Disclaimer: I don't own Redwall and blah blah blah…
She wasn't. Jealous, that is. Yes, it was true that her husband to be was the center of all attention for the mousemaids in the abbey, but that did make her Jealous. Fieldmice did not get Jealous.
Still, as she watched him tell a harvest mousemaid that the abbot wanted to see her, she noticed that the mousemaid giggled and batted her eyelashes at him before scurrying off. A familiar feeling rose in her heart. She hopped off the ramparts where she had been watching him and made her way across the abbey green.
Too late. A group of mousemaids appeared before she made it to him and dragged him off. He saw her before they turned a corner, and his eyes told her that he was sorry.
Sighing, she turned and returned to the abbey. Her feet led her to Great Hall and came to a stop under the tapestry of Martin the Warrior. She leaned her back against the cool stone wall and sighed. This wasn't fair at all.
She was the one that had noticed him when he was nothing but a novice in baggy robes. She was the one that had showed kindness to him when no one else but the elders would. She had seen the warrior in him before anyone else, and she made sure that she was there every step of the way toward his path to stardom.
Every since the slaying of Cluny the Scourge, she hadn't got to talk to him alone at all. He was always with the elders, or surrounded by mousemaids batting their eyelashes at him. After proving himself heir to Martin's sword, he'd attracted attention from all the mousemaids in the abbey. Everyone wanted attention from a hero. Apparently, they didn't understand that he was already engaged to be married.
Being the kind soul he was, he paid a bit of attention to each admirer before rushing off somewhere else and being attacked again. She wasn't worried about him losing interest in her. She knew he was too good for that. They'd already proclaimed their love for each other before the late Abbot Mortimer declared that they'd be married.
So what was the reason for this, this longing in her heart? She wasn't sure, but she would like it if he would just take some time to talk to her, to laugh with her. She knew that they'd have the rest of their lives to do this, but she'd like some attention now and then.
Her legs lost strength and she let herself slide to the floor, her back still against the wall. This was so unfair! So maybe she was jealous, but just a little bit. She really really didn't mind him getting attention from all the other maids. She really didn't! Never the less, she didn't like it as much as she should.
She heard footsteps in the hall. Turning her head, she saw him heading toward her.
"There you are!" he exclaimed when he saw her. "I've been looking all over the place for you." He joined her at the foot of the wall.
"Where are all your little friends?" Her voice came out surprisingly cold. She hadn't meant to do that.
He sensed her resentment toward all the mousemaids. Cupping her face with his paw, he turned her head toward him. "Oh, you know I love you more."
She was shocked. More? Did that meant he loved them too? That she was just a bit more special? She asked him that.
The look on his face was one of hurt. "You know I didn't mean it like that."
"Prove it." She was mad, and when she was mad, things didn't pass under her radar easily.
He stood up and pulled her along with him. She tried to look away, but he stopped her, and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
She almost pulled way in surprise. Despite their close relationship, they'd never kissed before. It was nice. She liked it.
"Do you honestly think that I'd do that for any other mousemaid?"
She was still mad. "You could. Show me something that makes me special."
He grabbed her hand and led her outside. They walked to the gatehouse, which was currently under reconstruction.
"See that? We're going to live our lives there. We're going to have kids and you are going to make a great mother. I know you will."
She shook her head. "You can say that to anybeast."
He laughed. "Your stubborn nature is one of the reasons why I love you."
A mousemaid approached with a place piled high with pastries straight from the kitchen. She asked him if he wanted one. He said yes, but when she tried to feed him one, he shook his head and took it from her.
"Do you want some?" he asked her when they were alone again.
She shook her head, but he insisted, and he fed her like she was a little baby. She liked that too. It was cute to have someone feed you.
They walked to the orchard. He climbed one of the ladders set up by the fruit pickers and chose a ruby red apple. He handed it to her.
"This apple signifies my heart. I place it in your hands with the hope that you'll take care of it." He took her other paw and placed it over the apple. The look on his face was so earnest, she couldn't say no.
She took a bite out of the apple. "Now it's safe inside me forever." She clasped his paw to hers, and they walked off.
She wasn't jealous. She really wasn't. She just wanted him to love her forever. And he had proved that he could do that.
Like it? I wanted to show that Cornflower wasn't just this sissy of a mousemaid. The apple thing was kinda weird though. Sigh…LONG LIVE FLUFF!
REVIEW! Pretty please?