of the storehouse.
Eli spun about and cuffed his brother on the side of the head.
"What are you thinking!" Eli roared as he continued to cuff Samuel knocking him back into a basket of apples sombeast had left on the floor.
"Abbot Micah needed somebeast and Sister Beryl said that I would be the best for the job!" Samuel cried as Eli paced back and forth raking his paws through the fur on his head.
"No your not!" Eli shrieked.
"I held my tongue when he let them stay here. But this!" Eli turned to face his brother.
"Abbot Micah and Sister Beryl said-"
"They won't be the ones who have to stop the vermin when they decide to try an kill us! What they say doesn't matter!"
"It does matter Eli! You just told everybeast to trust them! You agreed with the Abbot's decision!"
"I agreed with them, with the provision that you were to stay out of the way!" Eli screamed. "Then you have to put yourself in the middle of things! Now Sister Beryl has to come up with a lie to make herself and everyother beast in the abbey believe they're comfortable with you trying to make amends with these vermin! Even worse you drag Brin into this!"
"We're the reason they're here!" Samuel screamed back. "We attacked them because we thought they were worse than they are! We have to fix this, I'll fix this if you won't!"
"Scum should've frozen to death at our gate!"
"You can't say that."
"Yes, I can Samuel! My world is bigger than your library! I have lives to protect, an abbey with all of my friends, and what's left of my family that looks to me as its guardian! You can't even use a sling! What do you think'll happen if any of the vermin decide they're done acting nice to you? I buried my sister, I can't go through that again!"
"I buried her too!" Samuel could feel hot tears streaming down his face. "You think I don't worry about you each time I hear about vermin? Or when you go on patrol? Or when I see you training? You lost a leg and yet you think you're invincible!"
"I learned how to protect myself and others because of my loss! You hide in your library because of it. You're scared, Samuel! Scared to accept that as that an immutable evil lives in those beasts! Now you want to help the same evil that took our family from us!"
"Esther would help me!"
"Esthers dead because of you!"
With a roar, Samuel lept up and struck Eli in the face knocking him to the cold floor. He didn't stop to check on his brother as he rushed from the storeroom. He didn't hear Friar Willard, Sister Beryl, Abbot Micah, or any of the rest of the beasts as they called after him. He ran blindly through the abbey searching for somewhere safe to curl into a ball and cry until he fell asleep.
Another short chapter that should end part one of the story! Some (hopefully) good chapters I have been waiting to get to in the future.
As always please let me know what you think and what I can improve on. Any and all feedback is appreciated!