Aydin

Summary: All it takes is a spirited slave with a dark past, a cunning and sly warlord, a dangerous vermin horde, and Redwall Abbey to create the greatest battle Redwall has ever seen.

--

A young squirrel trotted along, paws bound together by a thick, sturdy rope. A ferret eyed the new slave group wearily while flicking a black leather whip. He whispered something to his companion, a stoat, and the stoat nodded back.

"Todar will be very pleased," growled the ferret in his slick, oily voice. The stoat looked unsure. He fiddled with his claws uneasily and looked the ferret in the eye.

"Are you sure, Fatom? 'Cause the only decent ones we have are the little silver mousemaid, the otter, the squirrelmaid, and the gray mole!" The stoat had been properly educated before turning to the life of a slaver. Fatom glared at him, his eyes narrowed into dark green slits.

"I'm sure we're fine, Halluc, he's got enough pretty ones to choose from," Fatom snickered, twirling his whip in a casual manner. Halluc sighed in defeat and dragged himself away from the moody ferret. Fatom was known for being ecstatic in one moment and filled with boiling hate the next.

--

The squirrel, Aydin, shot withering glares at the other vermin that surrounded her. The little silver mousemaid behind her twitched her ear uncomfortably.

"Stupid, lily-livered vermin! Who do they think they are? Taking us prisoner," she scoffed. Unfortunately for her, the rat supervising her overheard their brief conversation and was upon her, his whip whirling about. She whimpered every time it struck her tender hide. The other vermin laughed and jeered and shoved dirt in her face. Hatred boiled in her and her body trembled with uncontrollable rage. Suddenly, the whip suspended in midair, still and unmoving. The slavers glanced around, half expecting the woodlander behind this would appear in that second.

One look at Aydin's grim, determined face and the mousemaid summoned her guess. But there was still one tiny nagging bit of doubt.

How had the squirrel stopped the whip without touching it? And thus eliminated the possibility of Aydin saving her.

Aydin's eyes became slits as she spotted the mastermind behind this capture, a dark colored male otter with three vertical scars running across his cheek. By the blood red color of them, the squirrelmaid could tell that the wound was quite recent.

So, he must've gotten that from their leader because they probably failed the last mission. Inwardly, she chuckled to herself. Well, he was gonna get another set of them because she was going to make sure he failed this round up too. Suddenly, a slight rustle of the bushes caused her to turn. She found herself staring at a deadly sharp arrowhead. Aydin reeled back sharply, only to bump into a tattooed rat who snarled and leaped onto her, claws extended to their fullest.

--

The weasel in charge of the archer regimen hissed quietly to himself and let out a stream of curses.

"M'lord, young Rannascene got herself spotted by a squirrelly," he spat angrily. His leader, a black fox with unusual dark gray stripes, scuffled his paw in thought, them growled,

"Let's hope she keeps her trap shut then. We'll deal with Rann later. Back to your post, Kazzak." Kazzak nodded quickly and trotted back.

"Rann, His Mightyness has requested your presence later," he stated. The small pine marten shrunk visibly. But that was expected as, unless you had reached the goal during a mission, a visit to His Mightyness wouldn't really be your cup of tea. Kazzak smirked at her terrified expression. That was what Lord Salgrine wanted from his army. To have control over them by intimidation. Of course, there were many mutinys but they were all crushed by the force of the ones loyal to him. And those infrequent rebellions were what kept the others in line. They had all seen the torn bodies of his victims hanging by the torture shack, where he kept all his slaves.

--

Todar growled angrily. The otter wasn't in a good mood. And to top that off, someone had stuck seaweed in his tea.

"Halluc, me mate!" He raged, commanding the nervous stoat to his presence. When he used just a name, everybeast knew whoever that was, they would be dead before sundown. Lucky stoat. Halluc stumbled over, stood to attention, and threw a smart salute.

