Ch 17: Betrayal in the Rabbit Warren

Within a small room flickered the many candles of Alanna's shrine. Each half melted candle sent warm wax dripping down into tiny puddles on the floor. Dusty and broken stained glass windows depicted the Death Goddess drawing her bow before reaping the souls of those who were to pass on to the Roaming Plane.

Beneath the shadows of an altar, Avalon prayed. Five days ago her cowardice had crippled her so far that Legion was required to kill in her stead. Not only that, but now a fear festered deep in her heart that she could never kill again. While it was true that she possessed the skill and ability to kill, the desire was what she found herself lacking. She thought of the little girl's eyes as they peered back at her in despair. Guilt pierced through her soul and the weight of all she had done settled on her shoulders with the heaviness of an anchor.

"Alanna, I need your guidance. I fear I can not carry the burden of your task any longer," Avalon prayed, desperately seeking a sign – any sign – from the deity that she served and worshiped all of her life.

"Sister, what burden do you speak of?" Avalon snapped open her eyes and spun her head, her hand half-rested on the blade next to her. Although it was only Vada, she still felt tense by her presence. Vada stepped out of the shadows of the temple and into the dim, flickering light of the candles. She knelt down beside her blade sister and lit a new candle. She chanted a small prayer, hoping to ease her friend's troubled mind.

Alanna, please come hither,

And string your bow with lace,

Draw an arrow from your quiver,

And lay her fears to waste,

Without you she will wither,

So, Goddess please make haste,

Alanna please forgive her,

And forever grant her grace,

Vada finished before turning to her lifelong friend, "Avalon, what troubles you? You've been aloof in training and distant ever since your last mission."

Avalon tightened her eyes and went back to praying, ignoring the questions. Vada prodded further, "Avalon, we've know each other since we came here as recruits. We might not be from the same village or related by blood, but we're best friends. You know me better than I know myself. We have a connection that is as true as the bond that real sisters share." Vada took hold of Avalon's hands. They were shivering as Avalon began to cry, "Don't let this eat you up from the inside. Please Avalon, tell me what weighs upon you. I want to help."

Avalon's tears rolled down her cheeks as Vada wiped them away with her sleeve. The High Blade whispered her response at first, barely able to croak out her words. She was ashamed of the feelings she had in her heart. She felt that they betrayed everything she was taught, "I – I don't want to kill any longer. It breaks my heart each time I take a life. It's all wrong! What we do is wrong. I want this pain to end."

Vada's nurturing face turned grim, "Avalon, what you speak of is treason to this clan. You are High Blade, you can't mean these words."

"But I do mean them!" Avalon's voice was quivering. She had served the Black Rabbits since she was ten. In those years she had committed unspeakable acts, but now more than ever, she was confused as to why she had done them.

Vada put her hands on her blade sister's shoulders, "It's alright to feel lost. Sometimes we need to step back to see the bigger picture. What Alanna asks of us is–"

"Bullshit! It's bullshit, Vada! I'm done with it all. I want out! I regret everything I've done and will no longer take part in it."

Vada slowly shook her head in disbelief, "Where will you go, what will you do? You know they'll send someone after you."

Avalon stood and began to pace the temple. For years everything was within her control, but now she was disheveled. She was a mess, "There's a guild of warriors that serve Jedeo. I could join their ranks, redeem myself…" Her eyes widened, "Come with me, Vada!"

Vada looked at her blade sister with utter contempt, "Never. The Silent Master will hear of this. If you have resigned yourself to treason and cowardice, then you are no sister of mine."

Avalon picked up her blade and moved towards the archway, "Please, come with me." She spun around beckoning her blade sister to follow, "You and I, together… We don't have to repeat the mistakes of those that came before us! We can break this chain. Please, come with me, Vada. I don't want to do this on my own."

Vada turned to face away from her, disgusted by the very sight of her, "I'll give you until nightfall to leave."

"Sister, please.."

Vada mustered all her power to fight back her tears, "Go… just go."

