The Rightful Heir (6 page)

“He wasss blinded by the human boy'sss fire, wasssn't he?” a voice asked.

“Hisss sssight isssn't what it wasss. He isss ssstill the only one who knowsss the entrance to the kingdom, however.” Siloam's rattle sounded loudly. “I have given him a new order. He hasss sssent the buzzardsss to sssearch the western landsss and quessstion all creaturesss about the heir. My ssspy sssaysss he will be coming from the wessst.”

“And if they find him?”

“Then I will go and kill him!” Siloam boasted, slithering on top of the gargantuan rotting body of his former master. He hissed loudly and the others rattled in satisfaction. “Friendsss, we will sssoon have our revenge!”

CHAPTER THREE

I
T WAS A
RATHER QUIET,
late-September afternoon in the cave across from the Biggs's mailbox. Most of the animals were outside, either playing in the pasture or gathering food for the upcoming winter. Roscoe, Clementine, and a few others were inside, lounging by the small pool. A falling leaf now and then would find its way through the ceiling hole and into the water.

“Hey, Roscoe, tell me again the story of how you beat that giant goat in a jousting contest!” Squeak, the field mouse, stood on his hind legs and looked into an eye of the fainting goat, who lay on his side.

“Alright, little mouse. I think you've fed the
Matador's
ego enough.” The pot-bellied pig waddled over to Roscoe, sitting his big rump next to his face.

“You know, Clementine, one of these days you're going to seriously hurt someone with that thing!” the annoyed goat winced at his fat friend.

Clementine continued. “Okay, Squeak, how ‘bout I tell you the story of when I slayed the
evil, monstrous, hungry
boar who was about to eat us all—including King Benjamin!”

“Pig, how many times do we have to go through this? It wasn't
you
but
me
who mentioned you had a
girl's
name.”

Squeak's head moved from goat to pig. “Y-you have a girl's name, Clementine?”

“Umm…” Clementine nervously tried to change the subject. “Hey, Squeak! How ‘bout you go find those chicks and I'll tell you
the story of how I got this scar on my back when Farangis bit me? That was something, let me tell ya! You see—”

SPLASH!!!
All three jumped up in surprise and whirled around to the pool. A few animals ran into the tunnel, yelping in fear. Everyone stared at the water, seeing nothing but ripples, when suddenly the face of an exhausted fox popped up, gasping for air. Squeak ran behind Clementine's fatty backside. Clementine and Roscoe's mouths hung open. They glanced at each other.

The fox propped his skinny orange body onto the ledge of the pool and inhaled another huge breath. He examined the large cavern, noticing the sparkling blue reflections from the pool on the walls. He looked in awe at the throne of white limestone, shining in the crystal blue spring water. “So it
is
true!” The fox addressed the spectators in front of him, his wet fur dripping all over the floor. “Is this…is this the kingdom of King
Pugsly?”

The pig
frowned. “Yes, but King Pugsly is dead.”

“Dead? H-how?
It
didn't kill him, did it?”

Roscoe sighed. “Oh no, not this again. Okay, look,
fox,”
he began reciting. “Farangis killed our king, but we took care of him weeks ago. We now live in peace again.
And
we have a new king—a human boy named King Benjamin.”

A small bird flew high above, near the hole in the ceiling. Its chirps echoed throughout the cavern, then it flew out. Squeak came out from behind Clementine. “What is this
it
you're talking about?”

The fox stared at the field mouse, licking his lips in hunger. As he moved to attack, Clementine pounced on his paws. Yelping, the fox looked up in pain at the snorting pig while Squeak again retreated behind his savior. “One thing you must know about our kingdom,
fox
, is that we don't eat each other.”

“I-I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I've been traveling for days without food looking for this place.”

“We have vegetables stored away if you're hungry,” Roscoe said, while the fox hid his disgust.

“You've searched for days?” Clementine asked. “How did you find us? The full moon will soon be here. Why didn't you just wait for the beacon?”

“Because we can't wait that long.” The fox took another deep breath, then looked up at the hole in the ceiling. “I was running in the pastures, thirsty and tired, when I came across this hole. I looked down and saw the sun reflecting off your pool. I was so thirsty. I didn't care if I could get back out. I needed a drink!”

Roscoe was confused. “You said ‘we couldn't wait that long.' Who's ‘we'?”

Squeak came forward and the fox smiled. “My apologies, little mouse. I didn't mean to eat—uh, scare you.”

“Fox!” Roscoe demanded. “Who…is…we?”

The fox looked down
and sighed. “About a thousand of us.” You could've heard one of Miss Nightingale's peacock feathers drop, if she hadn't been in the pasture.

Roscoe tried to move his lips. “Th-th-th—”

Clementine completed his thought. “Thousand?”

The fox smiled wanly at their astonishment. “Yes, my friends. Give or take.”

Roscoe was in shock. “Um…where are we going to put a th-th—”

“Thousand,” Clementine finished.

“Yeah, what he said. Where will
they fit?!”
The goat stared in disbelief.

“Oh, come on, Roscoe,” Squeak piped in. “We can fit more in the cavern. This thing goes way back—”

“Squeak!” Roscoe snapped. “Don't you like have some,
I don't know
, cats or hawks you can be playing with?”

“They're all out gathering food. And you're the one who taught me not to work!” the mouse shrugged his shoulders in defense.

“Okay, fine. Well, why don't you go keep a lookout for King Benjamin then?” The fading light shone through the ceiling. “He's a little later than usual. I hope he shows up soon.” Roscoe looked back at the fox as it scratched its ear with a hind paw. “…Real soon!” Clementine winked at the mouse, who scampered through the tunnel, and Roscoe continued with a sigh. “Alright. Before we go any further, I'm Roscoe and this is Clementine.”

“Ma'am.” The fox bowed its head.

“Okay, let's just get this over with now! I'm a boy who just happens to have a girl's name,” the pig squealed.

“Oh. Nice to meet you. My name's Felix.”

“Ma'am.” Clementine tried to sound serious.

“Felix is a boy's name,” the fox snapped.

“Well,
Felix
, I
suggest we wait on our king to arrive before we discuss anything more about your…
friends.”

“Yes, absolutely.” Felix cleared his throat and checked a paw. They stood in awkward silence, looking around the cave. “So… you two aren't out gathering food like the rest—”

“Um, yeah, we're heroes,” Roscoe blurted out. “So ya know, we don't…really…uh, do that stuff.”

“Oh.” The fox was amused.

“Yeah, and I'm still waiting for them to carry me around everywhere!” Clementine snorted ridiculously loud. Roscoe rolled his eyes at the pig's stupid comment.

CHAPTER FOUR