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“Huwwy up, Yem!”
Lemual Whitson smiled as he looked down at the small doe clinging tightly to his left hand. His baby sister, Lucianne, was already moving along as rapidly as her short legs could carry her. She would probably have tripped and fallen at least once or twice by now were it not for the grip she had on his hand and on their mother’s right. Queen Mother Lillie wore her own smile as they walked down the First Warren tunnel.
The neat earthen passage, one of many that now honeycombed the heart of the Great Wood, was not much older than Lucianne herself. In the wake of the great victory over the dragons, the rabbits of Lener’s Crossroads had largely relocated to the area of that final battle. Aided by the rabbits of Terralain and Kingston, who had since returned to their homes, they had begun the construction of a massive warren. It was to be the capital of the new kingdom they would build, and a refuge against those enemies they still had.
In the first months of the grand project, the Queen Mother had realized that she was pregnant with her fifth child. Though King Whitson Mariner was dead, he had left behind one last legacy. Lucianne’s subsequent birth had been a joyous occasion. The sweet little doe, enthusiastic and headstrong, was a great comfort to her mother and living brothers.
“Saramack Library isn’t going anywhere, dear,” Lillie said in answer to her daughter’s call for greater speed. The name brought a slight pang to Lemuel’s heart as he recalled Whitson’s aged counselor, who had died not long after Lucianne was born. But her end had been peaceful and her life long, and he took comfort in the memory of her anticipation. She had left her frail body behind and set off to reunite with her husband and Whitson, the king who had been as a son to her.
As the Queen Mother predicted, it wasn’t long before the entrance to the library appeared, large and inviting. The trio made their way inside, the slap of their feet on the hard-packed earth changing to the soft noise of footsteps on carpet. Where the outside tunnel was well-fashioned but rough, the library was an elegant space that resembled a fine house rather than a burrow. Shelves lined the walls, crowded with books of all shapes and sizes.
Opposite the entrance stood a large desk, seated at which was the librarian. The doe, somewhat younger than Lemual but a good bit taller, was bent over a large book. Hearing them approaching, she looked up and smiled warmly. “Well, if it isn’t the Queen Mother, Prince Lemual, and Princess Lucianne!”
“Heyyo, Hoyyie!”
Hollie Grimble, for it was she, smiled even wider at the little princess’ friendly greeting. “Hello Lucianne. You’re in luck: the story guild just delivered some new storybooks. Would you like me to show you?”
Shaking her head gravely, Lucianne toddled off towards the younglings’ corner. The Queen Mother shook her own head, smiling fondly. “Lucianne is developing quite the independent streak. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
With that, Lillie followed her daughter, leaving Lemual with Hollie. The pair began to chat, asking after one another’s health and doings. It hadn’t been long since Lemuel’s last visit to the library, so they didn’t have much to say about themselves. Eventually, Hollie turned the conversation to Lemual’s brothers. “Queen Merle seems to have adjusted well to royal life.”
“Aye, that she has,” Lemual said. “I’m sure it was quite the adjustment. Orphaned in the wreck of Vanguard, and overawed when King Whitson himself came to bring her and the other younglings aid. And now she is the wife of King Lander.
“Captain-sorry, Lord Captain Massie likes to tease that she had her eyes on Lander for a long time. He remembers her being the only one to have seen him heading into the woods of Grimble Island in search of mother. Of course, Queen Merle prefers that to hearing her name whenever anyone mentions the lake. She’s still mortified that the warren voted to name it after her.”
Darkness crossed Hollie’s face, surprising Lemual. “I suppose I can somewhat understand how that makes her feel. Still, at least her name and that of the lake are spoken in love.”
“...You say that as though your name is not, Hollie,” Lemual said, feeling a mixture of sadness and anger at the thought and at her expression.
“...In a sense, Lemual-at least, my family name. For me it was always the name that linked me to my poor mother, and to my siblings. Yet here, among the rabbits I have come to love…it is a curse word. I hear rabbits who still speak bitterly of the Grimble faction and of Grimble Island. And of course, there is the creature who I once called father, though most now simply call him Halfdragon.
