Chapter 25: The Hole.

"As many have discovered, it is entirely possible (although not particularly desirable) to love two people with all your heart. It is entirely possible to long for two lives, to feel that one life can't come close to containing it all."

-Gabrielle Zevin, Elsewhere

After their return to the world of the living, Aspen and Campion had started travelling again. Aspen was excited to have been tasked with protecting Campion. Like all Efrafan officers except Vervain, he admired Campion. Now that they were together he did not hesitate to praise him and ask him about his adventures all day. At first, Campion appreciated the attention and told him several tales from wide patrols, but after a while, he grew tired and ordered him to shut up. This had the exact opposite of the intended effect: Aspen was saddened at having annoyed the rabbit he respected the most and spent a long time apologizing, annoying Campion even more. They eventually reached a farm, and Campion ordered Aspen to carry a carrot: it was the only way to keep him quiet.

It took until late afternoon for Campion to speak again.

-"Aspen, I'm going to ask for your advice. It's probably not going to be useful, but I have nobody else to ask, so you'll have to do."

Aspen dropped the carrot on the ground.

-"I would be glad to give you some advice if you want some, Campion sir."

-"Right. So, I have a friend who made a mistake...oh never mind that nonsense, you would figure it out anyway. I am the one who made the mistake, and don't know what I should do about it."

-"Well...what exactly was the mistake, sir?"

-"Stop calling me sir, all right? I'm asking you this as a friend, not as an officer. Anyway, there is a doe, and I told her I loved her."

-"I don't see anything wrong with that..."

-"She's already someone else's mate."

-"...oh."

-"...is that all you have to say? I'm asking you for advice!"

-"But what CAN I say? You've hardly told me anything. Does she love the one she mated with?"

-"Yes, she loves him. From what I've seen, it seems like a perfect relationship, just like in the old stories of El-ahrairah and what's-her-name. His favourite doe."

-"Nur-rama?"

-"I think that's her."

-"I never really liked those old stories," Aspen confessed. "El-ahrairah and Nur-rama have nothing in common, and besides, I thought..."

-"I agree, but that has nothing to do with the problem I'm currently facing."

-"Sorry. What were you saying?"

-"This doe I love, and her mate, seem to have a perfect relationship. At times, it seems a little too perfect.

-"Do they have kittens?"

-"Yes..."

-"Who's the father?"

Campion sighed loudly as he realized what Aspen was implying.

-"Her mate is, of course! Seriously, did you think I would do something so low as to steal someone else's mate?"

-"I didn't, but you said you had made a mistake and I just wanted to make sure. What exactly WAS the mistake anyway?"

-"To make long things short, I shouldn't have told her that I loved her. She seemed quite depressed the next time I saw her."

-"What do you plan to do about it?"

-"Aspen, I'm asking you for advice! What SHOULD I do?"

-"I don't know. There might not be much you could do, honestly. If she and her mate are happy together, you shouldn't try to meddle. Maybe apologize to them the next time you see them? I'm not sure if that would help though."

-"So there's nothing I can do? Thanks, Aspen. You've been VERY helpful."

-"Always glad to be of service," Aspen replied, failing to catch Campion's sarcasm.

The two rabbits continued wandering for a while, until Campion decided to reveal another secret:

-"There's also another doe I love."

-"What's the matter with this one? Does she have a mate too?"

-"As far as I know, she never had one. I may want to mate with her at some point in the future. She's really beautiful. Her fur is blue and white, and she has cute pink ears."

-"You won't be too broken-hearted over the other one, then. It's all perfect."

-"There is a problem though: I can't remember the blue doe's name. All I remember is that it's some type of berry."

-"How about Blueberry? That would match her fur."

-"Blueberry...that doesn't sound right, but I can't think of anything else, so it'll do."

Suddenly, Campion stopped. He did his best to remain silent, and crouched in the tall grass.

-"What's going on?" Aspen asked him.

-"Keep still, and keep quiet. There's something in the grass over there."

-"What is it?"

-"I don't know, but stay away from it!"

Aspen, however, did not listen. He calmly hopped over to the thing in the grass. It was the beginning of a sinkhole; at the moment it was round and descending vertically into the ground. He looked down the hole; it was completely dark and he could not see the bottom.

-"Hello? Anybody here?"

