Chapter Thirty – Four

Painful Decisions

“So, have you settled in well?” Hemlock asked the five does.

Ivy stepped forward. “Yes sir, it isn’t a bad warren.”

He had first questioned who their mates had been at their old warren, and appeared particularly interested when Primrose answered that it had been Hazel.

Hemlock nodded slowly as if in deep thought, then he turned his gaze quickly to Blackberry.

“You were an escapee of my old warren!” he said angrily.

“Yes… sir.”

“At this warren we punish traitors.”

Blackberry hesitated as an idea came into her head, dare she use it? Would it work? She felt slightly sick at the thought and at herself, but right now survival was more important. Campion would forgive her. That is, if she got out of here alive.

“Sir….. I only ran because I wanted to get away from my partner, Campion.”

Primrose and Spartina gave her questioning looks before Ivy hastily motioned for them to remain normal and trust in their friend. Blackberry swallowed hard and cast her eyes downwards. A black shadow of guilt descended. Remembering her time at Sandleford she thought about Walnut and that’s all she had to do.

Hemlock indicated for Blackberry to continue, so she did so reluctantly. “He was just trying to control me and got too jealous whenever I talked to anyone else.”

This worked. Hemlock had been fooled and Blackberry probably just saved her own life. The large chief narrowed his eyes then became gentle when he seen her worried face.

“Hmm…. Right this time I will let you off, but no more attempts at escape or else you will be punished accordingly,” Hemlock warned.

“Yes sir, thank you sir.” Blackberry closed her eyes and dropped back down onto all fours.

“Dogwood! Bring me one of the younger warriors that we took from that warren up north!” Hemlock ordered.

Dogwood soon reappeared with a trembling grey buck, he was the colour of rainclouds and the does’ hearts immediately went out to him in his predicament.

“You will be escorted by two of my soldiers to the enemy’s warren. When you get there I want you to give them a message,” Hemlock spoke to the young buck. “Tell Campion and Hazel that their dear does, Blackberry and Primrose, are dead and it was a painful death at that,” he finished. “I want to make them feel the pain I felt when they attacked my owsla and I that night.”

Blackberry was astonished at the brutality of Hemlock’s mind and had to bite her tongue to prevent herself saying that it was, in fact him that had attacked them.

They learned that the grey buck’s name was Cloud, and he had nervously accepted. Not that he ever had a choice anyway.

As soon as Cloud was out of the chamber, Hemlock chuckled and said to Dogwood, “If they kill him it doesn’t matter really. He’s only a young officer that hasn’t really shown that much potential.”

“You have one clever mind sir,” Dogwood replied, grinning. “But, where do you want me to put all these does? Are they going back to the guarded cells?”

“No, we can’t have that. They’ll think we don’t treat rabbits very well around here.” Hemlock shook his head and turned to them. “You have to understand that how we treated you was merely a precaution.”

“Of course,” Blackberry replied politely.

“Well since you have settled in, I assume you are looking for a mate to protect you and such? Here at Shadowsky we have no families so I am looking to get that sorted out and get our schedule back on track.”

Blackberry didn’t know how to go about replying to this and hesitated with her heart quickening. She glared at the ground.

“I would be more than willing to take up that job,” Dogwood said quickly. He made as if to slid his paw towards her but stopped himself hesitantly. He dropped his paw and looked up at Hemlock.

Blackberry swallowed the revulsion in her throat and didn’t object, nor did she actually agree but Hemlock had taken her silence as a ‘yes ‘.

“Splendid, and I’m sure we can also find a place round here for the others as well.”

Blackberry nodded and gave the others as normal a look as she could muster. Pulling herself after Dogwood, she tried to forget the present.

She followed Dogwood along the dark passageways until she come to a burrow that was of significant better quality than the one she was in earlier. The light soil looked warm and was absent of any pointy stones and rocks.