“No one speaks unkindly to me, or blames me for the deeds of forebears. But it’s always there, when they address me as ‘Miss Hollie’ or ‘Librarian Hollie’, instead of using my family name. It’s hardly a wonder that my sisters, and other former residents of Grimble Island, have left First Warren for Kingston, Terralain, or other colonies. Even the few who fled into the wilds of Natalia, forsaking their former lord but also refusing to throw themselves on the king’s mercy, have my pity.”
The prince nodded, pained by the obvious pain in her voice. Halfdragon, formerly Lord Grimble, was the last member of King Namoz’s dragon horde left at large in Natalia. With one exception, the rest had been slaughtered, their wicked cruelty brought to an end in the Battle of Dragon Mountain. That one remaining dragon by birth had agreed to serve as keeper of the dragon tomb, formerly the hatchery of the dragons. He was to watch over the dragon seeds, with the dire warning that he would join his comrades in death if he attempted to awaken the unhatched legions.
Grimble’s followers, as Hollie had noted, had for the most part rejoined rabbitkind at large or fled into the wilds. In Kingston and Terralain, where the deeds of their wicked former leader were largely unknown, and with groups of colonists leaving First Warren, the former hoped to make a new start. Only a bare handful, the most loyal and depraved of Grimble’s confederates, had remained separate, becoming a band of murderous outlaws that skulked in the depths of the Great Wood. These were led by Baltrane and Gamson, a pair of bucks so cruel that King Lander had decreed that they should be killed in the event that they could not be safely captured.
As for Halfdragon himself, he had disappeared after that last battle, and there had been no confirmed sighting of him since. Lander’s most loyal officers continued to search for him, but the devious monster had proved elusive. Some few hoped that he might have perished in the wilderness without aid, but Lander remained convinced of his survival. This fact, above even the issue of her name, was something that Lemual knew weighed on Hollie.
“Mother Saramack once told you ‘What’s in your blood is not the certain omen of your future.’ I agree with that sentiment, but I know it has been a trial for you nonetheless. I am grateful for your courage, Hollie, and your resolution to remain her. First Warren would be a lesser place without you here.”
Smiling, Hollie looked gratefully at him. “Thank you, Lemual. Your kindness-and that of your whole family-is a great comfort. I lament that I had so little time to know your late father, King Whitson. Yet, as I get to know you and your brothers better, I see more and more the kind of buck he was. Speaking of your brothers, how is Grant?”
“Constantly trying to find new ways to get himself killed,” Lemual said drily, before smiling to reassure a now concerned-looking Hollie. “I think poor Grant is the only one of us who misses the constant action of the war days. He’s bored, and he doesn’t handle it well. Actually, he’s become good friends with a number of Drekkers and is always looking to join in on their games.
“Fortunately for him-and for the peace of mind of the rest of us-Winnie has taken quite the shine to him. She’s invented a number of new safety measures to enable him to take part in Drekker games without suffering any serious injuries. Quite by accident, she’s also helping many of her fellow Drekkers, as Chief Heckle approves of her innovations and has had many of them applied to the games in general. Grant gripes, but I think he’s secretly rather flattered by the attention, and Winnie can deflect his ire, whether real or affected, quite handily.”
“Dear me,” Hollie said, now grinning. “It sounds as though we may soon have another royal wedding to look forward to.”
“Theirs would be a marriage of convenience if ever there was one.”
“Oh? How so?”
“Because it would make it easier for them to continue their habit of arguing and then apologizing to one another.”*
Hollie tried to hold it in, but a hoot of laughter escaped her at Lemual’s comment. The sound, and the accompanying smile it brought to her face, warmed him. He was indeed grateful that Hollie had chosen to remain in First Warren. In the midst of his royal duties and family obligations, however pleasant, visits with her were a luxury that he treasured.
Before they could continue their conversation, Queen Mother Lillie and Lucianne came back up to the desk. Lucianne was clutching a large storybook, and Lillie smiled at her son and the younger doe. “Lucianne made her choice rather quickly today, Hollie. No doubt you will be grateful to be able to close up early-one of your sisters is coming in on the ship from Kingston, is she not?”
