Fleabee

Fleabee
Background information
Books	Fleabee's Fortune
Character information
Species	Rat
Gender	Female
Alignment	Good
Status	Living
Home	The sewers of Deptford
Relatives	Rancid Alf (father), Klakkweena (mother), Scabmona (sister), Black Ratchet (grandfather)
Allies	'Orace Baldmony, Ambrose
Enemies	Jupiter, Mabb
Fate	Escapes the sewers to start a new life

Fleabee was a young female rat who lived in the sewers of Deptford. She was gentle and kind, unlike all the other rats there. This created a problem as committing a murder was a rite of passage for rats. If they failed to do so by the Festival of the First Blood, then they would be killed themselves.

Background

The eldest daughter of Klakkweena and Rancid Alf, Fleabee proved not to have inherited the bloodlust the rats of Deptford were known for. This brought shame upon her family, and often she was mocked and mistreated for being so nice.

Her mother, concerned that her daughter would not survive the Festival of the First Blood, took her to see Madame Akkikuyu for advice. She told Klakkweena and Fleabee that perhaps the latter wasn't meant to follow Jupiter, but Mabb, the ancient rat goddess under whose stars she was born.

Akkikuyu gives Fleabee a Mabb Rest (used to summon the goddess in dreams), and the rat girl takes it home with her, filled with hope. However, Akkikuyu doubts if Mabb really will visit the girl, and is wracked with guilt.

Fleabee falls asleep with her head on the Mabb Rest. She is awakened, not by Mabb, but by the spirit of 'Orace Baldmony. He tells her that she is not like other rats and needs to flee the sewers before she is corrupted. He tells her of the Green Mouse, whisking her off to a celebration with many woodland creatures in attendance.

As Fleabee begins to wonder if she should follow the Green Mouse, Mabb appears. The goddess scoffs at 'Orace Baldmony, calling him a traitor to his own kind. 'Orace begs Fleabee to resist her, and says that Mabb is a liar, but believing the goddess to be her only hope, she reluctantly abandons him.

Mabb promises Fleabee power if she will agree to do one small favour for her, though she doesn't specify what. She asks the girl to be her new high priestess, and she accepts. Fleabee awakens and her mother is eager to know what happened in her dream. Deciding to leave out the parts featuring 'Orace Baldmony, she tells Klakkweena that Mabb has asked her to be her high priestess. Her mother is both proud and a bit envious at the same time, saying that as a child she had always prayed for Mabb to visit her. It is then that, in private, Klakkweena reveals that she truly loves her daughter and has always thought she was meant for better things than sewer life. She warns her though that if she is asked to repeat it, she'll deny it was ever said.

Fleabee finds an ornate dagger decorated with an amethyst stone and the symbol of the third eye lying on the Mabb Rest. This is proof that her dream was in fact real. She picks it up, wondering what it is Mabb wishes her to do.

Trivia

• Robin Jarvis has said that following the events of the book, Fleabee travelled to distant lands including Hara. She became a highly respected ratwitch, and changed her name to something more fitting and serious.

The smallest acorn may become the tallest oak.
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