User blog:Windflin Wildbrush/A Tale of Two Maidens

Hey! Just so everyone knows, Arrowtail has agreed to assist me in writing this fanfic (thus the title), so make sure if you like it you tell her too! Oh, and we decided to dedicate this to all the evil warlords and ladys, along with the heros and heroines that defeated them! We're hoping this will turn out well, but no guarantees!!!!! And PLEASE don't comment just saying MOREMOREMORE!!!!! PLEASE!!!! We both update when we can!!!! Now sotp reading this and move on the the story!!!!!

=Book One: Enter the Maids=

Chapter One

 * Arrowtail had been sitting in an apple tree in the orchard of Redwall Abbey for some time, just sitting and thinking. As the rays of sun danced about her, she could hear dibbuns romping and abbey elders scolding them. However, the noise went unnoticed, as she reflected on what had come to pass over the last few seasons. She was now a young squirrel of about fifteen seasons, but those fifteen seasons had been filled with turmoil. Her reflections were interrupted when the kitchen helper, Trig, called up to her.
 * “Arrow, aren’t you hungry? Tea is being held by the pond.”
 * “Thanks Dad.” Arrowtail replied, “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
 * Her father gave her a curious look, then shrugged and nodded, and left to help Friar Althers with tea. Arrowtail slowly, but easily, descended to the ground. She made her way around to the Abbey Pond where all the abbey dwellers were taking tea, talking, and minding the Dibbuns, especially Diffle, a young otter who was known to get into all kinds of mischief while near the pond. Arrowtail laughed to herself as she watched Diffle and his partner-in-crime, a little molebabe named Bunkly, dash into the water only to be hauled out, dripping, by one of Skipper’s otter crew. Still smiling, she went over to a trolley laden with food and picked out a couple of scones spread with blackberry jelly, and poured herself a beakerful of strawberry cordial. She then headed over to some particularly tall rushes by the edge of the pond, and made her way to the middle, where she had formed a small hideout of rocks, dirt, and various other grasses and barks, when she was a little older than a dibbun. She usually came here when she wanted some peace and quiet. It had been her favorite place in the abbey since her arrival there. After plucking herself down, she pulled a small carved box, an old infirmary sheet, and a small bow and quiver out of a concealed hole in the ground. She then spread out the sheet, so as to be more comfortable. Arrowtail nibbled on her scones as she examined the objects from the hole. The bow and quiver were her first weapons, the ones she had first learned to shoot with. Then she opened the box and pulled out a necklace and matching pawring she had gotten on her sixth season-day. She smiled as she reminisced. The jewelry had been a gift from the gate keeper, Thridge, whom she considered a second mother. She closed the lid and ran her paw over the carving on the top. It depicted her and her parents, Trig and Hilldy, all standing together laughing. As she stared at it she thought about the many years it hadn’t been that way, and lay back under the warm spring sun, continuing to think about it. Arrowtail got drowsier and drowsier until she fell back, dreaming of her past.

~*~
 * “Mama, wa’cher bee’s doin’?”
 * “Arrowtail, please don’t pull on my apron strings, I’m making strawberry trifle.”
 * “When’s Fa’ver gonna get back?”
 * “In a few minutes, Arrow. Now why don’t you go wait for your father outside?”
 * “Okay, Mama.”
 * Arrowtail ran outside of the tent she shared with her parents. While she waited, she drew little pictures in the sand with a twig.
 * She was in the middle of drawing a picture of the strawberry trifle her mother was making when her father’s strong voice called, “Arrow! Come ‘ere and give your daddy a big hug!”
 * She leaped up with a squeal and ran to her father who scooped her up and set her on his broad shoulders.

~*~
 * Arrowtail’s dream faded and came back just as vividly but this time, with a different scene.

~*~
 * Arrowtail stood horror-struck, staring down at the scene below her. Robber foxes had crept up on them in the middle of the night. Arrowtail’s mother had had just enough time to tell her to run, before the foxes attacked her. Arrow ran into the trees and climbed high into an oak. There she looked back, unable to peel herself away from the bloody sight. She had had to just sit there, watching, as the vermin hacked away at her parents. Brought back to reality by the laughter of the foxes as they hacked at her parents, Arrowtail took off, trying to get as far away as she could from the dreadful place. Being merely a dibbun, she misjudged a jump as she speed through the trees. She fell to the ground with a thump, and the last thing she saw before her vision became cloudy was a large brawny otter standing over her.

~*~
 * The scene changed yet again, this time to Redwall Abbey, six seasons later.

~*~
 * Arrowtail was sitting on the battlements above the threshold, when she heard a knock on the great wooden doors that lead into Redwall.
 * She ran past the gatehouse, where she slept with her adopted mother, and called out, “Thridge! Somebeast’s at the gates!”
 * She then scaled the stairs with the agility of a squirrel twice her age, and peeked through a crack in the door. She heard a shout from the ramparts as Thridge shouted down to the visitors.
 * “Who are you?”
 * “I am Erida. I would like to speak with your abbot or abbess, and find shelter for my two friends, please.”
 * Thridge came down the stairs, fluffy tail bouncing behind her, and opened the abbey gates.