“She is indeed, Queen Mother Lillie,” Hollie said with a nod. “We are planning to visit our other sister in Chelmsford. It will be good, though I will miss seeing you, Prince Lemual, and Princess Lucianne.”
“As we will miss seeing you,” Lillie replied, coming around the desk and hugging Hollie fondly. “Lucianne doesn’t make friends easily, and I’m grateful she’s warmed up to you so much. Jon Blackstar is coming with the ship, and he’s bringing his own young son with him. I’m hoping he and Lucianne will hit it off, even as the thought of having a daughter the same age as Fleck Blackstar’s grandson makes me feel old.”
Returning the embrace, Hollie thanked the Queen Mother before turning her attention to Lucianne. After examining the title of the book, she took out a ledger and took note of its being taken out. She then tucked a slip into the book before handing it back to Lucianne. “You are free to go, Princess Lucianne. Please return your book promptly, or I will be forced to order your brothers to chase you back here with it, tickling all the way.”
Giggling at the thought, Lucianne smiled up at the older doe. “I yike you, Hoyyie!”
Hollie smiled fondly down at her. “I like you too, Lucianne.”
Leaning in close, Lucianne spoke in a whisper that could easily be heard by anyone else in the library. “Yem yikes you too, Hoyyie. A yot.”
Ears and face burning, Lemual reached out to take Lucianne’s hand. Looking up at him, Hollie smiled kindly at his obvious embarrassment. Looking back at Lucianne, she whispered back in just as audible a tone. “Well, Lucianne, I yike Yem a yot too.”
The princess giggled, oblivious to her brother’s flushed face and ears. She then allowed Lemual to lead her back out into the corridor, with Lillie walking alongside them. The trio made their way back towards the royal quarters, a spacious but still rather spartan collection of chambers. King Lander had spoken of building a grander home aboveground, particularly in anticipation of any children he and Merle might have.
Just at the moment, however, building aboveground was deemed too great a security risk. Aside from Baltrane and Gamson’s brigands, there was the new danger of the Lords of Prey. The beasts had, since the fall of the dragons, begun venturing further west from their territory in the High Bleaks. Apparently free from fear of the dragons, or of whatever twisted bargains might have once existed between them, they seemed eager to lay claim to the rest of Natalia.
Part of the reason Jon Blackstar was coming, indeed, was to help coordinate the Great Wood’s defense against these interlopers. The Kingston rabbits had been dealing with the foe for years, and had learned many methods of dealing with them. The trick, as Lemual knew, would be reworking their tactics for different terrain. First Warren lacked the protection of mountains such as the Low Bleaks, and its inhabitants would have to rely on the earth and the trees.
Queen Mother Lillie’s voice broke into his thoughts. “Lucianne isn’t the only one who has noticed how you and Hollie are together, Lemual.”
“You’re reading too much into it, Mother.”
“Am I?” she asked, raising one eyebrow. “Your father has not been gone so long, and I am not so old, that I have forgotten what affection looks like. If nothing else, it is not so different from how Lander is with Merle, or Grant with Winnie. There is no reason why you should not feel the same way towards a doe.
“Hollie is a fine young doe, beautiful both inside and out. Your father,” she said, glancing briefly down at Lucianne before continuing, “thought her worth saving. I can think of no reason why you should not follow your heart if it draws you to spend more time with her. We may not be free from all peril, but if Lander and Grant can find happiness in such times then surely so can you.”
Lemual had no answer to this, so he said nothing as they continued to walk. However, as his feet followed the familiar path home, his mind wandered back down the corridor to Saramack Library. Part of him wondered if maybe, just maybe, his mother’s observations were correct, and that what he felt towards her might be love. And then another part, with a sense of both hope and terror, wondered if she might feel the same towards him.
One week later, Lemual was leaving the royal quarters when he saw Lord Captain Brindle Cove walking rapidly towards him. The brave officer, who had been promoted a few months after his current rank had first been created and bestowed upon Massie Burnson, looked grave. Lemual was surprised; Brindle’s charge was the slowly growing navy, and so far as he knew there should be no issues in that regard. He himself was just leaving his mother and Jon Blackstar’s wife, who were watching over Lucianne and her new playmate.
