A hundred faces frozen in a moment of anguish and terror.

For all the horrors Mousey had seen, the Gray Menagerie was the worst. Some beasts had curled into the fetal position on the ground as they turned to stone, others stood with their arms spread wide and their wrists limp, as if bound that way as they met their terrible fate.

Sir Ranae shivered and turned his eyes away. “Oh, Mousey… let us not linger here! My heart cannot take it!”

Mousey could understand why Queen Felicia placed this garden at the base of the mountain, straddling the road leading up to her castle. Any army intending to lay siege to her seat of power would surely be demoralized by such a sight. Even the bravest of warriors would search for excuses to turn back upon seeing the anguished faces of these poor, petrified beasts.

“Take heart,” said Mousey, as he drew Nakash’s fang from within his coat. “There is a reason I was gone so long.”

Mousey approached a petrified otter, who stood taller than most of the other beasts in the Gray Menagerie and pressed the tip of the fang to his chest. Mousey closed his eyes and tried to imagine what the otter might have looked like before he was turned to stone.

He heard a gasp from Sir Ranae, followed by coughing. When

he opened his eyes again, the otter staggered for a moment, holding his forehead with one paw. He was disoriented, but very much alive.

Mousey smiled, and moved on to the next beast nearby, answering the otter’s slew of questions by demonstrating his magic on another of Queen Felicia’s victims. Then another, and another. The gray stone which encased them melted away like frost before the rising sun. Each of them took in deep breaths of sweet air once they were free. Some turned immediately to others nearby and embraced loved ones.

“Thank you!” many cried out to Mousey.

“Yes, thank you, dear mouse!”

“And thank Heaven for you!”

Mousey’s paws had started to shake by the time he had only a few more petrified beasts to save, and tears streamed down his cheeks. After all the hardship he’d gone through, it was now all too easy to save these beasts, just as it would be easy to save Button.

Just as it was for so many of these he’d just cured, his family would be reunited and whole again.

Soon.

.......................

The touching reunions continued as Mousey returned to the war camp, where those who’d come to fight Queen Felicia stood in wait. Beasts who’d previously done little more than stare up at the white castle on the mountain with rage in their eyes now cast down their weapons and ran to embrace loved ones returned to life.

Sir Ranae stood beside Mousey, looking down at his friend with a wide grin across his green face. “Look at all the joy you’ve spread, my friend! Is there any reward greater than this?”

Mousey returned the smile, “I can only think of one.”

“Surely, you will see them again,” said Sir Ranae. “Heaven

rewards those who strive to do good.”

Mousey looked up at the sky and nodded.

Without any warning, Sir Ranae lifted Mousey up off the ground by his shoulders and shouted, “Cheers for our hero!”

The crowd erupted into applause, and four rodents approached Mousey carrying a chair. They scooped him into the seat, and paraded him around the camp, holding him as high as they could. Soon, two rabbits came to take their place, and raised him even higher, until he could see over the head of every beast in the camp.

“Mousey!”

“Mousey!”

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“Mousey!”

The crowd shouted his name over and over.

And even with all the noise he still heard Sopher when she whispered to him, “THIS is what I trained you for, Mousey.”

“Thank you,” Mousey responded. “This is better than anything I ever imagined. And, as I’m sure you know, I have a great imagination.”

Mousey raised his paws and looked down at those all around him. “My fellow beasts!” he squeaked. “At a time like this, I think it’s only fitting to give credit to someone dear to me, someone without whom none of this would be possible.”

“What are you doing?” Sopher asked, her voice sounding somewhat nervous.

“I cannot take all the credit for this,” Mousey told her, “You deserve their praise too, and they deserve to know you helped me so much.”

As the crowd hushed, Mousey reached into his pocket and produced Sopher, holding her up for all to see. “I had help from the spirit of this book. Her name is Sopher, and she taught me the secrets of magic!”

The crowd stared at him for a moment, then turned to each other and murmured.

“Sopher,” Mousey said, “Please, show yourself to them. It’s alright, we’re among friends.”

“What if they don’t like me?” Sopher whispered. “They might

burn me!”

“I am their hero, and you are mine,” said Mousey. “No one’s going to harm you.”

There were a few more moments of silence, and several of the beasts below gave Mousey pitying looks.

