Autumn in the Forest

Autumn in the Forest

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

"A Dark Decision"

Excerpt from "Season of Crows." A vengeful mousemaid hatches a wicked plan...

(Links to book below.)


The banished mousemaids, Aster and Thistle, made do in the little grove of trees amidst the sea of grass in the neighboring field. There, the two mice had weathered much of the drought, surviving on bitter grass seeds and last year’s dried rose hips that still clung to some of the wild rosebushes.

Aster had ignored the signs of drought. Upon entering the grove, the two mousemaids had discovered a little pool of water trapped beneath a limestone outcropping. Instead of rationing it, Aster had drunk the water greedily. She hadn't counted on Thistle drinking as often as her, given her complaints about conserving water. And now they were in a fix.

As she slurped the last few drops of water from the stone pool without offering any to Thistle, she carelessly wiped her whiskers and belched loudly. Thistle shot Aster a look of disdain, which Aster returned.

“What’re we going to do now?” Thistle asked. “That was the last of the water.”

“Obviously.”

“Well? What’re we going to do?”

“We’re going to shut up and think, that’s what we’re going to do,” Aster replied, glaring.

She watched the stocky mousemaid turn her body away from her and slump in her usual pout. Aster sneered. Stupid fat mouse.

“We could go look for the Fray,” Thistle said at last.

Aster scoffed. “I ain’t going to look for it. I don’t want nothing to do with Evershade or its water.”

“Well, I don’t want to die of thirst,” Thistle retorted.

“You go by yourself, then, and see how long you last without me.”

“Without you? You’re the one that got me in this mess!”

“Me? You tricked that timid little ghost of a mouse just as much as I did! Blame Roan, if you want to blame someone. He banished us. Or blame the king. He told Roan to banish us!” Aster spat back.

Thistle shook her head and buried her face in her paws.

“Those goody-goodies, thinking they’re all peaceful and perfect. They’re just a bunch of cowards. Especially that snail. Hiding in his tree, showing his face once or twice a season. He shouldn’t even be king! He can’t run or climb like us. He can’t even gather food. He can barely move at all!” she snarled.

The lanky mousemaid sat in silence for a few moments, listening to the harsh voices of the crows across the field. Their croaks and caws pierced the thick, humid air. Aster shifted her weight and peered through the undergrowth in the direction of their noisy chatter.

At the end of the field to the east rose up a dark forest of slender, closely packed trees. They towered tall and gangly over the yellow grass that separated them from the little grove where the mousemaids sat. Aster stood and walked to the edge of the grove, gazing out across the field at the forest beyond.

“The Crow Kingdom,” she mumbled. She had always heard talk of the Crow Kingdom, but she had never actually seen it.

Aster studied the black trees in the distance, transfixed by the plan hatching in her head. Somewhere in her mind she noticed that Thistle had followed her to the edge of the little grove and now stood looking at her. Aster turned and leveled her gaze on the short, ugly mouse, a malicious smile playing at the corners of her mouth as she sized up her follower.

A most disturbing scheme to exact her revenge on Evershade and its goody-goody inhabitants seeped into the darkest corners of Aster’s mind like a disease. She turned away from Thistle and stood frozen in place in a sort of trance, eyes hardened, a wicked grin morphing her features into the face of absolute evil. The crows were the answer. They had been the answer all along—she had just been too dim to notice. But would they listen to her? She sneered.

Thistle and Willow and that little ghost mouse listened to me. Surely a bunch of dumb birds will be no trouble.

Aster stood taller, puffed up with her own sense of superiority.

Yes, they will listen to me. And the community of Evershade will be brought to its knees.
 
 
 







1 comment:

  1. Such lessons to be learned....Who you associate with really matters in life.

    ReplyDelete