Silene's Story

Chapter One

In the beginning, the great Frith made the word and he made the stars by scattering his droppings over the sky. Now, El-Ahrairah was prince of the rabbits and he had so many wives and so many kits, that even Frith couldn't count them. They ate all the grass and clover in the entire world. 

Frith could have killed the prince rabbit there and then, but he needed him for his hijinks and tricks. So, instead, he determined there would be a meeting of all the animals of the world, and upon each, he would bestow a gift. 

Upon the homba, he gave great cunning. 

Upon the hawk, sharp talons. 

Upon the cat, silent feet.

Upon the weasel, great speed.

Upon the wolf, great teeth. 

All to hunt and slay the children of El-Ahrairah. These animals became the Elil, the thousand enemies of rabbits. 

It was a few days later, when El-Ahrairah heard of all this, and went to see Frith. 

"You have condemned my people to lives of fear, Lord."

"Do you not wish to see what blessing I have for your people, Prince Rabbit?"

"To my bottom, give your blessings."

"Very well. Grow a tail to confuse those chasing you and legs to outrun them. Grow ears to hear any of your thousand enemies from miles away. All the world will be your enemy, prince of a thousand enemies. And when they catch you, they will kill you. But first... they must catch you. Digger, listener, runner... Prince with the swift warning, be cunning and full of tricks... and your people will never be destroyed. 

I sprint through the woods, watching my feet, making sure not to trip on a root, for that would cause me an early visit to the Black Rabbit. I hear the small growls from the elil behind me, causing me to whimper but speed up. The trees around me become more spread out. There must be a valley up ahead.

As I near the opening of the woods, I hear voices. I sniff the air. Rabbits. I hear the fast thumping of someone patter their foot on the ground, warning the others of danger. I must warn them!

"Run!" I shout as I come out of the woods. I see a grouping of six or so rabbits. I leap towards them and continue running, the group of all males following me closely until I gain on them. Being the light weight I am, I am easy to carry so I can go faster. Only one rabbit from the group keeps up with me, and even he starts falling behind. I hear grunting from behind me and a vicious growl from the weasel.

"Fiver!" one of the male rabbits shout. I spare a glance behind me ans see that the elil has pounced on the runt, who is about my size. 

Hazel!" Fiver shouts in terror. I stop in my tracks. I can't leave the, It's my fault this is happening. I must help! I sprint back over to the runt. My breathing is heavy as I feel my legs cry out for rest. I don't give in though. 

"That's one fast tiny rabbit," a male says to his friend. I make it to Fiver and the weasel just as the elil is about to send the final strike to the runt. I jump on the weasel and hit it in the side, sending both of us flying. 

Once we hit the ground, the elil wastes no time to attack me. He claws me at my stomach and face, I whimper. I try to kick the weasel off with my hind legs as I claw him back in the face. It doesn't work as he keeps clawing me. I will be meeting the Black Rabbit tonight, I think solemnly.

Suddenly, something knocks the weasel off of me. I lay still, my whole body aching and my wounds stinging. I lightly close my eyes as my breathing slows down to almost nothing. 

"Come on," a gruff voice encourages me. "I didn't just kill a weasel for you to die on us."

"Is she alright?" a softer voice asks timidly, making my mind travel to Fiver. I hesitate, knowing that these are males. Maybe they are nice.

"She," I say, causing me to cough. "She is fine," I say softly, a little too softly. "I just... I just need some sleep," I say as I feel myself starting to drift off. 

"Nope," the gruff voice says and I feel someone nudge my side. Fear courses through me and I jump up, wincing. 

"Thank Frith!" the rabbit with a silver tint shouts. 

"Thank Frith," I repeat with a relieved sigh. "Sorry about the elil," I apologize, guilt swirling in my stomach and is audible in my voice. My ears lay down. "I didn't realize y'all were down here before it was too late," I explain, not wanting to be hurt by the males. I feel the fear well up inside me. 

"It's okay. None of us is hurt. Thanks to you," Hazel reassures me. I smile at him and my ears twitch upwards. 

"Good," I say with a smile and a curt nod. I look up at the night sky. "I must return to hiding. The elil are out," I say. I turn around to run away when a big rabbit with scruff on his head jumps in front of me. My ears lay down again and I whimper slightly. I squat close to the ground, as if trying to disappear in the grass. The big rabbit notices and his eyes widen. 

"I'm not going to hurt you," he reassures. I slightly relax, but not fully, just in case. 

"What if you join us?" Hazel asks me. I give him a nervous glance. "Please? We need does," he tries to explain. They don't have does! And I'm of age to be apart of the Chosen.

"A-as long as I am not part of the Chosen," I manage to say. The bucks look at each other confused before turning back to me. 

"The Chosen?" Hazel asks. 

"Your warren," Fiver speaks up, making me turn to him along with the other bucks. "I saw it in a vision. It was horrible," he says, looking off into the distance for a few seconds. He turns back to me. "I promise you, we do not have the Chosen here. You are free to choose on your own," he explains to me, making me perk up. I look at him in the eyes, searching for lies. When I find none, I sigh and look at the waiting bucks. 

"Okay."