The Heart of a Candle

Blackness.

Music: "Long As I Can See The Light" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

As the first sax-break starts a match flares into life, held in a rabbit's front paw. The match flickers a little then catches fully. The hand moves carefully towards a candle and holds the match over the wick for a couple of seconds. The candle catches. With a grunt of satisfaction the coney withdraws the match and pinches the lit end to extinguish the flame. The match is tossed into a small rubbish bin. The candle gives minimal light - just serving to delineate the edges of the furniture in the room and the shelf the candle sits upon.

Let's examine this candle; we'll ignore the noise of a chair being moved behind us for the moment.

Look at the candle. There is an inch or so left standing on the candle holder - just a functional tin disk rather than the gothic ironwork you might have expected.

Closer: This is a good candle. See the way there are no drips down the side? The candle has a white heart and a glossy-red skin - not as hip-cool as black, but easier to come by. The softer heart melts before the harder skin, the wick then uses the heart as fuel, the skin following closely (in the best candles anyway). No wax is wasted in this design; it all goes as fuel to keep the wick burning, not wasted in drips. You get the benefit of not having to dig wax out of the carpet and a long candle life. This candle has been used all week and is probably in its last night of use. This candle could tell us some interesting stories. But I'm not having that - I'm the narrator and I'm not letting some primitive light source rob me of my one pleasure.

This candle is now burning strong, but it's just one candle and, as I said before just manages to delineate the objects in the room.

Turn away from the candle now, it would be wise to shut your eyes tight for a few seconds to get used to the low light level.

The music fades to leave us with the near-silence of the room.

Now you can open them, you can just make out a coney hunched over a desk. Every couple of seconds or so there a noise like paper sliding over paper.

A chuckle emanates from the coney and it's a few seconds before another paper-noise.

You shiver a little. The room is too dark for you to see anything but vague outlines, but the coney appears to be reading.

A small tap. Then two more taps in quick succession. A paper-movement sound as if a ream was tidied. The creak of a drawer opening, more paper movement then the drawer again.

"Come." The coney at the desk says. At the far end of the room, a crack of light appears and a door opens.

Silhouetted in the doorway is a coney. We can see his head weaving a little from side to side as he tries to make out the contents of the room.

"Enter."

The buck takes a couple of steps into the room and shuts the door behind himself. This coney doesn't appear to want to walk far into a room this dark.

The seated coney smiles (You'll have to trust me on this, you can't tell for yourself.)

"Ernie," The seated coney says quietly, "Take a seat." The new rabbit, whom we will assume is Ernie shuffles carefully into the room and nearly falls over when he finds a chair.

"Boss." Ernie says as he sits. He shuffles a little to get comfortable.

"Is everything moving correctly?"

Ernie nods in reply then decides that it's dark enough that he should say something.

"Yes Boss."

Silence. Ernie gets the urge to talk more.

"Frank is well in with the strikers. He managed to get a job in the fields just before they took their ballot. He can't be identified with our men., but is already in with the union reps and he's been able to hold their resolve.

"Honestly, when she told them she had their wages they nearly crumbled there and then. But Frank put a few choice words in the right ears and hardened them."

Frank's turn to smile.

"I think she'll have to pay them to break the strike now.

"I've had good reports from our lads with the graffiti. They have recruited enough angry young bucks so that they don't have lift their own spray cans anymore."

This got a grunt of approval from the seated buck. "I hope they can spell."

"Doesn't matter with graffiti, does it?" Ernie replied. "We're planning a raid on the 'Coffee and Carrot' tomorrow night. You said she goes there often? Well she won't after we visit it.

"I've had some interesting words from our 'Ears And Eyes' - we've spotted a group of monks on their way here, they should arrive here tomorrow- they don't travel fast and get distracted easily, but they are definitely coming here."

The seated figure leaned forwards. "We can use them."

"Boss?"

"I'd like a rumour started."

"I'm good at that, boss."

"Lets see. Strike-breakers? Black Legs? Yes." He leaned back again. You could hear the smile. "I hear that she's bringing outside labour in. Outside CHEAP labour."

"So that she doesn't need to end the strike."

"That's what I heard." Chuckle. "Religious types. The sort that work for peanuts." Another chuckle. "Old friends of the Head Doe."

"Er," Ernie said, "I don't think they eat peanuts. They're moles."

The boss was silent for a while, trying to work out whether Ernie was joking or stupid.

In the end it doesn't matter, he follows orders well.

"She needs to feel more isolated." The boss said quietly. "Whereas she has actually been making friends, she needs to lose one or two."

"Not the secretary, boss?"

"No, I've got better plans for her. No. There's a spiv from the gutter who's been helpful of late. He goes by the name of 'Al'"

"Moves like a rabid pigeon?"

"That's the one."

"An accident?"

"No. First I want to arrange a meeting that he doesn't turn up for. We arrange for him to appear unreliable a couple of times first."

"Good one boss."

"Then he meets with an accident."

"Is that all then?"

"I'd also like to discredit her message-buck."

"The fat one? Nervous type?"

"Yes. Be creative."

"Oh, thank you, boss.."

"My pleasure."

"Shut the door on your way out."

"Yes, boss."

