Winnie Drekker

*You are right here in your story. Don't skip ahead.*
Massie Burnson, *The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner*, p. 32
**WARNING: SPOILERS FOR *PRINCE LANDER & THE DRAGON WAR* ARE AHEAD; CAUTION IS ADVISED.**

## Book information

### Appears

*Prince Lander & the Dragon War*

**W****innie Drekker** was young rabbit doe and member of the Drekkers during the Dragon War.

## Biography

### *Prince Lander & the Dragon War*

When Nickel Drekker shows up on Lander's mission to rescue the Grimble faction's children, after proving himself by saving Lander from a trap, Prince Lander allows him to stay. Lander then hears rustling in the trees, and takes out his bow, but Nickel says that he's pretty sure what they are hearing is his own band, and whistles a tune to confirm it. A different rabbit whistles back, and Nickel says that is his sister. Lander, for whom allowing Nickel to come along was a stretch, insists that Nickel send her back. Nickel shrugs, saying matter-of-factly that his sister is very headstrong. Nickel greets his sister, who is leading five other bucks. Nickel nods to Winnie and asks if she is well. She says that she is, and bows to Lander, who tells her that she must take her band back to the mainland village. Winnie pleads permission to ask one small question first, and, not waiting for his response, asks him what would happen if they had a scheme that would keep Lander alive and help him save the younglings. Lander sighed, and said that he supposed he would listen to that before they left, and he is short on time. He asks Winnie what her scheme is, to which she laughs and replies that she doesn't have one, but Nickel will have ten. Nickel responds that he only has eight at the moment, but in a bit of time he'll come up with three more. Nickel says that they should promise them coal and deliver them gold, and that it is actually not an old Drekker saying, but he has just come out with it, but that it will get reversed and remembered that way for centuries. Winnie puts in that it will probably be forgotten tomorrow instead, and Nickel says that she has been this way since they were infants, doubting the enduring quality of Nickel's pithy wisdom, and that it is a load on his mind. Winnie puts them back on track, asking about Nickel's schemes.

While the other rabbits from Winnie's band are busy with the distraction, Lander, Winnie, and Nickel go to the barn where the children are being held. Winnie joins Lander in calling out orders. Later she comforts Hollie Grimble, asking her to help lead the children, and trying to help Hollie understand what is going on. After Hollie reveals her name, shocking Lander that she is a Grimble, Winnie pulls Hollie to her feet and urges Lander to hurry. As they run, Winnie helps lead the younglings and urges them to hurry, while also holding Hollie's hand. While Nickel gets the younglings over the wall using steps he'd made, Winnie slings rocks to cover the escape of the young rabbits. After the last little one was over the wall, Lander nodded for Winnie to follow, and she bounded over the wall in two easy leaps. As they run, several small rabbits collapse in the snow. Winnie urges on the slower ones, and carries two little ones who couldn't run. Winnie later trips and falls, but protects the two she is holding by rolling in the snow. She gets up, picks them up again, and continues on, and they eventually get away.

**Prince Lander**: She doesn't follow orders well? I understand, believe me.

—Prince Lander and the Dragon War

Later, Lander asks Brindle Cove if he has seen Winnie Drekker, as she is busy relocating the children and he wants to check on her. Captain Cove says that he has seen her, and ordered her to report to Lander at once, just as Lander asked. He then trails off, and Lander finishes for him, saying that Winnie does not follow orders well.

Nickel Drekker approaches Lander, and Lander asks if Nickel is coming in Winnie's stead, whom he ordered to report. Nickel says that yes, he has, and asks if Lander wants the message 'guts-and-all' or if he should smooth it up a bit. Lander asks for the guts-and-all option, and Nickel relays Winnie's message. Nickel says that Winnie told him to report to Lander, and now that he's done it, he'll be off. And he began to walk away. Lander asked that he hold on, and asked Nickel to tell Winnie that she is doing well, and to keep up the good work. Nickel nodded, saying that his sister doesn't need encouragement, as she has been extremely headstrong since she was born. Lander told Nickel to ask Winnie to report to him as soon as she was free. Nickel agrees, and left for the Drekker camp.

When Prince Lemual is about to face off against Haldorn in a match of fling-a-ding, Nickel and Winnie advise Lander. Lander insists that they do not have a side, they have a way, the right way. Winnie nods, but then shakes her head, and tells him that they might be right, but the Grimbles don't agree, and neither do the Frustrated Band of Hot Youngbloods. She assures Lander that she is not saying that Lander is wrong, but instead that he has some convincing to do. Winnie assured Lander that very few rabbits die from fling-a-ding, and proceeds to educate him about the game. She asks if Prince Lemual has experience with a sling, and when told that he doesn't, she seconds Nickel on saying that Haldorn missed once before, saying that it was many years ago, but he did miss. When Prince Lemual announces that he would like the contest to take place at the nearest possible distance (and also the most dangerous one), Winnie coughed in surprise such that she choked. But after Prince Lemual cleverly wins the match, Winnie came over to a baffled Lander and tells him that there is no rule about how the rock is flinged, only that it must ding.

When Nickel Drekker is asked to help counteract Grimble's treachery, Winnie stays outside and chats with the door guards. After the Grimbles attack (just as Nickel predicted), as soon as Lander returns from the battle, Winnie runs to him. She tells him that Hollie Grimble is gone, and says that she highly doubts Hollie ran away, as she has been fitting in well. After being told that nobody knows where Whitson is, Winnie suggests that he may have gone after Lemual and the Third Scouts, but Queen Lillie knows where he is and sends Lander to the place where the starsword is buried. Before leaving, Lander instructs Nickel and Winnie to keep working on a plan for Grimble's summit while he's gone. When he returns, Nickel tells him that he and Winnie have a boat which Whitson can use, with Lander hiding in the secret compartment. He says that Winnie designed a contraption so that the stowaway can see what's going on outside the compartment. Lander asks where Winnie is, and Nickel says that she's very upset over Hollie's disappearance. Nickel says that she feels responsible for letting Hollie go missing, and is trying to find clues about what happened. King Whitson inquires whether she built the secret compartment in the boat, and Nickel says that his sister is a good inventor and builder, and that they work well together.

After Grimble's treachery succeeds in killing King Whitson, Lander escapes Namoz Dragonking by using his sword to cut a tripwire, activating a pulley system designed by Winnie and pulling the boat quickly back towards shore. Winnie comes out from the trees with Nickel, and Captain Walters and Captain Cove leading soldiers. The Battle of Barren Point then begins, and Winnie joined Hollie in carrying Whitson's body away.

After the battle, Nickel and Winnie watched while Hollie tells King Lander how much she mourns the death of King Whitson. After Lander tells her not to forget to live, Hollie says that Lander sounds like Mother Saramack, and Lander thanks her for such a kind word. He then calls Nickel and Winnie delinquents and asks what they are looking at. Nickel replies that they are wondering why the camp is filling instead of emptying now. Lander told them that this would be revealed later, and then leaves them to give a speech to the army.

## Trivia

* The name Winnie is a diminutive of Winifred and means "holy peacemaking, gentle friend".