Iron Bound (Tassle Riverswift)

[Substitute Author]

Rock scraped her elbows as Tassle inched across the rough floor with tortuous slowness, trying to keep the manacles on her wrists and ankles quiet. A drop of sweat rolled down her brow, but she gritted her teeth and moved onward. There was a pile of old logs and driftwood piled up against the wall directly in front of her, shielding her movements from view. The shrew placed one paw on a splintered log and began dragging herself upward.
The chains jerked suddenly and clanked. The sound, ringing against the stone cobblestones, echoed with astonishing loudness in Tassle's ears. She stiffened and hunched down, then turned around with a glare.

An emaciated stoat looked back at her in uneasy apology, then shrugged and grasped the chain connecting them. She held it up so it wasn't scraping along the stones. Tassle gave her a thankful nod, then turned and continued her climb.
The pile wasn't very high and she didn't dare go all the way to the top- the chains soon grew taut and stopped her progress. Tassle brushed fur away from her face and pressed her eye against a crack between two beams. She stared hard at what she could see of the dim hall and its occupants, ears straining to hear the muted sounds of voices.

Several beasts had gathered in the ruins of the old dining hall. She could see Captain Lowri and his first mate, several of the crew, and even some of the rats gathered around in agitation. Their raised voices echoed in the hall and Tassle listened hard.

They were fighting, then. A grim smile crept over her gaunt face. Between the gap in the logs she peered through it was hard to see. Her gaze swept back and forth.
"Can you see anything?"
The voice, just above a whisper, floated up to her. Tassle twisted around and looked on the wide-eyed, upturned faces of her fellow slaves.

"Yes," she hissed back. "Just a moment!"

She turned back, pressed her face to the logs again, and her heart leapt into her mouth. Fear made her stiffen, but then forced herself to relax with a shudder. Through the narrow crack she had seen a slim ferret, standing off to one side of the group of others and showing her teeth in a smile. As Tassle watched the ferret turned and looked directly at her.

Tassle flinched back then forced herself to remain still and frozen. She took a deep breath- she was well hidden behind her wall of debris. It was mere chance the ferret had looked this way.

But her heart still pounded and when a slight tug came on her chains she jumped nervously.
"Guard, Tassle!"
The little shrew reacted instantly. Half climbing, half sliding, she made her way back down the heap. Splinters dug into her palms and left little pricks of blood. Once down, she scooted across the worn flagstones towards the rest of the slaves.
"Thanks, Shelby," she whispered. The stoat nodded, beckoned to her sharply, and Tassle was ushered into the middle of the group. Shaking slightly, she was comforted by the warm press of bodies around her. She bowed her heard and stared hard at the ground as footsteps announced somebeast's approach.
~

It had been her Nameday. The whole tribe had been gathered around to celebrate with her. There were flowers, and presents, and Mum had baked her a cake. She wore her new green headband. Everyone had been so happy.

She remembered all her friends congratulating her, calling her Queen of the Day. She was a queen! It had felt as if the world was at her fingertips.

When she commanded that there would be games, someone had suggested hide and seek. Tassle had dashed off to hide, determined to win. No one would find her. Far away from the others she went, and hid in the hollow trunk of a tree. There she had waited, breathing slightly hard and admiring the beautiful bracelet she had been given. It set off her slender wrist so very well. She had begun to laugh, and then tried to stifle it with a paw.
And then... a voice. Silky, smooth, and sending shudders down her spine. A pair of sparkling eyes chilling her, staring down into her own horrified gaze. She remembered screaming and fighting, but tough paws grasped her arms and drug her away. And the ferret had laughed, so cold and mocking, when they put the chains on her.

But Tassle never cried. She would never let them see her cry.

~

Hot tears welled up in Tassle's eyes, but she fought them back. She scrubbed at her eyes with balled up fists and then gave a quiet sniff, hoping no one had noticed. She hadn't cried then and she wasn't going to cry now. It had gone far beyond tears.

She looked down at her paws, holding them out in front of her. They weren't pretty anymore- they were scarred and callused from working the oar. Her fur was ragged and dirty, her face gaunt, her limbs emaciated.

She was a slave. But she wouldn't be one forever.

The shadow of the approaching beast fell across her and the footsteps stopped.

"Well, my poor dears, how are you doing this morning?" The voice was silky and smooth, but without remorse. Without sympathy. "Have they been treating you well? Really, it pains me to see you looking so ragged and downhearted."
Tassle's paws clenched into fists, but she didn't look up. Not now. Not yet.

"Never fear, my little friends, soon we shall have work for you to do. I'm sure it's very boring lying around here all day." The shadow moved away from Tassle and the beast walked down the line, examining the silent slaves.
"How about you? You seem to be a beast quite unfit for manual labor."
Tassle darted a look to the side and saw the female ferret leaning over the wide-eyed form of a vole. The vole's mouth was open, but he seemed unable to reply. The ferret grinned down at him, showing a row of sharp teeth.
"Maybe I'll talk to you again, little one." She laughed coldly, victoriously, then turned and walked away.

Tassle raised her head and watched her go, staring hard at the ferret's back. How much she wanted to stand up and say something, to hit her, to wipe that smug expression from her face. One day. Soon.

"Tassle," somebeast whispered. "She's gone."

The shrew jerked slightly and shook her head, clearing her thoughts. The ferret had disappeared, and her fellow slaves were looking at her expectantly.
"What did 'ee hear?" one of them asked.

Tassle's eyes widened as she remembered what she had overheard. She put the ferret out of her mind and focused on her friends.

"Someone's gone missing," she said. "The Captain's brat, I think. He was causing a fuss about it and they're getting a party together to go look for her."
"Good riddance," somebeast muttered. "Let 'er rot."

"It's wonderful news. " Tassle's eyes sparkled. "Don't you see? This will be our chance. If enough of them join the search, we'll stand a chance at escaping."
They stared at her like she was mad. Giving an exasperated sigh, the shrew gripped her paws together and rocked back and forth, too excited to sit still. She looked back at them; they were all as dirty and ragged as Tassle was, fettered with chains, confined to one dirty corner of an old dining hall. All slaves.
"Don't you want to escape?" Her voice was low but urgent. "Can't you wait to get rid of these chains, to be free again? We can do it!" The chains rattled as she lifted her arms beseechingly. "Quit lying around, waiting for a miracle to happen. We just need the courage."
"Tassle," Shelby, the stoat, said carefully. "There's nowhere to escape to. We're on an island."

"So?" Tassle's eyes blazed. "We'll figure that out later. Anything if better than sitting here waiting for <i>them</i> to get tired of taking care of a bunch of oarslaves when they don't have any oars for them to pull!"
She had spoken louder than she intended. Slightly worried, she fell silent, taking a deep breath. A soft digging claw patted her knee and Tassle looked up in surprise into a pair of bright eyes.

"Burr, aye, Miss Tassle, Oi be with 'ee. But don' 'ee need a plan?"

"Don't you see, Brooga?" Tassle took a deep breath. "Now is when we have our chance. We just need to reach out and take it. As for a plan..."
The shrew looked up and found her gaze irresistably drawn away from their little group. There was a dark hulking shape a little ways away from their group, sitting against the fire-blackened wall.

The other slaves moved aside as Tassle edged past them towards the beast. Taking care not to make too much noise, she scooted over to his side. She hesitated once there, but her determination overwhelmed her fear.

Tassle coughed slightly and the badger swung a huge head towards her.

"I need to talk to you, " she said evenly. "It's important."