Fading Rose Petals (Redwall Fanfic)

Rainstorm

"Rain, go away so Rose can go out and play," Brome muttered to himself as he looked out the family home window. Rainwater dripped off his ears as they flicked in an attempt to dry off faster while he started pulling off the wet robes.

"Come, Brome. Get something warm to drink, my dear."

Brome turned to look at his mother, smiling before wiping his nose. "How is Rose doing?"

"She's been enjoying watching it rain. So it's not that bad for her," their mother said.

"Yes. But we won't know what kind of damage is done to the paths until after the rain and then they have to be fixed so they can use them. It's so frustrating seeing her freedom cut off like this. And..." Brome looked at the ground. "I blame nobody but the vermin that did that to her."

"Good. Good. I'd overheard from Barkjon that you were, in fact, blaming yourself. Not only for her but for what happened to Martin."

"Yes. Well, he set me straight and reminded me that Martin would be dead had I not wandered off. But..." Brome let out a deep breath. "Why couldn't he have come to live with us?"

"Too many memories."

"I mean, why was it that Rose didn't wake up before we left. Or that we didn't jostle her sooner and get a response. I don't know how that kind of miracle even happened. But then, she's told me about Polleekin, and I'd never heard of that before. No, I heard but never believed. And Martin. He's a miracle in his own right, one that I can't explain. But is it fair that he has to suffer? And I know he is. I was afraid he was like Feldoh, but he's not."

"We know that, dear." His mother handed him a cup of ginger tea while looking out the window. "And I wish he could be here. Also, I agree with you that with the rain pouring down the way it is, we'll need to do quite a bit of cleanup tomorrow, but it could be worse."

"Worse," Brome sighed, knowing there were far worse things. "Like tyrants wanting to enslave everybody or illness that you don't have the right medicine for."

He sat down, staring into some oat flans and some strawberry jam. With the sound of the door opening and closing, he didn't look up at his father. His father went and sat down at the table, taking an oat flan himself while his wife poured him some tea. "So. How are your studies coming?"

"Well, the old hedgehog who's been in charge of healing all this time here in Noonvale is a wonderful teacher; glad that I can take over for her as she needs some of the treatments for aching old joints. I hadn't known that we'd not had a trained healer for some time now. Didn't anybody take an interest?"

"Well, healers tend to be wanderers, at least in their younger years," his father said. "Which isn't surprising, given that the very nature that causes them to become healers is that they want to help others. And they have a mind for memorizing all those facts in those books so that they simply have to recollect and look it up, sometimes even remembering it for the road."

"Interesting. How come you never suggested it before?"

"Because while you were very good-natured and kind-hearted, you were still a bit hotheaded for becoming a healer. Never thought were you hotheaded enough to become a warrior."

"Martin's not hotheaded."

"No. He's not," Uranvoh suddenly chuckled. "I bet we'd get the work of cleaning up tomorrow done a lot faster if he were here, don't you think."

And Brome found himself looking at his father, wondering why of all times, his father decided to speak, but then a quick glance around, he noticed something. "Rose isn't here."

"No. She's still in her room, I see."

"You don't like talking about him when Rose is around?"

Uranvoh frowned. "No. I do not. And it's not Martin or anything he's done, Brome. Though, I do imagine some in Noonvale do think I blame him. I don't. I can't. I hope his talents aren't wasted. No, I hope that more than his talent as a warrior is appreciated wherever that young mouse is. Did he tell you anything about where he came from?"

"No. I mean, nothing beyond being the son of Luke the warrior. That's, I think, the most Rose has ever gotten as well. Right?"

"To which I've been wondering. Given the way he was, and those leadership skills he had..."

"He would have been a good leader for Noonvale?" Brome asked.

"Brome, I don't seek to replace you."

"No, but Rose is the eldest, and it would have allowed Noonvale to continue through her line, which everyone, including myself, would have preferred. I may be able to heal the body, but her voice used to heal the soul." Brome frowned. "Is there a way you think that she might return to that without Martin?"

"That her own gifts won't go to waste. I don't know. And there are days I wish he'd just suddenly show up out of the blue, saying he tried looking for a home elsewhere, but..." Uranvoh frowned. "I may not be a seer like that minimum, but there's this thought in my head that this was not the place for him. That he was destined for greater things."

"That fate was guiding him."

"Fate is cruel," Brome said. "To take away the one you loved, to do what? And maybe I might not think it so cruel if I actually knew where fate took him and what it had him do. But it's not that way. It..." A sudden thunder flashing made Brome let out a sigh. "Well, I guess everyone will be stuck inside until at least the thunder passes. I pity any creature traveling out there, but this means there will be even more to clean up tomorrow, won't there?"

"Yes. Unfortunately," Uranvoh sighed. "But our good creatures are good workers, willing to work." He picked up an oat flan and munched on it, savoring it. He then said. "Well, if you should ever find the need to wander—healers do like to go off and find useful herbs and all, do know we still have an experienced healer here that can take care of us in the meantime."

"What?" Brome startled.

"I don't know. Rose can't leave on her own, can she? To go looking for him? I mean, I'd give it a bit more time before you leave, as there is no clear plan on where you'd go. While the healer, with the help of some of the other young ones, could take care of us over this coming winter which would mean you'd have some helpers of your own when the time came for you to take over officially, it would be better for you to start wandering in search of him with time so you can return home during the winter months, don't you think? So after winter."

"I'd not thought of that," Brome said, staring.

"I didn't think so because you know how I feel about you are wandering," Uranvoh said. "And it's not that your mother or I would be happy with it, but you'd have a goal this time. And if you could find where Martin is. If you found that place, then maybe Rose can go there, and find her voice, even if it isn't here. And if something did happen to him, so he's not in the realm of the living anymore, she can have closure."

"Thank you," Brome said.

"And think about who you'd take with you after winter," Uranvoh said. "It will be a good chance to build your leadership skills."

Which they both knew he still needed to work on. Brome looked at the table. "You know. I thought I admired him because he was a warrior, but it was in reality because he was a leader."

"I think he gets it from his father, but I think his father was the leader of his clan."

"Would definitely explain a lot why he was so fixated on honor and getting the sword back. Perhaps he went there? To the caves?"

"That would be a place to start."

"It would."