"What's that, Howard?" said Gregor, suddenly feeling cautious.
"This," said Howard. He reached his hand up to Luxa's hair and removed a piece of vine. It was small, only a couple of inches long, with three tiny greenish-gray leaves. Gregor had not even noticed it. Unfortunately.
"Oh, that?" Luxa coolly took the vine from Howard's hand and curled it around her finger. "I must have picked it up when I visited the fields yesterday morning. The council has asked me to familiarize myself with the maintenance of the crops, so that when I am queen I may quickly distinguish a good year from a bad one."
"Really? I know of no crop we grow that resembles that vine, Cousin...." said Howard. "What is it?"
"Well, I am not yet an expert, Howard. That is why I must visit the fields," said Luxa matter-of-factly.
Howard's eyes moved back and forth between them. "You two look tired. You should get some rest." He gave them a smile and left.
Before he went to lunch, Gregor washed up in the bathroom and put on fresh clothes. The dark fabric and dim light in the nursery had concealed the fact that his garments were splattered with dried snake blood. Then he went to see his mom. By the time he got there, Vikus had been to see her, so after a brief scolding about being irresponsible, Gregor was allowed to go eat.
When he reached the dining room, he found Vikus, Howard, Luxa, Hazard, and Boots gathered around the table. The servants began ladling stew and passing bread.
They were just starting to eat when Mareth appeared at the door, speaking in a rapid, breathless voice. "Vikus, pardon the intrusion, but there is an occurrence of which we can make no sense," said Mareth.
"What is it, Mareth?" Vikus asked.
"Our scouts were patrolling the river that runs from the Fount," he said. "They pulled this from the water. It was wedged between two rocks along the beach." Mareth gestured to someone in the hallway. Two Underlanders came in hauling a large, round basket between them. It was covered with a tight-fitting lid. Water still dripped from its woven exterior. They set the basket carefully on the floor, and Mareth eased the lid off.
Inside the basket were half a dozen squirming baby mice.
Chapter 9
The mice were about the size of full-grown house cats back home. Their pink bodies were covered in a downy layer of gray fuzz. The sudden light seemed to pain their eyes, and they buried their faces in one another's sides. They were squeaking in fear and distress.
"Ooh, baby mouses! M is for mouses!" cried Boots. She wiggled off her chair and hurried over to crouch beside the basket and pet their fur. "Hi! Hi, you!"
"They are hungry," said Hazard. He took a loaf of bread from the table and sat beside Boots.
The two kids broke off bits of bread and fed the mice, who gobbled down the food ravenously. Hazard made soft squeaking sounds that were indistinguishable from the babies' noises. Boots giggled as a little muzzle rubbed against her palm. "You tickle," she said.
But no one else was laughing. The Underlanders' faces expressed deep concern.
"You say this basket was pulled from the river?" asked Vikus.
"Yes, to the north of us," said Mareth. "It is one of our own making."
Vikus fingered the woven lid. "We send gifts of grain to the nibblers near the Fount in such baskets."
"How could someone have done this?" said Mareth. "Putting these pups on the river in this frail vessel. It is a miracle they survived."
Gregor had to agree. He had been on that river in a small boat. The current was so powerful, it churned the water to a white froth and carried along large boulders like they were Ping-Pong balls.
"If someone wanted to kill them, this seems an elaborate way to do it," said Vikus. "Who would go to the trouble to place them in the basket and set it on the river?"
"It was their mother," said Hazard simply. He fetched a bowl of stew from the table and fed the mice bites. "She put them in here and told them to stay quiet."
"Oh, Hazard, can you understand what they are saying?" said Vikus.
"Some of it. They talk like babies," he said.
"Ask them why their mother did this," said Luxa.
Hazard squeaked back and forth with the mice. "I can't tell exactly. Something bad was happening and all the nibblers were very afraid."