by Simon Archer
“It would be a blessing to pass on my knowledge on, your grace,” she answered.
“Very well, then, Apgar,” I said, addressing the healer and giving her the name of a famous doctor I read about. Seemed appropriate. “For your obedience, the other healers will be spared and allowed to work as healers again. But I expect good work from you.”
The Rabbits were all overjoyed at the news, hugging the healers as they whooped and hollered again, bouncing in the air. It got a bit noisy, and I could see the discomfort on the estate guard’s faces as they were forced to watch. With a hand raised, I slowly quieted the mob as they listened to what else I had to say.
“And for your bravery and will to risk your own safety,” I continued my verdict, “I will release your fellow servants from the breeding stables to do other tasks as I see fit.” I was planning on doing that anyway, but this was almost too good a moment to pass up.
That last part got many gasps from the Rabbits. A murmur rose from them as they whispered to each other. I already had an idea why based on Apgar’s age and former job, what their concern was, but I wasn’t going to revise my statement yet, though, to give them a chance to speak up about it. This would have let them know that they could have talked to me, even though I was a hardass on punishment.
“Your grace, if I may speak again?” Apgar entreated me. “Some of the bunnies-in-breeding have been unfit for any work for a while now. Breeding was the only thing they were capable of contributing to Lord Timberpine, and by your word, they would be banished for their unfitness to work elsewhere. Would you allow the otherwise unfit to continue their service in the stables until they pass away? The Wolves beyond these walls are not beholden to your command, and not nearly as merciful for it.”
“Hmm, you do raise a fair point,” I said, pretending I hadn’t already thought of what I was going to do. “If I am willing to banish the Wolves for the inability to serve, surely that would apply to you as well. But I had already agreed to release the breeding slaves, and I don’t plan on going back on that. And there’s the thought of proper punishment to still consider. I can’t redact my verdicts if there’s justice to carry out. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to those I’ve had to punish before, like Gmork. And Wolves can’t take the job if they ever become unfit. They’ll hesitate in battle in fear of becoming crippled, dying to those otherwise weaker than them. Even if they survive, if they lose their arms or legs beyond repair, they will be unfit anyway. They’re more at risk, and yet you have the option to stay while they don’t? What am I going to do about that?”
I put a hand to my chin, playing up my thinking about the issue that’d come up. The hares, former breeder bunnies, and Wolves, all held their breath as they watched the internal debate that wasn’t happening. They had come to make a tighter circle around Gmork and me, the Wolves having interwoven with the Rabbits unconsciously to all get a closer view of me for my final decision. Eventually, I came to the conclusion I’d come up with near the beginning of the conversation.
“It wouldn’t be much of a reward for Apgar if I freed her fellow servants to be eaten by Wolves.” I declared my ruling. “She’s gone above and beyond, risking her own punishment to keep the healers safe and to help my pack member, especially since she’s never wronged me. That kind of selflessness will always be rewarded in the best way. So, to help keep all of these rules, I’ll add this: any who Apgar, or anyone I’ve deemed fit to receive her teachings, has been tasked with healing shall be spared from banishment from my household.”
Apgar and Bugs sighed in relief, while the Rabbits looked at each other, confused by the statement for a second. They huddled together, puzzling the riddle I’d given them while the Wolves who’d gathered around looked upon them with anticipation until one of them piped up with the answer.
“That’s everyone!”
And there was much rejoicing. It was a strange sight, seeing everyone celebrating together like this. I was sure that the road to lasting peace was going to be harder than just one dramatic confrontation in a courtyard, but I had more hope than ever before for that we’d get there one day.
My work wasn’t nearly done since Gmork’s little interruption and the subsequent spectacle I had made it into wasn’t what we actually came here to do. After calming the crowd down, I went about naming every last one of the new servants, each of them ecstatic about the new name, even though many of them didn’t quite understand the system. Fortunately, once Bugs and Apgar got it, they were able to start spreading the information much more efficiently.