Dogwood stopped abruptly, actually looking uncomfortable when he turned to look at Blackberry. “I have work to do. You wait here until my shift is over then we’ll go to evening silflay.”

Blackberry just nodded without looking at him and lay down in one of the dark corners. Flattening her ears against her back she let her eyelids drift close and made it obvious she wanted to sleep.

“Right then….. I’m off.” Dogwood pivoted around and looked at her slowly before hurrying off.

 “According to these tracks, a warren is supposedly ahead.” Bigwig looked up at Campion and Fiver.

“What’s our plan of action then?” Campion sat down carefully on the soggy ground and looked depressed.

“We need to…..” Bigwig started.

There was an abrupt rustling in the bushes parallel to where the rabbits were and they all automatically quietened.

Cloud emerged and his heart quickened at the sight of the big owsla members. “I haven’t come to cause any trouble. I have just come to deliver a message,” he blabbered.

“Well, what is it then?” Bigwig asked impatiently.

“Sorry, but which of you are Campion and Hazel?” Cloud asked.

“I’m Campion. Why?” Campion asked suspiciously.

“Hazel isn’t with us,” Fiver answered.

“Well, Hemlock told me to tell you that the two does Blackberry and Primrose are dead and it was a painful death at that.”

Bigwig inhaled sharply and froze. “Fiver is he speaking the truth?”

Fiver snapped out of his shock with difficulty. “I don’t…… I don’t know.”

Campion quickly cut them both off and said, “Are you sure. Did you actually see it?”

“I……” Cloud started, he didn’t want to get in trouble with his chief because he was terrified of him.

“I was just told to give you the message.”

Bigwig hated to sound insensitive about Blackberry and Primrose but he had to know about the others. “What about the other does? Are they okay?”

“Am, yes I think so, they are happy with their new mates.”

“No,” Fiver whispered in denial.

Bigwig suspected the remaining does’ plans and remained expressionless. “Okay… come here.”

Cloud trembled more than ever and looked as if he wasn’t going to approach.

“We won’t kill you if you swear by owsla’s honour that you won’t tell anyone that you seen us here.”

“I swear, I never wanted to be in this warren in the first place, in fact it wasn’t until later that I was supposed to set off with two others to your warren to tell you the news. I only ran into you because you are so close to the warren.”

“Right, that’s fine, off you hop!” Bigwig had other things on his mind at the minute than to be dealing with a troublesome young buck.

Campion was not an emotional rabbit, but this blow had hit him hard and he could not avoid the tears that were in his eyes. His cold exterior returned as it had not since Darkhaven and he blinked rapidly.

Fiver felt sorrow too, Primrose and Blackberry had been very good friends to him and were two of the very few rabbits that tried not to hold his visions against him. Despite knowing it was wrong, in his heart he was joyful with relief. Ivy was alive even though she supposedly had another mate, at least she was alive!

After Cloud had left, Bigwig awkwardly went over to Campion despite not knowing what to say to comfort one of his best friends.

Campion closed his eyes in emotional pain as everyone crowded round him, trying to offer words of reassurance. We live and then we die. If there was one thing life had taught me it was that nothing lasts forever. He told himself this, but knew he didn’t really believe it.

“Go,” he finally said. “Go on, you know where the warren is now.  Save the rest of them.”

“We can’t leave you here, not on your own,” Fiver insisted.

In truth Campion didn’t really care what happened to him at that moment, he just needed space and time to think.

“Seriously, you need all the warriors you can get; we know there are more of them than we previously thought now.”

“Fiver, leave him,” Bigwig whispered.

Fiver nodded reluctantly and went to stand between Hawkbit and Dandelion.

“We’ll meet you back here when we return,” Bigwig said, there was question in his voice.

Campion couldn’t even imagine returning to the down but he nodded anyway.

The large patrol headed forward in the direction in which Cloud had gone, but Yew and Blackavar secretly stayed behind.

Campion glanced up in shock at the sound of coming rabbits.