"Yes Milord?" He stuttered. The otter lashed out his tail and caused the unfortunate vermin to trip and glared at him through cold, dark brown eyes. He continued swinging his tail about as a warning. Halluc cringed every time the rudder passed his vision.

"Git tha slaves marching FASTER!" The otter bellowed furiously, his eyes alight with rage. Halluc scrambled desperately to get away and bobbed his head quickly before running to do as he was bade.

--

The black fox swished his bushy tail thoughtfully. He considered the odds of him failing, then gestured to his right-paw, a pale colored vixen seer with unseeing purple eyes. She flicked her tail to signal she had heard.

"Tell them we are going. Now," he hissed in a calm demeanor yet his tone was chilly. The seer, not wanting to provoke him into attacking her, for she valued her life, scurried away with astounding agility and speed. The fox raised his chin, confident of his plans. The vixen, Lemira, approved of them, and hardly any plan that she approved of, failed. This was partially because Lemira was not one who wanted to feel his wrath.

The horde's pace quickened after their leader's orders. The fox gave the signal to attack and his troops melted into the shadows, preparing for the assult.

"Now." At the fox's word, the rest of the vermin spread out and charged, silently but swiftly. Before the slavers knew what happened, at least one third of them were dead. Most of them had arrows or daggers protruding from their backs.

Todar whipped his head around frantically. But the remembrance of something that happened in his earlier days gave him the answer he had silently pleaded for. His rival was back.

The fox had slipped away the moment his band had began their attack. At that moment, he appeared behind the otter he hated most. Todar Arrowswift. With a silky smooth chuckle, he stepped out of hiding, savoring the look of surprise with undisguised amusement.

"So, we meet again. You know what I want." Todar shook with fury. His paw reached for his well concealed dagger. Apparently, fate did not favor him this time for the fox saw the paw snaking up the otter's velvet tunic and shook his head in mock disappointment. He waggled a paw in the startled otter's face.

"Tut, tut. Trying the sneak attack on me, eh?" Once again, Todar trembled with barely contained anger. He smacked the intruding fox's paw away in one short gesture.

"No, ya can't have them," was his response. The fox was undeterred and he beckoned to his seer, who had been watching their meeting. At the movement of his paw, she stepped aside and revealed the gruesome scene that she had turned her back to. There lay nearly all of his crew, slain and strewn on the grass that had turned red with the bright scarlet droplets that showered on them relentlessly. The rest were under the paws of the fox's army, begging for mercy. Each had a dagger or sword pointed at their throat, forcing them to lift their chin higher. Each had a frenzied look of panic in their eyes as they tried to avoid the blades that told of their deaths. The fox chuckled again at his horrified expression.

"No?" He inquired again. Then, he laughed a laugh of cruel, sick pleasure. He spun around on his heel and stooped down low to look at the otter in the eye.

"Well, then I'll just take them," he finished, cackling at the last part. Todar gaze him a look of twisted hate on his angry face. He tried to strike out with his hind paws but found that they were shackled to a rotting wooden post. Letting his eyes roll, the otter silently cursed the fox's cunning mind and tried to guess who had done it. The gleaming golden eye of the seer told him who had done it. He hissed in annoyance at his rival's strategic mind. Curse it all again! Todar struggled more, but vainly, as the steel chains would not give way. He pulled and yanked and twisted and rolled. The fox watched all of this with eyes that betrayed nothing of what he was thinking. Finally, Todar had had enough. With a defeated sigh, he groaned,

"You won, Salgrine Keeneye. But mark my words, I'll be back." Salgrine hated when anybeast called him by his full name. He raised himself to full height and spat,

"I am Lord Salgrine the Heartless." His name sent shivers down Todar's spine.

