AUTHOR'S NOTE: thank you TheRanger101 for the review :) These two subplots will really be moving forward in the next few chapters.
Chapter 52: The Sentence.
"The negation of severe suffering was the nearest approach to happiness I expected to know. Besides, I seemed to hold two lives - the life of thought, and that of reality."
-Charlotte Brontë, Villette
The door was opened with an annoying squeak, and was loudly closed. The footsteps echoed throughout the large room; this was followed by the sound of a chair moving on the floor, as the human sat down.
The desk was extremely cluttered, covered with many pieces of paper and other objects. It was impossible to find anything, everything would have to be carefully sorted at some point. But not today, it would have to wait. Until then, he shoved as much paper as possible into the drawer, until it became nearly impossible to close it again.
Suddenly, he saw a larger object on his desk, where a pile of paper used to be. He picked it up, and spent a while staring at it. It was a framed picture of his daughter, Daisy, taken several years ago. He had long ago forgotten where that picture was and had given up searching for it, only to realize it had been right there on his desk all along.
A tear fell from his eye as he looked at the picture. Daisy was graduating from high school today; the ceremony was in just two hours. His work as the owner of Gryphon Junkyards Inc. left him with very little free time. He had promised her he would be there, but she did not believe him: he had already broken many such promises in the past. This time, however, he was determined not to disappoint her.
A few days ago, while attempting to sort through the papers on his desk, he came across a letter from the government, that had been sitting there unopened for at least two weeks. It notified him that an inspector was coming to visit his junkyard to make sure it conformed to health and security regulations. The inspector was scheduled to visit on the exact same day of his daughter's graduation, and he had no choice but to be there. If everything went well, the inspection would be completed in time for him to go to his daughter's graduation ceremony; but for that, he had to make a good impression on the inspector. A messy desk would be really problematic.
As he finished to place the last few papers in the drawers, he straightened the picture, placing it prominently in the middle of the desk. Suddenly, he heard the door again, and he saw another human run in.
-"Hey Sir Fredrick!" the other human shouted. "You wouldn't believe the brilliant idea...hey nice desk."
The junkyard's owner sighed. The other human was Lionel-Hector Appleby, his sole employee. He fancied himself as an author of children's books. His first book, "What's wrong, Aaaaa!?" has been rejected by all major publishers, so he resorted to self-publishing. Less than 100 copies were sold.
-"Look, LH, I'm busy and..."
-"But I tell you, it's brilliant! It's about a horse and a barge, see?"
-"What's a horse got to do with a barge?"
-"Nothing, see, but I'll get to it. So you see, there's this horse. The farmer wants to change his horseshoes. But you see, the horse doesn't want them changed. So he runs away, and the farmer chases him, see? All the way to the harbour. And the horse, he sees this barge, see? So he jumps, and the barge is leaving, and the farmer stays there on the pier, see? Then the horse sees that he's surrounded by water and he's like 'huh. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all'."
The boss tapped his foot.
-"I see. And then what?"
-"Uh, I don't know, I'm out of ideas!"
-"Right. In that case maybe you could help me get ready for the inspection?"
-"Sure. Exactly what do you want me to do?"
-"For one thing, get rid of those rats in the corner, over there."
-"Rats?" Lionel-Hector repeated. He walked over to the corner, and bent down do get a good look at them. "Awww. Aren't they cute?"
-"These aren't your ordinary pet rats, LH. I know there are rats in every normal junkyard, but in the main building? That makes a poor impression."
-"How am I supposed to deal with them?"
-"Didn't I tell you to buy some mousetraps last month?"
-"...whoops! I forgot."
Fredrick sighed. This was not the first time Lionel-Hector had forgotten to take care of an important task, and it was certainly not the last.
-"All right, then. Just deal with the rats the best way you can."
-"Yes, sir Fredrick."
-"And one more thing: once the inspector gets here, cut out that Sir Fredrick nonsense. Call me by my last name."
-"Yes sir Fred...I mean Mr C..."
-"It's all right. Just hurry, please. We don't have much time."