---*---

Lotte bounced her way to work. It may be a tough time for Cola at the moment, but Lotte was starting to enjoy herself. She was far more involved with the actual warren-running than she had been under the old Head Buck.

And she has had one of the most magnificent bucks ever. Twice now.

She arrived at the office to fine Matt outside on his own.

"'Lo miss." He said.

"No Cola yet?" Lotte asked; concerned because Cola normally started work a good half an hour before she did and her guard-buck Fudge should have been standing outside the offices next to Matt.

"No, miss. No sign."

Lotte opened the door and stepped into the office. She started towards the back room to put the kettle on when she noticed something funny.

On Cola's desk was an empty picture frame. She'd not seen the frame around here before, and it wasn't here when she locked up yesterday evening.

She popped her head out of the door. "Matt, I'm off to Cola's quarters. If you see Phump before I do tell him to meet me there."

Matt's "Yes miss" was lost on her back as she ran off.

---*---

As Lotte rounded the last corner before Cola's burrow she saw two young bucks busy at something on the wall opposite. "Hey you!" She shouted and loped towards them. The two youngsters took one look at her and dropped what they were holding and raced off.

She arrived at Cola's door out of breath. "Lordie! I'm not used to this." She kicked the crayons with her feet and stared at the wall.

'Does donut' was scribbled amateurishly on the wall. She laughed. The standard of Cola-Hater was going downhill rapidly.

Fudge wasn't outside of Cola's door, but she knocked and tried the handle none the less.

Locked. No answer from within. She bent down and tried to look through the keyhole.

Blackness.

Lotte stood and thought for a few seconds and then headed off towards the West Entrance - the nearest exit.

Lotte trotted up to the guard buck at the doorway. He nodded at her as she caught her breath.

"Ernest isn't it?" She asked, "Have you seen the Head Doe today?"

"Sorry miss, no. I've only been on here for an hour or so."

"Bugger." Lotte said to herself, then to the buck: "Who was here before you?"

"That was Old Dick, miss."

"Thanks," Lotte said patting the guard's shoulder and rushing back into the burrow, Ernest smiled at her bobbing tail as she raced off.

---*---

Lotte passed by the North Gate and asked after Cola there before she returned to the offices. She was hoping to see Matt and Fudge outside but Matt was the only one there.

"She's missing." Lotte said to Matt as she stepped into the room, Matt was terse and you ended up talking to him the same way he responded, Lotte turned back, "Have you seen Phump yet?"

"No, miss."

She stepped into the offices and, glancing at the clock strode to the back room. Nine-thirty. She really needed a cup of tea now.

---*---

Lotte stood in front of Phump as he read down his list. Behind her the clock said twelve-fifty.

"There was no sign from George and Reg on the south gate. I still haven't found any sign of Old Dick." He looked up at Lotte. "If she went outside then she went out during his watch."

"And she'd been gone for almost four hours." Lotte said with tight lips. "Come on"

She let Phump out of the door. "Matt, you're with me. Finding Cola is more important than looking after an empty office."

They headed off to the West Entrance.

---*---

The sun was well past the yardarm when Lotte spied Phump jumping up and down and waving his hands in the air in the woods. She took a couple of steps then broke out into a run. Well. She needed the exercise.

She caught up to Phump and he pointed to a figure in the woods. "Fudge I can see him it's definitely him look id recognise that stoop anywhere." He said. Lotte raced towards the buck.

Lotte and Phump broke out of the trees and found themselves on the river bank. Fudge turned round and adopted a fighting stance before he realised who it was.

"Oh, thank Bugs." He said, "She won't move!" He pointed at a doe, sitting on the river's edge.

Lotte looked and felt a shiver slide down her spine. This was where the Seer-Swans had lived. She hoped that the bodies had been cleaned away. The swans had been brutally murdered only a few weeks ago.

Lotte walked up to Cola and sat down next to her. Cola just sat there staring at the river. Lotte looked too. The river was staring to live up to its title here and was a good thirty feet wide. This bank was a slow slope, with patches of high reeds reaching above their heads. Lotte trembled a little when she realised that she could make out the shape of a reed-cave to their right. The river ran fast here.

"So near." Cola said quietly, gently shaking her head. "So near." Lotte realised that Cola looked a little wet. A sound next to her was Fudge.

"Miss, you can't be thinkin' of tryin' again. I nearly lost you the last time. We're not strong enough swimmers for this stretch."

Lotte turned to Cola, "What have you been doing?"

Cola reached to her side and picked up something and handed it to Lotte. It was a folded up piece of paper. On the front was the picture of a coney holding a red fish. Lotte looked at it. "A red fish? A herring?"

"Open it up." Cola said.

Lotte unfolded the paper and was surprised, but not much, to find a map on one side.

Lotte could see that this was another local map, but this map had lines drawn on it.

Lotte folded the map and handed it back to her.

"The treasure is in the middle of this stretch."

Cola nodded.

"And you've been trying to get it on your own."

Cola nodded.

"And you didn't think of asking for help." Lotte stood up. "We've all been worried stiff for you." Lotte took Cola's arm and tugged at her. "Come on. It's getting late."

"I've got to get it." Cola said resisting.

"We'll get it." Lotte said finally pulling Cola to her feet. "But not now. Tomorrow." She smiled. "You forgot I was the school swimming champion."