They entered the warren and Comet found he had no idea which of the many tunnels to head down.

“Do you know where the leader’s burrow is?” He asked, turning to Blue.

“I know where it is, follow me.” Interrupted Arrow and began heading towards a tunnel.

“He was asking me.” Complained Blue.

Comet just shook his head. He didn’t want to be part of their arguing.

When they neared the end of the tunnel.

“Are you sure this is the leader’s burrow? There’s no guards.” Said Comet.

“Of course it is.” Said Arrow.

“They must have moved it somewhere else.” Said Blue decidedly.

“Let’s just check and see.” Said Arrow.

They entered the burrow and were surprised to find a miserable looking rabbit inside.

“IvoryHeart, is that you?” Asked Arrow.

“I’m surprised you remember me, haven’t seen you in a long time.” He said in a lifeless voice.

“Last time I saw you, you weren’t lazing around like a Gold Colony rabbit.” Snorted Arrow.

“Arrow. This is our leader.” Scolded Blue.

“The Magia doesn’t seem to think so, they made that pretty clear they don’t need me. I don’t understand why I’m even here anymore.”

They were all very shocked by this, even Rusty who’d been silently watching.

“You can’t just abandon your colony like that.” Said Arrow.

“What’s it matter to you? You’ve always been an outsider, more loyal to the Magia than the colony.”

“That’s what Seekers are meant to be… you never had problems with Seeker’s before.” He said.

“I didn’t when I thought the Magia would use them to protect us and bring order to the valley. They only seem to bring death and disorder instead. I heard that Bone is the latest death.” He said.

“The Magia said that it’s your job to announce that to the colony.” Said Blue.

He sighed. “I know, but the Magia has taken over every part of running the colony. I think they only want me around so I can be blamed for anything bad that happens, including deaths.”

“The Magia didn’t promise no rabbit would die again,” Arrow said, his tone edged with aggression. “Since they arrived, the valley has been better protected from threats and had fewer battles than ever before. The only thing causing

chaos in the valley are the rabbits who refuse to accept them.”

“You weren’t there when they promised us not to change our culture and way of life… and they have. I know they look down on us, they think we’re foolish and weak.”

“What would you know? You’ve been hiding away here.” Snapped Arrow. “Let’s go,” he declared, pushing past Comet.

As Blue and Rusty followed Arrow out through the tunnel, Comet hesitated and turned to IvoryHeart.

“I know you feel you don’t have much power here but I think you might be the only rabbit who might be able to reduce the Magia’s influence. I’ve seen Nove uses the Porcelain Medallion to manipulate the memories of the colony. It doesn’t feel right.” He said.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

“It’s not but I can’t do anything about it. The Magia won’t listen to me and if I tried warning the colony, they’d just erase their memories again.” He said.

“ I don’t understand why the Magia can’t see that they’re hurting the colony by what they’re doing.”

“Why don’t you tell them? You’re a hare, they should listen to you.”

“I used to think that… but I’ll try.” He said, seeing that IvoryHeart wouldn’t be any help.

He left and looked for the rest of his group, only to find them talking to Nove. He tensed up, dreading what he might say to them after their conversation with IvoryHeart.

Nove noticed him and called him over.

“I was just explaining that we know who stole your items.” He said.

Comet quietly sighed with relief. “Oh, really? Who are they?”

“Luxe and Cobalt but they left the valley and buried their pendants, so there’s no way to track them.”

“I still can’t believe they were rebels.” Said him

“I knew the whole time” Bragged Arrow.

“If you knew so much, why didn’t you tell us?” Asked Nove.

“Uh well… I didn’t know for sure, but they were acting suspicious when we came here.” He said, awkwardly defending his lie.

“I guess we can’t create the Master-Medallion if we can’t find them then.” Said Rusty.

“We’ll be able to find them, I’ve been beyond the valley many times.” Said Arrow.

“So have I.” Added Blue.

“Sorry, but I can’t have you wasting time chasing rebels and risk getting injured. I’ll send out a group in the morning, if we can’t find them, you’ll have to go to Iron Colony anyway. I can arrange for Diamond Colony to give some of their best pendants for the medallion.”

“But will they be as good as the ones we had?” Asked Rusty.

“They will be slightly worse quality but by harnessing energy, we should be able to make up for that.” He said.

“What are we supposed to do until then?” Asked Arrow.

“You can eat with the others outside and get some rest.” He said.

“Actually, I need to ask you something…” Began Comet but when he saw Nove and the others all staring at him, he couldn’t find the courage to ask him about the memory erasing. “Can I sleep inside? I’m really tired.”

“Of course.” He said.

As Comet headed for the burrow, he tried to fight his guilt by telling himself that he would confront Nove about it tomorrow.

The others grazed peacefully outside, they tried keeping to themselves but that was pretty much impossible, especially with Blue’s family wanting to spend time with him.

“I think we should go and check the borders, maybe the Watchers saw Luxe and Cobalt try coming back.” Suggested Rusty.

“Good idea.” Replied Arrow, eager to get away from the crowd.

“Hey, where are you going?” Asked Blue, seeing they were leaving.

“Checking the border.” Said Arrow.

“Can I come?” He said.

“Only if you don’t bring half the colony with you.” He said then hopped away.

Blue excused himself, mumbling something about it being official Seeker business and dashed off to join them.

Arrow led them around the north border, asking Watchers if they had seen Cobalt and Luxe. Finally, one Watcher reported they spotted them up the valley before they disappeared.

“I wish we go and check up there, they might still be in the area,” Said Arrow.

“They could be anywhere by now though and Nove specifically asked us not to go after them.” Said Blue.

“I don’t see what’s wrong with just checking, as long as we don’t chase them, we aren’t going against what Nove said.” Suggested Rusty.

“I don’t know… Nove doesn’t seem to like us much so we shouldn’t give him more reasons to.” Said.

“You can stay down here and be look out. We won’t go very far, what do you say, Arrow.”

Arrow looked conflicted for a moment. “I guess if we find them, we really are helping the Magia.” He said.

“Excatly, so let’s go.” Said Rusty.

“Hey, where are you two going?” Asked the Watcher.

“We just want to see if we can spot them up there, we won’t be long.” Said Rusty.

“Can’t you wait until morning? This time of evening is when all sorts of creatures come out, some looking for dinner like you.” He said.

“We are not kits, we are Seekers, and we’re not afraid any creature that might be up there.” Said Arrow and brushed past the Watcher with Rusty.

Blue wanted to follow, he hated missing out on things but the thought of facing Nove scared him. He decided to stay where he was, to make sure no other rabbit noticed where they were going.

After some time, he began to worry about them. It felt like they had been up there for a long time. Had they found them and gotten into a fight? If there were rebels near here, then there might be wild rabbits. He started to panic and decided he had to tell Nove, no matter the consequences.

He paused when he heard some distant noise from up the valley. He expected to see a hoard of wild rabbits, instead he saw Arrow and Rusty bolting down the valley, being chased by two orange-furred creatures.

At first, he couldn’t indentify them but instinctively he knew they were dangerously. He dashed for cover in a nearby hollow log, catching a glimpse of fur streaking by. His heart sank as he realised they were foxes.

Arrow and Rusty dashed around the foxes, trying to put a fight.

“Want are you doing? Get into the warren. We need the Magia’s power to fight a fox.” Called Blue, venturing out of his hiding place.

Arrow narrowly dodged a snapping jaw.

“I don’t want to lead them any closer to the warren.” He said.

“Fine, I’ll get Comet, maybe he can help.” Said Blue then raced away, hoping that with luck, he would get there before it was too late.