Wendy stared at the two male rats.
They had made a decision, a decision, which could change her entire life. One
so important that it would either make
her, or break her. What if Justin
wanted her to go? What if he wanted her to go because he wouldn't miss her
anyway? But what if she wasn't allowed to go? She'd never find out who she is,
if it wasn't too late already. ‘Okay, just bring it on...' She thought to
herself.

‘Wendy my dear child, the decision
we made might be hard for you to except, but we have decided to do it like this
anyway. We fear you might get hurt, and we want to keep you safe from all sorts
of danger. We would never want to put you in a position like we all were at
NIMH again, that's why we both agreed
that your trip to London wouldn't be alone.

‘My... my trip to London?' Wendy said after a long pause, after
the words sunk in.

‘Yes, your trip to London.'  Nicodemus repeated and smiled at the young
rat who suddenly didn't seem so tough anymore.

‘But... I won't go alone? Is
somebody going with me to London?' Wendy asked, while her brain was desperately
trying to figure out who.'

‘Yes, well, I've always wanted to
see more of this world, and this is a great opportunity. This way I can also
keep an eye on you and...' Justin's sentence was interrupted by the young rat.

‘What? You are going with
me to London? But what about Jenner? What about Nicodemus's safety?' She was
caught in a mixture of complete happiness and fear. She just didn't get it. He
wanted to go with her!

‘Well, we have taken care of that
Wendy. That's the least of your concerns. The only thing you have to worry
about is how many clothes to pack, and you'd better start packing straight
away!' Justin smiled. He was looking more than forward to going to London with
Wendy, and although he didn't show it, like he never really did, he was more
then very excited about the trip. ‘We just hope you won't mind Justin being there,'
Nicodemus wondered.

‘Don't worry, we will sleep in
separate beds.' Justin smiled and gave her a wink. She smiled back at him. That
was Justin's typical kind of humor, and she got used to it, slowly, but she
did. ‘No, of course I don't mind you being there! Especially not now I know
Nicodemus will be safe... When do you want to leave, and how? The airport... where
is it?' Wendy really had no idea.

‘We don't know that, but there are
creatures that do know that.' Justin,
who probably already figured out what kind of creatures, was waiting for
Wendy's reaction.

‘The...b...of course! The birds! They
can see the airport! From above!'
Wendy smiled, knowing Justin had all the answers. With him around she knew for
sure she wasn't the only one to figure all these things out.

Justin laughed. ‘Yes, the birds,
crows in specific, and I'd prefer leaving tomorrow, so we can inform the rest
of the colony about our departure tonight.'

‘Tomorrow? So soon already?'

‘Yeah, you still want this, don't
you?' Justin wondered.

‘Yes, of course, but I'll have to
get used to the idea!' Wendy said.

‘Well, you've got one night to get
used to it!' Justin smiled, knowing she was at least a little bit afraid of the
big journey, the same journey she made in opposite direction some ten years
ago. He was also a bit nervous, knowing the dangers after having heard Wendy's
story, but that didn't stop him from grabbing the opportunity with both hands.

‘Well, I'd... I'd better start
packing then.' Wendy stumbled.

‘Yes, I'll do the same thing
later. First I'll have to talk with Philip. We'll have to discuss some matters
before I leave. He'll fill in my job while we are gone.'

Wendy was relieved knowing that
Philip would take Justin's job of being the Captain of the Guard. He was on
Nicodemus' side, something she knew for sure.

With a quick ‘bye, bye', she left
the office. She was heading to her room, and this time there was no one who
could stop her, not even Jenner. He'd be amazed after he'll find out where she was going!

While running to her room she got
passed Nanny's. ‘Nanny! You never guess what happened! I can go to London!' The
older rat looked at her with big eyes, and for some reason, Wendy could detect
a bit of disappointment in them. ‘Oh... love, that's great! I...I don't know what
to say! Just be very careful, okay? When will you leave?'

‘When will WE leave.' Wendy said
with a big smile.

‘Wait a minute, you are not going
alone?'

‘Nope, and guess who's coming with
me?! Justin!!'

‘Really? That's wonderful!' Nanny
said and hugged Wendy tightly.

Wendy smiled. ‘I'd better get
packed! Justin wants us to leave tomorrow! We are going to tell everybody
tonight!'

She took off, running to her room.
She opened her wardrobe. There weren't many clothes in there, not casual
clothing anyway. Most of them were working outfits, and there was no way she'd
take those with her! She wanted to take something really classical, so Mrs.
Jones could see what have become of her. Something warm as well... England could
be cold, and... of course, let's not forget an umbrella. ‘My coat... where is my
coat, ah... there you are...' She took her brush, some toiletries, a lady should
always have those, oh and books, of course, let's not forget books. ‘I'll have
to run down the library to get some of those!' She was nearly ready to go when
a thought suddenly hit her. ‘My diary!! How could I forget my diary!' Wendy
kept a diary ever since the rats had moved to the Rosebush. She hid it under
her mattress, so nobody was able to find it. It was very dull at first, but
things had changed. They changed until she ‘noticed' Justin, even though she
had known Justin for a very long time. She wrote down everything he had said to
her, and what he had done when she was around. She enjoyed reading the stories
over and over again, so how could she be so stupid to nearly forget it! She'll
be all alone with Justin for at least a week! ‘Gosh, I'll need at least two
extra diaries!' She said out loud and started to laugh.

