AUTHOR'S NOTE: thank you Anonymous Guest for the review!
Also, this chapter will be the last of 2020. I plan to resume posting one chapter every week in early January. Merry Christmas everyone, and I hope you will have a good time for the rest of the year!
Also warning, this chapter is rather dark...
Chapter 127: Destruction.
"On the hills, in the breeze
Carrying whispers of death and decay
[...]
The black figure leaps endlessly on"
-From Beyond The Stars, Is It A Dream?
Hazel woke up earlier than usual, worried. The previous day, Fiver had had a vision stating that they would be safe from Darkhaven, but that was only for one day. Today, anything could happen.
He got up very carefully, doing his best not to disturb the kittens, who instinctively got closer to their mother. As he entered the Honeycomb, he saw how crowded it was. The creatures Vesper had brought to the warren the previous evening were sleeping there, along with several rabbits who did not have permanent burrows yet.
As he went to silflay, he thought of the many tasks that he needed to take care of. While most of the creatures sleeping in the Honeycomb would leave soon, more burrows would have to be dug, to be prepared should a similar situation arise later on. Campion had unexpectedly arrived at the warren the previous evening; his status as a double agent would have to be debated. Hickory and Marigold were also visiting, and had apparently been through great hardships; Hazel would have to talk to them too. While the warren had been saved from the flood the previous evening, the water may have weakened the soil in some locations, notably in the caverns leading to Efrafa's ruins; every burrow would have to be inspected. With the Darkhaveners set to attack soon, the warren's defenses would also have to be thoroughly reviewed with Bigwig, and additional flayrah would be needed to survive a siege. This was a lot for only one rabbit to handle; Hazel knew that he would need help.
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard someone else come above ground. Turning around, he saw Hickory and Marigold; it was the first time they had left their burrow since their arrival at the warren two days before, and they still seemed exhausted. Violet was also with them; despite the burns and missing fur across her body, she seemed more alert.
-"Blackberry had told me that Redstone wasn't doing as well as it used to," he said, hopping over to them. "Do you need help?"
Marigold suddenly burst into tears. Hazel was taken aback by this intense reaction.
-"It's that bad?"
-"It's all zorn, destroyed," Hickory said. "There's nothing left."
Hazel did not expect this. Everything destroyed? Surely Hickory was exaggerating? Or had the great sickness, which had destroyed the warren once before, struck again?
-"How did this happen? It's all right if you would rather not say, though, I don't want to make you relive painful memories..."
-"No, we might as well tell you," Hickory replied, putting a paw on his mate's shoulders. "You've done so much for us, you deserve to know the truth. Even if it is horrifying. As Blackberry probably told you, the warren was plagued with elil. There were foxes, weasels and a badger. We even had a hawk who dropped off Violet for us. It..."
At that moment, Violet also started crying, and ran back underground.
-"Every time I mention that she starts crying," Hickory continued. "The pain that filthy bird must have put her through...but anyway it wasn't too bad at first. We didn't lose anyone for a while, although in the last few days several of us stopped running."
-"Including...the kittens..." Marigold regained enough composure to say a few words.
-"She's right. The only surviving kitten is the one we brought with us..." At this, Hickory too started to cry.
Hazel lied down. All his kittens were still alive, and he dared not think of the intense suffering this would cause him if one, or several, were to die. Primrose might also die, of sadness. Hickory and Marigold were no doubt suffering greatly. He patiently waited for the two rabbits to regain their composure, so they could continue their story. However, it was Violet who recovered the fastest; she soon came out of the warren carrying the last kitten, followed by Vesper and Hyzenthlay.
-"I wasn't at Redstone very long before it was destroyed," she said. "Only a day or so. I didn't get the opportunity to meet many rabbits apart from Hickory and Marigold here. And another one, I think his name was Gentian. He seemed to know a lot about healing herbs, and considerably reduced my pain. However, he said that most of the fur I lost in the fire will never grow back, so I'll be ugly forever."
She sighed and lied down, displaying the full extent of her burns.
-"I'm really sorry you will not be able to get your fur back," Vesper said, softly caressing the kitten. "But it's what you're like inside that matters."
-"You're right..." Violet replied, clearly unconvinced.
Vesper's voice knocked both Hickory and Marigold out of their trance, and they both stared at him. Marigold squealed, and rushed over to him, grabbing the kitten in her mouth, before hopping behind Hickory.