Once everyone had been named, they stuck around to talk about their names, Wolves and Rabbits alike, although the groups were very selective. They were friendly, but they weren’t friends with each other in the slightest. There was too much history. That could wait. I was glad all of my hard work was starting to pay off, anyway, even this much.
“Alright, everyone,” I addressed the group once it had started getting a little late. “We’ve still all got jobs to do, but in celebration of the new names, I’m ordering half-staffing and half-workloads on everything. For every job, half of you can rest up, then take the places of the people who worked for the first half. With all of the new Wolves and Rabbits we have, we can easily fill up where we need.”
They all hustled over to their jobs, and I thought it’d be a good idea to start appointing leaders amongst the groups, so I wouldn’t have to micromanage everything. Maybe then I’d take a break to plan out the next step in taking on the Barony now that I was in his line of sight.
“My lord,” Hopper whispered in my ear amidst the crowd, pulling me back while everyone was distracted. “If I may borrow you for a moment…”
I didn’t notice that she’d even showed up and had hoped she was still exploring the mansion instead of worrying about where I was. Not that I wasn’t happy to see her, I just didn’t want my grandstanding to get in the way of her time she needed to adjust to returning after finding out you’d been gone for fifty years.
“That was quite the show, my lord.” She kept dragging me through the hallways as she spoke to me. “Wolves and Rabbits wouldn’t stand close enough to touch the bristles of broomsticks, and you have them sharing a party on your first day like they’ve always been friends.”
“I’m not the one making them come together,” I told her jerkily. “I got no mind-control powers. They’re the ones making the effort to find a peace that’ll keep both of them safe and happy. I’m just making dramatic speeches, dealing with ruffians, and breaking arms. Some people might find that a bit barbaric, unhinged, or even cultish, and who could blame them?”
“You make it too simple, my lord,” she said, still pulling me through more hallways and up stairs. “If you’ll allow me to, I’d like to argue just how much you’ve helped my people, not just in appreciating the responsibility of lordship and taking the role with its full weight, but also in striving to create a place that everyone can call a true home, no matter who they are. That kind of selflessness always deserves a reward of the best kind, and I’m willing to debate all night if I have to prove it.”
I mean, who’d say no to that?
22
The next morning, having debated for the better part of the night, I had stiffened like an ancient sculpture in an embrace with Hopper on my chest. The silk sheets covered the two of us like a black shroud, hiding most of us from the world, save for hands and feet. I could feel the breath inside her filling her up as she rested on my chest, her warmth bleeding into every muscle in my body, relaxing them beyond any tension I could have mustered to move. And her smile? How could I have left that? Even as I awakened, I was determined to sleep there for the rest of forever.
Bugs, though, were determined to rouse.
“My liege, I cannot begin to apologize for this intrusion upon your privacy.” His voice pierced through the unconsciousness as he stood by the side of the bed, tapping the sheets frantically. “Something has come up that requires your utmost attention immediately. Ex
peditiously, my liege.”
My eyelids were like iron shutters, taking strongman-levels of effort to open up to break the morning crust upon them. As soon as I regained blood flow to my brain, I managed to turn my neck to look at the little hare butler.
“Is the mansion on fire?” I droned to him, still not fully awake. “That might be the only thing getting me out of this bed right now.”
“Not quite as immediately life-threatening, my liege.” Bugs admitted.
“Then can it wait until I can get up?” I asked, ready to turn and lay back down.
“Based upon all that I have witnessed of your…” Bugs coughed out his embarrassment. “… interactions with your, er, ‘Hopper,’ I assumed that you might consider this more pressing than a house fire if you do not mind my assumption.”
That woke me up better than three shots of black coffee.
“What’s going on?” I began to rouse myself. “Is it the representative?”
“Indeed, my liege.” He revealed. “He has requested an audience and speaks with the authority of the Baron. While you are not under the influence of his pack, you are within his claimed territory. He may consider a rejection of discussion to be an act of treasonous war and bring his full force to answer in turn.”