‘Now, the suitcase.' She kept her
suitcase under her bed and was covered in dust. The old thing hadn't been used
for a while. She opened it, and put her belongings in there, except for her
coat, she'll need that one. She knew that once Justin and she had reached the
airport, they'd have to put their clothes off. People won't believe their eyes
when they spotted a rat, especially when the rat was wearing clothes! She
smiled when she pictured it before her.

‘Ready!' She thought, and closed
the suitcase. ‘Let's find some good books around here'.

She left her room and walked
towards the library. While walking, she came across Philips room. Justin was
there and they were talking business. Wendy slowed her steps and listened for a
while.

‘Philip, it's very important that
you don't lose Jenner out of your sight. Jenner and his friend Sullivan.'

‘Sullivan? But he's not dangerous,
is he?' Philip asked.

‘No, not directly. He does seem to
be getting along a little too close with Jenner, lately. Just keep an eye on
them, okay? Wendy and I will be back in a week or so, so don't worry. You don't
have to discuss the Plan with Jenner, okay? (That Plan again) Just tell him you
have my orders. He'll have to deal with me about that when I get back.'

‘Yes, Sir, you have nothing to
worry about.'

‘Thank you Philip, I know I can
rely on you...'

Wendy moved on when she heard the
conversation had come to an end. ‘So, he really is worried about Jenner. But Sullivan? I know he's not the most
friendly rat in the colony, but a follower of Jenner?'

She shook her head and tried not
the think about it. She'll ask Justin all about it on the trip and about the
Plan of course. There will be plenty of time for that. She finally made it to
her destination; the library.

The library was also a large room
in the colony, though not as big as the Dining Hall and half as big as the Main
Hall. It was completely filled with books. Most books were written by rats.
Human books would be too large to handle for a rat, although they'd read a lot
of books at the Boniface Estate. There were a couple of shelves attached to the
wall, almost reaching the ceiling. That's why there were several ladders
attached to the rail near the ceiling, so they were movable. Wendy Elisabeth
looked up, trying to spot a nice book for the long trip.

‘What kind of book will I take on
my trip? A detective? A history book, yuk no...a romantic novel! Of course!' She
found two ‘over-romantic-she'd-never-pick-if-she-weren't-in-a-romantic-mood'
books and she was just about to leave the library when she was drawn towards
the study-table. There was a notebook lying on that table. Curious as she was,
she walked towards the table and picked the notebook up. She looked at it
carefully. It had a green cover and was pretty old already. There was no name
on it, so she decided to see if there was a name in the inside of the notebook.
She wanted to return it to its rightful owner.

When she opened the notebook she
recognized the handwriting, but she just couldn't place it. She sat down at the
study-table so she could take a better look. She read the first few lines of
the first page:

‘January the 1st. The Council came up with a new plan. It's
even more ridiculous than all the other idiotic plans that passed the review.
This one comes directly from Nicodemus and that BRAD Justin probably has a lot
to do with it as well. I'll put a stop to this plan, I'd rather die than to
start all over again in that place called Thorn Valley'.

‘That's Jenner's handwriting, I
remember! I've seen it before when he corrected my minutes! Gosh, I hate it
when he does that! This notebook is a journal! He keeps all his secrets in it!
How could he have been so careless to leave it on the study-table! I cannot
return this, I'll have to show Justin!'

She hid the notebook behind the
other two books and held it closely to her body. She rushed back to her room.
‘What should I do? Should I confront Jenner with it? No, I'd better not, shall
I tell Justin now? And Philip, shouldn't he know? Of course I can't leave
Nicodemus out of it, gosh he'll be heartbroken if he knows what Jenner wrote.
Perhaps there are even more insulting things in it towards Nicodemus.' Suddenly
there was a knock on the door.

‘Come in.' Wendy said and Justin
came in. ‘Great, I see you're almost finished packing! I've decided to leave
tonight instead of tomorrow, that will be more save. But we'll have to say goodbye
to the other rats right now. They are already waiting in the Main Hall.'

Wendy quickly threw the books and
Jenner's notebook in her suitcase and closed it. Then she followed Justin to
the Main Hall.

The main Hall was very crowded and
very uproarious. All the rats were there. Wendy felt important for a moment,
but she realized that most rats (if not, all rats) came for Justin to say
goodbye. She felt sad for a moment but cheered up when she saw Nanny and
Arthur, both waving like idiots. Isabella, Suzy and Sally stood in front of the
crowd, all with tears in their eyes. Nanny told Wendy Isabella had thrown
herself to the ground in front of Justin and begged him not to go. Justin had
fully ignored her and walked on. That information made Wendy's heart jump for
joy. Justin walked towards her and took her left hand. He led her to the stand
which was in the left corner of the Main Hall. Nicodemus was already on the
stand. He began to speak as Wendy and Justin climbed the stand. The noise faded
away. ‘Dear Lady- and gentlemen-rats, we have all gathered this evening to say
our goodbyes to Wendy Elisabeth and Justin. They'll be leaving to London
tonight. The journey won't be an easy one and might even be dangerous from time
to time, but I am convinced of the fact that they'll be fine on their quest.
They will go to London to find some essential information for our Wendy, who
spent her childhood in that beautiful city of England far, far away from here.
Let us all keep the two of them in our thoughts until they are safely back home
again.' After Nicodemus finished his words the tumult started again like it did
before, perhaps even a bit louder than before. Wendy felt strange, a bit empty
perhaps. Was there a possibility she was even going to miss this place?