“May I help you, Lord Captain?”
“Prince Lemual, if you please,” Brindle said, bowing quickly, “where is King Lander?”
“He left about an hour ago with Lord Captain Massie, Jon Blackstar, and several other officers of the warren and Kingston,” Lemual said. “Something about surveying sites for watch posts in case any raptors try to settle in the Great Wood. They’ve been content with the occasional hunt up until now, but we fear they’re growing bolder. What has happened?”
“A report just came in, Your Highness. Baltrane and Gamson’s band attacked and killed most of a scouting party sent to look for them. Two survivors made it back, and they report,” Brindle said gravely, “that Halfdragon is with them.”
Eyes widening, Lemual stared at his father and brother’s trusted officer. “Are we certain of this report, Captain Cove?”
“There is no doubt, Your Highness. Both the surviving bucks are lucid, and as reliable as any I know. They encountered the brutes southwest of here, between the warren and Chelmsford. I’m afraid that a small party of travelers left heading in that direction shortly before the scouts made it back, and they missed each other. I was coming to inform the king and gather a party to meet them-sir, are you all right? You’ve gone pale.”
‘Hollie’, Lemual thought, suddenly gripped with terror. He had the sudden sense that Halfdragon’s sudden reappearance, right when Hollie was leaving the safety of First Warren, was no accident. Perhaps Baltrane and Gamson had observed her sister’s arrival from Kingston, and knew that the pair were likely to travel to Chelmsford. However they had found out, he knew that Hollie’s party would be in danger, with no escorts accompanying them being likely to be ready for a confrontation with both the brigands and Halfdragon.
“Lord Captain, gather the best bucks that you can and prepare to leave immediately. Send a messenger after King Lander’s party-I fear we have no time to await their return. I will accompany you, and together we will do our best to address this threat. No arguments, Captain,” Lemual said, raising a hand to forestall the objection he could see forming on Brindle’s lips. The Lord Captain nodded, then surprised Lemual with an approving smile.
Quicker than Lemual would have thought possible, they were running with a band of bucks through the Great Wood. Rabbits had begun clearing a road leading to Chelmsford, and fallen trees and stumps were in evidence all along the route. Lemual was both surprised, and somewhat saddened, to find how easily he had slipped back into the mindset of a soldier. With his old but well-maintained arms strapped on, he let Lord Captain Cove lead the way through the dense forest.
It wasn’t long before they heard shouts, cries, and the clash of weapons nearby, and quickly raced in that direction. They soon found a small band of bucks, some of them wounded, forming a protective line behind which several civilians cowered. Attacking them were the ragged band of Baltrane and Gamson, fiendish glee evident on their faces as they pressed their assault. Several rabbits lay dead upon the ground, but Lemual saw no sign of either Halfdragon or, more urgently, Hollie.
Brindle and his bucks charged into the rear of the outlaws, and the Lord Captain soon fought his way through to Baltrane and Gamson. Lemual spared no time to watch the skillful swordplay, instead searching for signs of anyone departing the battlefield. He soon spotted two sets of footprints, noting with dread the tracks of a rabbit…and of a dragon. Without stopping to think, he rushed off in pursuit, with Brindle and his bucks being too occupied to notice his going.
The trail led to the present end of the path of cut trees, and various forestry supplies were scattered about. Hollie was backed up against a tree that had been cut much of the way through, but which was still apparently stable enough that it had been left unattended. She was breathing heavily, and her eyes were filled with fear. Between her and Lemual stood Halfdragon.
However he had spent his time in hiding, the monstrous hybrid looked worse than ever. His remaining fur was filthy and matted, and patches had fallen out to reveal hideously discolored skin that still appeared mostly rabbitlike. The rest of his body was covered in scales, including his long reptilian tail, arms, and legs and the insides of his still rabbit-like ears. Seeing Lemual arrive, he sneered, the expression horrific on his dragons’ muzzle.
“What runt of a rabbit is this, who dares face me alone?”
“Run, Lemual!” Hollie cried, her voice filled with fear. “He’ll kill you! Get help, please! Stopping him is more important than saving me!”