"And, I never needed your permission. I just wanted to see that air bag you call pride, deflated. Also, how can you kill me," Salgrine chuckled softly and let the sentence hang in the air. Todar's eyes flew open wide and his paws curled themselves into balls to stop them from whacking the fox hard on his nose. Salgrine raised a paw to Lemira and she rapped out orders for the slaves to be herded away before brandished an ivory tipped bow strapped onto her back. She whipped out an arrow, pulled the bowstring taut, and released. The arrow whistled gently through the air, gliding smoothly and with grace. Todar wriggled and squirmed but the arrow still hit its target. The otter managed a small, gurgled squeak before his eyes misted over and his body fell limp. Inwardly, Lemira laughed, a cruel, sick sound, and fondled her other unused arrows delicately. She never used normal arrows. Only poisened ones.

"When you're dead?" Salgrine finished with a kick of dirt in the otter's limp, bedraggled face.

--

Aydin stood in a row with the rest of the slaves as their new 'master', Lord Salgrine the Heartless, inspected them and assigned them jobs. He gestured to a small, dirty looking bankvole with dull, spiritless brown eyes.

"You, your name?" He whispered. The bankvole raised its head slightly, allowing its weary gaze to travel over the sly fox before answering,

"Ferlot." Salgrine's eyes narrowed. In a heartbeat, he was on the helpless slave-to-be, dragging his claw across its side. When he spoke, it addressed the entire gawking crowd.

"Let this be a warning. You are to call me 'master'!" He spoke in a calm, collected tone that was nearly overflowing with venom. The bankvole he attacked nodded vigorously.

"Yes master," he whimpered. The fox looked satisfied.

"You are to be a the head chef. You can cook right?" He drawled. Two little bankvole babes stepped forward unbidden. Both spoke simultaneously in identical voices, suggesting they were twins.

"Offa cose he can coo'! He coo' 'ummy tweats for hi' famawe!" Salgrine nodded his head in approval, then hissed, his ears twitching in annoyance.

"You will not talk to me unless asked!" He snarled but maintained his calm demeanor. The babes cowered in fright. Salgrine seemed to think for a moment, tapping his chin thoughtfully, then flicked his tail to Lemira. He mouthed the words: 'Sun Chamber.' She winked to tell him she got the message. Then, she padded towards the babes, a grin of faked excitement plastered on her sly features.

"Come on, little 'uns, I know a place to play!" She cooed. One of the bankvole parents shrieked.

""No," she pleaded. In a flash, Salgrine had pulled out his whip. The bankvole noticed and shut up immediately, not wanting for him to harm her little dibbuns. The little bankvoles had no idea what was happening, only that Lemira the fox was taking them to a fun place. One, a dark red-brown colored male squealed with delight.

"Us pway?" He asked, eyes gleaming happily. Lemira nodded solemnly.

"Aye," she answered, swishing her tail. The other, a similar colored male with a little black fleck behind his right ear, dashed to her side and jumped up and down.

"Les go! Les go!" Lemira chuckled at the bankvoles naivety, then led them off into the distance. Salgrine turned to the line of woodlanders. He indicated a wiry old otter with a little ottermaid cowering behind.

"You," he snapped. The old otter stepped forward. The black fox snarled.

"Not you, the little otter maiden," he growled. The young otter stepped out meekly. Salgrine looked thoughtful and tapped a claw to the ground.

"What can you do? What's your name?" He growled. The ottermaid trembled while talking but managed to sputter,

"D - do y - y - you ha-have pa - pa - pa - paper? M - My name i - i - is Eliena, master." The fox nodded to Lemira, who had came back from wherever she had taken the bankvole babes. She bustled off and returned with a pure white notebook. The otter maiden scribbled furiously, then handed her 'master' the notebook with a beautifully detailed picture of him. He stroked it lovingly. He nodded approvingly and barked,

"You will be my slave. You have the privilege of extra rations," he declared. Many looked at her longingly. Then, he gestured to a gray mole who stepped up with a polite tug of his snout.