“We couldn’t leave you,” Blackavar said simply.

Despite of what Campion had felt earlier, he had to admit to himself he was grateful of the company.

His friends were quiet as Campion silently broke down in tears.

After about half a day Dogwood returned to the burrow and quietly went with Blackberry to silflay.

Blackberry tried constantly to move away from Dogwood while they were grazing but he was relentless and moved silently along with her.

She sighed in frustration and started to groom herself in an effort to calm herself.

“Blackberry!”

Blackberry pivoted around. “Ivy, how are things turning out for you?”

“It could be worse, I got a brown buck called Sapling, and he’s bossy but gentle at the same time.”

Blackberry was glad that her friend wasn’t stuck with some maniac or Hemlock.

“Oh Blackberry. I’m so sorry.  I never dreamed that you would get Dogwood! I feel as if this is my entire fault because it was my idea,” Ivy said miserably.

“Don’t be silly Ivy, I agreed to it!” Blackberry said firmly.

“We have to go sooner than expected, this doesn’t feel right,” Ivy said.

“It couldn’t feel more wrong,” Blackberry agreed. “And I made Campion seem like some sort of obsessive psycho.”

“Blackberry, it was either that or be killed. Do you actually think he would have rather you’d chosen the other option?”

“That’s right!” Blackberry cried. “He thinks I’m dead anyway, remember Hemlock’s message?”

Ivy seemed unsure for a moment then smiled slightly. “You’ll get a good reaction then when he sees you are alive!”

“Sure, but I know the pain he will be going through until then.” Blackberry’s ears dropped.

Then she sighed and tried to change the subject, “Are you missing Fiver then?”

Ivy responded to the subject change, “It feels like I’ve left part of myself back home.”

Blackberry smiled, “You’ll see him again.”

Ivy was about to reply when Dogwood’s voice interrupted her.

“Blackberry, it’s time to go under!”

Blackberry gave her friend a sorrowful glance goodbye and turned to go before Ivy stopped her.

“We’ll go tonight,” she whispered quietly.

Blackberry was very glad of something to look forward to as she returned back to that dark burrow.

She lay down and soon after Dogwood lay beside her, but she refused to get close to him and edged over to the earth walls.

To her surprise Dogwood made no attempt to move after her, instead he put his head on his paws and closed his eyes.

She stared in confusion at the red fawn rabbit for a while then turned her mind to the escape plan.

Blackberry stirred in her dreams. She was having one of the best days of her life, it was the day her kittens had been born and she was almost unbearably content with life.

But her happiness didn’t last all that long as she awoke and saw Dogwood’s dark form and listened to his quiet, rhythmic breathing.

She wondered what had woken her out of her pleasant memories until she saw glowing green eyes.

“Ivy,” she whispered, getting up slowly.

“Blackberry are you alright?” she asked quickly.

“I’ve been better,” Blackberry said wistfully, remembering her dream.

“You know what I mean,” Ivy insisted, still whispering.

“Yeah,” Blackberry whispered. “Where are the others?”

“Waiting out,” Ivy replied. “They might have gotten more rabbits to join the warren but…..do we really want rabbits like this around the down?”

“Okay let’s go.” Blackberry stepped silently.

“Yes.” Ivy smiled. “Let’s go home.”

The two does disappeared around the corner thinking they hadn’t woken Dogwood.

Dogwood slowly lifted his head and his eyes followed them until they went out of sight.

He did not follow them; he just started thoughtfully into the darkness, and then dropped his head again.

The five does had not run faster any time in their lives, their hearts pounded painfully as they heard the sounds of their pursuers in the distance.

“There is someone coming in front!” Primrose cried, terrified.

“It’s Bigwig!” Spartina shouted out as she recognised the tuff of fur on the dark silhouette.

“Wait, Spartina?  Primrose? Blackberry? But….. but….” Bigwig fumbled.

“Ivy!” Fiver said joyfully.

“Later, run!” they cried.