Grabbing a discarded ax, Lemual hefted it. His heart filled as he realized that Hollie’s fear was not for herself, but for him. That she could have regard for another rabbit in such peril moved him. He became all the more determined, however, not to leave her at the mercy of the monster between them.
Eyes blazing maliciously, Halfdragon turned fully towards Lemual, his back now to Hollie. “Lemual? Whitson’s second accursed spawn? My, how fortuitous. I thought to meet only one of the rabbits I wish to kill today.
“You, however, may stay your execution for a time, little buck. All you need do is hand over the Green Ember. Then you can run out into the woods and bide your time until I hunt you down. Just the way I’ve hunted down all those fools too cowardly to rejoin me or even to throw themselves on your foolish brother’s mercy.”
Shuddering inwardly as Halfdragon ran his tongue over his misshapen teeth, Lemual adjusted his grip on the ax. “And what use would the Green Ember be to you, Halfdragon? I would think you’d be more interested in reclaiming the Ruling Stone. Though you would have no more right to it, or to the Green Ember, than you did the last time you stole it.”
“Oh, how amusing,” Halfdragon said, though his hissing laugh was tinged with anger. “You think I actually care about those meaningless symbols of rule over rabbitkind? I am beyond them, as I am beyond rabbitkind itself. Or I will be, once I have ended this doe’s life.
“Then my transformation will be complete, and I shall no longer be Halfdragon or Underking. I shall be Dragonking, and the Green Ember shall enable me to free my subjects. I shall lead them out of the so-called ‘tomb’ you have made for them. We shall make this land-this world-ours.”
Chilled by these pronouncements, Lemual took a step back. “How do you know about the way to open the tomb?”
“A secret cannot be kept with oaths, little princeling,” Halfdragon said. “You should have put your laborers to death, or locked them safely away in your little burrow camp. Instead, Baltrane and Gamson intercepted one on his way to Chelmsford. He was no soldier, but he lasted surprisingly long under questioning.
“Unfortunately for you, he broke eventually. There are always ways, little buck, and those untroubled by your foolish notions of honor and compassion will find them. Your counsels are made known to me, and your great victory over Namoz will soon be meaningless. Once I have the Green Ember, and this worthless doe lies dead, it will be only a matter of time.”
Halfdragon’s callous cruelty repulsed Lemual, and he suppressed another shiver at what the monster intended. That this beast had once been a lord’s son and an officer in his father’s service seemed impossible. Lemual did not know, or care to know, fully how his enemy had come to this. But he knew that Grimble had been given chance after chance to repent of his evil ways and come home, only to reject them in favor of even greater depravity.
What made Lemual feel like his blood might boil, though, was the way Halfdragon spoke about Hollie. He had heard from her and from Lander of the beast’s willingness to kill her on Barren Point, which had led to his own father’s death. But actually hearing the contempt and lack of regard in Halfdragon’s voice was almost beyond Lemual’s comprehension. The prince wanted to rage at the vile beast before him, but kept his anger in check as he spoke.
“You truly have lost, or thrown away, whatever sanity or goodness you ever had. I would have thought that only a dragon or a raptor, heartless as they are, could be so blind to goodness. Even if she were not your own child, I would think you capable of seeing Hollie’s worth. If I could trust you to keep your word, I would gladly surrender the Green Ember to you in exchange for her life.
“But even had you not proved yourself a liar and traitor many times over, your failure would demonstrate reason enough not to trust you. You have looked at a fellow rabbit and decided that their death is merely a means to an end, not a crime. And worse, you have made that judgment of a rabbit whose life is one of the few good results of your own. You speak of her as a cantankerous gardener speaks of a weed, when she is a flower that has somehow grown from the seed of a noxious briar such as you have made of yourself!
“My father died to save Hollie, and it was a sacrifice I will gladly repeat if necessary. She is good, and loving, and lovely, and has been unfairly burdened by your shadow! I can only imagine that she takes after her mother, or some forebearer who knew themselves for a child of Flint and Fay. Certainly, she is not the spawn of Gann and Shambler that you have proved yourself to be!”
Keeping one eye on Halfdragon, Lemual peered past him to see Hollie. She had moved around the tree and was now looking from behind it at him and his adversary. One of her hands rested on the partially severed trunk, while the other covered her mouth. Tears flowed from her eyes, which stared at him with wonder.
