Chapter Text
A mouse was running through a cold corn field on a farm. Sunset was upon this mouse, the chill breeze of night was creeping in. This wasn't just any mouse though, his name was Thimblewood. He was a brown field mouse that served under his queen, Ashrain, as her paladin. He was on the hunt for food before the cold season.
He hadn't found much, only some grain. He was about to head back when he head a small squeak. He stopped in his tracks and his ears perked up. He looked around for the origin of the sound. After a bit of looking he discovered a rat pup, abandoned in the open.
"A rat?" He became more on guard as he examined his surroundings, hand on his sewing needing sword that was tired to his waist by a thread.
He didn't see or hear any others, so he eased his guard a bit. He knelt down to the small whining pup and placed his paw on it.
"Poor thing. You're freezing." He paused in thought for a moment. "C'mon, I'll bring you with me so you don't freeze."
He struggled a bit to pick up the large pup, but once he was steady, he scurried back to his home. The mice lived in a hole under a rose bush, near a house of giants. Once at the entrance to their den, Thimblewood scruffed the rat pup in his maw best he could before crawling in. He immediately headed to the queen. Once outside her chambers, her guards stop him.
"Thimblewood, what do you have?" One of the guards asked, pointing their stick at the rat pup.
Thimblewood paused for a moment and took the young one into his arms, "It's a youngling. I need to report to the queen."
The guard looks at his fellow guard to his right, she nodded and the two of them stepped aside. Thimblewood entered the queen's chaimbers with the pup.
"Queen Ashrain, I've returned from my scavenge. I only found so-." He was cut off.
"What is that?" She asked with apprehension, looking down at the youngling. She pointed at the whining, squirmy pup in this mouse's arms. Her fur as grey as ash. A diamond ring rests on her head as a crown.
"Oh, um." He cleared his throat before continuing, "This is a youngling. It was abandoned out in the cold, I didn't want it to die."
"You do know that is a rat youngling, do you not?" She asked, stepping closer to them.
"Y-yes, your majesty." He stammered. "I am aware it is a rat youngling, but it was truly abandoned. No rat in sight. I didn't want it to die." He confessed, ears flattening to his head.
The queen walked over and examined the pup, "If you want it to live so badly, you get to take care of it and teach it our ways."
Thimblewood's eyes widened, "Me? But, I am not a mother, I don't even have a mate. It's only a few days old, it still needs mothers milk."
"We will arrange a mother to feed it but you will raise it." She with a slight smirk, "Good luck, Thimblewood."
And with that, Thimblewood was dismissed. He didn't even get to give his food report, he'll find time to do that later. He takes his new pup to his chambers. He sat it on his bed, which was a circle of grass he brought down here.
"You can sleep here tonight, I'll bring more grass tomorrow at sunrise." He said and sat next to the youngling. He snuggled close to it to keep it warm as they both drift to sleep.