‘Please.... you are the only one who can help me!' The plea in the
young rats voice was almost painful to hear, though not nearly as painful as it
was to her having to ask it.

Wendy Elisabeth, dressed in a
semi-formal shift skirt, (which was too hot to wear as it were late August)
required to anyone assigned to Council duty, desperately tried to convince
Nicodemus for permission to leave the safety and security of the colony, to go
to London.

The rats' colony was housed in a
Rosebush in the garden of a farm. The farm belonged to farmer Fitzgibbon. He
lived there with his wife and two sons.

‘I really need to find information
on my background! You have NO idea how much this means to me! I really have to
know who I am!'

Nicodemus took a deep breath and
eventually said, ‘No, I'm sorry Wendy my dear, I can't let you go. Even if I
felt comfortable in doing so, I fear I'm not the only one to decide that. No
rat has left the colony since our escape from NIMH, not beyond the farm at
least. Certainly not as far as your London! My child, that's more than a world
away from you now.'

She ignored his concerns, pressing
the old rat. ‘Who else has to give me permission?'

Then as though a light had lit
within her mind her expression changed. ‘Oh never mind, I know who, and he'll
never let me go!'

‘I'm sorry my child, but this is
not something that can be decided right away. I must think on your request...and
on how to approach the other.' His great eyes closed for a moment as a smile
crossed his face. ‘Not to mention that I suspect you have duties that need
tending to, do you not?'

She turned and looked at the
softly ticking watch set into the studies far wall, she had forgotten about the
fact she was supposed to take the minutes for the Council meeting today. ‘Oh,
no!' She exclaimed. ‘I'm going to be late again!
He's going to have my fur this time!'

Then, without a word, Wendy
Elisabeth left Nicodemus's office at a dead run, leaving the door to swing
closed on it's own behind her. Pausing only a moment she turned and ran down
the dimly lit hallway and towards the Main Hall. The Main Hall was the place
where the Council was having meetings and was the biggest hall within the
Rosebush. It was nicely decorated with pieces of glass and curtains. Wendy
finally made it to the Main Hall. Panting for breath she paused at the great
double doors, trying to ignore the glances of the two huge guards set on each
side of it. As she placed her hand on the door, she pulled it open and stepped
within where, as she had expected...and feared...she found out the meeting had
already started. She recognized a voice, one that she'd rather not have heard
today, the voice of Jenner.

Wendy tried to enter the Main Hall
as quietly as she could, trying not to attract notice, but it was too late as
the large rat's ears flicked on hearing the door behind him and turned to give
her a cruel smile.

‘Well, well, well, what have we
got here?' Jenner walked in Wendy's direction, his big black cape waving around
him like two huge crow-wings.

‘I'm sorry,' she said, thought not
to Jenner but to the rest of the Council. ‘But I completely lost track of time'
The young rat replied, trying to flinch Jenner's approach. ‘I had to see
someone, and that's the reason why I'm late.'

‘For your information Miss
Elisabeth, you are LATE AGAIN!' His hard voice echoed through the entire hall,
followed by an even more awful silence.

‘I'm really, really sorry, but as
I said, this was far more important than the Council.'

‘Such as what important things?
When it's your duty to take minutes at the Council, you have no other ‘more important things' to do, or are you the
selfish, careless child, you were when you allowed NIMH to capture you, hmmm?'

‘My important things, aren't
anything of your business, and you're a fine one to be talking about being
selfish....' She caught the outburst before it could be finished, though the
intent was already all too plain. Wendy turned fierce, as she always turned
when she was in a fight she knew she couldn't win. She knew he was right, of
course, but she'll never give in to him, NEVER! No, she'd rather die than
giving him that satisfaction.