“Precious,” Halfdragon said, with a horrible noise that sent chills up Lemual’s spine. The disturbing, amused hiss, emerging from the monster’s unnatural throat and mouth, was as far from Hollie’s laughter as the caw of a carrion bird was from the song of a nightingale. “How precious…the runtling spawn of Whitson cares for my misbegotten daughter?
“She does indeed take after her mother, little buck-a worthless doe who could not perform the one duty expected of her and give me a son! I would have killed her myself, or given her to Namoz, had she not died failing once again to provide me with a suitable heir. Would that your own mother had had the sense to become my queen. Still, the children of my miserable wife have their uses, and once I have killed this one I will need no heir, for I will be eternal!”
Lemual looked at the creature before him, and felt a mixture of disgust and pity. Though Halfdragon’s body still showed traces of his birth as a rabbit, that did not extend to his soul. Lemual wondered whether the deathbrew, mixed with Hollie’s blood, had truly made her father into this beast. Perhaps, he thought, it had simply brought out what Grimble had really become inside.
“Namoz would be proud of you, Halfdragon. Perhaps when you meet him, he will say so. Whether he is or not, you will meet him this day. That, indeed, is your purpose here.”
“I came here to kill.”
“No. You came here to die.”
With that, Lemual hurled the ax, already reaching for his knife and sword as it sped through the air. Predictably, Halfdragon avoided it with his great speed, and it struck Hollie’s hiding place with a thud. Lemual barely had his weapons raised in time as Halfdragon rushed him. The beast’s claws met his blades with a loud ring, and Lemual soon found himself being born down by the greater weight and strength of his opponent.
Grinning cruelly as he forced Lemual down onto one knee, Halfdragon hissed. “Did you really think that would work, little prince? You may lack size, but you certainly have audacity. A pity-you hoped to send me to Namoz, but instead you will be going to your pathetic father.
“Do you think he will be proud of your brave last stand? Or will he be ashamed of the foolish son who dared to think he could kill me with an ax?”
“King Whitson…might indeed…be disappointed…if that ax…had been aimed…at you!”
A resounding thud sounded behind Halfdragon, and his head shot around to look over his shoulder. Hollie had wrenched the ax free and slammed it once again into the tree, deepening the breach Lemual had made. Combined with the damage it had already sustained from laborers clearing a path through the forest, the tree began to groan ominously. And, as Halfdragon now saw, his lunge at Lemual had brought him into a position directly in the most likely path that the tree’s fall would take were it to break through.
Unfortunately, turning to discover this cost him. Freed from Halfdragon’s attention by the distraction, Lemual drove his knife into the villain’s belly. Then, as Halfdragon howled in pain, Lemual drove his sword through the monster’s foot up to the hilt, pinning it to the forest floor. He then dove aside as another thudding ax blow was followed by a loud crack.
The tree, with a terrible groan, toppled towards Halfdragon. Desperately, he clawed at the hilt of Lemual’s sword, but his misshapen limbs could not grasp the weapon made for rabbit hands. Even if he had been able to, the injuries to his foot and belly would have made him too slow to escape. And so, with a last shriek filled with hate and despair, the being who had once been Hollie’s father and the son of a noble rabbit house was crushed beneath a falling tree.
For a long moment, neither Hollie or Lemual dared to move. It seemed impossible that even this could have brought an end to their nemesis, who had survived the carnage of the Battle of Dragon Mountain and countless smaller battles beforehand. Could the monstrous Halfdragon, whom the raptors had failed to kill or carry off on Ayman Lake, be dead? Had a doe librarian and an undersized prince succeeded where some of the best fighting bucks of the age had failed time and again?
Rising slowly to his feet, Lemual looked to where one arm was just visible from underneath the sprawling corpse of the felled tree. He thought of his grandfather, Grant, killed in battle with this traitor when he should have been enjoying the peace of old age. He thought of Davis, his brother, murdered cruelly by Halfdragon’s master Namoz. And he thought of his father Whitson, who had died taking a crossbow bolt that Halfdragon had aimed at Hollie.
