Baxley: the beginning
Baxley, a black fox with white stripes in his fur, stood before the king waiting for his judgment. The king, a snow leopard, stared hard at Baxley for what seemed like hours. "You have been trading information with the Spanish kingdom and have stolen from me, the French king. You shall be punished for your crimes with a brutal beating from my guards and me." Baxley hung his head and stared at his feet. "You will then be taken to the center of town the next day and executed in front of all the citizens." Baxley looked at the King and smirked.
"Don't make promises you can't keep, cat", said Baxley and received a punch in the gut sending him to his knees. The snow leopard got out of his chair and was upon Baxley in a heartbeat. "Oh, when I make a promise", said the king grabbing Baxley by the collar of his shirt. "I intend to keep it, fox." The king waved his paw and the Guards took Baxley away to his cell.
Baxley sat in his cell contemplating his current situation, His ragged brown cloak keeping him warm in the damp cell. There was a tap on the cell door and a ferret guard came in smiling and holding a club and a whip. Baxley shivered inwardly. 'He's not going to beat the hell out of me', he thought. The ferret cracked the whip and banged the club on the wall making Baxley jump to his feet, paws raised. He glared at the ferret who then stepped to the side, allowing a view of the doorway. The snow leopard was standing there and looking down a Baxley, who was shorter than the leopard by only four inches, with an evil smile on his face. The ferret handed the king the club and let him inside the small cell, which only large enough for two.
The leopard lunged and grabbed Baxley before he could move out of the way. He slammed the fox against the stone wall, grinning as his prisoner yelped in pain. The snow leopard raised the club and hit Baxley in the gut with it. He swung again and again until he got bored with it and wanted to do something different. Baxley fell to the ground as the leopard dropped him, coughing up blood, but still got back to his feet, shakily. The king lashed out with the whip, pulling Baxley close. "Did I say you could get up, fox?" The leopard kicked Baxley in the gut and waved his paw at the ferret. "Do with him as you like; I'm done."
The ferret smiled malevolently and took the club from the king. Baxley was still lying on the ground coughing and twitching. The guard raised the club, staring down at the fox with pleasure. Baxley began to get up and the ferret swung down upon him. Baxley caught the club, eyes burning with pure rage, and kicked the ferret to the ground. "Never think little of your opponent; they may have hidden surprises", said Baxley as he drew a dagger from his pants pocket. The ferret began to crawl away, but to no avail as Baxley threw the dagger and killed the ferret.
The fox opened the cell door and ran up the stairs. Baxley walked through the halls carefully, so as not to be seen, and towards the throne room which doubled as a way in and out of the castle. Baxley ran to the front door and busted through it. He was stopped by a group of guards holding spears. "Thought you would just escape from your cell and walk on out of here, did you", said the snow leopard that appeared behind Baxley.
Baxley turned to the snow leopard. "No, I didn't; I think my backup should be here in about a minute." The leopard drew a sword and pointed it at Baxley. "The only thing your backup will have to do then is to carry their dead friend", growled the king. Baxley held his paws up and looked around desperately for his comrades. He caught a flash of light from a tree nearby and smiled. "What are you-" The king didn't have time to finish as an arrow struck the sword, knocking it from his paw.
"What the hell was that", asked the leopard, looking around. Baxley smiled and ran, jumping over the shocked guards and calling over his shoulder. "My backup!" He made it to the tree where the first arrow flew from. A tiger with white fur smiled at Baxley and loosed another arrow. "Glad to see you again, friend." Baxley nodded. "Glad to see you to, Joseph." The tiger patted Baxley on the shoulder. "Come, we have to get you out of France." A black wolf came over to Baxley and pulled his arm. "There's a horse for you at the edge of town, take it and get out of here; we'll be right behind you", he said.
Baxley nodded and ran off into the woods for a shortcut to get to the edge of town faster. He ran through the trees, ducking branches and dodging arrows being shot at him from behind. His friends had taken a separate route and were going to meet up with him. Baxley turned right and kept on running. The only thing keeping him going besides the minor cuts and bruises he had received in the castle was the idea of escaping and being free from the guards and most of his troubles.
Baxley saw the horses and ran harder. He could almost taste his freedom and nothing was going to stop him. When he got to the horses he didn't see his friends. Baxley climbed up his horse and took one last look for his friends. He saw them, just approaching with about a hundred soldiers behind them.
"Baxley, go, get out of here", called the tiger. "We'll be fine, just go", added the wolf. Baxley nodded and took off. He knew he would probably never see them again and be on the run for most of his life.
To Be Continued....