-"That rabbit is still wearing his snare..."
-"Stay away!" Hickory shouted.
-"It's not a snare," Vesper said. "It's not tight at all, and it has powers..."
-"Rabbits should not put anything around their necks," Hickory said. "It's unnatural. It's too similar to a snare. I hope I will never see anything like this again for the rest of my life."
-"If it means that much to you, I'll take it off..."
-"Everyone, please calm down!" Hazel shouted over the argument. "I'll admit Vesper's necklace is unusual, but it is not a snare, and he won't use it to strangle anyone. If it makes you feel any better, I'll get Silverweed to look into his heart and..."
-"You have Silverweed here? Oh no..."
Marigold instantly fainted upon hearing that Cowslip's creepy mystic now lived at Watership Down. Hazel and Hyzenthlay looked at each other.
-"I should probably carry her back to her burrow," Hyzenthlay said, as she placed Marigold on her back and slowly hopped back to the warren.
-"Silverweed is a great rabbit," Vesper said. "He's very kind and..."
-"You were clearly never hypnotized by him, then," Hickory said.
-"You have nothing to fear," Hazel said. "Silverweed is a changed rabbit and will only use his powers for good now. Anyway, you were saying you had to deal with many elil."
-"Right..." Hickory remained unconvinced that Silverweed could be trusted, but nevertheless continued his story. "The humans arrived one morning with a big yellow hrududu. Several hrududil actually. They just pushed all the dirt in, and the burrows caved in. Then they dug it all up again; the rabbits still underground must have been torn to pieces. Only a few of us managed to make it out alive, through an emergency escape tunnel leading to a nearby river. I tell you, by the time they were done, the field was covered with blood."
As he listened to Hickory's retelling, Hazel was reminded of Captain Holly's tale of the destruction of Sandleford Warren.
-"That's truly horrifying."
-"You said it."
-"What happened afterwards? How did you meet Vesper?"
-"We didn't have any warren to go back to," Violet said, "and Hickory and Marigold were too shaken to do much of anything, so I just wandered around, trying to keep them safe, until we stumbled upon him near a river."
-"I had heard of this warren from Pipkin," Vesper said. "He's a really nice and kind rabbit. I heard Hickory or Marigold mention it, or at least I thought I had. In their state, they weren't able to utter any clear words. But I brought them here, since they needed a place to stay and...here we are!"
-"I'm really grateful you all managed to make it here safely."
-"This does seem like a nice warren," Violet said. "Rather safe and well hidden."
-"Hopefully it will stay that way," Hazel said nervously, thinking back to the threat Darkhaven posed. He hopped back over to Hickory and Marigold. Marigold had regained consciousness, and was nursing the kitten while at silflay.
-"Do you think you might be able to retell this story later in the Honeycomb?" he asked. "I'm not the only one who wonders what happened to all."
-"We might skip the details, and simply tell a summary, if you don't mind," Hickory said. "It's really painful."
-"I understand. If you ever need help with anything, we're here for you."
Hazel went back underground. He still had several important tasks to take care of, but which one next? He found the answer to this question as he encountered Bigwig in the tunnel.
-"Hazel, are you ready to talk to Campion?"
-"I have no objections. Let's do this."
The two rabbits hopped in the direction of Campion burrow, but along the way, they encountered another rabbit.
-"Hazel-rah, I need to talk to you," Moss said, blocking the passage.
-"What is it, Moss?" Hazel asked.
-"There was a murder in Efrafa."
Hazel and Bigwig looked awkwardly at each other.
-"Woundwort is still alive," Bigwig said.
-"He is? That could be problematic...but that's not who I was talking about. A slave, Dewdrop, and a retired owsla officer, Sainfoin, were killed, and I assure you, they really ARE dead, unlike that old General. Heather is convinced it wasn't an accident. I'm worried that the killer may be among us."
-"I should have know..." Bigwig mumbled. "Those Efrafans practically live for violence...no offense Moss."
Moss stared at Bigwig sternly, clearly not appreciating the latter's comment. Nevertheless, he did not press the issue.
-"I don't know if the killer is still alive," he said. "Perhaps they died in the warren's destruction, or were eaten by the pack of weasels. But they may also be here at the warren."
-"We'll have Silverweed look into their hearts once they wake up," Hazel suggested. "If one of them is guilty, he will find out and tell us."