"Moi noime bes Cluffoin. Oi c'n juggle marster, oh burr aye," he announced in his quaint molespeech. The fox nodded and waved his hand at Eliena. Cluffoin got the message and hurried to join her. Next in line was a fat mouse whose whiskers were smeared with cream. He licked his fingers in a disgusting manner. Salgrine snorted and ordered,

"Have him removed." A burly looking ferret stepped forward and flung him out of sight. The last thing heard from him was a muffled squeak of surprise. After him was Aydin, defiant and spirited as ever. A devilish twinkle shone in her clear blue eyes and her paw inched towards her hidden dirk. It had a slender hilt that was embroidered with jewelry. Salgrine noticed her moving paw and was before her in a flash, holding onto her hand with a vice grip. In a thin voice that was usually used when disguising an emotion, growled,

"What is your name, slave?" Aydin stared back at him levelly, rebellion clear in her blazing eyes.

"Aydin, master," she hissed, spitting out the last word. Salgrine glared at her. She glared back, fur bristled to twice her size. Her tail swished as she poised herself. Suddenly, the fox began laughing.

"And what can you do, fair maiden?" He chuckled. Aydin stared at him, ear twitching uncomfortably.

"Flattery gets you nowhere. As for my name, it's Aydin." Salgrine seemed to completely forget that he ordered them to call him master.

"What can you do, young Aydin?" Aydin the squirrel scuffled a paw in the dirt.

"Plenty," she retorted hotly. The fox didn't seemed deterred by her attitude and he pressed on, eyes searching and reading her facial expressions carefully.

"I can sing, I can dance, I can talk, I can mimic, and I can do so much more that would do good to you," she taunted.

The fox rubbed his forehead to stop himself from killing the cocky squirrel right then and there. She could be some use to him. Finally, he growled,

"Sing." From the mouth of the squirrel came a series of beautiful sounds.

"No one can steal my freedom,

Nor can they my liberty,

Think their so much better than me,

When we all deserve to live.

I could've seen so many things,

And yet you stopped my liberty,

And so then I became,

Your downfall!"

The squirrel smirked. The fox bit his tongue from saying any sharp remark. The other vermin of his horde had stopped to listen to the rich music but at the look of their leader's face, they hurried away to tend to their duties. All of the other slaves were all in awe, although some of them were snickering at the look of pure hate on their 'master's' face.

"You will be my personal slave as well. You will attend our feasts as an entertainer and my waitress though," he remarked stonily. The squirrel gave him a cold grin before allowing herself to enter the large, colorful tent that was to be her new home.

Shaking his head, he called the next in line up. It was the silver colored mouse. She was stunning in beauty. Her black tipped ears were perfectly formed and her ebony-furred paws were small and dainty. She was identified as Kieria, and she pulled out a small glass flute, decorated with small ribbons. Taking a deep breath, she began to play a series of notes.

"My personal slave," called Salgrine. Next, an aged gray mouse, Halleon, was dubbed a kitchen helper, a plump vole, Tessera became a servant, Milla the hedgehog became a servant as well, Coda the shrew became a maid, and Ore the hedgehog became a maid as well. The rest were either kicked out or killed.

--

A gray stoat walked into the His Mightiness' slaves' tent and ordered,

"You are to meet him now.

--

Lord Salgrine smiled as his slaves filed in, each looking nervous except for, of course, Aydin, who was staring back furiously. She made a mental note to self:

If he hurts Kieria, I'll kill him!

"Welcome to my humble abode," he greeted with false kindness. Unfortunately for him, Aydin noticed and snapped,

"Cut the fancy language, it makes you seem like a well-mannered mouse." Anger and frustration boiled in Salgrine's black body but he forced himself to remain calm.

"That remark was unneeded," he commented icily. Aydin snorted. Suddenly, a weasel captain named Grogface stumbled by and hollered loudly.

"Milord, Teruk is here, waiting for you to grace her presence!"

--

If you have to say anything, it should be constructive criticism. This is my first time writing a Redwall fanfic. I'm used to writing Warriors. Anyway, the song is MINE! In other words, no stealing!