I escaped the inviting silk sheets in the master bedroom as well as the soul-warming embrace of Hopper’s unconscious cuddles. A little embarrassed at the indecency of my person, I thought it best to just find clothing as quickly as possible.
“Good gracious, what is that?” Bugs looked upon my form with confusion. My guess is, as a Rabbit, he was confused as to why I was still ‘out.’ Rabbits, like dogs and other pawed creatures, have most of it tucked away when it’s not in use. “Were you in the middle of, er, I mean, I didn’t think you would have still been, um, since you started rather early last night--?”
“Eyes up here, Bugs.” I kept him on task, putting on boxers and other clothes. “Is the rep in the courtyard?”
“Of course!” Bugs snapped back. “Yes, he’s in the courtyard, waiting patiently, though he may not be patient for long. A sluggish response to a summons like this may be seen as rude, especially since you do not belong to his pack. The Baron will have instructed him to look for any reason to subjugate you, just as he would with Timberpine.”
“I suppose telling him to go chew on a bone is out of the question, then?” I put on the last strap of my overalls as I joked. “Thank you for coming to get me. I’ll handle this.”
“Would you like to wear one of the manor’s coats, my liege?” Bugs asked. “I noticed that your other coat was rather, hm, banal, if I may be so bold to say, for a lord of your current stature. For all of his faults, the old lord Timberpine knew how to accessorize to impress. It may suit you to do the same with the Baron’s pack.”
“I’m a big guy, but not that big,” I answered, gathering all of my equipment and guns. “I’ll have to make do with the one Hopper worked on for me. I know that one fits like a glove.”
“Hopper had spent quite some time in this room while you were busy naming the slaves.” Bugs informed me. “Would you suppose she worked on these in the same way?”
With a raised eyebrow, I picked out one of the dark blue coats from the armoire. They were all embroidered with gold lacings, a dull golden trim, and beautiful artwork. The one I picked had images of Wolves running down the arms, drawn in the gold. These creatures were depicted in fine clothes and gaudy frills as they ran with their arms out as if they were running away from something. Some of them looked behind them with open mouths to scream. In a rather macabre display dancing along the sides, some of the wolves had spears through their packs, falling over while the others kept running.
The back had a large circle taking up the upper section, as all of the fancier Wolves ran from it. Around the circle was a heater shield, with three points crowning the top, centered as if the circle symbol was etched into its design. The lacings of gold were intricate throughout, touching and weaving around the circle like vines of light. Powerful creatures took guard to protect the shield, ten wolfish creatures that stood equally apart and posed more like wolves from my world than Wolves from here. Two of them had the bipedal Wolves in their mouths at the bottom, trapping them.
Inside the circle, there was a landscape heading to a horizon, with a rising sun just cresting. More wolfish creatures laid down beside this circle, watching and guarding the small rabbit-like and hare-like creatures that snuggled together, creating a half-circle audience to the sun. Drawn to be illuminated by the sun with his lower half blurred to fading, a figure shaped like a man held his arms crossed, a spear held in each hand with the points facing down. In the iconography, I guessed that this man inside the circle was the one throwing the spears. I also guessed that this is not how Timberpine chose to display himself.
With one sleeve, then the other, I found the coat to fit just as perfectly as the other. Looking in the full-length silver mirror beside it, I couldn’t help but admire the exquisite craftsmanship. Hopper did amazing work. I looked good. I would have been fine wearing Timberpine’s coat like it was his pelt, but this was much better.
“I’m going to have to give it a once over, just to see if I can’t tone down the religious tone she went for with this.” I gave it another look. It was amazing beyond words, but I didn’t think that this was the image of myself I wanted to give to others. I wasn’t something to worship. I was just a guy with a job to do. Sometimes it was hard, but it wasn’t worth building shrines to me or anything. “Still, see if you can’t start whipping this shield up onto banners for decoration once we have a long moment to rest. I’ll give my final approval once they’re finished.”
