AUTHOR'S NOTE: thank you TheRanger101 and Anonymous Guest for the reviews. Bluebell and Blackberry's relationship, as well as the other subplots, will be further explored soon.
Chapter 73: 8 Rabbits 2 Nightmares.
"Few knew who this was, but for the few who did, it was a frightening sight to behold."
-Axel Sregor, El-ahrairah'a [sic] Owsla
The small boat was on river, the wind carrying it through its lone sail. On the side of the boat, one could read "SV Milfoil", white on the otherwise black hull.
On the boat, a lone rabbit was sitting, adjusting the sail so it could capture the wind better. Vesper had been thinking about his new friend Pipkin's offer to join his warren. It certainly seemed a better life than aimlessly wandering, and the warren was close enough to the river, so he wouldn't have to give up his boat either. But he remained afraid: would the other rabbits accept him as quickly as Pipkin had?
He looked at the sky. It was getting late, he would have to stop sailing for the night. He gradually lowered the sail until the boat reached the shore. Anchoring it with a broken tree branch, he hopped back on solid ground and set out to dig a scrape for the night. After the hole was large enough for him to lie comfortably inside, he fell asleep.
Vesper's dream was eerily pleasant. He met two foxes, but they were not interested in eating him. Instead, the three creatures decided to work together in order to remove a fallen tree, until suddenly one fox kissed the other. Vesper fell in a state of cuteness overload, unable to move or speak, as the foxes kissed again, and vowed to become mates.
When he woke up, he could hear faint wailing. It took him a few moments to realize that this not part of the dream, but reality. He had no idea what sort of creature could be making this noise. It could be elil (and, sadly, real foxes would most likely try to harm him, rather than befriend him like in his dream). He would have to ready the boat to be able to make an emergency escape on the river, should it be necessary.
After setting up the sail, he remained on the boat, ready to remove the branch anchor at a moment's notice, as the wailing gradually became louder. Eventually, a creature came into view. To his surprise, it was not elil, but another rabbit. Two others soon followed.
Realizing that there was no immediate danger, Vesper quickly anchored the boat again and hopped over to the rabbits. Only then did he realize the dreadful state they were in. One of them appeared to have lost most of the fur on her body. The second one was covered with cuts, and was holding a young kitten, barely a few months old. The third one, the only buck, did not have any visible injuries, but nevertheless appeared exhausted; it was he who was wailing. Vesper was horrified: what had happened to these rabbits?
The rabbit with missing fur appeared to be the first to notice Vesper's presence.
-"Do you have a warren, where we can rest?" she asked, in a barely audible voice.
-"No warren, but you're welcome inside my burrow," he replied.
Vesper guided the four rabbits to his burrow. While the doe who had spoken was relieved to meet him, the others appeared to be afraid of him, refusing to let him touch them. Clearly, whatever hardships they had encountered was making it hard for them to trust him. Nevertheless, all rabbits were soon inside the scrape; it had been dug with only one rabbit in mind, with four it was really cramped.
Once in the burrow, the mother started licking her kitten to get it to fall asleep, ignoring the other rabbits. The buck placed his paws around his neck.
-"Is there anything else I could do to help you all?" Vesper asked.
-"No," the other doe replied. "You've already done a lot by giving us a place to rest."
-"I'm Vesper. You are?"
-"I'm Violet. He's Hickory, she's his mate, although I have no idea what her name is. She hasn't said a single word since I met her."
-"What terrible calamity befell you all?"
-"I'm not sure," Violet replied. "I was asleep in my burrow at the warren, when suddenly I was told to run. So I ran, I wasn't paying to my surroundings. By the time I stopped, I was in the middle of the forest, I looked around, and there were only the four of us. They," she glanced at her companions, "might have a better idea of the situation, but they're in no shape to tell their tale."
-"But how did you lose your fur? That must have hurt."
-"Fire. And honestly, by now, the pain on the skin is nothing compared to that of simply existing."
-"Do you want a hug?"
-"If you want to, go ahead, but I don't care."
Vesper nevertheless hugged the doe, before lying down next to her.
Hickory made a few small steps toward Vesper, before collapsing.
-"Cowslip..." he said faintly.
-"What is he talking about?" Vesper asked.
-"I don't know," Violet replied. "He keeps mumbling random words."
-"...wire...ship..."
-"A wire? Where?"
-"I don't think he himself knows. Earlier, it sounded more like 'water' than 'wire'."
Vesper thought back at Pipkin's warren; its name sounded a lot like the words Hickory had said.
-"Watership Down."
-"What was that?" Violet asked.
-"It's a warren. I'll lead you there in the morning."
Campion had spent most of the day aimlessly wandering around Darkhaven. That afternoon, Woundwort had restored him to the rank of captain. Vervain was visibly angry at this, but did not say anything, no doubt afraid that Campion would expose him.
