Mrs. Brisby was back in the room
where she and her children had been staying since their release. It was a
nicely decorated room with a comfortable bed where the entire family easily
fitted on. There was a small drawer in it and the bathroom. Even though a life
with running water was over for the rats, they still had the capability to make
their lives as comfortable as they could. There was a small bathtub in it which
was filled with fresh water from the waterfall; for some reason they figured
out how to pump fresh water into them. 
She looked up to the ceiling and thought: ‘Oh Jonathan. I wish you were
here.' She had been dreaming about Jonathan again while she stayed in Thorn
Valley. Sometimes he even felt near. Of course that was nonsense, but it made
Mrs. Brisby feel good. She even felt it when she and her children were held in
the old tree. She wasn't scared. She knew Jonathan's spirit was there to keep
them safe.

She put on the hooded cape she got
from Nanny. It was far too large of her, but because of the dark color, it was
pretty well camouflaged. Her children were playing in the garden, safely
surrounded by the thick walls of the Castle. They weren't to notice she was
gone, it would only worry them. They had been through too much already. She
picked up the rather heavy bag of powder and slipped through her door, gently
closing it. She had to be quick, otherwise her absence would be noticed. She
rushed over to the most left side of the Castle, as Justin had told her. From
there, she was able to disappear into the thick bush within a few feet.

Fortunately, she didn't run into
another living soul in the Hallway. She thought about the new rule that Justin
made. Apparently that rule was still followed; there weren't any guards around.
She made a dash into the thick bush. She checked if she hadn't been seen, but
there was no-one around. She smiled. Walking through the thick bush, wearing
these much to large clothes wasn't easy for the mouse, though. The cloth kept
attaching into the branches, so she had to pull herself free a couple of times.
She made it to the bush where Justin told her about. She looked up to the old
tree. When they were locked, they stayed in an entirely dark room. The kind of
darkness your eyes never got used to. The tree gave her an uneasy feeling; it
felt as if evil was all around it. She quickly placed the bag under the bush
and was about to leave when she heard a cracking noise from behind her. She
turned around in a split second, gasping for breath. She saw a small silhouette
appear right behind her. She had to get out! She turned again and started
running for her life, tumbling over branches. The hooded cape got tightened again,
but this time there was no time to pull it lose nicely. She tore off the cloth
and ran away, naked, without looking around. She was still able to hear
footsteps behind her. She got scratched a couple of times but she didn't stop.
Finally she made it to the end of the thick bush and she made a dash for the
Castle, completely out of breath. She nearly stumbled in and quickly closed the
door behind her. Now she dared to watch who followed her. She was surprised to
see that it was a mouse. A naked mouse with the same spots as her husband. She
pulled herself away from the window and started to cry.

‘Did you see Mrs. Brisby come in?'
Justin asked, as he turned to Brutus.

‘No I haven't. I could go check if
you'd like.' Brutus replied.

‘Would you?' Justin asked. He had
to admit that he was kind of concerned for her.

‘I'll be right back.' Brutus said
and he left the room.

‘Mrs. Brisby?' Brutus softly said
as he knocked the Brisby door. Nobody answered. He was about to leave when he
heard a soft shuffle on the other side of the door. The door slightly opened.

‘Oh, Mrs. Brisby?' Brutus
stumbled.

‘Yes, it's me.' Mrs. Brisby softly
said. Her voice sounded hoarse.

‘I came by to check if everything
was okay. Justin wanted to know if all went well.'

‘Everything went well, Brutus. The
bag is where it should be.' Mrs. Brisby whispered.

‘Oh... ok, that's great. Are you
okay? I mean, you didn't.... run into anyone over there, did you?' Brutus asked
carefully.

There was a silence for a while.
Eventually Mrs. Brisby said: ‘No, I didn't see anyone.'

Brutus took a deep breath of
relief. ‘You've done a great job, Mrs. Brisby. We owe you one big time!' And he
left for Justin again, with a huge smile on his face.

Meanwhile Jonathan pulled himself
together again. ‘That was her! That was my wife!' He gently pulled the hooded
cape from the thick branches. It was still warm. He stuck his nose deeply in
it, that he was able to smell her scent. His eyes started to tear when old
memories came back. He remembered when they first met, he remembered their
first kiss, he remembered their marriage, he remembered the birth of all four
children! ‘Oh my dear sweat Caroline, I've missed you so much!' Because even
though he couldn't remember her anymore, he had always felt a loss, the kind of
loss you feel when someone you love has died.