“It will be done, my liege,” Bugs agreed. “I will make sure it isn’t forgotten.”
“I shall attend to our new guest,” I told the small furry butler. “When Hopper wakes, make sure she stays put for a while until the rep leaves. Lord’s orders. I can’t have the Baron getting any greedier when he’s already itching to fight me. We have to find a way to buy some time. And tell her thanks for the coats, they really are the best I’d ever seen.”
“Of course, my liege,” Bugs complied. “Shall I disseminate your command to the other bunny slaves, since they are no longer protected as breeding stock?”
“Thank you, Bugs,” I answered. “Tell the washers and cooks to start taking stock of all our supplies. Weapons, ammunition, food, anything we could use in a fight. Take a Wolf to help you identify usable weapons for each group of sorters. Keep it quiet. Stay on the far side of the mansion until the representative leaves. Have some of the cleaners sweep through the courtyard as well. Best to keep up appearances for the time being.”
“It will be done, my liege.” Bugs acknowledged again. “When should we have this stock finished and organized?”
“Yesterday,” I told them. “When the rep leaves, have the Wolves begin barricading the place from any attack. If the estate guards know anything about the Baron’s forces and tactics, let them take the lead.”
“At once, then, my liege.” Bugs hopped out of the door to carry out my orders.
Then I had a thought. Why would the Baron have sent a representative over to check on Timberpine every week? Anyone with half a brain would have known that people always put all of their skeletons in the closet when the boss comes around. You’d never have found anything out that was actionable. And why was the representative coming early? Sure, they might have heard about her in the chaos with Timberpine, but why send the representative so early? That just screamed scheming plots. And how did the Baron constantly win over Timberpine, who could fly and be unkillable? My instincts were itching something fierce. Something wasn’t right.
I figured just like Timberpine had a mole in the city guard, the Baron had a mole in the estate. Even pack members and leaders didn’t always get along if they were nobles.
“One last thing, Bugs.” I stopped the butler. “Take all of the estate guards off of their po
sts, wherever they are, and have the former sailors and my ragtags cover their shifts. Make sure they are all accounted for. Send them out to the courtyard at the walls, but tell them to wait until I officially call them in to enter. Then they are not to leave until the representative leaves.”
The elderly hare nodded, changing his direction of hopping to carry out my most immediate order. Like everything in this town, this was probably going to get hairy quickly. I had to make absolutely sure I didn’t have a mole in my house. If this representative was just a distraction, I couldn’t afford to let the spy, or spies, work freely while I couldn’t do anything about it. And, if I’m lucky, I could use the representative to fish them out.
I took one last look at Hopper, resting peacefully, though her smile disappeared from before. No one was going to take her while I was alive. I’d have choked out the Baron with my arm before I let him touch her. A straightening of all the clothes to look fine, and I headed out.
Making my way to the courtyard, I found the Wolf representative in question. He wore a powdered wig upon his head, not fitting well over his long shelf-like neck. All of his fur, the hues of grey splattered over him like paint, was combed down in an attempt to streamline his look, but several rebellious hairs stuck out all over his body. He wore a brown coat with frills on the inside, puffing out his chest even more than he already was trying to. He was accompanied by two Wolf guards, though they weren’t like the city guards from around the town. They had more metal plating on them, adorning much of their upper in shining armor, while their lower half was still as leathered as most Wolves.
If I had let him begin the deal, he’d have found out where Hopper was, then he’d have gone to tell the Baron about it. I couldn’t let either of those happen. I had to keep him there until I knew everything I could have gotten from him. For now, the Baron could only have suspected that I was keeping her as long as none of his spies confirmed it. I could have lived under the shroud of having hidden her at another property I owned, and that could have always bought me time. The representative would have been trying to levy his Baron’s power to intimidate me into giving up Hopper. If I showed that I wasn’t intimidated and I wasn’t budging, he’d just have gone to the Baron and ordered the assault. I had to find a middle ground that kept him here until I found a piece of information that I needed.