Looking across at Hollie, Lemual saw that she too was looking at the body beneath the tree. The ax, which she still held, dropped from her hands. Tears filled her bright, beautiful eyes, a sight that made Lemual feel as though his heart would crack. Slowly, as if afraid of what she might see, she turned towards him, and the sight of him standing unharmed set her tears flowing.
Hollie rushed into Lemual’s arms, throwing her own around him in a fierce embrace. He folded his around her, one hand reaching up to gently cup the back of her head. She pressed her face into his shoulder, her body racked with sobs. Lemual let her cry, his own eyes closing as tears flowed out of sheer relief that she was safe.
“Leeeeemmmm,” she sobbed, leaning into him as though her own legs wouldn’t support her.
“Oh Hollie…my Hollie.”
It seemed a long time before Lord Captain Cove found them, seated on a large rock not far from the fallen tree. Hollie was clutching Lemual’s handkerchief, her head leaning on his shoulder. Lemual, for his part, had one arm tightly around her shoulders, pulling her tight against his side. The other held the ax, ready in case any of Halfdragon’s minions happened upon them.
Brindle looked the pair over, assuring himself that neither was harmed. At his unspoken question, Lemual nodded towards the fallen tree. The Lord Captain examined the flattened body, nodding in satisfaction, and then called for some of his bucks. The remainder, he explained, had a defeated Baltrane and Gamson under guard.
“King Lander will be pleased to have those two villains in custody,” Brindle said, kindly helping Hollie to her feet. Seeing that Lemual had removed his cape and wrapped it around her, he gallantly gave his own to the prince. “We’ve had a cell waiting for them for quite some time now.
“Your Highness, we should soon have reinforcements arriving to help us finish up here. The bodies of our rabbits will be brought back to First Warren for burial. Those of Halfdragon’s band will be buried here, though we’ll take Halfdragon himself back. King Lander will no doubt be grateful to have personal assurance of his demise.
“Some of my bucks will be detailed to serve as an escort. Would you like to lead the remaining travelers on to Chelmsford, sir? Or back to First Warren?”
“Thank you, Lord Captain-back to the warren, I think,” Lemual said, glancing at Hollie. At her nod, he continued. “If you would, please detail some messengers to alert the Chelmsford rabbits of these developments. Though I imagine Halfdragon’s followers are accounted for, I think the survivors should all be attended to by Doctor Grimes and her team.”
Nodding, Brindle moved off to arrange things, leaving Lemual and Hollie to themselves. Hollie wiped at her eyes a final time, then stared at where Brindle’s bucks were working to move the tree from atop Halfdragon. Discarding the ax, Lemual put a hand on her shoulder. They said nothing for a time, simply observing and taking comfort in one another’s presence.
Finally, the additional rabbits Brindle had predicted arrived. The Lord Captain soon had them organized, and Lemual and Hollie joined the party heading directly back for First Warren. Reluctantly, Lemual took the lead, allowing Hollie to speak with her sister regarding what had happened. However, it wasn’t long before she was walking beside him again, two small gaps separating them from the advance guards before them and the other rabbits behind.
“Lem…thank you. For saving me…for stopping him.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you, Hollie.”
“When he charged at you…I’ve never been so scared for anyone in my life.”
“At the time, I was most concerned with keeping him away from you. He would have killed me, and gladly, but he wanted to kill you. And…I think that would have killed me more surely than his claws ever would have.”
Hollie said nothing in response for a long moment, and they continued walking. Eventually, she looked at him with worry. “Lem…what do we do about…the secret? The one Halfdragon spoke of.”
Puzzled, Lemual frowned at her. “What about it, Hollie?”
“Don’t you see, Lem? I know it now-and I’m not meant to. It was only for members of the royal family and those laborers trusted to work on it. And apparently not even all of those were safe with the knowledge.
“Even if Halfdragon and his followers are accounted for…dead or imprisoned…what if someone else wanted that knowledge? I would never willingly betray it to anyone…but I doubt the poor buck whom Baltrane and Gamson caught would have either. How can we be sure that some other confederate of theirs, or some dragon who has escaped, will not learn of it? That they will not come after me…and we will not be so fortunate next time?”