***

Elucard woke in the infirmary with a dull pain in his arm. It had been bandaged and was finally free from the tyranny of what he considered to be the itchiest sling ever made. The sages had done a phenomenal job at repairing his arm. He had always wondered how the Black Rabbits recovered from severe injuries so quickly, and now he knew first-hand. Alanna had once walked among the sages and showed them how to stave off death, or so the story goes.

Legion sat at Elucard's bedside, lost in a complete daze. News of Avalon's defection had traveled quickly. An elite troupe of Rabbits had been tasked with putting down the former High Blade and Vada had been charged with leading them. With the seat of the High Blade vacant due to treason, the First Blade was stripped of her rank. Vada would have to return with proof of Avalon's demise in order to regain her standing and ascend to the position of High Blade. In the meantime, Legion had been personally asked by the Silent Master to serve as High Blade.

"Master, are you ok?"

Legion snapped out of his trance to a worried Elucard. Rumors filled the air like a thick smoke. Some said that Avalon abandoned the clan to form her own. Others said that she fled due to her own deep-seeded cowardice and spat on the ground. But rumors are just rumors. They may as well be tales of Alanna walking among the sages. Nevertheless, the leadership feared that dissension was sure to follow within the lower ranks in the absence of a strong High Blade.

"Elucard, how's your arm?"

"It's stiff." Elucard carefully measured his mentor's face before asking the question that had plagued his mind since news of Avalon's treason had reached him. A long silence hung in the air for what felt like several moments before he decided to proceed with great caution, "Master, why did Avalon leave?"

Legion sighed greatly. He was present when Vada informed the Silent Master of Avalon's betrayal. He learned of Avalon's doubts and how she had openly blasphemed Alanna to her blade sister, "Elucard, do you believe we are a family?"

Elucard nodded. In his early days of becoming a Rabbit, he didn't quite know what he wanted from the clan. He just knew he wanted something. Soon, he felt camaraderie with the other clan members and had a father figure in Legion; a father that had grown to replace even the memories of his own real father.

He hadn't really thought about family since he was taken from Ravenshore. His mother's face was a faded blur, his father was now just an idea, and Jetta…

The Black Rabbits were all he had now. It was clear to him as he sat and stared back at his mentor, "I suppose the clan is my family. It's more of a family than I can even remember having before."

"Elucard, Avalon no longer believed that the clan was her family, and her betrayal has grievously wounded us all. If a Rabbit leaves the clan, they must be dealt with. When you take up a blade for the clan, you do it for life. Do you understand that, my student?"

"Master, I would never betray my family!"

Legion nodded, pleased with Elucard's response, "Very good. Now, let's see to you getting out of this bed and back to training."

***

"Silent Master, the morale of the clan is low. The loss of Avalon dealt a tremendous blow to our leadership. There are reports of a small group of deserters who fled under cover of the night." Legion knelt in a small, shadowy room hidden deep within the main compound of the Black Rabbit retreat. It was the meditation quarters of the Silent Master. Only those closest to him were allowed entry.

"They must be dealt with. Made an example of…" The Silent Master spoke in his low, gravelly voice.

"I'll send Baines and Ridge to track them down," Legion said, quickly.

"No, that will not do."

"Master, Ridge is our best tracker, and Baines will make quick work of the defectors. With the oncoming weather, these deserters will be tough to catch," Legion said, confused with the Silent Master's refusal.

"Send your whelp."

Legion raised his head in shock, "Elucard? Master, wouldn't it be far more efficient to send Baines and Ridge? This task needs to be carried out with the utmost precision."

"Why do you hide his talents from me?"

Legion paused, Elucard was growing into a fine assassin, and his peers could see this. Although this task would be an excellent mission for Elucard to undertake, there was still more to the situation than Legion was letting on, "Master, I fear Elucard…"

"The ones who ran, were they the boy's friends?"

Legion left a long pause hanging delicately in the air between them.

The Silent Master continued, "This will be Elucard's final test. He may be a Rabbit in name, but he is not yet a Rabbit in his heart. It is true that he learned much from the Blood Forest, but his greatest trial has yet to come. This task must be his and his alone."

"As you say, Master," Legion said, the words nearly getting tangled in his throat.

The Silent Master grinned beneath a sea of shadows.