Part Seven: We Fight to Remember

The raptor grabbed the king’s body and lifted it off the ground. He screeched. 

“Hello little rabbits,” he said, “was this your king? Oh well, now I’M your king. I am Lord Mortateris Blackhawk, and I am the face of death itself. There is nowhere to run from me, as your puny king now knows, and no one is coming to save you.” 

Mortateris lifted his head and let out a cackling laugh. Then he flew high in the air over the city. He smiled a wicked smile and dropped the body of the king to the rabbits. King Henaphiz fell with a horrible “thud” to the ground and Walter ran to him, tears in his eyes. Mortateris started to fly back to his looming army, and some archers tried to shoot him but failed. He was too far up. 

“Save your arrows,” Jonathan Fletcher wisely told them.

Meanwhile, Prince Walter knelt at his father’s side, his father a puddle of broken bones, blood, and fur. But the king’s heart still beat faintly, by some amazing miracle. Henaphiz was trying to say something. Walter leaned in to hear his father’s final words, “I’m sorry.” 

Then the king went limp. He had never been the best father or king, but Walter loved him, he was the only family he had left. Now Walter was alone… but he knew what to do. Slowly but carefully Prince Walter lifted a gold chain off of his dead father’s neck, on the end of it was a ruby gem. The Whitson Stone, or the Ruling Stone. The symbol that he was now king. Walter put the blood stained chain around his own neck and stood up. The rabbits of First Warren flocked around him, waiting for orders. 

“What shall we do, your majesty?” asked Fletcher.

King Walter looked at his subjects with a determined look on his face, “I call every able buck to fight!” The crowd cheered. “To fight to remember! To remember those lost, to remember your homes, to remember the reason why we fight! We fight for the Mended Wood!”

“The Mended Wood!” The crowd echoed. 

“TO BATTLE!!!!” Walter shouted, and all shouted in agreement. Suddenly, the whole city was bustling with activity. All bucks of age were gearing up, whether they were farmers, craftsbucks, miners, or artists. Archers were stationed on the wall, led by Master Fletcher. Other bucks had spears to throw from the wall. All the rest had swords. But how could the bucks even use the swords when the birds fly so high? Walter kept asking himself, It’s not like we can fly. The truth was that Walter had never killed a bird of prey, neither had anyone he knew. So how were they to destroy a whole army of them? King Walter knew they were doomed, but at the bottom of his heart he had hope. Hope that this apparent defeat would turn out to be a victory. 

Walter was still pondering what he was to do when Lord Mortateris and his front line came to the wall. Mortateris flew high up, out of the reach of the archers, and watched his soldiers swoop the wall. Devastation ensued. Many rabbits were destroyed by the evil winged creatures. But some birds likewise fell, either from spears or arrows. Mortateris screeched for more of his soldiers to advance. 

Walter looked around, searching for some way to stop the birds. He saw Mortateris, and he saw the palace, two massive things looming over the city. And they were close together. And Mortateris had his unprotected back to the roof of the palace. King Walter smiled, he had a mad, crazy idea.

To Be Continued...