The Main Hall door opened again,
and a tall handsome rat entered the room. It was Justin, the Captain of the
Guard, and there was a serious look on his normally smiling face. ‘I'm sorry to
interrupt, Jenner, but I need to have a word with Wendy Elisabeth and it can't
wait.' Jenner looked at him and turned to Wendy with an exasperated, theatrical
sigh. ‘Ah, what did little Miss brown-eyes do now?'

‘Nothing I...'

Justin interrupted her before she
could finish her sentence. ‘No, Jenner, she did nothing wrong, this is
something personal.'

‘What? She didn't do anything
wrong? She can't do anything right, that's for sure!' He started to laugh like
he just made the best joke ever, and the entire crowd followed his example.

After he finally finished laughing
he continued. ‘Oh well in that case, go ahead, nobody will notice your absence
anyway, that's obvious...and besides, you've missed most of the meeting already.
I'm sure someone can reconstruct the minutes you've neglected to take today.'

Wendy threw her delicate nose in
the air, but felt the tears burning in her eyes, why didn't anyone take
seriously? Why was she the only First Generation rat with a stupid, no-no job
like this? She left the Hall, taking large steps. Justin had to rush so he
could keep the door open for her. He tried not to run, as he tried to catch up
with her. ‘I'm so sorry Wendy, it's just not fair. I wish they were a bit nicer
to you, but then I guess you should try to be a little nicer, too.'

She totally ignored the words
Justin spoke. ‘Justin, what do you want?'

‘Oh, it's Nicodemus, he wants to
talk to you, and it's urgent.'

‘So, you've been talking to
Nicodemus, haven't you?'

‘Yes, well no actually. I really
don't know what this is about. Nicodemus just said that I had to come pick you
up and that it was an important matter.' 
Wendy gave him a suspicious look as they both reached the office's door.
She waited for Justin to open it, and she enjoyed the look of discomfort on
Justin's face. ‘Well, are you going to open it, or do you want me to?' With a
flustered expression the other bit off a reply and pulled the door open.
‘Nicodemus? I found her.' They both entered the room and the door closed behind
them. As he had been when she's run out...had it only been minutes before? The
old rat was still sitting in his great chair, waiting for the two rats to come
in...

Without preamble he spoke to her.
‘Wendy my dear, I have thought about your request.'

‘Well, what do you think? Can I
go?'

‘Go where?' Justin wondered, for
he really had no idea where the other two talked about.

‘My child, listen for a moment. I
understand how important it is for you to find your roots, but why don't you
just start by telling us your story, something about your past, and why it is
so critical to go now?'

Her reply was curt, shaper than
intended but it was too late to call the words back once she began. ‘Have you
got a few hours then?'

‘Your roots? You mean you want to
go to England? Hahaha, Wendy! Tell me you are joking! You don't mean this
seriously, do you?' He hesitated and looked at Wendy's VERY serious face. He
cleared his voice before speaking again. ‘Oh... You really ARE serious...
hmmm....' 

‘Yes, Justin... Wendy has requested
to go back to England, to find out more about her background.' Then he turned
towards Wendy again. ‘My child, for you we have all the time in the world.
Please take as much time as you need.' Wendy walked towards Nicodemus and said:
‘All right, I'll tell you, but I don't want him to be here.' As she spoke, she
turned and gave Justin a glare worthy of Jenner, as he stood next to the door
and looked back at her in some surprise.

‘You want me to leave?' He looked
at the old rat as he placed a paw on the door's latch. ‘What about you,
Nicodemus, would you prefer this to be a private conversation?'

‘No, I think you should stay, the
final decision, and it's conditions, lay upon your shoulders as much as they
are on mine.' With that he looked back at the young female.

‘Wendy Elisabeth?'

She frowned, caught in a curios
mix of annoyance and just a touch of pleasure that he would remain. Still she
wasn't about to let it show in her voice as she replied. ‘Alright then, he can
stay, but only because you want him to.'

‘Please sit down, both of you,
after all... it promises to be a long tale and, I suspect, an interesting one.
Wendy, please, begin your story.'