But that was the least of Campion's concerns. The Black Rabbit had tasked him with stopping Woundwort, but now the Black Rabbit was dead. Further complicating matters was Campion's status as a double agent. While he was still mad at Hazel over the events of their last encounter, he just couldn't betray Blackberry and all the others. He needed advice, but who could he ask? Aspen was his only friend in Darkhaven, but he was too simple-minded to provide any useful advice. Virtually everyone else was too loyal to Woundwort to provide an unbiased opinion.
There was only one rabbit left he could talk to. According to Granite, "she's the only sane one around here. And while Woundwort is officially Chief, she's still the true leader of this place". Campion hopped inside the chamber where she lived.
Granite had not provided any physical description of this rabbit, and when Campion saw her, he was struck by a feeling of horror. She was lying at the far end of the chamber, deeply meditating, and with a weird object on her head. Upon closer examination, he realized that it was a dead rabbit's skull. Additionally, the shape of her head and the fur patterns on her body were distinctly un-rabbit-like.
-"Campion," she said emotionlessly. "I have been waiting for you."
-"Speaker," Campion replied, "how did you know I was coming?"
-"I have my sources. What do you wish to talk about?"
-"My life. And my troubles."
-"You may speak."
And he did. Campion spent a long time explaining his past, his frustrations, and his friendships.
-"You have lived a most exciting life," the Speaker said after he had finished, still in an emotionless tone. "Few rabbits have died and lived to tell the tale."
-"You're the first living rabbit to believe me when I talk about my deaths, rather than say that I'm insane. But can you explain to me what is going on? What is my destiny?"
-"First living rabbit? I would not say that. Regardless, I cannot foresee your destiny. I am the Speaker of the Past. Therefore, I deal with the past. I do not know anything about the future until, of course, it becomes the past. In these situations I can know about the future."
-"Could you give me any advice?"
-"Both Hazel-rah and General Woundwort have their motivations. It is impossible to know what their motivations are, exactly. I cannot read their minds, and they cannot read mine. Therefore, I do not know what their motivations are. You should ask them."
-"I could try, but I doubt either of them would give me a straight answer," Campion said. "And what about the others, here in Darkhaven, why do they live this way? They're always fighting for no reason."
-"It is the law. The law says everything there is to know about fighting. And you shall not question the law."
-"Why not?"
-"Because the law says you do not question the law."
-"The law seems needlessly complicated."
-"The law, complicated or not, remains the law, and all rabbits in Darkhaven have to obey the law, or suffer the punishments prescribed by the law."
Campion sighed in frustration. This conversation was really not going as planned.
-"I have one more question," he said. "How do I impress Blackberry?"
-"The blackberry is very simple. First you lick it a few times, to experience the sweet taste of morning dew on the fruit, then you sink your teeth in the first quarter of the juicy plant, slowly..."
-"Not the fruit! Blackberry is the name of the doe I love. Our last meeting was very awkward for both of us."
-"Oh. In that case, define love."
Campion buried his face beneath his front paws. The more the Speaker of the Past spoke, the less sense she made.
-"Never mind," he said, before walking towards the exit.
-"Wait," the Speaker said before he left. "I have one more fact for you."
-"What is it?"
-"You will die again today."
-"Seriously? I killed the Black Rabbit of Inlé! How is it possible for me to die again? Besides, didn't you say you couldn't see the future?"
-"Death will find a way."
Campion shook his head, and walked out of the burrow. It was a quiet evening in Darkhaven, and the human had left for the night. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to relax, although the scents of all the trash ruined the experience.
-"Oh, Campion, there you are," came the voice of the General. "I was looking for you. I wanted to hear your thoughts on the owsla."
-"I was having a discussion with the Speaker of the Past. Very enlightening," Campion replied, keeping his eyes closed.
-"Oh yes, that reminds me...I've been wanting to have a talk with her."
Campion heard Woundwort's steps fade, as the General walked towards the Speaker's burrow. Campion slowly hopped away, realizing he would never be able to lead a happy life in Darkhaven. But what could he do about it? Even if Hazel had attacked him, he would still protect Watership Down. He had to stop Woundwort: it was his destiny. How exactly he would carry out this plan, however, he had no idea. After a while, the curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to go back to the burrow to listen to the conversation between Woundwort and the Speaker, to see if the doe would be more helpful towards the General than she was with him.
-"I am General Woundwort! I am above the law!"
-"Nobody is above the law."
-"And if I continue with what I am doing right now, what will the consequences be?"
-"Campion will die."
-"And how, may I ask, will he die?"
-"Crushed by a pile of round black human things. I think humans call them tyres."
Woundwort growled.
-"You'll see how that won't happen," he said. "My owsla will make sure these piles of so-called tyres are be perfectly stable. Therefore, they won't crush anyone."
With that, Woundwort turned around and hopped towards the exit. Just as he was about to go outside, however...
-"You realize that by doing this, you're going to be responsible for Campion's death?" the Speaker said.
As he heard this, Campion thought he had picked up the faintest trace of an emotion in the Speaker's voice. It seemed to him like quiet acceptance, although he wondered whether it was actually there, or if he had just imagined it.
-"You have no idea what you're talking about," the General replied.