Chapter List
Chapter Sixteen
�Alright, Renard. What is it that we came all the way out here for?� asked Terrance as I sat down at a table in the courtroom of the castle. From the main room nearby the sounds of music and laughter could be heard. All but the heads of the AFAS military were celebrating our recent victory in taking the castle. They danced, singed, and laughed while a group played music for them. They ate a fine dinner prepared by our own animal cooks. It was a wonderful night for all of them. But for us in the next room over, the door shut and locked for privacy, it was quite a different thing.
I slid a paper across the table over to Terrance. He picked it up and looked it over quickly before looking over the top of it at me.
�What the hell is this?� he asked me, a hint of irritation in his voice.
�Tha� would be wha� we came �ere for.� I responded, slightly irritated myself by his reaction.
�We came all the way out here for a bloody letter!?� He snarled. I narrowed my eyes.
�Calm yourself. Tha� letter is from Emperor Diable �imself. Which means were one step closer t� findin� �im.� I said to him. He frowned and sat back down.
�Renard?� I looked to my left at the white tiger, Syka.
�Yes?� I asked, turning slightly to face him better.
�Is it really necessary to continue to go after The Emperor? Couldn�t we just get rid of all the kings?� he asked me. A few other officers nodded in agreement and all eyes focused on me. I shook my head slowly.
�No, we �ave t� make our way t� �im. Our army �as grown a lot over th� past few years, right? Soon we�ll �ave enough animals t� make an attack on The Emperor�s fortress. All we need now is th� location. And I�m sure tha� this letter an� some other papers in thi� castle will reveal tha� t� us.� I told them. A weasel to my right spoke up.
�But sir, it would be much simpler t� take ou� th� kings. Why can�t we jus� deal with them?� he asked.
�We�ll deal with them, eventually. But first we need t� deal with The Emperor.�
�Why?� Terrance asked. I let out an irritated sigh. I thought for a second then focused my attention on an ant crawling across the table. I pulled out a dagger and looked around at the officers.
�Y� kill an ant�� I brought the flat side of the dagger down on the ant, smashing it, then looked back at them. �An� another would be sent out t� replace it an� continue its job.� I put the dagger away and continued.
�Y� kill th� queen an� there are no orders sent anywhere. Th� rest o� them are left in confusion for a while, enough time t� take them out.� With that said I stood up from the table and left the room and entered the main hall, leaving them to talk amongst themselves.
I let out a long sigh and rubbed my forehead. I stretched my arms out and as soon as I did I felt somebody grip my hand and pull me to where everybody else was. I was turned slightly and my other hand was grabbed and before I knew it I was out on the floor dancing with the others. I looked to see who was responsible for it and my eyes met Jewell�s. She laughed, having caught me off-guard. I smiled at her, forgetting the problems I had faced in the other room, and kept pace with her as we danced through the crowd. The music soon stopped and so did we. We clapped for the musicians for there wonderful performance. I looked back at Jewell and smiled.
�Y� know, if y� wanted t� dance y� should �ave just asked instead of ripping me arm out of th� socket.� She smiled playfully, her tail swaying back and forth behind her.
�True, but would you have said yes if I did?� she asked me. I laughed and shook my head.
�Probably not.� I said smiling. She winked at me then headed off through the crowed. I knew exactly what that wink meant. It meant she knows me too well to where I can no longer surprise her. I shook my head with a grin and walked off the dance floor to the tables. I sat down and was immediately joined by a jackal and a husky, Vincent and Charlie. Charlie, now fifteen years old, grabbed a nearby plate and snatched food from the center of the table and set it on his plate. He looked at me and smiled.
�Great job taking this castle, Renard.� He said to me. I smiled and grabbed a drink from the table.
�It wasn�t jus� me you know. Whole bunch o� animals made this night possible.� I told him.
�Yeah but, you put it all together.� He said, his tail wagging with joy. I chuckled and shook my head. Nothing I could say would change anything. In his mind I captured this castle single-handedly. I was his hero since the day we escaped the farm.
I took a gulp of my drink and set it down. I smiled at the taste of fresh wild berry cider, a favorite amongst us. I looked down the table. Row after row of food lined it. Freshly cooked chicken, castle-grown peas, wonderful potatoes, and much more food were cooked along with wild berry cider and rum from the castle cellars. It was a grand feast indeed.
My ears perked up and I looked over at the courtroom door as Terrance and two other officers stepped out. They took one glance at me then went back to talking as they walked around the group of animals in the center of the room. I knew that they were talking about me. It had been a known fact that they didn�t approve of my decision to go strait for The Emperor. When we first escaped I saw Terrance as a happier wolf. But I�m guessing that being made a captain has made him power hungry. Now he�s greedy and wants nothing more than to control the AFAS and get them to follow his orders. But I let them talk. I didn�t care. I simply watched them go before they disappeared around a corner. I continued with my drink until it was finished, forgetting about them.
Someone tapping my shoulder interrupted my thoughts. I turned to face Jewell. She smiled lightly at me and took a seat by me. Jewell, now eighteen, puzzled me sometimes. She somehow always knew where I was and knew exactly how to get my attention no matter what I was doing. She had once even jumped on my back while I was standing at the edge of a lake while I was enjoying the sunset. Let me just say it was a very cold night for both of us.
Another odd thing was that she denied the offer to be made a captain for the AFAS. She merely said she�d rather be the one to welcome us back instead of be welcomed back. But she was always kind to everybody. Fea on the other hand was different. She begged me to make her a captain. And when I finally did let her be a captain she damn near strangled me in a hug. Little rough for a vixen, but still loads of fun. Unlike Jewell, Fea�s way of finding me consisted of bugging everybody else with a million questions on where I was, what I was doing, and how long it would take to find me before she finally left them. There was one other flaw in her personality. She had a habit of questioning authority. She wasn�t one of those animals that liked to be told what to do by just anyone. Often times her and Terrance would get into bitter arguments about simple orders. However, when she was needed for something important she straitened right up.
�Renard? Did you hear me?� asked Jewell, snapping me out of my thoughts once again.
�I�m sorry, jus� thinking.� I apologized. She rolled her eyes.
�I told you before to leave the thinking to the smart animals.� She said playfully. I grinned at her.
�Like you?� I asked.
�Exactly!� We laughed for a moment.
�Anyway, what were you saying?�
�I was saying, O stupefied fox, that Terrance wanted me to tell you he had something important to tell you out in the courtyard.�
�Oh, thank you Jewell.� I stood up then started off at a quick pace out of the main hall, down a flight of stairs, then outside to the courtyard. Terrance quickly ran up to me.
�Renard! The spy escaped! He just got out through a hole in the wall over there. I�d go follow him but it would take too long to open the gates and I can�t fit through it.� He told me.
�I�ll deal with it.� I said before taking off running in the direction he motioned to. He watched me head off, a slight grin on his muzzle.
I stopped at the wall and immediately began searching for the hole. I searched for several minutes with no result.
�Terrance! There�s no �ole over �ere. Are y� sure thi� is where �e got out?� I turned to face him. Instead my gaze was met with a large metal shield, which promptly slammed into my face. I fell on the wet grass and everything went black.