The humans were not the only ones in Darkhaven having problems. Blueberry, still asleep on the mattress, was brutally woken up by another rabbit cuffing his ears. As he opened his eyes, he saw Woundwort and Vervain in front of him.
-"What are you doing?" the General asked.
-"I was napping..."
-"Do you realize that I've been searching for you all afternoon instead of taking care of important business?"
-"Sorry! I didn't realize you would miss me..."
-"How did you end up here anyway? As we entered the warren, I clearly said to follow me."
-"I WAS following you, but Vervain pushed me off the ledge."
Woundwort angrily turned his head and stared at Vervain.
-"It was foggy...I didn't mean to...when I realized what I had done it was too late..." the bearded rabbit lied, clearly trying to avoid being punished.
-"You clumsy fool! And why did you wait so long to tell me? If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have wasted all this time searching."
-"He's lying," Blueberry said. "I saw him push me, and he totally did it on purpose."
-"No, I swear it was an accident!" Vervain shouted desperately. "I'm sorry, just like I'm sorry for almost killing you, General..."
-"Shut up, both of you!" Woundwort boomed. "I have no time to waste with unprovable accusations and false confessions. Both of you, follow me."
-"Where are we going?" the kitten asked.
-"To check on Silverweed. And this time, both of you follow me VERY closely. If either of you get lost again, I'm not wasting any more time searching for you."
Silverweed slowly got up; he wondered whether his trip to Watership Down had really happened, or whether it was just a dream. It was extremely detailed for a dream, and it felt so real. Either way, Watership Down seemed like a great place; the fact that he was back in Darkhaven made him sad.
-"Ah, Silverweed. I see you're awake."
Silverweed was startled by the voice; he saw General Woundwort sitting further away, slowly approaching him, with Vervain and Blueberry following closely. He did not know what to reply.
-"I assume you would be ready to resume your search for the outsiders' warren?" Woundwort asked.
-"Uh, yes, maybe, I think. I know where it is."
-"Good! Now tell me."
-"First, I have to ask you a question: why do you want to know? You told me you wanted to destroy the warren, but why?"
-"They deserve it!"
-"What have they done to deserve it?"
-"They defied me. They helped some rabbits at my old warren escape, and later they tried to kill me."
-"They didn't try to kill you, General. It was Vervain."
-"Of course it's not Vervain! He would never be brave enough to attempt it, why does everyone keep saying it's him? Regardless. I am General Woundwort, and it is my destiny to rule over all rabbits in the world...and destroy everyone who stands in my way."
-"General, war isn't the way. Many rabbits get hurt or killed, and for what? Rabbits already have enough enemies as is, without fighting amongst ourselves. So many elil, not to mention humans..."
-"Not all humans are evil," Blueberry interjected.
-"Perhaps not, but I have yet to meet one who isn't. Anyway, General, what you want is a free society, where all rabbits, without exception, are free to do as they please. There are no restrictions, as long as their actions do not hurt anyone else. Doesn't it sound amazing?"
Woundwort remained silent for a few moments, thinking about what Silverweed had said. Yes, it did sound amazing. He considered the possibility for a few moments, before brushing it away. The outsiders had tried to kill him. That was something he could not forgive.
-"I didn't ask you for advice, I just asked you for the location of the outsiders' warren. Where is it?"
-"I won't tell you."
-"You won't? Do you seriously think you have a choice?"
-"You can't make me! I have claws!" Silverweed raised his front paws, doing his best to look threatening. Woundwort stared at the claws; Silverweed was a rather small rabbit, as such his claws were not particularly long or sharp. They would be of little use to him in a fight.
-"Just try!"
-"All right then."
Suddenly, Silverweed cuffed Woundwort near his wounded eye. This ripped off a lot of fur, leaving only bare skin around the eye.
-"Woah that was a great fighting move!" Blueberry shouted.
-"Vervain, get the owsla," Woundwort ordered, surprisingly calmly. "Make sure everyone comes."
After Vervain had gone, Woundwort turned back to Silverweed.