Aspen remained silent for a few moments, waiting for an answer that did not come. He turned to Campion, who was staring at him in fear.

-"Well, there's nothing in there. I can't hear or smell anything. I just don't know why it's there."

Campion was really afraid for Aspen. Maybe there wasn't anything dangerous in the hole, but standing so close to the edge like he did certainly wasn't safe. He ran straight into Aspen, knocking him into the grass further away. Aspen squealed, and looked at Campion angrily.

-"Get away from that hole!" the captain shouted. "Do you want to fall in or something?"

Just as Campion said that, the ground fell from underneath him, and he silently vanished down the hole.

Aspen stared at the scene in shock. He slowly approached the now-rectangular hole, which was still as dark and mysterious as before.

-"Campion? You all right?"

Just like the last time he had talked down the hole, he did not receive any reply. However, the Black Rabbit of Inlé had tasked him with protecting Campion. It was his responsibility to see that nothing bad happened to him. Aspen tried less-than-successfully to push his fear out of his mind. Finally, he decided to simply close his eyes and jump down the hole.

Campion dug himself out of the pile of dirt he had found himself buried under. Once he had broken through, he spent a few minutes coughing, before looking at his surroundings. Unfortunately, it looked familiar. A dark coloured cloud of dust was carried in front of him by the wind, where it materialized into a familiar shape.

-"Well, Black Rabbit, why am I here again?"

-"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE. THE FACT YOU ARE IS BAD NEWS."

-"Campion! Oh thank Frith you're all right!" Aspen said, appearing behind Campion; only then did he notice the Black Rabbit. "Oh. I guess I was unable to save you. I'm sorry Campion."

-"YOU FOOL! I THOUGHT MY PREVIOUS BLACK EMISSARY WAS BAD, AND YOU, ASPEN, FAIL RIGHT ON YOUR FIRST DAY! IT TOOK FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE LAST ONE MADE A MISTAKE."

-"Don't be too hard on him," Campion said. "I fell down the hole so he wouldn't."

The Black Rabbit remained silent for a few moments, thinking about what Campion had said.

-"FINE. BUT DON'T TRY THIS AGAIN, CAMPION. ASPEN, BEING THE BLACK EMISSARY, IS UNABLE TO DIE, SO YOU DON'T NEED TO SAVE HIM FROM ANYTHING."

-"I'm sorry I failed you, Black Rabbit," Aspen said tearfully. "I'll do my best to do my job properly next time."

-"I HOPE YOU WILL, FOR YOUR SAKE."

-"Um, Black Rabbit?" Campion said. "Why are you so small?"

Indeed, the Black Rabbit seemed to be gradually getting smaller. While at the beginning of the conversation he was towering over Campion and Aspen, now he was barely taller than they were, and visibly getting smaller by the moment.

-"OH, I'M GOING AWAY. THERE'S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT."

As he finished talking, he vanished entirely. There were no traces of him left other than a black puddle on the ground. Campion looked at it, half-expecting to see his reflection, but instead he saw something else, something terrifying. He squealed, and fell to the ground unconscious. Aspen rushed to him. He wondered what Campion had seen in the puddle that had affected him so, and decided to look too, only to see that it had already drained away through the sandy ground.

When Campion came to, he was back in the world of the living, lying next to the hole with Aspen shaking him.

-"Campion! What happened to you? You really had me worried."

Campion slowly got up. His fur was still covered with dirt after the incident with the hole.

-"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," he said as he started to clean himself. "But don't go near any more mysterious holes. That's an order. Pick up your carrot and let's get going."

-"I think it fell down the hole."

-"In that case don't jump down there to get it back! Just follow me."

Campion walked away; Aspen was trying to figure out exactly why Campion was acting the way he was, but decided to quietly follow him. The questions would come later.

It did not take long, however, for Aspen to break the silence.

-"What happened to your face?"

-"What are you talking about?"

-"The left side is completely bald. It wasn't like that before you fell in the hole."

-"I probably lost it in the Shadowlands. I hope it will grow back though."

-"Perhaps you could ask the Black Rabbit about it the next time you meet him?"

-"It's your job to make sure there won't be any 'next time'."

-"Oh. Right. That momentarily escaped my mind..."

-"Well, I sure hope you will remember to protect me the next time I'm in danger!"