Lexi hung from a rocky ledge, suspended between earth and sky. Down below, the river could be heard as it rushed along the canyon floor. Several yards of stone stretched on either side, and the vixen knew that if she fell, she would not land in the river. She griped the ledge tighter.
"Hold on, Lexi." Barwick called from above. "We'll get you."
Lexi could feel herself slipping. With no other hand holds and no place to put her feet, she hung helplessly less then a meter from the top. Ozzy and Cedric appered beside the mouse. As they held on to him, Cedric reached down to her. Still numb with shock at her frind's betrayle, Lexi starred dumbly at his outstreached hand.
"You can give me your hand." Cedric prompted.
"How do I know that you won't let me go?" she whispered
"I give you my word. That's all I have to give. You can trust me." She looked into his blue eyes. She could see no deceit or malice, but was still reluctant to place her life in his hands.
But what other choice did she have?
Just as she was loosing her grip on the ledge, she reached for his hand.
Once she was standing on solid ground, Lexi took a shaky breath.
"Are you okay?" Barwick asked.
"Yes." she answered quietly. "Thanks."
"I'm sure you would've done the same for us." Ozzy said.
"We have to hurry." Lexi said urgently. "Aldah has gone to warn Aviso, I'm sure of it."
"We have no time to wast, then. Come on." The opossum said.
Following Ozzy and Cedric, the others raced towards the woods.
Fallowing a winding trail through the forest, they hurried on.
"How long 'till we get there?" Rippler asked.
"Not far, now." Ozzy answered.
As they rounded a bend in the path, the opossum grinned. "Behold, our home." he said proudly.
In the distance, a fort-like castle could be seen. Lexi's excitement and urgency grew as they continued on.
"Halt!"
Suddenly, several creatures blocked the path. Two weasels, one rat, two hedgehogs and a vole. They were all tough-looking and carried swords. Instantly, Lexi reached for her dagger and she could hear the others also drawing their weapons.
"You will drop your swords, if you know whats good for you." A fox strode out of the woods and stopped in front of them.
Cedric stiffened beside her. "Serrez." he growled.
"Is this all you found to bring to our dear, old father?" Serrez asked as he circled around them. "Let's see here... a vixen. Very pretty, but clearly not much of a warrior. I doubt she could shoot her own bow."
Lexi tightened her grip on her dagger. "Watch what you say." she snapped.
"Lexi." Cedric whispered with a slight shake of her head.
The fox chuckled. "Oh, feisty." he said before turning to Barwick. "And you're not threat of help to anyone." The mouse stepped behind Lexi as Serrez continued on.
"Now here is a warrior." he said, stopping in front of Rippler. "Or once was. Perhaps he started a fight he couldn't finish. Is that how you hurt your arm?" he mocked. Rippler scowled at the fox and muttered under his breath.
"Just why did they take you along, old one?" Serrez asked Archie.
"If you don't go away you will find out." the old stoat warned.
With a smirk, Serrez turned back to Cedric. "And you had to bring along your opossum friend, of course. I'd be ashamed if this pathetic few was all that I could round up." he said scornfully.
"At least it's better then joining in with this rabble." the silver fox answered.
"Rabble? These are well-trained warriors of King Mirrikh. Fearless and deadly fighters. It will only be time before Zamari falls into our hands."
"Yeah? I ain't letting that happen."
"You can't stop us. No one can." Serrez stated before commanding his troops to step aside. "The Prince has returned! Let my brother and his brave warriors through." he ordered.
Without a word, Cedric gestured for the others to follow him. As they moved on, Lexi kept glancing behind her to make sure that Mirrikh's soldiers were not following them. Once they were out of earshot, Lexi whispered to Cedric, "You're a prince?"
The silver fox nodded.
"Why didn't you tell us?" she questioned.
"There was never a reason to." he answered.
"So, should I be bowing to you or something?" she asked with a grin.
"No." he replied with a slight smile. "We don't do that at Zamari."
A drawbridge was the only way to safely cross the moat and access the castle. As it was being let down, Lexi could barely hide her excitement at the prospect of seeing her family again.
"Welcome to Zamari." Cedric announced when they started across the bridge. Once on the other side, the metal grate was raised and they were saluted by two guards. Inside the walls, trees grew in well tended rows with winter greens planted between them. Several creatures were tending them and they looked up as they past. Cedric led them through the courtyard and towards the keep. Lexi gazed around, she had never been inside a castle before.
Creatures hurried here and there, carrying supplies to the battlements. Few stopped their work to greet them.
"Lanita!" Cedric to a pretty vixen who was heading towards one of the towers.
"Cedric!" she cried, running to him with her long burgundy dress flowing behind her. "I'm glad you're back." she said after a quick embrace.
"Glad to be back." he answered. "Can you get them a room and something to eat? I need to talk to father."
"Of course." she replied. Turning to them, she said, "Follow me."
"I wish to see Hiden, Catherine and Ocran." Lexi stated after Lanita had shown them to a room that was mid-way up the north tower.
"Of course." the princess replied. "And who shell I say asked for them?"
"Alexandria." she answered.
Lanita looked at her oddly. "Okay, I will tell them right away. If any of you need anything, feel free to ask." she said as she left the room.
"She is not like most princesses, is she?" Barwick asked.
"No. Most princesses are snooty creatures who think themselves above everyone else." Archie replied. "Did I ever tell you about the time..."
Lexi wandered over to the window and gazed out. In the distance she could see the enemy camped along the tree line There were many of them. A small group of about six, carrying a white flag, headed toward the castle.
"The're asking for a truce." Rippler remarked as they moved around the castle and out of sight. "I'm ready to fight now." I was trained by an assassin, you know." the young otter boasted.
"Really? I bet that was fun." she answered.
"Yes." he smiled. "It was. But I hope--"
At that moment, the door opened and Lexi spun around. Standing in the doorway was her family. "'Xandra!" her brother cried as he ran towards her. As she reached down to hug him, she noticed how much he had grown.
"Ocran." she whispered. "I missed you so much!" She stood up to face her mother and father and hugged them both. She felt a tug on her cloak and looked down at her brother.
"'Xandra, are you a ghost?" he asked, his face serious.
"No." she chuckled. "You know that there are no such thing as ghosts. I am quite alive." she heard someone sniffling and looked up the see her mother's face streaked with tears.
"Mother, don't cry!" she exclaimed.
"We thought you were dead." her mother whispered.
"But I'm not. I'm alive. I thought the same of you." Lexi told them. "How did you escape? Aviso's gang killed everyone. Where did you go?"
"Hold on." Her father said. "We will tell you, after you tell us what you have been doing all this time."
Lexi spent the rest of the evening with her family. She told them what had happened since her had been forced to survive on her own, but was careful to leave some things out.
She decided that it would be better for them not to know that she had been a thief, or that she had promised to kill their killer, or that her best friend that joined the enemy and tried to murder her.
Rippler, Archie and Barwick had left the room early on, leaving the foxes alone.
Lexi was surprised that she felt at peace, even though they were surrounded by the enemy.
She was with her family again, and felt as if she could face a hundred soldiers blindfolded.
Perhaps she could.