"Do you realize what you did?"
-"Don't worry, General, it should grow back soon. I just wanted to make you realize you were wrong. War isn't the way."
-"War is the ONLY way. What you did just now must be punished."
Woundwort turned around; by that point a certain number of rabbits, nearly all those he had met earlier, had arrived in the chamber, and were gathered around him. Vervain stood near the back of the crowd, waiting anxiously for the General to do something.
-"Where's Granite?" Woundwort asked. "I said that everyone was to come."
-"He and Shale are gone on patrol," Vervain explained, prompting a loud sigh from Woundwort.
-"I didn't tell them to go on patrol. Remind me to teach them a lesson when they come back. Anyway..."
-"What happened to your face?" a random officer asked.
-"This rabbit Silverweed here, has attacked me, and what you see is the result. I want all of you to know that you can't attack me and get away with it. Vervain, come here, and keep him motionless while I carry out the sentence."
Vervain slowly made his way through the crowd, before finally jumping on Silverweed's back to keep him pinned to the ground.
-"What is the sentence?" Blueberry asked.
-"Death."
-"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"
-"May I remind you that I'm the Chief, while you're just a puny kitten? I didn't ask for your advice, so keep it to yourself until I do ask."
Woundwort raised his paw over Silverweed's head, but just as he was about to strike...
-"Wait!"
-"WHO SAID THAT?"
-"Me." An elderly rabbit, although still in good physical shape, made his way to the front of the crowd. Vervain cringed as he saw the distinctly un-rabbit-like face. "Captain Orchis, sir."
-"Well, captain," Woundwort said, "give me one good reason why I shouldn't carry out the sentence right here and now."
-"Wouldn't you prefer a method that, in addition to killing this insolent runt as efficiently as a blow to the head, would also cause him some intense mental torment before?"
-"What do you have in mind?"
-"Death...by hrududu."
Woundwort remained silent for a few moments, clearly considering Orchis' suggestion.
-"That sounds perfect," he finally said. "Do you know any hrududil nearby for us to use?"
-"I certainly do."
-"Very well. Orchis, take charge of the prisoner, and lead him towards the hrududu. The rest of you, follow me; you shall all witness the execution."
-"I still say that's har..." Blueberry started to say.
-"I'm STILL not asking for your advice. If you try this one more time, you shall be executed alongside Silverweed. Clear?"
-"...understood, sir."
Orchis hopped over to Silverweed. After sniffing him for a few moments, he suddenly bit his left ear and pulled; Silverweed had no choice but to follow. Orchis dragged him this way all the way out of the chamber.
Vervain looked at the scene from a distance. He didn't like this Captain Orchis. Silverweed was going to die anyway, extended mental torment shouldn't be necessary. And how dare Orchis make a suggestion without Woundwort asking? A suggestion that was accepted, no less! Every time Vervain had tried to advise Woundwort in the past, he got shrugged off at best; he was jealous of Orchis, although he did his best to hide it. He nevertheless followed the rest of the crowd out of the chamber.
As Woundwort walked outside of the burrow, he came face-to-face with another, brown-ish/green rabbit.
-"Uh, me and Granite just got back from the patrol..."
-"Did you find anything?"
-"No warrens, but we found one hlessi. And she sure is a pretty one..."
-"I don't have time to deal with random hlessil at the moment. Granite, you stay here with her and make sure she doesn't escape. You too, Vervain."
-"As you say, sir," Granite mumbled. He was standing further away, holding the hlessi's ear in his mouth. He made several large hops towards another burrow, with the doe struggling to keep up with him.
-"VERVAIN!" Woundwort shouted.
-"Yes sir?"
-"Did you hear what I just said?"
-"...no sir."
-"You stay here with Granite, and watch over the prisoner."
-"But I thought you and Orchis were taking him to get put to death by a hrududu."
-"No, you idiot. Another prisoner!"
-"As you say, sir."
Woundwort nodded, and made his way towards the warren's exit, with Orchis and nearly all the others following.