I was silent the rest of that day. Once Kynan tried to cheer me up, but he stopped when I wouldn’t even look at him. We went slowly, the bucks first taking turns carrying Willem, then Reese, in a bad mood, dumped cold water over his head and he woke. He was still limping, but Steef helped him, and his wound didn’t appear too bad.

The sun was setting when Reese said, “We need to stop soon.”

He was about to say something else when a buck, dressed in armor complete with a sword and sheath, stepped out of the trees. “I think I can help with that,” he said.

Reese folded his arms over his chest. “And who might ye be?”

“I’m just a sentry. Come on, over here.” The soldier disappeared into the trees where he had come

from.

Reese looked at Brennon, who shrugged. Reese scowled. “Fine.” He led us toward the buck.

“Hang in there, bro,” I heard Steef whisper to Willem. “We’re almost there.”

Just ahead, Reese broke through the tree line into a small grassy clearing, where the soldier was waiting. Just beyond the soldier was a tangle of brambles, reaching up past the soldier’s head in places.

“Welcome to Halfwind,” the sentry said. Then he turned around and faced the thorny wall. “Hal!” he shouted into what appeared to be a path. “Get out here! We’ve got some new ones.”

After a moment, a short buck emerged, pen and paper in his hands. “Not so loud,” he scolded his friend, but his eyes lit up when he saw us. “Hmm, six of you? Welcome! Come on into the warren. I’ll need your names.” He motioned to his paper.

Reese hesitated, but Steef pulled Willem forward. “Please,” he asked, “can you help my brother?”

“Yes, of course,” Hal said. “I’ll get help right away. We have a few nurses here.” He looked us over, then started into the brambles. Steef and Willem followed, and Willem looked relieved.

The soldier said, “Just follow him. Stay close behind, it’s like a maze in there,” then he went back to his post.

I looked around at the three left. Brennon looked unsure, Kynan looked eager, and Reese was scowling. Of course he is.

Not willing to wait any longer, I walked past them and into the briars.

The tangled branches were so thick, I couldn’t see past them on either side. The thorns scratched my arms, and I tried to stay in the middle of the path as I followed the three ahead of me. After a couple of minutes, we approached the entrance to the warren, a sort of cave. Torches lit the passageways ahead, and the murmur of voices grew clearer as we continued. The walls were made of dirt and seemed like they could collapse, but I had no doubt the makers of these tunnels knew what they were doing. At intervals along the walls, wooden boards held up the ceiling.

I stopped abruptly as Hal led us to a large, dim room where dozens of rabbits worked busily. A few of them stopped and came over as Steef brought Willem into the room, and after a word from Hal, the injured brother was helped out of the room.

A tall, dark brown buck came over. “New ones?” he asked Hal, who nodded. He turned to us and smiled. “Welcome! I’m Lord Benedict. You’ll just need to tell Hal your names and occupations, and we’ll find you a place to work.”

I surveyed the room with amazement. Here were many rabbits, working like the world hadn’t just been turned upside down, and there must have been more farther down the dirt halls, or they wouldn’t have taken Willem out of the room. The tall buck must have caught me staring, because he cleared his throat and lifted one eyebrow. “Excuse me, sir, can you tell me…” I stopped, trying to sound respectful, “what in Natalia this place is?”

He seemed puzzled. “Why, it’s a warren, made years ago, in ages forgotten. We call it Halfwind Citadel.”

“Yes, but where did all of these rabbits come from?” I gestured around the room. “I thought most were killed in… recently.”

“Ah.” He thought a moment. “Perhaps more survived than you realize. We already had a small staff here, but in the last several days we’ve had dozens of refugees come here for protection. We have food, rooms, a hospital, and other services that have come in handy. Garten Longtreader may know about this place, but we hold out hope that in this chaos he may have forgotten. But enough of my talk. Here come your companions, and we shall get you settled in soon. I must attend some business – Hal, will you check them in?”

“Of course, Lord Benedict,” Hal said with a small bow as the tall rabbit strode away.

My mind was spinning. Wasn’t Garten Longtreader King Jupiter’s right hand?

Reese, Kynan, and Brennon finally came in, and Hal asked them for their full names and occupations. Apparently, Reese was a carpenter, Kynan was his apprentice, Brennon was one of the palace guard in the First Warren, and Willem and Steef were tailors, as well as poets, Steef claimed. Soon enough Hal came to me.

“Your name, ma’am?” he asked.

“Cassidy May, but everyone calls me Cassie.”

He scribbled on his paper. “Occupation?”

I hesitated a moment. “I’m an archer.”

He looked up. “What do you mean? Were you trained by a master?”

“No, but—”

“Then what are you really?”

I sighed, too tired to argue this time. “I was the apprentice of the apothecary Mistress Byrd.”

“Good, good. An apothecary will serve us well.” And he jotted that down on his paper.

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I don't think there will be many more.