Mrs. Brisby walked towards the
bathtub. She took a blanket and started dipping it into the cold water. She
carefully placed it onto her scratches. She was completely covered with them.
‘How am I going to explain that to my children?' she thought to herself.

She saw the image of the person
that followed her again. She didn't get a chance to look at his face, but his
spots were the same as Jonathan's. She started to cry again. But she told
herself to stop crying for something that happened over a year ago. She HAD to
be strong, for the children's sake. Her stay at the Castle, the trauma of being
kidnapped and the way Jenner dragged Wendy away from her heavily bleeding
husband were simply too much to handle. She was losing her mind, she knew it
for sure.

Wendy was sunken deeply into
thoughts.

‘Wendy?' Jenner asked.

‘Oh sorry, dad. What did you say?'
Wendy quickly replied.

‘I didn't say anything. Tell me
what's on your mind.'

‘Well, nothing really.' Wendy
lied.

‘You don't have to be ashamed if
your worried about the Johns... eh Jonathan's plan. I'm kind of concerned
myself.' Jenner said.

‘I guess that's exactly what it
is, dad. You're right, I'm also concerned.' Wendy said, but the plan wasn't
even on her mind. She was thinking about the dream over and over again. And she
knew what it was that Nicodemus tried to tell her.

‘Let's just hope that Ages was
able to deliver the sleeping powder in time.' Jenner said again and he walked
towards his desk.

‘Dad? When does Jonathan come
back?' Wendy softly asked.

‘I guess when he's done with the
powder. He should have done it by now. He might also stay out. Perhaps he's
with Justin.' Jenner answered. He hadn't really thought about that one yet.
Jonathan had probably gotten away. Perhaps he's reunited with his wife after
all.

Jonathan climbed up the old tree.
‘Just a little while now and we can be together again.' He whispered to
himself. He pulled the bag from the ground, put it between his teeth and
climbed higher, all the way towards the kitchen window. As he arrived there he
noticed that there wasn't a place to rest the heavy bag, not even for a moment.
He tried to push the window open with his nose, although the bag made that
pretty much impossible.

He braced himself with his two
feet and one arm and tried to push the window open again, now with his free
hand. He was more successful now. He climbed up a little more so that he could
place the bag on the edge of the window. He managed to put his right arm over
the edge of the window and to put his left arm under the weight of the bag. Now
he was able to let his teeth relax a bit. His legs were trembling under the
weight of the bag, but he had to hold on! Dropping the bag was definitely not
an option. He gazed inside the kitchen. There was no-one around. The sweet
smell of smashed corn entered his nose-holes. It came from underneath him, as
he expected. The corn was still cooking in the huge pan. It had belonged to the
farmer once. It was considered to be a small pan for humans, but a huge pan for
rats: over 70 rats could be fed from it! Jonathan pulled the bag a bit higher.
He gasped when he realized that one foot almost slipped. He would fall down if
he didn't come up with something soon! He took the end of the bag between his teeth
again, grabbed the window edge with his right hand and pulled his slipping foot
up, so that he felt more stable. The sweat on his forehead started to itch, but
he had no hands left for that. He pulled the bag onto the window edge again,
still feeling a bit instable, but when the bag was finally resting, he was able
to use his free, right hand and feet to climb up just a little bit more. He was
stable now. He ran the sweat off his face with the palm of his right hand and
started to smile. ‘That was close.' He thought to himself. He carefully opened
the bag with his right hand by pulling the string. He made sure that his elbow
was secured over the window's edge. He gently pushed the opening of the bag
over the edge and started pouring in the powder. ‘Hmmm, it looks worse than I
thought! I'd better stir it a bit.' Jonathan thought and he pulled his stirring
stick out of the back of his belt. He stirred the powder through the smashed
corn and saw that it completely disappeared. ‘Good.' He thought and he tried to
push the stirring stick back into his belt. He realized that the bag was
slipping out of his left arm, for the weight of the powder was portioned
differently. After that, things happened fast. The stirring stick fell down for
Jonathan wanted to grab the bag. This made him lose his balance, so he gasped
for air. In his gasp, he inhaled some of the sleeping powder. It made him feel
weird immediately.