Taking her hand, Lemual looked her in the eyes. “You are more than worthy of such a trust, Hollie. I do not believe that any oathbreaker, or any escaped dragon-neither of which I believe exist-would find you easy prey. And I can assure you that I would do everything in my power to protect or rescue you from such a fate.
“Still…if you do not believe Hollie Grimble may be trusted with this knowledge…perhaps it would ease your mind if it were instead known to Hollie…Whitson?”
Gasping, Hollie stopped short and looked sharply at him. Then, seeing the rest of the party catching up to them, she pulled him off to one side to allow the other rabbits to pass by them. A single soldier, noticing this, stopped within sight of them but maintained a respectful distance. Certain that no one could overhear them, Hollie looked at Lemual again.
“Lemual…what are you saying?”
“Dearest Hollie…I am saying what I have wanted to say for some time, though a part of me feared to say it. What even Halfdragon could sense is true: I care for you…I love you. And if you will have me, I will spend the rest of my life showing you that love. If that is not your wish…then still I would be your friend, and offer whatever protection you may require or ask.”
While he meant every word, Lemual’s pronouncement left him feeling suddenly shy, and he started to turn his head away. Hollie, however, took his face in her hands and met his gaze. Neither said anything for a long moment as she searched his eyes with her own. Then, just as he felt his nerves could take no more, a tender smile appeared on her face.
“Oh, Lem…I have dreamed of hearing you say those words, or something like them. And I have dreamed of saying such words to you…though I, too, was afraid. Yet why I should have been afraid, I do not know. For from the moment we met in Mother Saramack’s chamber, you have never been anything but courteous and kind to me.”
Feeling a smile stretch across his own face, Lemual reached up and took her hands in his.
In what seemed no time at all, the two were clasping hands again. This time, they stood before the prester on one side and a crowd of First Warren’s citizens on the other. In the front rows sat King Lander and Queen Merle, Queen Mother Lillie and Princess Lucianne, Prince Grant and Winnie Drekker, Jon Blackstar and the visitors from Kingston, and Hollie’s sisters. Many other friends, including Lord Captains Burnson and Cove, sat behind them.
However, for Lemual and Hollie, no other company was truly necessary. Indeed, as they spoke their promises to each other, and the prester intoned the words of the marriage ceremony, they had eyes only for one another. For Lemual, the moment he was pronounced Hollie’s husband felt like the greatest deed he had done in his life. For Hollie, it was the start of something new: a life where she would no longer be Halfdragon’s daughter, but Lemual’s wife.
Afterwards, of course, they were obliged to take part in the wedding festivities, and did enjoy themselves quite thoroughly. They danced together, and with an ecstatic Lucianne, and joined in many common dances. They shared many wonderful delicacies prepared by the best cooks in the warren, and smiled at toasts raised in their honor. With bowed heads, they gave a moment to remember those who could be with them only in spirit.
The night ended, at least for the newlywed couple, with Hollie throwing her bridal bouquet into the crowd of guests. It happened to fly right towards the face of an inattentive Winnie Drekker, and was reflexively caught by Grant, who was standing beside her. As the others cheered and teased the embarrassed pair, Hollie slipped her hand into Lemual’s and followed him out of the celebration hall.
Up the corridor they walked, until they came to a door opened wide for them. It led to a new section of the royal chambers, set aside specifically for the pair of them. As they approached, they saw that the portal was filled with the light of candles and torches. The soft glow, radiating off many a polished surface, made the room within seem to be made of gold.
Marveling at the sight, Lemual suddenly heard in his mind the voices of Lander and Mother Saramack, speaking again the words he had heard shortly after he had first met Hollie:
“Why these tears, mother?”
“She has a hard road, that one. A very long, very hard, road. But in the end, there will be a golden home.”
Prince Lemual looked at his dearest friend…his beloved wife…and felt tears fill his eyes with joy for her. Noticing his expression, she paused. “Is something wrong, Lem?”
“No, my love. On the contrary…nothing has ever felt so right.”
The End
*A bit of a nod to one of my favorite commentaries from C.S. Lewis in A Horse and His Boy.