“Please, Sopher… they’re going to think I’m crazy otherwise…”

A swirling wind, followed by a sound like chimes, and Sopher’s spirit appeared in the air over the beasts who’d lifted Mousey high for praise and adoration. Gasps and chatter rippled through the crowd. Sopher folded her paws in front of her lap and bowed her head. “Hello, everyone. My name is Sopher. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

Mousey held one of her paws in his own, gave her a reassuring smile, then turned to the stunned and silent crowd. “Without her help I would have been slain by the Nocturnal Patrol for refusing to execute Sir Ranae, there’s not a doubt in my mind. She deserves as much credit for this as I do.”

Again, the beasts of the crowd said nothing, instead merely staring upon the white and gold spirit floating in the air above them.

After several seconds, Sir Ranae shouted, “Sopher! Sopher! Sopher!”

Then, Mr. Lapin joined in. “Sopher! Sopher!”

And soon, all the beasts in the camp joined in, cheering her name as they had Mousey’s.

Sopher let out a sigh of relief and turned her blue eyes to Mousey, “Thank you.”

.....................

The celebration went on for over an hour after that, and would likely have continued much longer, were it not for the cry which rang out through the camp.

“Bat!” someone shouted.

The moment the word was spoken, Sopher’s spirit faded from view.

All eyes turned to the sky, and paws pointed as a single bat descended toward the camp, circling on his way down.

The Toad King turned to Mousey, “Shall I have my archers shoot him down for you?”

“No.” Mousey shook his head. “I think he’s a messenger. If so, my plan is working.”

As the bat drew closer, Mousey recognized that this was no bat at all.

“Nycht…” he whispered under his breath.

Nycht landed in front of Mousey. “Looks like you’ve developed quite a following,” came his deep voice from behind the visor of his helmet.

“Yes,” said Mousey, folding his arms. “Amazing what a few good deeds will do.”

“It may have done more than you realize,” said Nycht. “Queen Felicia wishes to negotiate.”

“I’m willing,” said Mousey with a nod. “Tell her to come on down, and I will speak with her.”

“No,” said Nycht. “She told me to bring you back to the castle. She will negotiate there.”

Mousey snorted. “I’m not the naïve pup I was when you arrested me, Nycht. I know she just wants me to go up to the castle, so she can kill me.”

Nycht groaned. “Please… don’t make this difficult! I’m sure by now you know she’s holding your mother and siblings in there? She says she’ll kill all of them if you don’t come to negotiate. Not turn them to stone, for now she knows you can cure that. She’ll actually kill them.”

Mousey clenched his paws into fists. “You… you still stand by her?”

“Your defiance got them into this mess in the first place,” said Nycht in a hushed tone. “Are you willing to negotiate on her terms or not?”

If I go alone she’ll kill me…

“You won’t be alone,” said Sopher.

“I know you’ll be with me,” Mousey responded.

“No. Well, yes, I’ll be there too, but take Sir Ranae with you too.”

Nycht folded his arms in front of his chest, his wings becoming like a cape to cover the lower half of his body. “Well? Are you done daydreaming?”

“I have but one condition,” said Mousey. He turned to Sir Ranae. “Would you be willing to come with me?”

“I would follow you into a burning forest!” said Sir Ranae. “Or under a frozen lake. Or into.—”

“Then my condition,” Mousey interrupted, turning back to Nycht, “Is that Sir Ranae be allowed to accompany me.”

Nycht nodded his head. “She did say you were allowed to bring a bodyguard, but only one. She is not about to invite an enemy army into her halls.”

“Excuse me!” croaked the Toad King. He stomped forward, his great steps shaking the ground. “Mousey, be reasonable! Surely you know this is a trap!”

“I will negotiate with her in good faith,” said Mousey, looking up at the Toad King. “It’s that or total war. I’d rather we not shed blood this day if we don’t have to.” Mousey turned back to Nycht. “I trust she understands this. With my help, this army could destroy her castle. Maybe she might think she could win the battle, but she’d suffer tremendous losses, to be sure. I’m agreeing to negotiate so no beast needs to die today.”

Nycht nodded. “That is what she told me. She wishes to solve this peacefully before it gets out of hand.”

Mousey turned back to the Toad King. “If I don’t return you know what to do.”

With another disgruntled croak and a roll of his eyes, the Toad King said, “I do. If anything happens to you, we will grant no quarter.”